Recently, and for the second year in a row, I was asked to be the judge in a pie bake-off contest at the Harvest Festival held at Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture in beautiful Pocantico Hills, New York. It was great fun, the pies were yummy, and the weather was spectacular. I even got to go carriage riding with David Rockefeller!
Stone Barns Center is a wonderful place developed by David Rockefeller Sr. and his family. These interconnected Norman-style farm buildings were originally built by John D. Rockefeller in the early 1930s, and the entire complex has been completely restored for this project. The mission of this nonprofit farm is to teach and promote sustainable, community-based food production. Open to the public all year long, visitors can learn about this organic farm and all its special techniques of producing crops and livestock. When it gets too cold to grow crops outdoors at Stone Barns, they move operations indoors in a special greenhouse designed by Eliot Coleman, who is an expert on four-season farming. This amazing and efficient greenhouse requires very little heat, mostly utilizing energy from the sun.
Stone Barns Center also houses Blue Hill at Stone Barns, a three-star restaurant that I just love, run by Dan Barber. Here you can dine on really delicious food grown on that farm and other local Hudson Valley farms, as well. Try it if you're ever in the area and if you can, visit the farm center, too.
This is the original dairy barn beautifully restored and transformed into a learning center for sustainable agriculture and a three-star restaurant:
Yumm...Guests were served traditional Stone Barns spit-roasted Berkshire Hogs raised at the center.
It’s always a pleasure to see David Rockefeller Sr.
4-year-old Ty Amsterdam wins first place in the pie contest for his chocolate mudpie. He really loved the microphone!
Little Ty’s mudpie:
Fancy schmantzy:
Some of the other pies:
More pies, and I got to taste each one!!!
Fields and fields of healthy organic food at the peak of the harvest season:
In this organic greenhouse, produce is sown and grown right in the ground in richly composted fertile soil:
Lovely Stone Barns and silos:
David Rockefeller and I enjoying the afternoon in his carriage:
Breathtaking views of the Hudson River:
Guests and their carriages:
Good Morning Martha,
What a nice field trip for a Saturday morning and here I thought I was only going to the post office!
Thanks for the great views including the restored buildings, all of the tasty pies, and the fabulous greenhouse and luscious fields. I applaud the Rockefellers for turning that property into something so useful rather than destroying those beautiful structures. Thanks to you, other people will also see what they have done. Thanks for the awakening.
Trish
Posted by: Trish | October 27, 2007 at 11:46 AM
Wonderful pics.! Those pies look very yummy. Makes me want to make some!
Posted by: Bethie | October 27, 2007 at 02:20 PM
Martha,
What a magnificent stone barn! Thanks for sharing these photos...they are lovely.
Posted by: Norine Molnar | October 27, 2007 at 02:34 PM
Oh, just to sample each of those pies would make the trip worth it! ;)
Gorgeous scenery, too, and those barns are incredible.
Posted by: Lara | October 27, 2007 at 02:38 PM
This sounds like the perfect Autumn day! Thank you for sharing all of your adventures!
Posted by: Mischa | October 27, 2007 at 02:39 PM
I wish I was there! not for the food but to meet you ;)
Lovely pictures too.
tfs ;)
Posted by: Dayami | October 27, 2007 at 04:27 PM
Great pictures, that barn is beautiful. I made the chocolate pecan that was one of the winners last year that you had on the show and it was so good! Hope to see some of these winners on your show again.
Posted by: Claudine | October 27, 2007 at 05:16 PM
Dear martha,the pictures that you took on oct.,showing the stone barn and the beautiful pictures of the autumn colors of the area where you took them are truly great!I really enjoyed them.
peace,a friend
Posted by: Carfmen brown | October 27, 2007 at 08:02 PM
Gorgeous blog, Martha!
One of the best things about what you do MUST be the taste testing!! Ty's pie looks delicious! Mud pies (and Mudslides!) are among my tastebuds' favourite things.
The stone barns and silos are inspirational as agricultural architecture and so beautiful. If only there was more promotion of sustainable, community-based food production going on. An article on 'allotment gardening' would be wonderful in MSL magazine. Many urban areas in Europe (especially Germany) benefit from these programs. North American cities are catching on, but slowly.
Looking forward to reading more about the happenings in your book of days.
-Andrew Ritchie (Ottawa, Canada)
Posted by: Andrew R | October 27, 2007 at 10:20 PM
Hi Martha, Wow! What gorgeous photos! It certainly looks like you were having a great time. How many pies did you taste?! I sure wish I lived in that area because it would be so wonderful to visit Stone Barns and see the organic farms and special green houses. Thanks for sharing all that beauty. Jan
Posted by: Jan Erickson | October 28, 2007 at 12:35 AM
That looks like a wonderful day, the pictures are beautiful. The pies are truly scrumptious and you appear to be the only person on the planet who can get away with wearing orange!!
Cherry Menlove
Posted by: Cherry Menlove | October 28, 2007 at 02:52 AM
Great Blog and pictures. Thank you showing us this event. I learned about your new blog from another blogger on Whatever.
Posted by: MM | October 28, 2007 at 08:03 AM
I LOVE Fall Festivals!!
Thanks for sharing your Pictures.
Carolyn Barber
Posted by: Carolyn | October 28, 2007 at 09:09 AM
The buildings are just wonderful. It would be nice to have the recipes for all those pies. And of course Martha, you look great!
Posted by: Michelle | October 28, 2007 at 09:50 AM
Fancy schmantzy is correct...! Looks like a wonderful afternoon & David Rockefeller has maintained a wonderful treasure.
Posted by: .....nan | October 28, 2007 at 12:49 PM
Living in Wisconsin the fall is really a beautiful thing. THough, the one thing I would like to accomplish in my lifetime would be a trip out east at the peak of autumn. The pictures you took were exactly the reason why.
Sue:)
Posted by: Sue Mannel | October 28, 2007 at 01:49 PM
Mmmmm, good thing he won. That mud pie looks AMAZING! And talk about a perfect fall day, those pictures depict it perfectly.
Posted by: Andrew | October 28, 2007 at 02:32 PM
Blogging! sigh...With all your busy schedule, where do you find the time Martha?
Loves
Ainal
(San Jose)
Posted by: Ainal | October 28, 2007 at 07:00 PM
I just love your blog,so glad you started it...it puts a personal touch to who you are,the pictures are awesome....love Fall.Would love to see more of your home and property at Bedford but don't want to be invasive though,thanks for sharing.
Posted by: Leona | October 29, 2007 at 10:51 AM
Great Photos Martha, Ii really enjoyed looking at them.
Trina
Posted by: Trina Caba | October 29, 2007 at 11:35 AM
Martha,
You look very smart in your orange jacket!
- David
Posted by: David J | October 29, 2007 at 01:00 PM
love the blog and love the pictures....absolutely beautiful
we love you martha here in indiana
Posted by: karen | October 29, 2007 at 02:39 PM
I missed this post. Must make a visit to the center soon. Your blog has become a daily habit with so many of us.
Posted by: Nina | October 29, 2007 at 03:17 PM
I enjoy the blog so much...this is the type of thing I miss in the Living magazine! Thanks Martha!
Posted by: Donna F. | October 29, 2007 at 03:51 PM
Hello Martha,love your new blog and beautiful pictures this gives us a chance to know more about you and your everyday living. I would also love to see if you can show us in your program some information about planting orchids.Thanks so much
Daisy
Posted by: Daisy | October 29, 2007 at 04:43 PM