Ramps Festival

Raise your hand if you know what Ramps are. Keep 'em up if you know I mean something to eat & not drive on! I confess, I never got up close & personal with ramps until I recently spotted a beautiful fresh mound at my favorite specialty produce market. I took a big sniff and the smell was absolutely divine! Now I get what makes them so appealing and why the good folks at Slow Food think we ought to spend a whole day with them.

You didn't hear much about lovely Ramps in the past. I checked my "Farmacopeia" book, which is supposed to have everything "from apples to zucchini, and everything in between," but it goes straight from radishes to rhubarb. To learn more, my suggestion is to head over to the Ramps Fest this Sunday, May 6th at the Callicoon Farmer's Market, where Slow Food UpDeRiVa will be celebrating the Ramp, one of this region's most wonderful wild delicacies. From 11AM to 2PM there will be demonstrations, recipes, and tastings before the start of the great Ramp Tramp in Callicoon Center. This will include plenty of foraging & feasting at the Ramp Potluck at the Channery Hill Farm. Can you imagine Ramp Ravioli? Bob Eckert of Northern Farmhouse Pasta will feed you some at noon. I hear it's pure joy in a dumpling. If you think you'd agree, mark your calendar for the Ramps Fest this Sunday.

The Catskills ARE OPEN FOR BUSINESS! Please support your local businesses!

A Press Release from the folks at Catskill Harvest well worth sharing with our readers. We here in the Hudson River Valley, we here in Sullivan County were hit hard by Hurricane Irene, but our businesses ARE OPEN FOR BUSINESS, and can use your support.

THE CATSKILLS ARE OPEN FOR BUSINESS

We had originally planned to cover several topics in this newsletter including a wrap up of our Slow Food Fair on September 17 that benefited our local Slow Foods group Slow Food UpDeRiVa as well as Catskill Mountain Keeper, a local not-for-profit dedicated to preserving our treasured environment. We also wanted to share with you the 5 new store front projects that our construction team is working on in downtown Liberty. We will cover all of these topics and more in our next newsletter.

But, this month we would like to address just one topic: Despite what you may be hearing on the news or reading in the papers, all your favorite Catskills businesses are open for business.

Its true - Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee left their marks here, and lots of folks (especially farmers) will be dealing with their effects for some time. Fortunately, Sullivan County escaped the worst these storms had to offer, and most, if not all, of your favorite businesses are open and need your support - now perhaps more than ever before. With 18 days of rain in both August and September and more than 12" of rain in both of these months, what traditionally have been good months for local businesses have been exceptionally challenging.

Even when the weather is perfect, operating a business in our rural region can be challenging. In fact, even before the hurricane, economic conditions claimed two of Catskill Harvest's long-time local business partners - Beach Lake Bread in Honesdale, PA, and Main Street Café in Narrowsburg, NY. These are stark reminders that we all need to continue to "put our neighbors first." If you have a favorite local business, whether it is a shop, restaurant, farm market, bakery, service provider, or anyone else - now is the time to support them.

This Monday is Columbus Day. For many of us, that means a nice long weekend - and for the first time in more than a month, the weather forecast is outstanding: lots of sun and warm Fall days. The leaves are just starting to turn, and festivals and farm markets abound. Everywhere you look there are decorations for Fall - not to mention mums, pumpkins, fresh produce and more.

With this said, get out and enjoy the season and stop by your favorite places; your local businesses would love to see you.

Will Foster

Catskill Harvest

PS - As an added inducement to get you out and about this beautiful Indian summer weekend, Catskill Harvest will take $5 off any purchase of $25 or more now through Columbus Day, Monday October 11, when you show a receipt from another local merchant dated October 6th through 11.

At Catskill Harvest our motto has always been Good Food, Great Gardens & Neighbors First. In these challenging times we appreciate the community in which we live and thank you for your growing and loyal support.