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Back in the Saddle Again

snowtober

And a lot has happened since I’ve been away.

First, we had this crazy snow storm – “Snowtober” they called it – the weekend before Halloween. It was a record-setter. We got about an inch of snow out on the deck and backyard. As I write this, it’s in the mid-60s. Crazy.

Sadly, though, there are still hundreds of people in Connecticut without power. Can you believe it?!? I think it’s ridiculous, and I know investigations have begun to figure out what is the deal up there.

And it was Halloween! I am not a big Halloween person in general, though we did watch the Village parade on television that night.

The following night I took a yoga class at Heart and Soul of Yoga, here in Astoria. It was taught by Vanessa Francis, and had a really positive effect on me. I’ve been back for an additional class and I’ll likely attend classes there on a regular basis as part of mygeneral wellness program. If you’re in Astoria or NYC, this yoga studio is worth checking out.

After yoga I headed to a local wine bar in the neighborhood, and my friend Kate and I shared a delicious chicken liver paté at Winegasm. It was served with toasted bread and pickled fennel, which turned out to be an fantastic combination. The paté was really yummy and super smooth. We also had a couple of cheeses. The food, company, and conversation made for an excellent close to the evening.

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What’s Up at Harmonious Belly

Well, life is full of ups and downs, and boy has that been the case in the past week – hence the light posting. Thought you might like to know what’s been going on.

Life Changes

linus

1. Linus. Last Thursday, this little kitten appeared on the front steps of my apartment building as if out of nowhere. I couldn’t bear to leave him outside to fend for himself – he was obviously someone’s pet. I worked diligently to find his humans – posted flyers, communicated via my extensive social networks, contacted Animal Control – and no one came forth.

In the end, we chose to adopt him and name him Linus (Great Pumpkin/Peanuts reference appropriate for this time of year – thanks to my cousin for the suggestion!). He has a clean bill of health, for which I’m grateful. He’s very friendly and full of kitten energy. Marina, my long time kitty girl, is getting used to him, but is still a bit growly. Hopefully peace will come between them sooner than later.

marina

2. Marina. This is my “senior kitty” at 15 years. She’s been with me through thick and thin. She’s dealing with some health issues, and we are hoping and praying for a positive outcome. That said, she is looking so good these days! Beautiful soft coat, bright eyes, energy. We love her so much.

Harmonious Belly (and Meg) in the News

1. Audiofiles: DIY in NYC. Last month I met with a lovely woman, Michelle Bangert, a CUNY grad student, and we chatted about canning, food swaps, and gardening in NYC. She recorded all our exchanges and a small part of that made it into an episode of Audiofiles, broadcast on WBAI earlier this month. The segment on DIY starts at 25:00 and lasts approximately 4 minutes. You can hear me around 27:00.

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Naturally Fermented Ginger Ale – Update!

ginger ale in a flip top

Today I opened up my fermented ginger ale to see how it turned out. Well… the good: delicious! I love the smooth flavor combination of ginger, lemon, and sweet. It’s really nice.

The (sort of) bad: not very sparkly. But there was a little carbonation, and when I shook the glass and listened to the liquid, I could hear the bubbles effervesce and pop. My thought is that more carbonation can be encouraged by putting it in a more airtight container, a kind of “second fermentation”.

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Enoteca Maria – Delicious Traditional Italian Food

looking toward the kitchen at enoteca mariaAfter our time at the New Amsterdam Market for A Cider Revival, we headed down to catch the ferry to Staten Island for an early evening meal at Enoteca Maria. We’ve been wanting to go there for a while now, and when it became clear that we’d be close to the SI ferry that afternoon, heading over to Enoteca Maria seemed like a great idea.

I first heard about this place from NY State Senator Diane Savino (she represents part of both southern Brooklyn and neighboring Staten Island) – she mentioned it in an interview, explaining that it’s an Italian restaurant where the food is cooked by a different Italian grandmother each night. Each woman brings her lifetime of cooking experience, knowledge, and familiarity with her regional specialities to the restaurant. This is a very unusual setup for a restaurant, but an intriguing and successful one.

We knew we had to try it at some point… but how to get there without a car?!? Fortunately, there is a way – by ferry and foot.

So much of Staten Island requires a car to get around it, at first we thought that Enoteca Maria would be inaccessible to those without a car (I’ve lived in NY for 10 years without owning a car). Thankfully, the restaurant is only a short walk from the ferry station on Staten Island. That makes it extremely easy to get to.

By the way, the Staten Island Ferry is also free, and gives you a terrific view of the NYC Harbor – views of the Statue of Liberty, Governor’s Island, and Ellis Island are particularly cool. If you come to NYC for a visit, consider taking the ferry for an extremely economical way to see that part of the city.

The space was not what I was expecting, but I liked it very much. I was expecting more of a trattoria atmosphere, but it makes sense that it’s more like a wine bar, since “enoteca” means “wine library”. It has a modern, sleek look, with a dining area on the left and in the front, and a bar on the right; I believe there are about 35 seats available at the restaurant.

Our cook for Sunday evening was Nonna Elvira from Palermo. Palermo is on the north coast of Sicily.

antipasti while you wait

We were served this plate of antipasti shortly after we arrived. It was lovely, full of late summer/early fall flavors.

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A Hard Cider Revival at New Amsterdam Market

macoun applesYesterday (Sunday) I made my way over to the New Amsterdam Market for A Hard Cider Revival, one of their fall events on top of their weekly market. Sunday also marked the start of the inaugural Cider Week here in NYC, and there will be lots of events throughout the city celebrating cider – hard and soft – and the apples behind it. A Hard Cider Revival involved cider tastings, tapas, and sampling of different kinds of apples (some rare).

About the New Amsterdam Market – it is a very neat weekly outdoor market that focuses on local, seasonal, artisanal foods. It is located down by the South Street Seaport on the east side of Manhattan. From their About page:

New Amsterdam Market is a reinvention of the Public Market, once a prevalent institution in the City of New York.  Revived for our present times and needs, New Amsterdam Market will incubate a new and growing economic sector:  small businesses such as butchers, grocers, mongers, and other vendors who source, produce, distribute, and sell foods made with regional ingredients as well as carefully selected imports. We are also reintroducing and developing the concept of market fare prepared with regional, seasonal ingredients.

I won tickets to A Hard Cider Revival tasting via twitter, which was very cool. I rarely win things, so I was seriously psyched at my win here! I was given two sets of 5 tickets each; each ticket equalled one drink or tapa. It was cool being able to have access to a variety of hard ciders, along with some tasty treats from Marlow & Sons (a Williamsburg restaurant that focuses on local, seasonal, organic food).

I tried a few things and really enjoyed them. My favorite of the ciders is the Northern Spy from Eve’s Cidery. It’s made from green Northern Spy apples, and I enjoyed how it tasted like a dry sparkling wine but with a distinct apple flavor. It’s what I think hard cider should taste like.

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Casu Marzu – I Ate It

casu marzu cheese

This is the infamous casu marzu cheese. It’s a cheese with quite the reputation, and I am here to tell the tale of my time with it.

Casu marzu is a traditional Sardinian cheese most notable for its extreme fermentation due to the presence of the larvae of Piophila casei, a cheese fly. The cheese starts out as a pecorino but turns into something quite different, thanks to this fly. It lays its eggs and the larvae go to town on it, digesting the cheese and breaking down its fat.

The worms are apparently unhappy when disturbed, and it’s reported that they can launch themselves up to 6 inches, presumably in the direction of the person who is doing the disturbing.Thankfully, I did not encounter any of these creatures. My friend kept looking for the worm but it was nowhere to be seen. However, I am still alive, so the cheese wasn’t toxic; the little worms were just hiding.

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Hellgate CSA Week 18

CSA Week 18

This week we still got what I think of as a summer-fall hybrid. Summer veggies like tomatoes, peppers, beans, and eggplant, then fall veggies like asian greens and beets, plus classic fall fruits like apples and pears. We also got some prune plums, which are beautiful. Well, everything is beautiful. We got:

1 pint mini tomatoes
1.5 small beets
1 pound green beans
.5 pounds eggplant
1 bunch asian greens
1.5 pounds sweet peppers
2 pounds pears
1 pound mutsu apples
1 pound yellow delicious apples

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