Unlocking the secrets of farm-to-table food

SALISBURY — Locally sourced foods are among the great joys of the rural life, but they often leave home cooks wondering what to do with, for example, kale or kohlrabi, or how to cook grass-fed beef. 

On Thursday, July 10, Noble Horizons and the Scoville Memorial Library co-hosted an event with Andy Cox, the general manager and director of sustainability for the dining services at The Hotchkiss School. Before a large and keenly interested audience, he prepared a meal from locally grown produce and grass-fed beef.

By the time the presentation began, all the chairs were filled. Men and women sat with pens and papers in hand, hoping to take new techniques home with them.

Cox focused more on how-to than on specific recipes. The steaks he used came from Whippoorwill Farm in Salisbury and the vegetables from Chubby Bunny Farm in Falls Village. Robin Cockerline of Whippoorwill Farm was on hand to help with the cooking. At moments when Cox was busy, chopping, slicing, seasoning or cooking, Cockerline talked about CSA farms and about grass-fed beef and fresh farm eggs. 

She extolled the virtues of Dan and Tracy Hayhurst of Chubby Bunny, and encouraged all to invest in a share at the farm. 

“You get such a beautiful variety of vegetables, and it encourages you to eat more healthily,” Cockerline said.

She and Cox both said that a full share produces an extreme abundance of delicious edibles — including some mysterious foods such as kohlrabi and kale, which Cox used in a simple slaw. He also made an arugula pesto sauce. After cleaning a bit of the fat off the steak, he seasoned it lightly with salt and pepper, then grilled it for about three minutes on each side. Then he made sandwiches with pesto and steak, with the slaw on the side.

The next Farm to Table cooking events will be held on Friday, Aug. 15, with Tim Cocheo of Number 9 in Millerton; and on Saturday, Sept. 13, with Brandon Scimeca of Lakeville’s Interlaken Inn.

To register, go to www.noblehorizons.org or call 860-435-2838. Registration helps ensure there is enough food for everyone to sample.