Posts Tagged ‘Food’

Finger food summer vibes. The internet served me this fun party recipe, and I served it up to my friends at the Beach 92nd Street block party last weekend. I know blueberries and jalapeños sound weird, but have faith, tomato readers!  The heat of the pepper, creamy brie, sweet berries, crunchy pecans, and fragrant thyme create a delicious, unique balance of flavors. And they are not too hot. Just make sure to remove the seeds and the white pith inside, and the jalapeño heat will be just right. Wild combo, […]

I invented cold tacos last weekend by accident. I was craving something light and fresh, and started looking around the kitchen. In the pantry, I found cans of organic black beans and corn from Trader Joe’s that I had picked up a few weeks earlier in Brooklyn, when it was cooler and still acceptable to leave the peninsula. Sitting on the counter was a big, juicy tomato. There was cilantro growing right across the street in the Beach 91st Community Garden that I could grab, My original plan was to […]

The night of the big sandstorm in mid-July, I was at Rippers. Real Young & Lazy Horse was playing (@realyounglazyhorse). The wind suddenly picked up in fury! Within minutes, the sand was swirling, and the sky had turned to sand. It poured. Someone suggested taking cover on my porch, the closest refuge, so we all made a run for it. It turned into one of those impromptu porch hangs that always seem to be better than planned parties. As the night went on, the conversation got weird, as late-night conversations […]

My first experience with edamame was at a Japanese restaurant ages ago. Where, I don’t remember.  A bowl arrived at the table, steaming hot and sprinkled with coarse salt. I remember being instructed to pop the little green beans out of the pods. They were delicious and simple. What I didn’t know at the time was that edamame are young soybeans. Edamame has been enjoyed for centuries. The earliest written reference dates to 1275 Japan, when a Buddhist monk thanked a parishioner for a gift of the young green soybeans. […]

  My grandmother used to take us kids to Friendly’s on Hillside Avenue out on the Island. It was always a treat to go to lunch with Grandma Pauline. And we could order whatever we wanted! For some reason, I often went for the triple decker sandwich. Which is a classic club: three slices of toasted bread, crispy bacon, turkey, iceberg lettuce, tomato, cheddar cheese, and mayo, stacked sky-high and cut into fours, each corner pinned with a toothpick holding the whole overstuffed situation together. Something about those little toothpicks […]

When I’m cooking spinach, I think of my father. Strange? Well, I was a skinny kid and pale, with dark, long hair. My father called me Olive Oyl back then! You know, Popeye’s leading lady.  I guess the tall feature didn’t matter to Dad. My father was right about the resemblance. I remember looking in the bathroom mirror. I had to sit cross-legged on the fake-wood countertop to see myself. I’d hop on the toilet to get up there, and I’d stare, thinking the skin under my eyes was translucent. […]

Every time I’m in CVS and see the endless wall of candy canes, I think of Jesus. It’s theology hanging right next to Snickers bars and cat toys. Be open to a whole spiritual moment in aisle 7 because candy canes represent a lot in Catholicism. The shape: turn a candy cane upside down, and it’s “J” for Jesus. Flip it the other way, and it becomes a shepherd’s staff. Jesus is the Good Shepherd who works to gather the one lost sheep. This passage is one of my favorites,  Luke […]

Potato Fest 2025 is Saturday, Oct. 11, 12–4 pm, at the Beach 91st Street Community Garden. This community event is a joyful celebration of the beloved root vegetable—and a chance to get together with friends and neighbors in the garden to share a meal of (mostly) potatoes. The dishes are home-cooked by community volunteers—thank you to everyone cooking!! Expect hands-on, potato-inspired fun and activities: a hot potato showdown, a potato art craft, a Mr. and Ms. Potato Head play corner, and an education station to explore the fascinating journey of […]

  Non-organic: $0.70 to $1.00 per lb. Organic bananas: $1.00 and $1.30 per lb. About five bananas. We were in Puerto Rico and needed to eat something before a 3-hour session at Wilderness. We thought the roadside stand was a smoothie shack, but it turned out to be a fruit stand, and the only eat-on-the-go fruit there was bananas. Before surfing, you don’t want to eat a lot, but you need something—especially for a long session with drift and chest-high waves. Can we eat more than one banana? I love […]

I made a new friend at Seany Pizza. Juliana Rodas is a self-starting entrepreneur who’s hardworking, energetic, kind, and a lot of fun to be around. In my first few weeks, Juliana helped me navigate the POS register – without judgment, sigh – I’m 20 years her senior. I had a hunch that working at Seany’s would open the gate to meet new people, like Juliana in my community that I otherwise wouldn’t cross paths with. It’s so wonderful! Photo courtesy of IG @for.the.love.of.bread During our hours crafting pies at Pizza World, I’ve gotten […]