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Chilling Out, Vermont Style

July 4, 2012 //
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I’ve been having a ball in my home-away-from-home state of Vermont. I drove up last Friday with my sister Emily and her dog, Julius. I’ve swam almost every day in Lake Champlain or Goshen Dam, avoided stepping on zebra mussels, eaten sweet and drippy peaches, visited the Middlebury food co-op (3x), walked around the Middlebury College campus with Arianna and Rafa, read and napped in a hammock, eaten maple cremees, accompanied friends on a blueberry-wine tasting, and tonight might go to the drive-in. I love summer!

 

I’m usually in Vermont this week every year, and in this post and this post from last July 4th I blogged about living the good life in Vermont too. In fact, I think I’ll make that cashew spread again. Why am I returning to Brooklyn tomorrow?

Before arriving last week I told my stepmom Bonnie that I wanted to make a French potato and green bean salad, like the one David Tanis wrote about recently in the New York Times. Think of it like an improved upon summer potato salad, with a mustardy vinaigrette instead of mayo, tossed with green beans, olives, and lots of fresh herbs. I made it Vermont-style, meaning, whatever Bonnie had in the garden and local eggs. From the garden I picked chives, purple and green basil, thyme, and flat-leaf parsley. I wish I’d remembered to toss in the remaining scapes we had, but used garlic instead. This salad can be prepared ahead and served room temp or cold, perfect for a summer picnic or barbecue.

Vermont Potato and Green Bean Salad

1 3/4 lb small red potatoes
Salt and pepper
1 bay leaf
1 large thyme sprig
1-3 garlic cloves, mashed to a paste, to taste
1 tbsp anchovy paste
1 tbsp chopped capers
2 tsp Dijon mustard
4 tbsp white wine vinegar
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 pound small French beans, or green beans
4 large eggs
Handful of chopped herbs: chives, parsley, basil
1/4 cup pitted, cured black olives

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add the potatoes, a bay leaf, and the thyme. Simmer for about 20 minutes until the potatoes are still firm but can be pierced easily with a fork. Remove from the water with a slotted spoon and cool. Don’t drain the water because you can use this later for the green beans.

2. Make the vinaigrette: In a bowl combine the garlic, anchovy paste, capers, mustard, and vinegar. Whisk in the olive oil, and season with salt and pepper.

3. When the potatoes are cool, cut into thick slices. Season with salt and pepper, and cover with half the vinaigrette. Set aside.

4. Trim the ends of the beans and simmer in salted water for 3-4 minutes. Drain and cool under running water.

5. Cook the eggs: bring a pot of water to boil. Add the eggs gently and cook for about 8 minutes, 9 for a firmer yolk. Crack and peel immediately to cool. Cut each egg in half and season with salt and pepper.

6. When ready to serve, coat the green beans with the remaining dressing, and add to the potatoes. Arrange the eggs and olives on top. Garnish with the fresh herbs and serve.

Below are shots of the purple basil in the garden; ice cream from Middlebury; and I just had to have a picture with this teal green bug in town. There was a summer in California I drove around in a bright yellow one, I’ll see if I can find a photo of that. Happy 4th people.

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Categories Co-op, Farmer's Market, Holidays, Ice cream, Potatoes, Summer, Vermont

48 Hours in Nantucket

September 12, 2011 //
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Some said it was like being in a Chekhov play: two days on an island in a big red barn with fourteen people, some of us strangers to one another, some old friends and lovers, in town to attend the wedding of two dear friends. The weather was warm and sunny during the day, foggy and damp at night; there was a big lawn for playing croquet; old German cars were strewn about; characters paced and smoked alone in the yard; a big kitchen provided opportunity to bump into people early in the morning, late at night. Main characters included architects, a writer, an actor, mathematician, photographer, doctor.

Secondary in the cast of characters were an irate local property manager, a David Lynch-esque grumpy cashier, a housekeeper whose scratchy voice betrayed years of smoking. And then there’s Nantucket: a character unto itself. Stately and charming, it can intimidate while pretending to welcome. At least, it can come off that way to a group of New Yorkers that included Jews, Indians, Japanese, Mexicans, Chinese, and Koreans. We were the most diversity on the island since the Wampanoag Indians were forced out by the English in 1641.

But I digress. The wedding was a beautiful, artful celebration of two dear friends, very much in love, surrounded by loving friends and family. We danced into the wee hours until I’d developed a shin splint; we ate suckling pig, local cod, end-of-summer tomatoes and corn; fingerling potatoes roasted in duck confit, and vanilla, chocolate, and carrot wedding cupcakes. (Chef Michael LaScola of the island’s beloved American Seasons restaurant catered the event.) The Tempranillo and Grüner veltliner flowed freely.

Our friend Amy manned a photo booth in the cabana, where the guests came in to have their photos taken with fake moustaches and other found props. The photos were coming out great – hopefully I can get my hands on a few and post them. Many of the other photos I took are on my other camera, so perhaps I can post some of those later too.

The photo of the ice cream cone at the top is from the famous Juice Bar on Broad Street, serving homemade ice cream, waffle cones, and fresh juices. The kid who scooped this couldn’t have been more than twelve, but he was fast. I’d never had mint-M&M ice cream before but now I understand what the long lines are about at this place.

Here’s the head of one of the two suckling pigs served at the dinner. Of course, this became one of the props in the photo booth. I’m going to apologize in advance to Peta, and my vegan and vegetarian friends.

Before leaving on Sunday we had a few hours to kill at Steps Beach, a close walk from the Chekhovian red barn where we stayed. It was a gorgeous, bright, blue, sunny day, the eleventh of September.


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Categories Holidays, Ice cream, Nantucket, Summer

Toasted sesame fried rice, gay ice cream, and soup!

May 5, 2011 //
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I know what you’re thinking: that sounds amazing.

Tonight I came home to a fridge full of perishable goodies I wanted to use up: broccoli I picked up from the co-op Monday, Niman Ranch ham, ramps (got ’em!), brown rice, and remember that over-wintered spinach from breakfast the other day? What to do…

This is one of those times you hope to get away with a “kitchen sink” meal – a little of this, a little of that, just enough inventiveness that it might work. I think it did. Bonus: this is practically a one-pot meal. This is not meant to be a recipe to follow precisely, but rather an approach to a quick, tasty meal using what you already have on hand. You can substitute any number of the ingredients below for what’s in your fridge.

I toasted 1 tbsp of sesame seeds in a small skillet over medium heat, then removed from heat and set aside. In a large skillet I warmed 1-2 tbsp olive oil then added the white stems of thoroughly washed ramps, sautéing for about five minutes. To this I added small florets of broccoli and cooked, uncovered, adding small amounts of water to steam and cook the broccoli.

At this point you could add a handful of marinated tofu, cut into small cubes (mine was marinated in sesame oil, red pepper flakes, lime juice, garlic, and soy sauce). I know tofu turns some people off so don’t bother with it if you don’t like it. Once nicely browned I added 1 tbsp fresh lime juice and 1 tsp lime zest to the mixture, and additional red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper, to taste.

Since I had this gorgeous Niman Ranch ham on hand I cut a piece of it into small cubes and added it to the pan, just to reheat. Then in went the cooked brown rice, turning up the heat to get a nice crust on the rice, leaving the pan uncovered, followed by a large handful of spinach, chopped, and the ramp leaves, cut crosswise in thirds, just to wilt, about 1-2 minutes.

At the last minute I cracked an egg over the dish, turned off the heat, and mixed all together, using the egg as a sauce. Top with the toasted sesame seeds and serve.

For kicks I’m sharing some photos from around Union Square today: the Big Gay Ice Cream Truck! I would’ve stopped for a cone but the line was down the block. Has anyone tried it? And the Andy Warhol statue by Rob Pruitt, which I was delighted to discover had been appropriately adorned with…Campbell’s soup cans. Wish I’d thought of that.

Categories Andy Warhol, Farmer's Market, Fried rice, Ice cream, Ramps, Rice, Savory, Spring
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