Irksome August Asparagus
This past Wednesday, I ordered lunch from one of my favorite vegetarian restaurants: Gobo. I don't order delivery often, preferring instead to go for a short walk and enjoy a little air even when it's busy in the office. Unfortunately, a stress fracture in my right foot is limiting my mobility.
I opened the container from Gobo with that certain anticipatory glee that comes just before savoring a meal from a favorite restaurant. Hmmm.... cauliflower, bean curd, asparagus.
Wait a minute. Asparagus?
Asparagus is completely out of season in NY. Well, sure Gobo doesn't claim to use local ingredients, but why would anyone use asparagus, most likely from California, in August when there is an abundance of wonderful fresh green vegetables to be had right here in New York?
Zucchini would have been a much better and more flavorful choice. Because, I'm sorry, but I don't think asparagus tastes good after it's spent several days on a truck. I love asparagus, and sadly it's seasonal window is very short. A few weeks in the spring... that's all us northeastern folks get to enjoy those wonderful green spears of goodness.
I found that asparagus really irksome... perhaps because I had experienced two fantastic local meals in the past two weeks...
The first stop on the Murray's Cheese Wheycation that CME and I embarked on was the Farmer's Diner in Middlebury Vermont (one of two locations run by Tod Murphy and Denise Perras). Their goal is to spend at least 75 cents out of every food dollar with farmers and small scale food producers within 70 miles of the diner. The day we were at the Middlebury location, they were up to 83 cents.
Our dining experience began with a wonderful raspberry lemonade sangria made with a Merlot from Vermont's Boyden Valley Winery. Two starters followed: a gazpacho with tomatoes from Long Wind Farm and a potato cake topped with a tomato basil vodka sauce. The gazpacho was fantastic. I'm not normally a fan of what often seems like salsa without the chips, but the chunky style, flavorful garlic, refreshing cucumber and hint of red wine made this dish a great start. The potato cake was delicious as well, but rather heavy with cream and butter.
The main course was a gigantic sandwich of sourdough bread with carrots and other vegetables inside. It had been dipped and cooked in Cristo batter and was covered in a generous amount of Cabot cheese. A kebab of bacon, smoked ham and maple-cured sausage was served on the side.
This course was followed by not one, but two full-size desserts: baklava and a house-made Oreo-like cookie with frozen berries and whipped cream.
I only ate half of everything except the gazpacho, and I thought I was going to explode... for several hours. My only complaint is that there was just too much food. (Another pet peeve of mine is the over-sizing of portions prevalent in U.S. restaurants...)
While we ate, Steve Getz from Dancing Cow Farm told us what life is like as a dairy farmer and cheese maker. He also talked about how difficult it is to buy a farm and make a living at it, thereby dashing my romantic notions of not getting back on the bus to NY, but staying in Vermont to farm and make cheese. One of the many fascinating things he told us was that he and his wife can taste a difference in the cheese based on which pasture the cows have been feeding on. It's all connected!
We also heard from a representative of Champlain Valley Apiaries who told us similar things about the flowers bees are pollinating creating different flavors in the honey. Founded in 1931, Champlain Valley has more than 1200 hives in the northern half of Vermont. CME and I both purchased a jar of the naturally crystallized (raw) honey.
Stuffed and sweetened, we headed back onto the giant, over-chilled bus to the creamery, which I wrote about last week.
The second local meal I had recently was the feast laid out in celebration of V. and J.'s nuptials in LA. Large Marge (who is not large at all) catered a meal of local, organic ingredients delicious enough to please vegetarians and pescatarians alike. If you are looking for a caterer in LA her company is called Large Marge Sustainables.
I might be less irked by asparagus in the winter, but in August, when there is an edible abundance so close, it seems ludicrous. And really, my opinion is that it just doesn't taste good.
Well, I've prattled on at length this fine Sunday evening. Stay tuned! I hope you enjoyed the first blog from Brooklyn!
This past Wednesday, I ordered lunch from one of my favorite vegetarian restaurants: Gobo. I don't order delivery often, preferring instead to go for a short walk and enjoy a little air even when it's busy in the office. Unfortunately, a stress fracture in my right foot is limiting my mobility.
I opened the container from Gobo with that certain anticipatory glee that comes just before savoring a meal from a favorite restaurant. Hmmm.... cauliflower, bean curd, asparagus.
Wait a minute. Asparagus?
Asparagus is completely out of season in NY. Well, sure Gobo doesn't claim to use local ingredients, but why would anyone use asparagus, most likely from California, in August when there is an abundance of wonderful fresh green vegetables to be had right here in New York?
Zucchini would have been a much better and more flavorful choice. Because, I'm sorry, but I don't think asparagus tastes good after it's spent several days on a truck. I love asparagus, and sadly it's seasonal window is very short. A few weeks in the spring... that's all us northeastern folks get to enjoy those wonderful green spears of goodness.
I found that asparagus really irksome... perhaps because I had experienced two fantastic local meals in the past two weeks...
The first stop on the Murray's Cheese Wheycation that CME and I embarked on was the Farmer's Diner in Middlebury Vermont (one of two locations run by Tod Murphy and Denise Perras). Their goal is to spend at least 75 cents out of every food dollar with farmers and small scale food producers within 70 miles of the diner. The day we were at the Middlebury location, they were up to 83 cents.
Our dining experience began with a wonderful raspberry lemonade sangria made with a Merlot from Vermont's Boyden Valley Winery. Two starters followed: a gazpacho with tomatoes from Long Wind Farm and a potato cake topped with a tomato basil vodka sauce. The gazpacho was fantastic. I'm not normally a fan of what often seems like salsa without the chips, but the chunky style, flavorful garlic, refreshing cucumber and hint of red wine made this dish a great start. The potato cake was delicious as well, but rather heavy with cream and butter.
The main course was a gigantic sandwich of sourdough bread with carrots and other vegetables inside. It had been dipped and cooked in Cristo batter and was covered in a generous amount of Cabot cheese. A kebab of bacon, smoked ham and maple-cured sausage was served on the side.
This course was followed by not one, but two full-size desserts: baklava and a house-made Oreo-like cookie with frozen berries and whipped cream.
I only ate half of everything except the gazpacho, and I thought I was going to explode... for several hours. My only complaint is that there was just too much food. (Another pet peeve of mine is the over-sizing of portions prevalent in U.S. restaurants...)
While we ate, Steve Getz from Dancing Cow Farm told us what life is like as a dairy farmer and cheese maker. He also talked about how difficult it is to buy a farm and make a living at it, thereby dashing my romantic notions of not getting back on the bus to NY, but staying in Vermont to farm and make cheese. One of the many fascinating things he told us was that he and his wife can taste a difference in the cheese based on which pasture the cows have been feeding on. It's all connected!
We also heard from a representative of Champlain Valley Apiaries who told us similar things about the flowers bees are pollinating creating different flavors in the honey. Founded in 1931, Champlain Valley has more than 1200 hives in the northern half of Vermont. CME and I both purchased a jar of the naturally crystallized (raw) honey.
Stuffed and sweetened, we headed back onto the giant, over-chilled bus to the creamery, which I wrote about last week.
The second local meal I had recently was the feast laid out in celebration of V. and J.'s nuptials in LA. Large Marge (who is not large at all) catered a meal of local, organic ingredients delicious enough to please vegetarians and pescatarians alike. If you are looking for a caterer in LA her company is called Large Marge Sustainables.
I might be less irked by asparagus in the winter, but in August, when there is an edible abundance so close, it seems ludicrous. And really, my opinion is that it just doesn't taste good.
Well, I've prattled on at length this fine Sunday evening. Stay tuned! I hope you enjoyed the first blog from Brooklyn!
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