Tranquility
We spent Saturday on Governors Island. We didn’t rent one of these bikes, but plan on it next time! There’ll be more photos and background on the island in my next post.
Ratatouille!
Thanks to Pixar, the first image to pop into your head when you hear the word ‘ratatouille’ might in fact be a rat! A fuzzy, cute chef rat, but a rat nonetheless.
Moving away from the rat– for obvious reasons–if you haven’t made ratatouille yet, what are you waiting for? Seriously, the time is now! Almost everything you need for this amazing dish is currently available at your farmers’ market.
Ratatouille is a traditional French Provençal stewed vegetable dish, originating in Nice. It can be served as a side dish with fish or meat, yet it’s hearty enough to stand alone, with a side of crusty bread. The key ingredients in a ratatouille include tomatoes, zucchini, eggplant, bell peppers, and onion. When you go to the farmers market this weekend, you’ll find all of those ingredients heaped in boxes and bins and scattered on tables.
Be sure to put your personal spin on the ratatouille. There are multiple varieties of eggplant at the market, so pick the kind of eggplant you want. Mix red and green bell peppers; use heirloom or vine ripened tomatoes. It’s completely your choice. The most important thing is to get these ingredients at your local farmers’ market—this dish is uninspiring unless you’re using inspired ingredients.
There are many variations on ratatouille; the recipe I recently used is from Tom Colicchio, of Craft Restaurants. My zucchini came from Garden of Eve, my tomatoes from Queens County Farm Museum, and my peppers and eggplant from Norwich Meadows.
Ratatouille
Adapted from Think Like a Chef
Ingredients
4 small zucchini
1 small eggplant
3 red bell peppers, cored and seeded
1 green bell pepper, cored and seeded
2 tomatoes, halved and seeded
½ cup olive oil
1 onion, peeled and chopped
salt & black pepper
5 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
6 sprigs of fresh basil
Directions
- a) Slice the zucchini lengthwise, then cut into half moons. Cut the eggplant lengthwise into 6 pieces, then slice. Thinly slice the peppers. Cut the tomato halves into half again and cut into thin lengths.
- b) Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion, salt, and pepper and cook the onions for about 10 minutes, until the onions are tender and golden. Transfer the onions to a large bowl, carefully wipe out the skillet and add another tablespoon of oil.
- c)Cook the zucchini until they begin to soften (about 3 minutes). Add a little garlic, a sprig of basil, and more salt and pepper. Cook until the zucchini are almost tender, 2-3 more minutes. Add the zucchini to the bowl with the onion, and then wipe out the skillet.
- d) Cook the eggplant, adding more oil. Add garlic, basil, salt and pepper when the eggplant is about half-cooked. Add the eggplant to the onion and zucchini.
- e) Repeat the same process with the peppers, flavoring them with garlic and basil. When the peppers are almost done, after 3-5 minutes, add the tomatoes to the skillet. Cook the mixture for 3-5 minutes, then add the onion, zucchini, and eggplant mixture.
- f) Reduce the heat to medium-low and gently simmer the ratatouille, partially covered, until all the vegetables are tendered (about 15 minutes).
- g) Spoon the ratatouille into a colander set over a bowl. Drain the vegetables for a few minutes and then pour the juices into a small pan. Thicken the vegetables juices over high heat and then combine these juices with the drained ratatouille into the original skillet. Warm over low heat, serve, and enjoy!
This recipe is cross posted on The Fresh Blog
Summer Fruit Affair
I’ve been having a love affair with cherries this summer. It’s okay; Justin knows.
When he gets home from work, I’m usually at my computer, the cherry pits in a bowl, the evidence out for all to see.
Though it’s just a summer romance, I didn’t want to get in a rut with this special fruit. Last night, I gave them the star treatment. Instead of simply eating them, I poached the cherries in sherry and served them with my favorite vanilla ice cream, Van Leeuwen, and my favorite chocolate, Mast Brothers.
It made for a decadent dessert. The chocolate sauce contained the entire bar of 81% Venezuelan dark chocolate! I also poached the cherries with more sherry than the recipe recommended…because I could.
Last night was fun, but today it’s back to normal and predictable, a bowl of cherry pits at my side.
Vanilla Ice Cream with Poached Cherries and Chocolate Sauce
Recipe Adapted from My Favorite Ingredients
Poached Cherries:
1 lb of cherries
1 cup sugar
juice of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon sherry
Chocolate Sauce:
4 1/2 ounces dark chocolate
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon of honey
- Poached Cherries: Remove the cherry stems and place in a pan with the sugar and lemon juice. Bring to a simmer and then cover and poach gently for 10 minutes, until the cherries have released a lot of liquid. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the cherries to a bowl. Add the sherry to the pan and boil for 2 minutes. Pour over the fruit and let cool while you make the sauce.
- Chocolate Sauce: Combine all of the ingredients in a pan and heat gently, stirring until smooth. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly.
- Alternate layering the vanilla ice cream, poached cherries, and chocolate sauce in a bowl. Top with a few fresh cherries.
Last weekend…
The current rainy, slightly chilly weather is a much welcome break from the agonizing heat we’ve had this summer. Am I being a tad dramatic? I don’t think so. I’m staring out through the rain splattered windows and willing Fall to come, despite the calendar being stuck firmly in the middle of August.
The most refreshing Summer 2010 weather I’ve experienced only happened because last weekend I left the city and went to Cape Cod. I was met with cool ocean breezes, day time temps in low 80s, nighttime temps in the 50s (!), and zero humidity. I just finished organizing and editing the pictures from our trip. We spent the weekend sitting by the water, wandering antique stores, eating fresh fish, and catching up with family and friends.
If it were possible, next weekend I’d leave the city again–which seems to be 75% tourists at this point–and head straight back to a chair on the beach, my toes in the sand.
See more pictures from our Cape Cod trip HERE!
Carpe Cocoa!
I was never a milk drinker before moving to Brooklyn; I always found the taste to be off-putting and stomach-ache inducing. This past year, as I’ve learned more about dairy farms and milk production, and met both dairy farmers and cows, my taste buds have perked up. I’m drinking milk that is palatable to me and produced in a sustainable, ecologically aware fashion.
We’re spoiled and lucky with our milk choices in New York. Nearly every grocery store or farmers’ market carries one or more of the following dairies: Ronnybrook, Milk Thistle, Hudson Valley Fresh, Battenkill Creamery. These dairy farms let their cows live in accordance with their species-specific needs, allowing them pasture grazing, extra time with their calves, appropriate feed, and even cow mattresses! The dairies never inject their cows with hormones and have created self-sustaining operations, through the use of re-usable glass milk bottles, solar power, and creative distribution networks. Each dairy has a loyal following, but for me it’s like picking a favorite child: I can’t choose.
Once in awhile, as a special treat, Justin and I will buy a small container of Hudson Valley Fresh’s chocolate milk. I first bought a quart of it on a whim…and then we promptly drank the entire creamy, ‘just-as-good-as-ice-cream’ bottle.
This past weekend, while shopping for dinner ingredients at a Massachusetts Whole Foods, we saw one solitary bottle of this:
A quick back and forth proceeded.
–Ooooh what’s that?
–Dark chocolate milk!!
–Should we get it?
–Of course!!
–But we don’t know anything about the dairy…and it’s $7.
–I really want to get it; it’s the last bottle–we’ll do the research when we get home. It’ll be fun!
Cocoa Metro’s bottle and graphic design had enticed me and there was no turning back. The paper label on the front loudly announces ‘Don’t be afraid of the dark’, with the words ‘Premium Belgian Dark Chocolate’ in large font. Combine that with the fact that a quick scan indicated that the milk came from Vermont cows and the bottle could be returned and we were sold! Or rather, the last bottle was sold…to us.
The brains behind Cocoa Metro are husband and wife team Mike and Lizzy, self-proclaimed chocolate lovers. A few years ago, they decided to create their own chocolate milk–one that ‘didn’t leave them hanging’. They experimented with ratios, chocolate, and milk before settling on their final concoction that uses Callebaut Belgian Chocolate, Vermont milk (I have a message out to them to learn more about which dairy/dairies they source from), evaporated cane juice, and natural vanilla flavor.
We poured ourselves half-full glasses of the milk and savored each sip. (Actually, one of us chugged down the whole thing in 3 seconds.) The dark chocolate flavor was readily apparent, with a well-balanced ratio of milk to chocolate. Cocoa Metro’s milk definitely uses the most high end chocolate of any chocolate milk I’ve had. Our only caveat with the milk was the actual milk: it tasted like skim. We felt the milk should be full and that glasses of Cocoa Metro would be even more decadent with a creamier milk.
Cocoa Metro is available in Whole Foods throughout Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island, as well as specialty shops in Boston. Indulge yourself next time you’re in New England!
Follow Cocoa Metro on Twitter for the latest updates.