I’m writing this post from 30,000 feet above the earth and am feeling caught between the epic clouds, the adventure ahead (Mighty Summit, for the win!), layers upon layers of procrastination, and really missing my family back in Brooklyn. Right now grapes seem as distant as the earth below. But that’s no reason to give up. I’ll be back on firm ground soon enough, and there I’ll find grapes aplenty. [Read more…]
Here in NYC, summer is in its very last days. School officially starts tomorrow, I spent the weekend putting up tomatoes (22 jars and counting), and in our farm share today we’ll be getting the first of the fall apples. As the city cools off, it’s time to turn the stove back on. Summer has so many ingredients that appear and disappear so quickly–strawberries, asparagus, green beans. But in the fall, with its roasted tomatoes and sauteed vegetables, it’s not the fleeting ingredients that make you live in the now, it’s the flavors. So many things are so good the second they’re out of the skillet or the oven. And that’s especially the case with these shisito peppers, light and delicious just out of the fryer, and finished with a generous sprinkle of sea salt, these are just the right flavors for the season–earthy, with just a little heat, and topped with crunchy bits of salt. [Read more…]
Refreshing blackberry smash cocktails made with ripe summer blackberries, fresh squeezed lime juice and mint leaves.
Yesterday I took the girls to the playground late in the day. Despite the persistent (and totally annoying) humidity we’ve had in NYC lately, I was struck by the long evening shadows and golden light. Could it be that fall is really coming? The breeze whipping a strand of frizzy hair into my face seemed to say it is. [Read more…]
Figs, prized for their fruit which is central to the most popular Newton and for their leaves which apparently are useful in covering your naughty parts (although it’s not clear to me how you’re supposed to get them to stay on), are in the midst of their second season right now (they’re available in late spring and then again in late summer) in most of the country. [Read more…]