I’ve met the chicken that laid the egg I had for this lunch. I know the two farmers who grew the radishes and the lettuce too. That’s local.

Shawn looked at me a little funny when I suggested a nice mixed green salad (red leaf lettuce from Shortt’s Farm and Garden Center in Sandy Hook and romaine lettuce from Smith’s Acres in Niantic) with maple roasted bacon (store bought bacon, Trader Joe’s Vermont Maple Syrup) and a poached egg (Shortt’s). He declined.

So, I threw a steak on the grill for him . . . and still served him the salad, minus the egg plus the meat. He said it was a great lunch. Read the rest of this entry…

I should have known that Paige would be gung-ho about eating regular foods . . . after all, I am her mother.

Paige has quickly gone from an immobile infant to a crawling baby. She’s sped from an 100 percent breastfed girl to a breastmilk, baby food and finger foods child. And she’s not showing any signs of slowing down. If this keeps up, she’ll be eating regular dinners with us in no time. Seriously. Read the rest of this entry…

You know the saying “It takes a village.”? Well, folks, it takes a village to make the local farmer’s market successful.

You might pay lip-service to liking the concept of eating locally. You might tout the availability of locally grown farm produce, fresh breads and the like. But unless you are actually going to the farmer’s market and shopping it regularly, you aren’t doing anything. And worse, it’s going to put that farmer’s market out of business.

Think I’m kidding? Read the rest of this entry…

Sorry, folks, I missed Episode 3 on account of being (incredibly) sick. But I am back with some notes on episode 4. Don’t forget to leave a comment and tell me what you thought.

The most annoying award goes to Nipa for her eek-ook-aak-squeal over the fish. Get it together, lady. But she didn’t and it cost her — byebye Nipa.

Lisa was a little funky — she did a great job introducing her food, even interjecting (the very real) emotion when mentioning her brother. But that came on the heels of her confessional mention of Gucci shoes and a $300 shirt. I know fashion/food is her hook, but puh-lease! Was that really necessary in the confessional or otherwise?

Shane did well — he’s such a cute kid.

What was with Adam’s goofy entrance? How irritating . . .

Kelsey really made an impression with her two dishes, eh? If I could try just one contestant’s food, that would be it.

Pesto whole wheat penne and baked caprese salad.

Need I say more?

This photo is from last week . . . I haven’t snapped any of this week’s foods yet. Nonetheless, this was another hardy local meal — cept for the pasta, which wasn’t local. I resisted the urge to splurge on the superb fresh mozzarella and pesto again at this week’s farmer’s market. I am trying to keep it to one splurge a week — maybe that will be next week? That way, the splurges are special and don’t end up being wasted.

While inspecting the lettuce heads, I heard a familiar voice wafting through the stand. The farmer, a white-bearded man with kind eyes, was chatting with another local farmer — a woman with long sandy hair and freckles. She held a baby on her hip and laughed in the hearty, easy way she has since childhood. No, I am not making assumptions, she happens to be my cousin . . . Small town. So, of course I yelled over, “Hi, cousin!” It’s a phrase that has come into our vernacular in recent years. Her mother says it, her husband to my mother . . . just one of those things I guess.

Small town or not, it’s nice to see a sense of community forming at the farmer’s market this year that I haven’t seen in the past. The clam guy talks to the other vendors, complimenting one’s big, juicy, red tomatoes and recommending another’s delicious tarts . . . It’s nice to see. Read the rest of this entry…

Mmmm. The first fresh vegetables of late spring. These spring onions popped up at the farmer’s market a little over a week ago. They just looked so delicious (should have taken a pic!). Rather than try to use all in salads, salsas and other condiments, I decided to try something different: cooking them so that they’re the star of their own dish. I kid not.

I got the idea after reading a post about leftover spring onions at In My Kitchen Garden. She had a lot to use up and was looking for inspiration. I figured why not try cooking them up . . . It worked and I went back to share this in her comments. But I wanted to share it here too . . . enjoy.

So what are spring onions? They are scallions (or green onions, same thing) that have begun to grow a bulbous end . . .

YUM. These were a hit on Father’s Day — just not with Shawn. Of course.

Sauteed Spring Onions
serves 1 (easily manipulated for more)

Slice one spring onion no larger than 1/4 inch. Combine in a skillet with two pinches of sugar, 3 tbsp water, and a sprinkling of salt. Cover and cook until liquid evaporates and then carefully pour in a gulg of white wine. Cover, stirring once or twice, until wine evaporates (it will brown a bit on the bottom of the pan). transfer to a plate (saving as much of the browned glaze as you can) and eat.

Back in my college days at Barnard, my friends and I had a few good places where we loved eat. But as time has passed, more and more of those places have closed. The latest to see demise is Wrapp Factory.

There was one semester where we had Wrapp Factory for dinner at least twice a week. It was fantastic. The wraps were big and bursting with rice and things like teriyaki or jerk chicken. They made the wrap a meal. Mmmm. And their smoothies were great too, if we were in the mood for that — and had the extra cash.

In the past years, a great Chinese place, Empire Dynasty, closed. Our beloved Ethiopian restaurant Zula was shuttered too. Our local market, the West Side Market, closed and opened again. The student center where we got our mail was razed to make way for an enormous new student center and school building. It’s just amazing how much things can change . . .

Every time I hear about another neighborhood change, it’s like another of the tiny stings that tie the still youthful me to my college days is snipped. In my mind, the neighborhood should never change, because it was good as it was — with scaffolding and redevelopment and imperfectness — and because that was how it was when my class was there.

But I know that things do change, whether we want them to or not. The school will finish its new Nexus perhaps in the next year. A new class will enter the hallowed halls of Barnard in the fall, with a newer neighborhood than the one I lived in. They will laugh with friends as they cross the same College Walk, going to different take-out joints but attending the same classes. They are smelling the same scents of city life, but gazing with a younger, newer, fresher outlook. It’s new and it’s old. It’s the same and it’s different.

I can never get my experience back. No matter how much I would love to return to my college days, I can’t. The imperfect neighborhood and the imperfect me can only move forward and change with the times. But that doesn’t stop me from wanting to be — if only for a day or two — that young woman free in the big city with infinite options and possibilities all around again.

This meal is 100% local from the Sandy Hook Village Farmer’s Market.

I love going to the farmer’s market. Walking from vendor to vendor, inspecting the produce and choosing what to buy is a lot of fun . . . to me at least. In the summer, I try to go every weekend. It’s a challenge with two kids under 3, but a worthwhile one and I am certain that it won’t be long before the kids will be asking when we are going to see the vegetable man, the bread man and the clam lady.

But why should I, or any one else, eat local?

1. Less Chance of Contamination. Shopping local means that you meet your producer (usually) and they have an intimate knowledge of their crops. Ultimately, that means that your risk of getting something like E.coli from a head of lettuce or salmonella from a tomato are substantially lower . . .
2. It can be healthier. Eschewing processed, packaged foods with ingredients lists that are filled with words you can’t begin to pronounce is sure to benefit you in the long run. As with anything, it’s all in what you do with the food that makes the most difference. Read the rest of this entry…

Last night, I live blogged the finale of Top Chef Chicago. I know, I know — should have told you all that I was going to do that! But, it was sort of on a whim.

Once thing I did find with live blogging was that there wasn’t a whole lot of time to insert opinion and reflection. No matter, I am here to give you my final thoughts now.

Lisa. For all her attitude, rudeness, and disrespect, she did come through tonight. The cutting of the show as undeniably positive towards her, showing that she does indeed have an iota of kitchen proficiency after all. It does make you wonder if we were duped into thinking otherwise all season. Read the rest of this entry…

Still looking for the perfect gift for your eco-friendly dad? I am running down some good options that you can get last minute this week . . . Click here to check out part 1 in this series.

1. Organic Style: Organic Style has a variety of eco-friendly suggestions from trees to journals to chocolates. They were nice enough to let me sample their Heavenly Chocolate Trio, which were delicious (especially those almonds). But do heed the warning on the site that although the chocolates are shipped overnight, weather conditions could cause them to arrive melted, as most of mine did. My husband was home when the shipment arrived, so the meltage happened enroute. If this is a concern, avoid the perishables.
2. Soda Club: Chances are, this one won’t arrive by Father’s Day, but they will end an email letting dad know it’s coming if you order. This is totally cool — it’s an easy, counter-top make-your-own soda kit . . . perfect for the gadget-loving dad.
3. Fair Trade Coffee: Does your dad love coffee? How about some fair trade coffee and a French press. With the French press, you just add hot water and let the coffee brew and then press it. Save energy and get a tasty cup of coffee. Check out this site for a list of where you can get fair trade coffee.