On my most recent venture to the Union Square Farmer’s Market, I found myself constantly fighting to focus on procuring useful ingredients. I get so distracted by the beauty and bounty of fresh produce, that I loose track of what I need to aquire for my next meal. That day was definitely one of those occasions. I arrived home with a plethora of gorgeous fresh and somewhat unique produce and I wanted to delineate a little from my normal grilled corn or zucchini and tomato salad. To step out of my comfort zone, I flipped through my handy Moosewood cookbook and found an intriguing recipe for carrot and mushroom "loaf", which was perfect since I had snagged a bunch of carrots and a bag of cremini mushrooms. I also gathered some sweet potato greens, pimento padrao peppers, and what is a trip to the summer green market without corn, tomatoes and fuzy peaches.
Read moreGoodnight Irene
Irene came and went and caused most of us to hibernate in our houses for most of the weekend. To our great disappointment, a member of The Crunchy Radish had their birthday festivities put on hold due to the storm. To make the best of things, we made a birthday dinner with some goods that we loaded up on the day before at the farmers’ market.
Read moreFruitophile's Unite!
Still dreaming of my Italian getaway, I tried my hand at interpreting a traditional Sardinian dish. Fregula or fregola is a type of Sardinian pasta that is similar to pearled couscous. It is traditionally made with semolina dough that is rolled into little balls and toasted before boiling. The outcome is nutty little morsels that are slightly firm to the bite. We had fregula a few times on our trip and it was always accompanied with shellfish.
Read moreYou're such a Locavore
Locavorism is not a novelty in Italy; it is a way of life. The trend of eating local and from farm to table became increasingly popular in the last few years, but in most places throughout Italy, if it isn’t in season, you’re not going to get it. On our most recent adventure to Sardinia, we found that a lot of restaurants only served a few items which were freshly caught hours before or arrived in wooden crates from nearby farms. A few times we ignorantly tried to order off the menu and were briskly informed that it was not in season or not today’s catch, but we were happily rewarded with fresh, succulent, and flavorful finned and shelled critters from the sea.
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