eat make read

I made my first meal for market week last night and oh boy, was it delicious. I decided to make roast chicken for a few reasons…. it’s hard to go wrong and there’s always leftovers for another meal during the week. I usually follow Jamie Oliver’s recipe which never disappoints, but since there aren’t any lemon trees in my area, I did a little improvising. I gave the chicken a nice slather of butter and stuffed it with thyme and garlic before I popped it in the oven; then half way through, I started coating it with a mixture of honey (locally harvested) and butter. That, my friends, was a good decision.

The bird came out all golden and crispy with juices bubbling around it and injecting the potatoes with goodness. I carved it up, gave it a taste and it was perfect. The honey gave it a nice undertone of sweetness without overpowering the fresh herbs that I’d sprinkled in and on it. Mmmmm… And the potatoes, oh the potatoes. They also got a little hint of honey but it also helped crisp them up so they were crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. I had to get some green in the meal so I boiled some green beans and they were just right all on their own.

So the first meal was a super success, with plenty of leftovers to use later in the week. If you want to jazz up your roasted chicken, definitely try adding honey into the mix. So good!

Honey Roasted Chicken with Potatoes

1 whole chicken
2 Tablespoons butter
1 Tablespoon honey
a few sprigs fresh thyme
a few sprigs fresh rosemary
2 cloves of garlic
6 red potatoes

preheat oven to 375°
1
bring water to boil in large saucepan. add potatoes and garlic and boil for 12 min.
2
drain potatoes and rough them up in the strainer.
3
take garlic from strainer, along with the thyme and stuff into cavity of chicken.
4
slather the chicken with 1 Tablespoon of the butter and pop it the oven for 45 minutes.
5
melt remaining Tablespoon of butter and add honey to it.
6
lift the chicken up and toss the potatoes around in the pan, coating them with the juices. make room for the chicken and set it back in the pan.
7
brush honey butter over chicken and put it back in the oven. repeat every 15 minutes twice, for a total of 45 more minutes in the oven.
8
Let it sit for a few minutes before carving into. Enjoy!

I’ve been feeling really inspired by food lately. Between going to the market and seeing the amazing fruits and vegetables, to reading articles and books about why what you eat and where it’s from matters, I started to feel like it was time I took a next step. Ideally I’d like to start growing some of my own food, but in the meantime, we do have pretty amazing greenmarkets where we can get everything from fresh dairy to grass-fed meats and beautiful fruits and vegetables, all from farmers and vendors within 100 miles of New York City.

So I set a goal for myself: make a weeks worth of dinners (for two) using only market goods, with the exception of flour, sugar, spices and oil. I wanted to keep this in line with our daily lives and budget, so we went to our normal greenmarket and spent around the same amount of money we spend on food each week (including market, grocery and 1 meal out).

Here’s how my trip to the Grand Army Plaza Greenmarket broke down:

Meat, $39:

• 1 whole free-range chicken (1.5 lb)
• 1 lb grass-fed beef
• 1.5 lbs grass fed hot turkey sausage

Dairy, $25

• 1 half gallon fresh 1% milk
• 1 pint fresh cream
• 8 oz salted sweet butter
• 1/3 lb cheese
• 1/4 lb cheese
• 12 eggs

Vegetables, $20

• 1 head garlic
• 2 hot peppers
• 1 green pepper
• 2 handfuls green beans
• 1 handfuls sugarsnap peas
• 2 summer squash
• 3 cucumbers
• 2 sweet potatoes
• 11 new potatoes
• 4 red onions
• 2 tomatoes

Fruit, $9

• 1 pint sour cherries
• 1/2 pint raspberries

Bread, $4.75

• 1 loaf whole wheat sourdough

Herbs, $3

• 1 bunch rosemary
• 1 bunch thyme
• 1 bunch cilantro

Total: $100.75

I have a rough meal plan scheduled, but I think it will be interesting to see how I use the products and if they last longer than I expect. For instance, will I be able to use the leftovers for another dinner or to take in to lunch and will we be able to restrain myself from gobbling up too much cheese? I sure hope so.

So please join me on my week of market meals. Each day I will post the previous night’s dinner with a recipe and some thoughts. At the end of the week, I’ll let you know what’s leftover, what worked and what didn’t and if I think it’s something I can keep up. Woohoo! I think it’s going to be fun!

I was looking for something patriotic for this week’s happy hour, and what’s more American that a good ol’ can of brewskie. Dale’s Pale Ale is one of my favorite beers and it doesn’t hurt that the can is red, white and blue.

So cheers to you on this holiday weekend! I hope you have a great one!

P.S. I have something I’m super excited about coming next week… stay tuned!

I saw a carton of cherry tomatoes at the market and just couldn’t resist. I’m such a sucker for pretty things… Most people like to just pop cherry tomatoes in their mouths like candy, but I just can’t quite get into them. But one thing I can get into is salsa. So although it took a little more chopping that a regular sized tomato, I turned my pretty carton of cherry tomatoes into a lovely fresh salsa.

I roughly followed this recipe for tomato-serrano salsa on epicurious. The key to just about every salsa I’ve made is time. While it’s tempting to dig right in after you’ve put a little muscle into chopping all those ingredients, if you wait a day the flavors really meld together well. I also found that if you have an avocado on hand, you can get a delicious and quick guacamole by adding some of the salsa to it. It’s just good stuff.

Mmmm. I just can’t get enough berries! They are definitely my favorite “good for you” food. Of course, I always add a bunch of other stuff that takes the healthy level down a notch, but oh well.

This might be the simplest dessert ever. My friend Angela made some homemade ricotta (!!!) last weekend and gave me a nice hunk of it. I dug a box of ginger crisps out of the pantry, topped it with some of the homemade ricotta and raspberries and drizzled a little honey over it all. I wasn’t sure how it would all work together, but my worries were quickly dispelled with the first bite. The ginger is a nice base, while the cheese and berries add a nice texture and the honey ties it all together.

Raspberry Ginger Goodies

1 pkg ginger crisps (or homemade ginger cookies)
1 container ricotta cheese
1 pint rasberries
honey

1
Place 1 teaspoon ricotta cheese on a ginger crisp.
2
Sprinkle 3 or 4 raspberries over the cheese.
3
Drizzle honey over top and eat up!

The market was overflowing with berries last weekend and I just couldn’t get enough. I picked up a pint cherries and was eager to try something new with them. I poked around for awhile and finally landed on this recipe for cherry granita because it was ridiculously simple, perfect for a balmy summer day.

I pitted the cherries and admired their rich color. I’m always amazed at the unbelievable colors nature provides for us. A simple toss in the blender and the addition of some simple syrup and it was ready to freeze. The result was super refreshing, tasting basically like frozen cherries with a lighter texture. Yum, so easy and super tasty.

Sour Cherry Granitas
from Martha Stewart

Makes 1 quart
2 pounds fresh or frozen sour cherries, thawed and pitted
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons sugar

1
Set a colander over a bowl, and drain cherries, reserving all the liquid.
2
Place cherries in a food processor or in a blender, and puree. Pass the purée through a fine sieve, set over a medium bowl. Using the back of a spoon, press cherries to extract the juice. If any solids remain in juice, pass juice through the sieve again. Discard pulp left in the sieve.
3
Add reserved liquid from step one and vinegar to the strained juice.
4
In a medium saucepan, combine sugar with 2/3 cup water; cook over medium-high heat until sugar has dissolved, about 4 minutes. Remove the pan from heat, and let stand until cool.
5
Add cooled syrup to juice mixture, and stir until combined. Pour this new mixture into a shallow metal pan large enough to hold the liquid; place in freezer until ice crystals begin to form around edges, about 1 hour. Using a fork, stir the ice crystals into the center; return to the freezer. Stir ice crystals once an hour until all the liquid has frozen and has a grainy consistency, about 5 hours. Serve, or store in the freezer, covered, up to 2 days.

The minute I read about the unfancy food show last week I knew it was going to be a must-see event. Handmade chocolate, ice cream, cheese and more.. all in one place? It’s like a little piece of heaven.

We arrived about an hour after it began and it was already happening. The space was about as unfancy as you can get, smooshed in a small lot to the side of a bar, but the food and people made up for the cramped space. It was hard not to buy something at every booth because each one had really great products. The first thing we tried was a cannoli from salvatore ricotta, made fresh on the spot and drizzled with honey.

One our favorite booths was that of beekeeper Kay Sera, aka Richard Eagan, who plastered his/her face not only on the honey jars, but also the business cards and signage. The honey was really delicious, and now every time we use some, we have to chuckle a little at the label. Awesomest honey jar ever.

We also sampled some awesome cinnamon chocolate from Taza Chocolate, picked up some fresh tortillas from Hot Bread Kitchen and ate some meat on a stick from Tamarack Hollow Farms. It was a fantastic way to spend a Sunday afternoon.