Keepin' it Real, Real Seasonal Part II: Spicy Coleslaw

(CLICK PICTURES TO ENLARGE AND ENJOY)

The more I walk through my supermarket the more I realize it's something of a fantasy land.  A place where you can go and get any fruit and vegetable all year round.  Although that sounds great on the surface, quality definitely suffers when you have to ship your tomatoes across the country in trucks or your apples from across the globe.  Working on the farm has shown me that it's okay to mix things up sometimes.  I don't need to get tomatoes on my salad or sandwich during the winter when they clearly can't be grown close by and taste bland and empty.  There are tons of other fruits and veggies out there that can satisfy my seasonal needs.  Last time we looked into putting celery root to good use.  Now we're going to move on to another great veggie, cabbage in the form of homemade coleslaw.  I was shocked when I learned...

Keepin' it Real, Real Seasonal: Celery Root and Leek Pancakes (Latkes)

(CLICK PICTURES TO ENLARGE AND ENJOY)

Last week we spoke about this hairy octopus of a vegetable on the left (above), celery root.  In an effort to keep it seasonal in the kitchen, I decided to take these two cold weather vegetables and put them to good use.  First we're going to start with the...

Pic of the Week

(CLICK PICTURE TO ENLARGE AND ENJOY)

Roasted Mokum Carrots...Get 'em while they're hot.

Wood Chopping, Parting a Red Sea of Flames and The Funky Bunch

(CLICK PICTURES TO ENLARGE AND ENJOY)

Don't be scared away, these hairy veggies may appear unappealing at first, but get to know them a little better and I assure you their familiar taste is perfect for this time of year.

Shhh, The Greenhouse is Sleeping

(CLICK PICTURES TO ENLARGE AND ENJOY)

We are not the only ones complaining about how cold it's getting, these greenhouse occupants are trying to stay warm too and blankets are just the trick.  Last year Matt and I were introduced to this beautiful 1/2 acre greenhouse and now, one year later as crafty sophomores, we are looking to...

Pic of the Week

(CLICK PICTURES TO ENLARGE AND ENJOY)

Swiss Chard anyone?  This colorful spinach brother always amazes me.

It's a Bird, It's a Plane...No it's Super Mushroom! (Oyster Mushrooms)

"If one mushroom can steer the world on the path to greater sustainability, fighting hunger, increasing nutrient return pathways in ecosystems, destroying toxic wastes, forestalling disease, and helping communities integrate a complexity waste stream, oysters stand out."
- Paul Stamets (Mycelium Running)


(CLICK PICTURES TO ENLARGE AND ENJOY)

Well that's a lot of pressure for one little mushroom to take on.  Stopping world hunger, turning waste into reusable nutrients and controlling some of the world's worst diseases all in a day's work for this resilient fungus.  A few weeks ago while making...

Pic of the Week

(CLICK PICTURES TO ENLARGE AND ENJOY)

One last look at our plump, feathered turkey friends.  I never noticed their red, white and blue heads before...how ironic.

Pizza by Cer té: Local, Sustainable, Delicious

(CLICK PICTURES TO ENLARGE AND ENJOY)

With all this recent talk about pizza and oven-building on the farm, Matt and I decided to take our talents to Manhattan and find some delicious slices made with local ingredients right here in the heart of the city.  A few years ago at a charity event, we came across a restaurant owner/chef who was offering some unique pizza samples.  After spending a few hours discussing just how good his pizza was, we asked the smiling chef where we could find his pizza joint.  To our disbelief, this was only a sample of things to come.  Chef Edward Sylvia owner of Cer té, one of New York's premier midtown lunch restaurants and catering companies, was plotting the opening of a life long dream...

Pic of the Week

(CLICK PICTURE TO ENLARGE AND ENJOY)

With the change of the seasons, comes a change of pace.  A new look is forming on the farm.

Winter Hoops and Winter Veggies

(CLICK PICTURES TO ENLARGE AND ENJOY)

Just because the fall is here and the cold winter weather is preparing to take over, doesn't mean the fun stops, the gates are locked and everyone at the farm runs for the greenhouse.  There's still plenty to grow outside and not just anything, but delicious vegetables whose nutritional content and flavor change significantly for the better.  This week, The Captain taught a class on how to...

Pizza on the Cob

(CLICK PICTURES TO ENLARGE AND ENJOY)

It's an unbelievable feeling when something you help build finally gets put to use.  The S.S. Cob's maiden voyage was one covered in melted cheese and fresh tomato sauce.  Taking the first bite of pizza that came out of the infamous cob oven was somewhat euphoric, it tasted...

The Captain Grows Shiitake Mushrooms with Martha Stewart

(CLICK PICTURES TO ENLARGE AND ENJOY)

Ever wonder how to grow your own mushrooms?  Last week Martha Stewart asked our good friend...

Pic of the Week

(CLICK PICTURE TO ENLARGE AND ENJOY)

The running of the turkeys

Thoughts on an Orange

(CLICK PICTURE TO ENLARGE AND ENJOY)

Here in Manhattan, on my daily walk to work, I pass a number of fruit stands and sometimes I grab something for breakfast, generally an apple or banana since they are very on-the-go friendly, but on occasion I'll get wild and go for the labor intensive orange.  Today something caught my eye that I had not taken notice of before.  The orange I purchased had a...

Pic of the Week

(CLICK PICTURE TO ENLARGE AND ENJOY)

If you're going to build a cob oven, everyone's going to have to get dirty...even the youngins.

Cob Oven Building - Final Day

"I can see my path, but I don't know where it leads.  Not knowing where I'm going inspires me to travel it.

- Rosalia de Castro

(CLICK PICTURES TO ENLARGE AND ENJOY)

Since we can't predict or control the future, all we can do is live in the moment.  We all set paths for ourselves, but I imagine we rarely end up at the destination originally planned, or at least we rarely take a straight line to get there.  If you asked me a year ago, if I expected to assist in the building of a cob oven, I would have asked you "what's a cob oven, who are you and how did you get into my home?"  The picture above displays Evan's original oven design and the picture below is the beauty that resulted.  Although these metaphors may be a stretch in this instance, I believe that projects and life are about the journey and not about the end result.  Perceptions change, circumstances change, desires change and the excitement of that uncertainty jolts me to take a step forward.

If you want to follow the...

Pic of the Week

(CLICK PICTURE TO ENLARGE AND ENJOY)

He's not building legos...

A Weekend with the Seaweed Man Part 2

(CLICK PICTURES TO ENLARGE AND ENJOY)

With day 1 behind us, day 2 started bright and early.  Unfortunately, the extremely windy weather prevented us from getting out on the ocean.  We were upset we wouldn't be able to see the seaweed operation in action, but then again, what would we have to look forward to for next time?  Larch decided it was time...

A Weekend with The Seaweed Man Part 1

(CLICK PICTURES TO ENLARGE AND ENJOY)

At 12:45am last Friday, this cool picture of John Lennon and a horrible sounding ringtone woke me up.  You know, that terrible sound you hear every morning that makes you want to not only physically break your phone, but emotionally break its spirit too?  Then you realize how much of a pain it will be to walk into Verizon and replace it...that familiar sound.  So after 15 grueling minutes convincing myself that if I sleep through the alarm, I will have taught that obnoxious sound a lesson and another 13 calling Matt, we finally got our things together and set sail for Maine.  We were off to...

Pic of the Week

(CLICK PICTURE TO ENLARGE AND ENJOY)

Here's a beautiful picture from our good friend Larch "The Seaweed Man" Hanson's home in Maine.  Larch was kind enough to let us come up for a weekend and help build a greenhouse and bring in the boats now that the seaweed harvest was done for the year.  More on our trip up to the seaweed "farm" on the way...

Inside the Cob Oven: A Look Inside the Cob Oven

(CLICK PICTURES TO ENLARGE AND ENJOY)

Alright clay snowman-looking thing, don't look so excited, we're not done yet but I love the enthusiasm.  It's back to the cob oven and although we weren't able to...

Pic of the Week

(CLICK PICTURE TO ENLARGE AND ENJOY)

Am I the only one who pictures a really cool musician coming over, sitting on the stool and playing the hell out of that squash?

Honey Bear Acorn Squash and the Toasted Seeds

(CLICK PICTURES TO ENLARGE AND ENJOY)

This was a week full of good food from the seaweed soup to the winter squash, which were finally ready to devour.  The Captain explained that the orange tint on the outside of this Honey Bear acorn squash was a sign it was ripe.  Here's a simple way to...

Pic of the Week

(CLICK PICTURE TO ENLARGE AND ENJOY)

This pepperment candy-looking vegetable is called a Chioggia beet.  Enjoy the beauty and mild flavor of this fancy Italian beet that was used in the seaweed soup discussed earlier this week. 

Seaweed Soup From the Seaweed Man

(CLICK PICTURES TO ENLARGE AND ENJOY)

Seaweed just keeps popping up at the farm and for good reason too.  This interesting and powerful plant not only makes our soil healthier, but our bodies as well.  You may remember seaweed from such posts as Some Help From Some Kelp where we not only dove into the ocean, but into the positive impacts kelp can have even on plants right on your windowsill and Till, Rake, Rattle and Roll where we amended greenhouse soil beds using dried kelp powder to strengthen the soil.  This week Matt and I found ourselves lucky enough to sit in on a seaweed class, at Stone Barns, with none other than...

Pic of the Week

(CLICK PICTURE TO ENLARGE AND ENJOY)

This week I thought we'd try something new, a pic of the week.  This little guy was just too cool to pass up and those caterpillar colors are damn absurd.  So make sure to click on the picture to enlarge and enjoy and please let us know what you think right in the comments section below.

Raw Eggs...mmm Tastes Like Chicken

(CLICK PICTURES TO ENLARGE AND ENJOY)

Maybe it's from watching Rocky do it as a kid, maybe it's my animal instincts crying out, but whatever it is I've always wanted to eat a raw egg.  Growing up at the height of the supermarket era, believing eggs magically appeared by the dozen in cartons, I was always told to never eat a raw egg because it was dangerous.  This deterred me long enough, I finally faced the challenge this week, but what rekindled my desire to devour a raw egg, or three, was actually a...

Have You Ever Built An Oven?

(CLICK PICTURES TO ENLARGE AND ENJOY)

Under this fancy green picnic blanket lies one of the coolest, most interesting projects Matt or I have ever helped put together and I am very excited to share it with you.  This functional, yet beautiful structure is called a...

Fire Weeding: As Fun as It Sounds

(CLICK PICTURES TO ENLARGE AND ENJOY)

As we learned a few months ago, summer weeds can be a lot more fierce and resilient out in the fields where the winds and other variables are a lot more unpredictable than in the greenhouse.  This week Alec and Zach gave us a tutorial on one of the coolest weeding techniques I've ever heard of.  It's probably not something us city folk will get to use too often, but...

Pattypan Sasquash

(CLICK PICTURES TO ENLARGE AND ENJOY)

That's just the craziest fruit I've ever seen in my entire life.  I'd like to introduce everyone to...

Winter Squash Grows in the Summer Part II

(CLICK PICTURES TO ENLARGE AND ENJOY)

A week after our first encounter with winter squash, we learned that before they are ready to be cooked and eaten, they must be cured (the rind hardens).  There are various methods of curing.  One way is to...

Winter Squash Grows in the Summer

(CLICK PICTURES TO ENLARGE AND ENJOY)

Among what appeared to be an enormous bed of dead plants, sat these beautiful young squash.  Seeing how brown and wilted the leaves were, we asked if the squash would be harvested any time soon, but to our surprise the answer was...

Holy Basil (Tulsi): Don't Leave Home Without It

(CLICK PICTURES TO ENLARGE AND ENJOY)

In the Hindu religion it's basically a panacea, yet here in the US I had never even heard of this legendary, beautiful and magical plant Holy Basil or Krishna Tulsi as it's referred to in India until...

Cornography

(CLICK PICTURES TO ENLARGE AND ENJOY)

What summer would be complete without some of that no-butter needed, sweet, farm-fresh corn or freshly ground polenta?  I wait all year for this stuff, but we are still weeks away from samples of the Captain's special corn and what better way to pass the time than learn how these cool cobs go from being a tiny seed to a huge eight foot plant.  

Be careful what you wish for these are some pretty peculiar plants...

Why Did the Chicken Cross the Road?

(CLICK PICTURES TO ENLARGE AND ENJOY)

For centuries, this age old question has stumped the world's greatest minds, from Galileo to Einstein, but today folks I've finally solved this puzzle...

Blueberry Good

(CLICK PICTURES TO ENLARGE AND ENJOY)

Do not adjust your monitors, but please grab a few napkins to wipe up the saliva that just dripped out of your mouth when you saw this ridiculously amazing blueberry Gallette.  A few weeks ago we highlighted the fennel savory tart, but now it's all about the summer fruits, literally pouring out of these freshly baked masterpieces.  All I can say is try one for yourself, but if you don't, it's cool we'll eat them all.  Red Barn Bakery is at the Stone Barns farmer's market every Friday, Saturday and Sunday or can be purchased directly from owner and baker Randell Dodge.  Check out her website for more details.  

Enjoy.

Echinacea: A True Farmaceutical

 (CLICK PICTURES TO ENLARGE AND ENJOY)

I recently realized that we've stumbled onto a farm unlike your average farm.  As we are quickly learning, there's more here than just food.  Thanks to Shannon, who is responsible for the full range of herbs, teas and flowers scattered beautifully throughout the property, we have learned some of the secrets this giving and fertile land can provide.

Some Help From Some Kelp

(CLICK PICTURES TO ENLARGE AND ENJOY)

Generally, New York City apartments are not the ideal place for growing, so I decided to ask our friends at the farm for a few pointers.  Although I wasn't surprised that I was given an immediate response, I was surprised to find out the answer was...

Keeping Up With The Cardoons

(CLICK PICTURES TO ENLARGE AND ENJOY)

On the farm, the summer months have been full of surprises.  Although we have truly enjoyed learning about the vegetables we know and love, it's pretty amazing to learn about those we knew nothing about.  This week was no exception as we got our first experience with cardoons.  What's a cardoon you ask?

You Say Tomato, Guess What?...So Do I

(CLICK PICTURES TO ENLARGE AND ENJOY)

I ate my first tomato this week...no seriously.  I thought I had tasted tomatoes in the past but I was way off, this has truly changed things.  Tomatoes, or more specifically Sun Gold tomatoes, may just be my favorite fruit...that's right fruit.  I mean no disrespect to my beloved Mangoes, but this was incredible.  Although by botanical definition we all know that a fruit is the ripened ovary or ovaries of a seed-bearing plant or more simply put "the one with the seeds in it," certain fruits lack the sweetness to be treated equally i.e. cucumbers, olives, avocados, tomatoes.  Nevertheless,...

A Day At The Market: Red Barn Bakery and The Fennel Savory Tart

(CLICK PICTURES TO ENLARGE AND ENJOY)

Well, in the search for all things fennel, I managed to stumble upon something unique, delicious and local, all right on the farm.  Every Friday, Saturday and Sunday Stone Barns has a farmer's market with all the freshly harvested vegetables, herbs, tea leaves, flowers, meats and even some local baked goods from Red Barn Bakery.

The Grand Fennel

(CLICK PICTURES TO ENLARGE AND ENJOY)

An old favorite for some, a harsh, forgettable flavor for others, this perennial vegetable and herb causes quite a stir in the kitchen.  There seems to be no in-between when it comes to fennel, love it or hate it, let's take a deeper look into this interesting plant and it's relation to other vegetables we have recently discussed.  Fennel takes on many forms when eaten, but...

Have You Ever Picked A Raspberry?

(CLICK PICTURES TO ENLARGE AND ENJOY)

The moment of truth finally arrived and these juicy, red raspberries did not disappoint.  It's been three months since our first encounter with raspberries, on the farm.   It has been truly incredible watching this fruit go from a seemingly simple green bush to a colorful fruit baring beauty.  Take a look at just how...

Granola

(CLICK PICTURES TO ENLARGE AND ENJOY)

After earning my stripes, on the farm, soaking oats for the last few months, I went back looking for more delicious breakfast secrets.  Since I had already experimented with steel-cut oats, it was time to test out rolled oats, their round, flat, more popular brother.  

Steel-cut

Rolled

The process is simple and doesn't take much time at all.  Here are the quick, easy steps to make homemade granola without any nasty preservatives or ingredients using words you can barely pronounce.  All you need is...