Good Eats

Lunch. 

Saturday 1pm: I can't even contain myself right now. I wish I could bottle the smell of my apartment and share it with the world. Zach and I just got back from the Farmer's Market, but before leaving, we put baby back ribs in the oven to braise in Prosecco and honey. I rubbed them down w/ paprika and some other delicious things last night, with the intention of eating them for dinner. Then realized that we wouldn't be eating until 9 and Zach hatched the genius idea of having ribs for lunch. Baller!

Blue Grass band at the Farmer's Market

The Union Square Farmer's Market is a place of inspiration. You can't really take a list because crops vary as the season progresses. We have our regular spots, but always wind up making something different depending on what looks good.


Go To Vendors at the Union Square Farmer's Market:

• Cato Corner Farm for off the wall blue cheese
• Flying Pigs for pork products (ribs, bratwurst)
• Grazin' Angus for beef products and the most phenomenal, orange yolked eggs
• Ronnybrook Dairy for yogurt
• and veggies from wherever they look best

While I was in Colorado, I bought a super spicy Ethiopian spice blend called Berbere, but I have yet to use it. I don't really know how. While at the Farmer's Market, we went to the Flying Pigs stand (they are awesome at giving cooking recommendations- they are the people who recommended the braised ribs recipe) where they suggested cooking ground pork in the spice. I started picturing something like a sloppy joe. But fancy. A fancy joe.

After a lap around the Farmer's Market and a time out to strategize, we had a delicious food plan for the week.

Radishes for pineapple and radish slaw, to be served w/
Fancy Joe sammiches.

Dinners this week:

Sunday- Fish Tacos by bakedbree

Monday- Gnocci w/ mushroom and spinach ragu

Tuesday- Blue Cheese, yummy bread and sauteed broccoli rabe 

(yes, the main ingredient here is cheese)

Wednesday- Beer (we have softball)

Thursday- Fancy Joe (spicy pork) Sandwiches w/ pineapple and radish slaw

Friday- too far away to think about

This week is going to be a pretty intense week at school, with our Quality Review and testing going on at the same time. However, it doesn't really matter what happens during the day because at 3:45, I'll be thinking about dinner :)

Orchid Show

Today I had another science workshop at the Botanical Gardens. Far less interesting than the others, this one was on sticks n' stuff. Observing them. Um. It's brown... and long.... Lucky for us though, the Orchid Show was going on in the Conservatory and our instructor let us into the exhibit for free. Holy Moly! These people know what they are doing. The flowers were bountiful, beautiful, vivid and totally thriving! I am still bewildered at how the botanists (I think that is what the plant people are called) keep such a wide variety of plants alive, and not just alive but perfect. 

I can see your reproductive organs!

Many old people and huge cameras.

These aren't Orchids, but are very cool.

Looks like an architect traced the vein skeleton of these w/
a fuchsia marker. 

See spot blossom.

This Gardenia smelled SO good. It was right at nose level too,
so I just stood there for a few minutes sniffing it. 

Took this one for mom :)

Super cool. I almost bought one, but then realized that they only
live in bogs. I'm not really interested in making a bog in my
living room. 

This is the Jade Vine Orchid. I think it looks
like elves shoes. I also think it is kind of ugly.

Grande Finale of the exhibit. Talk about a chandelier!

Click on the picture and look at it close up. Gorgeous.