Your favorite fall crop, and event
Good day dear readers. I'm Gail Ciampa, Journal food and dining editor.
It's so amazing how mother nature seems to turn a switch once September arrives. I know we will have many more warm days before we turn on the heat, but the nights are already cool. It's glorious.
Fall will bring something special back to the food and drink scene - The Providence Journal Critic's Choice! Tickets won't go on sale for 11 more days but save the date, Thursday, Nov. 17. It will be in a larger venue at the Crowne Plaza in Warwick at 5:30 p.m. I promise it will be the best way to welcome the holiday season. Next week the invites go out to my favorite restaurants, bakeries, breweries, wineries, distilleries, ice cream shops and chocolatiers. More than 75 of them will be sampling their best for all of us. I can't wait to share more news in the coming weeks.
After the summer with all the heat waves, I was a bit shocked to see orchards posting on social media that apple picking had begun at many farms in R.I. on Labor Day weekend. I called around for more informaton and learned that the late August rains helped the harvest along. Even the torrential rains of Monday helped ripen the crop, they said.
Here are the first three spots that noted good crops in case you want to get started during the week, and not wait for the weekend.
Sunset Orchard Farm in North Scituate
In North Scituate at 244 Gleaner Chapel Rd., (401) 934-1900, sunsetorchardsri.com, Sunset Orchards has several varieties of apples ready for picking, including Gala and Jonamac. They also have pick-your-own peaches. They are open daily, and September hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Jaswell’s Farm in Smithfield
Pick-your-own apples has begun at Jaswell's, located at 50 Swan Rd., Smithfield, (401) 231-9043, on Facebook. No reservations needed. Their store is also open and stocked with fruits, vegetables, their cider doughnuts, cookies and pies. Learn more at jaswellsfarm.com.
Barden Family Orchard in North Scituate
McIntosh, Gala and Honeycrisp apples are ready for picking at 56 Elmdale Rd., North Scituate, (401) 934-1413. Pumpkins are in the yard, too. Updates can be found on their Facebook page, not their former website. New hours for the harvest season are Monday to Thursday 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and Friday, Saturday, Sunday and holidays 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Picking fields close 45 minutes to an hour before closing time.
I think apples, pumpkins and peaches when I think fall harvest. But I read a story that suggests the nation's most popular autumn crop is - wait for it - garlic.
It's true in Rhode Island, Vermont and New Hampshire. I'm a bit surprised. But I'm more shocked that Massachusetts biggest fall crop is collard greens. Excuse me? Didn't Johnny Appleseed start in Leominster, Massachusetts and plant all those apple trees? Who is famous for planting collard greens?
The research for this study was conducted by gardening experts AllAboutGardening.com. They analyzed Google Trends data to establish the fall crop that has highest search volume for ‘how to grow’ it in each American state in the past five years.
So, garlic is popular for what is growing in people's home gardens, not the crop bringing in profits for big farms and orchards.
The analysis revealed that garlic had the highest number of states searching for it the most out of any fall crop, with a total of twelve American states, including Delaware, Wyoming, New York and Hawaii. Not all those states jive with the expert revelation that garlic is a true lover of cold weather.
But I love any story that tells how people live. If Rhode Islanders are planting garlic, good for them. We all need a little seasoning.
Is your September calendar filling up? There are so many big events planned.
You can make a big difference for a young food business by voting for the winner of the Sam Adams Brewing the American Dream contest on Saturday.
More: RI's culinary incubator gala features RI's best up-and-coming chefs. How you can attend
The Rhode Island Seafood Festival will be held at India Point Park in Providence, 263 India St., on Saturday, Sept. 10 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday, Sept. 11 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tickets currently cost $10 a day or both days for $15. It's at the foot of the Providence Pedestrian Bridge with tons of food and drink available for purchase. The ticket cost covers admission and music
The Narragansett Chamber of Commerce hosts the sixth annual Rhode Island Calamari Festival Saturday Sept. 10, noon to 6 p.m. at Veteran Park, which is adjacent to The Towers in Narragansett. General admission tickets cost $15 while children under 12 attend for free. Find more information and buy tickets in advance, at narragansettcoc.com and link to Eventbrite.
This weekend is also the big Cranston Greek Festival.
More: Dig into some classic Greek food, and culture, as this weekend festival
On Thursday Sept. 15, join me and the other attendees at the launch of Blue Velvet Bourbon at the Industrious Spirit Company in Providence. I adore this place and the folks who make their spirits.
Read my story about this totally unique spirit and tell me you don't want to try it, and win a robe at the raffle.
More: How to taste Blue Velvet, a new bourbon released by a craft distillery in Providence
My colleague Amy Russo has shared all the food fun that will be at Lorraine Mills this weekend in Pawtucket.
More: Amy's Rhode: International bites only a drive away at Pawtucket food festival
Just around the corner is RI VegFest, the vegan festival, hosting VegtoberFest at Trinity Beer Garden, at Biltmore Park in downtown Providence, on Saturday, Sept. 17. Rain date is Sept. 18. Tickets for 4 p.m., the last of three sessions, are still available but will sell out. Buy them online at rivegfest.com.
Speaking of plant-based restaurants, I'd like to introduce you to two news ones which just happen to be less than a mile apart in Bristol. I'm going to keep talking about different diets that limit meat because they are tasty and good for you. Yes, I am your mother.
But you don't need a spoonful of sugar to make the food go down at Foglia or Basil & Bunny. Read all about their delicious foods.
More: Two new plant-based restaurants offer comfort food and much more for vegans and skeptics
Pay attention to Pawtucket Restaurant Week, not just because it means there are restaurant deals, but also because there are events that feature pizza and empanadas. Aren't those two of your favorite things?
If you haven't been to Shish Kabob yet, it's time you get transported at this Persian restaurant on Smithfield Ave.
Restaurants with Caribbean or Portuguese dishes and other ethnic specialties fill up the Pawtucket streets. This is the week you give one of them a try.
More: Pawtucket Restaurant Week has 2 special events you won't want to miss
On Sunday, I'll be talking about Sunday Dinners at the Italian American Historical Society of Rhode Island event in Cranston. Preparing for my talk has me going down memory lane.
My children will tell you that their Italian mother won’t be happy until she feeds everyone to the point of bursting. They aren’t wrong.
But they have to understand I grew up with Sunday Dinners.
It was a holiday meal every week. The table was crowded. The crowd was loud and the table was full.
There was homemade pasta, soups, and gravy with so many meats – not just meatballs, but also bresola and pork chops and sausage. There was eggplant parmesan and artichokes. There was the big plate of fruit and the bowl of nuts with nutcrackers.
There were plates of Italian cookies and the dessert boxes with ricotta pie and cannoli and my favorite, lobster tails.
I don’t remember there being any of what my Nana called "American food" at our Sunday Dinners. I think I was in high school before I saw my first potato salad.
Some of these dinners were great fun, if I was at a fun cousin's house who would make me up with all her lipsticks and eye shadows. But, if they were where there were no other kids my age, it would be the longest day of my life.
That's all I have to say for now, dear readers. But I do want to share a photo I took with my daughter and granddog Wanda. We had a fine farewell to summer, though Wanda does worry about my driving sometimes.
We were parked when we took the photo so no Wandas were harmed in the taking of this picture.
See you next week. And remember, if you enjoy our time here, tell a friend to sign up here to receive my weekly newsletter, Gail's Food Feed.
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: The Journal's Critic Choice event is back on Nov. 17 in Warwick
