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The vinegar of my dreams

food

Quite simply the best balsamic vinegar I have ever tasted.

I have always been a fan of balsamic vinaigrette, while my husband is more of a olive oil, salt and lemon juice type of salad dresser. Josh’s tastes generally win out in the kitchen, his being the more masterful chef, but when he travels, which is fairly often, I find myself sneaking a nice balsamic onto the salad with rave reviews from the peanut gallery that is our daughter. The dark rich sweetness brings a salad just that much closer to candy, which is the ultimate food in her eyes.

But then my friend Nancy brought a bottle of this Cattani White Balsamic vinegar to our house the last time her family came for a visit, and I will be eternally grateful. Maybe it’s the light color, maybe the subtler-than-usual sweetness, but for whatever reason, after the first time we sprinkled this on our lettuce, Josh has been a convert. As have I. It just tastes WAY better. And without the outrageous pricetag of so many balsamics I have seen in my day. Plus my daughter will eat about a pound of greens when covered with the stuff.

I am now generously using up the last of my old vinegar, never to turn back. And so should you.

More food in East Williamsburg

food - places

Campbell Cheese & Grocery serving up deliciousness from the corner of Metropolitan and Lorimer in Williamsburg.

The other day I took the car to our beloved mechanic for a tune up. It’s about a 15 minute walk back to our apartment, so after I left The Black Widow at the doctor (our car has a name, doesn’t yours?) I headed up Metropolitan Ave towards my neck of the woods. And lo, what did I see across the street, in what I had previously considered a bit of a neighborhood dead zone, but a beautiful little grocery store just beckoning for me to enter.

Which I did, of course. And I was not disappointed.

It was pretty cold (not in the single digits, mind you, but still sub-freezing) so my cup of oatmeal, which they sweeten with sorghum butter* and mix with nuts and raisins, really hit the spot. And while I waited for them to prepare it, I got to walk around wishing that I needed all of the things I saw on the shelves.

*Sorghum butter is a traditional southern sweetener made with sorghum syrup.

Like these mystery beers, each one looking more obscure and delicious than the last one.

Or maybe some salami?

Does a person ever really feel complete without their own little picnic knife to carry with them everywhere? Except maybe on an airplane, but I digress…

I don’t even like pickles, but I thought about buying some of these for my husband and daughter, who are huge fans.

This is all good for my car, as I will now be much more motivated to take her in for a once over if I know I get to stop by Campbell’s on the way home. And if you find yourselves in the vicinity of the Metropolitan/Lorimer stop of the L or G trains do please surface and head straight over to this spot, and buy yourselves all sorts of deliciousness to take back to your native Manhattan, or wherever your final destination may be.

Campbell’s Cheese & Grocery
302 Lorimer St
Brooklyn, NY 11211
718-387-2267

Monday, Monday – or more links about eating better in 2014

food - links

Because we’ve got to start self improving someplace, and it may as well involve food, since we’re all already eating. Can’t say the same for going to the gym, but I digress…

This would be the exact opposite of the kind of food I am planning on surrounding myself (and my family) with in 2014. Not that I don’t like a burger, but…

If you want to make killer, nutritious, brain enhancing smoothies with little apparent effort, just keep some of these foods on your shelves at all times.

Oh and to get the ball rolling, here’s a recipe for a cleansing green (but still sweet) smoothie.

Ramen is the grandma’s-chicken-soup of today. Here’s a list of great NYC spots where you can indulge in a little warm deliciousness this winter.

And while we’re on the topic of healthy-and-delicious soup, what about this delicious looking parmesan broth with kale and white beans?

So I’ve pointed you in the direction of 2 different recipes. How do you know they’re going to succeed? Dinner A Love Story has the answer.

Everybody’s talking about the benefits of fermentation, while I just nod my head and look vaguely around thinking of sauerkraut. Then I read this piece on NPR and it all became clear.

Don’t forget that our skin actually ingests things more directly than our mouths do, so soaps, lotions, etc are also really important to consider. Especially for our kids. This post on Apartment Therapy has surprisingly informative and helpful comments with lot of great product suggestions.

Gift Guide, Chapter 3: Things to give to the people you know who are really into food

food - shopping

Give them an answer to the ever nagging question: “What’s for dinner tonight?” With a simple roll of the dice. ($20)

A harvest calendar. So they always know what’s in season. ($18 on Etsy)

And for the know-it-all who already has the seasonal situation in the bag, how about challenging them to grow their own from seeds? Choose all herb or all veggie or go for broke and get all ten packs and really prod them to start their own farm for real. ($19 or $36)

A customized gift box from the ever fabulous Brooklyn Larder will always go over well. (prices vary)

Or, while we’re on the topic of gift boxes, there’s always the sumptuous 12 Days Of Christmas basket o’ sweets ($100) from Mouth. (Also a Brooklyn based company, so don’t worry, we’re still on trend. Just a few minutes north of the aforementioned Brooklyn Larder, should you be in the mood for a tour.)

This tawashi scrubber may fall into the too-mundane-for-a-gift category, but it’s from Japan, for crying out loud. I, for one, would be thrilled to get another one of these, as mine is beginning to wear our after over a year of heavy use. ($8)

I know I just wrote about this, but I’ll say it again. If you know anybody who is into cooking soul food, you should get them this book by Norma and Carole Darden. It’s out of print, but easy to find, so you get brownie points for delivering an obscure gift without having to do much legwork.

Always good to have a set of pencils in the kitchen. ($10)

Probably the most essential tool in any chef’s roster is a knife. These R Murphy limited edition kitchen knives were made exclusively for Whisper Editions with maple handles hand fashioned from reclaimed homes in Ohio. They will last a lifetime. (starts at $125)

Thanks, again…

food - misc

Thanks everybody. For making my universe the magical place filled with wonder and music and light that it is– even during the slightly darker, less musically wondrous times.

Oh and thanks to Food52, for hooking me up with this butternut squash soup with miso and coconut milk which has helped me to finally get rid of my huge squash with panache.

And lastly, thanks to my friend Sarah Sophie Flicker, who sent this poem out in an e mail earlier today. She is truly a wonder and one of the best creators of community out there. Here’s to all my fellow music makers and dreamers of dreams. The world would be a grey place without you.

Granddad Sampson’s honey punch

food - kids

Three bottles of our own honey punch, with handmade labels by someone who is just mastering the art of the lower case letter.

Today was the Harvest Day Pot Luck afternoon snack party at my daughter’s school. My co-class parent and I (Yep, you heard that right… I am a class parent…) decided that it would be great if the things people brought in somehow reflected their cultural heritage, since the class looks like a mini United Nations.

So I, of course, turned to the deep south and my all time favorite soul food cookbook which just happens to be the work of close family friends: Spoonbread and Strawberry Wine. Written in 1978 by Norma Jean and Carole Darden, it is a combination of recipes and family history, with photographs and long descriptions of the various personalities who’s culinary creations grace it’s pages.

We decided to make honey punch (see recipe below). Partly because I loved the photo of Granddad Sampson and he seemed really cool and all-knowing, partly because it is sweetened only with honey, which is something we all need to be ingesting during this cold and flu season, and partly because it looked like the kind of thing my independent 6 year old could make largely on her own.

It was a huge success– subtly sweet, without that crazy saccharine taste. The kids loved it straight up, the parents mixed it with sparkling water (though it would probably taste great with rum, too…)

The Darden sisters, on the cover of their seminal cookbook, in the late 70′s.

So thanks to the Dardens, for helping me to serve up yet another delicious treat. (Norma Jean’s restaurant, Miss Mamie’s Spoonbread too, up in Harlem is well worth a visit) The book is out of print, but you can still find reasonably priced copies of it on Alibris. If you like soul food, you will love this book. I promise.

Here’s how to make the punch:

1 1/2 quarts water
1 cup honey
juice of 3 lemons
juice of 3 oranges
3 cups pineapple juice
1 cup unsweetened grape juice
1 cup crushed pineapple
fresh mint springs

Heat 2 cups of the water so that it is warm enough to blend honey into it easily. Cool. Then mix in remaining water, juices, and crushed pineapple. Pour into tall glasses filed with ice. Garnish with int sprigs. Makes about 3 quarts of punch.

Happy drinking!

It pays to be a good egg

food

I mean come on, how good do these carrots look? Of course I’m going to buy some. Potential web sellers take note: good photos really help move units. (all of these beautiful photos are lifted directly from the good eggs site. Please forgive me.)

Oh happy day, my dreams are coming true little by little. Not that I don’t love a casual stroll through the farmers market, or the surprise you get when you open up your CSA box, but man, when you tell me I can get produce straight from nearby farms and small batch locally prepared food directly from the makers all delivered to my doorstep Fresh Direct style, I will raise my arms up to the heavens and shout Hallelujah!

As a matter of fact, I have to pause here for a minute and place my order for Thursday. Please bear with me for a sec…

Ok. All done.

Really all I want to say is that if you live in Brooklyn or San Francisco (or LA or New Orleans) you get to partake in this new food revolution called Good Eggs. It’s a beautifully designed (no really, even my super web-design-snob husband loves it) community oriented web company that is linking these farmers and food producers directly with their potential customers. So you can get all local and fresh and whatnot without leaving the comfort of your own home.

You go to the site, set up an account, decide what you want to buy (reading the little bios of the sellers if you are so inclined), buy it, decide when you want to receive the bounty (for example, order by midnight on Tuesday for Thursday delivery) and then just hang out at home till the food shows up. In a nicely designed brown paper bag, often with a note from some of the folks making the food.

For example, if you’re curious, you can scroll on down to see what I ordered this week (and I didn’t get any pasta, or grocery staples, or baby food…)

Saturday morning breakfast is going to be all about these buttermilk biscuits from BeeHive Oven. Which we had last week. I ate 3 of them myself.

We will also be eating this bacon from Dickson’s Farmstand Meats. Worth every penny, cause it ain’t cheap. Josh says it’s the best bacon he’s ever had in his life. And I’m all about keeping my husband happy, since he does most of the cooking.

Macoun apples from Fishkill Farms. So we can make more apple sauce and pies and just bite into their crunchy fresh awesomeness.

AND OH MY GOD THIS IS THE BEST SODA EVER. You might remember an earlier post in which I raved about it and talked about how I was going to stalk the people at Brooklyn Sodaworks till they delivered some to me. Well my stalking days are over.

So now you know a bit of what we’re eating this week. Please please check these Good Eggs folks out. You will not be sorry.

Oh sh*t, Halloween is tomorrow!

food - kids

Our very own, resident, extremely powerful-but-good witch. In full regalia with very carefully selected lipstick and nail color.

I have been feeling very smug this year because we actually got the whole costume situation worked out waaaay ahead of time. We are a magical family for 2013, with Ada as the witch (powerful but good) Josh as the wizard (who looks more like the grim reaper as he’s wearing a navy blue hooded cape I made for myself in the early 90′s when such things were in fashion) and me as their pet black cat. I wanted to be a ghost, but Mme Witch was having nothing of it.

We even went pumpkin picking last weekend.

But do we have a trick or treat bag ready? Nope. Have we carved out the aforementioned pumpkin? Negative. Have we decorated the house? No, again. So I find myself today, at the 11th hour, scouring the internet for ideas. I figure I may as well share them with you guys, while I’m at it. Because hey, I have a feeling I’m not the only person out there in my predicament. And we all want to wake up on Nov 1 with our heads held high, right? We’re gonna need it. Our kids are all going to feel horrible from eating so much candy.

Here are a couple of cute ideas to get your juices flowing…

Super simple, very kid friendly spooky decorations for your house. And you can make each one in about 10 minutes.

Nevermind that this involves getting your hands on some copper leaf and having a bit of skill and patience. It looks great. (Though I bet these people don’t have kids…)

For the truly ambitious, there is always this copper leafed pumpkin display from One Kings Lane.

A great DIY treat bucket from MerMag.blogspot.com.

Here are some super cute treat buckets made from paint cans. So much more festive than a plastic shopping bag, and so much smaller (ie less candy!!)

The cutest Halloween spider sweets ever. From Bakerella.com.

These spiders are made from rolled up brownies, licorice legs, and raspberry candy eyes. How happy would you be to see one of those in your treat bag? If you were 6, that is…?

I never liked candy corn, but these cookies look delicious! from Baked Bree.

These are sugar cookies with some orange zest and a bit of food coloring to transform them into giant pieces of candy corn. Yum!

Delicious pumpkin gruyere soup. Both the recipe and the photo come to us from Melissa Hamilton and Christopher Hirsheimer via Bon Appetit.

Oh and Bon Appetit just posted this delicious looking recipe for cooking soup inside of a pumpkin, so maybe this year we should skip the carving altogether!

Any excuse for a cookie

food - places

These are the delicious Black Hound cookies I chose to purchase yesterday. They were all incredible. Every last one of them.

While we’re on the topic of celebrations, I happened to find myself in the East Village yesterday whilst all filled with hooray-my-ceiling-is-painted good spirits. And I’m sure I made some kind of gasping out loud sound when I realized I was but one block from Black Hound, which is by far the best cookies-and-other-sweet-stuff bakery around. Even my daughter knows them by name.

So off I went to 2nd Ave and 9th Street to gather myself a little bundle of deliciousness. There are all sorts of sumptuously delicious looking cakes, but I always head straight for the rear of the store to stock up on their cookies a la carte. Maybe a detour at the “try this stuff for free” display (Yesterday’s sample was german chocolate cake. Yum!) The result is pictured above. Well, most of it. Some of the cookies never made it home.

Because while I started out thinking only of my daughter, I of course ended up with more cookies for myself, hiding the loot so that she doesn’t know what she’s missing. Dishonesty, or self-preservation? You tell me.

After you’ve tried some of them for yourself, that is.

Time out for grown ups

food - places

A delicious carrot curry soup and freshly baked bread at Bakeri, in WIlliamsburg.

A short and sweet thought for you all today.

On the day when your apartment is all covered with plaster dust and under tarps, your husband is out of town for, like, ever (ok 10 days, but it feels like forever…) and you are horribly underslept but only have 30 free minutes to yourself before all hell breaks loose again in the form of your kid home from school and the guys returning to “finish” the work on your collapsed ceiling, I suggest you take yourself out to a cafe for lunch. With a nice glass of water (lets be honest, wine would knock you out) and a real life, hold in your hand, made out of paper magazine or newspaper to read.

I did that today and it has saved my a**.

If you live in Williamsburg, the cafe of choice is Bakeri. Fresh bread. Perfectly brewed coffee in vintage cups. Deeply flavorful food made to order. Bikini Kill playing in the background. What more can you ask for?

Open daily from 8 to 7. 150 Wythe Ave, at N 8th. Always delicious.

This is authentic - "

98 articles