Robyn Nicole
2022 ECI Fall Equinox Dinner
Updated: Oct 2, 2022

If you missed Ecological Culture Initiative’s Fall Equinox fundraiser dinner, you messed up! Chef Colin Ambrose from Estia’s Little Kitchen joined us and put a Mexican flare on our humble farm to table dinners at St Joseph’s Villa for 75 guests on September 21st. Chef Colin has been a friend and mentor of mine for many years. We loved his positive and fun energy in the kitchen and the apple polenta cake he made for dessert was fabulous! Click here for his delicious apple polenta cake recipe.

Tela Troge from the Shinnecock Nation was our guest speaker, and educated everyone on their ongoing project to clean Shinnecock Bay by planting a kelp forest. Katelyn Stukas graciously donated staff from her company, Service Matters Hamptons to help us pull it off. Dom Aprile was kind enough to volunteer as our photographer for the evening and produced some beautiful pictures.

The local and very talented American Idol contestant Christinaan Padavan was our entertainment for the evening, and of course, Sister Kerry Handal with the Sisters of Saint Joseph provided us with the beautiful space. Thank you to everyone who showed up to raise money for this incredibly important organization, the farms who donated produce, and everyone who volunteered to make it happen. What a special night!
Tickets for future dinners and events can be found on ECI's website
Browse the full picture gallery here
The menu: -Butternut squash & cheese pumpkin soup with ginger creme fraiche, roasted seeds, smoked chili oil, & fresh cilantro -Hearty fall salad with roasted and shaved vegetables, sourdough croutons, shaved mecox cheese, & maple dressing
-wheatberry tacos with zucchini, carrot, shaved corn & cilantro -salsa verde & roja -Polenta pound cake with apple glaze & vanilla bean whipped cream
The farms who donated produce- Sang Lee, Milk Pail, Halsey, Sweet Woodland Farm, Golden Earthworm, Goodale, Good Ground, Stones Throw, North Sea Farms