Hurricane Ginger-Dark Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Posted: August 30, 2011 Filed under: Recipes | Tags: chocolate chip cookies, Hurricane Irene, recipe, Taza chocolate Leave a comment »
As you may have heard, there was a hurricane this past weekend. Maybe you had no idea, but here in Brooklyn things were tense. The subway shut-down and we found ourselves stranded in Bushwick watching as our neighbors taped their windows and pulled in their garbage cans or left the neighborhood all together. After all the hourly storm tracking and filling our bathtub full of water (I don’t know, someone suggested it…) we slept through the whole thing and woke up Sunday morning to a mere 4 inches of water on our balcony due to a clogged drain – nothing a broom couldn’t fix.
Being stuck inside all weekend is not necessarily a bad thing. We caught up on movies, old magazines, and even managed to brew 5 gallons of chocolate stout. And of course, I made cookies. We had some Taza chocolate discs lying around our apartment, so I decided to add a little twist to classic chocolate chip cookies.
Taza is a pretty cool company. On top of having delicious chocolate, they use only organic ingredients and ensure that coco-bean laborers receive a fair wage. I used their Ginger-Chocolate discs, which have the perfect amount of gingery-bite. Their Chipotle-Chili Chocolate would also make a great cookie.
{Original recipe courtesy of Smitten Kitchen}
Hurricane Ginger-Dark Chocolate Chunk Cookies
makes 18 cookies
Ingredients:
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 large egg (or egg replacer)
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 discs of Taza Ginger-Dark Chocolate chopped into chunks
1 cup milk chocolate chips
Preparation:
1. Pre-heat the oven to 300 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer (or in a large bowl with a hand mixer), beat sugars and butter until creamy and smooth. Mix in egg or egg replacer, vanilla, and baking soda.
3. Add flour and salt. Mix in chocolate chunks and chips.
4. Scoop out two-tbls rounds, nine to a sheet, about two inches apart. Bake for 16 minutes or until just slightly browned around the edges.
No Goat Left Behind
Posted: August 22, 2011 Filed under: Finger Foods, Goats | Tags: agriculture, brooklyn, cheese, dairy, goats, meat 2 Comments »
{image courtesy of Heritage Foods USA}
Goat cheese is delicious – creamy and tangy, it’s perfect in an omelette, on a salad, or with some roasted beets. And goats themselves are the funniest little creatures. They have dynamic personalities and, as pack animals, they’re incredibly social. I spent some time with a herd of goats during my farm women research up at Cross Island Farms on the Thousand Islands. That fall day, the herd was checking out two new additions to their family:
As the women were trying to size-up their new sisters, the billies were off in a neighboring field mowing down some unruly brush. Dani chose to keep her billies to use as future agri-tourism for the farm. She envisioned them pulling wagons, accompanying children on farm tours, and aiding in the upkeep of their fields.
However, most dairy farms don’t have the capacity to keep their billies, so the males are culled at birth. Heritage Foods USA has a solution to the problem of billies on dairies that would not only give dairy farmers a fair price for their male goats, but it would also extend the market for undervalued goat meat. Check out the video below with the wonderful Anne Saxelby of Saxelby Cheesemongers here in NYC as she introduces “No Goat Left Behind,” Heritage Foods’ cleverly named goat program which begins in Goatober.
Summer Green Tomato and Tomatillo Fresh Salsa
Posted: August 15, 2011 Filed under: Recipes | Tags: brooklyn, local food, recipe Leave a comment »
Summer is lazily winding down, and yesterday’s rain over Brooklyn was a refreshing break from the heavy, sweaty days of August. But before we begin trading in our beach towels, there’s still time to appreciate the bounty of summer’s harvest at your local farmers market. Our market here in Bushwick was teeming with exciting produce this past weekend: mini bitter melons, okra, and a few varieties of eggplant, just to name a few.
My favorite veggies of the moment, however, are the tangy tomatillos and green tomatoes. Tomatillos are funky little guys: they look a bit like tiny onions, taste like sour tomatoes, and are actually members of the nightshade family (shared with potatoes!). Green tomatoes are simply under-ripe tomatoes, but they’re prized for their tangy, fresh flavor.
On their own, these guys have a bit of a punch, but throw in some salt, fresh garlic, and vinegar and you’ve got a delicious, fresh and flavorful summer salsa, which tastes great on some toasted, buttered leftover baguettes.
Green Tomato and Tomatillo Salsa
Ingredients
1 pound tomatillos
2 medium green tomatoes
1 clove garlic
1 tbsp white vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
Preparation
1. Peel the outer skin off the tomatillos, and rinse to remove the sticky film.
2. Roughly chop both the tomatillos and tomatoes. Place them in a medium bowl, add salt and allow it to sit for 5 minutes.
3. Mince the garlic and mix into the salsa. Add the vinegar.
4. Eat it with tortilla chips or on toasted bread like bruschetta!
The Greenhorns Movie Comes to Brooklyn! This Sunday Only!
Posted: July 21, 2011 Filed under: Agriculture | Tags: agriculture, brooklyn, community supported agriculture, food justice, greenhorns, NYC, urban agriculture, women farmers, young farmers Leave a comment »
Have you heard about the Greenhorns? You haven’t? Then it’s about time you got to know this awesome organization! Its mission is to recruit, promote, and support young farmers across America. How cool is that? The average age of the American farmer in 2002 (the last available ag census data we have) was 55 – and the number continues to climb as the farming generation gets older, and less young people name “agriculture” as a preferred profession. But the Greenhorns is here to change that! As an aspiring farmer (who qualifies as young for now…), I can’t help but nerd-out over the Greenhorns’ commitment to encouraging more young people to go into farming.
As part of its non-profit venture, the folks over at the Greenhorns have produced a film that explores the lives of young, American farmers. Their hopes is that the film will inspire and entice more young people to chose farming. The film has been highly anticipated for the past three years in the sustainable agriculture community, so I’m super pumped to announce that the film is coming to Brooklyn this Sunday at the Bell House! Tickets are dirt cheap (mind the pun) at $5 in advance, $7 at the door. Music, snacks, and agricultural inspiration are guaranteed to be had by all!
Don’t forget to check out the Greenhorns website, blog, and radio show hosted by the Heritage Foods Radio Network!
Eating Rockaway Beach: Sand, Sun, Savories, and Sweets
Posted: July 20, 2011 Filed under: Finger Foods | Tags: babycakes, blue bottle coffee, caracas arepas, local food, NYC, rockaway beach, vegan Leave a comment »
This past Friday, Noah and I packed our day packs with various beach-going paraphernalia: tapestry, sunscreen, sunglasses, Nalgene water bottle… We were headed out for a day at Rockaway beach. But we left the cooler and cold-cuts at home in favor of the pop-up food shops along the Rockaway boardwalk.
$2.25 and an hour later, we found that we had escaped the exhaust fumes and car horns of our Brooklyn apartment, and were staring straight into the endless Atlantic ocean. Bliss.
As if the prospect of baking in the sun and sand of this urban beach oasis wasn’t enough, the boardwalk boasts some of the city’s best finger foods.
So what did we eat? We began with Caracas at Beach 106th Street, easily one of our favorite restaurants – visit the original storefront in the East Village, or check out their relatively new location in Willy’burg. We had the traditional arepas, which are kind of like spongy, corn pita pockets. I had mine filled with shredded salty cheese, tomato and avocado, Noah had his with salty cheese and sweet plantains. And don’t forget the fried green plantains topped with a mojito mayo and shredded salty cheese. Yup, it’s as devastatingly delicious as it sounds. And no, Noah and I are not worried about arteries…at least not on our days off.
After an hour baking in the sun, I headed back to the food outpost at Beach 106th to freshen up with a New Orleans style iced coffee from Blue Bottle Coffee – cold brewed, with chicory and milk. Perfect beach pick-me-up.
Finally, we ended our day over at Beach 96th Street with the ever twee Babycakes – the beloved Lower East Side vegan and gluten-free bakery. We shared a vanilla-frosted mini doughnut and a chocolate chip with vanilla ice cream cookie sandwich. Sugary, sweet, and melt-in-your-mouth (and hands! it’s hot outside!) goodness.
The best part of this food tour of Rockaway? It doesn’t end here! Check out this quick bite in NYMag for some other pop-ups, and this piece in NonaBrooklyn for a complete list of the food options for your next Rockaway getaway.
