Everything's Coming up Pickles!

I posted another blog post over at the Brooklyn Forager about two different pickle recipes that we've been enjoying lately.  Yum! I haven't been very good at my weekly posts, but I've gotten three posts in the last couple of weeks, so hopefully I'm averaging out over time.

Our Garden Grows in Brooklyn

A few weeks ago, as Austin and I trekked from home improvement store to home improvement store, it occurred to me that the terrace garden was finally becoming the bigger project that both of us had dreamed of previously.  We had taken the time to draw out plans for potter placement in 2009, but threw things together rather quickly in the past two summers. 


This year, we visited several stores and spent much more time selecting our potters and thinking about the sorts of produce we wanted to consume throughout the summer.  Austin is really the gardener, so he did the heavy lifting in terms of researching the needs of each crop, while I mainly thought with my stomach and made requests for things I'd like to have accessible. 


Because of this team approach that we worked out, we also realized that, for the most part, this has become our collective hobby.  That knocks off both #67 and #89.  I'd thought our hobby would be something with set practice times like tennis or something that we would incorporate into our travels like wine tasting or kayaking.  For now, this works out well and may take us on interesting adventures as we pursue urban gardening and farm-to-table dining throughout the city and beyond. 

Kefi

A couple of weeks ago, we had a family dinner out at Kefi on the Upper West Side.  I've had this restaurant on my list for some time and was not disappointed.  Kefi is a relatively inexpensive Greek restaurant which has excellent food and great decor.  I like the upstairs blue/white colors better than the more rustic colors downstairs (we ate downstairs), but my sheep's milk dumplings with tomato sauce and spicy Greek sausage made me very happy. It's an awkward neighborhood for us, especially on the weekends when the subway is unpredictable, but if I find myself up there or willing to travel, I'd definitely return.

Red, White and Drunk All Over by Natalie MacLean

It seems I have a tendency to finish each month's non-fiction book in the month after I start it, but I get it done nonetheless! 

This book was actually a really interesting and information-packed exploration of wine, literally (as the longer title suggests) from grape to glass.  Natalie MacLean is a wine writer from Canada who fell into wine writing and has taken her journey across the US and Europe to compile great stories about the growing of pinot noir and Champagne, as well as the processes behind wine making, wine tasting and wine selling (with some wine collecting in there to boot).

The style of the book is approachable and informative and I found I wished I was reading with a highlighter and pencil to retain more of the information.  Since Natalie packages this information as a memoir of her discoveries as well, it is not overwhelming or overly thick.  I will definitely keep this one on the shelf and revisit it in the future as a resource.  

Harvesting the Heart by Jodi Picoult

Harvesting the Heart shows that, as always, Jodi Picoult can be counted on for a good, quick, emotional read.  This one focuses on the relationship between Nicholas and Paige over the course of their quick courtship and subsequent marriage.  Paige is a teenager, barely out of high school, when she meets Nicholas, a successful medical student.  Throughout their relationship, they have to focus on and figure out what makes each of them happy, what leaves them empty, and how to just make it through the next day.

Overall, I would rate this an average Picoult read.  Definitely not a must read, but it kept me engaged and was worth the time spent.

Until I Find You by John Irving

John Irving has long been one of my favorite authors.  This book, which one review predicts will be considered his grand opus, both made me completely question my love for John Irving's novels and also completely reaffirmed it.  The material is emotionally difficult, for sure, although that is nothing new for an Irving novel. 

The expansive nature of the story really brought home the common themes and plot elements that are common to all of the Irving stories I've read (The World According to Garp, Hotel New Hampshire, The Cider House Rules, A Widow for One Year, A Prayer for Owen Meany) - of course the locations and the depth of study in each area, but also the mommy issues, the wrestling, the detached writers without a sense of who they are.  At first, hitting a familiar element made me sigh and wonder (although never question the worth of finishing all 1000+ pages).  But, above all, Until I Find You is a story about story telling and storytellers and audiences.  As the story moves onward, it all becomes clear and seamless and works beautifully.

Still one of my favorites.  Hands down.

Cauliflower Curry Soup or Aloo Gobi Soup

Last night I tried a recipe that I had been holding onto for awhile - Curried Cauliflower Cream Soup from The Splendid Table Weeknight Dinner emails.  It really couldn't be easier - garlic, onions, potatoes, cauliflower, curry powder and broth cooked together for a total of 35 minutes (there are a couple of steps in there, but minimal chopping and mostly inactive time) and then blended with an immersion blender.  Serve with a squeeze of lemon and a dollop of yogurt and you've got a great light creamy soup.  The best part is the cheddar tartines (let's be honest, it's cheesy bread) to dip in the soup.

I refer to it as Aloo Gobi Soup or Cauliflower Curry Soup mainly because there is no cream and I love aloo gobi.  I also figured it was a way to get Austin a little more excited about cauliflower.  I would definitely make this again, perhaps tweaking the spices to make it a bit more complex.  For dinner in a hurry, though, it's a winner.

Look for the recipe at Brooklyn Forager when I get back on track posting over there.