Apples have never been my favorite fruit. I always enjoy them once I start eating one but it’s just not something I crave. But an orchard brought bags filled with an assortment of their new varieties to the Greenmarket so I figured I’d try a bag and see if anything floated my boat. The [...]
Author Archives: Brian
Frisée and Apple Salad with Dried Cherries and Walnuts
Posted in Fruit, Recipes, Salads, Vegetarian Tagged Apple, Dried Cherries, Frisée, salad, Walnut Comments closed
Israeli Couscous Salad
The batch of preserved lemons I started last month was ready this week so I finally got to make this Israeli couscous salad requested by my wife, Terri. The lemons were the only specific ingredient she mentioned so I improvised the rest.
Israeli couscous (also called Ptitim) is completely different from the more familiar North African [...]
Giving Bloomberg a Break on Food Policy
A headline in The New York Times reads “Mayor Doesn’t Always Live by His Health Rules.” I read the story and though I may not agree with the mayor on everything I have to stand up for him on this one.
Bloomberg banned trans fats in New York and now has a campaign aimed at sugary [...]
Posted in Uncategorized Comments closed
Homemade Peach Ice Cream
I thought I’d try to make some peach ice cream to send off both the Jersey peach season which is nearly over and summer which seems to have already left us. I have no ice cream maker and very little experience and I know homemade ice cream can be really bad having eaten what amounted [...]
Posted in Desserts, Fruit, Fruit Desserts, Ice Cream Comments closed
Fried Eggplant Crostini with Tahini Sauce and Tomatoes
I’m calling this crostini but I used pretty large slices of bread since this was made for dinner rather than for a snack. I’d call it bruschetta but I didn’t rub the bread with garlic which I think disqualifies it. If I wanted to be less pretentious I would just call it toast but if [...]
Posted in Recipes, Vegetables, Vegetarian Comments closed
Cabbage and Kielbasa Stew
I’m a fan of stews but I stay away from them for the most part when it’s hot outside. In late summer when there are tons of vegetables available from local farms I start getting anxious to start throwing them in a pot in various combinations but I resist. This week I couldn’t resist any [...]
Posted in Beans, Meat, Recipes, Sustainable Food, Vegetables Comments closed
Simple Roasted Chicken
It’s been years since I have bought boneless chicken breasts but I remember how much of a challenge it was to keep them from getting dry. A whole section of marinades in every grocery store backs me up on this. I haven’t stopped eating chicken of course. I’ve just found that roasting a whole chicken [...]
Potato and Celery Root au Gratin
I’m a little embarrassed that I didn’t know what celery root (or celeriac) was before making this. It’s like I’ve been cooking all these years and just discovered the tomato or something. It’s hard to miss it on the shelf with its wrinkly skin and snarl of dirty roots so where have I been? When [...]
Carbonara
Between the availability of fresh, summer vegetables and the oppressiveness of the not-so-fresh summer heat, I haven’t been cooking a lot of heavy food. But it cooled off a little and my wife, Terri had been working really hard so I was feeling like I should cook something really substantial. No roast or stew—especially since [...]
Apricot Upside Down Cake
I say I’m not much of a baker but the fruit selection has been so good in New York lately that I’m feeling inspired to at least try a few things. This week I bought a whole bunch of apricots, thinking I’d try to make an apricot upside down cake. Pineapple upside down cake is [...]