Rye Cooks

Harvest on the Hudson

This weekend we went out for an anniversary dinner at a place far, far away in Hastings on the Hudson.  Funny how you can go 20 miles from Rye and it is a matter of 3 highways to get there.  Harvest is known for sophisticated, local, organic offerings.

Although we had a 6:00pm reservation, (NO laughing, why oh why would be go to a place on the Hudson river, surrounded by gardens in the dark?), it was quite crowded with three simultaneous parties in progress.

We must have had that, please, please, it is an anniversary dinner, no kids screeching look about us, so the hostess seated us only somewhat near a sedate celebration of a 60th birthday.  Our corner table was lovely, the waitress had a actual opinion on the food and she steered us very competently through a delicious meal.

Appetizers were portabello mushroom polenta and figs with a balsamic glaze.

I can't believe I have gone so many years without appreciating the fig.  I claim to dislike only raisins, but really other similarly textured foods, olives and dates come to mind, make me physically uncomfortable. I always assumed figs were in the same back-of-the-neck-crawling category.

The first time I had figs was a couple of years ago, when we were invited to a dinner at the celebrated Rao's on 114th Street.  At that time, the figs were served plain and were allegedly fresh off a tree from the backyard of the owner of the restaurant. I say "allegedly" in a purely conversational sense, of course...! 

Now I have a craving for halved fresh fig, a small scoop of gorgonzola and a drizzle of balsamic.  How long do you think it takes to grow a fig tree?  

Fiddleheads Are Here

Fiddlehead ferns.  ©Suzy Allman

I'm not saying I drop everything and run to the store when the fiddleheads are here.  But I do get them while they are, and right now they're in a little bag in the produce section of Stop and Shop.

Fiddleheads, tasting something like asparagus and smelling something like the cool forest floor, are the unfurled heads of ostrich ferns.  Because they must be picked while the head is still tightly-wound, their season is short.

I like to steam them with baby potatoes (white and red) to doneness in a bamboo steamer on the stovetop.  From there, toss them with melted butter and lemon, or olive oil and seasoned salt and parsley.

Your kids probably won't eat them.  But who cares?

Fiddlehead ferns with baby red and white potatoes.  ©Suzy Allman

Off the Rails

It's time to grow my own veggies!  I am inspired by the work being done by second graders at my daughter's elementary school.  The hard- working gardening committee (of which I am a small part), has been developing a sustainable garden for the past two years.  They have originated curriculum, purchased supplies and currently spend time in the classroom on a bi-weekly basis teaching concepts such as germination and symbiotic relationships.

 The  kids couldn't be happier to observe and measure the tiny carrot and bean seedlings planted about two weeks ago.  Soon we will transplant into the garden and things will get really interesting as we see the plants thrive and grow into recognizable edibles. 

 Why should kids have all the fun?  I have been lamenting the lack of space in my tiny backyard for a couple of seasons now.  I have enjoyed growing my mint and basil in a rectangular flower box off my deck rail. The rest of the time I have been schlepping in and out of supermarkets and the Rye Farmers market looking for produce.  The perfect solution presented itself to me at the hardware store yesterday.  I could set up several rectangular planting boxes all around the rail of my deck.  I purchased all the supplies and here they are above.

This week I will set them up and wait for my grocery bill to shrink!