July 2016 Syracuse Woman Magazine by Lorna Oppedisano

July 2016

SYRACUSEWOMANMAG.COM

The Food and Wine Edition

Turning Stone Full Page

July 2016

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July C O N T E N T S

Letter from the Editor.............................................................. 6

Past SWM Events...................................................................... 7 Fashion Forward: Working ApPROpriate Fashion............... 8

Platter Chatter: All Fed Up................................................... 10 WISE Woman: Courtney Henson........................................ 13 CNY Latina: Nilsa Migdalia Gonzales ................................ 15 For a Good Cause: In My Fatherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Kitchen ....................... 17

In Her Own Words: Bryony Grealish................................... 19 Special Feature: Women-Owned Farms............................ 20

Cover Story: Pam Dillon ....................................................... 27 Inspire: Erica Leubner........................................................... 34 Inspire: Laura-Anne Minkoff-Zern........................................ 38 SWM Original Recipes.......................................................... 42

Upcoming Events.................................................................. 52

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The Food and Wine Edition

CNY Reconstructive Full Page

July 2016

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LETTER from the Editor

ike any good Italian, the subject of food and wine is close to my heart. Although I was a notoriously picky eater growing up — I don’t think I’ll ever live down the fact that I used to take the cheese off my pizza — family dinner at my grandparents’ house is a favorite memory. It’s not thanks to the garlic bread or the meatballs. It’s the company. My first part-time job in college was in the food service industry. I spent most of my weekend mornings hosting at The All-Night Eggplant in East Syracuse, and then eventually found my way to a hosting gig at Pastabilities, where I still moonlight on the weekends. And just like those cheese-less pizza nights, it’s not the famous honey buns or Hot Tom that made it for me. It’s the coworkers and the customers — the people — and the ability that food has to connect everyone. Dynamic wonder woman Pam Dillon is this month’s cover woman. When Pam and I met for the first time, we shook hands, looked at each other and said, “Wait… don’t I know you?” As it turns out, Pam and I have been connected since my Eggplant days. Back when I was still learning the journalism ropes, she was a regular at the diner. Now we’ve come full circle, and Pam’s company is about to take the sensory consumer retail industry by storm, starting with Wine Ring, an app that will change the way the world interacts with wine. In this month’s For a Good Cause, we talked to In My Father’s Kitchen co-founder John Tumino about his efforts to help the homeless population in our city. John and the IMFK volunteers bring food and necessities to those who feel invisible. Bryony Grealish takes us through the first steps of starting her own niche catering business in this edition’s In Her Own Words. After 11 years in social work, Bryony realized that she needed to follow her passion and find a new adventure. With the help of the WISE Women’s Business Center, she’s hoping to be a mentor for disabled women entrepreneurs. In the Special Feature and Inspires, we’re exploring the very basic building blocks of food and wine: the farms. “The Feats of Female Farmers” introduces us to the women leading the way in the industry. Erica Leubner—Tim’s Pumpkin Patch co-owner and NY FarmNet farm family consultant—teaches about the importance of communication and the lessons you learn growing up on a farm. Falk College professor Laura-Anne Minkoff-Zern takes us into the world of food studies and sustainability. A fun addition to The Food & Wine Edition is our recipe section, contributed by local chefs and bakers. We’re hoping the collection of favorite dishes makes its way into your stomachs and your hearts. Happy cooking!

Lorna On our cover: Pam Dillon was photographed by Alice G. Patterson of Alice G.Patterson Photography in Pam’s downtown Syracuse office.

OUR TEAM CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Publisher David Tyler

Editor

Lorna Oppedisano

Design

Andrea Reeves

Photography Caitlyn Bom Photography Diane Eggert Alexis Emm Erin Luchsinger Hull Brenna Merritt Steven J. Pallone Tricia Casper Park Alice G. Patterson Matt Turner Photography Jackie Vidler

Jessica Capels Sarah Chapman DeAnna Germano Bryony Grealish Colleen Guynup Sarah Hall Cheri Hassett Abigail Henson Marisol Hernandez Kailyn Jennings Sean Murphy Lorna Oppedisano Gabrielle Reagan Joshua Selbach Ann Marie Stonecypher Terri Webb Lindsay Wickham

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The Food and Wine Edition

PAST SWM Events

On Friday, May 13, the Baldwinsville community celebrated spring with the second annual A Cause to Celebrate, an event that benefitted the Syracuse Silver Knights Foundation. Syracuse Woman Magazine lent its support to the Preeclampsia Foundation at the Syracuse Promise Walk for Preeclampsia on

Saturday, May 21. The WBOC closed out the year with its annual Meeting & Member Spotlight on Wednesday, June 1. Thanks to Jackie Vidler for the WBOC event photos.

July 2016

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Dress for Success By Ann Marie Stonecypher

ppropriate work attire has been making headlines lately. When KTLA meteorologist Liberté Chan stepped in front of the green screen one morning in what was clearly a cocktail dress, an immediate cold front moved in — and not in her weather report. The dust-up that followed was like a Kansas tornado. Viewers started emailing immediately, inspiring one of the show’s producers to hand her a sweater before she could even tell us what was happening in her neck of the woods. Fashion foibles like this happen every day in the work place. Lucky for most, they are not broadcast on TV and then reposted to live for an eternity on YouTube. These fashion missteps can be avoided if you remember a few simple things. If you work in a serious profession and dress inappropriately, you belie your abilities and people will and do make a judgment; it’s human nature. When this happens, you have to work twice as hard to overcome the prejudice — and isn’t work sometimes hard enough already? Clothing should always be appropriate to the event and location. I’m not suggesting that you blend and look like everyone else, but to wear a black, fringed, beaded cocktail dress for the news was a misstep. (Do I think they should have embarrassed her on live TV as they did? No, but that’s fodder for another article.) A cocktail dress would be the wrong dress to wear in a professional business setting, as well. There is such a thing as “too much bling.”

Making sure you get it right

Rule Number One: Make sure you aren’t showing a lot of skin on top — save that for after hours. Spaghetti straps in a professional workplace are almost always a no. Wear sleeveless if you are comfortable — but again, make sure that you’re not showing cleavage and the straps aren’t skimpy. Rule Number Two: Make sure you aren’t showing too much leg either. A miniskirt can create a maximum scandal if you aren’t careful. If you want to wear a short skirt, make sure it’s not too tight or too short. Do the sit-down test — is anything showing? Your skirt should be no higher than three inches or so above the

knee for work. If you do have a slightly shorter skirt you would like to wear, try pairing it with flats and an opaque hose for a less sexy look. Rule Number Three: Shoes should be professional, always clean and in great shape. Nothing is as big a flop as a flip-flop. Peep toes and sling backs are fine; just make sure your exposed toes and heels are nicely pedicured. Make sure your heels aren’t so high that you are wobbling around in them. A heel more than three inches high is unnecessary and definitely not a shortcut up the corporate ladder. Rule Number Four: Jewelry should be classy and not overshadow you. Anything that is too “blingy” should be set aside for evening.

The bottom line

We all want to look good, but there is a time and a place for everything and this goes for clothing as well. When it comes to professional dressing, the wrong kind of exposure can cause a disruption in the atmosphere and cast a dark cloud over a great career. SWM Ann Marie Stonecypher is an award-winning business woman and the owner of AMS Models & Talent. She is also a stylist, inspirational speaker, two-time breast cancer survivor and freelance writer. She lives in the Syracuse area with her children Taylor and Steven, and her dog Cocoa. If you have any style questions or comments, email Ann Marie at info@amsmodels.com. Models Heather Giamartino, Christina Carmella and Shonna Rankins courtesy of AMS Models & Talent. Styling by Ann Marie Stonecypher and Taylor Stonecypher.

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The Food and Wine Edition

July 2016

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PLATTER CHATTER All Fed Up

ALL FED UP

Photography by Brenna Merritt

We’re not trying to reinvent the wheel. We make fresh homemade favorites that people enjoy.”—All Fed Up head chef Jason Murphy

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The Food and Wine Edition

ALL FED UP

Retro Bites By Gabrielle Reagan

hen LuAnn Murphy opened the unique gift shop All Mixed Up in August of 1997, she dreamt of one day owning a humble restaurant alongside it. Not expecting anything to come of it, her aspiration remained tucked away for more than a decade. On Black Friday in 2011, her dream came to fruition. Despite being the busiest shopping — and therefore dining — day of the year, LuAnn opened the doors to a small soup and sandwich shop connected to All Mixed Up. Quite appropriately, she named the new venture All Fed Up. “It was brave,” LuAnn said. “Almost none of us were from the restaurant business so it was a little crazy at first, but it all worked out.” That success is in part thanks to support from LuAnn’s family. Her twin sons Cody and Tyler help run the restaurant daily, and her nephew Jason Murphy is

All Fed Up’s head chef. Offering homemade affordable food, LuAnn provides a welcome alternative to the humdrum of chain restaurants sprinkled throughout Cicero’s Route 11 area. After years of talking food with her husband Tim Murphy, LuAnn and Jason finally decided to knock down the wall that separated the shop from the space next door and began planning a simple menu focused on homemade soups and salads made from local ingredients. “We’re not trying to reinvent the wheel,” Jason said. He’s had more than 20 years of experience in the field, including 11 years at the former Ramada on Buckley Road. “We make fresh homemade favorites that people enjoy.” It’s true. Walk up to the counter and see a variety of fresh soups and salads on display, or order from a full scope of greasy-spoon favorites, all made in house.

Deep-fried pickles, a grilled Reuben quesadilla and “Let’s Go Buffalo” chicken tenders are just a taste of the starters featured on the menu. All Fed Up also offers a long list of salads, sandwiches, wraps, paninis and nine burger options made with fresh patties. Stop in on a Friday and order the fresh haddock with a side of homemade mac and cheese, and wash it all down with an old-fashioned soda. “We thought it was just going to be a small little sandwich shop, you know,” LuAnn said, “but it’s turned into quite a busy little restaurant!” The décor is perfectly retro, decorated with vintage-inspired posters and signs from LuAnn’s shop, along with a few Murphy family portraits. Eat at any one of the ’50s-style antique tables or grab a booth in the back, which just happen to be donated from the former Cosmos Pizza & Grill up on Syracuse University’s Marshall

Street. It feels like the Peach Pit, with shopping next door. “LuAnn’s shop is definitely the attraction, but then people just stop right over and have an amazing lunch,” Jason said. All Fed Up has gained a faithful following without much advertisement. Word of mouth, gift shop guests and the plethora of local businesses that keep the restaurant’s menu handy for weekly to-go orders have helped this little sandwich shop grow. Being family-owned doesn’t hurt either. “Our name is right on the door,” Jason said. “We work for our customers; we don’t work for ourselves.” SWM

All Fed Up is located at 8140 Brewerton Road in Cicero. The restaurant is open 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday; 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday; closed on Sundays; and closing at 3 p.m. Wednesday and Saturday through the summer. For more information, follow All Fed Up on Facebook or call 698-2598.

July 2016

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The Food and Wine Edition

WISE WOMAN Courtney Henson

FEaturEd EntrEprEnEur Courtney Henson

Owner & Wedding Planner, Magically Yours

ourtney Henson has been infatuated with all-things-Disney since she was a kid. After earning her bachelor’s degree from University at Buffalo in Communications, Courtney followed that passion to Orlando, Florida and was accepted into the Disney College Program. Being placed at various Disney parks, she fell in love with the brand all over again while helping to make children’s dreams come true on a daily basis and finding ways to make magical moments for other guests (even while off the clock). Simultaneously, Courtney attended the University of Central Florida and working towards a Masters Certificate in Entrepreneurship. As part of that program, she worked as a consultant for a business owner who was launching a wedding planning business—she even ended up giving up her “dream business name” as part of the process, not realizing how soon it would be that she’d be launching her own company.

After personal and family circumstances brought her back to her native Syracuse, Courtney came home with every intention of heading back to Disney. At the time, she didn’t realize that taking a job working with a local trade show company CNY Show Promoters was the first step in her own entrepreneurial journey. “My boss asked me what my dream job was, and I knew that it was to own a wedding planning business,” says Courtney. “She let me coordinate her wedding so I would know if I really PHOTO BY CaiTlYn BOm PHOTOgraPHY PagE DESign BY griT BranDS

wanted to do this. At the end of a wedding where everything that could possibly go wrong did and I was able to tackle every challenge on my own, one look out to a crowded dance floor with happy newlyweds rejoicing was all I needed. I knew this was exactly what I wanted to do every single day.” Shortly after this “aha” moment, Courtney officially launched Magically Yours, a wedding and honeymoon planning business. Her focus is to help couples nationwide to capture those ‘magical moments’ and bring their dreams to life. “I’ve always known that I had a passion for helping people, especially in the events industry,” she says. “To me, being able to create a magical moment for a couple means going above and beyond to make them feel truly special—because they are.” Courtney has been working with a counselor at the WISE Women’s Business Center who helps her stay focused and motivated while writing a business plan for her venture. She encourages new entrepreneurs to never give up on their dream—there will always be a time where money is tight or you question whether you’re doing the right thing (don’t worry—you are!). Looking to the future of her business, Courtney is currently working on finding a permanent office space for her business and partnering with other local businesses on some cool new initiatives (stay tuned for details!)

wise words of wisdom… “All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them” – Courtney Henson via Walt Disney

WISE WISE HappEnIngS: HappEnIngS: Check out wisecenter.org/events for a complete list of upcoming events! The Building Blocks for Starting a Business

Women in Food Businesses Roundtable Discussion

Women in Creative Businesses Roundtable Discussion

The Building Blocks for Starting a Business

Women in Creative Businesses Roundtable Discussion

Women in Food Businesses Roundtable Discussion

July 7, 12:00-1:00pm

July 13, 12:00-1:00pm July 27, 12:00-1:00pm

July 14, 12:00-1:00pm July 28, 12:00-1:00pm

August 2, 12:00-1:00pm August 17, 5:30-7:00pm

August 3, 12:00-1:00pm August 17, 12:00-1:00pm

August 4, 12:00-1:00pm August 18, 12:00-1:00pm

Encore Entrepreneurship July 19, 12:00-1:00PM

A PROGRAM OF THE FALCONE CENTER FOR ENTREPRENEURSHIP AT SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY Funded in part through a Cooperative Agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration. All opinions, conclusions or recommendations expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Small Business Administration. Reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities will be made if requested at least 2 weeks in advance. Call (315) 443-8634.

July 2016

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Wegmans Full Page? Then where does this go?

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The Food and Wine Edition

CNY LATINA Nilsa Migdalia Gonzalez

Authentic Family Cooking Photo courtesy CNY Latino

By Marisol Hernandez

t is 77 degrees on a spring afternoon. The essence of Latino food fills the air in the small bustling restaurant. Puerto Rican memorabilia adorns the wall. Jandy Authentic Spanish Restaurant feels like home. Nilsa Migdalia Gonzalez — known by many as Migdalia — arrived in Syracuse with her husband Hector in 1983, looking for a better future. Hector’s family, who lived in the area, had told them about opportunities in the city. Yashira, their daughter, was a year old at the time. A year later, they had their second child, Jonatan. In 2004, the duo opened a restaurant and convenience store on the west side of Syracuse. They began selling clothes, including a selection that Migdalia made herself. Migdalia had learned the skill from her mother, and eventually became a professional seamstress. Prior to opening the store, she sold clothes from her home. “I had really good clients in my clothing design business,” Migdalia reminisced. “Little by little, we added new things [at the store], selling Hispanic goods and Goya products. I have always liked cooking. My mother was a really good cook and taught me everything I know.” They started selling roasted chicken and loaves of bread at the end of the day. People liked the goods and requested more. Since there was more of a demand for food than clothing, they continued adding items to the menu like rice, alcapurrias and relleno de papas. Eventually, the restaurant side of the business became more prosperous and more demanding of their time. Migdalia’s daughter Yari — who now works full time alongside her brother Jonatan in the business —says that her mother had a difficult childhood; she was ill as a child and lost sight in her left eye. Those limitations never stopped her from striving for success. Even when Migdalia faced one of her hardest challenges, the death of her husband four years ago, she knew the business must go on. Having always been a fighter and never one to give up, she’s proud of what she and her husband accomplished for their family.

“I always knew that my parents were entrepreneurs, business owners, their own bosses,” Yari shared proudly, adding that one of her fondest childhood memories was the trips she’d take to New York City with her father to find new things for the store. When her father passed away, the family became even closer, Yari said, explaining that she grew up with her grandmother, uncles and cousins nearby. “It motivates me and makes me happy to know that what my parents have here is something good,” she said, “and they have created a name for themselves and our family.” Since first opening Jandy, the restaurant has added other dishes that are not from Puerto Rico, at the request of their customers and new employees. Migdalia said it feels great to give others a work opportunity. “Now, with my brother’s help, mom and I are expanding more,” Yari said. They want to bring their services to other places. They’ve hired a driver for delivery and invested money to increase the area in which they serve food. “Our plan is to extend the restaurant because now we do not have much space,” Yari said. “Our vision is to have more employees and offer full service to our customers.” Reflecting back on the journey of the restaurant, faith is at the core of everything she does, Migdalia said. “As Christians, we put all we do in God’s hands and Sundays are sacred for us. We go to the Methodist Church in Spanish,” Migdalia said. “I prefer to hear the mass in my language. I am proud to be Hispanic.” SWM Jandy Authentic Spanish Restaurant is located at 1017 S. Geddes St. in Syracuse. For more information, visit jandyauthenticspanish.com. This article was provided by the CNY Latino newspaper, the only Hispanicoriented publication in Central New York. The Spanish version of this article can be read in the July edition of CNY Latino, in both the traditional paper version and the digital format at cnylatino.com.

July 2016

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The Food and Wine Edition

FOR A GOOD CAUSE In My Father’s Kitchen

Bringing the Kitchen to the Streets By Kailyn Jennings

“I

’m a minister,” John Tumino said. “I was doing my devotionals one morning when I had these words drop into my heart: in my father’s kitchen. A place people would come and I could help them. I’d fill their belly and their heart at the same time.” Five years ago, John and his wife Leigh-Ann started In My Father’s Kitchen, a faith-based organization offering nondenominational and nondiscriminatory assistance to homeless people through direct street outreach. Born and raised in Syracuse, John said he saw brokenness in the city. “I felt the calling to help those who feel invisible,” he explained. His grassroots, nonprofit organization offers restaurantquality food to the homeless. “It started with one guy and one lunch,” John said, “and now we’ve served thousands of meals. We are building trust with people as we interact with them on a weekly basis.” That trust plays a vital role in the organization. “We can find out the story behind the cardboard signs,” John said. “We are a connector between them and the agencies that can help with substance abuse and housing. These are individuals who don’t seek help, so we can connect them to it.” John and his volunteers deliver meals at Syracuse’s on- and off-ramps.

“If I don’t know [the homeless person], I call it first contact. I offer food, toiletries, something to drink and introduce myself,” John said. “If they’re not engaging with me, I say ‘It’s nice to meet you. I’m out a couple times a week. See you around.’” The more John sees an individual, the more questions he asks: what’s your backstory; how long have you been out here? Once he has more information, John said he can encourage people to seek assistance. Not every interaction results in an immediate positive outcome. John said some days prove difficult, especially when he sees potential in people who don’t recognize it in themselves. “They are so broken they don’t think they can make it,” John said, “and that’s sad.” John and his volunteers emphasize that they help friends. “Some people are so jaded to a certain group of people,” he explained. “It still irks me – people talking badly about people they don’t even know.” But despite difficulties, In My Father’s Kitchen has generated a positive response. “[The organization] resonates with people. It’s created a buzz for those who want to work with us,” John said. “Because of the impact of volunteers, the community is helping the smaller community, which is the broken community. We also give opportunities to

our volunteers to work with people they probably wouldn’t interact with. When they leave, something happens to them, as well.” Currently, In My Father’s Kitchen sells its pasta sauce at five specialty shops, the TasteNY store at the Empire State Plaza in Albany, and Wegmans in Syracuse, Auburn and Johnson City. The money raised contributes to everyday operations, but John has bigger goals in mind. “The revenue that comes in can maybe create employment opportunities for the people we help,” he said. “It’s another way to talk and encourage them to brighten their future.” The sauce alone doesn’t support the organization; community members donate clothing, housewares, furniture, shoes and money. John said 80 percent of the donations come from private donors. The organization also receives a Housing and Urban Development grant from the federal government. Although the organization thrives from contributions, John said the community can help in other ways too. “Be more compassionate. You don’t have to give money,” John said, “but you can give a kind word. Engage with people, and the world will be a better place.” SWM For more information on In My Father’s Kitchen and different ways to get involved, visit inmyfatherskitchen.org.

Photos courtesy In My Father’s Kitchen.

It started with one guy and one lunch, and now we’ve served thousands of meals. We are building trust with people.” —John Tumino, In My Father’s Kitchen co-founder July 2016

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The Food and Wine Edition

IN HER OWN WORDS Bryony Grealish

Founding The Fingerless Kitchen Photography by Alexis Emm

By Bryony Grealish

’ve always felt the urge to create. Having always wanted to start The day after the fundraiser, a fellow parent suggested I look into my own business, I was constantly coming up with ideas — but the WISE Women’s Business Center, where women entrepreneurs nothing felt right. After 11 years in social work, feeling trapped can find education, tools and support for starting and running a in a job that wasn’t giving me opportunity to move forward, I was business. What an opportunity to obtain guidance and be among peers! losing touch with that young woman who had such passion for life. For me, finding peers in business was crucial and I needed to I was in need of adventure, and it was time to put the car in reverse connect with a community; the difficult part would be finding and head in a new direction. The only question was, “Where do I go someone who was like me. from here?” I was born with a physical disability, and finding another female The answer came to me just after the New Year. I was sitting on my entrepreneur with a disability is hard in a small community. I have a living room couch trying to find a little bit of rare genetic condition called Ectrodactyly “mom free time,” looking through Pinterest Ectodermal Dysplasia, meaning split for activities to do with my young toddler. I was in need of adventure, and it hand and foot. Doctors considered my Then I saw it: a pin for a beautiful cheese condition to be severe because I was born board that looked good enough to eat right was time to put the car in reverse with only one finger on each hand, and off of the screen. I have long been inspired and head in a new direction.” my feet are the same. Everyday life can be by the etiquette and tradition around French difficult and I try hard to not let it show. —Bryony Grealish cheese service, where the preparation and Since my traditional job was just not quality of the cheese and the pairing of the working for me, I figured it would be accompaniments make for an elegant and sophisticated experience. better to run a business that would fit my needs and allow me to So how was I going to put a new twist on this classic idea? become a mentor for disabled women entrepreneurs. I knew I could make this a business and believed this was the chance With the WISE program, I have found guidance and amazing for me to be able to share my love of creating food and bringing inspiration to achieve my dream of opening my specialty catering people together. I decided that I needed to test the idea, see if there business. I now have direction and a set of goals. I’m off to a great was interest and find out how much work it would be to put together. start researching global cuisines and developing my business plan, As it turned out, my son’s school would be hosting a popular St. while working out the details to bring a new experience to Syracuse. Patrick’s Day fundraising event to which everyone would bring their Venture out into the unknown with passion, know all things own food. I went to work creating a menu to reflect the traditional are possible if you believe in yourself, work hard, take risks and be foods of Ireland while figuring out how to make it my own. This was prepared for when life offers you chances. SWM my chance! The night of the event came and it turned out great. I was happy If you want to learn more about me, my food and my journey to become an with the response at the fundraiser, and had a fantastic date night entrepreneur, you can visit my website at thefingerlesskitchen.com. with my husband and friends. July 2016

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SPECIAL FEATURE Women-Owned Farms

The Feats of Female Farmers

Photo courtesy Tricia Casper Park

By Sarah Hall

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The Food and Wine Edition

Photo courtesy Diane Eggert

Photo courtesy Erin Luchsinger Hull

Photo courtesy Tricia Casper Park

The face of local agriculture

Photo courtesy Erin Luchsinger Hull

or Erin Hull, farm ownership started with a hamburger. Erin, who now owns and operates Lucky 13 Beef Farm in Tully, “My husband said he couldn’t find a decent hamburger had grown up on a farm, but when she left for college, she swore anywhere in Central New York, so let’s raise our own cows,” she was done with the life. Erin said. “I laughed at first. But then he went out and bought 13 cows. It wasn’t very long before I took over the day-to-day operations.” “I said I would never be a farmer,” she reminisced. “But I realized around the age of 30 that agriculture was my passion and I Erin is one of many women across Central New York and the couldn’t imagine doing anything else.” state who is the principal operator of a farm. According to the For Diane Eggert, who owns most recent U.S. agriculture census, Cobblestone Creek Farm in East conducted in 2012, women control Syracuse, the path to farm ownership seven percent of the country’s farmI think it’s that more women are being started similarly. Her family grew for land and make up three percent of spring sales at the Central New York its agricultural sales. Fourteen percent recognized. They’re stepping forward. Regional Market and wholesale. of the nation’s 2.1 million farms have They’ve always been doing the work.” Their season ran from January to a female principal operator — the November. person in charge of their day-to-day —Tricia Park, owner of Creekside “Our lives really revolved around the operations — and women account for Meadows Farm in Cazenovia farm,” Diane said. “Vacations, holidays, 30 percent of the nation’s total farmers. even birthdays and weddings were all In New York state, according to the scheduled around the season. So growing up in that environment, same census data, just less than 20 percent of farmers are women. you either love it or hate it.” Of those female farmers, the average farm is 94 acres in size, When she left for college, Diane thought she was moving compared to the state average of 202 acres. In Onondaga County, on from the farm; but instead, her green thumb followed her 173 of the 681 farms are operated by women; in Madison County, to school. out of 838 farms, 151 list women as principal operators. Continued on page 22

July 2016

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SPECIAL FEATURE Women-Owned Farms

The Feats of Female Farmers continued from page 21

Photo courtesy Erin Luchsinger Hull

“I raised tomato plants in my dorm windows, shifting them to friends’ rooms as needed to capture the sun,” she said. “My friends thought I was nuts, but they helped me eat the tomatoes!” After she graduated, Diane said she was eager to maintain a connection to the farm, even as she took a job elsewhere. “So I grew some vegetables and raised herbs for farmers market sales on the weekends, keeping my hands in the soil and my heart at the farm,” she reminisced. “I then married a farmer who grew acres of field corn and grain crops. I left my office job and went to work full time on my family’s farm, operating their farm stand, going to farmers markets, raising vegetables and bedding plants.” Now Diane runs the Farmers’ Market Federation of New York, a nonprofit that works with farmers markets statewide, in addition to running Cobblestone Creek, a vegetable farm, with her husband Steve. Unlike Diane and Erin, Tricia Park, a former Air Force mechanic, didn’t grow up on a farm. When she and her husband Matt decided they wanted to start one, they had no background in agriculture to support them. “My husband had 26 acres with a big barn on it [in Tully Valley]. We built an apartment in the barn and put in a big garden,” Tricia said. “When our son was about 2, my husband had this idea that we should get cows to graze down the grass that we were mowing with the tractor. So that’s how we started with livestock. Then we added a dozen chickens and started selling the eggs.”

Gradually, the duo added onto their brood, adding more grassfed beef cows, more chickens, a bull, pigs and Thanksgiving turkeys. They started selling their meat, at first to family and friends and then, by word of mouth, to an expanding audience. Ultimately, they ran out of land. “We tried leasing, buying, borrowing, renting, squatting, but we just couldn’t get any land. And we couldn’t meet our demand,” Tricia said. “We finally decided to sell and bought the farm we have now.” Tricia now owns and operates Creekside Meadows Farm in Cazenovia, a diversified farm that sells meat and vegetables, with her husband, Matt. She and her son, Cameron, are the sole full time employees; Matt, who has an off-farm job, helps on the weekends.

More than 9 to 5

Indeed, the challenges for women farmers are no different than those for farmers in general. The chief problem is that, in many cases, most families need another income in order to continue to farm. “My husband is out of town 150 to 160 nights a year. He travels for his job,” Erin said. “His occupation affords me the ability to do this.” That means that, like Tricia, Erin is often on her own to manage the work of the farm. “It’s just me,” she said. “When my husband’s home on the weekends, he helps out, but day to day, it’s just me.” Erin said that was a lot tougher when her children were young, especially since she actually lives down the road from her farm. “I used to have to put them in the car every time I had to go there,” she said. “It’s not easy getting two kids out the door. I had to do feeds twice a day. I’d have to pack them into the car every time.” Now that her kids are 9 and 12, things are a little easier, but Erin is still Lucky 13’s sole employee, which can be tough on her family. “If an animal is sick and you want to go shopping, too bad. Sometimes you don’t come first,” she said. “Sometimes animals come before people.” Financing is also a major challenge for farmers, especially when they’re first starting out. Diane noted that there are resources to help in that regard, pointing to agencies such as FarmNet, the Farm Service Agency and Farm Credit. “But loans are always a bit scary,” she said. “Income from farming is never a guarantee, and the payments on loans must be paid. Having lived through the days of farm loans, I know that I would not want to be in that position again.” While those challenges are not unique to women farmers, there can be some sexism in the business. “I know that some suppliers can be a ‘good ole boys’ network [that is] sometimes resistant to doing business with females,” Diane said. “But in my experience, this is happening less and less as agribusinesses become used to the growing number of women farmers.”

Annie’s Project and beyond

As the number of women farmers grows, so have the resources available to help them get started. Both Diane and Erin have taken advantage of Annie’s Project, a nationwide program based in Illinois dedicated to helping women farmers. The program offers introductory courses in five risk areas, localized to meet the needs SYRACUSEWOMANMAG.COM

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of farm and ranch women across the country. Topics include financial risk, human resource risk, market risk, legal risk and production risk. Farmers can then take further courses to learn about business, retirement and estate planning, as well as transitioning their farm to the next generation. Local classes are offered through the Cornell Cooperative Extension. “It was really informative, and discussion with the other women was invaluable,” said Diane, who participated in the course this past winter. “It certainly helped me to gather my thoughts on the business side of the farm and start planning for new enterprises on the farm.” In addition to Annie’s Project, there’s the Northeast Beginning Farmer Project, another effort through the CCE. The program offers online courses, in-person training events and conferences and a mentoring program for women, in which Tricia was a participant. “I mentored with the program for four years,” she said. “I mentored Mary Ellen from Hartwood Farms and Angela Nelson from Daily Harvest, as well as Erin Bullard from Clark Hollow Hops in Fabius. A lot of the women I helped train went on to mentor others.” In addition to women-specific programs, there are a variety of conferences and other resources available to the agricultural community, from the CCE to the Empire Producers Expo to the Mid-Atlantic Growers Conference, held in Hershey, Pa. “It’s a great way to learn new things in both production and marketing,” Diane said. “It’s also a great opportunity to network with other growers and explore ideas and techniques.”

Social media has also provided a fair amount of help, Diane added. “I also belong to many farm groups on Facebook where growers share their experiences, ask questions of one another and get some pretty good advice on a number of subjects,” she said. “There are many women farmers in these groups and the conversations are really invaluable.” Tricia said those women are becoming more vocal about the role they play in farming. “I think it’s that more women are being recognized. They’re stepping forward. They’ve always been doing the work,” she said. “Women are getting a little more recognition. They’re stepping forward and pointing out, ‘Hey, it’s not just my husband’s farm. It’s mine, too, and I’ve been working here all along.’” Diane said she was glad to see more women taking credit for their part in agriculture. “While the work is hard, it is very rewarding. Coaxing food from the ground, building a customer base that supports the farm and the work you do is all intoxicating and something I wouldn’t ever want to give up,” she said. “So, as my father always told me as I was growing up: you can do anything you want to. As long as you work hard, you can achieve it. Being female should not keep me or any other women from doing what they love.” SWM For more information about Annie’s Project, visit anniesproject.org. To learn more about the Cornell Cooperative Extension, visit cceonondaga. org. For more on the Northeast Beginning Farmer Project, visit nebeginningfarmers.org.

July 2016

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SUPPORT. SHOP.SHARE. Support these Women Owned Businesses.

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SUPPORT. SHOP.SHARE. Support these Women Owned Businesses.

Karen Khanzadian, Esq. Attorney at Law • Labor & Employment • Matrimonial & Family Law • Civil Rights & Discrimination • Real Estate • Personal Injury • Workers Compensation • Retirement Disability

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COVER STORY Pam Dillon

PAM DILLON

Photography by Alice G. Patterson

Wine Ring CEO and Co-founder

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COVER STORY Pam Dillon

A New Way in Wine By Lorna Oppedisano

hen Pam Dillon knows she needs the tectonic plates of her foundation to shift, she doesn’t try a trendy yoga class or a new and edgy haircut. She goes on a walkabout. So far, she’s been on three. “In each case, I knew there was somewhere else I was meant to be, and I had to figure out where that was, and what that was,” the CEO and co-founder of Wine Ring said. “And it’s funny, because these walkabouts are physical manifestations of what’s really going on in my mind. They’re journeys.” Pam’s first adventure was to Europe after graduating from the University of Pennsylvania. Her second was around the world after leaving a Wall Street career. Most recently, her yen took her to South America, where she was struck with “the best idea of her life,” as she described, and subsequently founded Wine Ring, an app geared toward enabling the user to the best consumer retail experience. Each of walkabouts was a means to clear her mind of competing thoughts and create a blank canvas on which she could diagram and play with forming ideas. She compared the quest for different experiences in different locations to the constantly growing list of childhood’s fantastic expectations of adulthood. One day you want to be an astronaut; then a dancer; then president. She simply didn’t stop dreaming and didn’t dare let the ever-changing world outpace her. “Either you’re in the tunnel of the wave, or you’re not anywhere interesting,” Pam said, explaining that each walkabout was a reevaluation of that tunnel’s exact location. “Where was the tunnel of the wave for me? Where could I get the fastest possible trajectory, moving at the highest possible level on the next gorgeous beach? Where was that going to be?”

The beginnings of greatness

Pam grew up outside of New York City. Her father, a native of Hell’s Kitchen — “back when it was Hell’s Kitchen, and it deserved the name that it had,” Pam remarked with a laugh — wanted his daughter to have less of a “fast upbringing” than he’d had. Despite slightly different origins, Pam did follow in her father’s footsteps when it came to being a motivated self-starter. After graduating from Penn with a degree in the arts, she worked on Wall Street for many years, just like her father had. Pam credits both parents for inspiring a delicate balance of business and creativity. Her father was the first in their family to attend college, and New York University at that. He never stopped fighting for himself, and Pam adopted that spirit to overcome the challenges of being a woman on Wall Street and then in technology. And now she knows exactly what she’s made of, Pam said. Continued on page 30 28 SYRACUSEWOMANMAG.COM

The The Food Food and and Wine Wine Edition Edition

Photography by Alice G. Patterson

What if we could create an entire platform, an entire world, that was driven by individual consumer preferences? What if we could do that? What would happen then?” — Pam Dillon, Wine Ring CEO and Co-founder

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COVER STORY Pam Dillon

A New Way in Wine continued from page 28 “My father is the business inspiration and the grit, and my mother is the cultural arts inspiration and the ability to see clearly my own sense of self and to give myself voice for that,” she said. Her mother had “complete command of the cultural arts,” Pam reminisced, adding that her mother — an English teacher who earned a Ph.D. from New York University at age 46 — insatiably read anything of interest. Although Pam inherited her mother’s love of culture and pursued a degree in the arts, her interest in technology eventually grew after she became familiar with the basic internet infrastructure during her Wall Street years. “We had, all the way back then, imagined what technology would be once it was truly integrated into consumer retail experiences and hospitality experiences,” Pam said. As the technology advanced, so did Pam’s career. Working as chief financial officer for The Pyramid Companies brought her to Syracuse in 2003, where she’s maintained residences since. She then dipped her foot deeper into the world of tech as co-founder and CEO of Vantage Ventures, a New York City-based company focusing on consumer retail concept development. This all culminated in the most important trip and realization of Pam’s life. From the experiences that introduced her to technology to those that brought her to Upstate New York, she was soon poised at the crux of her next great adventure and inspired with ideas that could turn the world of consumer retail on its head.

The Mendoza epiphany

Knowing that she needed a change in her life, Pam ventured to South America. The trip brought her to Mendoza, a region of wine country in western Argentina. An unusual place for vineyards, Mendoza is a desert, which means that the vines have to reach much farther into the ground to find water.

“Well, as it turns out, vines — like people — when they have to dig deeper, they find beautiful things,” Pam said. “And this area was very much up-and-coming, so I wanted to go visit it.” What she found was a culture much unlike anything she’d seen elsewhere. Although she’d appreciated wine since her first walkabout decades ago, Pam wasn’t unfamiliar with the intimidation that could accompany choosing a bottle of wine. Mendoza, however, was a community in which everyone was involved in the wine industry in one way or another. “Everybody knows all of the local wines. They’ve grown up with them, and they’ve grown up with wine,” she explained. “So wine doesn’t harbor any of the weight that it harbors in so many other places around the world.” Pam started thinking: what if she could take away that “psychological weight,” as she called it? What if she could bring this culture back home?

Creating Wine Ring

Like any good wine or idea, Pam let her thoughts breathe before taking action. Three days later, she was sure that she was on to something and called future Wine Ring co-founder Andrew Sussman. The duo had met when they both worked for The Pyramid Companies. “As she was describing what she was experiencing down in Argentina about wine and the wine world, and how she wanted to apply what we had been doing when we had worked together at Pyramid, it reminded me of what I had experienced in the golf world,” Andrew reminisced. He explained that golf had historically created an expensive, embarrassing, difficult, jargon-filled and at times exclusive culture — all characteristics he’d seen in the wine world, too. But in the beginning of the second half of the 2000s, the golf world went through a transformation, resulting in a more open and readily available activity. “It excited me, this idea of trying to do the same idea in the wine world,” he said, “to make it something that was more approachable to anybody.” For the first couple of years, they toyed with the idea of creating a physical space, something that Pam hasn’t dismissed as a long-term goal. “That was the original idea,” she said, “to create an environment of wine discovery that was completely unlike anything that anybody had ever seen.” At the beginning of the venture, Pam and her team consulted with hospitality and consumer retail companies, playing with the idea of personalizing technology to truly meet the needs of the individual consumer. As time progressed, the idea grew into “a B2C/B2B platform, connecting the wine industry with their consumers,” Pam explained, adding that the company’s first consumer product is the Wine Ring app. The idea and purpose of the app is elegantly simple: “All you have to do is taste something, and you ‘love,’ ‘like,’ ‘so-so,’ [or] ‘dislike,’”

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Pam explained. Snap a photo of the wine bottle and rather than attempt to pinpoint exactly what your taste buds do or don’t appreciate about it — “quite frankly, most people couldn’t properly self-describe their preferences in wine,” Pam added — you pick one of the four options. “It’s the one thing around which they have expertise that we never will, that’s truly personal,” Pam said. “And so the idea was what if we could create an entire platform, an entire world, that was driven by individual consumer preferences? What if we could do that? What would happen then?” Pam is the owner of five patents protecting the core of the technology behind the app, which could be applied to any consumer sensory product, she explained. They started with wine, but could easily expand the functionality to answer the same questions for gin, tequila, sake and tea, Pam listed. The company plans to eventually expand and become Ring IT, encompassing Wine Ring and other technologies. Right now, the app has the capabilities to recommend wines to an individual or group of people based on those love, like, so-so and dislike preferences. After Wine Ring learns your preferences from a handful of ratings, it builds a profile for you — think Pandora, but for wine. The system can work in reverse, too; enter a wine you’re unsure about, and the app can predict whether you’ll enjoy it. All the functionalities of the app were tested in an 18-month trial of 5,000 beta users at Vinomania on Pearl Street in Syracuse, Pam said. The app is currently in 81 countries around the world, and just about every state in the nation. Wine Ring is designed to not only be visually pleasing, but more importantly, instinctive and easy to use. “What has been absolutely spectacular is that we don’t just have a group of people, millennials, people who grew up with the technology,” Pam said. “And over time, that user interface is going to come alive.”

Rolling into the future

Looking at the merchant side of things, the Wine Ring team has been constructing the connecting piece of the “ring” in the past year or so. “And so, what does that mean? That means being able to capture all of the most important characteristics for all of the wines that are in the market,” Pam explained. Here’s a quick breakdown of the numbers: there are roughly 100,000 wines made every year, and at any given time, about a million in circulation, Pam said. Pam and her team are about halfway through cataloguing these wines into an inventory management system that will be available to anybody in the supply chain for wine, and also be the company’s opportunity to monetize without subjecting their users on the consumer side to ads. “We are completely independent, completely unbiased and impartial, and we wanted to maintain the sensibility of that, as well as the actuality of that,” she explained. Pam used the analogy of a car to describe the inventory system in relation to the consumer app: “It’s kind of like the tires on your car. … We built the motor very, very early on. We built what I think is a pretty sexy-looking chassis, if you look at the interface. … And now we needed the wheels,” she said. “Now we needed to be able to really deliver the functionality.” The wine market in the United States alone consists of half a million businesses. That equates to a huge opportunity for Pam and her team. “So we’re a small business now with great ambition, and a road to get there,” she said. “And now almost the wheels.” SWM To learn more about Wine Ring, visit winering.com.

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INSPIRE Erica Leubner

ERICA LEUBNER

Photography by Steven J. Pallone

Co-owner of Timâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Pumpkin Patch & farm family consultant at NY FarmNet

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A Family Labor of Love By Lorna Oppedisano

or Erica Leubner, there was no escaping fate: from her childhood After they got the business up and running and grew their on a small dairy farm to her current work as co-owner of Tim’s family, Erica eventually decided to get back into the field of social Pumpkin Patch and farm family consultant at NY FarmNet, work. About five years ago when her youngest enrolled in fulla deeply-ingrained love for agriculture undoubtedly played a role in day school, Erica started work as a farm family consultant at NY shaping her as a person. FarmNet. “I’m extremely passionate about agriculture,” Erica said, “There’s a huge need in agriculture right now for human resource “and raising three daughters on a farm and involved in agriculture management and family succession planning,” Erica explained, is very important.” referring to the countrywide issue. “And there’s a lack of services Although Erica’s parents raised her and her three sisters on their for that.” farm in Navarino — a small town about 10 minutes east of Tim’s She pointed out that in our state, however, NY FarmNet is really Pumpkin Patch — Erica was the only sibling to marry a farmer and making an impact. Created three decades ago during a farming crisis — “farmers were jumping off silos in the Midwest because stay in the business. But that wasn’t always her plan. they were losing their farms,” she explained — the organization When Erica began undergraduate studies at Le Moyne College, offered a hotline to distressed farmers. It’s grown to be much more she had aspirations of becoming a state trooper. The intrigue of law than that; NY FarmNet continues to offer help with personal issues, enforcement initially drew her to the courses. While at school, Erica but also covers financial, business and estate planning. participated in an internship with the Onondaga County Sheriff’s “Every person has a problem that we don’t know about, and every Department that consequently shaped her future. farm has a problem we don’t know about,” Erica said. “And those “One call that I was on, it was a sad case involving a family,” problems are what affect the business hugely.” she reminisced, “and I thought to myself, Her role as a farm family consultant is to ‘I don’t want to do this. I want to help these Learning the value of hard facilitate communication. It might sound people.’ At that time, I decided I wanted to get into social work.” simple, she said, but family and business don’t work—no one can ever take After she graduated from Le Moyne, always mix easily. Her work all boils down that away from you.” Erica worked at Catholic Charities, to that communication piece, she explained. but eventually realized that to advance Getting family members around the table —Erica Leubner, co-owner further in her field, she’d need a higher to really listen to and understand each other of Tim’s Pumpkin Patch degree. She returned to school, earning sometimes isn’t simple, but can result in a a master’s degree in social work from much more profitable business. and farm family consultant Syracuse University, and then started Disconnect between older and younger at NY FarmNet work at Cayuga Home for Children, generations can also cause issues between a residential treatment center in Auburn. family members. When she was 25 years old, life changed again. Erica became When she and her husband were younger, farms were much pregnant with her first child, and had a choice: would she continue less mechanized; with recent advances in technology, it’s hard for in the field of social work, or stay at home? She decided on the latter, young people to learn the lessons of physical labor like they did, and looking back, remarks that it was “a pretty awesome decision.” she explained. It gave the new parents a chance to grow Tim’s Pumpkin Patch At home in her role as a mother of three, she makes sure to beyond a small farm stand to the agritainment venue it is today. pass on those lessons to her daughters. “I always say to them that “Tim and I both grew up on farms. We were farm kids,” learning the value of hard work — no one can ever take that away Erica said. “There’s not too many places that you can go and not from you,” Erica said. SWM go in a bounce house or be on some amusement ride.” Tim’s Pumpkin Patch is located at 2901 Rose Hill Road, Marietta. Stay tuned She stressed that Tim’s Pumpkin Patch — which turns 30 years for their 30th year this fall by visiting timspumpkinpatch.com or following them on Facebook. old this fall — offers children and adults an authentic experience. It’s not a zoo. It’s not a mall. It’s a farm.

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INSPIRE Laura-Anne Minkoff-Zern

LAURA-ANNE MINKOFF-ZERN

Photography by Steven J. Pallone

Assistant professor of food studies at Syracuse Universityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Falk College

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Exploring the Crossroads of People and Food By Gabrielle Reagan

or Laura-Anne Minkoff-Zern, a typical day of research involves Furthering her research on food systems and sustainability, renting a car, driving through any given state, from field to Laura-Anne earned a Ph.D. in geography from the University of field — sometimes for hundreds of miles — visiting farms and California at Berkley before returning to Central New York. interviewing farmworkers, the majority of whom are immigrants. “I’m really happy to be back here,” Laura-Anne said. “This region has a lot of potential in terms of social movements and sustainability.” “If we want to grow our sustainable food movement, these are the people who already have the info on how to do it,” said Laura She’s now one of the four full-time professors in the newly-added Anne, assistant professor of food studies at Syracuse University’s food studies program at Syracuse University. Laura-Anne teaches Falk College. “For me, it’s a matter of seeing them not just as a selection of classes focused on the interactions between food and laborers, but as people.” racial justice, labor movements and transnational environmental and agricultural policy, including “Will Work for Food: Labor Her interest in environmental issues blossomed at a young age, Across the Food System” and “Feeding the World: A Global eventually landing the Maryland native at Cornell University in Agro-Food Governance.” Ithaca. Outside of class, she discovered the importance of access to The program offers both undergraduate and master’s options local farms and local food, a unique benefit of upstate New York living. But inside the classroom, the natural resources major quickly through Syracuse University’s David B. Falk College of Sport noticed a crucial element missing from the discussion: the role and Human Dynamics. The studies delve into the political of humanity. economy of food systems, including food policy, human rights, Laura-Anne turned her attention toward food and culture; food governance and food justice, according to the department. she was particularly interested in the ways people interact with The program aims to draw connections between food systems, food. At that time, there were no undergraduate programs for her sustainability, public health and urban and regional design particular interest, so Laura-Anne crafted her own degree. and planning. She graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in Food studies also has three full-time chefs — possessing decades sustainable agriculture and development and of experience between them — and a concentration in Latin American studies. a teaching kitchen. Outside of the After an internship at a permaculture students work with local This region has a lot of potential classroom, nonprofit in Guatemala, she left the organizations, farms and restaurants, east coast to work on an organic farm helping inspire change on a local level. in terms of social movements in California. With a diverse agriculture system, and sustainability” —Laura-Anne a long history of agrarianism and a “I wanted to head into the heart of where a particular type of agriculture Minkoff-Zern, assistant professor high number of small farms, Central production was happening,” Laura-Anne New York is a promising locale for food of food studies at Syracuse said. “What I saw were the many studies, Laura-Anne said. commonalities between the Guatemalan Balancing her personal and professional University’s Falk College life, Laura-Anne is expecting her second workers and the farmers I worked sidechild while working on her current by-side with in the fields of California. project. She’s currently doing fieldwork in five states — Virginia, That’s when I started seeing I could work on similar issues with New York, California, Minnesota and Washington — for her immigrants here.” upcoming book, “The New American Farmer: Immigration, Race, Working alongside these farmers in California, Laura-Anne began to notice a link between sustainable agriculture and our own and the Struggle for Sustainability.” immigrant labor force. “Immigrant farmers combine the knowledge Continuing to explore the role of Latinos as farmer-entrepreneurs they bring from Latin American subsistence farms with the skills in agriculture today, Laura-Anne is giving a voice to immigrant they acquire working in industrial agriculture in the U.S.,” Laurafarmers across the country, many of whom have struggled against Anne explained. multiple forms of inequality to become small-scale farm owners, While not commonly identified as part of the growing aspiring to be more than just a labor force. SWM alternative food movement, many of these immigrants are using low-impact farming practices. Although their methods aren’t technically certified organic, the farmers are growing in a way that has gained the attention of many. But despite doing the majority of food work in the U.S. — from tending crops to packing If you want to learn more about Laura-Anne or the Department of produce to washing dishes — migrant farmworkers continue to Public Health, Food Studies & Nutrition at Syracuse University, be overlooked as contributors to today’s national and global agrovisit www.falk.syr.edu. food system.

July 2016

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Summer in Skaneateles

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Summer fun in Skaneateles in July!

July 1 ~First Friday - Live Music 7 p.m. July 8, 9 ~Antique and Artisans Show and Sale Skaneateles United Methodist Church July 15 ~ Art4skarts - First Annual Juried Art Show and Sale July 16 ~ Frog Catching Party at Phillips Pond July 21, 22 & 23 ~ Curbstone Festival & Sidewalk Sales July 22 ~ Duck Dash on Skaneateles Creek July 29, 30 & 31 ~ Antique and Classic Boat Show July 2016

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RECIPES

Thai Mussels Submitted by Sarah Chapman, executive chef at Prison City Pub and Brewery Ingredients: 1/2 lb mussels 1 tbsp minced garlic 1 tbsp minced ginger 3 cups chicken or vegetable stock 1 can (13.5 ounces) coconut milk 1 bunch of scallions 1/2 bunch of cilantro Curried simple syrup: 1 cup sugar 1 cup water 2 tbsp curry powder Make the broth: Start the garlic and ginger in a large sauce pan with a touch of oil. Sauté until slightly caramel in color. Add the chicken or vegetable stock and bring to a boil.. Add the coconut milk. Bring back to a simmer and then add the herbs. Take off the heat and rest.

Curried simple syrup: Put sugar and water in a pot and bring to a boil. Add the curry powder and let simmer until it coats the back of a spoon. Reserve. Take the mussels and put in a sauté pan. Add about 4 ounces of the broth. Cover and cook until all the mussels have opened. Place mussels in a serving bowl and drizzle the curry simple syrup over the top. Garnish with cilantro and scallion. Try pairing with a white wine, like a riesling. Prison City Pub and Brewery is located at 28 State St., Auburn. To learn more, visit prisoncitybrewing.com.

Lemon Pound Cake

Submitted by Colleen Guynup and Sean Murphy of Murphy’s Specialized Pastry Yield: 1 standard loaf pan

Ingredients:

Creaming method:

3.6 ounces butter 3.6 ounces shortening 9 ounces cream cheese 13.8 ounces sugar 6 eggs .05 ounce vanilla 9.5 ounces all-purpose flour .25 ounce baking powder .1 ounce salt 3 ounces lemon juice

Mix butter, shortening and cream cheese with sugar until smooth. Mix and sift dry ingredients. Alternate adding eggs with dry ingredients into fat and sugar mixture, scraping the bowl as you go. Add the lemon juice last. Butter and flour a loaf pan. Bake at 350° F for about an hour, until knife inserted comes out clean. Murphy’s Specialized Pastry is located at 240 W. Seneca St., Manlius. For more information, visit murphyspastry.com.

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July 2016

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RECIPES

Poached Shrimp Salad with Spring Vegetables

Submitted by Joshua Selbach, executive chef at Pascale Italian Bistro/Justin’s Grill Total Time: 15 mins. | Prep: 10 mins. | Cook: 5 mins. | Serves: 4-5 Ingredients: 2 lb raw shrimp, peeled and deveined, tail off 1 lb sugar snap peas, blanched 1 lb cherry or grape tomatoes, halved 4 ripe Hass avocados 3 English cucumbers, seeded/diced 1 cup sour cream  lb feta cheese, crumbled  cup fresh lemon juice  cup extra virgin olive oil Make the avocado cream: Slice avocados in half length-wise. Remove the nut and scoop the flesh into a mixing bowl. Add sour cream,  cup lemon juice and a pinch of salt. Stir to combine.

Prepare the shrimp and snap peas: Bring small pot of salted water to a boil. Add sugar snap peas to boiling water for a minute. Transfer snap peas to ice water bath. Add shrimp to boiling water for 2 min., or until tightly curled. Transfer to ice water bath with snap peas. Make the salad: In a separate bowl, mix together cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, extra virgin olive oil,  cup fresh lemon juice and a pinch of salt. Combine the shrimp and sugar snap peas. Mix. Serve: Spread the avocado cream across the plate. Place contents of mixing bowl onto avocado cream. Top with crumbled feta cheese. Pascale Italian Bistro is located at 800 Nottingham Road. For more information, visit pascaledrumlins.com.

Chipotle Ranch Dressing Submitted by Terri Webb, co-owner at Olive’s Eatery

Ingredients: 16 oz Hellman’s mayonnaise 16 oz buttermilk  packet dry ranch dressing mix  can chipotle peppers (add more for more zing)

How to: Mix all ingredients in a food processer and enjoy over your favorite southwest salad.

Olive’s Eatery is located at 25 Syracuse St., Baldwinsville. The restaurant usually pairs this dressing with its seasonal southwest salad. For more information, visit oliveseaterybville.com.

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July 2016

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RECIPES

Seafood Tacos

Submitted by Jessica Capels, head baker at Pastabilities

Marinade ingredients: 1 chipotle in adobo  tsp cumin 1 tsp kosher salt 1 tbsp soy sauce ¾ cup orange juice  tsp ground pepper  tsp granulated garlic  tsp all spice

Taco ingredients:

1 lb of cod, haddock or talapia  pound of shrimp 3 tbsp vegetable or coconut oil Corn or flour tortillas

marinade in a blender and puree until smooth. Set aside. Chop the fish and shrimp into bite-sized pieces and then toss them in the marinade. Refrigerate for one to two hours. When you are ready to cook, drain the marinated seafood. Heat the oil and sauté the seafood. Put the seafood on warm tortillas. Top with your favorite garnishes. I like cilantro, diced avocado, pickled onions and a lime wedge! Pastabilities is located at 311 S. Franklin St. For more information, visit pastabilities.com.

How to:

Put all ingredients for the

Wild-Caught Salmon Burgers with Asian Slaw on Homemade Foccacia Submitted by DeAnna Germano, owner and chef at Chef4rent Burger ingredients (yields six):

2 lb side of wild-caught salmon, small diced 2 tbsp garlic  onion, small diced 2 egg yolks 3 tbsp fresh dill  to  cup bread crumbs 1 tbsp pepper

Asian slaw ingredients:

 head green cabbage, chiffonade  head red cabbage, chiffonade 2 carrots, shaved 1 onion, shaved 1 cup aioli 2 tbsp siracha 1 tbsp soy  tbsp lime juice

Foccacia ingredients (yields  sheet tray):

1 cup water, about 90 to 110° F 1 tbsp yeast 1 tsp sugar 1 tbsp garlic 1 tbsp oregano 1 tbsp basil 2 tbsp oil 1 tsp salt 2¾ cups all-purpose flour

Make the slaw:

Cut or shave all vegetables very thin. In a separate bowl, combine the aioli, siracha, soy and lime juice to create a dressing for the vegetables. Pour dressing over the vegetables.

Make the foccocia:

Add oil, yeast, sugar and water and allow to sit in a bowl for about 10 minutes, until yeast begins to foam. Add seasonings and flour, mixing on low speed. Add salt. Mix on medium to high speed about 10 minutes, until a soft ball of dough is formed. Remove from the bowl.

The finishing touches:

Rest dough for 20 minutes covered, and allow to rise. Once it has risen, place on a  sheet pan and roll out the dough to fit the pan fully. Dough can rest overnight in the fridge at this point, or can be proofed to be baked. To proof, allow to rest about 40 minutes at a warm temperature of 110°F, covered. Once doubled in size, cook at 375°F for 12 minutes, until golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped on top.

Make the burgers:

Add seasonings and egg yolks to small-diced For more information on Chef4rent, salmon. Add  cup breadcrumbs. Form into visit facebook.com/cheffourrent. patties. Add more breadcrumbs if too sticky.

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RECIPES

Roasted Cauliflower and Whitebean Soup

Submitted by Cherri Hassett, owner of Soup R Salads Ingredients:  cup olive oil  cup vegetable oil 1 large head of cauliflower 2 tbsp fresh chopped garlic 2 cups diced carrots 2 cups diced celery 2 cups diced white onion  tsp salt 1 tsp pepper 3 small cans (15.5 ounces) great northern white beans (drained & rinsed) 3 cups heavy cream 6 cups vegetable stock 1 tsp thyme  cup cornstarch  cup water

This recipe is gluten-free and vegetarian.

How to: Cut cauliflower into small pieces. Place in a bowl and toss with olive oil, 1 tablespoon garlic, salt and  teaspoon pepper. Place on a tray to roast in the oven at 350°F for 30 to 40 minutes, until slightly brown and tender. In an 8-quart pot, add together vegetable oil, 1 tablespoon fresh garlic, carrots, onions and celery. Sauté until tender, then add white beans, heavy cream, roasted cauliflower, vegetable stock, thyme, pepper and salt to taste. Bring to a boil. Mix cornstarch and water together, then add to boiling soup until thickened. Soup R Salads is located at 308 S. Warren St., Syracuse. For more information, visit facebook.com/souprsalads.

Sea Salt and Beer Vinegar Potatoes Submitted by Abigail Henson, founder of LoFo

Chef’s note: This is slow food at it’s finest. The vinegar will take about three weeks as per Chef Luke Szabo’s recommendation. Post the three-week mark, flavors will only continue to accumulate. Beer vinegar ingredients: A growler of your favorite local beer 16 oz of Braggs Apple Cider Vinegar Cheese cloth

gentle swirls, and put it in a dark place that hovers in the 65° temperature range. Drink your glass of beer and wait patiently for a minimum of three weeks.

Salt potato ingredients: 4 lb bag “salt” potatoes (yukon gold or new potatoes work best) 1 cup of beer vinegar 1 cup Kreimheld butter, melted 1 cups sea salt

Make the salt potatoes: Fill a large pot with water and place on heat. Add sea salt, stir until salt is dissolved in warm water. Add potatoes to pot, making sure they are submerged. Bring to a boil, turn heat down and simmer for about 12 to 15 minutes until fork tender. Strain, put back in pot. In small saucepan melt butter, add beer vinegar, whisk together and pour over potatoes, gently tossing them to coat potatoes. Transfer to large bowl and get to the party.

Make the beer vinegar: Pour 16 ounces of beer into glass. Pour 16 ounces of vinegar into growler. Cover opening of growler with a piece of cheese cloth and a rubber band. Give it a couple

For more information on LoFo, visit lofosyracuse.com.

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UPCOMING SWM Events Wednesdays in July Sunrise Yoga When: 6:30 to 7:30 a.m. What: Outdoor yoga hosted by Metro Fitness Club. Bring a mat. Cost: Free. Where: Clinton Square, Syracuse. Info: getmetrofit.com. Wednesdays in July Funky Jazz Wednesdays When: 6 to 9 p.m. What: Live music by Dave Hanlonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Funky Jazz Band. Where: Greenwood Winery & Bistro, 6475 Collamer Road, E. Syracuse. Info: greenwoodwinery.com. Saturday, July 2 Meet the Syracuse Doula Chicks When: 11 a.m. What: Free info section about doula care. Where: Simpson Family Wellness, 309 Kasson Road #1, Camillus. Info: Registration recommended, syracusedoulachicks@gmail.com; (716) 532-1999.

Saturday, July 9 & Sunday, July 10 Lavender Festival When: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days. What: U-pick lavender bouquets, food, local art, market, presentations and more. Cost: Free admission. Where: Lockwood Lavender Farm, 1682 W. Lake Road, Skaneateles. Info: fingerlakeslavenderfestival.blogspot.com. Sunday, July 10 City Market When: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. What: Monthly market features antiques, art and more. Where: Armory Square, Syracuse. Info: citymarketsyracuse.com. Tuesday, July 12 Coffee & Conversation When: 8 to 9:30 a.m. What: HerPath to Success networking and consulting event. Cost: Free admission. Where: Taste of The World, 193 W. First St., Oswego. Info: Register at herpath2successpowerbreakfast.eventbrite.com.

Thursday, July 7 through Sunday, July 10 Middle Eastern Cultural Festival When: 4 to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday; noon to 10 p.m. Saturday; noon to 6 p.m. Sunday. What: Includes food, dance, marketplace and more. Where: St. Elias Orthodox Church, 4988 Onondaga Road, Syracuse. Info: sainteliasny.com.

Thursday, July 14 Tech Meets Taste When: 5 to 8 p.m. What: Presented by SyracuseFirst and CenterState CEO. Includes networking, local food samples and more. Cost: $10, includes one drink ticket. Where: The Technology Garden, 235 Harrison St., Syracuse. Info: CenterState CEO, centerstateceo.com.

Friday, July 8 & Saturday, July 9 NYS Blues Festival When: Begins at 3 p.m. Friday, noon Saturday; check online for schedule. What: Variety of live blues music including headliners Sister Sparrow & The Dirty Birds and Butch Trucks & The Freight Train Band. Cost: Free admission. Where: Clinton Square, Syracuse. Info: nysbluesfest.com.

Friday, July 15 through Sunday, July 17 Syracuse Nationals When: 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday. What: Largest car show in the northeast. Cost: Adult, $18; ages 6 to 12, $8; ages 5 and younger, free. Where: NYS Fairgrounds, Syracuse. Info: rightcoastcars.com.

Saturday, July 9 Salt City Walk for Epilepsy When: 9 to 11 a.m. What: Hosted by Epilepsy-Pyralid, Inc. Emceed by Amy Robbins. Includes activities, walk and more. Cost: $5/person; $15/family; benefits epilepsy services in CNY. Where: Long Branch Park, Syracuse. Info: Mary Nicholas, mnicholas@epiny.org. 52

Friday, July 15 through Sunday, July 17 Finger Lakes Wine Festival When: 5 p.m. Friday; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. What: Features more than 80 local wineries, as well as artisans, live music, food, culinary classes and cooking demos. Cost: One-day taster pass: $45 in advance; $50 at the door. Two-day taster pass: $50 in advance; $55 at the door. One-day designated driver admission, $25. Where: 2790 County Route 16, Watkins Glen. Info: flwinefest.com.

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Sunday, July 17 Come Together: We Will Find a Cure When: Gates at 1 p.m.; concert, 2:45 p.m. What: Performance by The Mersey Beatles, food, drinks, raffles and more. John Lennon’s sister Julia Baird to be in attendance. Benefits Carol M. Baldwin Breast Cancer Research Fund of CNY. Cost: $21 in advance; $30 at the door. Where: Springside Inn, 6141 W. Lake Road, Auburn. Info: CMB Breast Cancer Research Fund, findacure.org. Wednesday, July 20 through Tuesday, July 26 ArtsWeek When: Times vary daily. What: Features programs of visual and performing arts. Where: Various downtown locations including Columbus Circle, Hanover Square and Clinton Square. Info: downtownsyracuse.com/syracuse-arts-and-crafts-festival/ syracuse-artsweek. Thursday, July 21 through Sunday, July 24 Barn Sale 2016 When: 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day. What: Up to 80 percent off ceramics, enamelware, glassware, furniture, lighting, rugs, holiday and more. Where: MacKenzie-Childs, 3260 State Route 90, Aurora. Info: mackenzie-childs.com/barnsale. Friday, July 22 Believe in Syracuse Progress Gala When: 6:30 p.m. What: Includes cocktail hour, dinner, live entertainment, dancing, networking, keynote speaker Sean Kirst and more. Cost: $100 per person; two tickets, $190; table sponsor (10 tickets and recognition), $1,000. Where: Marriott Syracuse Downtown, 100 E. Onondaga St., Syracuse Info: believeinsyracuse.org. Friday, July 22 through Sunday, July 24 Great American Antiquefest When: Noon to 4 p.m. Friday; 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday; 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. What: Features variety of antique dealers from across the country. Cost: $7 per day; weekend pass, $8; ages 11 and younger, free; free parking. Where: Onondaga Lake Park, 3813 Longbranch Road, Liverpool. Info: allmanpromotions.com/Antiquefest.html. Saturday, July 23 WBOC Summer Fun with the Syracuse Chiefs When: 7 to 10 p.m. What: Evening includes game and fireworks in section 116. Cost: $10. Where: NBT Bank Stadium, 1 Tex Simone Drive, Syracuse. Info: wboconnection.org/event-2260415.

Saturday, July 23 Élan Hair Artistry Open House When: 3 to 7 p.m. What: Live music, door prizes, light refreshments. Where: 4866 W. Seneca Turnpike, Syracuse. Info: facebook.com/Elanhairartistry. Sunday, July 24 Sarah’s Guest House Golf Tournament When: Registration & lunch, 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.; shotgun start, 1 p.m.; dinner, approximately 6:30 p.m. What: Annual event in memory of Billy Johnson and Fred Eisenberg to support Sarah’s Guest House operations. Cost: $125 per person; $500 per foursome; dinner only, $40. Where: The Pompey Club, 7200 Hamilton Road, Pompey. Info: sarahsguesthouse.org. Tuesday, July 26 Women & Wealth: Tips for Success When: 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. What: HerPath to Success lunch and learn event. Cost: Free admission. Where: PathFinder Bank, 109 W. Fayette St., Syracuse. Info: Call Leisha Dukat, 663-1712. Wednesday, July 27 through Saturday, July 30 QuiltWeek When: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday through Friday; 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. What: Includes award-winning quilt makers and instructors, vendors and more. Cost: $14 per day. Where: The Oncenter, 800 S. State St., Syracuse. Info: quiltweek.com/syracuse. Friday, July 29 & Saturday, July 30 Northeast Jazz & Wine Festival What: Celebration of fine music, food, drink and food. Look online for more details. Cost: Free admission. Where: Clinton Square, Syracuse. Info: nejazzwinefest.org. Friday, July 29 through Sunday, July 31 Syracuse Arts & Crafts Festival When: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. What: Features more than 160 artists representing 30 states and Canada. Cost: Free admission. Where: Columbus Circle, Syracuse. Info: downtownsyracuse.com/syracuse-arts-and-crafts-festival.

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