Carolyn Steel: How food shapes our cities | Video on TED.com

I've been awful about writing.

Here is some food for thought:

Carolyn Steel: How food shapes our cities | Video on TED.com

How can we change the future of food?

What can you do? What are you doing?

i found ramps!

I found FIDDLEHEADS too! If you aren't familiar with these, they are young ferns that haven't yet unfurled. They're bizarre looking things but they taste delicious. Like ramps, they are only available for a few weeks in Spring...so take advantage when you can.


There they are...the infamous ramps! I found these at "Berried Treasures" in the Union Square Green Market. I was told I MUST come back for their strawberries...and I will because I'm a sucker for their stuff already.



I decided on making some spring vegetable pasta - because this is what I had on hand!

Seen above:
Ramps Leaves
Green Pepper
Ramp Bulbs
Fiddleheads
Garlic


Fiddleheads have to be cooked because they contain a toxin (I can't and won't get all technical here! Just cook them!) So I boiled them for a few minutes then shocked them in an ice water bath. I then used the same cooking water for the pasta.

In a large saute pan I heated some olive oil over medium high heat. I then threw in the chopped garlic and ramp bulbs (add some red pepper flakes or cayenne here if you like heat!) for about a minute before adding the rest of the vegetables. I cooked the ramp leaves, fiddleheads and green pepper for 2 minutes.

After the vegetables are finished I turned off the heat and tossed the pasta with some thyme and a tablespoon of white truffle oil. I have mixed feeling about truffles but that is another story for another day.

I topped it with some Parmesan cheese because cheese, like ice cream, makes everything better.

Voila!

Very simple pasta dish but it was exactly what I needed! I'm a big fan of pantry dishes and throwing things together in a pinch. My years of living in New York on a budget have really honed this skill. I'm so happy when the results are something as satisfying, quick and inexpensive as this was. WIN!

fatty 'cue

I've been waiting ever so patiently for this restaurant to open. It was rumored for MONTHS that Fatty 'Cue was going to open a mere 3 blocks from my apartment...and I waited, and waited. I moved...and waited and then it opened!

Yessss!

I had very high hopes for the restaurant especially after the demise of Brooklyn Star, one of my favorites in the neighborhood. There is some hope of it opening back up...keeping my fingers crossed!

Fatty 'Cue is a happy marriage of Hill Country BBQ and Fatty Crab.

http://www.fattycue.com/



Seen above: PICKLEBACK! This is an amazing combination. 1 whiskey shot (preferably Jameson) and one shot of pickle juice. At Fatty 'Cue they improved upon the original by spicing up the pickle juice with some chilies. Yum. Served alongside is man sized can of PBR. I really love this combination.

I ordered some of their home made Assam sweet tea. Which was rather tart. But I love tea. A lot.

We decided to eat light and only ordered 3 dishes which turned out to be more than enough for two of us. First up: Bowl of Noodles! Served with meat juices, scallions and chili (to taste). I felt it was a bit bland. I think I was expecting more out of the "meat juices" - maybe more like a broth?

But Sam Sifton of the New York Times just described this dish as "reDONKculous" in his review. He says the noodles were topped with young ginger and contained fermented baby shrimp powder - I detected neither in our bowl of noodles.

The Cucumber Salad was a bit too smokey for my taste, like a punch in the throat. It was dressed with smoked chili, brown rice vinegar, and toasted sesame seeds. We had no sesame seeds.

This is the American Waygu Basket! Yum. I loved this. Served with steamed buns, cilantro, picked onions, chili jam, some meat drippings and aioli. By far my favorite part of the meal. Partially because you could tailor each bite to your liking and partially because this brisket was perfect. You can see the smoke ring and the delicious glistening fat, even in my shoddy photograph!

For good measure we ordered a slice of Shoo Fly Pie from First Prize Pies. Each slice is served with a shot of fresh cream! Yum. This wasn't a traditional Shoo Fly Pie, it reminded me more of a Pecan Pie without the pecans. But that didn't stop me from savoring every bite!

And my so-so experience at Fatty 'Cue isn't going to stop me from going back. All said we had a great meal for under $30 a person. New restaurants usually need time to work out the kinks and establish their identity. I have total faith in them!

www.fattycue.com

trends.

I just returned from vacation to find that EVERYONE EVERYWHERE is talking about ramps. Honestly...seriously...not even exaggerating...everyone is talking RAMPS.


Shiftdrink.com posted a video of Marco Canora, Executive Chef at Hearth in NYC, detailing the ramps journey from Greenmarket to kitchen to table. Cathy Erway at Noteatingoutnewyork.com made some ramp flatbread! A few other local foodie bloggers got together to learn for forage for and cook with these lovely little spring veggies! Then this morning I saw a banner advertisement for a recipe using ramps!!!

Sadly, my experience with them is limited to ONE single dish at a restaurant. And I don't really remember it. Le sigh.

All this talk had me compelled to pick some up after work yesterday so I could try cooking with them. I've been reading that it is already late in the ramp season so I figured I had to move quickly! I packed up and left work 10 minutes early so I could make it to the market before everyone packed up and left for the day. I made it! But there were no ramps. What luck!

I did, however, make an unsuccessful batch of enchiladas for dinner...and I burnt a pot of rice...

Good thing we had ice cream on hand - ice cream cures all.

Last night I joined a CSA!

I can't wait to pick up my first share! And I can't wait to make all kinds of great things with my bounty of farm fresh goodness! AND I can't wait to share with with family and friends! I'm way too excited about this. To find your local group and to learn more about community supported agriculture check out this link:

http://www.localharvest.org/csa/

springtime!

Every time I hear the word "springtime" I think of the Mel Brooks movie "The Producers" and immediately start singing or humming 'Springtime for Hitler'...slightly offensive...especially if you've never seen it. AH! It's a bad habit I picked up from my family. Yes, I'm blaming my family...seriously it IS their fault! "Give me a word and I'll sing you song" all the aunts would say and all the kids thought their wonderful knack for this was like TOTALLY embarrassing. At least, I did...and so did (does?!) my sister. Now my Mom and I hear a word and start singing the same song...I have indeed turned into my Mother...



It has been quite a long time since I saw something green at the Green Market. I was getting really tired of sweet potatoes and carrots from last year. And within the last week I started seeing GREEN again! SPRINGTIME!

So I had to celebrate by purchasing some ROSEMARY and THYME! They smell like heaven. For real.

I also found some kale. I don't when where or when or how it happened but I fell for kale. It's seriously delicious (alsooo high in vitamins and low in calories!) Kale introduced me to all the wonderful ways you can use greens. Juices?! My current favorite is carrot, kale and parsley juice! SOUPS! SALADS! I could think of a million examples and talk endlessly about it but I'm just making myself hungry.

Last night I just sauteed it!

With some garlic! This is two cloves of garlic, roughly chopped.

I warmed some olive oil in a pan over medium high heat. Then sauteed the garlic for about 15 seconds so it becomes fragrant! Like it wasn't already...

After that add your kale and saute that for about 2 minutes or until it's just bursting with color! SEE!?! I seasoned it with sea salt and fresh cracked pepper.

Call me crazy but it almost tasted like butter to me. Maybe not like butter - but seriously good and fresh and crunchy AND slightly sweet! How can something so green and easy to make AND healthy be so good!? My Dad and I spoke on the phone after I made this and all he said was "you're really your Mother's daughter." He won't eat kale. He also eats doughnuts for breakfast. Too bad they aren't full of vitamins and low in calories too...

Even my boyfriend said he liked it...and it's possible that it was only to humor me but that's fine with me! I appreciate it. And I appreciate the flowers I got last night! lovely lovely SPRINGTIME!

grocery shopping.

olive oil.

Grocery shopping has become a real problem for me. I seriously LOVE going shopping for food.

Even though I live in Brooklyn and have a decent store very close to my apartment I almost always opt for Union Square shopping. There are a couple reasons why I really like going there. There are a few great food stores in the area where I like to go: Food Emporium, Whole Foods and Trader Joes.

Most importantly to note is the Green Market. There are days that I literally sprint out of work to get there before it closes...and I hate running. Hate it. But I love food straight from the source. I love the farmers. I love the open air shopping.

The problem arises when I decide that I NEED to buy everything all at once. Since I live in Brooklyn I don't have the convenience of driving to the store so everything I purchase I've got to lug with me on the subway. It's probably also important to note that I have twigs for arms so they don't do much for me when I'm carrying half my body weight in grocery bags on a crowded subway car in the middle of rush hour. Kind of pathetic looking. Probably also seriously annoying and dumb looking to anyone who has seen me.

And you might think that I'd learn to maybe...not buy everything in the store and at the market...but no.

Monday March 29 - I swore I'd never do it again. Half way home from the store my arms and shoulders started to cramp up because of all the weight. AND I gave myself bruises on my arms from the bags! AGH! Good thing I came to my senses about this whole grocery shopping thing!

Wednesday March 31- I did it again and it feels like the bags are heavier than Monday. And this time I also have a chive plant and an aloe plant. And some eggs. And a huge bottle of olive oil that I just couldn't live without. I think about camping out on a stoop until I can stand up again. Noooo...I have to get home and start cooking with all the fun things I got! So I power through it! And that's when I heard "WHOOOOMP!" and SPLAT. I felt like a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders. It was my olive oil.

I nearly had a 20's-something-temper-tantrum.

Luckily my boyfriend came to save me! Chivalry is very much alive! He carried my bags for me! He massaged out my knots! And he told me that I wasn't TOOOTALLY crazy for buying everything at the store! I like him a lot.

Last night I purchased a reasonable amount of food to carry home on the subway. Aren't you proud? I'm learning!