Tagged: chocolate milk, Cocoa Metro, Hudson Valley Fresh, Ronnybrook
Posted on August 13th, 2010
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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.
Tagged: "Lobster Bake", cape cod, lobster
Posted on August 10th, 2010
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We just returned from a long weekend in Cape Cod. I’m already missing the break in humidity, the cool nights, the sea breeze, and the fresh seafood. While visiting a friend in Eastham, we unexpectedly attended a lobster and clam bake. The affair was relaxed and friendly: old friends caught up with each other; kids played on the jungle gym; there was a well-meaning DJ giving out door prizes.
Apparently, the town eagerly anticipates next year’s bake as soon this year’s is over. Each time the cooks checked on the food’s progress, the crowd rose from the picnic tables and excitedly rushed over to the long table. All of the food bakes in wooden crates, deep inside a fire pit. The crates are wrapped together in thick plastic and the food–lobsters, mussels, clams, corn, potatoes, onions–bakes for as long as it takes.
After the food was read, it was proudly carried over and laid out on the long table. Then, you just pick up a plastic tray, load it up with everything you want, and dig in. Just don’t forget your bib…or the butter!
Tagged: brooklyn, eggplant marinara, Frankies Spuntino, Prime Meats, recipes, The Frankies Spuntino Kitchen Companion and Cooking Manual
Posted on August 4th, 2010
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In full disclosure, I’ve yet to go to Frankies Spuntino or Prime Meats, though I have been to Café Pedlar numerous times (which should count for something by association!). When moving to Brooklyn was just a twinkle in our eyes, I had already read about (and lusted over) Frankies Spuntino. Lusted over it so much that on our quick visit to Brooklyn, we walked from Downtown Brooklyn to Frankies and back…just to look at the outside of the restaurant!
There—I’m done with disclaimers. Despite having not eaten at their restaurants yet (the two Frankies Spuntino locations are in Carroll Gardens and the Lower East Side; Prime Meats is in Carroll Gardens), I’m an adamant supporter of their restaurants, not only because of the restaurants’ neighborhood focus but for how instrumental the Franks are in the current shift (and now trend) of cooking simple food with quality ingredients.
The Franks = Frank Falcinelli and Frank Castronovo. Both have French culinary backgrounds, have worked with all star chefs like David Bouley and Charlie Palmer, and separately ran their own restaurants (including Moomba and Bistro Jean-Claude).
According to The Frankies Spuntino Kitchen Companion and Cooking Manual, in 2003, both Franks were at a cross-roads of sorts. They were exhausted from their years in intense kitchens and sought a return to their roots, their Italian-American roots. What resulted was the creation and opening of Frankies Spuntino (meaning a snack or place to eat them), which was soon followed by the Lower East Side location and most recently Prime Meats. Along the way, the Franks have partnered with some seriously amazing small and local food purveyors and artisans, including Saxelby Cheesemongers and Stumptown Coffee.
Their food, as evident in their cookbook, is inspired by nostalgia and reinvented by cutting-edge sourcing and quality ingredients.
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Tagged: "Clean Food", "heirloom tomato salad", heirloom tomatoes, recipes, Stokes Farm
Posted on August 1st, 2010
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I came home with a bag full of various heirloom tomatoes after my latest What is Fresh farm visit to Stokes Farm. These beauties were at their peak of flavor, so we wanted a creative way to eat them that very night. After a quick look through our fridge and pantry, we discovered leftover cucumbers and red onion, perfect partners for a simple summer salad.
This heirloom tomato salad recipe is from Clean Food. In addition to cucumbers and red onion, Terry Walters’ recipe uses avocado and a basic red wine vinaigrette. This salad was simple, fresh, and filling–with absolutely zero cooking involved! Just for fun, I also added a few husk tomatoes.
Heirloom Tomato Salad
Recipe courtesy of Clean Food
Ingredients:
5 cups heirloom tomatoes
2 small cucumbers
1 avocado, peeled and pitted
1/4 red onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup chopped basil
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
sea salt & black pepper
Directions:
1) Chop tomatoes, cucumbers, and avocado into bite-size pieces. Combine them in a serving dish.
2) In a separate bowl, combine onion, basil, vinegar, oil, and salt and pepper to taste.
3) Pour over tomatoes and serve!
Tagged: Berkshire pigs, Blue Hill at Stone Barns, Hudson Valley, sheep, Stone Barns, stone barns center for food and agriculture
Posted on July 30th, 2010
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Yesterday, I browsed through some old archives on this blog and came across one dated July 25, 2009. This post described how it would be my absolute dream to go to Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture, wander the property, and eat at Blue Hill.
I am one incredibly lucky girl.
In the year since I wrote that post, I’ve spent two incredible days in Pocantico Hills, the first on a tour of the property for What is Fresh, and the second, most recently, with my husband.
After seeing my impassioned blog post, two of our friends gave us a gift certificate for Blue Hill at Stone Barns at our October wedding. (I believe I shrieked upon opening the gift card). As they said, “We really thought a night at Blue Hill would beat the heck out of semi-anonymously gifted housewares.”
In the months following my March visit to Stone Barns (*if interested, you can read about the visit, complete with pictures HERE), I know Justin was relieved that I didn’t limit our conversation topics only to Stone Barns (right, honey?).
During the dead of winter, we decided we wanted to eat at Blue Hill during the height of the summer season. It was February and I was already dreaming about corn, tomatoes, and peaches. You can’t reserve a table more than 2 months ahead of time, so in May, exactly two months out from the date we wanted to go, I called. I called at 9:30 am and the best time I could get was 9:30 pm! Clearly, others hadn’t even bothered getting out bed before making their reservation phone call.
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