A non-culinary aside: Rooftop farming, or why I need to get out more

It's a farm, on a rooftop, in NYC!

But first a preamble to this digression: People, I've been busy.  And, sadly, it's been a few weeks since I've cooked a real meal in my own kitchen.  Sure, I've made meals for my client.  I've taught groups of people how to make chicken cacciatore.  I've even been sous chef for a wedding of 120+.  But have I managed to get a single recipe up here since the 1st of June?  Negative.  (Oh, I'm also planning my own wedding.  Just one month to go - jeepers!)

Whenever I find myself clambering to do too many things with the short amount of time I have at home, I try to tell myself, "Eve, you have time.  There is always time."  But, inevitably, that "time" turns into a cranky husband-to-be begging me to please, get off the computer and come to bed, for the fraking love of god! 

The revelatory lesson beneath all this blabber?  Multi-tasking doesn't work.  Kapow!  So instead of letting all these infuriating to-do lists faff about the inside of my fishbowl brain, I head outside on my bike and let it take me away, to new and exciting places, such as:

Brooklyn Grange, the rooftop farm down the block!

            

I heard from a friend that a community organization called Food Systems Network NYC was organizing a tour of and panel discussion at the Brooklyn Grange Farm.  Myself and a group of about 40 other people met yesterday in the lobby of a huge prewar factory building in Long Island City, Queens, and rode the freight elevator up 5 floors, then walked the final flight, to the one-acre rooftop farm at the top.  Not only were the views breathtaking (as you can see), so was the breadth and diversity of the produce perched atop this urban jungle.  What a crazy, inspiring concept!

After Ben Flanner, the head farmer, introduced us to his planties (everything from herbs to lettuces to squash to chiles), his bees, and his chickens, we headed back downstairs to an expansive, empty room where a long table was set up in front of a few rows of chairs.  We took a seat and proceeded to learn all about the many challenges and possibilities surrounding this new and exciting quest to farm the rooftops of NYC.  Brooklyn Grange has truly been a pioneer in its mission to close the gap (in terms of both distance and privilege) between people and their food.

Some key take-aways from the discussion:

• Although it is a substantial investment, from a purely operational standpoint, starting a rooftop farm is not as complicated as one might think.  Essentially, anyone can do it, which is what makes it such a compelling solution to the problem of increasing food scarcity in urban settings.
• It's the financial aspect that is the main challenge (even more so than hauling tons of soil up to a roof!).  Although NYC has instituted generous incentives for developers to "green" rooftops - meaning covering them with non-edible plants in order to insulate the building and reduce energy consumption - the legislation passed never accounted for the possibility that rooftop farming would take off to the extent that it has.  The incentive, which allows for a $450/sq. ft. tax break, up to $100,000, is nowhere near enough of a leg-up for those who would want to start an urban farm.  Therefore, even though it's a no-brainer to reap the benefits of a green roof while at the same time growing local, sustainable produce for those who live under it, our city legislators have had their heads too far up their bureaucracy to realize it.  
• Until now: currently, there is a big debate going down among City council-members over whether it would be best to broaden the existing language to aid in the creation of more urban rooftop farms, or to craft an entirely separate piece of legislation to cover this newer iteration of the term "green roof."

And I learned much, much more regarding the nitty-gritty logistics of starting up and running such an operation.  But rather than hearing it from me, wouldn't it me more interesting to just go visit?!  Drop by every Wednesday, from 2pm to 7pm, to pick up some farm-fresh produce and sneak a peak upstairs.

Hey, chicken!

Bonjour summer!

I'm incredibly excited about the onset of summer.  Sure, summer means there is no cooking without sweating - and, if you're me, there's no cooking with pants - but it also portends that a sumptuous bounty of amazing produce will explode into NYC from all the surrounding farmlands.  And that's sweeeeet.

For the past couple of months, I've been working as one of the managers at the 79th Street farmers market on the Upper West Side, and it's become more and more clear to me that supermarket produce just is not real.  I'm sorry, but have you ever placed a tiny, candy-red, freshly-picked strawberry next to a gigantic, bleached-out, water-logged supermarket strawberry?  In this particular case, bigger is not better, and the producers of these monstrosities should be ashamed!

But let's not blame it on the agro-giants, evil as they may be.  Let's take matters into our own hands, buy local produce, and vote with our dollar.  Hell yeah!

Ok, that's all for the rant.  Here's what I had for lunch:

Mediterranean Orzo & Chickpea Salad (printable version)
(serves 3-4)

1 cup cooked chickpeas
1 cup cook whole wheat orzo
1 green cucumber, peeled and diced
1/2 cup grape tomatoes, quartered
2 scallions, trimmed and sliced thin
1/3 cup fresh mint leaves, chopped
zest and juice of 1 lemon
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
salt & pepper
feta cheese (optional)

In a large bowl, combine the chickpeas, orzo, cucumber, tomatoes, scallion, and mint.  Using a microplane or fine grater, zest the skin off of the lemon (clean it well first, and be careful not to zest the white pith - it can be bitter), then juice the lemon into the bowl.  Add the olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and toss well. Crumble cheese on top, if using.  Let chill at least 30 minutes before serving, so the flavors can marinate.

* Note: Oil-cured black olives would make a nice addition here.  And canned tuna also works in place of the chickpeas, for a non-vegetarian version.

Chewy, gooey good stuff

As some of you may know, my twin bro Paul just started hiking the Pacific Crest Trail ("PCT") that runs up through California from the border of Mexico to the border of British Columbia, Canada.  It's a pretty big undertaking, and so far he's rocking it!  He started a blog that he's updating along the way, which you can find here.  Check it out!

These bars will hopefully serve as worthy fuel for Paul while on the trail:

Chewy Fruit & Nut Bars (printable version)
(makes 16)

1/3 cup chopped almonds
1/3 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup honey
3/4 cup Medjool dates, pitted
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2-1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup chopped dried apricots
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Spread the nuts on a baking sheet and toast until golden and fragrant, 8-10 minutes

Warm the honey until it has the consistency of thin syrup.  In a food processor pulse the honey, dates, cinnamon and oats until everything is coarsely chopped.

Scrape the oat mixture into a medium bowl and break up any clumps of dates.  Stir in the nuts, apricots and chocolate chips.  Squeeze the mixture into a ball.  Line an 11 by 7 inch glass baking dish (or something of similar volume) with parchment paper and lightly grease.  Using wet hands, pat the mixture firmly into the baking dish in the shape of a rectangle.

Freeze until the rectangle is firm enough to cut, about 30 minutes.  Turn out onto a cutting board and cut into 16 bars (2 by 8).  Wrap the bars individually and let stand at least a day (they get chewier as they sit).  These keep well, either at room temp, refrigerated, or frozen.

Spicy spin on an old favorite

What should you do when life gives you a surplus of jalapeños?  Make some pesto!  What, you thought pesto was just for the Genovese?  Well think again!  It's time to expand your pesto horizons.

This recipe works great on a warm corn tortilla, with some grilled meat and chopped tomatoes.  It also works as a nice seasoning for ground meat, in rice, or even to spice up your grandma's chicken soup.  Plug in your food processor and give it a whirl!

Charred Garlic-Jalapeño Pesto with Queso Fresco (printable version)
Adapted from Grace Parisi's "Get Saucy"
(makes about 1 cup)

Note: If you can't find queso fresco, you can use farmer's cheese or feta as a substitute.

5 large green jalapeños
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 large garlic cloves, unpeeled
3 scallions, trimmed of root end
1/3 cup tightly packed fresh cilantro leaves
1/3 cup crumbled queso fresco
salt to taste


Heat a cast-iron skillet over medium heat until hot.  Rub the peppers with a small amount of the oil and add them to the skillet with the garlic and scallions and cook until softened and charred all over (about 15 minutes for the garlic and jalapeños and 5 minutes for the scallions).  Transfer the jalapeños to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let cool.  Peel and seed the jalapeños and peel the garlic.

Transfer the jalapeños, garlic, and scallions to the bowl of a food processor and pulse until finely chopped.  With machine running, add the rest of the oil.  Add the cilantro and queso fresco and pulse until just combined.  Season with salt.  This will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 4 days.

Sourdough Odyssey

I've been on a bit of a bread roll (HA! sorry, that was cheap.) as of late, mainly inspired by a book that was given to me, The Bread Baker's Apprentice.  It's a pretty spectacularly comprehensive book, for anyone out there who's looking to start baking bread at home.  It can, however, at times be a bit too comprehensive, to the point of exhausting.  Which is why I turn, as I often do, back to the blogosphere (to the detriment of the printed word, unfortunately).  Web content is just so accessible and amorphous in a way that can be beneficial to the cook with a curious, rambling mind.

But let's stay on topic here: I'm making bread!  And it's such fun!  My most recent favorite blog for these endeavors has been Wild Yeast.  And for supplies and further recipe research, the King Arthur Flour website is indispensable. 

At first I aspired to make sourdough bread using only wild leavening - meaning, instead of prepackaged yeast, I would use a starter built up from just flour and water, left to ferment and "bloom" over a series of days and weeks.  I'm proud to say that I've built a rather ripe and potent starter over the past few weeks, and encourage you to do so as well.  How does one do that, you may ask?  The short answer is: mix 1 part flour to 1 part filtered water in a wide-mouth jar, let it sit out at room temp until bubbles form, and BLAM-O, you've got a starter.  The long answer can be found here.

Here's a glimpse at what a maturing starter looks like:

 

Funky, huh?

After the first frustrating attempts to make a delicious, springy sandwich loaf using my starter, I had a Eureka! moment and realized that a combination of wild and commercial yeast would serve me best.  Luckily, I found a fabulous recipe that fit the bill on the King Arthur Flour site, which is my new go-to when I need to satisfy my Daily Sandwich Requirement (DSR).  I made a few changes to the original recipe, but the gist remains the same.

Multigrain Sourdough Loaf  printable version
Adapted from the King Arthur Flour Multi-Grain Sourdough

(makes 1 large sandwich loaf)

1.5 cups boiling water

1 cup grain/seed blend (ex.: rolled oats, millet, quinoa, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, poppy seeds, etc.)

2 cups sourdough starter, recently fed and ready to use (read: bubbly and happy)

2 cups KA whole wheat white flour

1.5 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

2.5 teaspoons salt

1.5 teaspoons instant yeast

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Sesame seeds (or any other type of seed) for garnish (optional)

In a large mixing bowl, combine the grain/seed mixture and boiling water.  Let it cool to lukewarm.

Add the remaining ingredients and mix and knead - either by hand or with a mixer or food processor - until you have a soft, tacky but not sticky, dough.  Add additional flour or water as needed to get the right texture.

Cover the dough in the same bowl and let it rise until it's almost doubled, about 1 to 1.5 hours.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly greased surface and gently fold a few times to deflate.  Shape into a large round.  Place the dough into a large ovenproof enamel pot (I used my Le Creuset) that's been sprayed with non-stick baking spray and dusted with sesame seeds or cornmeal, and cover.  Alternately, you can place the dough on a sprayed sheet pan and cover with plastic wrap.  Let the loaf rise until it's puffy, another 1 to 1.5 hours.  When the dough is almost risen, preheat the oven to 450°F. 

Just before baking, brush with water  and sprinkle with the seeds (optional).  Use a sharp knife to score the top of the loaf in a crosshatch pattern.

Place the bread in the oven, lower to 425°F, and bake for 30 minutes covered (if using the pot) and another 15 minutes uncovered, until the loaf is golden brown and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center reads 190°F.

Remove the bread from the oven and let it cool 5 minutes.  Then turn it out of the baking vessel and cool on a rack.

* Note: If your dough isn't rising nicely and it's making you really sad, don't dismay, just improvise!  I turned some wussy looking dough into nice little seeded flatbreads, see?  Just remember, your first loaf won't be your best loaf - and may not even be a loaf at all!

Lunchtime Fiesta

Today I awoke from a dream of Spring to a grey, rainy/snowy world.  Blegh!  So I'm bringing a little spicy fiesta into our lives. Oh sí!

I'm making Pollo a la Mexicana (chicken breasts with onion, tomato, and jalapeño) with some fried Mexican cheese (queso!).  

Start by slicing a large Spanish onion and cooking it over medium heat with some olive oil and salt in a large skillet.  While the onion sweats, mince 2 garlic cloves, and slice 3 jalapeños and 3 medium tomatoes.

 Once the onion is soft and translucent, add the garlic and cook 2 minutes.  Then add the tomatoes and jalapeños, a dash of cumin, a pinch more salt, stir, and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes.

While you're waiting for the vegetables to cook, quarter and slice a block of Mexican white cheese ("queso para freir") and cut a lemon into wedges.

Add 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts to the pan, sprinkle with a pinch more salt, and cover.

Cook over medium-low heat for 15-20 minutes, until the chicken is tender and cooked through.

When the chicken is almost finished, preheat a small nonstick skillet over high heat.  Once hot, fry the cheese slices in small batches of four pieces, about 1 minute on each side.  If the pan gets too hot and the cheese starts to burn, lower the heat a bit.  Remove to a plate and cover to keep warm.

Serve the chicken with the sauce spooned over, with the fried cheese and some lemon wedges.  Avocado makes a nice addition as well!

Buen provecho!

Fastest, bestest flank steak

Despite what some might think about my mother, she does in fact cook, and cook well, when the occasion calls for it.  Like, for instance, when she was raising two hungry tween twins under one roof.  I recall there being a brief period, around the age of 13, when I passed my brother in height, and we together ate enough in one meal sitting to feed a family of 8.  Ah, those were the days.

My favorite hunger-curing (and, as it turns out, super-easy) dish that my mom prepared was flank steak, done to rosy perfection on the grill, then sliced across the grain and served with all that yummy, salty juice.  There are approximately a gazillion different ways you can marinate flank steak, but here's a way to prepare it that takes minimal time and effort, for which you are rewarded magnificently in satiety. 

Grilled or Broiled Flank Steak with Chimichurri (printable version)

(serves 3-4, unless anyone in the party happens to be a ravenous young adult)

Note: When checking your steak for doneness, be sure you allow for some carry-over cooking to happen after you remove the steak from the heat.  You could end up taking it off at perfectly rare and cutting into it at medium (*sad face*).

1 flank steak, about 1.5 pounds
salt and pepper

1 cup parsley leaves
1 medium shallot, quartered
3 garlic cloves, peeled
1 teaspoon red chili flakes
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil

Preheat your grill or broiler and make it very hot.  Generously shower salt all over both sides of the steak, and season with pepper too.  Grill or broil the steak for 3 to 4 minutes per side, until nicely browned.  Move the steak to a cooler part of the grill, or lower the broiling rack, and cook for another 2 minutes per side.  Check for doneness by making a small cut in the middle or using an instant-read thermometer - it should read 125°F for rare.  Remove to a large cutting board.

While you let the meat rest for 5 minutes, combine all the remaining ingredients in the bowl of a small food processor (or use a mortar and pestle, if you're feeling particularly hardcore) and combine into a rough paste.  Transfer to a bowl and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Slice the flank steak across the grain and serve with the chimichurri sauce.

(Please excuse the absence of photos - it was late, we were starving, and thus we inhaled the fruits of our labor before convening to document the evidence.)

Quick Pear Crumble

Last night I made dinner and had a few people over to help me pre-celebrate my birthday (actual day is Tuesday the 15th).  I was really excited to be serving up a new braised short ribs recipe I'd come up with, and some really tasty kalamata olive-sage polenta fries -- so excited, in fact, that I forgot that no birthday bash would be complete without some vehicle for some drippy wax b-day candles.

The mission: to come up with a dessert that is easy, made up of ingredients I mostly already have stocked, and that you can hold a candle to (literally) - or 26 candles, to be precise!

The result: Melt-in-your-mouth success!  Pear crumble to the rescue...


Easy Pear-Ginger Crumble (printable version)

(serves 8)

Filling:
3 lb. pears, ripe but firm, peeled, cored and sliced
2 tablespoons lemon juice (about 1 half lemon)
1 tablespoon grated ginger
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 1/2 tablespoon all-purpose flour

Crumble:
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
2/3 cup old-fashioned oats
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons cold butter
birthday candles (optional)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and lightly greasy a 9 by 13 in. baking dish (or some equivalent).  Combine the ingredients for the filling in a medium bowl, mix well, and pour into the baking dish.  Cover the surface with plastic wrap while you prepare the crumble so the pears don't turn brown.

In another bowl, combine the flour, oats, sugar, cinnamon, and salt.  Cut in the cold butter with a pastry blender, or two knives (or just your hands).  Combine until the butter is mixed in and resembles little pebbles.

Uncover the filling and cover the top completely with the crumble.  Bake in preheated oven for 40-50 minutes, until the topping is a golden brown and crunchy and the pears are soft and cooked through.  Serve warm or at room temperature, with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream on top.

New Website

Hey folks - Just a brief update: I've launched my business website, it's at www.rosestreetkitchen.com.  Go check it out and feel free to comment on it here or send me a note through the "Contact" form on the site.  I'd love to hear what you think!

And happy Sunday!

Love,

Eve

Chicken in a sausage suit

Today I did it: I deboned a whole chicken (well, two whole chickens, in fact) a la Jacques Pepin, as seen on TV here.  And then, I stuffed them!  One with a spinach-mushroom mixture, sauteed with shallots, sprinkled with nutmeg and black pepper, and finished with marsala wine.  The other, which came out on top as the reigning champion of deliciousness, was full of sweet Italian pork sausage cooked with garlic, sage, smoked paprika, and a dash of chili flakes for heat.  Take a gander at my precious poulet:

I won't explain how I butchered the chicken (the butcher can do it for you, so don't sweat it - I'm just crazy), but I will divulge what I stuffed it with, because it was really something.


Chicken Ballantine with Sausage
(serves 4)

Note: If you ask the butcher to debone the chicken for you, this dish is a breeze to make on the fly.  If you don't, you'll work up a sweat, but you'll have something to brag about to your totally impressed dinner guests!

- 1 whole oven roaster chicken, cleaned and deboned
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 3 sweet Italian sausages, casings removed
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 4 sage leaves, chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika (pimenton de la vera)
- 1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes
- 1/4 cup bread crumbs
- 1/4 cup grated pecorino romano
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 425.  Place the deboned chicken skin-side down on a large cutting board and season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

In a 12-inch saute pan, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil over medium-high heat and add the sausage.  Using a wooden spoon, break up the sausage as it browns.  Once no longer pink, add the garlic and sage.  Turn heat down to medium and cook 5 minutes.  Stir in the spices and transfer to a dry bowl. Let cool.

Add breadcrumbs, pecorino, and egg, and mix well.  Spoon three-quarters of the filling onto the center of the chicken and spread evenly across.  Stuff the remaining filling into the leg and wing cavities.  Carefully fold the leg and wing flesh carefully in towards the center, so that the chicken takes on its former, pre-boned shape.  Cross the leg flesh and gently flip the whole bird over, seam side down.  Tie the ankles together with kitchen twine, leaving a long length attached, and tie the bird as you would a roast, making successive loops until you reach the neck opening and flip the bird over again to do the same down the back.  Cut the twine, tie it off.  (If you are unsure how to do this, watch the video that I link to above.)

Place the tied chicken breast side up in a medium roasting pan.  Sprinkle the entire exterior with salt and pepper, and rub with the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil.  Roast in the oven, rotating half way through, for 45 minutes or until the juices run clear when cut.  Remove to a carving platter and let rest at least 10 minutes.  Cut into thick slices and serve warm, with its pan juices.