Restoration Farm is bursting with sweet, crisp sugar snap peas. What to do with the abundance of bright green crescents to highlight their snappy crunch that crackles with the excitement of early summer?My solution is a broth of soba noodles and fresh summer vegetables – many from Restoration Farm - that is simmered just long enough to heat the broth without sacrificing the tantalizing crispness
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Street Sweets – Tailgating the Treats Truck
Sometimes, catching up with truck food is pure serendipity, like suddenly discovering an open parking space in Manhattan. Sometimes you are alerted to a truck’s “dining hours” on Twitter. And, sometimes you’re lucky to stumble upon a fleet of food trucks, parked in formation. So it happens as Mad Me-Shell and I conclude our fine dining experience at Rickshaw Dumpling Truck. There, just “two
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Chasing Truck Food – Rickshaw Dumpling Truck
The fascination with truck food has reached a fevered obsession. I hear rumors of a “dumpling truck” on the streets of Manhattan and immediately head for Mad Me-Shell’s office.“We must find this mythical dumpling truck!” I insist, like some kind of addict seeking a fix.A few quick taps on her keyboard and Mad Me-Shell produces the answer – Rickshaw Dumpling Truck at 45th Street and 6th Avenue.
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To the Waffle Mobile, Boy Wonder!
I spot the gleaming, canary-yellow truck returning to the office from lunch one day. There sits the renowned Waffle Mobile - right in my own neighborhood. I thought it was nothing but an urban legend.The very sight makes my pulse race. The Good Humor truck and the Book Mobile feel like prehistoric symbols of transportable goods and services. This 1968 Chevy Box truck is the real deal, bringing
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The Season of Greens – First Pickup at Restoration Farm
I’ve looked forward to the day like a 4-year-old anticipates Christmas. It’s the first CSA pickup at Restoration Farm.The shimmering green lettuce entices me as I approach the distribution tent. There will be many salad days ahead. The board is precisely lettered with a list of the first yields of the season. There are tidy, beautifully-formed heads of lettuce, red kale, garlic scapes, arugula
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Strawberry Ice Cream Cake
It was the ultimate request. Could I make an ice cream cake to celebrate my brother’s completion of his Master’s degree?“He will be happier than any little kid when he sees it!” my sister-in-law tells me.How could anyone deny an appeal to rejoice in adult achievement with childlike pleasure? And, he is my “little brother,” after all! We are linked by lineage and love of Carvel Ice Cream.Thus
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Chinese Takeout at Home – Chicken Fried Rice
We never ordered takeout at our house when I was growing up. We were much more of a do-it-yourself style family in the kitchen. When we partook of Chinese food, it was a rare treat, and was usually enjoyed in the restaurant. I was probably well into my college years when I first experienced the vicarious thrill and immediate gratification of having food delivered directly to my door.Now, years
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A Luscious Moment at Butta’ Cakes, Greenport Cupcake Factory
I have this secret fantasy. If I had the ability to choose any profession, I would love to be Cakespy. Imagine traveling the world in search of the perfect cupcake? Think of the danger, the intrigue, the icing and the extraordinary sugar highs!So, when I happened upon the just-opened “butta’ cakes” at 119 Main Street in Greenport, New York, it was like that defining moment in an Alfred
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Strawberry and Goat Cheese Ricotta Crostini
I can’t quite shed my goat cheese obsession. The visit to Catapano Dairy Farm has me dreaming of simple and elegant ways to use goat cheese that will highlight it’s incredibly fresh and creamy flavor. I brought home a container of tart, almost fluffy ricotta goat cheese from Catapano Dairy Farm. Ah, what to do? Lately, I’ve been consulting “The Flavor Bible” by Karen Page and Andrew
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