Mostly

All good things.

This week I got my hands on some good fresh ingredients to at least say that I made an attempt to celebrate the Spring weather. My end of week menu features baby artichokes, spring onions, ramps (local wild leeks), sheeps cheese, fresh tomato linguine, and sunflower sprouts (not pictured, if you will). 

Ramps- weekend omelet with garlic and pesto

Sunflower sprouts- mixed salad with green apple and homemade sweet balsamic dressing (olive oil, balsamic vinegar, shallots, garlic, brown sugar, lemon juice, salt and pepper)

Baby artichokes- slowed roasted with olive oil and garlic, topped with fresh parmesan 

Tomato pasta- tossed with olive oil and parmesan, topped with yellow tomatoes sautéed in butter

I also made dark chocolate avocado cookies on my day off from a recipe. It’s something I’ve been waiting to try (also chocolate beet cake). Let me just say, I will never make regular cookies again. Partly because avocados and beets are literally cheaper than butter will ever be in New York, and also because they are so much better for you. Big time success.

What to do with tons of basil that’s about to go bad.

Making pesto is the best way to rescue lots of basil that’s starting to turn brown. It keeps better, is pretty easy to make, and has a flexible recipe. The last time I made this I used almonds that were already ground, and this time I threw in some walnuts. 

Cooking for an Italian.

Di Palo’s might be my new favorite place. This Italian grocer is literally on the same block as New York mart- the Asian supermarket that carries almost everything your meat needs could possibly desire-but I suppose I hadn’t noticed it before. It’s rather unassuming from the outside. Anyway, this place is truly great. They have cured meats of all kinds (a lot of Italian hams), fresh pork sausage, and cheese made in house (Caciocavallo looking especially inviting). Aside from their selection is has all the charm one might hope for from an old grocer. I was accompanied by a few bigger families stocking up for Italian Easter dinners, and my cashier both guessed the total of my order, and gave me 2 tiny Nutella filled eggs after I was done ordering my sausage. 

Orecchiette with cherry tomato sauce

1/2 bag of orecchiette

1 can Italian cherry tomatoes in puree

1/4 of white onion diced

3 cloves garlic

handful of green bell pepper diced

handful of basil leaves minced

1 link of fresh sweet italian sausage

olive oil

2 tbsp whole milk

red pepper

cinnamon

1 tsp brown sugar

clove

pecorino romano for garnish

Sautee onion, garlic, and peppers in oil until soft. Remove sausage from casing and brown in the pot. Add salt, pepper, red pepper, cinnamon, clove, and sugar and stir. Pour in can of tomatoes and stir in basil and milk. Simmer until cherry tomatoes have burst. Serve over pasta. 

I have really been enjoying this Lebanese olive oil over the past few days. 

Made it myself.

This banana bread is pretty great. A twist on the Smitten Kitchen banana bread. I’ve made pretty much the same bread without the egg before, and it does work; but it’s just better with the egg I think.

1 1/2 cup wheat flour

1/4 cup polenta

1/3 cup brown sugar

2-3 tbsp ground flax seed

ground clove

cinnamon

1 egg

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 over ripe bananas

1/4 cup raw honey

1/3 cup olive oil

Bake for 40 minutes at 350 

Above there is also homemade almond butter &

cranberry and cinnamon granola.

Cold remedy- copious amounts of herbal tea, honey, and lemon.

The last stop on the 1 train in the Bronx is 242nd Street/Van Cortlandt park. It’s very much winter here. 

A quick trip to ‘Little India’.

Just off the 28th street stop on the 6 is Kalustyan’s. I knew it was the place to go for spices, but I hadn’t realized that it sits in a few blocks that I think can fairly be called ‘Little India’. The junction of 28th and Lexington is filled with Indian, Turkish, Persian, and various Middle eastern specialty stores and eateries. 

Kalustyan’s has basically everything. There’s a whole room that is exclusively spices. Not only are they packaged in multiple sizes, but they are meticulously labeled. All of their spices state where they come from, what they are generally used for, and what flavors one can expect. Which is great if you’re looking for sweet paprika. 

Upstairs- cheeses, walls of teas and coffees, and a small cafe with windows looking out on Lexington Avenue.

Downstairs- a checkout stocked with pistachio riddled sweet treats.

Northwestern flavors & root vegetables.

I have been buying Salmon fairly frequently not only because it’s good for you (another good oily fish being Mackerel; which appeared at the grocer just this week), but because it reminds me of the Northwest. Especially when it’s baked with rosemary that grows on pretty much every corner of Seattle. Beets and salmon occupy opposite ends of the baking spectrum, I believe. Beets, you can put in the oven with some olive oil and walk away for an hour- give or take some minutes- and they will be fine. Whereas salmon requires a lower temperature, and should be taken out of the oven at even 20 minutes. Overcooking salmon is where things can go terribly, terribly wrong.

A good healthy winter meal is roasted beets topped with goat cheese, baked salmon seasoned with red pepper, rosemary, and a lemon slice. On the side some sautéed asparagus with a generous amount of garlic and a big chunk of Challah. 

As for those blackberries (another item with a PNW overtone) were consumed for dessert with yogurt and almond butter.

Agata & Valentina 

This is the place were nearly all of my groceries come from. 

They have a handmade fresh pasta section. 

What could possibly be better than that?

BLOOD ORANGE JUICE. That’s what.