NYC part 1: the first 24.

Drew and I flew to New York City the Sunday before Thanksgiving. I'm a nervous flyer anyway, but imagine my, errrrrrr, joy when I landed on a prop-plane. This was my view for the first leg of the trip:

(Okay, so it only looks stationary through the camera's eye, but still.)

Next time, I'm taking JetBlue: a direct flight and NO visible propellers!

Since our flight left Houston at about 11:30 a.m. and didn't arrive till nearly 4:00 p.m. local time, we missed lunch and were quite hungry by the time we arrived at LaGuardia Airport. We grabbed a shuttle to our hotel, the Wellington Hotel ...



... dropped our bags in the room ...



... and then headed across the street to Carnegie Deli.



Unlike restaurants back home, we were seated at a table with other parties. The table had eight seats: the two of us, a guy from Japan, a couple with a teenager from Tennessee, and a couple from Manhattan. Of course we chatted with the people from Tennesee: we all love SEC football and talked about our respective prospects for the year, plus with kids the same age, it was fun to hear what they were planning to do while in NYC, too! The guy from Japan spoke little English, but we were able to communicate with him as well; poor guy was stuck between two friendly Southern ladies!

And the couple from Manhattan: NATIVES!! They were only dating, but both had been born and raised in Manhattan. We talked to them about what we were planning, which shows we were going to see (that'll be covered in NYC part something else), which were must-see sites. The guy was friends with one of the performers in The Cotton Club Parade, one of the shows we would see, so we made sure to get his name and look for him later that week! The couple was so friendly that I thought we'd gotten lucky, meeting native New Yorkers who didn't meet the stereotype.

Then the food came. Drew and I split a Reuben with corned beef. It was delicious! But even with splitting the sandwich, there was at least enough left for three more servings!



My half:


After dinner, we decided to walk to Times Square, the heart of which was about 15 minutes and 12 short blocks away. (Yes, there are short blocks running north to south and long blocks running east to west; I don't know the ratio, but I'd bet a long block is about 2.5 - 3 times as long as a short block.)

Times Square is simply too much. There are ridiculous amounts of advertisements on the buildings (a later tour guide reported that that's required by law, but who knows), vast numbers of people, and more things to do in a few blocks than in some small cities.

Drew had enough insight to get a picture on first view:


We walked around a little, then rode the Ferris wheel inside Toys'R'Us. Yes, there is a four-story Ferris wheel INSIDE the store!



You don't get to pick which car you ride in, and of course we were lucky enough to get the My Little Pony car. Uh huh. No Scooby Doo or Mr. Potato Head for us: pink ponies only!



The next day, we did a Hop-On, Hop-Off tour through Gray Line Tours. The bus was a double-decker, and it was just barely warm enough to sit on the open top deck.





Of course, being so high, you couldn't stand up. Look how close we were to the traffic lights!



We passed Madison Square Gardens, the Flat Iron Building, and of course Macy's on 34th. It's Christmas time in the city, and Santa is still in need of some believers.



Next up: the Empire State Building. We went to the very tippy top!



From the 86th floor, where most people stop - remember the observation deck in Sleepless in Seattle? that's the 86th floor - you can see the city. It goes on forever, it seems!





But Drew is an adventurous sort, so we went to the 102nd floor observation deck, too. We couldn't go outside that high up, but it was a pretty amazing view, though nearly identical to the 86th floor. (In other words, if I were making a recommendation, I would say just go to the 86th floor, unless you just really, really like heights.)

Of course, if you go to the top, you do have the opportunity to ride with an elevator dude who has to close the outer elevator door and then the inner cage door, which was kind of cool. You don't see that very often these days.



After the Empire State Building, we hopped back on the bus. Onward: to NYU, the Scholastic Store, and China Town!

NYU has quite a nice campus. I was expecting something different, since it's in the middle of Manhattan, but I can see how the students there love it! Although it's in the heart of the city, it has a vibrancy that only a college campus can have.

We also went to the Scholastic Store. Remember all those Scholstic book orders from school? Yep, we went there. We found a great selection of Harry Potter paraphernalia, and I got to try the sorting hat for myself:



Of course, it told me that I was too old for Hogwarts and sent me on my way. Drew, on the other hand, got the house of his choice:



Then it was on to China town. The shopping was completely overwhelming (keep in mind that I also find Sam's Club overwhelming, but this even moreso than that), but the food in China Town was delicious!



After China Town, we continued on to Battery Park, where we caught the Staten Island Ferry to see the Statue of Liberty. Lady Liberty is closed for renovations, so we could not go inside to the pedastal or - remember that Drew is the adventurous sort! - to the crown, so we opted for the free ferry ride with a great view of our favorite freedom girl:



In the distance, we could see the new Freedom Tower, which is under construction where the destroyed World Trade Center formerly stood and will stand as "a beacon of freedom" in the face terrorism.



The Staten Island Ferry ride was quick and pleasant. A lot of New Yorkers take the ferry back and forth, but I suspect that - considering the number of cameras - most of the people standing outside with us were tourists.





Again, like on the double-decker bus, it was just warm enough to ride outside on the top deck with the wind in our faces and the sun shining brightly.



We exited the ferry and then hurried to the loading site for the next ferry heading back to Manhattan. We opted for the middle deck this time, sitting on a bench, enjoying the ride and the lovely view.



By the time we got back to Manhattan, we'd been in the city for a full 24 hours. Yep, this was just the first 24 hours of a week in the city.

(Stay tuned for NYC part 2 and see what else we saw and did!)

I am the 0.001%,

I have a cat, River Kitty, who was bitten by a rattlesnake who evacuated a nearby sugar cane field during the harvest.

Surely not more than 0.001% of the population can say that. Right??

And the good news is that River Kitty has lived four years since then, bringing his average cost per year to about $1,000. Considering that 1/8 of his skin sloughed off - to the muscle even - it's pretty amazing that he's even alive!

(This was some pricey outfit! Good thing he is so forward-thinking in his style.)



And does he appreciate it? Nope. Not a bit. When the river (see how he got his name?) was flooded earlier in the year, what did he do? Play with the snakes evacuating from the flood.

Yep, that's my River Kitty.

Sweetness!

It's that time of year when - if we're lucky - the weather starts cooling and we're interested in warmer and richer comfort foods like chicken and dumplings, gumbo, and sweet potato casserole.

Oh, sweet potato casserole! And sweet potato pie, and baked sweet potatoes with butter and brown sugar, and best of all: savory roasted sweet potatoes. (Recipe below.) Mmmm mmmmmmm!

So where to begin? Sure, you can pick them up at the store year-round, and the sweet potatoes will start appearing in south Louisiana farmers markets in the next few weeks, but you know where you should really begin: your own back yard.



In about May or so of this year, I planted nine Beauregard sweet potato slips in three containers. Two of the containers have little doors at the bottom, which was great for harvesting new potatoes in the spring, but I didn't even open them for the sweet potatoes.



I was supposed to wait until late September to harvest, but I was really curious, plus I could see a sweet potato peeking from the soil of one container. So of course I harvested that container right at the beginning of September. The last one will wait until October, but I did the second one today.

To begin, I dumped the container over onto a large plastic garbage bag (to make clean-up that much easier!).



Then I simply sifted through the soil, picking out potatoes and placing the soil back into a container. While sorting through, I came across the longest, weirdest looking sweet potato ever!



But I kept going. There wasn't much worth photographing in this container, but I have a few. Once they are dry, they will keep for a while, though I will likely roast them with olive oil and coarse salt soon!



And what to do with the container and all that soil? Start more plants, of course! These are broccoli, but I am using the other sweet potato container for carrots. YUM!





ROASTED SWEET POTATOES

sweet potatoes (as many or as few as you like)
olive oil
coarse salt

Wash and peel sweet potatoes. Cut into chunks no bigger than 1".
Toss with a scant bit of olive oil, but enough to very lightly coat potatoes. Sprinkle with a little salt; keep in mind that these potatoes will be sweet, and the salt should complement the sugars but not overwhelm them.
Roast at 400* F for about 25 - 35 minutes, or until fork tender.
Serve warm.

Growing Green Onions

Yes, it really is just this easy to grow green onions. I don't know if this works everywhere, but in the warm southern climes, growing green onions is a simple task.

Oh sure, you can buy green onion seeds to plant, but that takes a while. This method is simple, fairly quick, and you are using something you would have just thrown away or composted anyway. Just buy them when you normally would, say for gumbo or red beans, and then plant the leftover bulbs.

First, buy a nice-looking bunch of green onions at the grocery store or your local farmers market.


Second, chop up the green and white parts of the onions, leaving the bulb with the roots attached.


Third, find a small patch of ground - by small, I mean about two square inches per onion - or a pot with soil.


Fourth, plant the bulbs with the roots down (yes, it is necessary to remind some people of this) and the white part up.


Then cover the bulb with soil, leaving just flat white top exposed.


Finally, be patient, and in a couple of months, you will be able to start harvesting green onions from your very own yard.


Once you get in the habit of simply going outside for fresh green onions, it's hard to buy them at the store. (Like I did today, just for this blog.) In fact, it is so ingrained in me now that when I was cooking at my sister's house last year, I didn't bring any green onions and had truly forgotten that not everyone has them growing in their yards. I survived, but it was a good reminder ... and a good excuse to publish this little public service announcement.

Pears ~ Pears ~ Pears

Most people in the U.S. consider pears to be a fall fruit, but for me, pears are a marker of mid-summer. But it wasn't always this way: The first summer I was in my house, I didn't pick any pears and actually considered removing the tree, but a friend talked me into keeping it. And I am so glad I listened!

Generally, pears that grow in the Deep South are commonly called "cooking pears." And it's true: most are far too hard to eat fresh and require cooking. But the ones that grow in my yard are delicious and crisp and sweet! I peel and eat about one fresh pear per day during the season.


But with about 300 pears on my tree, what do I do with the rest? Well, this year, I have shared with family and neighbors (as usual), brought a few bags to the community garden, and I canned some ...



... and made Vanilla Pear Butter, which is out of this world yummy on hot French bread or a turkey sandwich ...



... and pear bread (served with a side of fresh figs, another summer favorite!) ...



... and pear cobbler (baking as I write!).

ETA: The cobbler is delicious!


After canning one day, I also poached some pears to eat with leftover butterscotch ganache. Yum!



And still - still! - I have about 100 pears left on the tree. My, oh my ... what a lucky girl I am!

Red Stick Farmers Market

My Saturday morning routine includes a visit to the Red Stick Farmers Market. This week, I remembered my camera, and I want to share with you why I love the market as I do.

I started my morning with a pint of Smith's Creamery chocolate milk. I normally get a half-gallon of chocolate milk for Drew just before heading home, but since he's galavanting about the country, I treated myself first thing!

I love seeing all the fresh produce! This time of year is fabulous for tomatoes, peppers, and potatoes! Glaser's Produce Farm has a fantastic variety from which to choose, and Fletcher Farms, from whom I bought my strawberries for the fabulous strawberry vodka, now has some of the prettiest tomatoes around.

Of course, Chenier Farms has excellent Brandywine and other tomatoes, too, and other vendors have grape and cherry tomatoes. Mmm mmmm good!

Eggplants take center stage, too. So many varieties to choose from! Here are a couple of choices from Glaser's Produce Farm.

Squash and onions get along famously ... I can get my fill of each from many vendors, but here are some selections from Chenier Farm.

Chenier Farm also sells the best honey around and is my supplier for fuyu (or kaki, as some call them) persimmons. These persimmons won't be ripe until the fall, but trust me: they are worth a try! They are not like the tart American persimmons, but are instead sweet when green and crisp or orange and fully ripe. Oh, how I love a fuyu persimmon!

Another great combination is goat cheddar cheese with apples! When I was in high school, my dear friend Eve introduced me to this combo, and I've been grateful ever sine. Here, I've selected Ryals' Goat Farm cheddar cheese to accompany Beard's Farm freshly picked apples ... ahhh, it doesn't get much yummier than this:

My favorite new farm is Robertson Organic Farm. It's located in Baton Rouge, and is one of the few farms that is actually certified organic. I couldn't resist a carton of okra ... olive oil, Tony Cachere's, and a grill are all you need to make a tantalizing okra!

I like to get extra okra to slice and freeze for a nice winter gumbo, too! And what is perfect with gumbo? Fresh file, of course ... and rice! I like to watch Uncle Bill grind the sassafras roots into his famous Creole File, and I love the smell of Cajun Grain's organic brown jasmine rice cooking on the stove. Just thinking about this makes me want a bowl of gumbo, till I remember that it's nearly 100* every day.

Of course, there are a few people that everyone knows. Mr. Buddy loves giving out pecan samples from his Plantation Pecan Company, but this time of year, his booth features peaches!

The blueberry farm dude (a.k.a. the black bear dude, since he is one of the Louisiana black bear experts, as well) is eagerly waited for each year. His farm is not certified organic, but employs organic methods in its fields.

Mila loves sharing growing tips with interested market goers. I buy almost all of my plants from Greenhand Nursery because of Mila's extensive knowledge and gorgeous plants.

Or, if you don't grow your own flowers, you can pick up a bouquet from one of several vendors.

This week, there was a fun game: "Guess How Many Tomatoes!" I didn't win.

And most weeks, there is a demonstration of some sort. This week, Forte Grove Bakery based in Plaquemine, Louisiana provided the entertainment with a canning demonstration.

I oscillate between Forte Grove and SaySaye's Village Bakery. I just love SaySaye's braided French bread and apricot spread!

Of course, there is other entertainment, too! There is sometimes a kids' booth with kid-oriented activities, or maybe an informational booth from the Master Gardeners' Association, or a useful thing like the knife sharpening skills of Doyle Hanson.

And music: of course there is music. No Louisiana function is complete without music! There are different musicians playing outside every week, and sometimes the dulcimer society has a jam session inside.

I admit that I can sit for hours listening to the musicians who grace the market with sound each week.

But there is so much more, too! There's the *other* goat cheese vendor, Belle Ecore, whose venture began because somebody gave her two goats ...

... and Nur's Kitchen, with delicious hummus (also available at Whole Foods), stuffed grape leaves, and my favorite red lentil balls ...

... and fresh seafood and meat and chicken and eggs ...

... and, well, why don't you try it for yourself? There are so many more choices and more vendors than I can possibly mention here!

And, on the first Saturday of each month, the farmers are joined by artists for the Arts Market ... but it would take another entry to describe the wonders of the arts.

See you Saturday! I'll be there bright and early.

Wow, it's hot.

Wow, it's hot. June 1st ... over 100*. June 2 ... over 100*. June 3rd ... yep, you get the idea.

And windy! We have had a very windy spring this year, with 10 - 20 mph winds being the norm.

So what does all this mean for the garden? It is dry! There has been very little rain around here for the past four months, and the plants have to be watered quite frequently. I have been watering every other day, but the combination of heat and wind this week has resulted in a need for daily watering, especially of the vegetables.

The good news is that although it is too hot for most of the tomatoes to set fruit, the strawberry tomatoes seem to like the heat. Not only is the first strawberry tomato finally ripening, but it is a prolific producer: one vine has well over 100 tomatoes set right now! It is such a sweet variety, and I've only tried the ones from the store. I cannot wait to sample freshly picked ones and see how sweet these really can be!

The dinner plate hibiscus is another summer garden keeper. This plant loves the heat and produces quite a fantastic display once it starts blooming. It's gotten plenty of water since it is surrounded by veggies, but the lack of rain has resulted in a slightly smaller bloom than usual. Still, nearly 11" across isn't too bad!

I hear thunder outside right now, but there is no evidence of water falling from the sky to relieve my poor, dry gardens. Amazingly, the water just 50 yards away - the Mississippi River is at flood stage - is about 20' higher than my yard at the moment. Thankfully, that water is safely behind a levee!

Fortunately, however, the fruit trees seem to be okay. The high water table because of the river and the long roots of the fruit trees have kept them healthy, despite our strange weather pattern this year.