Young, Broke, and Hungry

Some Late Winter Rooftop Garden Shots

2011-02-06T14:16:00.001-05:00

So, it's been a while. The summer ended, the fall seemed to swoop in with little preamble, and then the winter was upon us before we even realized it.

Towards the end of our warm weather, Zach and our neighbors winterized the garden, planting garlic for the spring, cutting down the dead annuals, and covering the soil with hay. Zach had acquired six large wooden fish crates from the New Fulton Street Fish Market while working for GrowNYC, which now ring the perimeter of our roof garden, ready for new plants and deep roots this spring.

We've both kept ourselves extremely busy in the past six months, both of us cultivating new projects and opportunities that have kept us away from this blog--but thankfully, not away from making and eating good food, and planning for next season's garden.

Zach has started saving seeds from our garden and the garden at Madiba, most notably from the enormous basil plants he grew this summer, as well as lettuce and mizuna, two kinds of heirloom tomatoes, and five varieties of chili peppers. Right now, he's testing germination to be sure the seeds will grow successfully into new plants, and so far all is looking good. This is part of a separate effort Zach has started to collect and hopefully sell rooftop-ready seeds to other urban gardeners--he's working on building a parallel website for his growing business ventures, and we'll keep you posted when that is ready to share with the world.

To flesh out the rest of our 2011 rooftop garden, we ordered seeds from Hudson Valley Seed Library and Seed Savers Exchange: kale and pattypan squash for the first time, wax beans for pickling, golden cherry tomatoes (a favorite from the farmers' market last summer) and ground cherries, borage and stevia as sugary substitutes for mixed drinks, oregano, and some zinnia and blue cornflower seeds to add some color.

With our sidewalks still thoroughly lined with piles of snow, it's difficult to imagine starting seeds in the next couple months, but we're more than ready to return to our summer routine of rooftop dinner parties, and daily trips upstairs to collect fresh ingredients for dinner.

Fried Egg Sandwiches with Smoky Sweet Kale and Bacon

2011-02-06T14:14:00.004-05:00

2 eggs
4 slices sourdough bread, toasted
2 slices of thick-cut smoked bacon
1-2 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
2-3 kale leaves, torn into half-dollar sized pieces
1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
2 tsp. maple syrup
cheddar cheese, sliced thin
salt and pepper, or seasoning salt, to taste

Cut the slices of bacon in half to make 4, sandwich-sized pieces. Fry over medium-high heat on a skillet, and transfer to paper towels to drain. Pour off 2/3 of the bacon grease from the skillet.

Add the chopped garlic and crushed red pepper flakes (adjust according to your own taste--we like things spicy) to the hot grease, simmering for a minute or two before adding the kale. Fry the kale in the bacon grease for about 10 minutes or until it starts to get crispy, adding the maple syrup towards the end.

Fry the eggs over easy in butter until cooked to your preference--we like to leave the yolks a little runny. When nearly finished, top with thin strips of cheddar cheese to melt, and season with salt and pepper, or seasoning salt--we're addicted to Penzey's Smoky 4S seasoning salt.

Build your sandwich on toasted sourdough, adding a bed of crispy fried kale, the cheesy fried egg, and topped with bacon.

Some Late Summer Rooftop Garden Shots

2010-09-04T10:23:00.000-04:00

Baked Eggplant with Mozzarella and Homemade Marinara

2010-09-03T19:06:00.002-04:00

Based on this recipe from Food and Wine.

Working for the Greenmarkets means Zach is constantly bringing home delicious summer produce at the height of its ripeness. With access to wholesalers at Hunt's Point Terminal Market, Zach decided to can a 25 pound case of roma tomatoes for the winter. Around the same time, he brought home these adorable white and purple baby eggplants, so I decided some fresh marinara baked goodness was in order.

Having never really cooked with eggplant before, I took direction from this Food and Wine recipe, which begins with the instruction to salt the eggplant in order to remove excess water. This goes along way in discouraging the mush factor--I'd recommend doing this longer than you expect, eggplants are deceptively moist.

I came up with this marinara recipe in college, after realizing how much sugar is in store-bought sauce, and usually doctoring mine with extra red pepper and balsamic anyway. The measurements aren't exact, so be sure to taste as you go.

Manda's Marinara

3-4 medium sized cloves garlic, minced
1 medium shallot, chopped
3 cups tomato, chopped (or 16 ounce can of chopped/crushed tomatoes)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1-2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes
1-2 tablespoons Balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper, to taste
splash of lemon juice

In a saucepan, saute the garlic and shallot in the olive oil over medium high until the shallot is translucent and garlic is aromatic. Add the tomato, Balsamic, lemon and spices, and bring to almost a boil to cook down some of the water in the tomatoes. Simmer uncovered for 20 minutes to continue thickening, or until ready to serve.

Baked Eggplant with Mozzarella
2 medium eggplants (or the equivalent), sliced into rounds
olive oil for frying
1/4 cup breadcrumbs
1/4 pound fresh mozzarella, sliced
1 cup loosely-packed basil, coarsely chopped

Salt both sides of eggplant rounds and layer them on a plate between two layers of paper towel. Cover with a plate and weight down to press out and absorb excess moisture, and let stand for 30 minutes or more. Pat the slices dry when finished. In a large skillet, fry the slices in about 1/8 inch of olive oil until brown and tender, a couple minutes on each side, adding more oil as needed. Transfer to a paper towel to drain.

On the bottom of a lightly greased baking or casserole dish, sprinkle a thin layer of breadcrumbs. I didn't have any, so I toasted a couple slices of fresh sourdough bread until they were totally dried out (but not burnt) and crumbled them coarsely with my hands. Arrange the fried eggplant slices in a layer in the dish, overlapping slightly. Cover with a layer of marinara sauce, and then slices of mozzarella and sprinkled basil. I also mixed in larger croutons of the bread here and there, which helped make the texture less monotonous. Repeat these layers until you reach the top of the baking dish. Cover with foil and bake at 400 degrees until warmed through (if you made the marinara, this all pretty much a formality), or about 20 minutes. After baking, remove the foil and transfer to a broiler for a few minutes, just long enough to brown the cheese. Let stand for 10-15 minutes and then serve!

A Brief and Delicious Trip to Boston: Part Two

2010-08-13T12:01:00.000-04:00

Continued from Part One...

After waddling home from the North End to refrigerate our leftover pastas, we refreshed and re-grouped and hopped a bus to Cambridge to take in the scene around Harvard Square. After a brief and dimly lit tour of the Harvard Yard (fertilized with compost tea!), we ducked into Grendel's Den. Despite the thick smell of drawn butter and celery salt, we immediately knew we were in Cambridge by the following warning printed both over the bar and on the menu:

"No Bud. No Coors. No Bud Lite, No Coors Lite. No Miller. No Michelob. BASTA!"

Beer snobbery is snobbery I can support. (Basta is Spanish for "Enough!"). We didn't get food - we were still plenty full of squid and other kinds of seafood - but we had several rounds of beer and cocktails, including my first-ever Pimm's Cup (refreshing and not too sweet), and Zach's new obsession with French martinis (I will reserve the girly drink jokes). The scene was pretty laid back, but we had a great server and a good time before cabbing it back to Back Bay.

The next morning we awoke, somewhat slowly, but with great purpose - for it was our day to eat a whole lobster by the sea. When planning this visit, Zach and I had wanted one thing and one thing only, and that was fresh lobster in the shell. Leah, a veritable encyclopedia of useful knowledge, knew exactly where to take us for the cheapest and arguably the freshest lobster in Massachusetts: the Roy Moore Lobster Company in Rockport.

Rockport - or rather, the area we were visiting, strangely called Bearskin Neck - is a quintessential New England coastal town, filled with seafood places, pastel B&Bs, American flags, and ice cream. Roy Moore has two locations on this spit of idyllic Americana, but the one to check out is the tiny, blink-and-you'll-miss-it shack where they sell fresh fish, clams, scallops, and the lobsters. When we arrived, a guy was filleting a freshly-caught tuna on the fish cooler, and sunburned teenagers were hauling in a tub of live lobsters to add to the tank. Roy's is primarily a fish market, but they have a few prepared and refrigerated options like stuffed clams that they'll warm up (in the microwave over the fish cooler) while you wait, as well as piping hot clam chowder. Zach ordered both.

And then there's the lobster. Boiled in seawater right behind the register, we ordered 3 half-poundish lobsters for $36. That's right, $12 a piece for a whole, fresh lobster and drawn butter, and very-necessary Wet Wipe. To dine, you're amiably waved out the back door, to improvised tables and benches made of wooden lobster traps (or maybe faux-lobster traps, they seemed a bit like props) on the deck.

This was Zach's first lobster-in-shell experience, so Leah gave him step by step instructions, made easier by the friendly lobstermen inside who had cracked the shells before serving us. The lobster meat was delicious, salty from the seawater and incredibly sweet--some lobster might be an elaborate vehicle for butter, but this was juicy and rich enough to eat plain. Couple that with a view of the very water from whence your lunch came, and the boats who brought it in, and that's one hell of a satisfying meal.

We didn't have a lot of extra time before making the drive back to South Station to catch our bus, but we did take a stroll through the rest of the "neck," fulfilling our weekend-long craving for root beer floats, and buying a pound of super-fresh saltwater taffy from Tuck's--the only shop in town that we saw where you watch the taffy being made. On our way back to the car, we ran down a tiny little beach to dip in our toes in the water (still frigid, even in August), and then packed it up to go back home. A more satisfying summer weekend will be hard to find.

Grendel's Den photo courtesy About.com:Boston.

A Brief and Delicious Trip to Boston: Part One

2010-08-09T16:45:00.014-04:00

A lot of our friends are just finishing law school. Most of them, upon completing the bar, indulge in some well-deserved slacking or binge drinking (or both) before recalibrating to life as a legal professional. My friend Leah, however, has been buying thermal underwear.

Leah is about to embark on a year-long court clerkship in Barrow, Alaska - the northernmost city in the United States (and most of the world). Barrow is 320 miles above the arctic circle, and according to Wikipedia, has the lowest average temperatures in Alaska - consistently below freezing from October to May. They have a nightly patrol to discourage polar bears from entering the town. Leah is moving to the tundra.

That couldn't be further from the experiences we had this weekend, literally eating our way through Boston and out to the seaside town of Rockport, where we ate the freshest (and cheapest) lobster lunch in Massachusetts. Like us, Leah's a fan of searching out unique and unpretentious gustatory adventures, so it was fitting that our farewell visit to Boston be a gluttonous tour of all her favorite spots.

The best breakfast in all of Beantown, if you ask Leah and her boyfriend Rich, is at Mike and Patty's in Bay Village. A tiny little corner sandwich shop, M&P's features an all day breakfast menu of simple but delicious fare cooked by Mike himself and a few helpers behind the counter. Our party of four ordered three of the Sunday special - an omelette filled with sweet corn, cheese, and tomatoes from Mike's roof - while I ordered (same as my last visit), the bacon and egg fancy with avocado, red onion, and spicy mayonnaise. With limited seating (i.e. one table), your choices are takeout or eating on the curb, which we did. Rich's office is just down the street, and he's not only on a first-name basis with M&P, he has an honest-to-goodness tab that they charge monthly. I can't blame him, I would be there everyday if I had the option, too.

From Bay Village, we walked past the Berkley Street public garden and its strange, elevated zucchini trellises on our way to the first annual Boston Food Truck Festival in the South End. Before our fellow New York foodies start salivating at the thought of Van Leeuwen, Wafles & Dinges, Asia Dog, and an army of taco trucks all in one place, it's worth noting that our neighbors to the north have some catching up to do. The food trucks here were more fair food than the tricked out, restaurants-on-wheels we're used to in NYC, but there were some standouts, like Grillo's Pickles - insanely fresh dill and spicy garlic spears that were more cucumber than brine. Conveniently located next to a big outdoor art/antiques/produce market akin to the Brooklyn Flea, the turnout was pretty enormous. We even saw fellow Brooklyners Erica and Stephen of Brooklyn Brew Shop peddling their kits and summer beer mixes. Is homebrewing as popular in the land of both Sam Adams and Harpoon Brewery? Will Boston grow to rival (or replicate?) New York's gourmet street food craze? Only time will tell...

After shopping at THE GREATEST and most gorgeous vintage store (in which I bought an adorable, blue 1950s bathing suit/romper for $20 that will likely never leave my closet), and duck-watching under the willows at the public garden, we made our way toward the ocean, walking through Faneuil Hall's long skinny food court and snagging some deliciously boozy lobster bisque on the way. The sea breeze was a relief from a long day in the hot sun, and we were in close proximity to the night's main event: a seafood dinner in the North End, Boston's Italian neighborhood, and home to Paul Revere and the Old North Church.

When deciding where and what to eat for dinner earlier in the day, Zach quickly pronounced a desire to eat as much seafood as possible. Leah immediately knew where to go, and Rich (who can't stomach much more than shrimp) agreed to oblige us. After waiting by the door for a table and reading the menu, we realized just how generous Rich's acquiescence was - a textbook hole in the wall, the dining room of The Daily Catch is literally in the kitchen, and the smell of garlic and steaming shellfish billowed from the stove. This was not fine dining, but we could tell it was going to be one of the best meals we've ever had.

The Daily Catch, or Calamari Cafe as is painted on its opposite window, specializes in squid. In addition to the standard fried calamari, the menu offers a "calamari meatball" - our waiter, the only one working the room, described it to us as 100% ground squid seasoned with fresh herbs. We ordered 4, as well as an appetizer of fried calamari, and Sicilian-style steamed clams in white wine and thyme. To start. Our beer (an Italian lager or a double malt) was served in plastic cups. I'll admit some initial skepticism about ground squid (wouldn't it be chewy?), but had I not been told what was in these meatballs, I would've assumed it was veal. Served in a reservoir of the house marinara, the meatballs were moist, tender, well-seasoned, and much more filling than anticipated. The fried calamari was insanely fresh and crispy, and the steamed clams practically melted in our mouths. And this was before the pasta.

Continuing the squid-feast, Zach and I had both ordered "appetizer" portions of the house-made squid ink pasta, in two of the three offered preparations: aglio olio for me (ground squid and olive oil, or "squid on top of squid") and puttanesca for Zach, with a rich olive tapenade, anchovies, and sweet peppers. Leah ordered the entree portion of scallops in red sauce--in addition to squid ink, the menu has a number of seafood pasta entrees that come in their seafood based house marinara, or an olive oil, garlic, and fresh clam juice "white sauce." Entree portions are served in pan they were fried in, which you can follow from the cook's stove, to your table, with only a few feet in between. All of the portions, appetizer or otherwise, were enormous. The clear table favorite, Zach's puttanesca was the only clean plate, while Leah and I both took home the bulk of our dinner, groaning in pleasure.

Reeking of garlic and the fry station, we poured ourselves out of our chairs with hearty thanks to the cook, waiter, and lone dishwasher--the three man team that runs the show--and walked directly across the street to the famed Mike's Pastry. A requisite trip for any Boston visit, Mike's is perennially crowded, with a line out the door that evaporates into an every-man-for-himself struggle to the front counter for fresh, impeccable cannoli. Leah, the seasoned pro, elbowed her way through tourists and their indecisive children to make our purchase, and we left only a few minutes later with our white and blue box of treats, to be eaten later when the squid and pasta coma finally wore off.

To be continued...

Mike and Patty's image from HealthyandSane.com

Summer Begins!

2010-07-01T21:12:00.007-04:00

It's been a while since we've posted, we know. I've been more than busy with several endeavors, most recently the Bushwick Open Studios Cabaret, which introduced me to a whole host of new, talented artists from Bushwick and the surrounding environs (photos here).

Zach's been up to his elbows in compost and soil, not only on our roof, but at t h e rooftop garden he's installed at Madiba. He's also getting into the swing of things as a market manager for GrowNYC--managing three youth-run farmers markets, working on a food access project in Washington Heights, and connecting area restaurants with local produce.

On our roof, we've started harvesting the first of our cucumbers, collard greens, rainbow chard, garlic scapes, and dragon's tongue wax beans--tonight's dinner (prep pictured above) was locally made linguini from Caputo's featuring a lot of our rooftop harvest, local mozzarella, and a farmer's market pattypan squash. We're also growing a bunch of purple heirloom tomatoes, ground cherries from Zach's sister Claire, Peruvian purple potatoes, carrots, chiles, beets, garlic, and for the first time ever, Zach's growing hops--on a bedspring trelis!

Oh, and did we mention we're engaged?

Mint and Sorrel Iced Tea Cocktail

2010-07-01T20:24:00.011-04:00

Flavored black tea
(Zach used Prince of Wales, but Earl Grey, Lady Grey, English Breakfast tea, or similarly aromatic blend would work well also)
Lemon
Lemon sorrel
Mint
White rum
Sugar, honey, or agave nectar

Begin by brewing the tea--Zach likes sun tea, or you can go the traditional route--with lemon, mint, and sorrel. Muddle a spring of mint, 3-4leaves lemon sorrel, 1/4 lemon, and a tablespoon sugar in a cocktail shaker. Throw in ice and 4 oz white rum and shake like mad. Pour over ice and top with the tea. Stir it up and enjoy.

Link: Check out this great article from Food & Wine about growing a cocktail herb garden. Zach took a lot of inspiration from here, so expect more herby cocktails from us this summer.

Food, Love, and Promo in the Shwick

2010-04-20T18:54:00.006-04:00

It's an exciting time to live in our neighborhood--first the artists, then the farmer's market, now a wine bar, and soon a co-op!

- Tomorrow we'll get our first order from the newly established Bushwick Food Coop, which for the immediate future is operating as a buying club and CSA for local, organic, sustainable food from quality sources. The collective making this all happen is comprised of some really great people, including Gwen of Roberta's and Brooklyn Grange fame. On top of bringing more food options to the 'hood, they've also been partnering with Tandem to screen food and social justice documentaries like Food Inc., Bodega Down Bronx, and The Real Dirt on Farmer John. We haven't been able to catch any of these yet, but hope the series continues into the summer.

For their first buying club dry run, we ordered eggs, raw milk (eep!), asparagus and leafy green produce, and some staples and dry goods for significantly less than we've been paying at Whole Foods and the famers' markets. Buying power gets stronger the more people sign up, so if you're in the area, we strongly recommend you check it out.

- On a beautifully interrelated note, Bushwick Farmers' Market organizer and former interviewee Travis Tench also emailed us today to spread the word about Earth Day events he's planning with his latest venture, EcoStation: NY, "a new Bushwick-based nonprofit dedicated to environmental and food justice. And fun." They're celebrating all weekend, with events including a sunrise summit at The Secret Garden (one of Zach's favorite garden spots), a barbeque/film screening/concert and joint fundraiser with the coop folks at Bushwick Bike Shop, and an inaugural potluck and seed swap this Sunday at the Woodbine Street Garden.

I have to say, swapping seeds and cooking out with neighbors is a whole lot more conducive to lasting environmental awareness and grassroots change than say, the ridiculous and irrelevant events the city's planning in Manhattan. I would love to know which ad rep decided that reducing the word "earth" to the letter E and a lame hand-signal would somehow move consumers to deeper environmental consciousness. Sigh.

- Finally, I raise my biodynamic glass to the lovely proprietors of the newly opened Bodega Wine Bar on Troutman and St. Nicholas. The menu is an unpretentious mix of tapas like artichokes, olives, and cheese, with local and international wine and beer that are carefully selected from small, sustainably-leaning vineyards. Owners/Bartenders Gina and Ben will generously let you try a little bit of everything to help you order--the first time we went Zach ordered a surprisingly smooth red wine that I wanted to try again, and last night Ben poured me three or four tries to find the wine I remembered (it was Rioja). Between the reasonably priced glasses, laid back ambiance of the place, and their enthusiasm for sharing great wine, I have a major neighborhood crush on them.

I was there last night for an Arts in Bushwick mixer for the upcoming Bushwick Open Studios, which takes place June 4th-6th all over our neck of the woods (shameless plug: I'm co-producing this year's Saturday night cabaret). If you aren't familiar, the fine folks of AiB coordinate a weekend where all of the artist studios in our neighborhood--from converted warehouses to people's apartments--open their doors to the public, and you can spend the entire weekend walking in and out of spaces, viewing artwork, and drinking copious amounts of free wine. It's pretty freaking amazing, and last night was a good preview. They'll be hosting a cash-and-carry benefit art sale on May 21 at Lumenhouse, which is another splendid opportunity to meet your neighbors and buy artwork on the cheap.

If that wasn't the longest promotional plug for moving to our neighborhood, I don't know what is. Community love!

Vacation Dreams: Basil Eggs, Peri Peri Potatoes, and Grapefruit Mojito Ceviche

2010-04-18T18:23:00.007-04:00

Zach and I have finally decided to take a vacation. In our three years, the trips we've taken together nearly all involve coming or going between New York and Ohio, with two weekend trips to Vermont and Philadelphia comprising the grand total of our time away together and elsewhere. Though we plan to spend a significant amount of our summer weekends this year taking advantage of Brooklyn's beaches, we agreed we're in desperate need of some palm trees and tropical fruit.

So this morning we spent our first waking hours researching and scheming our escape plan, which involves a tiny cacao farm and eco-lodge on an island in the Bocas del Toro region of Panama. We'll keep you posted as those plans solidify, but we're freaking excited.

With visions of white sand beaches and lush rainforests dancing in our brains, we made brunch craving the exotic flavors of somewhere far away...which, in New York, isn't hard to find close by.

Chopped basil from our windowsill and some freshly grated Parmesan went into the scrambled eggs. We stewed (canned) tomatoes and onions in peri-peri--a spicy African sauce made with African bird's eye chilies that Zach's been making in-house for Madiba with chilis grown on the roof. If he can disclose the recipe, I'll have him post it in the near future, but if you're intrigued and can't wait, they're still selling jars at the restaurant. We ladled the peri-peri tomatoes over crispy red potato homefries, and finished everything off with a salad of sweetened peeled grapefruit, mint, and lime zest. We both agreed it would be exceptionally good with rum, either in cocktail form, or marinated as a drunken fruit salad. Either way, since the grapefruit flesh looks just like sashimi, I'm calling this a grapefruit mojito ceviche. Enjoy!

Grapefruit Mojito Ceviche

2010-04-18T18:12:00.001-04:00

2-3 grapefruits, peeled and sectioned
handful of fresh mint, chopped
zest of half a lime, or about 1 teaspoon
1-2 tsp. natural raw sugar
agave nectar, honey, or simple syrup

Not too much to explain. After peeling the grapefruit, I also removed the individual section casings, tossed with chopped mint, lime zest, and raw sugar, and then drizzled another teaspoon of agave nectar over it.

We're definitely going to try this combo again with rum for a summer cocktail or boozy fruit salad.

Some Early Spring Rooftop Shots

2010-04-10T17:54:00.029-04:00

Above: Starting to wake back up from the winter--garlic shoots and lettuce seedlings.

Left: Checking a test grow bag--recycled burlap bags filled with soil and seedlings. This one is also growing lettuce.

Our first rooftop dinner of the season! Assorted cheeses (two Vermont cheddars), and bread from Roberta's; beet salad with goat cheese and rooftop spinach that survived the winter; steamed artichokes with lemony drawn butter; grilled portabellas and squash; Northern Spain rosé from Bowery and Vine.

Lemon Sticky Buns with Pine Nuts and Rosemary Goat Cheese Glaze

2010-03-21T13:19:00.015-04:00

When I saw this recipe on TheKitchn last week, I had a vision of a perfect sunny Sunday brunch: bright sunlight streaming into our apartment, fresh local coffee and good music, and warm lemony rolls that taste like molten summer. Cooking frequently transports me to a creative, zen headspace, but baked goods inspire me toward my highest domestic ambitions. If stovetop cooking is like painting, baking is like building a house.

This vision of baking the perfect breakfast was so determined, in fact, that I came home last night at 11pm, more than slightly intoxicated, and got to work. Fortified with one iced coffee and two glasses of Prosecco leftover from my rooftop mimosas that morning, I made the dough from scratch, waited for it to rise (while watching episodes of Weeds on Netflix), and kneaded it into a compact, smooth mound with the single-mindedness of a long-distance runner. I zested, greased, rolled and cut until 2am, and then dropped into bed while my sticky buns of great potential waited in the fridge.

This morning, unable to sleep in anticipation and with a clearer head, I pulled the rolls out of the fridge for the second rise, and decided to take some creative liberties with the recipe. Zach was still sleeping as I whisked together the glaze with goat cheese and a pinch of chopped rosemary, and sprinkled the rolls with olive oil and pine nuts before popping them in the oven. As I poured steaming water over the Gorilla grounds in our French press, and prepared to wake Zach with coffee and the smell of baking lemon, I had that distinctly satisfying feeling of orchestrating a perfect meal, of my drunken domestic zeal having paid off. We took our first bite, and he grinned and cooed, "This is amazing."

Lemon Roll Dough
1 envelope (0.25 ounces, or 2.5 teaspoons) yeast
 3/4 cup milk, warmed but not boiling
 1 stick unsalted butter, very soft 
1/4 cup white sugar 
2 teaspoons vanilla extract 
4.5 cups flour
 1/2 teaspoon salt 
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg 
2 lemons, zested 
2 eggs

Lemon Filling
 1 cup sugar
 1/4 teaspoon freshly-ground nutmeg 
1/2 teaspoon powdered ginger 
Zest of 2 lemons
Juice of 1 lemon
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, very soft

In a bowl, sprinkle the yeast over the warmed milk and let it sit for a few minutes. Stir in the softened butter, sugar, vanilla, and one cup of the flour. Stir in the salt, nutmeg, and lemon zest. Stir in the eggs and enough of the remaining flour to make a soft yet sticky dough.

On a floured surface, knead for about 5 minutes, or until the dough is smooth, pliable, and stretchy. (This video from The Kitchn is great for first-timers like myself.) Lightly coat the dough with olive oil, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and a towel, and let the dough rise until nearly doubled - about an hour.

In a small bowl, mix the sugar with the nutmeg and ginger, then add lemon zest. Whisk in the juice of 1 lemon until smooth.

Lightly grease a 13x9 inch baking dish. On a floured surface, roll or pat the dough out into a large yet still thick rectangle — about 10x15 inches. Spread evenly with softened butter, then pour and spread the lemon-sugar mixture over top. Roll the dough up tightly, and cut into 12 even rolls, and place them, cut side up, in the prepared baking dish.

Cover the rolls with a towel and let them rise for an hour or until puffy and nearly doubled. (This is where you can refrigerate them overnight like I did. Cover the pan tightly with plastic wrap, and place it in the refrigerator. When you are ready to bake, remove the pan from the fridge, and let them rise for an hour-I needed to warm them up on the stove while I preheated the oven to get them to rise.)

Heat the oven to 350°F. Lightly baste the risen rolls with olive oil, and sprinkle the pine nuts over the pan--I also put a couple of sprigs of rosemary in the baking dish with the rolls. Bake for 35 minutes or until golden brown.

Rosemary Goat Cheese Cheese Glaze
1/4 cup (2 oz) cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup (2 oz) chevre goat cheese, softened
Juice of 1 lemon 
3/4 cup powdered sugar
 1 lemon, zested
1/4 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped fine
1/4 cup pine nuts

While the rolls are baking, prepare the glaze. Whip the cream cheese and chevre together until light and fluffy, then add the lemon juice and rosemary and blend until well combined. Incorporate the powdered sugar a little at a time, blending until smooth and creamy. I don't like super sweet frosting, so I always measure less sugar and adjust to taste.

When the rolls are done, drizzle them with the glaze, and sprinkle the zest of 1 additional lemon over top to garnish. Serve warm.

Tandem: Bushwick Brunch Surprise

2010-02-05T20:05:00.000-05:00

Last Sunday, at around 3pm, Zach and I finally pulled ourselves out of bed and out of the apartment for brunch--a favorite, but unfortunately infrequent, weekend pastime of ours. Blame it on our mismatched work schedules, neglected household chores, or the fact Zach usually doesn't make it home from the Friday/Saturday night shifts until after 2am, but the net effect is that we don't get out much during the weekend's daylight hours (particularly in the winter when those are in short supply).

This time we had to venture out to refill our barren fridge and cupboards, which hadn't a scrap of bread or lone egg by which to make ourselves a breakfast. Sometimes even that's not enough to get us out of the house, as long as we have coffee. But having finished our regular Brooklyn-roasted brew, our supplies were really low, so we took it as a sign to catch up with one of our favorite Bushwick restaurants, and one of the best brunches around.

Walking down Troutman, however, we were reminded of another excellent Bushwick eatery--which I had first visited with the lovely gentlemen that operate this Bushwick gallery, but where Zach had never eaten. Primarily a small-plates and inventive cocktails kinda place, we weren't sure that Tandem even served brunch, but the sign outside both confirmed that and advertised their weekly happy hour special--a tallboy of PBR and shot of whiskey for $4. We decided to postpone our NE Kingdom reunion in favor of a more thorough investigation.

If you aren't looking for it, you might miss Tandem. It's tucked away on a completely residential Bushwick block, a couple south of the (slightly) more populated stretch of Wyckoff between the Dekalb and Jefferson L stops. When you do find it though, the first thing you'll notice is that it's beautiful. From the psychedelic/geometric tiles handmade by owner Jane Virga, to the warm wood paneling and gorgeous vintage bar, the place exudes a broken-in charm that's equal parts modern and old-world. Trendy enough for the Shwick's arty clientele, but not inhospitable to us decidedly non-hipster types.

While we didn't partake in the bar menu during this brunch, I can vouch that their mixology is both excellent and unique. Their offerings change with the seasons, and over the summer I had a delicious raspberry/rosemary concoction--one of the numerous fresh herb cocktails listed. The only beverage we were interested in was coffee, which came in individual french presses (Zach was especially happy about that detail).

Like their evening menu, the brunch items were limited to a few options with really good ingredients. Zach ordered the biscuits and gravy, which came with two eggs a la mode. I ordered the eggs strata, which came with my choice of two sides. In an uncharacteristic move for anyone that knows my gag reflex for bitter greens, I went with the kale and the lemon-scented quinoa. Having eaten there once before, I had an instinct that the Tandem folks could teach me to love kale, and I was not disappointed. Lightly tossed in olive oil and parmesan, the crunchy kale and lemony quinoa would have made an adequate breakfast all by themselves (maybe with an egg on top). And the strata--eggs baked with canadian bacon, gruyere, and bread--tasted just like a casserole my mom used to make for Christmas breakfast when I was little. Zach's biscuits and gravy were the real deal--rich, bacony awesomeness (but frankly, I was more interested in my kale conversion).

For all that, our whole bill was less than $30, and we left completely satiated and ready for groceries. Definitely worthy of our regular patronage, we'll see if we can get out of bed early enough next time to actually call it a breakfast ;)

Tandem, 236 Troutman Street, Brooklyn, 718.386.2369
*The photo of the bar is via Tandem's Facebook page.

Ginger Carrot Cake with Cardamom Cream Cheese Frosting

2010-01-22T09:43:00.008-05:00

This recipe is not so much mine as it is as a thoughtful riff on this one by Alton Brown. I would never have come up with adding yogurt to cake mix on my own.

2.5 cups all purpose flour
1.5 cups carrots, grated (I used about 6 carrots)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp cinnamon, freshly ground if you can
1/4 tsp nutmeg, freshly ground if you can
1/4 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp salt
1-1/3 cups white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
3 eggs
3/4 cups of plain yogurt (I used Greek)
3/4 cups vegetable oil
1/3-1/2 cup pecans, chopped
1/3 cup raisins, dried cranberries, or both

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and make sure the rack is positioned in the middle of the oven (I always forget).

Start by grating the carrots into a large bowl--precision grating isn't the goal here as much as rendering whole carrots into tiny, bakeable pieces. I used a combination of grating and chopping and managed to get the job done. Just call it rustic!

Mix together the dry ingredients--flour, spices, baking soda and powder, salt--and add to grated carrots, making sure to coat the carrots well. Then mix the egg, sugar, yogurt, and veggie oil in a food processor or mixer. (I actually mixed the sugar with the dry ingredients by accident, which I'm sure violated some fundamental rule of baking chemistry, but the cake survived and was still delicious.) Add this to your floured carrots and mix well. Stir in the pecans and raisins until everything is incorporated.

Grease and flour two 6 inch by 2 inch round cake pans, and pour in the batter. In terms of pan size, since I don't know anyone with a full set of cake pans in their kitchen, just make sure that the total volume (circumference x depth, in this case 6 x 2) for both pans is equivalent or less than what the recipe recommends. Alton's recipe called for one 9 inch by 3 inch pan, which equals 27 (and wouldn't make a very impressive looking cake, if you ask me), and my 6 inchers combined equal 24. So I comfortably filled the pans, and had surplus cake when I shaved off the tops.

Bake the pans on the center rack for 45 minutes, and then decrease temp to 325 and bake for another 20 minutes or so. The center temp of the cake should be around 205 degrees if you have a cooking thermometer, but the toothpick test works about the same--if it comes out gooey, it needs more time; if it's clean it's done. After they come out of the oven, let the cakes cool in the pan for 15 minutes, and then put them on a rack until they cool completely.

(This is when I made the mistake of cooling them on the kitchen table, where Jibs took a bite out of the top of one! There he is above earlier in the process, in a much less mischievous mood.)

Cardamom Cream Cheese Frosting

1 cup, or 1 8oz. package of cream cheese
1/4 cup, or 2 oz. butter, softened to room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cardamom, freshly ground
2 cups powdered sugar

Mix the cream cheese and butter in a mixer or food processor until just blended. Add the vanilla extract and cardamom, and mix until incorporated. I cannot stress enough how infinitely better fresh ground cardamom is to pre-ground. We buy whole cardamom pods from Indian markets here, remove and discard the shells, and keep the seeds in a grinder dedicated to this purpose. It's a labor of love, for sure, but soo worth it--and not something we need to refill more than once a year.

Add the powdered sugar in 1/4 cups at a time and blend until smooth. (I almost feel like you could get away with 1 and 3/4 cups of sugar for this recipe, as the frosting was really sweet.) Refrigerate for 5-10 minutes before icing the cake.

Icing the cake:

This was my first time making a layer cake, so I was a little intimidated. Thanks to some research on the worldwide foodweb, however, leveling a cake is not so daunting. The strategy I used (to relative success) was to slide a knife an inch or so into the cake at the lowest point of the crown, and slowly rotate the cake while keeping the knife level. From there you can cut across the center of the cake to remove the crown (which is a delicious preview for the rest of your cake, and the scraps can be used for other yummy desserts).

Do this as evenly as possible on both cakes, and spread a modest layer of frosting on top of the bottom layer. You'll want the cut side of both cakes facing each other, so the smooth pan edges are what people see. After stacking, spoon a generous amount of frosting on top of the cake, and begin spreading the frosting from the center down around the sides. My technique was not a scientific process (again, it's rustic!), but didn't look bad at all. Enjoy!

Showing off Christmas presents: my cake stand was a gift and homemade by my friend Mandy--visit her vintage clothing store on Etsy here (no home products, unfortunately, unless we bug her to make more...). My gorgeous double sided apron is from my friend Laura.

Happy Brew Year!

2010-01-12T11:21:00.019-05:00

Welcome to 2010! This year is shaping up to be a good one for urban farming, with a number of big projects kicking off in Brooklyn this spring:

- Ben Flanner, of Greenpoint's Rooftop Farms, is teaming up with the fine people of Roberta's to build an economically sustainable commercial rooftop farm, the Brooklyn Grange Farm.

- Roberta's own Gwen Shantz is working with a large team of eager participants to start a food co-op right here in Bushwick.

- BK Farmyards is starting a 1 acre farm on the Wingate High School campus in Crown Heights (where I used to tutor with CAMBA). Exciting stuff!

But alas, it is yet too cold to grow anything as we work our way through winter. So what to do? We're taking the cultivation indoors, focusing not on plants, but on booze.

Homebrewing kits from Brooklyn Brew Shop were a big hit before Christmas--at $40 a pop, they were a solid and inexpensive present for the inexperienced homebrewer. We bought three 1 gallon kits and mixes for gifts, as well as a 5 gallon mix of Chestnut Brown Ale for my dad's (infrequently used) homebrew equipment, and one for ourselves, eager to sample the seasonal and delicious-sounding concoctions on offer.

Here are some advantages of these 1 gallon wonders:

- Size: The one gallon kit is easy to manage, not real messy and encourages experimentation with different grain recipes and spices--in short, the best way to get first-time brewers hooked.

- Time: For a person with no industrial kitchen, brewing equipment, or experience, the 5 gallon grain brewing process can be really difficult and TAKE FOREVER. Brewing a batch of Chestnut Brown Ale for my dad took 6 hours. Gah.

- Risk Factor: Think about it, if you mess up a recipe, you're really only out a couple bottles of funky beer. If you mess up 5 gallons, you'll be swallowing your mistake for a looong time. (But write your recipes out well--if you hit gold with 1 gallon, it's going to be gone before you know it.)

Right now, we have Brooklyn Brew Shop's Gingerbread Ale curing in bottles and two brews in the fermenter: a self-styled Masala Chai Milk Stout (left) and a simple English Bitter (right). Brooklyn Brew Shop's Chestnut and Gingerbread ales are both great, well balanced beers. Spicy and warm in these cold days.

It wouldn't be a fair review, however, without reporting on the rather hairy Christmas customer service we experienced in trying to take some of these kits home with us. It was clear from the beginning that the Brew Shop folks were getting overwhelmed by the insane popularity of their kits for Christmas gifts--anticipating this, Manda had tried on three occasions to pre-order for pickup at the Gifted holiday market, but the stand couldn't seem to keep track of kits on reserve and was routinely selling out every day. We finally broke down and ordered online (in the first week of December) to have them shipped straight to Ohio, hoping they'd be able to keep their Christmas delivery guarantee after Manda was assured that they'd overnight it if necessary.

Come December 25th, however, no kits. 26th? No kits. 27th? No kits.

To their credit, they immediately responded to our email, shipped the kits, and refunded Manda's account for the price of shipping and the cost of one of the kits, which was really generous and much-appreciated. But based on some scathing critiques on Google reviews, it seems like quite a few others had similar experiences with their orders.

We hope they're working out the kinks for the future, because we love what this couple is doing, think that the product itself is great, and want to keep supporting their business. Who would have guessed that a one gallon glass jug could lead to such holiday madness? We're enjoying ours so far and will be doing so all winter long.

I just can't wait to drink it.

If you want to learn more about homebrewing and meet others doing so in Brooklyn, then come out to The Meat Hook on Sunday, January 24th for this hombrewers meetup. I might even have a Milk Stout in tow.

Of Winter Ales, Vegan Baking, and Homebrews for Christmas

2010-01-06T23:50:00.003-05:00

Well, crap. The height of holiday entertaining is behind us, we cooked and ate and shared so many good meals in December that we have recipes and post ideas stockpiled...but unpublished. So we'll roll these out in *slightly-less-timely* batches.

We started the Christmas season by hosting a winter/Christmas/holiday ale showdown, an homage to Great Lakes Brewery's Christmas Ale, a much-anticipated and quickly sold out brew that's only available between Thanksgiving and Christmas in Ohio. We asked our guests to contribute a six-pack of a winter seasonal brew, and we purchased a few Belgian seasonal lagers for everyone to sample and judge.

Of the domestic winter beers, we had some conflicting opinions about what makes a better, more festive brew. Some of our guests, including Zach, preferred Anchor's Christmas Ale and its rich, somewhat hoppy character. Others, myself included, liked Harpoon's Winter Warmer with its sweeter, spicier, more discernibly "Christmasy" flavor--like drinking a gingerbread cookie.

We all agreed that the Belgian beers were in a class by themselves: smooth, almost creamy, with just the right amount of sweetness and hops, the Belgians had an entirely different profile than their American microbrew counterparts--and higher alcohol content. Of the three we sampled, I actually didn't write down the name of the one we liked best (consider that an admission of my drunkenness)! but am fairly certain from an exhaustive search of Belgian Christmas ales that it was Het Anker’s Gouden Carolus Noel. Yum. We also liked Delirium Noel's darker and spicier flavor, and the toastier St. Bernardus Christmas Ale. These larger bottles are a good alternative to bringing or giving wine at holiday parties, for future reference.

And of course, we made food. Two recipes were from my mom and her mom's entertaining repertoire: a sweet and spicy mixed nut brittle with cumin, lovingly referred to as "hot nuts;" and the cheese biscuit recipe that we usually make around Christmastime. Zach and I also improvised a couple new recipes (and new favorites!): two variations on butternut squash bites, one wrapped in bacon with maple sugar and pepper, and a veg-friendly version roasted in maple syrup and garam masala; and a vegan-friendly spin on our standby stuffed mushrooms using this white bean dip instead of goat cheese. Those recipes are posted below and linked, to make for easier recipe searching in the future.

Next post: reports and recipes from my office's vegan bake-off!

Sweet and Spicy Mixed Nuts

2010-01-06T23:45:00.000-05:00

(or, "Hot Nuts!")

3 Tbsp. peanut or vegetable oil
2 cups almonds, walnuts, pecans
1/2 cup sugar (I used white and brown)
1.5 tsp. ground cumin
1.5 tsp. salt
1 tsp. hot pepper flakes
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 Tbsp. sugar

Heat the oil in a heavy skillet or frying pan over medium high heat. Add nuts and sprinkle a half cup of the sugar over them. Saute until almonds are golden brown and the sugar caramelizes. Remove the nuts from the pan and toss in a large bowl with the salt, cumin, cinnamon, pepper flakes, and remaining sugar. Serve warm or at room temperature, and store in an airtight container.

Other People's Recipes: Grandma's Cheese Biscuits

2010-01-06T23:30:00.000-05:00

1/4 lb. butter
1/2 lb. sharp cheddar
1 cup flour, sifted
pinch of red pepper
pecans
(I also like to add grated Parmesan)

Grate the cheese, cream with the butter, and slowly incorporate the dry ingredients--without an electric mixer, this is no small feat. Softening the butter helps, but don't soften it to the extent where it loses its firmness--you want fairly solid pastry dough, not a melty cheesy mess. I ended up kneading the dough with my hands to get all of the flour worked in, which also helps soften it. Once the dry ingredients are incorporated, roll the dough into logs, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight.

Slice the logs into 1/4 inch sections, and place on an ungreased cookie sheet (just like store bought cookie dough). Place half a pecan in the center of each biscuit, and bake for ten minutes at 425 degrees, or until golden brown. Let cool and serve.

Bacon-Wrapped Butternut Squash

2010-01-06T23:18:00.000-05:00

butternut squash, cut into 1 inch cubes
bacon, cut in thirds
maple syrup
red or cayenne pepper

Adjust the quantity of squash and bacon for the number of guests you're feeding--we used one smallish squash for about six people.

Wrap the individual cubes in about a third of a slice of bacon, and skewer with a toothpick to hold. Place on ungreased baking sheet, season the cubes with a drizzle of maple syrup and dash of pepper. Bake at 375 degrees until the bacon is crispy and the squash is softened, about 10-15 minutes.

After you remove the cooked squash from the pan and plate it, you'll want to soak the pan almost immediately, as the grease/syrup combination is not a fun one to scrape off later...

Roasted Butternut Squash with Maple Syrup and Garam Masala

2010-01-06T23:10:00.000-05:00

butternut squash, seeded
maple syrup
garam masala
salt and pepper to taste

This is barely a recipe, I realize. We served it cubed and with toothpicks for finger food at a party, but would be just as good to spice up the traditional butter and brown sugar roasted butternut squash recipe.
Really simple: drizzle with maple syrup, season with a healthy dusting of garam masala, and bake at 375 degrees for 10-15 minutes or until softened.

Spiced Oatmeal and Cranberry Cookies

2009-12-07T08:40:00.006-05:00

1 cup butter, softened
1.5 cups packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon maple syrup
2 cups flour (I used whole wheat, sifted)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1.5 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
3 cups oats
1 cup dried cranberries

This was my first attempt at cookie making without an electric mixer. It's possible, but a wooden spoon is going to help you a lot more than a whisk, as I quickly realized.

Mix together the butter and brown sugar until incorporated, then add the eggs (one at a time), the vanilla extract, and maple syrup. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and spices, and mix into the batter gradually until incorporated. Mix in the oats and cranberries. Your dough will be pretty stiff and hard to stir manually at this point.

Spoon the dough onto greased cookie sheets and bake at 375 degrees for about 10 minutes, until the cookies start to brown. Transfer to a cooling rack until crispy. Makes about 2 dozen.

P.s. This is my creation, but the genealogy of these cookies goes back to this recipe and this one from Paula Deen, although Paula manages to use about 10 more ingredients than she needs (buttermilk?), and ices the cookies in brown butter frosting. God love her.

Scenes from a Feast

2009-11-29T14:52:00.036-05:00

Our Thanksgiving Menu
(for two)

Roasted Acorn Squash with B alti Spic ed Kasha Pilaf
Collard Greens with Bacon and Maple Syrup
Roasted Peruvian Purple Potatoes and Brussels Sprouts with Rosemary
Cranberry Sauce with Ginger and Cardamom
Roasted Turkey with Oyster Stuffing and Gravy
Apple Cider Panna Cotta

Wine:
2009 Georges Duboef Beaujolais Nouveau
2008 La Granja 360 Tempranillo

Roasted Acorn Squash with Balti Spiced Kasha Pilaf

2009-11-10T20:58:00.007-05:00

(Or, "A Groat-y Mess")

I've had this idea percolating for a while about marrying traditionally American autumn food with Indian flavors. Think sweet potato and squash dishes with a curry flair--both flavor profiles make use of cinnamon, ginger, and cloves. Zach has been thinking this way also, and made really delicious sweet potato samosas the other night that I am still nagging him to post.

In our Penzeys Indian spice set, there's a Balti spice mix that's sweet and cinnamon heavy, that I wanted to experiment with more on this theme. I had an acorn squash recipe from NPR (thanks Laura!) kicking around in my head, so I decided--after a later night at work and a stalled train home--to experiment (read: not exactly a 15 minute meal) at 8:30 on a Tuesday night. First possible disaster.

While the recipe on NPR claims that softening the squash should only take 15 minutes, when Laura made the recipe it took nearly an hour. Given the incinerating tendencies of our oven from hell (soon to be replaced, thanks to Zach's awesome lease-negotiating skills), however, this really wasn't a problem. Anticipating calamity, I swapped out olive oil (which burns) for vegetable oil (which doesn't) to coat the baking dish before roasting the squash, figuring I'd have ample time to ponder the Indian-inspired rice filling I was composing.

Oh was I wrong. After a few minutes at what our oven dial claims to be 200 degrees, I could already hear the squash sizzling away in the oven, essentially frying in the thin layer of now boiling-hot veggie oil in the baking dish. Secondly, when opening the cupboard where I was certain we had a box of wild rice, I came face to face with a bag of buckwheat groats (inherited when our chef neighbor Carla moved out last month, and the butt of many foul food-themed jokes in our kitchen while we've puzzled over what to do with them). And no wild rice. No rice at all. It was just me, this mystery grain, and my rapidly cooking acorn squash. Second potential disaster.

Figuring it was too late to back out now, I grabbed the "resealable" bag of groats from the top shelf of our cupboard...and promptly spilled a third of the bag everywhere. Literally thousands of tiny kernels covered the stovetop, the floor, the top of the fridge, myself, and my cat. Actual disaster.

By the time I had cleaned up the groat-spill and improvised an Indian-ish pilaf, I was having some serious doubts. The worst thing in the world is going out on your own culinary limb, and making something terrible or tasteless. As I sat down to eat, unswept groats crunching under my feet, I was prepared for the worst.

But my instincts were dead-on with this one: the sweetness of the squash and the familiar and seasonal tartness of the cranberries blended perfectly with the predominantly cinnamon and ginger mixture of the Balti seasoning. And the groats were good! They had a warm nutty flavor all their own that lent itself perfectly to the rest of the flavors happening in this dish. I was so pleased with myself I had seconds!

2 small to medium acorn squash, halved and seeded
1 cup buckwheat groats or kasha, toasted
1/4 cup walnut pieces, toasted
1/4 cup dried cranberries
2-2.5 cups vegetable stock
1-2 tsp. Balti seasoning*
1/2 tsp. sweet curry powder*
1 medium shallot or onion, chopped
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbs. olive or vegetable oil, divided
salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat a baking dish with a tablespoon of oil and place the squash face down to cook. Let cook 15 minutes or until tender. (I had to turn off the homicidal oven to let the squash ride out the heat. The hot oil popping continued, undeterred, until I finally had to take the pan out completely to avoid a total squash meltdown. That new oven can't come soon enough.)

On the stovetop, bring the vegetable stock to a boil and add the toasted groats. Let simmer, covered, until most of the stock is absorbed (it actually helped to have some leftover liquid when transferring to the curry, to keep it from drying out).

In a separate pan, heat a tablespoon of oil and add the shallot, cooking until translucent. Add the garlic, Balti seasoning, curry, salt and pepper. Add the cooked groats and stir to incorporate. Add the walnuts and cranberries, and add additional seasoning to taste.

Ideally the squash and the pilaf should cook in a relatively similar amount of time, but the squash will hold its heat if you need to pull it out of the oven to keep from overcooking.

Serves 4

*Balti and sweet curry are each blends of other spices. I've been combing the interweb for a Balti recipe that sounds comparable to our mix, but am not finding one. You can always try your own approximation, or you can order from Penzeys. I cannot recommend them highly enough.

Smashing Pumpkins--For a Good Cause

2009-11-07T13:06:00.006-05:00

Well we've fallen back, almost frosted last night, and have started looking at plane tickets home for Christmas. Winter is truly approaching. But alas, what to do with all of that's left of the fall? I'll soon post a recipe for all of the great apples and pears that are now in season. But what about the waste? Earth Matter is taking on the remnants of fall head on. This past Wednesday they hosted The Great Bushwick Pumpkin Smash at the Bushwick Farmer's Market to put all those rotting Jack-o-lanterns to good use. Participants smashed and bashed, dropped and chopped, hit and split, and even cut up their old pumpkins with chain saws--all in support of Earth Matter's community composting program at The Secret Garden.

Earth Matter is also organizing leaf collection days to stockpile good carbon-rich materials for the compost that will soon be feeding The Secret Garden. So check out their website for more info. So without further ado, here's my contribution to their effort:

Also, do check out Youth Noise blogger James Hodges' piece on the event: good video and a great picture of my soon-to-be demolished Fairy Tale spook.

In other composting news, I just bagged up 10 more gallons of finished compost, with our other bin almost overflowing with contributions from our neighbors. I think our building is ready for some rooftop garden expansion for next year...

Squash Season

2009-10-30T20:22:00.008-04:00

Our fridge has been invaded by a number of curvaceous seasonal vegetables!

Thanks to our final installment from Bushwick CSA, and leftovers from Zach's gig delivering food for CENYC, our fridge is stocked with squash--we still have a whole butternut squash after last weekend's lasagna, the beautiful orange insides of our heirloom jack'o'lantern, and an unidentified section of mystery squash that came to us cling-wrapped from the CSA.

We've been doing some R&D on recipes for the past week, specifically looking for veggie recipes that aren't laced with butter, cheese, or cream--I'm still learning how to appreciate vegetables, I guess. One of my favorite resources for innovative vegetable-centric recipes is Heidi Swanson's 101 Cookb ooks, where we found the basis for the recipe below. Wanting to utilize what we already had, we swapped black beans for adzuki, and used a combination of the leftover butternut squash pureé and heirloom pumpkin--which made our soup a gorgeous, bright orange color. Garnished with some cilantro and a thick dollop of yogurt, the end result is a recipe that straddles Mexican and Indian flavor profiles, landing somewhere between soup and chili and curry (it'd probably be really good over rice too). The recipe yields a lot, but Zach and I both had second helpings. This is quickly going to become a winter favorite.

Spicy Squash Soup with Black Beans and Cilantro
Borrowed and adapted from this recipe by Heidi Swanson

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon dried coriander
2 teaspoons finely chopped chipotle pepper (we used canned peppers in adobo sauce), chopped
2 teaspoons fine grain sea salt
2 medium-large onions
6 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups butternut squash or pumpkin, chopped
5 - 6 cups vegetable broth
4 cups cooked or canned black beans
Fresh cilantro, chopped
Plain, Greek-style yogurt, optional

The soup begins like a curry dish: heat the oil and add the spices first--cinnamon, coriander, chipotle, and salt--allowing the oil to infuse. Add the onions and saute until translucent, then add the garlic and squash, stirring to incorporate the spices. Add the broth (ours was homemade from CSA leftovers this summer), and bring to a boil. Once the soup has started to boil, cover and reduce to a simmer for 5-10 minutes to cook and soften the squash. Stir in the beans and cook for a few more minutes. Serve and sprinkle with cilantro and a dollop of yogurt (or not, if you're vegan).

Happy Halloween :)

Butternut Squash Lasagna with Sage Butter Bechamel

2009-10-26T20:23:00.006-04:00

Adapted from this recipe by Giada De Laurentiis.

I made the original version of this recipe in college--before I even met Zach, or saw the poster of Giada on the wall of his office at OU....I thought of it again after getting twin butternut squashes from one of Zach's CENYC deliveries. I remembered it was sweet and suuuper rich--definitely not something you serve as a main course--and wanted to see if I could bend it to something more savory.

Here I've swapped out the almond biscotti for toasted pine nuts and walnuts, and moved the spices around to concentrate the spice with the squash, and making a browned sage butter bechamel instead. I used mozzarella, but am wondering if a nuttier, stronger cheese (gouda? ) would be a better match for the naturally sweet squash and the mellow and creamy bechamel. Let me know if you try it successfully with something else.

1 butternut squash, peeled and seeded, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tsp. nutmeg
pinch cinnamon
2 Tbsp. pine nuts, toasted
1/4 cup walnut pieces, toasted
mozzarella
no boil lasagna noodles
Parmesan
salt and pepper to taste

Sage Butter Bechamel
1/4 cup butter
3-4 leaves fresh sage
1/4 cup flour
3.5 cups milk
salt to taste

Saute the squash in a large skillet over medium heat, cover and simmer until soft and falling apart. Transfer to a food processor and add nutmeg, cinnamon, and toasted nuts. Pulse until mixed and smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste.

In a saucepan, melt the butter with the sage leaves. Heat until the butter is slightly brown, and mix in the flour. Slowly whisk in the milk, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until sauce thickens, stirring often.

Lightly grease a rectangular baking dish with butter. Spread some of the sauce in the bottom of the pan, and then add a layer of lasagna noodles. Spread the pureed squash over the noodles in a thick layer, and top with mozzarella and more sauce. Repeat. Cover the final layer of noodles with sauce, mozzarella, and Parmesan.

Cover with foil and bake about 30-40 minutes at 375 degrees (which is totally arbitrary in our heinous oven). Uncover and bake for another 10 minutes until the cheese has browned. Let sit a few minutes and serve.

We're Tweeting!

2009-10-13T22:37:00.003-04:00

Manda's been skeptical about Twitter for a while, but after an amazing dinner of potato and leek soup, we had the urge to share our instantaneous gustatory jubilation with the world. So we're tweeting.

We're still getting the hang of it, but if you've got an account, you can find us @YngBrokeHungry.

Other People's Recipes: Potato and Leek Soup

2009-10-13T19:37:00.000-04:00

From Emeril Lagasse

This is seriously the most delicious thing we've made in recent history. If we could take credit, we would.

1 large leek

2 bay leaves

20 black peppercorns

4 sprigs of fresh thyme

2 Tbsp. butter

2 strips bacon, chopped

1/2 cup dry white wine

5 cups chicken stock (we used homemade veggie)

1 pound potatoes (we used a mix of small new potatoes and peruvian purples--this did not change the color of the soup)

1 1/2 tsp. salt

3/4 tsp. white pepper (we used black)

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 clove of garlic (our one addition)

Trim the green portions of the leek and, using 2 of the largest and longest leaves, make a bouquet garni by folding the 2 leaves around the bay leaves, peppercorns and thyme. Tie into a package-shaped bundle with kitchen twine or bundle in a piece of cheesecloth. Halve the white part of the leek lengthwise and rinse well. Slice thinly crosswise and set aside.

In a large soup pot over medium heat, melt the butter and add the bacon. Cook for 5 to 6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the bacon is very soft and has rendered most of its fat. Add the chopped leeks and cook until wilted, about 5 minutes. (Add the garlic just before the wine, without letting the garlic brown—this will keep it mild.) Add the wine and bring to a boil. Add the reserved bouquet garni, chicken stock, potatoes, salt and white pepper, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes, or until the potatoes are falling apart.

Remove the bouquet garni and puree the soup in a food processor or blender. (Alternately, if you own an immersion blender, puree the soup directly in the pot.) Stir in the cream and adjust the seasoning, if necessary (it won’t be).

Back to the Blog!

2009-10-10T17:00:00.001-04:00

After a long and unintended hiatus, we find ourselves returning to the kitchen and this blog at the end of the summer harvest. Our adventures in local eating took us all over Brooklyn and Manhattan, looking for ingredients and restaurants that fit within our guidelines. Our fridge transformed into a repository for every kind of leafy green and root vegetable known to man. We learned to love the weird sputnik-shaped kohlrabi, the outrageously more flavorful farm-grown popcorn, and the transformative power of bacon grease.

But we also failed to live up to our ideals--at least in the all-encompassing, life-changing way we expected this experiment to go. We still made guacamole for parties. Manda never mastered the art of packing her own local lunch, instead of the easy cop out of the Whole Foods t akeout bar (the Indian food does say that it's local...?). We still ate out at restaurants of dubious sourcing. We forgot to pick up our CSA rations. And when push came to shove, and we had houseguests, or it was raining, or we were tired, we went to the grocery store instead of the farmers' market. Manda bought a $10 heirloom tomato at Whole Foods in a moment of supreme locavore laziness.

So even in the gusto-fabulous borough of Brooklyn, sometimes life intervenes. The wide availability of cheap food from all corners of the earth is a luxury we as Americans have become accustomed to, and--if nothing else--this experiment gave us a greater appreciation for the food on our plate, wherever it came from. But we did pick up some good habits--scrutinizing labels, using our leftovers, pickling, and learning new recipes for the veggies available to us. If we had to venture a guess, we'd put our 100-mile success rate at about 60%.

Zach's summer-long ascent to full-on urban farming, both on rooftops and at Added Value, provide d us with a steady stream of free produce. At the end of a hard Saturday workday and busy ma rket, there would always be plenty of extra produce--from collard greens and bush beans--to split bet ween the students and staff. Zach gladly brought home many a leftover from the farm, including several pounds of cucumbers who found a happy home during his canning extravaganzas towards the end of August. We have now stockpiled 12 pints of pickled cucumbers and a number of other goods from Added Value and beyond--including some bangin' peach preserves.

So here we are in Autumn. Starting to warm up to new flavors and ingredients, tonight we pan fried some catfish fillets with bacon grease-less collards and sweet potato fries, and washed it down with Southampton Publick House's spicy Pumpkin ale--one of an abundance of pumpkin craft beers now available. We also recently dusted off last winter's Sweet Potato and Sage Butter Pasta recipe, and--always my favorite--Zach's Tomato and Basil Bisque. But the wheels are turning, and we're ready to jump back into the cooking and blogging swing of things, so stay tuned for more fall food!

Pan-Fried Catfish, Collard Greens, and Sweet Potato Fries

2009-10-05T23:47:00.009-04:00

This soul food dinner was inspired by the changing fall flavors and several awesome meals we've had at Peaches in Bed-Stuy. Even though the service is consistently slow and sub-par, the food and flavor of the restaurant more than make up for it. Their po'boys are delicious, but it's their spicy, barbecue fries that are the real stars of the menu.

Here we took the catfish out of the bun, swapped the coleslaw for collards, and fried up some sweet potatoes.

It was delicious, and very easy. We hope you like it too!

Catfish:

Lightly coat both sides of a catfish fillet in a mixture of flour, salt, pepper, and spices--we used Penzey's Galena Street Rub, a sweet barbecue-like seasoning salt that my mom loves on steak and ribs. We found it to be equally good on fish. In a shallow saute pan, melt a tablespoon of butter over medium high heat. Add the filets and cook a few minutes on each side until lightly browned.

Collard Greens:

We've made these before with different types of greens--chard, beet greens, you name it. When using real, elephant ear-sized collards, just be prepared for it to take longer to cook down. For the bacon grease version, click here. This time around, though, we substituted a tablespoon or two of olive oil in place of the grease, and sweetened the collards with a little bit of maple syrup. Easy changes and it's veg friendly!

Sweet Potato Fries:

Cut potatoes into long, thin shoestring fries. Rinse potatoes and soak in ice water for 30 minutes. Preheat deep frier, or heat oil in a deep pan. Drain off the ice water and lightly pat potatoes dry. Add potatoes to the hot oil and fry for 1 1/2 minutes. Remove potatoes from the frier and lay out on paper towels for about 10 minutes. Return potatoes to deep frier and fry until golden brown, about 3-4 minutes. Remove from oil and briefly lay out on paper towels. Salt and serve.

**Anyone have any suggestions for dipping sauce for these guys? We weren't feeling like mayo, but we couldn't come up with anything more creative.

Question

2009-09-04T20:33:00.005-04:00

How do you store 15 gallons of finished compost on a rooftop in the city?

Seriously.

I need to know in about two weeks.

Our third batch of compost is finishing nicely. We now have a two bin system working, so we always have an OPEN bin to add fresh food waste and a CLOSED one for aging and finishing. I think we'll need to expand our operations...

Speaking of compost, if you live in Bushwick/Bed-Stuy and love compost as much as I do, check out Earth Matter. Then stay tuned for some exciting community composting news.

The Challenges of Farming a Rooftop

2009-08-02T14:53:00.010-04:00

Extreme heat, full on wind, 10 hours of uninhibited sunlight, dog poop, hungry neighbors, hungry pigeons, grumpy plant roots in all-of-the-sudden-too-small containers, too much water, not enough water, too much water, not enough water, hot April, cool rain all June, disabling humidity in July, rain, rain, rain.

And now this:

Damn.

After four months of hard work, nothing can be more wrenching than throwing away four big, beautiful ripening heirloom tomatoes due to Blossom End Rot. It seems this physiological condition is the ultimate anticlimax. Just as the fruit is bursting forth on our big beautiful heirloom tomato plants, just as we feel the season approaching, as corn starts making an appearance at farmer's markets and we turn the corner to August, just when we start thinking 'pay off', the fruits of our labor are giving up early. Or really, they're working TOO hard and outgrowing their skins. My salsa plans are truncated.

At least we're not dealing with the tomato blight that is sweeping the Northeast. Due to the massive amount of rain we have received this summer, farmers in the Northeast are fighting with the same fungus that caused the Irish Potato Famine in 1845. Not a great summer for a lot of tomato growers around this way...

On a positive note, however, we have been fortunate enough to harvest about 3 lbs. of Royal Burgandy beans, beets, greens, bell peppers, a ton of herbs, and 8 HUUUGE cucumbers. These cucumbers have definitely been the success story of the summer, as they've made for some fantastic pickles.

So I'm sharing here a recipe for quick pickles. I'm not totally schooled on canning yet, so have no way to store these cukes for more than a month.

Rooftop Spicy Garlic Quick Pickles (Pickens' Pickles?)

1 large cucumber

1/2 cup white vinegar

1/2 cup water

4 cloves garlic, crushed

6 sprigs dill (the flower is also super flavorful before it goes to seed, put that in there too)

1 chili, cut in half

2 tsp salt

Slice the cucumber into your preferred pickle portion. Some like spears, some like chips, some like the whole damn thing. Put the sliced cucumber into a 16-20 oz jar with 3 sprigs of dill, half of the chili, and 2 cloves of garlic. Add the remaining garlic, dill, and chili to a medium saucepan with the vinegar, water, and salt. Bring the mixture to a boil. Let boil for 5 minutes, turn off heat, and immediately pour mixture into jar. Seal it up tight, let it cool to room temperature, then stick it in your fridge for about a week.

I always get antsy and have to 'test' the pickles after a couple of days. They won't be done. Just be patient. It's well worth the wait.

Also, be sure to eat the pickles within a month. Since you're not cooking and canning them, they will spoil just like any produce. That's ok though, because they taste too good to keep around for very long.

NOTE: This recipe was specifically requested by my co-worker Cara, who blogs at Fuzzy Buzzness, an awesome blog about beekeeping, nature, sustainability, and so much more good stuff.

Bushwick Farmers Market: Interview with Travis Tench

2009-07-09T14:02:00.018-04:00

By Chloë Bass for YB&H

Last Wednesday, I attended the opening day of the Bushwick Farmers Market. Although the stalls weren't many in nu mber (the sad, but very real, effect of a cold, rainy spring and early summer), they were bustling with business. Red Jacket Orchards sold fruit, jam, and juices, and Chris Para of Roberta's sold loaves of his homemade pain au levain. Throughout the day, there were also demos by the Department of Health, representatives from the Woodbine Garden, and gardening activities going on in the new Linden community garden.

I was delighted by how many people expressed interest in the market, even if they were just passing through. I look forward to the continued growth of a community space where newcomer artists, young professionals, Spanish-speaking families, and African American matriarchs (just to name a few!) can bond a little over local apples. We can look forward to vegetables and more in the coming weeks, as the weather heats up and vendors have more to sell.

On Saturday, I sat down with Travis Tench, the manager of the Bushwick Farmers Market. We had a lovely chat about how he got involved with this wonderful (and much needed!) project, the advantages of buying local produce, and the plans for the market now and in the future. I'm excited to share that conversation with you, thanks to Manda and Zach's blog-hosting generosity.

Travis will be at the market every Wednesday through the end of October. If you want to ask him questions of your own, or are interested in getting involved, he'd be happy to meet you! You can also reach him at travis@bushwickfarmersmarket.org.

Photos courtesy Laura Braslow. Podcast hosting by Podbean.

But What Do I Cook?

2009-07-01T18:30:00.000-04:00

While the upside of buying locally is pretty self-evident--the karmic self-satisfaction of sticking it to the man, befriending the farmer, and saving the planet--the downside is my almost nightly ritual of opening the door to our vegetable-packed fridge and having no idea what to make myself to eat.

That pound bag of Martin's Pretzels has been coming in really handy.

I don't think I'm alone here. American food culture doesn't know what to do with the vast majority of vegetables out there aside from slathering them in salad dressing or hiding them in some combination of fat and carbs. And when I come home at 8pm to an empty apartment while Zach is at work, the last thing I want to do is make an elaborate meal for little ol' me...on second thought, maybe that's exactly what I should be doing...

The bottom line is I don't know how to eat my vegetables. So the bi-weekly CSA ration of plants I have always admired but never purchased is good for my culinary repertoire. The apple-potato qualities of kohlrabi, for instance, have become a new favorite--for lunch today I made myself a salad of julienne kohlrabi, golden raisins, walnuts, and an apple cider and maple syrup vinaigrette. It wasn't bad, but the recipe needs some tweaking before it's post-worthy.

Radishes are another example: since childhood I have only known them as the pretty-but-inedible component of relish trays. (Except on one occasion in elementary school where a friend and I convinced ourselves that the natural flavor complement for raw radishes was, in fact, chasers of Dr. Pepper. We managed to eat an entire ziploc bag-full this way.)

Thankfully, I have matured in my tastes (and tastebuds), and have found a number of resources for yummy veggie dishes--that don't call for Dr. Pepper. Here's a few I've made in the past couple of weeks (both inspired by other recipes I found in my research). Try mine, try theirs, eat your vegetables.

Roasted Radishes with Arugula and Feta
Adapted from this recipe at Food and Wine

6-8 radishes, sliced into thirds
2 cups arugula
2-3 Tbsp. feta cheese (Lynnhaven)
3-4 Tbsp. olive oil
lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

Pan fry the radishes in olive oil over medium high heat, seasoning with salt and pepper. When lightly browned (2-3 minutes), transfer the radishes to a baking pan and bake at 400 degrees until tender. Plate the arugula and feta before topping with cooked radishes, drizzle with olive oil from the pan and fresh lemon juice, and serve.

Pan-Fried Brussels Sprouts with Parmesan and Walnuts
Inspired by this recipe at 101 Cookbooks

3 cups brussels sprouts
1 tsp. fresh thyme leaves
1/3 cup fresh chives, minced
3 Tbsp. olive oil
2 - 3 Tbsp. lemon juice
1/2 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup Parmesan, grate
salt and pepper to taste

I have a really, really bad gag reflex when it comes to bitter greens, and Heidi's original recipe was for a raw brussels sprout salad. Yikes. I've always liked the sweet, browned outer leaves of sauteed sprouts, so here that process is democratized by shredding the sprouts before cooking, thus increasing the surface area exposed to the pan.

Shred the brussels sprouts into a bowl with the thyme and chives. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat and add the shredded sprouts. Drizzle with lemon juice, salt and pepper, and let simmer until leaves begin to get tender, or about 10 minutes. Add the walnuts and grate Parmesan over the brussels sprouts, and continue to simmer 3-4 more minutes or until leaves have begun to brown. Serve and enjoy.

Photo courtesy Gregory Wild-Smith via Flickr. No, it's not our fridge, but it looks a lot like it.

Window Farm, SIP-style

2009-06-30T15:16:00.007-04:00

In a further attempt to grow our own food and utilize what space we have here in the grassless urban prairie of Bushwick, I've just finished phase one of our very own Window Farm--but with some key alterations. I am still super excited about Sub-Irrigated Planters (even though my tomato plant wasn't covered properly and was getting suffocated by all the rain during the entire month of June), so I decided to build SIPs instead of a hydroponic system. Hydroponics are beyond me at this point, and using zero electricity was much more appealling.

I have installed 8 containers so far, four basil plants and four spinach plants. I am growing them in purposely-varied proportions of coconut coir and potting mix, ranging from 20% to 50% potting mix. The medium will be supplemented with compost tea to supply much-needed nutrients.

Again Kudos to Inside Urban Green for SIP design ideas. Additional Kudos to Lee Mandell at Boswyck Farms and the good people at Windowfarms.org. And a shoutout to my buddy Ashish for passing along the design.

Phase two will involve the installation of 8 more containers. Phase three will involve installing florescent lights for winter growing.

And now in our own backyard...

2009-06-29T11:14:00.003-04:00

Another exciting food development in the Shwick! Our friend, favorite cat-sitter, and Arts in Bushwick extraordinaire, Chloe Bass, will be guest blogging this week to introduce us to Travis Tench, the market coordinator.

Check out more info at www.BushwickFarmersMarket.org.

Living la Vida Locavore (or Living Loca-voraciously)

2009-06-28T21:39:00.010-04:00

It's been a little over two weeks since we started eating locally in earnest, and on the whole I think we're doing quite well. This morning we shared a breakfast of locally roasted coffee from Irving Farm, toast and fried eggs we picked up at the Greenmarket, local butter from Ronnybrook, and a big bowl of fresh blueberries, raspberries, and cherries, all from farms in New York and New Jersey.

Going to the Union Square Greenmarket every Saturday is becoming a nice little ritual--the way food shopping used to be--where we stock up on our weekly ration of milk and bread and fruits, comparing prices and determining what is essential and what can wait for another trip, gradually filling up our cloth bags until they're heavy and bursting. The Union Square market is hectic and packed, to be sure, but when we make our way through the crowd to go home, I notice how much more protective I am of my groceries--carefully guarding my delicate eggs and strawberries against the crush of foot traffic.

So how much is the locavore lifestyle costing us?

Some items are considerably more expensive--our delicious Irving Farm coffee was $12 for a pound bag, our Ronnybrook milk is $4 a quart, and meat and cheese in general are quite bit more than if we undiscerningly bought whatever was cheap at our neighborhood grocery store. But local produce has a narrower margin--our CSA share winds up costing us less than $14 a week for a considerable amount of vegetables, and this week we got a pint of raspberries for $5 (a bargain because it was the end of the day and they were trying to sell everything off). Not surprisingly, we stock up on more vegetables than we do meat and dairy, which has benefits for our health as well as our wallets.

We also offset a small part of our costs with the contributions of our now lush and blooming rooftop garden. So far we've harvested beets and their greens; lucked out on lamb's quarters, an edible weed we have in abundance; herbs like cilantro, basil, rosemary, dill, and chives; and a whole bunch of the beautiful purple beans pictured above, the seeds for which we bought on our weekend in Vermont in March. We've got a few little cucumbers and tomatoes on their way, and bell peppers in bloom, too.

So, since we promised we would, here is the recap of our groceries for this week, dollar for dollar:

Loaf of whole wheat bread - $4 (Greenmarket)
Dozen eggs - $3.50 (GM)
Quart of milk - $3.50 (Whole Foods - Ronnybrook)
Pint of raspberries - $5 (GM)
Pint of cherries - $5 (GM)
2 pints of blueberries - $10 (WF - from Jersey)
Broccoli, head of cabbage, romaine lettuce, kale, 2 zucchini, and 2 enormous turnips - $14 (CSA)
Pint of vanilla ice cream - $5 (WF - Adirondack Creamery)
2 Boston mackerel - $7.75 (WF)
1 kohlrabi - $.75 (GM)
1 lb. Irving Farm coffee- $12
1 lb. handmade pretzels- $5
3 hydroponic tomatoes- $4.50

That totals up to $80, which sounds like a lot. But I think a point worth noting is that buying directly from farmers puts us in better touch with the actual value of our food. Sure, it's quite a bit more expensive to buy local and sustainably raised meat from a butcher like Dickson's Farmstand Meats, but what kind of a life do we expect for a cow who's meat can be sold for a $1.99 a pound? What do we gain by saving thirty cents for an apple from New Zealand as opposed to an apple from upstate?

That's why we're doing this, folks. Stay tuned.

The First Big Test

2009-06-18T22:37:00.000-04:00

Even with sub-par weather, our rooftop/local food cookout went really well on Saturday--being that it was our first real test of our own 100 Mile Diet. We've had to do a lot of research over the past week to find out what we have access to, when it's in season, and where to find it. As evidenced by our last post, most of the food we would normally make for a casual cookout are off-limits. And some of the food we thought we'd be able to use raised more questions; for example, all of Whole Foods's "sustainably farmed" shrimp is from Vietnam, and the tortillas that are made right down the street from our apartment have a whole lot of preservative crap that we didn't anticipate.

So, necessarily, planning and preparing our menu took a lot more time and effort--we were working from whole ingredients, so we had to do everything, naturally. This included making mulberry syrup for mulberry mojitos from a tree across the street, making homemade pasta using Wild Hive Farm whole wheat flour, shredding Bushwick CSA kohlrabi for blue cheese slaw, and making Lynnhaven goat milk into ricotta for a roasted rooftop beet and goat cheese salad.

Whoa.

In terms of keeping within our guidelines, we were pretty successful with a few exceptions--the most frustrating of which was having to run out for Hellman's when my homemade mayo broke just before we were about to put it in the slaw (Alton Brown, you lied to me!). All in all, though, I'd venture to guess that about 85% of the food we served was from within 100 miles, and it cost us around $75-$80 for ingredients, a decent amount of which are still feeding us. After our next round of groceries, we'll do an accurate accounting of how shopping locally compares to shopping conveniently under normal, non-party circumstances.

It was a lot of work, but well worth it--we had a great meal with a bunch of good friends (next time, we'll try and cut down on prep so we spend less time in the kitchen and more time on the roof!). Here's the menu from our first foray into local cuisine, with full disclosure of any ingredients we didn't make exceptions for, or that we didn't already have in our cupboard:

Mulberry Mojitos

1 tbsp. Mulberry Simple Syrup (see recipe below)
1 tsp sugar
4-5 sprigs of fresh mint (rooftop in a couple of weeks!)
1/4 lemon
4 oz. rum--white, dark, whatever you like
2 oz. soda

Muddle mint, lemon and sugar--basically, you just want to get the juice out of the lemon and release the oils from the mint leaves. Add ice, rum and simple syrup. Shake well. Pour in glass and add soda. Drink. Enjoy.

Mulberry Simple Syrup
16 oz. fresh mulberries (from a tree across the street!)
1 cup sugar
1 cup water

Bring 1 cup of water and 1 cup of sugar to a boil. Add mulberries. Boil for 15 minutes, making sure to crush up mulberries as much as possible. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Syrup should barely stick to a spoon when ladled out. Remove from heat, strain off seeds and pulp, and let stand for about 1 hour.

Black Bean Dip

4 cups black beans, cooked and drained (Cayuga - about 200 miles away, but the closest we've found so far)
1/3 cup red onion, chopped (Mr. Kiwi)
1-2 cloves garlic, chopped (Greenmarket)
2-3 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp lime juice
1/3 cup cilantro, chopped (Roof garden/CSA)
1 tsp cumin
salt and pepper to taste

Add all ingredients to food processor or blender and mix until smooth. We made homemade tortilla chips in our deep fryer, unfortunately breaking our "no ingredients we wouldn't cook with ourselves" rule when we realized our locally-made tortillas contained a lot of preservatives. Luckily we live near a number of tortillerias, so we'll be on the hunt for a company that doesn't use a lot of additives.

Zach's Famous Salsa
With tomatoes from Shushan Valley Hydrofarm (available at the Union Square Greenmarket).

Mesclun Greens with Almonds, String Beans, and Dijon Vinaigrette
Greens from the CSA and beans from our garden.

Rooftop Cooked Greens
1 pound beet greens (roof garden)
1 pound lamb's quarters (roof garden)
1 pound yellow chard (CSA)
1/4 pound bacon (Marlow & Daughters)
1 shallot (Mr. Kiwi)
1 clove garlic (Greenmarket)
2 tbsp. white wine vinegar (Italy)
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/4 cup water
salt & pepper to taste

In a large skillet set to medium-high heat, sauté the bacon until lightly browned. Add the shallot, red pepper flakes, and garlic and sauté for 2 minutes. Add the greens and vinegar. Sauté for one minute. Greens should turn a brilliant green color by now. Add water, reduce heat slightly, and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Greens will reduce significantly. Serve it up.

Broccoli Blue Cheese Slaw with Kohlrabi and Radish
Kohlrabi and radishes from the CSA, blue cheese from Cato Corner Farm
Pictured, in progress, at right.

Roasted Beet Salad with Homemade Goat Milk Ricotta

2 pounds beets (from rooftop garden and Greenmarket)
1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1tsp olive oil
3-4 sprigs thyme, leaves removed from stem
1/8 fresh squeezed lemon
1/2 cup homemade goat milk ricotta*
1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 450 degrees (or in our case, to 'not quite on fire'). Cut beets into 1 inch cubes, then lay them out on one or two large pieces of aluminum foil. Add balsamic vinegar, olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and thyme. Fold foil up to form sealed packets or parcels, if you will. Place in the oven for about 2 hours. Remove from oven, open packets, and lightly rub the outside of the beets to remove skin. Prepare plate with goat cheese and a couple of beet greens for garnish. Place roasted beets on top! Good stuff.

*NOTE: While it's rewarding to know we can make our own cheese, ricotta didn't work well for this recipe. It was too dry and not too flavorful. Not to mention the goat milk didn't work so well for making ricotta. We'll go back to the standard chevre next time.

Homemade Pasta with Parmesan and Lemon Rosemary Olive Oil
I infused the olive oil myself with lemon peel and rosemary from our [now sadly deceased] rosemary bush.

Grilled Kebabs with Sausage and Bell Peppers
With garlic and Italian sausages from Marlow & Daughters, and peppers of questionable locality from Mr. Kiwi.

The other upside of working from whole [vegetable] ingredients, is that they make beautiful compost, helping to nourish the plants we're growing hyper-locally on the roof, and offsetting another big part of the chain we're attempting to break.

As a side note on resources, I've started exploring Local Fork and Leda's Urban Homestead for resources on local foods and wild forage in New York. Great resources that will help us all summer long!

A Rooftop Recipe

2009-06-17T14:57:00.005-04:00

As I mentioned in the last post, we've already started pulling a number of things out of the pots on our roof, and enjoyed cooking them up with some friends on Saturday. The full account of Saturday night is forthcoming--lots of good recipes and lots of good info on our 100 Mile Challenge.

To confirm that we are in fact cooking based on our rules, here's a quick recipe for a nice salad I'd call 90% local.

Rooftop Mix with Strawberries and Bleu Cheese

1/2 pound beet greens
1/2 pound Lamb's Quarters
1/4 pound string beans, blanched and cut into 1 inch pieces
1/4 cup strawberries (or in my case freshly-made strawberry preserves) quartered
1/4 cup bleu cheese, crumbled
Dijon vinaigrette

I'm not going to write out prep instructions for a salad. Just put it in a bowl and eat it up. It was delicious.

FYI--the beet greens, Lamb's Quarters and string beans came from the rooftop garden. The strawberries were from the Greenmarket and the deliciously sweet bleu cheese came from Cato Corner Farm in Colchester, CT.

Other People's Recipes: Costa Rican Beans and Rice

2009-06-13T21:23:00.000-04:00

From Manda's mom's recent visit to the rainforest

1 1/2 c. cooked brown or white rice
1 c. black beans
1 small onion, chopped
1 small red bell pepper
1 tbs. olive oil
1/4 c. cilantro, chopped
4 tbs. salsa lizano*

Cook dry black beans either according to package directions or boil in water about 2 inches above beans for 45 minutes or so with minced garlic, salt and chopped cilantro. Don't let them boil dry..add more water if needed. Beans should be a bit soft when ready. Fry onion in olive oil 2 mins or so. Pour in cooked beans. Add 2 T. of Lizano sauce and cook a few mins.but don't let it dry out. Pour in cooked rice and mix with beans. Add red pepper, finely chopped, cilantro and rest (2 T.) Lizano sauce. Let cook covered on very low for 2 mins. More Lizano sauce can be added to taste. Enjoy with sour cream, eggs, plantains or cheese.!!

From Mom: "You must find Salsa Lizano at a latino market! It's a tall dark bottle with a skinny neck and I think red and green label and it comes from Costa Rica, not Mexico."

Bounty

2009-06-13T09:50:00.004-04:00

Tonight we'll be enjoying beets, string beans and Lamb's Quarters (thanks for the tip Josh) all pulled from our garden yesterday!

Also, we'll be harping on this a lot in the near future I'm sure, but please go see Food Inc as soon as possible.

The Quest Begins...

2009-06-10T08:31:00.009-04:00

After setting forth our rules last Friday, we knew we were being idealistic. However, the full weight of what we were trying to do didn't hit me until sometime on Sunday, when I realized this means no avocados all summer. And we're having a rooftop cookout this Saturday.

Shit.

We can make homemade tortilla chips with tortillas from Bushwick...but where does the cornmeal come from, and does that count? With no tomatoes until July, and no avocados within a hundred miles, what do we serve with tortilla chips? Is there local tofu for our vegan friends? What about local booze? Is there anything in season right now beyond salad greens?

Necessarily, we've had to think of this week as our research week, and the rooftop cookout as our first real test of the guidelines. As we've been combing the NY locavore food scene for menu items, we've come across some encouraging finds:

Saxelby Cheese - My cheesemonger self was really worried about finding cheese when Vermont (cheese heaven) is outside of our 100 mile radius. Saxelby specializes in cheese from the northeast, including Vermont, but with many many offerings from New York, Connecticut, and New Jersey.
4th Street Food Co-op - Conveniently located a couple of blocks from my office, the food co-op stocks fresh produce and dried beans and grains from local growers (see below). They also have standard organic pre-packaged fare, and locally made tofu.
Cayuga Pure Organics - It proves the depth of my ignorance about where my food comes from that I didn't even know where beans could be grown. Cayuga has a variety of beans, and sells at the Greenmarkets in Union Square and Williamsburg, and the 4th Street Co-op carries their beans as well.
Marlowe and Daughters - Zach and I have known about them for a while, but given the small amount of meat consumption that occurs within this apartment, we haven't visited. A small butcher shop under the Williamsburg Bridge, they buy only local, pasture-raised whole animals and break down the meat onsite.

Putting together a coherent menu from the ingredients we have is proving to be a challenge--our first batch from the Bushwick CSA arrived yesterday, full of chard, mesclun, radishes, and the sputnik-shaped kohlrabi (apparently it tastes like broccoli, so we're thinking blue cheese slaw). Zach's planning to harvest his first round of beets to roast with some local goat cheese from the Greenmarket, and he picked up some black and red beans from Cuyaga we're not sure what to do with yet. Sausages or some kind of meat for grilling from M&D is likely, plus some good Brooklyn beers, and hopefully homemade pasta salad if I can get Zach to make me some noodles.

The rooftop cookout is Saturday evening and open to all, especially if you're neighbors we haven't met yet. Weather permitting (fingers crossed), we'll be up on the roof around 6ish, and there's rumors that some of our other neighbors will be projecting The Big Lebowski onto the adjacent building around 9pm. We will gladly accept contributions of additional food and beverages, local or otherwise.

If you can't make it, we'll give the full menu and play by play on Sunday, along with an accounting of how much we spent on all of our local ingredients, compared to what we could expect to pay at the supermarket. Here's hoping for good weather and a big and tasty spread!

Putting Our Money Where Our Mouths Are

2009-06-05T21:30:00.004-04:00

I recently finished reading Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food. While I didn't enjoy it nearly as much as Ominvore's Dillemma (which frankly, I just found more interesting), it did get me thinking about the vaguely-defined rules by which I choose what I eat, and wondering what would happen if I really tried to adhere to the food values I profess: locality, sustainability, and respect for life. How possible is it--as a young, broke, and hungry citizen of the most unnatural city on earth--to live by one's culinary ideals?

At the end of In Defense, Pollan offers a list of guidelines to expand upon the book's thesis: "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." I asked Zach if he'd be game for writing our own rules, inspired by Pollan's, and trying to live by them faithfully for the rest of the summer, blogging all the way and holding ourselves accountable to the limitations we've set. Not surprisingly, he's up for the challenge.

So, starting with the guidance of MP, here's the guidelines to which we've agreed. We're starting with a certain level of idealism, understanding that we will necessarily run into roadblocks and instances where we may need to reevaluate or make observances. Hitting challenges will only inform us about what is possible, and what exists in our New York ecosystem. Without further ado...

No high fructose corn syrup.
It's really effing bad for you. Enough said.

No ingredients we wouldn't cook with ourselves.
This more or less cuts out all additives, preservatives, corn and soy derivatives, and everything else that wouldn't have been part of the daily diet of our great great grandmas. Read the ingredients on your loaf of bread and be very, very afraid.

...and, if we can make it ourselves, we should.
There's a number of foods that we can "manufacture" ourselves, like ricotta cheese, yogurt, ice cream, and pasta (if it weren't for the incinerator tendencies of our oven, we could include a lot of baked goods as well). There's a certain wisdom in savoring foods that are labor-intensive. Within the limitations of each of our schedules, we will strive to make as much as we physically can.

No food from further than 100 miles away.
This is the true test. We've already identified some exceptions, which are staples that cannot reasonably be grown in the American Northeast: coffee, many spices, salt, citrus, and olive oil. We've also added wine and cheese, understanding that we can get these locally, but have decided these are luxuries we want to allow ourselves. (Maybe this will encourage us to try more local wines and cheeses as we're more conscious of our local food offerings) But we can reasonbly expect to find good base ingredients from around the tri-state area and intend to test that belief as much as possible.

No meat or seafood that isn't sustainably farmed or caught.
I'm still on the fence about meat-eating, but pastured meat is really the only responsible option in terms of both the life of the animal and the nutritional quality of the meat. Likewise, seafood can be farmed sustainably or wild-caught, and these are important distinctions for the health of our oceans. Check out the Monterey Bay Aguarium's Seafood Watch Program for more info on guilt-free fish.

UPDATE: Read Mark Bittman's excellent article on the perils of eating fish responsibly. Clearly, he read our minds.

Buy from local producers whenever possible.
Here we hit some gray territory. How do we support our local restaurants, when we know their base ingredients may not adhere to the rules above? While we can't guarantee that they abide by the 100 Mile Rule, we can seek out places that specifically source local, sustainable ingredients, and we can hold our restaurants accountable by asking where they get their seafood, meat, etc.

--
We have taken some concrete steps already. We signed up for the Bushwick CSA and will be receiving bountiful bi-weekly shares of local, seasonal produce in the coming week. We're growing a good number of veggies on our roof. And we're not big fans of processed food. So it can't be that much of a reality check, right?

We think trying to abide by these rules will illuminate some very interesting realities about our food environment and offerings in New York City. Let's be honest--what happens when we can't find any wheat products or local corn in June? We still need carbs right? This is going to serve as a test of our boundaries, as New Yorkers, urbanites, and kids on a budget.

Head to Head: Traditional Planter vs. Sub-Irrigated Planter

2009-06-02T13:54:00.001-04:00

ROUND ONE: HEIRLOOM TOMATOES

VS.

After conversing with the Greenscaper over at Inside Urban Green, I've done a lot of research on sub-irrigated planters, or SIPs. Often referred to as 'self-watering' containers, SIPs draw water from a reservoir at the bottom of the container. A cup filled with soil submerged in the reservoir acts as a wick to supply the goods to the plant roots. Inside Urban Green claims you can get 50% more produce from plants grown in SIPs, using less water and less soil. I'm up for the challenge!

I won't go into a lot of detail about the construction of the SIPs or the science of it all. Instead I'll leave it to these guys. My contributions to the scene are as follows: 1.) I didn't pay a dime for either of these two planters. 2.) I'm going to grow by traditional methods and SIPs and then compare the results of each at the end of the season. This will serve as a clear, rigorous methodologist-friendly test case for SIPs.

First off, a note on the cost. Everything I used to build my two SIPs was found on the street (New Yorkers have such useful garbage) or collected from the recycling units in my apartment building. I think this serves as a great example of how inexpensive good rooftop and urban gardening can be. In an urban environment like Brooklyn, we are surrounded by all the tools we need if we just look! If you have sun, good eyes, and a knife that can cut plastic, you have everything you need to get started. Furthermore, what could be more green than diverting these materials from landfills or energy-intensive recycling processes?

So in my super cheap, organic SIPs, I'll be growing heirloom tomatoes and strawberries. As a good test for my SIP's efficiency and growth capacity, I'm going to grow heirloom tomatoes side by side this year--one in a SIP and one in a traditional container. I'll post picture updates to show which one is winning. Right now, the traditional planter has a bit of a head start, as you can see in the pictures above.

If the SIP ends up producing more, I'll be sold. The SIPs are easy to make, inexpensive, save water and soil, save time, and can be moved anywhere the sun is shining. If it grows tomatoes like it should, it can revolutionize the way we think of gardening and agriculture in an urban environment. This is largely the goal of the Greenscaper and his motivation for starting the Center for Urban Greenscaping. I encourage you to check out his blog or visit him at one of his upcoming demonstrations!

Oh. My. God. Bouillabaisse.

2009-05-30T17:10:00.002-04:00

It has been a week of good food for Zach and I. We [finally!] have a cafe within walking distance, we're eagerly awaiting our first installment of veggies from our new Bushwick CSA, I finally visited Tandem last night and had the most amazing Cotes du Rhone rosé and chocolate cake, and we've done a lot of cooking, to boot!

The star of the week, however, was Tuesday night's bouillabaisse.

After debating over Gchat what to make for dinner, given the dreary weather conditions, we settled on something warm and brothy. I've been a little intimidated by complex fish dishes, but after a split-second's hesitation, we decided to go for it. Making our decision even easier was the $6 bag of mussels I picked up at Whole Foods that lasted us into another delicious meal (we'll post that next), as well as a pound of wild caught sole for $6, and a decent $6 sauvignon blanc at Bowery and Vine.

Zach also had a stroke of genius and decided to make some fresh homemade garlic fries. The result was a kind of moules frites on steroids. Delicious butter-wine broth, cheesy garlic fries, and mineraly mussels. We outdid ourselves. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

Bouillabaisse

1/2 lb. mussels
1/3 lb. sole fillet (or any white fish), cubed
6-10 jumbo shrimp
1 cup dry white wine
4 cups vegetable stock or fish stock
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 shallot, diced
1 tomato, diced
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 lemon, juiced
1 tsp thyme
salt and pepper to taste
(we also threw in the rind from our Manchego, but this is by no means is required)

Over medium high heat, add olive oil and butter to a large stock pot. Add garlic and shallot and sauté for one minute. Add tomato and sauté for one more minute. Add mussels. Sauté for one minute and then cover in white wine and stock. Add lemon juice, thyme, salt, and pepper. Increase heat and cover pot to bring to a boil. Once boiling, add remaining seafood and reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes. The mussels should have opened up and the fish should be white and firm to the touch. Eat. Enjoy. Yum.

Manchego Garlic French Fries

2 large russett potatoes
2 cloves garlic, grated fine
2 tbsp manchego, grated fine
1/2 tbsp butter
salt and pepper to taste

Cut potatoes into long, thin shoestring fries. Rinse potatoes and soak in ice water for 30 minutes. Preheat deep frier, or heat oil in a deep pan. Drain off the ice water and lightly pat potatoes dry. Add potatoes to the hot oil and fry for 1 1/2 minutes. Remove potatoes from the frier and lay out on paper towels for about 10 minutes. Return potatoes to deep frier and fry until golden brown, about 3-4 minutes. Remove from oil and briefly lay out on paper towels. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Eat. Enjoy.

First Batch of Compost Complete!

2009-05-28T10:55:00.005-04:00

I just screened the first batch of compost, yielding about 15 pounds of (hopefully) nutrient rich goodness for all of our hungry plants. So in 6 weeks, using a plastic trash can, turned daily, I yielded 15 pounds of good soil conditioner/organic fertilizer.

As this was our first experiment with composting in a tight space, I have some observations and points to improve on. First of all, always cut up or shred your compost scraps. This is the best way to ensure quick decomposition. By shredding your kitchen and lawn (roof?) scraps, you increase the surface area for much needed bacteria. I had to pull out about 15 pounds of sticks and other goodies that didn't totally break down. I was also hoping the compost would be done about two weeks ago.

Second, be super careful about the amount of water. If the compost gets too wet, it really starts to stink. Take the lid off and let it dry out a bit, then turn it.

Third, get the bin off the ground. To increase air flow, I made even more holes in the bottom of the can and then raised it off the ground about a foot.

We'll be starting a new, larger batch this weekend, so stay tuned. Also, I'm soliciting comments on all things compost. Have experience with rooftop composting? Had problems? Have tips? Lay em on us.

Bushwick Eats: Athom Café

2009-05-24T11:18:00.013-04:00

Athom Café at 1095 Broadway, Brooklyn. It's there, just no sign yet.

Good mornin' Bushwick eaters! We're awake and blogging early (yes that's right, it is 11:15...) on a Sunday morning--all because of the much anticipated opening of Athom Café at 1096 Broadway and their freshly baked croissants. Jerome Douay, a former colleague of mine, has opened what is now a small café but will soon be a full-scale French restaurant right here in our neck of the 'town in the woods'.

A former manager at Tiny Cup and the son of a Parisian restaurant owner, Jerome has the knowledge and experience to get it done in Brooklyn. Athom Café is currently serving freshly-baked homemade pastries, omelettes, sandwiches, fresh squeezed orange juice and coffee--both iced and hot. We had two coffees, a delicious croissant (fresh out the oven at 9AM) and a great goat cheese and herb omelette with potatoes and salad--all for $11.

Currently the prices are real low, as he reaches out to the community and gets people to sample his fare. As you can see from the picture at right, he has a tiny front-room café with a large kitchen. He'll be expanding his dining room into the back room (behind the door in the picture) at which point he will be adding a bar and full dinner service.

Check out Athom Café, across the street from Goodbye Blue Monday and right next to Bruce High Quality Foundation, at 1096 Broadway.

View Larger Map

Beginning to Take Shape

2009-05-12T11:41:00.004-04:00

Our first cuke is on its way.

And just in time is the almost-finished compost. I'm thinking another week and then I'm going to separate some of the bigger pieces that haven't quite broken down and add them to a new compost batch. The existing batch has been on the roof for about a month and has worked well--no smell (generally), no mess, no complaints from neighbors.

Pani Puri. Translation: Water Bread?

2009-05-09T21:50:00.010-04:00

The upside of losing my boyfriend to India only two months after we had started dating is that I now have the pleasure of homemade Indian meals and chai on a semi-regular basis. Over the course of the past year and a half we've experimented with a number of different preparations and spice combinations, but the best recipes are still those that Zach learned from his friend Ashish's mom.

He's been talking fondly of pani puri for a couple weeks now--a little crispy fried bubble of dough that you fill with curry and then dunk in spiced water. I admit I was a little mystified about the appeal of what sounded like soggy crackers, but when I came home this afternoon, Zach already had a spicy chickpea and potato curry underway, so I jumped in to help roll out tiny little pancakes of bread dough while he whipped up the mint, tamarind, and chili water-sauce.

Do not let the simplicity of the water bread combo fool you: pani puri is addictively delicious. I would liken it to an Indian equivalent of bruschetta or seven layer dip--crispy bread, yummy toppings, bite-sized portions. Deadly, in this case, because the toppings are starchy and filling and SO GOOD. It's a perfect hot-weather dish, balancing the heat of the chiles with the tartness of the tamarind and the cool of the mint.

Puri (Bread):

1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup semolina flour (the traditional Indian recipe uses channa, or chickpea flour, so Zach improvised)
1/2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup water

Combine ingredients in a bowl and form into a dough ball, kneading for about 5 minutes until it's stretchy (but not sticky or gummy). Cover and refridgerate for 20 minutes. Rip off small pieces to form 1/2 inch balls of dough. Pinch and roll into thin (but not paper thin) silver dollar-sized rounds, and cover under damp cloth until ready to fry. Heat vegetable oil in a deep fryer or deep saucepan, and add puri a few at a time. The dough will puff up almost immediately, and should fry until a golden brown color and crispy.

Curry:

1 cup chickpeas
2 smallish potatoes, cubed (about a cup and a half)
1 tbsp fresh ginger, chopped or grated
2 cloves garlic
1/2 small red onion (about a quarter cup)
1 small serrano chile
1 tsp cumin seeds (ground cumin works too)
1 tsp tumeric
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp coriander powder
salt and black pepper
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp yogurt (vegans can omit--this helps thicken the curry, but is not essential)
1/2 cup water
1/8 cup fresh cilantro or coriander, chopped

Heat oil in a large skillet. Add cumin and let sizzle for a few seconds before adding tumeric, chili powder, and coriander powder. Add onion, garlic, and ginger and sauté for a minute or two to soften. Add serrano chile and sauté for another minute before adding potatos and chickpeas. Sauté everything in the pan and make sure all veggies are covered well with the spices, then add water. Cover and let simmer for 15 minutes. When water has reduced and potatoes have softened, remove cover and add yogurt and fresh cilantro/coriander. Cook for 5 minutes or until the curry thickens.

Pani (Water):

3 cups water
1 cup mint leaves
1 serrano chile
2 tbsp tamarind paste (Zach boiled ours down from the pods themselves)
juice from half a lemon
1 tsp cumin
1-2 tsp sugar
2 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper

Combine all ingredients with half of the water in a food processor. Blend thoroughly and then add remaining water. Pour through strainer and serve.

To eat:
Poke a hole in the puri, spoon curry into the hollow, and dip in the pani. Repeat.

UPDATE:
My friend Adi in India corrects our translation: "fyi - puri is not 'bread' -it's deepfried dough"

Who else is broke and hungry in New York? Skip Lunch today to help!

2009-05-06T11:14:00.004-04:00

As most of our readers know, the title of this blog and the subheading (exploring the gastronomical terrain...) are slightly tongue-in-cheek. Yes we are young, yes we don't have a ton of money, and yes we like to eat and are quite often hungry. In short, we're really a couple of twenty-somethings that like to cook, like to eat, and like to be resourceful all along the way. But there are plenty of New Yorkers whose day to day reality truly involves being 'broke and hungry'-- and about 400,000 of those New Yorkers are 'young' children.

So this is just a short note to remind us to keep things in perspective. That's why today you can help City Harvest feed the truly 'hungry' of New York. Today is their annual Skip Lunch fundraiser. City Harvest typically deals in food rescue, connecting New York restaurants with excess food to pantries and soup kitchens in ever-increasing need of quality food donations. But every year, they ask New Yorkers to brown bag it for a day and donate whatever money they would have spent on lunch at the deli or the buffet (or Tavern on the Green, or whatever...) and instead put it towards City Harvest's efforts.

If you want to join me in skipping lunch, you can find the donation page here: Skip Lunch Fight Hunger

Rooftop Garden Update: Compost and Seedlings

2009-04-28T22:11:00.015-04:00

Things are starting to come together on the roof. The weather has been HOT and SUNNY in NYC for the past four days, so the plants are coming to life. This is not really ideal transplantation weather, but due to the seedlings outgrowing their pots, we didn't have much of a choice. We have a ton of seedlings in a lot of BIG pots. We're ready this time.

But as I mentioned in my initial Rooftop Garden post, we're being extra sensitive about soil and nutrients. We didn't have enough of either last year. So as I mentioned, we're loading up on the soil--planting all our seedlings in pots at least double the size of last year's. But to take it a step further, and in the spirit of DIY and reducing waste, we've started composting food waste and other various plant life on the roof.

Composting is always a tricky task for gardeners who don't want to spend the (massive amount of) time perfecting a smelly pile of trash. Who would, right? We're extra sensitive to this in our rooftop setting because we share our space with about 40 other apartments-- we're not the only ones that would have to smell it. That said, We're staying true to some very basic rules of composting--no meat, dairy, fats or oils; plenty of turning; and tight water regulation.

To control the exposure of the food waste even further, we're using a fully-closed bin with a bunch of little air holes poked around the side and bottom. Typically, this would make the food waste break down a lot slower, as less air can get into the mixture. But I've added a lot of twigs and long grasses to ensure plenty of air pockets--and I turn the whole bin every day.

I've only smelled it once, just two days ago, when a bit of the liquid (where all the nutrients are!) spilled out onto the cement while turning the bin--too much water. I left the lid off for a bit this afternoon to let it air out, and added more paper and grass--no more smell.
--
And now for a short manifesto on composting: This is a continuation of my dedication to growing fruits and vegetables organically, despite the challenges posed by an unforgiving rooftop climate. The spirit of last year's garden and this year's garden has been reducing consumption and impact. We reuse items we find on the street (such as the bedspring string bean trellis I just erected) and try to maximize utility of household 'trash' (such as jam jars for pickles, OJ containers for watering, etc) for the benefit of our garden.

But the compost goes even further. I don't want to contribute to the over consumption of artificial substances that is the backbone of large-scale farming techniques--and not so much for the 'environmental' or health aspects of it all. If this garden is about empowering ourselves and learning the ways of soil, then we're going to take it all the way. I don't want to take any short cuts, because none exist in nature. I see it as a challenge to 'tame' the wilds of a roof that gets direct, unshaded sunlight 12 hours a day. We have to be mindful of wind, water, and soil--and learn to use all three to our benefit through smart planning. If it is possible to give the plants adequate nutrients through natural means, then that's how it's going to be.

It's the spirit of the challenge that excites DIY enthusiasts of all stripes. That's what has me hooked as well. How much consumption/waste CAN we eliminate? That's the central question when we think about this project.

UPDATE: Here's a picture of the bedspring trellis I mentioned--people throw out all types of good stuff in this city... Also, a picture of one of our 'thriving' cucumber plants. Can't wait to make pickles!

Whoops!

2009-04-23T11:27:00.007-04:00

The site was down for a week due to some "technical difficulties," as in I bought the domain youngbrokeandhungry.com and then totally screwed up the hosting addresses and various other blips and beeps that make up a web page, effectively sending our recipes into an Internet wormhole.

That said, for the time being, we're back on youngbrokeandhungry.blogspot.com. Eventually, we'll move the site. But even after we move it, you can always find us at the .blogspot address--it will just redirect you to the .com address. Confused? Don't worry, just read the recipes and eat good food...unless you're a web programer--and then you should email me...

As a token of our dedication to maintaining this page properly, for those that might have been scared by a week of "Server Not Found" messages, here's a recipe for Indian-style roti bread that's quick, easy, and tasty. I learned this recipe from my buddy's Indian mother while in Bombay. I'll post a pani poori recipe later next week...

Simply Roti

1 cup whole wheat flour
1tsp. veg. oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup water
1 additional tsp veg oil for pan cooking

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix loosely. Form into a tight ball. If the dough sticks to your hands after a minute of mixing, add a bit more flour. At this point, knead the dough on a flat surface for about 10 minutes--simply push your fingers in the middle to stretch it out, then fold it over to form another ball, and repeat. After 10 minutes of this, the dough should be a bit spongy/elastic. Cover with plastic and put in the fridge for 20 minutes. Preheat a skillet on medium-high heat. Prep your cutting board with a sprinkle of flour and then rip off 1inch diameter balls of dough. Flatten the ball of dough into a round, flat circle. Roll out flat and thin. Add 1/2 tsp of veg oil to the pan and add first roti. Cook for about 2 minutes on each side. As first roti is cooking, prepare the second, and repeat as many times as needed. Some people cook roti on an open flame, while others use a tava. Up to you...

It's best to prep the dough and then start making a curry to go along with the finished bread. So as the dough rests in the fridge, get your curry cooking. Ideally, you'll finish the bread as your curry is thickening up to perfection.

For the record, the images in this post are not mine. That is not my auntie or my roti. They have been used under Creative Commons attribution licenses. I acquired these images from the following flickr users, respectively: Nima..., Gopal1035, and Umair Mohsin.

Homemade Pasta with Shrimp and Lemon Pistachio Pesto

2009-04-11T19:44:00.021-04:00

Zach has been experimenting with making his own fresh pasta several times now (always, for some reason, when I seem to be out of the house...), and last weekend we decided to give it a go, creating a new spin on traditional pesto by substituting pistachios for pine nuts.

Okay, we know, how could we be posting a pistachio recipe with the FDA's current salmonella scare de jour? Because it was AWESOME. Check the recall list to make sure you're using good nuts, and then proceed with abandon.

Pasta:

3/4 cup semolina flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
2 eggs
dash of salt
1/2 tbs olive oil

(Zach followed this recipe on the back of the semolina package. He's working on a video to document the process, but for now here are some step-by-step stills to guide you along.)

Start by mixing the two flours and making a little bowl-shaped mound on your countertop or cutting board. Crack the eggs and add the oil and salt directly on top of the flour. Whip the eggs with a fork, and then slowly begin working in the flour until eggs are no longer runny. Then begin working the ingredients together with your hands until you have the beginnings of a small ball of dough.

Knead the dough by pressing it into your work surface and the folding it back on top of itself for about ten minutes or until you've formed a smooth, firm ball--the dough should be gummy and elastic, not overly moist, and not dried out and flaking. Put the dough in a plastic bag or airtight container and refrigerate for 20 minutes.

After refrigerating, coat your work surface with flour and roll out the dough to a consistent 1/16 of an inch throughout. At this point you have two options--you can attempt to cut noodles individually and uniformly with a large knife, or you can employ Zach's "cigar" technique--coat the flattened dough with flour to keep it from sticking on itself, and then roll it into a tube and slice to your desired noodle width. Just unroll the sliced dough spirals and you have a noodle! This is much quicker and ensures your noodles will be a consistent width from top to bottom.

After you've cut the noodles, lay them flat on a cookie sheet and refrigerate for another ten minutes. Then boil like you would any other pasta, and be sure to rinse after cooking. Any leftover raw pasta can be frozen to cook later.

Pesto:

1/2 cup of roasted pistachios, shelled
2-3 tbs. olive oil
2-3 tbs. grated parmesan
1/2 cup baby spinach leaves
1 clove of garlic, chopped
1 tsp. lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

Combine all of the ingredients in a food processor until blended to a smooth, creamy paste. Don't worry about thinning it too much with olive oil--when you add it to the cooked shrimp and pasta, it will dilute itself while retaining its strong flavor.

Shrimp:

8-10 jumbo shrimp, tails on
2-3 tbs. butter
splash of white wine

We kept the shrimp simple, only sautéing them in butter and white wine for a few minutes until they were pink. Any longer, and you run the risk of rubbery, flavorless seafood.

After both the shrimp and the pasta are cooked, add pesto and toss.

48 Hours in Vermont

2009-04-04T19:30:00.013-04:00

Last weekend, after a particularly hectic and exhausting week at work, Zach and I rewarded ourselves with a weekend escape to Vermont. We'd never been, and all of my gushing co-workers-- who gave us a number of great recommendations for our 48 hours--failed to mention that it was MUD season. Fortunately, we weren't put off by a little rain and dirty shoes, and our little red rental car managed the liquefied dirt roads without too much trouble.

The other perk of mud season is that we were more or less the ONLY tourists in all of Vermont--we had our beautiful B&B all to ourselves, and our friendly innkeeper was at our disposal for making reservations for dinner, an enormous fireside breakfast, and introducing us to some local farmers and their brand new baby goats.

After a gorgeous and therapeutic drive out of New York, we had dinner at Cafe Provence in Brandon, the closest little town to our out-in-the-middle-of-the-woods bed and breakfast. I, for one, did not expect fine dining in middle of nowhere Vermont, but Cafe Provence dealt us one of our most mind-blowing dinners in recent memory. We started with steamed mussels and a goat cheese salad that featured fried cakes of Blue Ledge chevre--a local goat cheese that we are already trying to find in New York. To drink we chose a bottle of Domaine André Brunel Côtes du Rhône, a delicious, spicy red that we both loved from the first sip. Dinner for me was pasta with tomatoes, olives, lemon, and more Blue Ledge chevre that was honestly, unequivocally the best pasta I have ever had. Ever. Zach chose the filet of beef with rosemary red wine sauce that was less stellar--we suggest Provence should try and hook up with a local beef farm to keep the locavore vibes going.

We woke up the next morning to a bountiful, beautiful breakfast right in front of the enormous dining room fireplace. Poached pears, granola and yogurt, piping hot croissants, omelettes and the most delicious maple sausage, and fresh squeezed orange juice and coffee. Heaven.

After breakfast, our hostess had arranged for us to visit newly born goats at Trevin Farms, a fledgling goat farm a short drive away. We were enthusiastically greeted by farmers Troy and Kevin, both ex-chefs from Boston, who immediately took us upstairs to meet the new babies, twin Nubian goats who were hanging out in a laundry basket next to a woodburning stove because they had gone through a long and rough birthing just the day before.

After getting to hold the babies, we walked down to the barn where the older goats and horses lived. On the way, Troy explained that Trevin was also a bed and breakfast farmstay, where they offered guests the opportunity to participate in the entire farming process, from feeding to milking to cheese-making. Zach is already planning our next visit.

Before heading back to the BK, we stopped at the Middlebury Co-Op to pick up some cheese and produce to bring home. In our basket we piled some Shelburne Farms Farmhouse Cheddar, Blue Ledge La Luna Farmstead Gouda and Herbal Chevre, enormous brussel sprouts, Vermont Coffee Company Cafe Alta Gracia, Long Trail IPA, and some organic veggie and flower seeds to continue planting in our windowsills.

Mud season or no, it was a hell of a way to spend a weekend. This morning we used the Blue Ledge herbal chevre in omeletes, and stuffed it in mushrooms tonight for an appetizer. And we've been pouring maple syrup on just about everything!

Rooftop Garden II, Four Important Rules

2009-04-02T09:05:00.030-04:00

Last year's initial adventure into rooftop gardening proved to be less-than-successful--we reaped three tiny "beefsteak" tomatoes, a couple of not so spicy jalapenos, and 4 or 5 baby cucumbers. BUT we did well on the herbs. We had a huge amount of dill, mint, thyme, basil, cilantro, and our rosemary bush is now about 3 feet in diameter and 3 feet tall. I've posted pictures of our 'harvest' previously, and for all the history and heady theory behind our rooftop adventure last year, see this post.

We learned a lot from our mistakes and are coming back strong this spring. One thing you might notice from our successes and failures from last year is the relative plant size. All the small stuff did fine. All the big stuff failed. So Rule #1 in rooftop gardening: Use more soil than you think you need. Our big plants needed more nutrients than we gave them, so were tiny and not yielding. In fact when the cucumber plant did bear fruit, other parts of the plant would die as all the nutrients were concentrated in one location. If you want your rooftop garden to flourish, give your plants soil for a rootball double the size of your plant.

We also ran into a problem of not getting fruit until very late in the summer--like late August and early September. This is due solely to the fact that I waited way too long to plant seeds. Rule #2: Start your seeds EARLY. I mean, we're not trying to grow for the long winter, or supply excess crops to the feds for hefty subsidies here, but we are trying to supplement the fresh fruits and veggies that we already get at Mr. Kiwi's. 20 or 30 seedlings shouldn't take up too much space in a windowsill or two. Get some small starter pots, or be a little resourceful--use coffee cans or biodegradable egg cartons. Start them NOW. We started growing in early March.

Of course there are risks associated with starting plants when the sun still isn't out and drafty windows chill the close-by air. If the sunlight and the heat aren't burning off any excess water, you run the risk of getting moldy plants. You really don't need to water more than once every three days. So Rule #3 (which becomes even more important below): Do not overwater your baby plants. Making sure your pots can drain well is also important--in addition to making sure there are holes at the bottom for water to run out, fill the bottom inch of your pot with some kind of rocks, gravel, or--in our case--broken terra cotta. The stone is porous and will hold some of the water, keeping your soil moist without turning into a swamp or overdrying.

But we ran into an even worse problem that leads to Rule #4: Use high quality soil. We bought some cheap 'organic' soil at a dollar store thinking, "It's just starter plants and soil, no harm in that." This is until fungus gnats started flying around our apartment in swarms. Our sweet basil, oregano, catnip, and chives totally bit the dust. So basically, if you buy cheap soil, you run the risk of it carrying a lot of fun stuff from China, like larvae that love baby plant roots. Use good quality organic soil like Hamptons Estate and make sure NOT to overwater. These little buggers thrive in that environment, we've come to find out.

So there you have it. Here's some pictures of our progress so far. On the roof, Manda and our neighbor have already arranged the plot-- lots of deep pots on our sunny roof, grouped together in the hopes of lessening the impact of the wind. We're growing two kinds of tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers, jalapenos, beets (yes!), purple string beans, strawberries, cilantro, Greek basil, tons of dill (for pickles), and even a watermelon or two. Updates and good recipes from last year to come soon!

MMMMMMM, Beets!

2009-03-03T20:02:00.007-05:00

I don't know if I'm iron deprived in these winter months of subsistence or what, but I've been craving the earthy, rich flavor of beets the past couple of weeks. Tonight I kept it simple and ripped off a Mark Bittman recipe for a nice Beet Salad. His is raw. Mine was not. I slice the beets and shallot extra thin then sautéed them in olive oil for about 10 minutes. I let the mix cool for about 20 minutes and mixed in the mustard, parsley, salt, pepper, and some tarragon vinegar. Nice. I'm not going to write out the recipe here, because it's not mine. Instead, I'd like to shoot some internet traffic Bittman's way, as I have loooooong loved his Minimalist column in the NYTimes and would be honored if he checked his web traffic and clicked on our link... Probably not going to happen. But I love the man's cooking all the same.

We also kept it simple with some Gorgonzola Ravioli from Trader Joe's--but with our own simple sauce. I roasted some walnuts, then added butter--sautéed until the butter was slightly brown. I then added a couple teaspoons of the pasta water, salt, pepper, and some goat cheese and mixed it all with the pasta. I know, I know, Trader Joe's ravioli... I know, I know, cheese on top of cheese. But after the snowstorm yesterday, I've still been in a sluggish mood, so that meal was actually quite an accomplishment. Besides, the whole thing cost about 6 bucks. Can't beet that.

Come on you knew that was coming.

Cheese is for Lovers

2009-02-15T13:57:00.008-05:00

This Valentine's Day was the cheesiest yet.

We had neglected to eat all morning, opting instead for mimosas and chocolate, so by the time we slid into our seats at Le Barricou for a late brunch, we were ravenous. Expectations were high as I'd been wanting to eat there for weeks, but after the first few sips of our lattes, we melted into the yellowed French newsprint papering the walls and the exceptional soul playlist providing our soundtrack. I had delicious eggs norwegian and garlic homefries, and Zach sunk his teeth into a sweet-looking burger and pommes frites. The friendly service, escapist ambience, and fantastic (and cheap!) food means we will definitely be going back sometime soon.

Le Barricou, 533 Grand Street, Brooklyn. 718.782.7372

Walking through Williamsburg after brunch, we decided--again--to forgo a full meal, swinging by UVA and Bedford C heese Shop to stock up on supplies for the patented Manda-Zach lazy, faux-European dinner: wine and hors d'oeuvres. The cheese shop is one of our favorite places on Bedford Avenue, and yet we always get intimidated by the enormous selection and range of truly phenomenal looking cheeses. This time we left with a small, individually wrapped wheel of goat cheese called bocconcino di pura capra. Milder than typical goat cheese you'd find on salad or pizza, this had a light, almost floral taste to it. It couldn't quite hold it's own with the gouda and very sharp cheddar we had, but we'll be giving it another go soon.

One of my favorite fancy shmancy appetizers is baked brie, mostly because it is so yummy and almost embarrassingly easy to make. This time around, we garnished it with strawberries and almonds, but truly almost any fruit, nuts, and honey combination and a few minutes in the oven will work.

As if that weren't enough cheese, Zach modified an older recipe of his (that we keep forgetting to post) for stuffed mushrooms. We filled baby bella caps with a fresh rosemary and shallot pepper cream cheese mix, and put those in the oven for a few minutes. The other morning I made a similar cream cheese mixture, but added some pine nuts, lemon thyme, and a little bit of lemon juice, which would probably also be insanely good inside a mushroom. I'll work on Zach to post the recipe for his original goat cheese version soon!

Under the Weather

2009-02-01T19:44:00.008-05:00

Today it seems that my normally above-average immune system has succumbed to the season, so I've spent the day in my pjs, on the couch, with the affectionate company of the kitten.

I tend to avoid all kinds of medication, which is why this morning I turned to Zach's and my sore throat remedy: a steaming mug of ginger, lemon, and honey. I had a similar and equally good version of this yesterday at Community on the Upper West Side (right across the street from the Seinfeld restaurant, incidentally), which was made with apple cider and mint.

Ginger Lemon Sore Throat Remedy

1 tablespoon of fresh, grated ginger
2-3 wedges of lemon
1-2 tablespoons of honey

1-2 teaspoons dried or fresh mint (optional)
dash of cinnamon (optional)

Pour steaming water over all the ingredients and let steep for a few minutes.

I also treated myself this morning to a new favorite recipe from Northeast K in gdom, a Bushwick restaurant that Zach discovered and that has quickly become one of our brunch favorites (we still need to check out a dinner service). The menu is fresh, organic and simple, and they make the best scrambled eggs I've ever had. The place is really popular among the locals, but they offer cartoons and free coffee in the basement lounge if you have to wait for a table.

One of the brunch starters is a bruschetta-like baguette toast topped with fresh avocado, lemon juice, olive oil, and what looks like a sprinkle of paprika. I've recreated it here on regular wheat toast, with a smoked paprika seasoning salt we love from Penzey's.

Northeast Kingdom, 18 Wyckoff Ave., Brooklyn, 718.386.3864

A little of this, a little of that...

2009-01-26T23:36:00.006-05:00

Tonight's post is a bit of a smorgasboard, given the total obliteration of my idle free time due to the new feline addition to our little family, and the amount of time the little guy is willing to spend chasing yarn around the apartment. Hours.

We did, however, manage to pause long enough this weekend to try out a new recipe from the good people at Food & Wine, cement our newest condiment obsession, and visit the new fresh face on the Manhattan cupcake scene. In no particular order...

Taramosalata = Caviar Mayonnaise

Unless you're a) Greek, or b) hip to the dip already, you might be thinking, 'caviar and mayo?' Let me explain. It's not so much actually caviar and Hellman's, but rather a creamy and fishy pink spread with a slightly higher profile than French onion dip, but isn't nearly as expensive as Beluga. Equally good on crackers or veggies, I'm waiting to figure out what kind of sandwich would benefit from some roe action. Jury is still out.

Butter Lane = Cupcakes for Grownups

After a not-so-awesome brunch on Sunday at Yuca Bar in the East Village, my friends and I rounded the corner of 7th and A to stumble upon this adorable little bake shop, whose website promises "pure ingredients like real vanilla bean, pure cocoa, and dark chocolate — along with locally sourced dairy ingredients — we hope to give foodies something to sink their teeth into besides straight sugar (although we'll have some of that too)." Amen to that.

The menu features mix and match cupcakes and frosting, with both French and American style vanilla and chocolate buttercream frosting, all of which you can sample prior to placing your order. My recommendation? Go French--according to the Cupcake Lady herself, the French recipe uses butter, cream, and granulated sugar, while the American version is simpler and relies on confectioner's sugar, which makes it much sweeter.

Having just had Crumbs cupcakes last week for an engagement celebration, I have to say I like the no-frills Butter Lane cakes better--the focus is on really good ingredients and flavors, not just feats of confectionary wizardry.

F&W Pumpkin and Yellow Split Pea Soup

Before trying this recipe yourself (which you should), a few disclaimers and suggestions:

- This is not a soup recipe. A lot of liquid goes in, but what comes out is something more along the lines of channa masala or Indian curry. Still good, but not soupy.
- Rather than using water like the recipe calls for, use vegetable stock. The sodium and extra flavor is sorely needed in the final product.
- Do not understimate the blandness of peas and squash. Season to taste, not to measurement.
- On that note, following one of the comments posted to the recipe, we found that fresh cilantro and a dollop of plain yogurt not only added color to the soup, they were also essential in helping round out the flavor.

When explaining the recipe's shortcomings to our chef-neighbor Carla, she imparted to me the holy trinity for fixing most dishes gone bland: lemon juice, Tabasco, and Worcestershire sauce. I did add some Tabasco, and considerably more lemon than the recipe called for. The Worcestershire I leave to your discretion.

We Got A Kitten!

2009-01-16T11:32:00.003-05:00

This has nothing to do with food, except that we've been too preoccupied to post recently. Can you blame us?

Pasta with Sweet Potato and Sage Butter Sauce

2008-12-12T20:13:00.006-05:00

Fiore, one of our new favorite restaurants in Williamsburg, has a phenomenal ravioli with sage butter sauce that I first tried when my mom was visiting in October. The savory richness is perfect for falling temperatures, and ever since I've been wanting to try and make my own.

Taking a cue from Mario Batali, I decided to sauté some sweet potato and mushrooms for my sage butter experiment. A little bit of cinnamon, nutmeg, and a small dash of rosemary blended perfectly with the sweetness of the potatoes and nuttiness of the mushrooms, and the sauce melted it all together into a delicious overature to late autumn.

whole wheat pasta, penne or rotini
1 sweet potato or yam, chopped
1/3 cup baby bella mushrooms, sliced
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp rosemary
6 tbsp butter, divided
6-7 sage leaves, chopped
Parmesan cheese
pinch salt

Boil pasta. In a medium frying pan, sauté the sweet potato in one tablespoon of butter over medium heat. Add cinnamon, nutmeg, rosemary, and a pinch of salt and sauté for about 5 minutes. Add mushrooms and sauté until tender--I covered the pan to expedite this process, but if you cover for too long the potatoes will get mushy.

In a small saucepan, slowly melt the remaining 5 tablespoons of butter and add the sage. As soon as butter is melted and beginning to brown, remove from heat. When the pasta is cooked, strain but leave a small amount of water in the pan. Add the pasta, sauce, and vegetables into the pan and toss before serving. Top with Parmesan cheese.

--

I've received a couple more recipes as a result of the chain letter--check them out below and in the sidebar!

Other People's Recipes: Ginger Carrot Soup

2008-12-10T22:13:00.003-05:00

from Sharna

1 tablespoon olive oil
6 large carrots, peeled and chunked
1 onion, sliced
2 celery stalks, sliced
2 cups water
2 cups vegetable broth
1 slice wheat bread, tear in pieces
¼ cup soy milk
2 tablespoons fresh ginger; or ½ tablespoon dried ginger

In a large sauce pan over medium heat, heat the oil. Add carrots, onion and celery. Saute 5 minutes. Stir in water, broth and bread. Increase heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer about 20 minutes.

Transfer the soup (when vegetables are tender) to a blender--may have to transfer in batches, mostly vegetables, leave the broth behind. Puree until smooth. Add a bit of soy milk to smooth in blender. Either serve room temperature or return to stove and stir in rest of soymilk and ginger. Ladle into large mugs.

YBHTV Episode #1

2008-12-05T10:12:00.011-05:00

We present to you YBHTV, video blogs of a delicious meal, from start to finish, accompanied by excellent music (just like the way we cook). Our first episode is a long-overdue post on an excellent Tomato & Basil Soup I've been cooking for a long time. It's quick, easy, delicious, and cheap. That's what we're here for.

The recipe follows below.

Tomato& Basil Soup

28 oz. can Crushed Tomatoes
12 oz. Vegetable Broth
3 Roma Tomatoes
1 cup Basil
4 Garlic Cloves
1/2 cup Heavy Whipping Cream
1 Tbs. Salt
1/2 Tbs. Pepper
3 Tbs. Olive Oil
1/4 cup Shredded Swiss Cheese

Chop Tomatoes, Basil, and Garlic and set aside. Pre-heat a large pan over medium-high heat. Add Olive oil, once pan is hot. Add garlic, sautée for 1 minute. Add Roma tomatoes. Sautée for 2 minutes. Add crushed tomatoes and Vegetable broth (I'll soon be posting a recipe for homemade Vegetable broth, and the best way to store it). Cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Add basil and simmer for 5 minutes. Slowly pour in heavy cream, being sure to work it in in small amounts. Simmer for another 5 minutes. Serve with Swiss cheese (we used Jarlesberg in the video-- any Swiss will do) and French Bread Croutons (recipe below).

French Bread Croutons

1/4 Baggeutte
salt
pepper
2 Tbs. Olive Oil

Cut baguette into 1/2 in. thick pieces, or tear into small chunks and let sit in open air over night. Next day, preheat oven to 300 degrees. Put baggeutte pieces into a sealing container with salt, pepper, and Olive Oil. Shake it up. Place baggeutte on baking sheet and place in oven for about 10 minutes, or until golden brown.

Simple and delicious. and cheap--the entire meal costed about $10 for four big bowls of soup and some delicious croutons.

Thanks!

2008-11-27T17:03:00.004-05:00

I'm typing this as Zach dices onions for his famous salsa. Salsa? you may say, but it's Thanksgiving! That's right--for our first solo Thanksgiving away from family, we are cooking with the chefs upstairs and the menu is Mexican.

Never fear, we had our own pilgrim-inspired dinner for two last night with all the usual suspects, substituting marinated portobellas for slices of turkey, and sampling a yummy pomegranate-cranberry relish that Zach is now attempting to incorporate into a second, seasonal salsa.

So, what are we thankful for? Aside from the ever-so-aromatic cilantro that just went into the bowl, we give thanks for family members being only a phone call away, subway fares still being affordable, and our President-Elect. And we are super thankful for friends around the country who check up on us from time to time, especially those who share recipes.

A few weeks ago I was sent a recipe chain letter, and when I forwarded my somewhat amended version, I promised to post any recipes that came my way through the chain. That introduced us to fellow food blogger Megan, who's Deliciously Sleepy Brussels Sprout Gratin is now featured on our sidebar. Check out the awesome blog she shares with her sister, A Mouse Bouche. I received two new chili recipes from Sarah and Bex, which are in the post below for your cold-weather enjoyment, and we'll continue to post anything else that gets sent our way.

So eat, drink, be merry, and Happy Thanksgiving from both of us. Olé!

Other People's Recipes: More Chili

2008-11-26T17:35:00.002-05:00

White Chili from Bex

2 pounds chicken breasts, no skin, no bone, cut into pieces
2 onions, chopped
2 1/2 cups chicken broth, canned or homemade
1 (7 oz.) can green chiles, chopped
1 (16 oz.) jar salsa verde (green salsa)
1 teaspoon each: cumin and garlic powder
1 teaspoon oregano
3 cups white beans, cooked (use canned or make yourself)
1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped--optional
1 pound low-fat jack cheese, grated

In a large saucepan, heat a small amount of oil and saute the onion.
When the onion is translucent, add chicken. Cook for a couple of
minutes, max. Don't let it stick and don't add a ton of oil to keep
it cooking either.

Add everything else, except the cilantro and cheese. If you want,
after sauteeing the chicken and onion together, you could finish the
recipe in a crock pot. If you do, cook on high for about 3 hours or
so, if you want it to cook all day, put it on low. You just need to
get it nice and hot. If you are doing this on the stove top, simmer
for about 20 minutes.

Serve in nice big bowls, sprinkle with cilantro if you like, and some
grated cheese. We like cornbread and a big salad too!

Rebecca's Delicious (and healthy!) Chili from Sarah

- 1 tsp olive oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 oz 93% lean ground beef (optional)
- 2 carrots, grated
- 1 can whole plum tomatoes
- 1 can light red kidney beans, drained
- 1 can dark red kidney beans, drained
- 1 tsp each cayenne pepper, chili powder, cumin
- 1 bay leaf

Place olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add garlic and beef and sautee until brown, about 3 minutes. Add onion, grate carrots over pot and stir all ingredients.
Add tomatoes with liquid, stir and chop with your spatula (there should be big chunks of tomatoes, they will cook down). Add kidney beans, cayenne pepper, chili powder and bay leaf.

Stir, lower heat to medium low and cook for about 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. Remove bay leaf and enjoy!

Other People's Recipes: Deliciously Sleepy Brussels Sprout Gratin

2008-11-24T17:45:00.000-05:00

from Megan Hart at A Mouse Bouche

2 lbs brussels sprouts, sliced thinly--you can use a mandolin, but I kind of really enjoy the shook-shook-shooking of the knife through all the crispy layers of cabbage, so I do it by hand.
4-5 large shallots, sliced thin
1 cup of low-fat milk (I had low-fat, but I'm sure it would be even awesomer with whole)
2 T flour
1/2 C (I think that's about how much I used) grated parmesan
1/2 C shredded cheese (I had cheddar and fontina from the grilled cheese night, but I think gruyere is what this dish was really calling out for to give it a little sour stinkiness)
Few Tablespoons of bread crumbs
salt and pepper to taste

Sautee the shallots in a few glugs of olive oil until soft but not brown. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add brussels sprouts and stir, sauteeing until bright green and tender (cover for a couple minutes if you need to). Reseason. Add milk and flour and mix. Sautee until it thickens a bit. Add half the parmesan and half the cheese. Mix. Pour into baking dish. Sprinkle with bread crumbs and cheese. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until brown on top and bubbling. mmmmmmmmm

Chilling Out

2008-11-21T22:05:00.005-05:00

About one week prior to Election Night, Zach and I hosted a Barack-O-Lantern party at our apartment, where we encouraged our guests to take out their political anxieties on a crop of unsuspecting pumpkins, which we then lit and carried up to the roof for an urban bonfire, complete with chili, spiked cider, and s'mores!

As we've said before, a lot of our cooking is just throwing things together and making adjustments until it tastes good--which we recognize is hard for people who are used to having everything spelled right out for them in a recipe. The good news is, something like chili is hard to mess up if you start slowly and add ingredients incrementally. For the party, we started with a lot of beans and veggies, and the rough outline of a meat chili recipe I had from family, and we riffed off of that until our guests arrived. The result was quite tasty, and it disappeared quickly.

Tonight, on one of the first nights we've had to spend together since the election, the closing of In Conflict, and the abrupt drop in temperatures, we revisited our original concoction and made a couple changes, namely the addition of polenta--think of it as an improvement on the old cornbread standby.

Three Bean Chili with Polenta

1 can black beans
1 can Roman beans
1 can kidney beans
2 ears of corn, removed from cob
1 zucchini, chopped
1 portobella mushroom, chopped
4 tomatoes, chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
4-5 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups vegetable stock
1 cup tomato sauce
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2-3 tbs Worcestershire sauce
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper

Saute onions and garlic in the bottom of a large pot in olive oil or vegetable oil until translucent. Add all veggies except tomatoes and saute for about 5 minutes or until soft. Combine tomato sauce, cumin, chili powder, red pepper flakes, cinnamon, and Worcestershire sauce. Add to pot with stock, beans, and bay leaf. Let simmer until chili begins to thicken, adjust seasoning to taste.

We served over pre-prepared polenta, which we sliced and sauteed in vegetable oil and butter until golden brown and crispy. Top with shredded cheddar cheese, golden raisins, or sour cream.

Fall Fish Fry

2008-10-01T20:50:00.003-04:00

After a bit of a hiatus, and a summer full of Mexican and Mediterranean inspired food, we're back in action in our little kitchen. With the cooler temperatures, we can finally turn our oven back on without sweating ourselves out of the apartment, and are looking forward to the wide array of new ingredients showing up in our farmers' markets and fruit stands.

Tonight we went all out, frying up some zucchini and cod for a fall fish fry. Zach whipped up a very successful blue cheese broccoli slaw, while I manned the deep fryer. I must admit, when Zach told me he wanted to bring out his college Fry Daddy, I was very skeptical--okay, I flat out protested. But after a summer of homemade tortilla chips and tonight's creations, I am a convert. The tenderness of the zucchini inside the parmesan garlic breading was to. die. for. Paired with perfectly fried cod and the bitter richness of the blue cheese slaw, I am positively stuffed. And very proud of us indeed.

Fried Zucchini and Garlic Parmesan Dipping Sauce

zucchini, cut into french fry-sized slices
flour
Parmesan cheese
garlic powder
salt and pepper
egg white
milk

After slicing the zucchini, mix the dry ingredients for the batter in a shallow dish, and an egg white and small amount of milk in another. Roll the zucchini slices first in the flour, then in the egg white, and then back in the flour. Deep fry for 5 minutes or until golden brown and crispy.

Sauce:
1/2 cup mayonnaise (we used an olive oil mayonnaise we found at Mr. Kiwi)
1/8 cup Parmesan cheese
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp milk
salt and pepper

Pretty simple. Mix together, with generous amounts of parmesan and garlic until you get the taste you want. Zach used the milk to thin the sauce.

Pan Fried Cod

cod fillets
same breading mixture as above
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1/4 cup beer (we used Sierra Nevada Anniversary Ale)
1 lemon wedge

Bread the fish, first in flour, then in egg white and milk mixture, then coat in flour again. Heat the olive oil, butter, and vegetable oil in a skillet. Add fish, then pour in beer and squeeze in lemon. Fry until golden brown on both sides. Fish should be firm and flaky.

Blue Cheese Broccoli Slaw

2 cups broccoli stems, coarsely grated
1/4 cup golden raisins
1/4 cup gala or fuji apples, diced
1/8 cup walnuts
1/2 cup mayonnaise
4 oz blue cheese
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp lemon juice
salt and pepper

Grate broccoli with box grater, add raisins, apples, and walnuts. In a separate bowl, add blue cheese, mayonnaise, Worcestershire sauce and lemon juice. Mix rapidly until blended smooth. Add blue cheese dressing to broccoli, etc and mix well.

Other People's Recipes: Caramelized Pumpkin and Pear Crumble

2008-09-01T22:25:00.002-04:00

from Dana

2 large ripe pears, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
14 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 15-ounce cans pumpkin puree
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup walnut pieces

In a nonstick skillet over medium heat, combine pears, 4 tablespoons of butter, maple syrup, vanilla, and spices and cook until the pears are tender, 9 to 10 minutes. Add pumpkin and cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from the heat. Place the flour, brown sugar, and remaining butter in a bowl. With your fingers, work the butter into the dry ingredients until large crumbs form. Add the walnuts and combine well. Heat oven to 375º F. In a 9-by-13-inch baking dish, spread the pumpkin-pear mixture evenly on the bottom. Sprinkle the topping over it and bake until golden brown and bubbling, about 40 to 50 minutes. Serve warm.

One Tequila, Two Tequila, Three Tequila, Four...

2008-08-10T17:00:00.008-04:00

Reviews: Taco Chulo and Lucky Cat, Williamsburg

This week, several people we know got one year older, which somehow or another led to the consumption of copious amounts of tequila last night, and the worst hangovers Zach and I have seen in months. I don't think we're in college anymore, Toto.

We started the night at Taco Chulo, to belatedly celebrate Sam's birthday, and pregame for Crystal's birthday bash in Bed-Stuy. Chulo boasts one of the most extensive tequila menus I have ever seen, and offers a series of different tasting "flights" to sample the selection. Zach took them up on it, and got to try three top shelf tequila shots for $16. The difference between varieties was striking--from a spicy smack in the face to a silky smooth tequila that reminded us all of scotch. Sam and I ordered top shelf margaritas, which came in ice tea glasses and did not hold back on booze.

None of us were terribly hungry, so we didn't delve far into the food menu--a salad for me and carne asada taco for Zach, and a super fresh pico de gallo with tortillas for the table. Service, while friendly, was lacking--we sat for at least five minutes before our waitress appeared, and then another ten minutes before she took our order. Our food arrived at least five minutes before our drinks--which is a little frustrating when the main attraction is alcohol. A return trip is in order to try out the burrito menu, and hopefully the experience will be a better one.

Taco Chulo, 318 Grand Street (btwn Havemeyer & Marcy), 718.302.2485

...We then walked down the street to The Lucky Cat to meet our friends John and Liz. Lucky Cat is a "socially-conscious, artist-driven lounge, coffeehouse and performance space," and John works behind the bar serving up the organic and vegetarian-friendly pub fare. That is not him spinning dough in the picture, but I've seen him do it.

We obviously weren't there for food, but on my last visit, Johnny made me a really delicious white pizza with truffle oil. The menu also offers paninis, salads, and mediterranean appetizers, which is made in front of your eyes at a small kitchen between the front and back bars.

We, however, were there for drinking. The bar has pretty standard and relatively cheap offerings, and in keeping with the theme, Sam and I had really good pomegranate margaritas. The bartenders are amiable, though not totally inspired--Sam wanted to do a celebratory birthday shot (read: girly alcoholic concoction), but we were met with a pretty blank stare when we asked what he could make. Thus, we decided on tequila again, and were served a generous shot of Patron. No salt. No lime.

Lucky Cat is first and foremost a music venue, and last night there was an electronic duo with lots of computers and a cello. John, who also was the winner of this year's Williamsburg Live Songwriter's Competition, plays there quite frequently, either by himself or with one of his several collaborative efforts. Check him out at myspace.com/olentangyjohnsongs

The Lucky Cat, 245 Grand Street (btwn Roebling and Driggs), 718.782.0437

First Harvest...

2008-08-05T15:27:00.007-04:00

We have our first harvest from the rooftop garden...you can see it pictured to the right. Very impressive right? As I told my dad, erratic schedules lead to erratic watering--which leads to funky looking cucumbers. I had to pick these guys off to give the cucumber plant a chance to regenerate. I'm glad I did because now we have about 12 small cucumbers growing on the plant after moving it into a little shade and watering it regularly.

What to do with two baby cucumbers? Manda has had a recipe for cucumber sandwiches as a stand-by for a long time now, but we've never put it together. This time I pestered her to break it out, so as not to waste what little we've gotten off that plant so far. This recipe is fast, simple, and tasty. No garden party hat required.

Manda's Cucumber Sandwiches

Pumpernickel or Dark Wheat bread
2 (rather small) cucumbers, sliced thin
1/4 cup cream cheese
1/2 tblsn. chives, chopped fine
Dash of garlic powder, salt, pepper

Toast bread. Mix together cream cheese, chives, garlic, salt, and pepper. Spread evenly on both sides bread. Add thin-sliced cucumbers. Enjoy with or without tea party.

As an update, our tomatoes are growing well after transplantation in a much bigger pot. Also we have enough Rosemary and dill to last us an entire lifetime. Stay tuned for a delicious, summer friendly Lemon Basil Pesto recipe as well.

Our Best Brunch: Parsley and Feta Omelettes

2008-07-27T11:39:00.005-04:00

Zach and I have had the good fortune to befriend neighbors who share our love of food, and actually have culinary training to back up their cooking. Carla recently completed her chef certification, and Roland works at a restaurant uptown--and has a number of stories about his staff, restaurant owners, and food reviewers. Zach and Carla dominate the collection of produce being grown on our roof, and we got to know each other as they compared notes about what they're each growing. We've exchanged meals on a couple of occasions, the last of which was brunch in our apartment, comprised of several dishes we've been perfecting over time. Here is our menu:

Parsley and Feta Omelettes

2 eggs per omelette
feta cheese, crumbled
fresh parsley, chopped
salt & pepper
milk

Mix together the eggs, a dash of salt and pepper, and a tablespoon of milk. Melt butter in a skillet over medium high heat, and add eggs. Let cook until there the egg is no longer liquid-y on top. Add feta and parsley to half of the egg, and fold in half. Let cook a few minutes, and flip. (Zach's tip on the oh-so-intimidating omelette flip: position your spatula on the open side of the omelette to turn it over, not under the fold.)

Rosemary Potatoes

potatoes, white or redskin, diced
rosemary, fresh or dried
olive oil
butter
salt & pepper

We've made this with both redskin and regular potatoes. Each time, we dice them relatively small (like home fries), and leave the skins on. After dicing, rinse the potatoes to remove some of the starch--this makes them fry crispier. Heat enough olive oil to cover the bottom of a large frying pan, and add the potatoes, a generous amount of rosemary, and salt and pepper. Because they're raw, it'll take a while for the potatoes to cook through. I've tried covering them to speed the process, but the potatoes get mushy if you do this for too long, so be sure to remove the lid after about 5 minutes. About half way through cooking, add a tablespoon or two of butter for flavor and to help brown. When the potatoes are crispy and a nice brown, you're ready to serve!

Pear Bellinis

pear nectar
champagne (or in our case, Prosecco)

Pear (as well as mango, guava and a number of other fruits) nectar is available at a lot of grocery stores in New York. The largest brand of this is Goya, and I would bet grocery stores in more homogeneous parts of the country carry it in the "Mexican" food section.

And a note about our coffee: we stumbled upon Jim's Organic at Millenium Market in Bushwick. Millenium carries numerous varieties and flavors in whole beans (we're huge fans of the hazelnut), which you can grind when you purhase, and Mr. Kiwi recently started stocking pre-ground bags in several flavors as well.

Review: Beer Table

2008-07-21T00:27:00.004-04:00

427 b 7th Avenue
(between 14th & 15th)
Park Slope, Brooklyn
www.beertable.com

After getting shut out of seeing both The Dark Knight AND Mamma Mia (which was our semi-reluctant Plan B) in Park Slope this evening, my friend Sam and I had no other choice but to go find somewhere to drink (we're OU alums, after all).

We were in the mood for wine and a patio, but upon remembering a stellar review from our friend Becky, we decided to check out Beer Table, a hole-in-the-wall not far from Sam's apartment on 7th Avenue.

We were immediately greeted and seated at one of the three communal tables that occupy the majority of this shoebox-like "bar"--I use the term loosely, because the comportment of Beer Table is more akin to a wine bar, and the prices are not far off. After our server explained the arrangement of the menu (listed from lighter, more delicate beers to heavier, darker brews), Sam and I caught eyes when we saw the prices--the cheapest was $11, with some as high as $95!

Figuring we had saved money by missing the movie (and because Sam recently broke her foot, and our departure would have been awkward at best), we decided to play the classy beer game, and chose from the more conservatively priced offerings. For Sam it was Avery's Fifteen which was on tap that night, and I tried a spicy, Belgian Albier whose name I cannot remember--I'm not a beer connoisseur, but after a few sips, I started thinking I could be. These were definitely more complex brews than I had ever sampled before, and we savored them slowly--and not just because they cost as much as a typical New York meal.

The overall vibe was exactly what we were looking for: relaxed. The large open window onto Seventh gave the feel of a patio, the lighting was low, and Andrew Bird was underscoring our conversation with guitar and violin. The servers were friendly and helpful in making the menu much less intimidating, and we stayed for over an hour, unhurried.

While it's a little too pricey for me to make it a habit, I didn't feel overcharged, and would happily go again--with my father and other beer enthusiasts in tow.

New Updates!

2008-07-10T00:49:00.005-04:00

SUBMIT RECIPES AND FEEDBACK TO OUR NEW EMAIL ADDRESS: Youngbrokeandhungry@gmail.com

As you may have noticed, we've made some updates to the site. Manda designed a great new layout, and I've added a couple new interactive features. First, we're now listed on the major blog search engines Technorati and Blogorama. Also, I've added submit buttons for Stumble Upon and Digg. These are both good sites for sharing important news and information with others all across the web. Once you submit an article, others can read it on Digg/SU homepage and then rate it themselves. I use Digg mainly for news, but hey people gotta eat too.

Also, we are backlogging the site (slowly but surely) with recipes so that it will be searchable. We're posting our recipes and submitted recipes for the purposes of search, but they will not show up on the most up-to-date blog page. Just use the search bar at the top of the homepage. And send us more recipes! Booya.

Finally, you can now keep in touch with recipes, feedback, questions, thoughts at Youngbrokenadhungry@gmail.com

Cheers!

More on Urban Gardening

2008-07-07T12:08:00.003-04:00

Check out Novella Carpenter's blog Meaningful Pursuit.

This blog is a great resource for ideas and inspiration in urban gardening. I've been reading it for about a month and am amazed by what this woman has been able to accomplish IN THE MIDDLE OF OAKLAND! I mean, goats? Really? Wow.

Rooftop Gardening 101

2008-07-05T18:27:00.007-04:00

When I was younger and my parents had more time on their hands, they kept a big garden in our backyard. It was full of peppers, chives, tomatoes, mint, cucumber, zucchini, onions, garlic, strawberries, lettuce, homemade compost... You name it. As with many things in life, I've come to appreciate this experience more as I've gotten older--as I've lived in apartments with no yard or have moved around to too many non-permanent places, unable to carry the loads of soil around with me. So I'm living in New York, I have a little of the stability--but I don't have the soil...or the grass...or even the trees. Not great gardening territory...

But a number of things inspired me to give it a shot, as many of our neighbors have pots of soil on our roof for flowers, veggies, and herbs. Manda has kept herbs for a number of years now, so we wanted to add to that base. Also, this Spring I started a garden project with my kids at Achievement First and met some helpful gardeners in our apartment building. But most importantly, I finished reading Michael Pollan's Omnivore's Dilemma.

Omnivore's Dilemma has become a bible of sorts for many urban foodies--as it details just what it takes to get food from the field to the grocery store in the asphalt jungle. Pollan discusses the supply chain throughout the book, for organic and non-organic food alike. While I already find the processes of the food industry disturbing, what I found most interesting was his chapter on the organic food industry. When the word organic gets thrown out there, people immediately think of something good, something done right for the earth. They think of this pastoral utopia, where smiling cows roam free and the air is clean and clear. I won't get into the details, but let it be known that many organic foods take more processing and contribute to the consumption of more fuel than regular foods. There are benefits associated with both categories, but let's not think it's all good in the organic camp...

In my opinion, the best way to ensure that your food is grown properly and in the interests of a healthy environment is to do it yourself. Of course, this is unrealistic in most cases, but we can at least we have something to work towards. We have a way of reducing the need of food shipped from thousands of miles away in China. Even without a yard or natural soil, we're making it work.

In addition to a couple small planters in our possession, I bought four big outdoor growing containers and about 60 quarts of compost and soil from a local garden shop run by a family of Russian immigrants. Good people. Anyways, my one goal was to make some real homemade salsa by the end of the summer. I started growing jalapeño peppers, tomatoes, and cilantro. We also planted cucumber, parsley, dill, lemon basil, chives, and regular basil. Everything has been grown from seeds, which is quite rewarding, as we get to watch it grow form beginning to end. We also purchased a peppermint plant, a lemon thyme plant, and a rosemary bush.

So far, it's been working out. The rooftop plants require a lot of water, as they can't take up any ground water like regular plants. They get dry out quick, so we have to stay on top of the watering. As for the herbs kept in the apartment, we have to deal with the dust coming off of the train (you can see the train passing by in the first picture). It's literally right outside our window. So we've started keeping the herbs in our bedroom with the windows closed.

So if all goes well, we'll be making some pickles and some super fresh salsa in a few short weeks! We'll keep you posted on the progress.

Summer = Salads

2008-06-29T15:43:00.009-04:00

Today I'm having my interns over for a pre-Independence Day rooftop cookout. In a strange twist of fate, three of my girls are from Ohio (lest I be accused of nepotism, I only knew one of them before I hired her). Now that they're all here for the summer, I wanted to give them a proper welcome, so we're grilling out!

Because Zach is pulling a double shift at Madiba today, I'm making it easy on myself and grilling a bunch of hot dogs (and tofu dogs), and made a bunch of easy salads: pasta, fruit, and my momma's summer standby--a spinach, apple and feta salad with apple cider vinaigrette.

Manda's Pasta Salad

I came up with my own recipe because Zach has a professed love of straight-out-of-the-box pasta salad mix, and wanted to try and make it from scratch--including my own Italian dressing.

Dressing:
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/3 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1/3 roma tomato, chopped
1/2 Tbs. dried oregano
1 Tbs. fresh basil, chopped
1 tsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. balsamic vinegar
1 tsp. tarragon vinegar
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/3 cup olive oil

Salad:
whole wheat penne or rotini pasta
artichoke hearts, quartered
black olives, sliced
roma or cherry tomatoes, sliced or quartered
red and yellow bell peppers, chopped
spinach, chopped

Combine dressing ingredients in a food processor or blender, and blend until smooth in consistency. Pour over salad ingredients, and toss!

*One of my interns has a dairy allergy, so this version is vegan. But you can add Parmesan cheese to the dressing, and chunks of fresh mozzarella to the salad for a cheese fix.

Apple Spinach Salad with Feta

Dressing:
1/4 c. apple cider vinegar
1/3 c. vegetable oil
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. dried oregano
dash of pepper

Salad:
Granny Smith and/or Gala apples, diced
mushrooms, sliced
green onions, sliced
lettuce
spinach
feta or blue cheese

*My mom's original recipe called for crumbled bacon, which I'm sure is quite good...if, you know, you're into bacon...

Don't Know Much About Thai Food...

2008-06-23T22:14:00.004-04:00

...but I know I love this little restaurant in the city called Spice. We've been there a few times with my good friend and Professor, and I've loved the food each and every time. It's good, it's fresh, and it can be really really cheap. The restaurant is beautifully designed to boot. So check out spice at NYU or in Chelsea. But that's not the point of this post...

I really like one particular soup at Spice and thought I might recreate it. It's a coconut chicken soup, called Tom Kha Gai. Coconut milk serves as the base, so it's nice and creamy, but still light enough. Of course there's no one right way to make it, but most of the recipes I've found have a few main ingredients that I've substituted out--Lemon Grass, chicken or tofu, and galangal. I used, respectively, lemon and lemon zest, whole prawns/shrimp, and sliced ginger. Anyways, it worked out really well and it's rather simple. Check it out.

Tom Kha Gai-- Coconut Prawn Soup

1 pound raw shrimp
4 cups coconut milk
3/4 green bell pepper, sliced into long strips
1 inch ginger root, chopped coarse
2 cloves garlic, chopped coarse
3 crimini mushrooms sliced
couple of leaves cilantro
couple of leaves lemon basil
juice of 3 limes
juice of 1/2 lemon
zest of one lime and 1/2 of one lemon
2 scallions
1/4 cup green chili
2 tbspn. vegetable oil
5 tbspn. fish sauce

Heat oil in large pot. Add ginger, garlic, and chili pepper. Sauté for 1 minute. Add green pepper, mushroom, and scallion bulb. Sauté 2 minutes. Add fish sauce, lime juice and lemon juice. Cook 2 minutes. Add coconut milk, remaining scallion, basil, cilantro, lime zest, and lemon zest. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Add shrimp and simmer for 10 minutes. Serve with lime slices and cilantro garnish.

I also made a quick Thai-ish noodle dish, inspired by a simple dish Manda creates. It made a nice side for sure.

Poor Man's Pad Thai

Angle Hair, or Spaghetti, if not Thai rice noodles
2 tbspn. peanut butter
1 tbspn sesame oil
1 tbspn olive oil
2 tbspn. rice wine vinegar
1 scallion, chopped fine
1/8 cup carrot, shredded
2 small chili pepper
2 tbspn. fish sauce

Boil noodles. If using rice noodles, simply soak them in warm water for 20 minutes. While noodles are boiling, prepare a paste of peanut butter, sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, and fish sauce. Also chop up the scallion, ginger and garlic and shred the carrot. Heat olive oil in skillet and add scallion, ginger, garlic, and carrot. Sauté for two minutes. Add Paste. Sauté for one minute. Add noodles and mix well. Continue to cook for two minutes. You can serve this with cilantro and lime wedge garnish. Very classy despite the name...

Fatigue and Famine

2008-06-18T00:07:00.009-04:00

So we haven't posted--or cooked, for that matter--in a while.

After a brief escape to Ohio for Zach's friend's wedding and some much needed time with both of our families and friends, we returned to jump right back into work, and lots of it. I just bid farewell to our award-winning production of George Packer's Betrayed, and am up to my eyeballs producing Expatriate, a new two-woman play with music that opens July 16. A lot of work, a lot of responsibility, and not a lot of time to get everything done.

Zach wrapped up his after-school program with CAMBA, will be transitioning into a slightly more permanent position at his internship with Global Vision, and just started waiting tables at Madiba, a South African restaurant in Fort Greene. The last two days he's worked from 9am until after midnight--going straight from interning to serving--so we haven't seen much of each other, much less had the energy or inspiration to cook anything.

The breakneck pace of the city is exactly that, and keeping an insane work schedule is something to which most New Yorkers can relate. Balancing that schedule and stress with the rest of our lives is something we're still figuring out. So, in the spirit of utter exhaustion, I'm posting a recipe for tuna salad. Or rather, my Mediterranean alternative for the old standby.

Mediterranean Tuna Salad

white albacore tuna, packed in water
red onion, chopped
kalamata olives, slivered
feta cheese, crumbled
capers
1-2 cloves garlic
olive oil
salt & pepper to taste

Mix all the ingredients together with enough olive oil to keep the tuna from being dry, add salt and pepper to taste.

On a solely anecdotal note: I came up with this recipe while Zach was in India, and took the picture above to show off my creation. His response: "Oh boy. I'll be on the next plane if you keep tempting me with food like that. I guess if you're not going to send me naked pictures of yourself, the least you could do is tempt me with delicious looking food."

Welcome to Our Hood: Bushwick Eats

2008-06-03T22:23:00.005-04:00

As mentioned in one post and one blog comment thus far, we like shopping at Mr. Kiwi's, our neighborhood produce supplier. It has good quality produce, low prices, and it's locally owned and operated. For these reasons it's fitting that Mr. Kiwi's is going to kick off our neighborhood food series: Bushwick Eats.

Bushwick is definitely home to the young, broke, and hungry, so a blog series dedicated to food in this BK hood is fitting. Long dominated by bodegas and slim cafeterias, Bushwick's food scene is changing rapidly. Ask any resident and they'll tell you the landscape has seen some dramatic shifts in the past couple of years. For better or worse, the neighborhood demographics are in a major transition and shops like Mr. Kiwi's are replacing the single-beer carry-out bodegas that dot the "less affluent" neighborhoods in Brooklyn. That doesn't mean the scene is obvious and being advertised in big lit letters. So we want to point out the businesses we like right here close to our home. I'll include businesses in Bedford-Stuyvesant and Crown Heights because of their proximity to our apartment and my own personal attachments to the two neighborhoods.

So on to Mr. Kiwi's... Mr. Kiwi's grand opening coincided with our similarly grand arrival in Brooklyn. As we drove the moving van down Broadway, we saw the big green signs advertising the arrival of this fresh fruit and veg market. We were excited to support a local business like this in principle. But it only got better from there. The first time we shopped there, we were surprised by the prices: 6 navel oranges for $1? 10 limes for $1??? a 2lb bag of quality red onions for 79 cents??? The biggest bunch of basil in history for $1.50? They have all the basics, plus some more interesting offerings, like sour orange (which I've been playing around with...) and a great selection of melons, to name a few. They're also stocking more and more organic produce and dairy, vegan selections, and gourmet cheeses.

Turns out "Mr. Kiwi," an older Korean man, and his son drive to the Hunt's Point market every morning to personally pick out the produce. So they've cut out the local distributor, saving us a TON of money. What's more, it's locally owned, which means the money we're giving to Mr. Kiwi's is going right back into the neighborhood it serves. Besides all that Mr. Kiwi is a pretty nice guy.

If you live in this neighborhood, Mr. Kiwi is a must. It's four blocks from our apartment. I love it.

***Thanks to BushwickBK for the picture. Check out their post on Mr. Kiwi 's and this Brownstoner post for some more info on food in the County of Kings.

Just for You, Momma...

2008-05-30T16:39:00.006-04:00

My mom just emailed me in a frenzy that I hadn't posted our "Indian" ice cream recipe. Let me preface this by saying a) it ain't much of a recipe and b) it isn't really Indian.

When Zach came home from three months in India, he brought bags and bags of spices back with him, including cardamom seeds. Cardamom has a cool, light flavor that's used to offset a lot of the spice in traditional Indian cooking--somewhat comparable to cilantro in Mexican and Spanish cooking--and is one of the main flavor components in chai lattes (I'll have Zach post that recipe later).

So I first came up with this recipe for yogurt, and transferred it to ice cream one night to serve to Mom, who is now hooked. Here it is, with a picture of Zach in India to make it slightly more authentic...

Vanilla Ice Cream with Cardamom and Honey

vanilla bean ice cream
ground cardamom
ground cinnamon
honey

We freshly grind cinnamon and cardamom over our ice cream, in more or less equal parts, and drizzle with honey. Mom bought pre-ground spices at Penzey's to recreate at home, and by all accounts enjoys it just as much :)

Basil Stuffed Chicken with Red Roasted Potatoes

2008-05-28T22:58:00.001-04:00

Pesto:
2 Tbs. pine nuts
1 c. packed fresh basil
4 cloves garlic
1 Tbs. grated Parmesan
1/4 c. water

Brown pine nuts in skillet over medium-high heat for 2-3 minutes. Transfer to blender or food processor and add basil, garlic, Parmesan and water. Puree until thick and smooth.

4 four-ounce chicken breasts
6 redskin potatoes
1/4 c. balsamic vinegar
1 Tbs. honey
1 tsp. olive oil
kalamata olives

Slice pockets into chicken breasts and fill with pesto. Place in shallow baking pan with potatoes and olives. Whisk together the balsamic vinegar, honey, and olive oil, and drizzle over chicken and potatoes. Bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes.

On Being Adventurous

2008-05-28T21:22:00.010-04:00

I'll admit it: I was more than a little nervous about moving to the BK.

For our first winter months here, I didn't deviate much from the sidewalk between our apartment and the J train--coming home from work, I was mostly concerned with getting out of the cold and not getting mugged. My fears, of course, were greatly exaggerated, but the longer daylight hours and warmer temperatures are certainly more hospitable to getting outside and getting to know your neighbors. And what a neighborhood we have! On our way to get groceries for dinner tonight, Zach and I passed under a window where a rock band was practicing, by the open door of a Latin Pentecostal church in the middle of a hymn, and a local singing on the sidewalk.

Tonight we had decided to grill out, planning a meal around chorizo (soy-rizo for me) and whatever Mr. Kiwi, our fantastic corner produce store, had to offer. We picked up some fresh corn on the cob, polenta, strawberries, and avocado--and artichokes ($1 a piece!) and peaches for later. The idea was to experiment and see what we came up with...

So we had chorizo and soyrizo, sliced polenta, and corn on the cob, which we soaked in the husk to put directly on the grill. The key to good grilled corn on the cob is maintaining the moisture. Keep the corn in husk, cutting off only the tasseled end, before submerging in water for at least 15 minutes. Grill corn until husk is well burnt on all sides. Immediately remove corn and store in a cooler or hot box--or any air-tight container. By storing the grilled corn in an air-tight container, you're ensuring it is steamed through and stays nice and juicy.

Zach's a huge fan of Mexican corn, so after grilling we coated the corn in a yogurt/mayo/lime/chili pepper sauce and covered it with parmesan cheese. I decided to tackle one of my least favorite summer foods--coleslaw--with a tequila/lime yogurt sauce that's going to take some more work. The success of the evening was definitely a spicy strawberry/blueberry reduction we made to tie together the sausage and polenta:

Berry Reduction with Pepper and Cilantro

1 1/2 cups strawberries, chopped
1/4 cup blueberries
2 (two) chillies
pinch garlic powder
1 tsp. olive oil
1/4 cup red onion
1/2 handful cilantro
1/2 cup water
salt& pepper

Sauté the onions in the olive oil until translucent. Add strawberries, blueberries, and water. Bring to a boil and reduce heat, maintaining a slow boil. Stir in chillies, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and cilantro. Boil until sauce thickens and berries have lost their original shape, effectively become mushy. Mix well to form a consistent sauce.

----

On a slightly different note: we love comments. No one should cook (or blog about it, for that matter) in a vacuum. Give us suggestions, tell us if we're doing something wrong or if a recipe didn't work for you, or let us know if you think the site looks like crap. Any and all feedback is welcome and appreciated. We are just making this up, after all ;)

Memorial Day: A Sign of Good Summer Eats To Come

2008-05-27T20:27:00.014-04:00

Yesterday we had a Mexican feast to, ahem, celebrate Memorial Day. (Thanks to our friends John and Krystal, the day was not without a bit of patriotism.) Of course like many popular holidays, the subject was much more about being with friends, relaxing, and enjoying Mondays away from work. For us, this includes (now) roofdeck-sitting, cooking--and when it starts getting really nice outside, cooking a lot of Mexican food.

The key to really good Mexican food is freshness. The combination of traditional Mexican flavors like cool lime, spicy chilies, tomatillo, and refreshing cilantro can take you for a wild ride sometimes. Without the freshest of ingredients, you're going to introduce too many unwanted variables.

We'll take my salsa recipe as an example. I love making fresh salsa--chunky, spicy, and full of lime and cilantro. But the salsa doesn't work if the tomatoes are not right. When using the freshest, juiciest tomatoes, everything falls into place. The cilantro offsets the burn of the chili, which mixes with the tang of the lime and onion. The tomato serves as a slightly-sweet foundation. But when done wrong, the blandness of a beefsteak tomato from Florida (bred for toughness so the tomato's skin doesn't break during the tumble and toss of a 1,500 mile truck ride) can make you call it quits for the day. Use the tomatoes on the vine if you can't get them fresh at a farmer's market. With so many good flavors in one dish, you owe it to yourself to do it right.

Fresh Salsa and Homemade Tortilla Chips

1 (one) quart tomatoes, diced small, partially seeded for consistency
***DO NOT use beefsteak tomatoes from Florida. I can't vouch for the quality of a recipe made with those terrible little things***
1 (one) medium red onion
fresh cilantro--enough to make it look festive
2 (two) jalepeno peppers, stem but keep the seeds
2 (two) garlic cloves minced
half of a lime--juice and pulp
1 teaspoon ground cumin
salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl, adding more lime and salt as needed. I also add a couple drops of habanero hot sauce to kick it up if the jalepenos aren't quite doing it. And of course, I never actually use a recipe, so if you don't like these proportions, change them around to suit. I do.

There you have a simple, solid warm weather stand by. This salsa is best enjoyed with freshly fried corn tortilla chips. Again, the fresher the better. I just buy a pack of corn tortillas at the supermarket, chop them into quarters and deep fry them for about 5 minutes. Pull them out and add some salt. The salsa and chips can be prepared simultaneously, meaning you don't spend too much time and get a much better result than the jar and a bag route. This is, of course, until i figure out how to make my own corn tortillas...

--
For our main course we served up two charcoal grilled versions of our favorite fish dishes for a rooftop taco bar: chipotle shrimp skewers and steamed tilapia, homemade tortillas, shredded cabbage, black beans and yellow corn, salsa, guacamole, adobo yogurt sauce, and an abundance of fresh limes and cold beer.

Camarones con chipotle

raw shrimp
chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
lager beer (we like using Tecate, Brooklyn Brewery, or Presidente)
red onions, cut in wedges
red or yellow bell peppers, cut into large pieces
2-3 cloves garlic
lime, quarter wedge
salt and pepper, to taste
skewers

This is a modified version of Manda's stovetop recipe, where we simmer the ingredients rather than marinate them. Either way it is VERY spicy, so be sure to have lots of guacamole, sour cream, and beer on hand!

Place shrimp in a shallow baking dish, evenly distributed in one layer. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, minced (or powdered) garlic, and lime juice. Spoon adobo sauce and several chipotle peppers over shrimp, and pour beer over shrimp until just covered. Let sit 30 minutes.

Skewer shrimp with chunks of red onion, bell peppers, and chipotle peppers (sparingly!), and grill until shrimp is pink.

Tilapia

tilapia fillets
olive oil
garlic, minced
red onion, sliced
salt and pepper, to taste
aluminum foil
We can get really creative with foil packets on the grill, but for this particular cookout, we decided to keep the fish simple since we had so many other flavors going into our tacos. Citrus, sliced mango, cumin, and cilantro are also really good to cook with fish this way.

Tear off a sheet of foil large enough to fold in half and still create a pocket for the fillet. Rub olive oil onto both sides of fillet to avoid sticking. Add about a clove of garlic to each packet and several slices of onion. Salt and pepper to taste. Roll and crimp the foil to make sure packet is sealed completely. Cook on grill for 20 minutes on medium-heat coals until fish is steamed through.

Black Beans and Yellow Corn (our vegan-friendly alternative)

2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can yellow corn, drained
splash balsamic vinegar
cilantro, chopped

Mix together. 'Nuff said.

Adobo Yogurt Sauce

low or non-fat plain yogurt
chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
quarter wedge of lime

Spoon out a tablespoon or two of adobo sauce for every half cup of yogurt, and the juice of a small lime wedge. Chop up a chipotle for added heat.

Manda's Guacamole

3 avocados
4 cloves garlic
half a lime
salt and pepper to taste

Only losers add sour cream.

---

So that was our first attempt at rooftop hospitality. Thanks to those of you who came, and to those of you who couldn't, we'll do it again soon.

Photo courtesy Robert Teten.

Rotini with Walnuts, Mushrooms, and Fontina

2008-05-18T17:31:00.005-04:00

Here's the recipe we were so darn proud of:

whole wheat rotini
walnuts, chopped
green onions, chopped
baby bella mushrooms, sliced
fontina cheese, cut into small cubes
olive oil
butter
1-2 cloves garlic*
salt and pepper to taste

*A heads-up: we don't measure things. We'll try and approximate amounts when it's important, but most of the time ingredients are proportionate to one another (i.e. mushrooms to pasta, cheese to pasta, etc.)

Sauté garlic and white part of the green onions in olive oil and about a tablespoon of butter. Add the walnuts and mushrooms, and sauté on medium high heat until the mushrooms are soft. Toss with cooked pasta, remaining green onion, and cheese over reduced heat until the fontina is melted.

We also made a garlic-bread equivalent by toasting whole wheat bread with butter, fresh rosemary, and a shallot-pepper mix (from Penzey's Spices).

A Romance with Food...

2008-05-18T16:36:00.006-04:00

...or a food-fueled romance?

After a cup of coffee and our first kiss, Zach made me a dinner of couscous with curry, cilantro, golden raisins, and fresh veggies. The next night I made him whole wheat pasta with feta, spinach, and apples. After that followed late-night ice cream sundaes with blackberries and dark chocolate, tomato bisque with swiss cheese, channa masala, fresh salsa, homemade tortillas, and fish tacos with mango. Good food underscored many good conversations, and in our first two months of dating, cooking together and for each other became one of the ways we got to know each other.

Over a year later, we're living and cooking together in Brooklyn, and exploring the offerings of New York's culinary scene on a very limited budget. Feeling pretty damn good about ourselves one night after concocting rotini with walnuts, mushrooms, and fontina cheese, we decided we should start writing things down, and sharing them with our friends, family, and the cooking-impaired (or cooking-intimidated). This blog is intended to share our recipes, restaurant reviews, and other interesting food-related info we come across in our trials and travels in the Big Apple.

So check in often, leave comments, suggestions, and your own recipes. If you're in New York, come over and cook with us!

Baked Vegetables with Rosemary

2008-05-05T22:43:00.003-04:00

I've cooked all kinds of vegetables with this formula; this is the original mix from my great Aunt Lorraine--the first vegetarian I ever knew!

carrots
redskin potatoes
parsnips
onions
Jerusalem artichokes
red bell peppers

Cut the vegetables into medium-sized chunks. Toss with olive oil, minced garlic, salt, pepper, and a generous amount of fresh rosemary. Put the vegetables in a shallow baking dish, so the vegetables are distributed evenly in a single layer. Bake at 350 degrees until tender.

I've also made this with tomatoes, asparagus, artichoke hearts--my favorite recipe for fall is squash, parsnips, and pears.

Other People's Recipes: Artichoke Salad with Dijon Vinaigrette

2008-05-05T21:15:00.001-04:00

- From Manda's momma

3 tb. white wine tarragon vinegar
2 tb. Dijon mustard
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 cup olive oil
6 tb. vegetable oil
peapods
mixed greens or spinach
1 can artichoke hearts
almonds, slivered

Combine dressing ingredients and shake to blend. Blanch peapods in boiling water for 30 seconds, drain and cool under cold water. Toast almonds until golden brown, combine with greens and artichokes, toss with dressing.

Pasta with Pistachios, Marsala, and Lemon Zest

2008-05-01T23:10:00.000-04:00

8 Tbs. unsalted butter
3 Tbs. chopped onion
2 Tbs. water
2 Tbs. dry Marsala wine
2 Tbs. finely shredded lemon zest
3/4 c. pistachios, shelled and chopped
bread crumbs
salt

Melt 3 tablespoons of the butter in a frying pan over low heat. Add onion and water and cook covered until onions are translucent. Add marsala, lemon zest, pistachios, and 2 more tablespoons of butter. Stir well and simmer. In another small pan, melt 3 tablespoons of butter, add breadcrumbs and salt, and toast over high heat. Toss together with pasta of your choice--I like linguine.

2008-04-03T21:59:00.000-04:00