Happy July 4th!

 Spiced lamb sausage and whole grain mustard with farmer's market micro sorrel...

  

Lemonade coolers (from BUST magazine feature) for easy summer sipping.

Asparagus, fresh pea, and dill fusilli...

  

 And to top it all off, a lattice crust strawberry rhubarb pie... :)

By now, you're probably hungry. Happy July 4th, everyone! Recipes coming soon...

Lemonade, BUST Magazine

I wanted to let you all know about a pretty picture I produced for BUST magazine, out this month....

With hopes to include this with a larger story I've been working on, I waited to share the news. Alas, too many things are going on (all good!), so while we're still in this month - my-goodness-how-time-flies - I wanted to give you the opportunity to go out and get a copy.  Each lemonade variation is divine, I can attest to that! Hope you all have enjoyed the longest day of the year, at least here in the northern hemisphere....Here's to summertime and all the high-key treats of the season. ;)

Go to the Farmers' Market

I used to think going to the farmer's market was a fun, field-trip kind of experience. And then I read more and did the math of how expensive places like Whole Foods add up to be without necessarily offering better quality, and realized that for my money I prefer to support actual people as much as possible. I still get some things from WF and other places, but I really enjoy talking recipes and details with the farmers and walking stall to stall to see whose daily lot looks the most alive and why... I guess you could say that connecting to the growers helps me appreciate the food I'm going to prepare later at home.

The market is more fun than ever, now a weekly excursion - and even more frequent sometimes, to see growers I miss on other days. I've built it into my to-do pattern as a way of living, incorporating into my life the freshest fresh, seasonal foods. These photographs are the bountiful array from last week's trip at the Union Square Market in New York. Check online for your local farmers' market - almost every city and town has one, if not a few! If you are linked to a CSA  - community supported agriculture - even better. :)

We got our strawberries from Mountain Sweet Berry Farm and our eggs from Violet Hill Farm. The mushrooms are from Bulich Mushroom Farm; the pork chops from Flying Pigs; thanks to Hudson Valley Organic Gardens for the mung sprouts, and our radishes came from S&SO Produce. The mutsu apples are from Nemeth Orchards; our plants - the zinnias, are from Van Houten Farms, and the basil is from Nature's Healing Farm; the cheese is a sheep's milk aged gouda style and found at Valley Shepherd, and our cream-top whole milk is from Milk Thistle Farm. After collecting all these goodies and with our bags filled to the brim with as much as we could carry, we decided it was time to return home and begin the feast!

With local and personal in mind, I want to offer you a sneak preview of my next post... I am eager to share with you an interview I made with none other than the great food writer Betty Fussell, who has written stories on America's love affair with (and the history of) corn and beef, amongst many, many other things. She is an amazing person, and someone I am honored to call a dear friend. Please stay tuned for this very special story.

Things a-Brewing

Well, I have a bunch of things cooking on the metaphorical burners I can't wait to share with you all! Here's an item hot off the presses, another collaboration with The New York Times. This still life was great fun to produce: to do so I went hunting to Despaña for the famous paella rice, otherwise known as "bomba" or "calasparra" rice. Some are sold in cloth bags and feel special and unusual packaged like this. What an unlikely opportunity to need to search these parcels out so I could compose just the right shot! And now, to try out the recipe....

Please stay tuned for more wonderful things I am putting together - the weather is gorgeous and the food is delicious. :-)

Interview at Great Food Photos

With all my social networking to keep track of (oy vey there's a lot to stay on top of ), I somehow managed to forget to share with you all this wonderful interview that Donny over at Great Food Photos did of me last week. We can't figure out how we learned of one another, but all the same I am grateful that we now have this flowering friendship to nurture...

I hope you enjoy the stories and images we put together! It was a lot of fun considering what my answers to his thoughtful questions would be, and, as per the title I of course selected some images to accompany the feature. Have a great week everyone :-)

Spring Snacking

I love the zing Springtime flavors bring. And their bright colors, yippeee! The crunch of baby lettuce leaves (look for more on that soon...), the juiciness of citrus wedges (almost a spring thing, and certainly welcome after squash and tubers for months on-end), and then ease of simple ingredients casually tossed together, symbolize a lot of what I cherish most about the (finally arrived) warmer weather. Here's to this time of year!

Branches from my mother's dogwood

And for that good crusty bread, here's an enormously satisfying snack to accompany any meal, or to eat in-between. With oranges as well, this makes for a nice pairing with the above salad. :) As it was completely impromptu there really isn't a "recipe" to speak of. My ingredients, though, are listed below...

I bought duck fat garlic bread - yes, there is such a thing, at the Union Square Market, at Bobolink Dairy & Bakehouse . After cutting it into thick slices, I slathered on double-cream brie-like d'Affinois cheese, and then layered a smear of chunky marmalade. The natural pairings of duck and orange - along with the silky texture of the oozing cheese - put me into a state of immediate bliss. So easy, you absolutely must go now and try it. If this specific bread isn't readily available where you are, choose any rustic, good, wood-fired bread. Dig in. Relish the effortless delights of spring.

Saveur's Must-Read List and Edible Manhattan

So, dear Annie in Wisconsin notified me today that Saveur Magazine included my blog in their list of newest - to them - great blogs to follow. I found myself in pretty amazing company and am once again awed by all the talent and content out there. A few that caught my eye are: Canal House Cooks Lunch, Three to One, and The Year in Food. I can't wait to learn more about each of the blogs listed (wouldn't hurt to have an eighth day each week...)! Thanks for including me, Saveur. :)

In other news Edible Manhattan's most recent issue, Eat Drink Local, includes my image of Spring ramps! Tribute gets paid to one of Union Square Market's finest, Rick Bishop, and his hard work foraging for ramps and other fleeting seasonal delights. Many of the top restaurants and chefs in the city source from Bishop - some even make time to accompany him as he scours terrain in the Catskills for these highly sought after wilds. For us lucky regular folks, he can be found at the market twice a week so we can bring the booty to our tables at home.