I know what you’re thinking. That doesn’t look like celery soup. Did y’all see the Koons show at the Whitney? Go see it before the Whitney closes forever and moves downtown. Yes, even if, like me, you think you are above it or have some (lots of) preconceived notion of his art. You will gain a broader appreciation for him and the fabrication of some of these objects. I think. Shout out to David Gordon for dragging my butt there on an early Saturday morning. Also, did you listen to this? Hilton Als interviewing Khandi Alexander, Thelma Golden, and Toni Morrison for Studio 360. Oh my, what are you waiting for?

Ok, soup. It’s early fall. Which is actually the best time to be at a farmer’s market in New York. The stalls are spilling over with eggplants, tomatoes, early brussels sprouts (we’re not capitalizing Brussels anymore right?), all sorts of greens, apple varieties, peppers, and squash. More on squash in a bit. There’s still corn, raspberries, celery, blueberries at one stall I saw. If you live in the five boroughs of NYC you have no excuse—the Union Square greenmarket is open Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday.  While you’re at it, bring your food scraps from your freezer, the compost station is at the northeast end of the market. When you’re done composting and purchasing pretzels and apples and tatsoi and fairy eggplant, stroll down Broadway to the Strand bookstore and spend time in there perusing. Seriously. I recommend. I did this Saturday and it was life affirming to be in a brick-and-mortar bookstore browsing, touching, dreaming, reading first pages. I mainly hung around cookbooks and new fiction with my bud @superdaniela.

Celery seems to be having a bit of an “it” moment in food don’t you think? Featured as the main ingredient in salty spicy salads; in celery tonics; in the last episode of Breaking Bad (ok, made that up), and of course, soups everywhere. In the spirit of things celery and fall, here is a quick and dirty celery soup. Ok, not that quick, not that dirty, but pretty darn basic. Some easy substitutions could make this vegetarian and vegan lickety split (i.e., substituting vegetable broth, using coconut cream instead of half and half…) This soup is velvety, rich, and smooth. The original recipe uses whole cream instead of half and half and more butter; I reduced both, but feel free to tinker/increase, as your palate desires.

Celery Soup

Serves 4
adapted from BonApp

1 head celery, chopped
1 large potato, preferably waxy, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
6 tbsp butter or vegan fat like Earth Balance
Salt
3 cups low-sodium broth (chicken, vegetable)
1/4 cup fresh dill, chopped
Red chili flakes
Dash of balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup half and half
Olive oil, for drizzling
Sea salt, to serve

Combine the celery, potato, onion, and butter in large saucepan over medium heat, season with salt. Cook, stirring, until the onion is tender, about 8–10 minutes. When the onions seem about cooked, add the broth, bring to a simmer, and cook for another 8–10 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked through. Let the soup cool down a little before transferring to your blender.

Add the dill, chili flakes, and dash of balsamic vinegar and blend the soup until smooth. Depending on how ocd you are you can strain the soup at this point, or just transfer it back to the saucepan. Add the half and half and stir until smooth. Taste for seasoning. Gradually bring the heat up a little if you’re serving right away. Serve in soup bowls with tops of celery, drizzle of olive oil, and sea salt.

**Bonus recipe**
Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Ginger and Chili
I made this the other night and shazam, I am going to make this all fall.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Wrap two sweet potatoes in tin foil (poke with a fork first) and roast for 45 minutes to one hour until totally cooked through and soft. Do the same with a bulb of garlic—wrap in tin foil and toss in the oven—for maybe 30 minutes. Remove the soft meaty flesh of the potatoes and transfer to a bowl. Remove one or two of the garlic cloves from the skin and mash into the potatoes. Combine with 2 tablespoons of coconut oil, lots of freshly squeezed lemon juice, finely chopped fresh ginger, red chili flakes, and sea salt. Mix well. Devour.

—

Below is a picture of me and my buddy Dan (sorry Dan forgot to get your permission first, if you hate this photo I’ll take it down!). We met our freshman year at Cornell so we’ve known each other a long time now. B/c we old. He just moved back here and that’s us in the JivamukTea Cafe taking a selfie for our friend Laura in Oakland. Hi Laura!

One of the cool periodicals at last week’s Art Book Fair at MoMA PS1

Three of the delicious pies at Four and Twenty Blackbirds in Gowanus, Brooklyn

I run by here in the mornings, this guy is often fishing, Prospect Park Lake