Cook Your Best Veggie Recipe, Win a Ticket to Let Us Eat Local, and Have it Published in Just Food’s Tipsheet

It’s back to school time in the city, and it’s my favorite season for eating. Pumpkins and other winter squashes are fattening on the vine while heirloom tomatoes and outdoor barbecues are still going strong. It’s no wonder Just Food has chosen this time of year to hold its annual fundraiser feast, Let Us Eat Local. This year’s party is on September 16th, and it’ll be outside, at the South Street Seaport Water Taxi Beach. And it’s truly going to be the biggest, best, most delicious and inspiring one so far. I’d love for you to see in person. So once again, I’m holding a recipe contest where one food blogger will win a ticket, and more!

Last year, I called on bloggers to make a recipe focused on seasonal ingredients in order to win. This time, you’ll have a choice of which seasonal ingredient to use. Choose one veggie from the list to focus your recipe on (it can have other ingredients, too). Make it fresh and different, totally your own. And blog about it, sometime between now and September 10th. Be sure to take photos so that the judges can imagine eating the dish. Email me with the subject line “veggie tipsheets contest” to make sure that I know it’s up in the blogosphere, and I’ll pass it on to our judges (more on them below). If your recipe wins, you’ll get a general admission ticket to the Let Us Eat Local tasting event (a $175 value, tax-refundable), plus, your recipe will be included in Just Food’s upcoming Veggie Tipsheets book.

Just Food been working hard to provide home cooks like us with recipes and tips on how to use all the veggies you’ll see in season, or that’ll show up from your CSA. We realize there can be a mystery element to every batch. So they’re compiling them in a comprehensive book. Maybe you have a real flair for cooking eggplant, but are confused when it comes to okra. Pooling our ideas, we should be able to hit every ingredient in all sorts of delicious ways. The cookbook is looking for more recipes for the following fruits and veggies, so please choose one of the following to base your recipe on as your contest submission:

Plums
Blueberries
Currants
Nectarines
Elderberries
Harukei turnip (aka Japanese salad turnips)
Komatsuna
Lettuce
Orengo
Yukina savoy

There are your secret ingredients! Now, here are your honorable judges:

Jacquie Berger, Executive Director, Just Food: Jacquie is just the best. For a title with the word “executive” in it, she makes every part of her job look fun. And every member of the small staff at Just Food does every job all the time, so it won’t be a surprise to see her sitting table at a food fair or stuffing envelopes over homemade snacks at an office party.

Gabrielle Langholtz, Editor-in-Chief, Edible Manhattan & Edible Brooklyn: Gabrielle has been writing about and working for food in this city for decades. A former director for the Greenmarket and current editor of an even smaller organization than Just Food (the Edible magazines), she is a total hardworking hero. Good cook, too.

Rachel Wharton, Deputy Editor, Edible Manhattan & Edible Brooklyn: Fresh from winning a James Beard award for her “Back of the House” features in the magazine, Rachel is the spokeswoman for food in this town. She would also like to bike to Coney Island, drink vodka on the boardwalk and eat Russian food tonight.

Ben Sargent, Brooklyn Chowder Surfer & Lobster Roll Guy: Ben has been on a roll lately, with food gigs and more fun stuff in the works based on his wildly successful underground lobster roll-making circuit this past winter. He’s also the host of Heritage Radio Network’s Catch It, Cook It, Eat It, and a surfer. I’ve been a longtime fan of his adventures by land and sea.

So without further delay, let’s get blogging! Remember, the deadline to post your recipe is September 10th, and don’t forget to email me at cathy[at]noteatingoutinny.com, too. I’ll post a recap of every entry soon afterward with the winner announced.

If you’re not a blogger or simply can’t make it to the Let Us Eat Local event in NYC on the 16th, you can still partake in the good food celebration. We’ll be announcing a lineup of incredible prizes for the silent auction that will take place before, and during the fundraiser party. These will be posted to the Just Food site, and your money for winning any auction item will be donated straight to Just Food. Check out more about the festivities, and participating restaurants and sponsors here. Inside tip: Sixpoint will be brewing a beer made with Red Jacket Orchards‘ plums just for the event!