Category Archives: Musings

Pilgrimage to Union Square Market

Posted on by

I was in the neighborhood for a meeting and took the opportunity to make my first pilgrimage of the year to the Union Square Green Market. What can I possibly say that hasn’t already been said about this all things local/seasonal/urban farmers market? It is awesome. And if I wrote about “Things that are great,’ like my good friend Chris Vincent, the Green Market would be at the top of my list. I like it because it is colorful, native, funky, tasty and fun to explore. Even if I don’t need local boysenberry jam, or burp-less cucumbers, it is a great place to spend a few hours.

Image

So what’s happening at the Market? Very exciting times as we are getting close to peak of summer. We are starting to see some local fruit, like peaches from Southern NJ, plums of every color and local blueberries. Every kind of lettuce, salad mix, deep green veg you can imagine. Garlic and onions of every variety, new potatoes and greenhouse tomatoes (pic below from S&SO Produce Farm’s stand). We still have some time before locally grown, non-greenhouse tomatoes are available in the tri-state area.

Image

I am posting this pic of dandelion greens for my mother-in-law Kay, who told me a great anecdote about dandelion greens over the weekend. Kay said that when she was growing up in Vermont, her Italian-American father used to pick dandelion greens and prepare them with olive oil and garlic. No one thought this was such a sexy idea at the time. Flash forward ___  years…

Image

Do you…Pin? on Pinterest?

Posted on by

Just for fun, I started using Pinterest this week. A friend suggested it as a nice add-on to this blog. And, you have to request to join and receive an invite. Clever marketing ploy, I say, but they let me in the club.

I’m still not 100% sure how it works. Perhaps best described as an interactive cork board? In its simplest use, I found a lot of pretty pictures to get lost in. So I “pinned” a bunch of images I liked, and added some of my own. I created a few Boards, as they call it.
Let me know what you think…

Food Idols

Posted on by

I will have lots more to say on this topic, but I will start by writing a brief post on one of my favorite food personalities – Mark Bittman. He is awesome. He is entertaining, down to earth, and trying to save the planet in his own way. From a tactical perspective, his cookbooks are purpose-built and highly functional.

Few to no foodie glam shots, but easy to follow and accurate recipes of food you want to prepare with ingredients that are accessible. What more could you want? If anyone has been in my kitchen, s/he will know that his “How to Cook Everything” is my Bible. It is dog-eared, spine-ripped and food splattered. It is the updated “Joy of Cooking” that you will actually use. If you like to cook, or want to start cooking, buy this book NOW.

Bittman is a NY Times columnist and wrote an interesting food diary/travelogue on his recent cross country trip in today’s edition. Check it out if you have a moment.

I like this man so much that I almost joined a running club because I heard he was a member. It entailed meeting at 5 AM on weekday mornings. Like I said, I thought about it.

From the news today: Can athletes run better on a vegan diet?

Posted on by

I will try not to prosthelytize, and if I do, please stop me. I’m not trying to convert anyone to a certain type of diet, nor am I in favor of extremism, but I do think we can eat healthier and still enjoy food.

In today’s NY Times Health section, there was an interesting article about high performance athletes and vegan diets, debating distance runner Scott Jurek’s choice to be a vegan and whether it is the reason behind his success. That’s Scott below.

The author interviewed 3 sports nutrition experts, including D. Enette Larson-Meyer, an associate professor of nutrition at the University of Wyoming. In case you don’t have a chance to read the article, I’ll cut to my favorite quote:

I like to tell people that if we got most Americans to eat one less serving of meat every day, there would be far greater impact from that, in terms of improving overall public health and the health of the planet, than convincing a tiny group of endurance athletes to go full vegan.

Now that’s what I’m talking about. No need to preach, just eat better.

What the World Needs Now Is Another Foodie Blog. NOT!

Posted on by

But, I couldn’t help myself I was inspired to start writing because I love cooking, tasting, and shopping for food, particularly in exotic locations, and also love reading same. So, instead of being merely a consumer of others’ musings, I’m going to start giving back to the global community and share some of my own.

A little about myself: I am a vegetarian who eats fish, aka a pescatarian, but doesn’t that sound pretentious? I mean, the word “pescatarian” doesn’t even pass muster from spell check. I espouse eating local, cooking slow food, and traveling far and wide to eat at foodie hang-outs. I keep lists of restaurants I want to try and places I want to visit on my phone. You may wonder why I have a problem with the word pescatarian sounding pretentious?!

The blog’s title:  references a few themes.  adventures in eating refers to dining with my family, as I consider many meals (whether home-cooked, take away or in a restaurant) to be adventures. What will or won’t my carnivorous husband eat? How much can my omnivorous 2 year old son possibly eat in one sitting? What will wind up on the floor/his chair/my hair/my lap, etc? The phrase “and Everything After” is from the title of a popular 90s band’s debut album. If you have to ask “who”, keep it to yourself so you don’t depress me with your youth.

What you can expect: I’ll share what’s for dinner tonight, the aftermath, how I’m using this week’s CSA pick up, cool places I am visiting, cool places I’d like to visit and general comments on food, eating, cooking and foodie writing.