Spring Revival: Flora + Food

Whether it's color on your plate or in a brilliant bouquet of flowers, today's unseasonably warm weather has me dreaming of sun and the flowers and food of springtime.  A few floral images from my recent trip to France to make your holiday weekend a little brighter!

 from the marche au fleurs in Nice...

anemones in striking purples and pinks

 lush with texture

 i'd take them all home with me if i could!

 shopping the market in Paris

picture perfect renoncules

is it a flower or food? the castillo franco variety of radicchio (a fancy bitter chicory green) 

at Eataly in NYC.  GORGEOUS and edible, delicious in salads!

Fresh Fashion + Food

In the spirit of NYC fashion week as it comes to a close today, here's a peek at my latest post over at Rue's blog -- some foodie-fashionista inspiration from my recent trip to Paris and some of the spring trends featured in the current issue of Elle UK.

soft & feminine: drop-dead gorgeous sheer pleats and a taste of light and lovely meringue

 all laced up and looking just lovely 

 bold brights: total 70′s energy and a French-favorite, the macaron

 authentic clean lines: vintage cafe chic and long skirts…one of spring’s absolute must-haves

A Very Edible Event :: Eat Drink Local

Happy Monday!  If you're looking for something to take the edge the start of another work week, here are a few events to set your sights on this week.  The local food events this autumn just won't quit...

Eat Drink Local :: Sept. 26th - Oct. 6th    
Eleven days devoted to the fall harvest all across New York State.  Restaurants, wine shops and farmers markets are joining forces to celebrate the season, sponsored by Edible magazines might be the biggest event of the fall.  Here's just a taste of what this week has in store.


*Special locavore meals and deals: All week-long partnering restaurants, wine shops and wineries, breweries and beer bars, farms and food artisans, and cultural institutions that celebrate food.
*Ingredients of the day: Each day of the week will be defined by a local ingredient. Restaurants that take part will be cooking with them and you can try them at home, too. Check the list — which includes clams, Concord grapes, apple cider and Long Island duck – right here.
*Profiles in deliciousness: Profiles of local farmers, food-makers, ingredients, recipes and other edible items of note. Check the list of those profiled such as Kennon Kay, director of the Queens County Farm, and Empire State Wineries.

*The EDL Challenge: 20 local cooking must-trys from canning to clamming to making butter to reading Michael Pollan. (Tell Edible about it on Facebook, Twitter via Flickr or in person at our Festival at Chelsea Market on Oct. 4, you might win one of our rapidly growing mountain of prizes.)

*The Sotheby’s Vegetable Auction: An Amish style heirloom vegetable auction to be held at Sotheby’s on September 23.
*The L.I. Wine Auction: A Long Island wine auction, HARVEST at Wolffer Estate Vineyards in Sagaponack on September 25.
*The Educational Institute: The Edible Institute at the New School, a public discourse on urban food issues on September 27.
*The Food Film Fest: Hungry Filmmakers, which features sneak peeks at some of the best up and coming food films, September 28.
*The Stone Barns Harvest Fest: The annual party and pig roast that is Harvest Fest at Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture, October 2.
*The Festival of the 11 Ingredients at Chelsea Market: A tasting of our 11 ingredients of the week from the vendors at Chelsea Market, plus local brews and bottles, October 4.
*Taste of Greenmarket: The annual, unforgettable fundraiser for the youth outreach component of the city’s Greenmarket program, October 6.

*Edible Gardens: Throughout the week, there will be programs and lectures on gardening and eating what you grow at the New York Botanical Garden.
*Cooking Demos: The Union Square and Grand Army Plaza Greenmarkets will feature cooking demos from partner chefs, New York wine pourings and other happenings. Find a full calendar of demos here.


And if all that isn't enough, there's an all day event this Wednesday in Union Square, called New Green City -- all about recycling, gardening, teaching and greenmarketing.  Check out the full day's event details here.

The Weekend Guide: What's Cooking

Shop :: Spring has most definitely sprung -- 70s and sunny this weekend! Get outside to a farmers market and make the most of the spring produce that's just started coming in....ramps, spring garlic, spring onions, watercress, fennel, asparagus and more. Here's what's on tap at greenmarkets around NYC or find a farmers market in your hood - www.localharvest.org. Follow the Union Square greenmarket on Twitter - @unsqgreenmarket

Eat :: Northern Spy | 511 E. 12th St. NYC

Speaking of seasonal springtime eating...head over to see my guys in the E. Village at Northern Spy. Nathan's cooking up a ridiculously delicious (and chic looking) grilled spring garlic salad with hardboiled egg and shallot dressing. For your second course, try the clam and flounder chowder with fish fresh from the U. Sq. greenmarket. A light broth with just a touch of cream, adorned with cippolini onions, snap peas and sweet potatoes and finished off with watercress puree. I mean...A-MAZING. I realize that my pics below taken with my Blackberry (all I had on-hand) do neither dish any justice! I'm in desperate need of a new camera - please let me know your suggestions if you have them!

Cook :: Use up all those goodies you bought at the greenmarket and celebrate the Easter holiday (or simply a sunny Sunday) by gathering with friends and/or family for a great home-cooked meal. That's what I'll be doing (recipes to follow). I'm pondering a fresh fennel salad with citrus, herbs and tangy ricotta salata, but we'll see what ends up developing. Stay tuned...

(photo: House Beautiful)

Plated: Fresh Pea Puree with Garlic Scapes

My love of fresh peas has just grown a little larger. Earlier this week, my good friend Lauren and I whipped up a simple, light weeknight meal that will definitely go into the recipe file. Brainstorming what we would cook a bit earlier in the day, we both realized our fridge's were uncommonly barren (Lauren's moving next week, but I really have no excuse!). The one item I did have on hand were some great looking shell peas I'd bought at the greenmarket last weekend. And so we built our dinner around the simple pea...and I transformed those little suckers into a tasty, "lick-your-plate clean" pea puree (seriously, Lauren literally licked her plate). I also had some fresh chives and garlic scapes lying around, so I decided to saute them up and toss them into the puree. If you've never heard or cooked with garlic scapes before, you're not alone. Last night was my first experience and I'm hooked. They look like curly scallions with a subtle garlic flavor. They're tasty and thanks to their shape, are kind of fun to have around (see picture below).
We ended up pairing the puree with a garlic-lemony baked tilapia and baby red potatoes fresh from the farmers market. Here are the details:



Lemon-Garlic Tilapia with Pea Puree and Baby Potatoes
Serves 2

Tilapia --
3/4 lb fresh tilapia (2 small fillets)
1 lemon
1/4 cup fresh chives, minced
2 Tbsp garlic scapes, minced
cayenne pepper, to taste
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
Preheat oven to 400. Place tilapia in 9x9 baking dish. Halve lemons, squeeze juice over fish and include rinds in baking dish for additional flavor. Sprinkle chives, garlic scapes and cayenne pepper over top of fish. Drizzle with olive oil and bake for 20 minutes. Turn on broiler and broil for 5-7 additional minutes, checking frequently so fish doesn't burn.

Pea Puree -
~ 1 lb fresh shell peas, shelled (comes to about 1 1/4 cup of peas)
1.5 Tbsp butter
1/2 cup fresh chives, minced
1/4 - 1/3 cup garlic scapes, minced
juice of 1/2 lemon
1/4 tsp sea salt, or more to taste
1-2 Tbsp cooking water from the peas
Boil peas in a medium saucepan. Saute chives and garlic scapes in butter 2-3 minutes on medium heat. In a food processor, combine peas, chive-scape-butter mixture, lemon juice, salt and cooking water. Puree until well blended. Taste test and add additional salt.

Potatoes -
8-10 small-medium baby red potatoes
1 Tbsp butter
1/4 cup chives, minced
salt and cayenne pepper to taste
In a large sauce pan, boil potatoes until soft, about 15-20 minutes. Melt butter in a medium skillet over medium heat and add potatoes, chives, salt and pepper. Saute 3-5 minutes.

What's in Season Near You?

I spent a good amount of time sauntering through NYC's farmers market in Union Square this past weekend and I can confidently say that summer produce is finally on the horizon (fingers crossed with this gray, rainy weather we've been having). Depending on where we live however, summertime, seasonal produce may vary. Just because peaches are out by the bushel in early July in Virginia, doesn't mean you'll find them at your local greenmarket in Vermont. Weather and agriculture is certainly unpredictable, but I think it also makes the shopping experience that much more exciting, intriguing and creative (well, it often forces you to be more creative!). Go with what your geographic area gives you and you won't be disappointed in terms of flavor and taste. Wondering what's in season near you during June, July and August? Checkout Epicurious.com's fantastic Farm-to-Table Seasonal Cooking guide -- seasonal recipes, tips, 10 of the nation's best locavore restaurants, AND a peak-season map for produce around the country. See what's happening right now in your state. For NY, we've just hit strawberry season. Sugar snap and shell peas, rhubarb, asparagus, radishes and spinach are on overdrive at the greenmarket. Eat up! Here's one of my favorite early summer recipes that plays up the perfect pairing of strawberries and rhubarb in an indulgently healthful dessert.

Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp

Serves 10-12

3/4 cup sugar

1 Tbsp cornstarch

3 cups chopped rhubarb (about 1" pieces)

4 cups strawberries (halved or quartered, about 1 1/2 pints)

1 tsp lemon juice

1-2 tsp vanilla extract (my secret ingredient)

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup quick cooking oats

2 tsp. cinnamon

Preparation:
In a large mixing bowl, toss the sugar, cornstarch, rhubarb, berries, vanilla and lemon juice. Mix well and transfer to a lightly buttered 13x9 glass baking dish. Mix the remaining ingredients to form coarse crumb and sprinkle over the fruit mixture. Bake at 350º for 30 to 40 minutes or until the crumb topping is lightly browned. Serve warm with a small scoop of vanilla bean ice cream or frozen yogurt.