Posts Tagged ‘Food’

I’ve been hiding a dirty little secret for the past few months. Now I’m coming clean: I stopped eating meat. It’s been an internal struggle for the better part of the last year, weighing my feelings about the ethical treatment of animals and environmental responsibility against my cultural upbringing. I grew up with animals. A lot of animals. At the height of it, our family cohabitated with nine different species – our dog Cutie, several hamsters (they had babies), two gerbils, two rabbits, one guinea pig, two birds, two turtles, […]

I had such a pleasant experience last Friday food shopping. I’m guessing most people think of it as a chore, but people who are devoted cooks may feel the way I do – food shopping is fun! I take my time, exploring each aisle, looking for the sales, taste testing produce*, sizing up the tomatoes. I go to both Key Food (87-15 Rockaway Beach Blvd) and Stop & Shop Arverne (70-20 Rockaway Beach Blvd). There are attributes I like about both stores. For instance, Key Food has the best produce […]

Located on 385 Beach 45th St. in Far Rockaway, the Edgemere Farm is a market garden for new and experienced farmers. Many local business such as Goody’s, Uma’s and Claudette’s have plots here, growing their produce locally. I’ve been hearing great things about the dinner nights at the Edgemere Farm. We ordered tickets and finally visited last Thursday. The first thing I said after walking in was “Why is this the first time I’ve come all summer?” We checked in and found a table. They go fast, so come early. To save […]

Photo via Last Dragon Pizza Facebook Since reading on DNAinfo about the underground pizzeria Last Dragon, we’ve been dying to try it out. Last Dragon Pizza is the creation of Nicole Russell, 41, a super-fan of the cult classic film who slings her pies like blue arrows at her home in Arverne. A few weeks ago Susanne and I made arrangements to pre-order for a Wednesday night pick-up. After much back and forth, we agreed to order The Glo!!!  It would be smart to try the “nuts and bolts” pizza first, we thought.  The Glo!!! is […]

It’s a hit! I’ve been experimenting with dips the past few weeks, in particular a spinach-artichoke. This rendition includes an extra sharp provolone which gives it the “punch” I was looking for. I like using BelGioioso, it’s a quality cheese and it’s reasonably priced  (9 oz. for $6). If you have a food processor this recipe is a quickie (I’ve been obsessed with mine lately). The garlic, onion, tomato and artichokes can be chopped all at once! Add the mixture prepared in the food processor to the spinach, cheese, mayo and […]

My idol is Ina Garten and one of her favorite meals to make for her husband Jeffrey is roast chicken. I decided to try it out and modified it a bit to my own tastes. Ina uses fennel and I absolutely hate fennel, its really the only food I wont eat. Ingredients 1lb red potatoes halved 1lb carrots (2in pieces) 1 large onion chopped 5lb Roasting Chicken 3/4 oz Rosemary (about 8 sprigs) 2 tbsps butter (at room temperature) 1 head of garlic halved 1 lemon halved Directions Preheat the […]

My next door neighbor recommended I shop for Fiver at Bushwick Pet Superette. I’m a regular now. Customer service is top-notch. Every time I walk in, I’m asked if I need a hand with anything. I’ve never waited on a long line and most times there are free samples at the counter for your pet! There’s always a few people hanging around chatting about their furry friends – it’s a friendly, animaly-loving vibe. There’s a wide range of healthy choice dog / cat foods and products, not the regular run-of-the-mill: […]

EGGS, EGGS, EGGS, we all love them!! This is a quick weeknight meal that’s easy and tasty. Why is quiche so delightful? Because you can mix up the ingredients based on your food preferences or better yet, use what you have lying around in the fridge (waste not, want not). The recipe below is a good combo to start off with. Ingredients: 9 medium eggs 1/3 cup half and half 1/3 cup romano cheese 1/2 cup mexican mix cheese, pre-shredded 4 slices salsalito turkey chopped (cold cut) 1/2 – small […]

We have so much basil – I really need to start making pesto with this! It’s harvest season. We have a rat munching on our tomatoes (not cool). It makes perfect sense, since Ridgewood has been overrun by them this year. My theory is that our intruder scales the climbing vines on our building and makes his (or her) way up to the RD for a midnight snack. Considering I rarely see squirrels on our block, I’m 90% sure it’s a rat.  Urban gardening is not easy, gosh!  We have a […]

A few weeks ago, my husband and I headed to Highland Park. Noticing all the dandelions around us, we started talking about how Fran’s Father and my friend Jackie’s great grandmother would cook dandelions, foraging for them back in the day. Our nature-inspired conversation got us both thinking the same thing… lets collect dandelions and eat them!!  Seemed like a perfect activity after a long walk, and we were getting pretty hungry! We started foraging – mostly we found them on Cypress Ave by the New Union Field Cemetery. Cleaning city grown dandelions is not easy, we had […]