this and that

I am seriously in hibernation mode these days.  I go to work,  I come home, I intend to read, I cook comfort food and I eat.

If you are getting out of the house today (Saturday 2/9), head down to Verdigris Tea & Chocolate Bar at 5pm.  From there you’ll walk to the Christopher Norman Chocolate Factory for a tour, then back to Verdigris for a wine and chocolate tasting.  Chocolate and wine = comfort food.

* Sadly the tour was cancelled…

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Next weekend, gather around your computer for a TEDx talk, Changing the Way We Eat on Saturday February 16.  I know my attention span will not allow me to watch/listen all day, but I’ll try to tune in at least for Anna Lappe.  Her mom’s book provided one of  my early food awakenings.

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Did you see that NY State is the “Silicon Valley of Greek Yogurt“?  Who knew???  I see some spoons in our neck of the woods, so that must include Maple Hill Creamery (you can find at Otto’s in Germantown or the Co-op in Chatham), Old Chatham Sheepherding (at the farm) and of course, Ronnybrook Farm.

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And in the world of food art…

Image by Andy Ellison

Andy Ellison gets the prize for creative thinking.  Who else thinks of putting fruit and vegetables in an MRI machine?  Frankly, those are the only things that really fit in those claustrophobia machines.  Check out the animations here.  Can something be black & white AND psychedelic at the same time???

look at the light

Painting by Dennis Wojtkiewicz

Even though I bought a million books over the holidays with great intentions to amp up my reading, I’m here at my computer gazing at images.  Of food.  Of course.

You can find more from this artist here and here.

and so we begin again…

Where did December (or the year) go?

December 1st started off with a lovely little snow, introducing the beginning of holiday baking as well as our latest Winter Walk.

Recipes I tried this month included shortbread with white chocolate/pistachios/cranberries, toffee, pfeffernusse (still looking for the perfect recipe), gingersnap/rumballs, pumpkin bread, pumpkin bourbon cheesecake, pumpkin soufflés with bourbon molasses sauce (see a theme here?), chocolate peppermint cookies (like pepperminty brownies), and a simple chocolate glazed chocolate tart. I feel like I’m forgetting something.  And yes, I tasted/ate all of these.  That sounds scary when I actually write it down.

We had latkes on the first and last nights of Hannukah.  I can never have too many latkes and thankfully Passover is spread over 8 crazy nights…

I took a trip to the great Northwest where I was rained on a lot, and drank far too many lattes.  I also bought yet more cookbooks at Powell’s.

We survived the end of the world with no excitement whatsoever.

And we survived the Christmas gift exchange  getting no scary gifts (trust me, it was a close call).

The winter weather makes me want more comfort food.  This usually means some sort of cheesy carb fest, but instead I’m roasting some nice acorn squash and drizzling with a garlicky peppery vinaigrette before serving on simple rice.  I think I need a little new eating, to at least make up for any excesses this past month.  Or to allow space for the new excesses to come.

In the new year I’m looking forward to trying more new savory dishes, although I will continue to bake bake bake.  I have a monster butternut squash just staring at me, daring me to come up with something other than roasted winter vegetables.  I’m also looking forward to Zak Pelaccio‘s Fish & Game restaurant opening up on South 3rd, sometime in the new year.  I may need to get a 2nd job (and an exercise routine) to support my eating in Hudson.  I wonder what else might open up in our little  town of eaters?

And so we begin again…

Happy New Year’s!

Hudson Winter Walk 2012

Call me crazy nostalgic, but I love the annual Winter Walk in Hudson.  What’s not to love?  There’s beautiful decorations, and usually a tall guy on stilts, and both good and strange musical delights (I’m partial to the bagpipe myself) and of course, treats!  This year’s walk is Saturday, December 1st, 5pm – 8pm.

I always like to find the table selling homemade cookies to benefit someone, perhaps the high school, but I always skip the various hot dog/hamburger tables.  Restaurants and bars are always quite lively (and quite packed) this evening – so grab your seat early!  Also:

Truck Pizza will re-open for WinterWalk at 347 Warren.

Hudson Farm Box will be offering Taste of the Valley in the Alley – a tapas party on Cherry Alley (just off Warren).

The highlight (snack-wise) for Winter Walk has to be the Belo3rd Eggnog challenge.  I’m not even a huge fan of eggnog, but spike a drink and I’m there.

There are enough great eateries showing up uptown that perhaps there needs to be an equivalent Above7th (Hudson’s East End) challenge?

Layer on the long johns and grab your gloves!  I don’t want to hear any complaining about how it’s too cold to wander about being festive.

Cheers!

I am thankful…

… that our choices in Hudson continue to multiply.

… that Bonfiglio and Bread is open and serving this mushroom pizza, as well as sandwiches, their loaves of bread and other lovely bread things.

… that Crimson Sparrow has brought their vision of food to Hudson.  And when I don’t splash out for dinner (because I try to not eat out that often) their brunch offers a selection of 4 choices for a reasonable price.

… that Swoon and Ca’Mea and Red Dot and Spotty Dog and Baba Louie’s and Da|Ba and Park Falafel & Pizza  and Grazin’ Diner and Restaurant at Helsinki as well as relative newcomers Cafe Le Perche and Relish Hudson and so many other restaurants and trucks and carts (phew!) continue offering us such a variety of dining choices when we don’t wish to dine in.

…that we don’t have to eat out – and that Hudson can maintain an indoor farmers’ market on Saturdays starting the weekend after Thanksgiving.  I can continue buying local vegetables and cheese and eggs…  right here in town and give the money directly to the producers.  (I am thankful for (roasted) brussel sprouts.)

… that my latest new recipe, an attempt at making candy - sea salt caramels - wasn’t a complete disaster.  I actually ended up with toffee. (I’ll be especially thankful if I don’t lose fillings.)

… that it’s ginger cookie season.

… that my OH understands that running out of unsalted butter is a crisis and runs out to get me a couple of pounds.  And a bottle of wine.

… for good neighbors, great friends and family.

… that I’m actually never really hungry in Hudson.

Happy Thanksgiving!

wandering, escaping…

I’ve been a refugee upstate the past couple of days, as earlier in the week I was stuck in the darkness for a couple of days in NYC…  What a lovely time to be upstate!

Saturday was a day for foodie fieldtrips, and what a fun time.  I started, of course, at the Hudson Farmers Market.  I picked up some staples for the week, trying to not get carried away and buying more than I will realistically cook.  It’s an ongoing battle.

Early afternoon I joined a neighbor to visit Omi International Arts Center in Ghent for a book signing and marmalade tasting by Elizabeth Field for her first book, Marmalade: Sweet and Savory Spreads for a Sophisticated Taste.  As a baker, the unpredictability of marmalade, jellies and jams makes my hair stand up on end, but the recipes are compelling and I’m always willing to try some new recipes.  And who better to inspire me than a woman who did her Master’s dissertation on marmalade???  Ms. Field also has an article in the New York Times today on – you guessed it – marmalade.

Since it was such a lovely day and I didn’t feel like working on the garden anymore, my OH and I jumped in the car and drove down to Ancram for the opening of Hillrock Estate Distillery.  Located in the beautiful hills in the Ancram area, this beautiful distillery was built in the past couple of years to take advantage of the terroir – they grown their own barley and rye.  They hope to have their official organic designation next year, and pride themselves on being the only field to bottle bourbon.  Our informative tour was led by Tim Welly, who is in charge of the bourbon production under the guidance of master distiller David Pickerell (formerly of Makers Mark).  While I’m sure it’s incredibly challenging, it sounds like a cool job!  The tour of this gorgeous facility ended with a tasting, and since I like just about any bourbon that’s in front of me, it was tasty.  However, at $80-85 a bottle, I’ll have to save my pennies to have a bottle of my own…  They estimated that they may have had a thousand visitors yesterday, their first day, so it’s a great start for our latest local producer.

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The weather has turned chilly so I’ve been baking and cooking warm comforting autumn-y foods.  I might recommend these delicious recipes:

Autumn Lasagne with Butternut Squash, Sage and Kale from Handpicked Nation

Stovetop Macaroni & Cheese from The Kitchn (this dish was going into the oven as the lights went out)

Couscous with Chickpeas, Fennel & Citrus from The Kitchn (I fed this to the friends who had offered the escape from NYC)

Parmesan-Rosemary Crackers from A Little Saffron – every bite is cheesy deliciousness.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies from Eating Well – every once in awhile I have a flareup of “healthy” eating…

Pumpkin Spice Cookies from The Kitchen – cake-y goodness

Nigella Lawson’s Chocolate Guinness cake from The Kitchn – Make. This. Cake.

Happy Eating!

you cannot escape the garlic

…nor should you.

While it is good for chasing the vampires away, garlic is also great for flavor to most savory recipes.    I finally discovered that it also incredibly easy to grow!  Now is a very good time to plant your garlic so it can overwinter in the ground.  I try to plant at least a dozen cloves of my garlic from a previous year, pointy side up, at the end of the garden that would otherwise get a couple of marigolds.  I should really plant more.  If you have any questions about planting or harvesting garlic, consult A Way to Garden.  Margaret, through her website, has given me much confidence on what to do in my garden, and this is where I learned the quite simple task of planting my own (hard neck) garlic.  The added bonus is that you harvest garlic scapes earlier in the spring as well as the heads of garlic in the summer.

Once you’ve finished planting next year’s garlic, head over to the 1st Annual Garlic Day at the Hudson Farmers’ Market, happening this Saturday, October 13 (9am – 1pm).  This is great for those of us who were too lazy to drive over to the festival in Saugerties earlier this year…

So what do you do with your garlic?  I’m still trying to take advantage of the bounty of our farmers’ market before we’re limited to winter squashes and potatoes (and I am NOT complaining about having to eat mashed potatoes and butternut squash soup).  (An aside – Autumn is just flying by this year – wasn’t it just Labor Day???)  So what is my favorite dish this time of year?  Ratatouille!  It’s a very forgiving dish, so if you can’t find zucchini or don’t like peppers, just add more of the other vegetables.  It’s lovely served on couscous, or with good crusty bread.  My favorite recipe is here.

Or perhaps you just need a simple, comforting bowl of garlic soup.  This recipe has always captured my imagination.

Need more garlic ideas?  Our local Chef’s Consortium did a post on garlic recipes from Chef Ric Orlando.  Mercedes at Hudson Farm Box recently sent a recipe for garlicky broccoli rabe and pasta with her weekly email.  Try all the garlic recipes in Gourmet and let me know once you’ve gotten through them…  Good grief, you’d better stock up on garlic.

And if you don’t feel like cooking, take a head of garlic, cut off the top and drizzle with olive oil.  Wrap in foil and roast in the oven until soft and lovely.  Smear on crusty bread.  Drink wine.

Doesn’t that sound better than wearing a garlic necklace?