summer harvest, part i

ABC Kitchen....yum

photos above from ABC Home

I recently ate at ABC Kitchen (Jean-Georges new farm to table restaurant). You start this meal by drooling over the home goods walking to the back of the store (why would you ever enter directly from the street??), and it really does get better from there. I know ABC offers Jan Burtz' "Bella Porcelain" place settings for sale, but I thought it was great that this new "kitchen" serves off of them.

Thoughtful food served on hand made dinnerware. Food really can inform a ceramic piece and sometimes vice versa.

Pizza and Puerto Rico

This past weekend AC and I went out for a fabulous dinner at Saraghina in Bed-Stuy. It was well worth the short trip further into Brooklyn. What stood out most for me was the capocollo pizza.

AC and I are off to Puerto Rico to warm up. I can't wait to relax on the beach and dive into some mofongo.

Wedding Inspiration

Just when I needed a pick me up... one showed up!

Remember the AFFW reader who asked to borrow our wedding invitation design?

Style Me Pretty covered her wedding last week. If you look closely- you will see the design in the mix of the photos. I am so glad K and J had such a beautiful day!

Winter Chard

AC really likes to cook, and we love cooking together. My favorite cookbook is the Art of Simple Food by Alice Waters. It works for me because she doesn't just list the ingredients, number of servings, and directions. She explains how to shop for an item (from anchovies to squash to vinegar), when it is in season, and the flavor and textures you should strive for.

Knowing this AC brought home her newest book, In the Green Kitchen, and it does not dissapoint. She has asked many different chefs to submit recipes that support cooking basics- the intention is to free every cook from recipes so they always make a meal with what they have or what is in season. Dan Barber is included in the mix- he will always have a place in my heart...
We used the Whole Wheat Spaghetti and Kale recipe to make Semolina Spaghetti and Swiss chard (from the Fort Greene farmer's market). DELISH!
Some pics of the meal prep are below, taking photos of food is pretty tricky! Swiss chard belo featured in a Craven Home bowl (wink).

Playing Hookie

guggenheim and central park trees

Yesterday, I took the day off, and instead of going to the studio... I played hookie! AC and I went to the Tino Sehgal exhibit at the Guggenheim, drooled over fabulous functional objet d'art (Craven Home's MO) at the Cooper Hewitt Store strolled around the reservoir (and froze our butts off!), then headed back to BK for fancy hot dogs at Bark. It was a great one day get-not-so-far-away.


I am very impressed with the full disclosure of Bark's food-a list of EVERY ingredient's source is on every table. Needless to say, when you've got nothing to hide its easy to disclose. The food was great and recession proof. They are very upfront with being local and letting nothing go to waste.
beautiful pine (reclaimed wood) table at Bark

Craven on Beard, or working with our hands

AC planned Thanksgiving 2 on Saturday night.

Potato and Leek soup

Left over turkey

Roasted Brussel Sprouts

Pickled Radishes

and... James Beard's Cream Biscuits (article about Beard and the recipe here from the NYT last March).

These are so quick, easy and especially delicious!

Weekend in Queeche, VT

Our friends Ali and Pete (Congratulations!) had a wedding in Queeche, VT a little over a week ago. I had my bachelorette weekend there and was excited to have AC with me this time around. We hiked the gorge and strolled the streets of Woodstock, VT. It was a misty autumn weekend which made the nuptial affair very romantic (I am not at all biased against a rainy-day wedding). Wedding aside, the highlight of our weekend was visiting Simon Pearce (a few times). It is the ultimate in hand crafted pottery and glass.

I was in pottery heaven. The restaurant does absolute justice to the pottery as well. We were seated at the best table in the house (No. 2) with the view below. The restaurant is progressive- recycling its cooking oil and sending kitchen scraps to a chicken farm for feed.

Doing a little reading for this post I came across a wonderful blog, The District Domestic. The recipes, chef interviews, and restaurant trips she writes about are thoughtful and her blog is a feast for the eyes. In her words she wants to "share my passion for incredible food, beautiful days in the garden and fine homekeeping."

Slowing Down

Well, better late than never. Today AC and I joined Slow Food USA. I was introduced to Slow Food through my very good friend Anna, Head of the Dept. of Sustainability at University of Florida, who started the Gainesville Slow Food Chapter YEARS ago. Slow Food is dedicated to their motto- "Food should be good, clean, and fair." We are looking forward to learning how to slow down even more!

Blueberries in August

A blueberry pie I made on Sunday, after spending time in the studio on Saturday! I spent the weekend working with my hands- from clay to crust.

Dan Barber on the Tomato Blight of 2009

AC and I have almost been married one year now. My wedding was amazing (remember A Farm Fresh Wedding?), and Dan Barber had something to do with that.

He wrote a great little Op-Ed in this weekend's New York Times about the emergence of home grown food gardeners (good) and buying your garden plants from super chain stores like Home Depot (bad). He feels that it has a lot to do with this year's very early Late Blight.

Just a little food for thought here.

A little green goes a long way

We have a backyard. It belongs to our entire building, but we are the only ones with direct access to it, and no one else really goes back there. This year we planted a few potted herb gardens to green up the concrete desert. If you plant things... they will come!

Our jalapeno peppers


A very welcome parsley eater, a swallowtail caterpillar we are happy to share with



And our very own IPM system


I'm in awe of other Brooklyners food growing success:

Rooftop Farms in Greenpoint


Urban Kitchen Gardens offers a great service to help everyone grow something (even one thing) they can eat.

pics from Craven Home, Rooftop Farms, and Urban Kitchen Garden