Category Archives: community

Mopane Worms

1 July 2010 by local kitchen

I’m back from South Africa, safe and (relatively) sound. I apologize for the lack of posts; cell-phone coverage was frustratingly inconsistent and wi-fi almost non-existent. It was nearly impossible to find a strong enough signal to upload a picture, let alone email an entire post. And, well – I was on vacation, on a fairly hectic scheduled dictated by soccer; I’m embarrassed to admit how many days went by in which I consumed nothing but Simbas and Savannah Dry Cider (the latter […]

Categories: 100% local, wild foods • Tags: cooking, food, local, south africa, wild foods

Fork, Cape Town

18 June 2010 by local kitchen

Fork is a small tapas bar on Long Street, the main drag in downtown Cape Town, South Africa. We spent a brilliant evening there a couple of days ago, watching the Italy vs. Paraguay game in their small and intimate downstairs dining room, chatting with British & Swiss football fans and enjoying some excellent food and wine. Fork only has tapas, which is a style of dinner that I love, especially in a foreign country when you may want to […]

Categories: 100% local, community • Tags: cape town, food, local, south africa, travel

Cranberry Forsythia Scones

15 June 2010 by local kitchen

A basic cranberry scone recipe with a twist: Forsythia Syrup! I’m on the other side of the country now, on South Africa’s southwest coast, in Cape Town. And while I don’t think cranberries even grow in Africa, and I’m not sure that forsythia does either, I am wishing I had some of these scones to take with me on a hike of Table Mountain. Could you guys bake some up and drop them in FedEx for me? Thanks bunches, or as we say down […]

Categories: baking, breads, breakfast, cranberries, fall, milk, spring, whole wheat flour, wild foods, year round • Tags: baking, bread, breakfast, cooking, food, local, recipes, whole grain breads

Chicken Braised in White Wine & Ramps

1 June 2010 by local kitchen

Three years later, this dish hasn’t changed: it’s still wonderful, and apparently still being made with chickens that needed using up yesterday. Luckily for us all, my photography has changed for the better. Yes, I know ramp season has officially passed us by, what with the overabundance of lush, leafy green that is dressing the Northeast woods right now. However, I still had an (albeit fairly limp) bunch of ramps in the fridge that were just begging to be used, […]

Categories: braising, chicken, leek, main course, spring, wild foods, wine, beer & liquor, year round • Tags: chicken, cooking, food, local, main course, ramps, recipes, wild foods

Bounty by the Bay

16 May 2010 by local kitchen

I’m in San Francisco this week, attending a biotechnology conference, and more importantly, visiting good friends and enjoying the wonders of the City by the Bay. It’s been a year since I’ve visited, and once again we took a trip to the Ferry Market on a cold, grey and windy San Francisco day. It’s hard to feel too down about the weather, however, when I feast my eyes on the bounty available at the market: cherries, peaches, nectarines, strawberries, raspberries, […]

Categories: 100% local, farmer's markets • Tags: cooking, food, local, recipes

Asparagus Risotto

25 April 2010 by local kitchen

It’s just barely asparagus season at home in New York, but down here in Asheville it is in full swing: I picked up a bunch of local asparagus at the West Village Market on Friday, then scored two more bunches at the Asheville City Market on Saturday. Can you tell I love the ‘sperge? There are a million lovely things to do with tender young asparagus, but, while at the West Village Market I also spied a ‘forest mix’ of […]

Categories: asparagus, main course, rice, spring, wild foods, wine, beer & liquor • Tags: cooking, food, local, recipes, vegetarian

Ramp & Cilantro Pesto

20 April 2010 by local kitchen

I’m down in a cold, misty, rainy Asheville this week, spending some time with Mom. On my list of things to do before I left for the week was to preserve anything in the fridge that Tai wouldn’t cook while I was gone (so, essentially, everything). After enjoying ramps in a lovely chickpea salad and a leeky-cheesey fritatta this week I still had a pile to use. Just a few days ago, I saw a recipe for Ramp and Parsley Pesto […]

Categories: cilantro, condiments, freezing, preserving, quick & easy, spring, wild foods • Tags: condiments, cooking, food, local, preserving, quick & easy, recipes, wild foods

Chickpea & Spring Green Salad with Lemony Vinaigrette

15 April 2010 by local kitchen

Just the thing for Tax Day: a low-stress, quick & easy, protein, fiber and vitamin-packed, cheap one dish meal. Oh, yes, and it’s delicious too! I threw this quick & easy salad together the other night, thinking I was making enough for lunch leftovers, but it was so delicious that Tai & I polished off seconds and the whole bowl disappeared in no time. Even though I’ve been doing quite well on my resolution to use dried beans, I used canned […]

Categories: beans, chickpeas, citrus, quick & easy, radish, salad, spinach, spring, vegetarian, wild foods • Tags: cooking, food, local, main course, quick & easy, recipes, salad, spinach, vegetarian, wild foods

Forsythia Syrup

13 April 2010 by local kitchen

When I was young, we had a huge lilac bush in the backyard, and nothing said “springtime” to me more than the heady scent of lilac drifting into newly opened windows. Here in the Hudson Valley, “spring” is all about forsythia, the yellow flowering shrub that seems to burst into color overnight, and nearly as quickly, loses its blooms and sprouts the first pale green leaves of the season. While researching recipes for this month’s Can Jam, the focus ingredient for […]

Categories: preserving, spring, wild foods • Tags: cooking, flower syrups, food, forsythia, local, preserving, recipes, wild foods

Ramps!

8 April 2010 by local kitchen

You know it’s April in the Hudson Valley when you see ramps pop up, in the farmer’s market or in the woods. Ramps are wild leeks, an allium related to onions, shallots, garlic, and of course, leeks, and they create quite a sensation each spring when the broad, waxy green leaves start popping up in the woods. With good reason: although some think we should just shut up about ramps, there is a reason that foodniks go a little mad […]

Categories: 100% local, foraging, leek, preserving, spring, wild foods • Tags: cooking, food, foraging, local, preserving, ramps, recipes, spring, wild foods

Food Revolution

27 March 2010 by local kitchen

I’ve just watched the first two episodes of Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution on Hulu. I have to say I’m surprised by how moving it was: shocking, inspiring, emotional. I’m a bit blown away. Not to say that it is not a great idea – surely this country is sorely in need of a food revolution and what better place to start than with the next generation? I guess I am generally a bit suspicious of celebrity chefs, especially ones with […]

Categories: community • Tags: cooking, food, food activism

HVP products recalled due to salmonella

18 March 2010 by local kitchen

HVP is hydrolyzed vegetable protein and is used in numerous processed foods as a flavor and texture enhancer. Manufactuer Basic Food Flavors has recalled lots of HVP due to salmonella contamination; over 10,000 products are suspected to be impacted, including snack foods (chips, pretzels, etc.), soup base and mix, fresh and powdered dips, salad dressings, marinades and seasonings (including bouillon), and some frozen foods (taquitos and quesadillas). Check the FDA’s recall page here. Check HVP product list here or here or search […]

Categories: community • Tags: cooking, food

Beauty, Bloggy-Style

15 January 2010 by local kitchen

The lovely and talented Tigress nominated me, along with 6 others, for a Beautiful Blogger award. Now that the blushing is over with, it’s time to pass along the bloggy love. The Rules: Nominate 7 blogs that are beautiful. Send thanks (Thanks, Tigress!) and a link back to the person who nominated you. Share 7 things ‘interesting’ about yourself. So… there are a number of blogs that I visit on a routine basis. Some of them don’t need me telling them […]

Categories: community

Leeeaaavvvvin’ on a Jet Plane

26 September 2009 by local kitchen

O, Canada! Your flag is but a leaf. O, Canada! You only drink O’Keefe. ~Soccer chant We’re off – Calgary here we come! That little building you see, on the shores of the pristine mountain lake, will host our wedding reception after (weather gods willing) we get married on the shore overlooking Emerald Lake in British Columbia’s beautiful Yoho National Park. Posting will be slim for the next month or so, while we leisurely explore Alberta & British Columbia on […]

Categories: community

Wild Blackberries

12 August 2009 by local kitchen

How cool is my yard? I’ll tell you how cool; I went out today and not only picked the last of the season’s wineberries, from a few canes that I discovered wrapped around a tree in the side yard, but the first of the season’s blackberries, from several fat canes that grow underneath our picture window. According to my trusty Wildman Steve Brill foraging guide, there are several species of blackberry that grow throughout North American. It appears that the […]

Categories: foraging, wild foods • Tags: cooking, food, foraging, local, wild foods