This weekend I finally went out to the Queens Farm Museum, which I've been intending to do for ages. I was trying to remember how on earth I'd heard about the museum, and then I remembered that I'd seen an article about it in the New York Times - it must have been this one, from June 2009. How does time pass so quickly?
All has been quiet here... just working and noticing the days grow shorter, a sure sign of changing seasons that belies the warm weather.
And there are now Concord grapes at the market, the super-sweet kind that brings to mind grape-flavored candy. These bees, desperate as always at the end of the summer, were all over them.
Hopefully I'll have more to report soon... in the meantime, I hope you have all enjoyed the weekend!
Something else very exciting happened this Wednesday, that I've been wanting to mention but haven't had time to because I actually got some PAID work which took priority (gasp)! This was a copy-editing job that I thought would take three hours at most, but actually took ten. On the bright side, the material was quite interesting, which was part of the reason it took so long (unfamiliar terminology, etc.)
Getting back to this Wednesday, on the advice of a friend I finally checked out Eataly, the new Italian Food emporium in the Toy Building at 200 Fifth Avenue across from Madison Square Park. The only other time I've entered this building was for a wedding, probably about nine (?) years ago now. I think the friend who got married there MIGHT be happy to hear that the place where she said her vows is now the most exciting Italian Food grocery store I've ever set foot in, because she really likes to eat (though she's the sort of meat-and-potatos eater who looks like she might live on edible flowers and dew).
For some reason the sight of pumpkins and squashes at the market, starting a few weeks ago, took me by surprise this year. I think, "but it's still summer, what's with all this produce that's meant for Halloween and Thanksgiving?" And yet it is the end of summer, after all... and when melons are ripe I suppose it's only natural that other heavy vine-growing fruit should be, too. I can't bring myself to buy a squash or a pumpkin yet, though. It's too hot and seems too early. So I only admired them... as well as these bright yellow gladiola. Fall colors, indeed!
Just a quick post before the Labor Day Weekend. I hope you all enjoy it - I envy those of you who are going somewhere nice, I will be around the city all weekend, but at least it might be emptier than usual and the heat is supposed to break...
And also on the bright side, it's that time of year, the time when stone fruits are very cheap. I write this a little guiltily, because a friend of mine has just discovered an unfortunate allergy to peaches! So I've been thinking of her as I consider my stone-fruit plans. I've never been so ambitious as to think of actually preserving fruit, but I do like sometimes stewing it with a bit of sugar and cinnamon, or making it into a sort of jam by boiling it down with a little water and sugar for an hour or so (and, because I'm absent minded, forgetting about it entirely and walking into my kitchen to find my stove-top splattered with purple). I made my faux jam earlier this week, before it got so hot, and now I'm greedily thinking about the next round... and as I mentioned earlier, I also plan to freeze a few so that I can enjoy them this winter as well!
On that note, happy weekend to all!
I mentioned in this post that I thought it would make a good resolution for somebody, maybe even me, to regularly test-drive a new kind of vegetable when selecting produce. In spite of that, I have to admit that I haven't deviated much from my usual rotation of frequently-eaten vegetables. However, recently I was tempted by this pretty Napa cabbage, and I decided to try it.
I mentioned in another post that tomatillos are one of those vegetables (fruits, really) that I've seen at the farmer's market for several years now but never bought. I think I was intimidated by their papery wrappings. However, since they're so readily available I began to imagine that almost everyone else in New York buys them regularly and cooks with them (or else decorates with them?), and I wondered if I was missing out. So this weekend, I decided that it was time to overcome my hesitation and give them a try. I bought just three to get started.
When I worked in an office and brought my lunch very often, I used to joke with a friend of mine about the "catch of the day." The joke was that I would very often bring a meal that included some form of canned fish, either salmon, sardines, or anchovies.
My fondness for canned fish developed from a combination of health-consciousness and practicality. From a health standpoint, I know that small fish (especially with the bones in them) are a good source of protein, healthy fats, and calcium, and because they're small you don't have to worry about mercury content as you do with tuna fish. And for me the canned fish is very practical for a quick meal, because it requires no preparation at all and can easily be dumped into a salad or eaten alongside some cooked vegetables. Also, my husband doesn't like fish so this is an easy way for me to squeeze them into my diet.
Well, the friend who would tease me about my boring 'catch of the day' will be pleased to hear that this weekend I've discovered a new catch: this canned mackerel. I saw it at Citarella and bought it just to try it, but didn't have high hopes... I do like grilled mackerel, but it tends to be an oily, fishy-tasting fish, and so I wasn't sure how that would translate when packed into a tin. However, I was pleasantly surprised. The flavor of this preparation was really mild, even more so than sardines, and it went very nicely into a lunch-time salad. So, for other canned fish lovers, I recommend it, though at $5 a can it's pricier than sardines. Still, nice for an occasional treat!
I'm the sort of person who is always coming up with new resolutions... ideas of things that I ought to be doing that will improve everything (health, state of mind, posture, what have you.) But like most people, I guess, I tend to be better at inventing resolutions than at sticking to them.
The other day, I came up with a really great idea for a resolution that I probably won't follow but maybe someone else would like to? The idea is that every time I shop for produce I should make myself try something new. That should be no problem, as there are so many things I see at the market that I never buy because it's not something I'm in the habit of making or using. For example, tomatillos - I look at them with fascination all the time because of their papery exterior, but I've never bought one.
The reason I thought this was a great idea is that eating a variety of produce is supposed to be good for health, and this way I'd be forced to learn how to prepare new things. So in one resolution I'd actually be improving two areas of my life.
So with this idea in mind, on Saturday I bought a bunch of lamb's quarters, which were described as being like spinach and could be prepared as such. Also, a big bunch was only $2 and it was rather pretty with all of its little dark leaves.
