Go ahead, call me a show-off...

I will admit that when I know I do something well, I like to show off... and why not, right? Not for nothing, but I think this meal would have made Diana of De'Anna's proud (I was her assistant chef for a short while and learned TONS from her).

Last nights menu for date night was all freshly prepared with beautiful ingredients:

Arugula salad with lightly sauteed onions, leeks & portobella mushrooms and lemon juice
Homemade Bolognese with spicy pork sausage over capellini and topped with shaved pecorino toscano
Homemade garlic bread with thyme and french olive oil
Carmeniere wine - a hardy, earthy, pepper-y and sightly tanic wine that stands right up to the heat from the sauce (I even used a good 8 ozs in the sauce)

(Unfortunately the picture of the meal was too dark, BUT, you should be able to sink your teeth into the salads!)

Haiti Fundraiser Events

The devestation that errupted in Haiti one week ago today has severed itself deeply in our hearts.

If you are still looking for a place to donate to, check out a few of these awesome events from Astor Center & City Winery are putting on:

Astor Center: A Wine Tasting Fundraiser for Haiti

City Winery: Benefit Concert over 4 Nights!

Note that 100% of all proceeds and further donations will make their way to Haiti.

If you are in LIC this Sunday...

AN EDIBLE WINTER WARM-UP

An issue release party and open house to benefit the Hour Children Food Pantry

Edible Queens and Presenting Sponsor L haus are excited to announce the first annual Edible Winter Warm-Up on January 24, noon-3pm. The FREE afternoon event will include local food, drinks and entertainment to benefit Hour Children, a local food pantry. Enjoy:

Food tastings from 10-15 local restaurants, cafes and food artisans, including Sweetleaf; Manducati’s Rustica; JJ’s Asian Fusion; Red Jacket Orchards; Arriba Arriba; Sage General Store; This Chick Bakes; Pestos with Panache, Dolce Nonna, LIC Market, Bareburger, Queens County Farm Museum and more!

Book signings with local authors Tamara Reynolds and Zora O’Neill, Astoria-based authors of Forking Fantastic! Put the Party back in Dinner Party.

Music to eat by provided by the Steve Blanco Trio.

SPECIAL PANEL: THE QUEENS FOOD SCENE
Join moderator Joe DiStefano, food writer and Edible Queens "World's Fare" blogger as he discusses why Queens' food tastes so good, and where the local scene is headed with:
Josh Ozersky, James Beard Award-winning food writer and founder, Ozersky.TV
Dave Cook, New York Times food writer and "Eating in Translation" blogger
Lee Anne Wong, Top Chef consultant and Astoria resident

Please bring a canned good to help support Hour Children’s food pantry.
Can't carry it with you? This event kicks off a month-long can drive at L haus.

Planning on attending? Please RSVP to ediblequeensevents@gmail.com!

Saturday Lunch

There are gems amongst rubble. By rubble I mean overpriced, good, fresh produce and by gem, I mean fair. Fresh Fanatic on Washington and Park in Brooklyn is that gem.

Saturday we bought lamb burgers, arugula, avocados (for $1 each!), organic fresh baked french, goat cheese, and tons of other yummies. Lunch for two which we made perfectly cost about $7 per person.

Jimmy's No. 43

Tonight I break all non-meat-eating restrictions I've placed on myself.

Jimmy's No. 43 2nd annual Greenmarket Sausage Week
All week, different sausage entrees made with Greenmarket farmer's sausages:
Like choucroute garni (small $8, main $15),
cassoulet (small $8, main $15),
bangers and mash (main$15),
lamb merguez, other sausages.
The limited German beers of B United Importers will be featured
- Reissdorf Kolsch, Schlenkerla Helles Lager lightly smoked.

What?! Pictures will be posted...

Cultivating Failure

Here is an article to piggy back onto my previous post today:

Cultivating Failure

Children and Meds

This may not have a ton to do with food, but it has to do with over medicating kids. I'm listening to the Leonard Lopate Show on WNYC and they are discussing the documentary, The War On Kids.

What really rustled my feathers (and often does) is how quick parents are to jump to medication for calming their children down. It's not just parents, but our culture and society.

I agree with Cevin Soling, who directed the doc, when he called this out as mind control. We are teaching our youth that a quick fix comes in the form of a pill and that as long as they take this each day they will not be held responsible for their actions. We are allowing them to be dependant on chemicals instead of them selves. Of course there are extreme cases in which a person needs medication (ie: suicidal thoughts/attempts), which researcher Dan Losen points out. However, even with this, medication should be used in conjunction with counseling and then eventually weened off of.

I truly believe that through proper diet, healthy activity, and a balanced life, the negativity a child feels could be greatly lessened. Think about it, we are feeding them sugar, salt, and starches. We are condoning excessive hours of TV or Internet usage. When they do want to run around and be energetic, we call them hyper! They are in a lose/lose situation and they depend on us to help them... but not all of us are trying.

Listen to the podcast and read the posts. Perhaps I'm just an idealist and I fantasize of the world being peaceful with beautiful flowers and birds singing, but this is an outrage and, in my opinion, an epidemic.