Imagine walking into the office of an industrial agriculture giant, the kind that produces 99% of the food we eat, and saying, “Hey, I’m really interested in learning more about agriculture. Could you tell me a few things about what you do?” Would someone jump up from behind the counter and say, “Sure, let me show you around. Let me take out valuable time from my day, put you on a haystack as we drive around the premises and I’ll … Read More
And what a food-filled weekend! On Friday, the Hapa Kitchen hosted its first dinner soiree; Saturday, I saw so many foodies and inspiring panels at the Brooklyn Food Conference; Sunday, I got to taste the weekend-long efforts of so many cook-off enthusiasts at the Park Slope Pork-Off, which was hosted by one of our terrific Hapa Kitchen volunteers, Laurel, as a benefit for Kamay at Puso (a recap coming soon!); and today, the Hapa Kitchen website went live. I feel … Read More
Not so long ago, I tended to associate Long Island with being stuck in squawking traffic on the LIE and guys in wifebeaters who wouldn’t think to eat an apple if the tree plopped one in his hand. True, the eastern trail of New York City never exactly conjured an agrarian idyll, replete with rustic farmstands and coastal pastures producing everything from grass-fed beef to tasty wines. But perhaps that’s just the Jersey in me speaking (ironic as it may … Read More
It was only a matter of time before my love affair with small, sustainable farming would take me outside of New York City (yes, Melissa, I hope to visit Garden of Eve sometime!). No matter the rain, cold or wind we’ve been having lately. No matter the ice and snow that laced the rocky cliffs of the Catskills on the drive upstate — and up some 1,200 feet in elevation. It’s spring, at least on paper! And so I went … Read More
How many times have you heard it uttered by chefs, food experts and on cooking TV shows to salt the water in your pot of boiling pasta water so that it’s salty “like the sea”? That’s one edict that everyone seems to agree on. But I beg to differ, in some cases (more on that below). Therefore, when an editor from the New York Times‘ new Room for Debate blog contacted me and asked me if I had a food … Read More
Spring is officially here, and to celebrate the first day of nature’s annual renewal, I took a field trip out to a farm. Only I didn’t leave the city. At the end of the E and F subway lines and a quick hop eastward on a bus lies the Queens County Farm Museum, the oldest continually farmed tract of land in the city, and now the site of a renewed agricultural program that’s growing still. But unlike Stone Barns or … Read More
Yesterday, I came across a scary article about a suspicious bill concerning food safety issues. “You May Be Arrested Soon For Growing A Tomato,” it warned, and spoke of the bill placing “wildly restrictive regulatory encumbrances on the average vegetable growing Joe-The-Plumber, small organic farmer, or anyone for that matter who may one day decide to grow a small garden.” Today, I received a scary chain email explaining that the provisions in the same bill will require all farms (and … Read More
My brain is on BBQ. Smoked, slow-cooked meat has no doubt lodged itself deep into the heart of Texas. But until last weekend, it had never really captured the fancy of me, this New York-New Jersey girl with no Southern roots to speak of. Until, that is, I went to Texas.
First of all, thanks to all the kind readers who voted for the panel, “Nom Nom Nom: The Secrets of Successful Foodblogging” to be presented at the South by Southwest (SXSW) Interactive Festival, back in the fall. Because I’m pleased to share that it is going to happen, in less than one week. Austin, here we come…
Though it may not look like it after yesterday’s snowstorm, spring is right around the corner. And, more local produce is just a few weeks from sprouting through the soil. If you want to experience the seasonal harvest from an intimate perspective (i.e. eat peas in June, blueberries in July), then a great way to do so if you don’t have your own garden is to join a CSA. What’s that? Community Supported Agriculture, essentially buying a share of a … Read More