Another “we deliver” farm share serving Westchester county, aptly named Farm Share. The veggies are certified organic, and tomorrow is the last day to sign up for a spring/summer share.
Need more than just your organic veggies? I came across an ad for Greater Organic Foods recently, which basically acts like a Whole Foods-type personal shopper, delivering groceries to your door in BPA-free packaging. (Man, I am a sucker for a beautifully designed Web site!) It’s not a service I’m in the market for, but I like looking through their suggested menus anyway.
Table Local Market in Bedford Hills, NY is on my short list of places I want to try to both shop and eat. Table is built as a year-round farmer’s market, featuring bread, cheese, meat, prepared foods and of course, fruit and vegetables from local producers. The NY Times recently wrote them up, too: “A Farm Market in a Store.” I plan to drag some friends up there with me this summer.
Last night I made Baked Ziti, at G.’s request. He always says he is fond of this dish, but the last time I made it when he asked he didn’t eat any. That was a couple of months ago, so when he forlornly noted yesterday that I never make “make ziti” anymore, I promised I’d make that night for dinner. And I did.
First, the promise of the Baked Ziti at home was enough to get him out of his favorite friend’s house, where they had been hiding to prevent me from bringing the playdate to an end. Then, as we sat down to eat, the lovefest started. After the second compliment, I grabbed a pen and paper to chronicle the rare gushing over my cooking:
“Mmmmm, this is delicioso!”
“Yummy yummy in my tummy!”
“This is so good I could eat it for dessert.”
“After this can I have more ‘make ziti’?”
“I’m so glad you bought ‘make ziti’ Mommy.”
And in between all that commentary on my cooking, he threw in a bunch of “I love you, Mom”s for good measure. Now I have to toe the fine line between making it too often so that he might reject it, and just often enough so that it remains a favorite treat.
I had no idea there were so many cupcake bakeries in Westchester: “Let Them Eat Cupcake,” in Westchester Magazine.
The Triple Tomato Sauce is so freakin’ good I can eat it with a spoon. Who needs pasta?
J. and I finally made it out to try Tarry Lodge on Sunday evening. The food was delicious — the Grilled Asparagus with Sheeps Milk Ricotta and my Orecchiette with Fennel Sausage and Rapini were stand outs. I’ll have to try the pizza next time.
In less than a month I get to start my third year with a share in the Roxbury Farm CSA (community-supported agriculture), and I can’t wait! I know that Roxbury’s Westchester shares fill up really quickly, though, and there are no shares left for 2009.
My Personal Farmers is also starting its third year, as an online farmers market offering produce, meat, dairy, and other products from farms in the Hudson Valley region. I haven’t ordered from them yet, because we enjoy the experience of going to local farmer’s markets ourselves, but the service seems like a great way to eat locally, at home, with very minimal effort.
This year My Personal Farmers is starting its own CSA, delivering to all of Westchester and Putnum, plus some of Rockland County and Connecticut. If you haven’t been able to get in on a CSA share yet for this year, this is your chance. They are accepting members through June 12, and then the share will run from June 19/20 through October 23/24 — that’s 10 weeks of deliveries, every other week. They have a several plans, including one that’s just fruits and vegetables, and others that include eggs and chicken. Plus, you can easily add other local products on to your CSA order — dairy, bread, meats, etc.
Get more detailed information or sign up for a share on the My Personal Farmers CSA site. Let me know what your experience is with them!
At least until tomorrow evening! We’re having a couple of projects completed around the house, including a new kitchen sink and faucet and caulking around my kitchen counters. I’m getting a screen door for my kitchen, too! I’m really thrilled about that addition.
While the glue and caulk dry, I’ve been ordered to stay out, and I am happy to obey.
Over the past several months I’ve noticed more and more shoppers at my supermarket bringing their own bags rather than choosing paper or plastic. When the boys were little, I had a million uses for the plastic bags I brought home: wrapping dirty diapers, storing wet clothes, carting trucks and shovels from home to the playground, and so on. But as the boys get older, I find I have less and less reason to use plastic bags, and my collection started overflowing the storage space I’d allotted. It was definitely time for me to switch to reusable bags for grocery shopping.
I already have a ChicoBag — sent to me as a promotional item from Stonyfield Farm — that I keep in my pocketbook. It works fine for when I only need a single bag, but unstuffing it from its pouch at the register and then manipulating the very thin (but strong) fabric around what I’m putting inside actually takes more time than it does for the cashier to scan my purchase, and I always feel like I’m fumbling around to get my bag ready. I use a gigantic blue IKEA bag for my farm share pick-up, but it’s too huge to bring to a store — I’d find it unwieldy once it was filled with groceries. I knew I needed to get some new bags if I was going to use them regularly.
I wound up choosing the ACME tote, in “paper bag brown” of course. I bought four bags, and I’ve been using them for a couple of weeks now. I’m very happy with them and would recommend them fully. These bags won out because they have a flat bottom, and stand up straight like a paper grocery bag — this makes it super-easy to pack (the cashiers don’t even roll their eyes). I can pack them to overflowing, and they are still really easy to carry, and also stack into my trunk nicely because they hold their shape even when packed. Plus, they fold down just like a paper grocery bag, and so they keep a low profile in the trunk of my car when they’re not being used. I did not need to be able to put the bags on my shoulder, though if you want to be able to do that ACME has a version with double handles that will let you.
The four bags are normally enough for an average weekly shop, but for a larger trip I supplement with some other random totes I have around (including my “celery stalker” bag which I still love!).
I’m really happy with the switch from plastic to these reusable bags. It’s an easy way to be a little bit kinder to the environment on a regular basis, and that is much more motivating than the two-cent credit my store gives me for every reusable bag I use.
There’s a new cupcake bakery in Pleasantville, NY! Flour & Sun Bakery is having its grand opening on the 21st, but it’s open now. I bought a half dozen assorted cupcakes today — I’ll taste test them with my parents and the boys after dinner tonight. (Denise, the owner, sealed my box with a sticker so I’m not tempted to sneak one beforehand.) I’m particularly excited about the chocolate Guinness with vanilla buttercream.
GoPicnic seems almost too good to be true: ready to eat meals, all-natural and with no high-fructose corn syrup or trans fats, all in a cool package. Kosher, vegan, and gluten-free varieties are available. Seems like you can only buy them online right now. I can see these being terrific if you’re on airplanes a lot, are taking a road trip, or just have a very busy schedule with kids where you’re eating in the car between activities.
I can’t stop reading about food storage and emergency preparedness. I’m not interested in extensive food storage for our household, but the organizational aspect of it appeals to me! Check out Shelf Reliance, which sells a wide range of freeze-dried foods and some can rotation systems for the very serious stockpiler. Jodi and Julie’s Food Storage Made Easy blog is also a fascinating read.
Although I was nervous in the week leading up to this morning’s spot on CT Style, once I got to the studio I felt great. Everyone was super-friendly, and although I was a little surprised at how laid back everyone was with giving me direction (there wasn’t much!), it worked out without a hitch. That’s a testament to the professionalism and talent of everyone involved with the show. The hosts, Sonia and Desiree, were welcoming and easy to talk to, and it felt natural to be hanging out with them while we cooked. (more…)
I had a great opportunity this morning — a spot as a guest cook on ABC-affiliate WTNH’s lunchtime show, CT Style. I’ll write more about the experience later (it was a lot of fun!), but for now you can check out the video below.
Sometimes food is yummy, but no matter how you garnish it or what pretty plate you place it on, it’s just not appealing visually.
On the left is the tuna noodle casserole I made yesterday. I used cooked whole wheat elbow noodles, solid white tuna in water (drained), Le Sueur peas (drained), and Campbell’s Healthy Request condensed cream of mushroom soup. Mix it all together, spread it in a baking dish, and bake at 375° for about 40 minutes or until the top starts to get crunchy.
Tuna noodle casserole is one of those dishes I continue to make because I remember it fondly from my past. My mom made this dish when I was growing up — the peas *must* be Le Sueur for this to be my family’s recipe, as my dad loves them! Then in college, a roommate of mine and her boyfriend used to cook a version of this casserole every so often, affectionately calling it “tuna nood.” More recently, my mom brought this dish over when I was a brand-new mother, and cooking dinner myself while tending to a constantly-nursing newborn seemed impossible. All happy memories, which make this dish way more appealing to me than the way it looks, or the way it tastes, which is humble at best. You can’t argue with comfort food, though!
On the right is my Baked Tofu in Almond Peanut-Cilantro Sauce. This dish uses frozen peas rather than canned like the tuna noodle, and I tried something new: instead of cooking the peas along with the cauliflower and tofu, I tossed them in after the dish came out of the oven. The heat from the freshly-baked food was enough to defrost the peas, and they stayed bright green. Regardless, the beige sauce on beige veggie and protein, plus the way the cauliflower and tofu tend to crumble and mush together a bit, still overwhelm the springy green of the peas. It’s a dish I really love to eat, but I’d probably not serve it to company — even a sprig of cilantro on top can’t save it.
Of course, photographing these meals a day or two after they were cooked, straight out of the fridge doesn’t help their looks much. But they still taste great as leftovers.
I'm Dara, the Chick in the Kitchen. Living in the suburbs of Manhattan with my two boys, ages 5 and 7, and husband. Trying to feed my family something more diverse than a different shape of pasta each night. Read more about me and CITK, or reach me at .
Want to Try
Sweet Potato and Gruyère Turnovers: These easy pockets (using pre-made, refrigerated dough) sound delicious to me, and even include swiss chard -- something I always seem to have in my fridge from our CSA.
Cook to This
"Kids" by MGMT. Truly bizarre video, but a song that always perks my ears up when I hear it on the radio. They're a 21st century update of synth-pop bands I loved in the late 80s/early 90s (hello, New Order).
I'm Dara, the Chick in the Kitchen. Living in the suburbs of Manhattan with my two boys, ages 5 and 7, and husband. Trying to feed my family something more diverse than a different shape of pasta each night. Read more 