Ai Weiwei’s Sunflower Seeds at Mary Boone Gallery in NYC, through February 4, 2012.

My OH is obsessed by garinim so it was all I could do to get him out of there before he tried to eat one.  That’s probably why there was a security guard.

If you can’t go, at least watch this.

TEDxManhattan is hosting “Changing the Way We Eat” in NYC on Saturday, 1/21/2012 and you can watch it via live webcast all day.  The session starts 10ish am and goes to 5ish pm.  More info here – make it a party!    If you haven’t yet experienced a TED talk, you should, and you can find the mind-expanding selection here.

A little food for thought, shall we say?

how can you say no to this?

I think of this after running into our neighbors at the Acres Co-op Market this weekend.  I was clutching my Dutch Desserts raspberry tart and my neighbor told me she’s not doing that sort of thing this month.  They’re eating clean and healthy for this month, including no drinking and no dessert.  Like I said…

So, here we are in the depths of winter and we have two, count ‘em, two food markets in the town of Hudson.  They actually both opened up last weekend, January 6/7, but since I was laid out flat with a cold (ie, napping after breakfast, going through a box of kleenix in a day, etc.) I only explored them this past weekend.  Food happiness.

The Acres Co-op Market is worth checking out to find some new producers and products for Hudson.  I won’t dare try to list them all since I will inevitably forget someone, but in addition to the lovely raspberry tart I also got a small chunk of gruyere, tasted smoked chicken (!) and picked up a couple of Block Factory tamales for lunch.

a perfect light lunch

Acres Co-op Market is open Saturdays, 10am – 2pm.

Lick The Market has many favorites from the Hudson Farmers’ Market – so we were able to pick up Loaf pretzels, eggs and the stuff for a yummy roasted beet salad.  People were squeezed in, looking at the fresh herbs, picking up bread and leeks and veggies and I overhead someone say “We’re not in a food desert anymore”.  I’m not sure we’re there yet, but we’re making great strides.  Lick is open Friday, Saturday AND Sunday.

Along a similar vein, have you heard about the Hudson 10% challenge?  There was a notice in one of our bills this month, but you can also find more info here.  Naturally, I would like to use 10% less energy not only in the name of saving the earth, but also saving 10% $$$ a month.  That sounds good to me.  In digging around their website, under Quick & Easy Changes, points 3, 4 and 5 are:

• Buy local
• Join a CSA
• Shop at farmers markets

And then further down they suggest to eat less meat (since large commercial meat production drains resources) and use reusable bags.  For me, this will happen a lot faster than filling my cold walls with insulation, I’m afraid.

Will this town take this “buy local” advice and support two small food markets plus the CSAs & non-CSAs we have available?  They all offer the mix of organic and conventional, primarily local but reaching further for certain goods.  It’s articles like this and this that make me want to get closer to the farmer and the source of my food.  Then again, I’m not willing to give up olive oil, citrus, salt, etc…   It can be mind-boggling, no?

How do you define good food?  How will you eat good food this year?

But, I digress.  I have gotten out of the house a little, only to find that Strongtree Coffee Roasters is moving?  Where???

On a happier note, January is Falafel Awareness Month.  Who knew?  Middle Easteners and vegetarians already know the value of a good falafel, and this month Park Falafel & Pizza is inviting everyone to find out.

Have you tried Truck Pizza at 347 Warren yet?  We’ve had a couple of pizzas and so far, I have to say they are tasty.  You can even get just a half pizza if you are feeling only a little peckish.  Call ahead to eliminate standing outside in the cold…

You may have already discovered this, but Friday and Saturday nights Grazin’ Diner is open until 9:30pm and serving Crossroads beer.

Which is also available at Mod down on Front Street. Have you checked out their gluten free as well as veg/vegan options?  All can eat here.  I recommend the Spicy Green Bean starter.

But back to beer.  If you want to try the full selection of Crossroads brews, as well as wine and their own rootbeer, you should take a little roadtrip to Athens across the river.  Crossroads is open until 9pm Sunday – Thursday, and 12:00am on Fridays and Saturdays.  They’re strictly beverages at the moment, but there is the Roadside Bistro food truck until their kitchen is up and running.

Obviously I have not made any crazy resolutions to eat less…

Usually this time of year I start baking like a fiend Thanksgiving weekend and don’t stop until the weekend before Christmas.  All peoples around me would receive beautifully packaged bags of treats.  This year, I’ve been painting (bedroom walls) every weekend and surviving a never-ending work acquisition during the weekdays, so the baking extravaganza has not been happening.  I feel off-kilter.

However, I have to eat so I have been cooking a little.  We made latkes for the first night of Hanukkah, and might squeeze in one more meal of latkes before the end (tonight).

Christmas Eve morning I decided to do a baked pumpkin steel cut oatmeal -  I’d made it once before and it had been good.  This time it was essentially Christmas gruel.  Blech.  Yummily, lunch was the hors d’oeuvres meal that I’d planned for dinner.  With a bottle of wine.  My OH had to take a nap after that.  Dinner was with dear friends on Warren Street.  He wanted to know why I hadn’t covered his demented displays in this blog.  His wife and I pointed out that I’m only interested in food.  He pointed out the inflatable turkey that he’d used earlier this season.  Touche’.  I’ll have to work on being more observant.

I have no real traditions for Christmas meals, other than hors d’oeuvres for Christmas Eve dinner.  My mother has always made a Swedish tea ring but I’ve never been drawn to make it my tradition.  I just like it when Mom makes breakfast.  So this year I took on someone else’s tradition and their Holiday Breakfast Wreath.  I did not have the dried cranberries called for in the recipe, so I chopped up dried prunes and soaked them in brandy before adding to the filling.  Quite delicious, I must say.

just before glazing

And it opens up the whole new world of yeast baked goods.  As much as I bake, I never make anything using yeast as I’ve never understood the whole rising and kneading process.  This time it worked.  I’m very excited.

Mid-day, we wanted to get out of the house to walk/hike off past meals (and prepare for the next) so we headed out to Bash Bish Falls.  What a lovely place.  I don’t know why it took so many years to get there.  Definitely must return in the summer.

I then spent the rest of the afternoon/evening preparing dinner, which was Chef Peter Berley’s Lasagna of Fall Vegetables, Sage Bechamel, and Gruyere.  If you decide to tackle this delicious meal, give yourself a couple of hours and some staff.  And don’t leave the bechamel for last since you need some steeping time.  There’s a lot of prep work, as there often is when you prepare everything from scratch.  But the results are worth it.  My photos do not do the dish justice, but click on the link above for a tasty image.

What’s next?  I might start on my Christmas cookies (no time like the present, right?) – except that at the moment I’m not hungry.  This is not a normal sensation.  O dear.

You can google a million possibilities for latkes recipes; the one I use is below.  I think I was overwhelmed by the possibilities one year so my OH took the matter into his own hands and found this recipe.   It’s perfectly good.  The recipe says it serves one, but that’s a whole lotta latkes for one person…

The Latkes – Secret Recipe:

Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes
Serves: 1

• 1-1/2 lbs. Idaho potatoes
• 1 yellow onion
• 1 egg, beaten
• 2 Tbsps. all purpose flour
• 1 tsp. coarse (Kosher) salt, or as needed
• 1/2 tsp. pepper, or as needed
• 2 cups vegetable oil, or as needed (you will hopefully not use this much!!!)

Peel and grate the potatoes. Grate the onions. Beat the egg and add the onions and seasoning and the flour to the beaten egg. Mix in the grated potatoes.

Dissolve vitamin C tablet in 2-3 Tbsp of water, and add that to the potato mixture to prevent browning. (I never have vitamin C tablets around so I skip this step.)  Heat a few tablespoons of oil in a skillet.

Once the oil is hot, scoop out 1-2 Tbsp of the potato mixture, and fry in the oil until the bottom starts to brown (2-3 min). Flip the latke over and fry for another 2-3 min.

Take out the latke and drain on a paper towel. Serve immediately with apple sauce or sour cream.
Note: The recipe makes 10-12 pancakes.

I heard of a Vodka & Latkes party earlier this week – what a perfect combo.

Enjoy!

I don’t think it was just me – the Winter Walk seemed bigger and better than ever!  And for once I didn’t feel like a human popsicle after walking up and down Warren Street.  Thank you global warming.  Did you see all the new food options in town?

The 2nd annual Eggnog Challenge was the real deal and I challenged myself to try all of them.  I think I may have missed one or two.  But I did make it down to the Chocolate Bar, the winner of the Eggnog challenge.  Located  at 1 Warren (door on Front Street), this chocolate shop actually opens today, Saturday 12/10.  I am very loyal to Vasilow’s, but now we have chocolate options at either end of town.  That can’t be bad.

Truck Pizza has landed in the 347 lot recently vacated by Tortillaville (for the season).  Guess what they serve.  The line was too long that night so I’ll have to go back.

Taste of the Caribbean opened up right next door to the Italian Shop – a new source of jerk meat dishes and patties. Yum.

We popped in to the Acres Co-op  pop-up in their hopefully future space at 704 Columbia.  Tasted great vanilla and chocolate ice cream from a new guy who just started producing, and got a bottle of wine from Tousey Winery.  Which we promptly took home and drank.

Good time had by all.

Yes, today (Sunday December 4th) is National Cookie Day.  Much thanks to a coworker who brought this to my attention. I always like to say that when I grow up I’m going to bake cookies for a living.

Are you compelled to bake some cookies?   -  Wait!  Why not?

For the best chocolate chip  cookies, try the Jacques Torres recipe.  You must think ahead – it requires cake and bread flours and bittersweet chocolate chips (semi-sweet will work if necessary) and time – it must rest in the fridge overnight.  Absolutely the best chocolate chip cookies.  Try it.  Trust me.

Are you an oatmeal cookie fiend?  I’ve always depended on the Quaker Vanishing Oatmeal cookie recipe.  I’m not a huge fan of raisins (weird childhood thing since mother wanted raisins in everything) so I always add dried cranberries instead.  And use the old fashioned oats.

How about peanut butter cookies?  These have always been part of my repertoire, because they were my dad’s absolute favorite cookie.  Betty Crocker was the ruling cookbook in our household growing up, so this is my favorite peanut butter cookie recipe.  Again, think ahead as this takes a couple hours of sitting in the fridge.  Also, instead of just dipping the fork in sugar, I like to roll the entire cookie ball in sugar and then make the cross marks with a fork.  And, if I’m really feeling fancy, I make just one fork imprint (not the hatch mark) and pipe melted dark chocolate into the tracks once the cookies are cool.  Again, trust me on this one.

I haven’t even begun to talk about Christmas cookies – snowballs, peppermint balls, decorated sugar cookies, gingerbread boys, pfeffernuesse…

Happy Cookie day!  Eat cookies!

Phew!  As much as I bought this past Saturday, the last day of the season for the Hudson Farmers’ Market, I’ve already run out of things.  The Winter Indoor Market is being held Saturdays, November 26th – December 17th at Christ Church Episcopal at 431 Union Street, 10:00am – 1:00pm.

I am always looking for options when I shop for food.  I’m not sure if it’s because I’m always looking for the best price (and good value) or if it’s from my days as a traveler, but I always want to know what’s out there.  Also, sometimes I run into situations…  Like, this past weekend at the Farmers’ Market, I wanted to buy 2 dozen eggs from a vendor (I was making the pumpkin souffle I had mentioned last week – which was totally worth the 10 egg whites btw).  The vendor was only willing to sell me one dozen, because she didn’t have a lot of eggs and she was saving them for other customers.  Ouch!  Luckily I had options, and I walked over to the next vendor who sold me more eggs.

I like to buy direct from the farmer/baker because my food money goes directly to my food producer – it’s the best way to support a local producer.  However, what do you do when you want regular ole’ graham crackers or a can of baked beans?

I am very excited about the Hannaford scheduled to open up in Bell’s Pond just outside of Hudson, mid-2012.  Why get excited about another big box grocery store, you ask?  There’s something about Hannaford which is just clean.  I’m afraid I have nothing more logical to offer.  I hope this location will offer Local Ocean fishies.

But, if you don’t want to drive outside of Hudson, what do you do?

Cheese guy said he may open Lick in January to sell cheese, mushrooms, some others things…  What about winter ice cream???  Stay tuned.

Bruno’s offers a small selection of seasonal veggies plus I noticed (not exactly local but very useful) limes.

Across the street the West Indies Natural Food & Grocery has an eclectic assortment of food stuffs, including fresh ginger.

Olde Hudson has a fabulous selection of cheeses as well as other comestibles.

Mercedes offers the Hudson Farm Box - a townie CSA delivery on demand, perfect for the commitment-phobic.  This is a great offering for anyone who does not have time to go from farmer to farmer collecting their produce.

The Italian Market at the corner of 7th & Columbia is a good source for Italian goodies.

And of course, hopefully soon we will have Acres Co-op Market within walking distance.  Why “hopefully soon”?   Acres needs members!  At the very least, visit them during Hudson’s Winter Walk, coming up December 3rd.

What a great excuse for a walk.  Whether you are celebrating Black Friday or Buy Nothing Day today, you have to eat, right?

The weekend has been all about cleaning, which isn’t typically how I would like to spend a weekend but it was satisfying nonetheless.

Yesterday was the cleanup of the potential space for Acres Co-op Market, which you can read about in the Register-Star today.  I’m not sure how many people came by throughout the day, but it was clean by lunch time.  I found it very cathartic to wrench weeds out of the ground in the space out back, and my back is not punishing me too badly today.  The next community meeting is this Wednesday, November 16th at 6:30pm in the lovely clean space at 7th and Columbia.  I am sure one of the things on the agenda will be fundraising…

Today in the morning sunshine I pulled the last plants out of the garden, chopped up said plants with dried leaves and added a mulch layer, and watered it down to start the decomp process.  Next week I’ll add more leaves and newspaper, water it down again and cover with heavy plastic for the winter.   I finally planted my garlic today, which I’m sure I was supposed to do last month but it just didn’t happen.  You’re supposed to plant garlic before the first frost and we’ve already had our first snow, but since it was in the mid-60s this week I figure all bets are off.  Let’s see how the garlic does this year…  I have to re-think my (tiny) gardening strategy for next year; while my marigolds were giant, my heirloom tomatoes were awful – a sign that I need to not grow them for a year.  Now that the garlic is in the ground, I have time to think.

And to dream of pumpkin desserts.  A pumpkin pie is a requirement this time of year, but I’m also thinking that this spiced-pumpkin souffle with a bourbon molasses sauce is an excellent excuse to buy some local bourbon.