CantaloupeAlone

Let block party season begin. Come down to Kensington, Brooklyn to support Compost 4 Brooklyn . It's really really fun day! The raffle rules. I will be serving samples of sauerkraut and talking fermentation. Compost for Brooklyn says: Join us to eat, play, grow, learn, and dance in the street in celebration of summer! E-waste recycling / live music by PrimaryRecords / unbeatable raffle / workshops / book sale / bake sale / TREE GIVEAWAY / bike bell giveaway / seed giveaway / bake sale / composting / and much much more The raffle really is all that. Compost for Brooklyn Block Party SUnday June 3rd 11 am - 5 pm Newkirk and E. 8th st in Brooklyn Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/294168834002498/

  ramp it up kimchi Ramps are a thing in the New York metro area. They are a wild variety of onion with a unique garlicky and mineral flavor that can't quite be replicated. Ramps can't be cultivated and are only around for a short while in spring.  Or so they tell me at the farmer's market where they go for $16 a pound. $16 a pound is more than meat, but this ramp kimchi recipe is pretty undeniable good.  Its a powerhouse of savory flavors that take you on a pungent tour of salty, spicy, garlicky, and then more spicy. I suggest it. This recipe is based on Tigress on a Pickle's , whose blog has been leading me to conquer pickling and fermentation techniques for some time now. This ramp kimchi kicked my cabbage kimchi's ass! Ramp Kimchi 1 lb of ramps, root ends trimmed off 2 cloves garlic 1 knob of peeled ginger 1/4 lb daikon 1 tblsp kosher salt 1/2 tsp sugar 2 tblsp crushed hot peppers 1 tsp oil Exihibit A: The ramps You will need a ceramic...

Kimchi v 1 Fermentation is currently my jam / pickle / love. I've been gazing at kimchi recipes and videos for some time now thinking I'll just pop over to a Korean grocery store and buy the traditional cabbage, hot pepper, radish, and shrimp paste to make the most authentic Korean kimchi I can in Brooklyn. But then I never do. I went and jumped in with what I could get. The results you ask? It taste sort of like kimchi. I wouldn't want to offer it a Korean person and as real kimchi though. It is great. Every bite seems too hot to handle for about 2 solid seconds after which you realize you need to eat MORE! Its the my first batch, it will not be like my second, third, or twentieth like most fermented foods made in uncontrolled home environments. It is an adventure you will enjoy, authentic or no.  My recipe is adapted from the Paupered Chef's who gave me the idea back in 2009!  Brooklyn Kimchi 2 1/2 lb cabbage (nappa) 1/2 cup kosher salt 1 tblsp ...

Pancakes fried in duck fat, soaking in blueberry syrup Can I call it or what? Duck is in. I roasted a duck last year on a whim, and repeated the experience several more times based on all the positive response. When you make a duck you get a lot of extra fat. There are a bunch of things you can make with that duck fat, might I suggest duck fat mayo for starters. But you just can't always use up all the duck fat all every time. A quart of duck fluids, half fat, half stock, has been lurking in my freezer. A year is too long for anything to be in the freezer. I don't believe the fat would go bad, but it takes on the unmistakable flavor of freezer. Ick. I pulled out the tub of duck. Tub of creamy duck fat, not to be ignored. Pancakes are like my favorite. I like waffles, but pancakes are easy and fast to make. The time commitment in making pancakes is the absurd amount of time you should allow yourself to linger after eating a big plate of pancakes. Laying in bed ...

This is it. The end, but a happy end. This week's CSA distribution is super spring. Radishes, pea greens, leeks, some kind of garlic flavored onion I've never tried that is neither ramp nor garlic scape though it contains qualities of both.Its also almost the beginning of my Flatbush Farm Share CSA. Happiness is a bundle of vegetables. Oh and a funny thing happened this week. Garden of Eve sends out a pre-distribution email about what to expect in the month's CSA. I love these emails, it helps me shop for items if I know I have something specific in mind and generally build menus. The email is about 75% accurate, which seems normal to me. This week the email was totally whack. The email said 1 dozen eggs, so I went out and bought eggs at the farmer's marketing thinking I would need them. I now  have 4.5 dozen eggs in my refrigerator. Oh man. I need to throw a brunch party or something. Kensington Windsor Terrace Winter CSA Month 6 - May 2 lbs potatoes 1 bunch ...

Brooklyn Non Dirt Talk: Growing without dirt Urban greenscaping with particular emphasis on helping city dwellers to grow some of their own fresh food using modern user-friendly methods with innovator Bob Hyland and hydroponics for sustainable agriculture with Gwen Hill. Tuesday May 15th, 2012 7:30 - 9:30 pm Downstairs @ Sycamore Bar and Flowershop, 21+ 1118 Cortelyou RD, BK (Q train to Cortelyou) Hosted by Meera Bhat ---------- Bob Hyland is an urban greenscaping professional with almost 40 years of experience since his days running a leading interior plantscaping company in Los Angeles. He was a national industry organization speaker, writer and educator during those years. This is what Interiorscape, the leading industry trade magazine, had to say in the Nov-Dec 1983 issue. “Bob is truly an advanced thinker in our industry. We can think of no other individual who is more familiar and tuned in to advanced technology for interiorscapes.” “Surely, when the history is written of our ...