In late August Hurricane Irene hit the Northeast hard, and then, a week later, Tropical Depression Lee dumped even more rain. We went on the have a thoroughly soggy September. And the harvest? Wiped out. Whether underwater, or just drowned, farmers across the region lost almost all of their crops just as they were preparing to harvest. Many farmers have lost an entire season’s worth of investment and work. [Read more…]
blackberry sherbet
Last week a quart of slightly overripe blackberries arrived in our CSA and rapid action was needed. After a bit of deliberation, I decided on a sherbet based on a grapefruit version we enjoyed last winter. The sourness of the citrus was balanced wonderfully by the creamy sweetness of the dairy, and I thought this approach would similarly balance the tang of the blackberries. We ended up with an intensely flavored sherbet with pitch-perfect blackberry flavor, and hints of creaminess. An added bonus is that you get all of the blackberry flavor and none of the seeds. Chalk it up to yet another perfect summer dessert. [Read more…]
tomato and cherry panzanella
So, here we are nearly halfway through August. After spending so much time thinking of nothing but July! July! I am a little unsure of how to conduct myself in this post-July world (not to mention the whole newborn thing – though it’s going pretty well). Time marches on, and the things we were waiting for, counting down to, somehow happen.
Happening also are all the tomatoes, cherries, plums, apricots, peaches, and corn I could want. I love that we can take produce for granted this time of year. Just grab a handful of fruit and eat it up, or pick the tomatoes right off the vine with no worries – there’s more where that came from. [Read more…]
mission accomplished and rainbow chard slaw
Well? We did it! Brian and I welcomed a new baby girl to our family last Monday. Everything about the labor and delivery was a huge surprise, including the fact that I was only in active labor for about 4 hours! I never expected a Hollywood delivery (all the baby books emphasize how rare they are), but there we were–Brian navigating early morning traffic over the Williamsburg bridge, my water breaking in the car, needing to push before we got to the hospital (so glad we avoided an emergency delivery on 10th Avenue!), careening up to the hospital entrance, being whisked away to L & D while Brian was still signing in, and then, a mere half hour later meeting our new baby girl. Phew! Now that the wild ride is over, we are settled at home and loving these first few days with our new baby and her big sister. Suddenly, we’re a family of four.
But we still need to eat, and things are slowly ramping back up. We’ve been plugging away at our farm share and the seasonal ingredients that are pouring in. [Read more…]
cherry currant clafoutis
Sweet cherries just turned up at our farmer’s market (still waiting on sour!), as did currants. So right now we’re working our way through pint after pint of fruit. Our daughter has been lobbying for currant buns (because it’s what Mother Rabbit goes to buy in Peter Rabbit), but I think those are a little better right as summer turns into fall (probably because of the Kink’s line “Tea and toasted, buttered currant buns help to compensate for lack of sun.” For now, we’re going with our new favorite summer dessert- clafoutis. [Read more…]