“Can you grow tomatoes indoors?” That question came across my twitter feed, from @LaConsuelo, yesterday. I had no idea, since I grow mine in my Boreum Hill backyard, so I asked my Gardening Guru and she said, “Yes!”
Trina Pilonero of Silver Heights Farm aka my Gardening Guru said, “Tomatoes can be grown inside. 5 gallon bucket per plant. Needs at least 8 hours direct sunlight inside. Tomato flowers are self-pollinating, but need a breeze so that the pollen can do its job. If no breeze, the grower has to “be the wind” every day by ‘petting’ the plant.” Sounds almost “dirty”, but you know she means stroke the leaves so the pollen moves about.
I am very lucky to have a backyard, so I got seven plants from her to join the volunteers that I got from the compost bin edges.
Two Jaune Flamme: medium yellow tomato I get every year—delicious and dense
Black from Tula—a luscious, dark skinned tomato that I love
Thieneman Australian Oxheart; red and meaty and they grow to be a pound each!
Black Cherry Tomatoes; These are the most popular ones!
Rosalita—a pinkish grape tomato that is supposed to be incredibly sweet!
Goldman’s Italian American— from the cover of Amy Goldman’s book, “The Heirloom Tomato”!
She also taught me to how to plant my tomatoes outdoors. Dig a hole that is two thirds the height of the plant. Remove the leaves from the bottom two thirds of the plant and bury it. The plant will grow a great root system that really supports the plant. I put a tall, 2” x 1” stake next to the plant so I can train the plant up it as it grows and I pinch out the “suckers” as the plant grows up the stake. Then, I put a tomato cage around the stake and the plant for extra support and since Trina said, “The tomatoes with be more productive if the plant is touching something metal.”
I’m no expert, but I get some divine tomatoes come harvest time and that makes me, my friends and my family very happy.
Trina is at Union Square Greenmarket every Wednesday and Saturday. She has the most extensive selection of organic, heirloom and unusual tomatoes I have ever seen as well as tons of other veggies and herbs. You can visit her website here and even silver Heights Farm. It’s a beautiful drive up there, but check the website so you get there when they are open—not when they are closed, like we did.
Ja-Ja, my niece, has evolved into a little lady since her first birthday. Now double her age, she has grown into her actual name, Janea. For her second birthday celebration, this Saturday, I built the menu around a savory birthday cake made of macaroni and cheese. I have some decorating ideas floating in my head, but we’ll see how it evolves.
Janea doesn’t get many sweets and she certainly prefers pasta to sugary foods, so I know a mac n cheese cake will be right up her alley. I’m serving that and a feast of mezze dishes that I can serve all at once, at room temperature and be done with. For dessert, the rest of us will be enjoying a chocolate peanut butter cake. I am not sure what I mean by that… I’m thinking of devil’s food cake with a peanut butter filling and creamy, dark chocolate frosting. I’m inspired by the memory of these store bought Drakes rolled up cakes, like a Yodel, that had a peanut butter filling. Does anyone remember the name?
Did I mention that I met Rose Levy Bernbaum at IACP conference last month? I love her Devil’s Food Cake recipe. So it will be that and something I make up with peanut butter and cream, like a ganache. For the mezze, I’m inspired by Claudia Roden’s “The Book Of Jewish Food” YUM! YUM! YUM! Pics to come…
For many New Yorkers, a home cooked meal is a rarity, a pearl in an ocean of eating out, deliveries–in and sustenance grabbed on the Go!–Go!–Go! For nearly all of food enthusiast Mercedes Batista’s almost eighty years, cooking is a ritual, a gift she gives herself everyday. I joined Mercedes at the West Village apartment where she has lived happily alone for the past forty of those years for dinner.
Who doesn’t love a tea party? One of the best events I’d been to this year was a tea social hosted by Cindi Bigelow, CEO and grand-daughter of Ruth Bigelow, founder of one of America’s largest tea companies, Bigelow Tea.
I was just getting over being sick with bronchitis, but I was determined to get to this event and figured it couldn’t be bad for me since we drinking tea (my favorite!) and being social (another fave for me!). As soon I walked in and the Bigelow folks found out I was on the mend and antibiotics they fixed me up with a “Lemon Ginger Herb Plus” tea which contains probiotics (READ: Stuff that is great for your tummy when you are on a prescription, plus contains microorganisms that promote microbial balance in your intestines.). “It was what the doctor ordered”.
The event was so much fun! I mingled with the other food bloggers and tea loving guests over tea, tea sandwiches, scones with jam and cream — YUM!. Then we sat down and learned some ABC’s of tea. I did not know that all tea (except herbal/fruit teas) comes from the same, one plant — Camellia sinensis: white, green, black. The same plant! I don’t know why I didn’t know this, but now I do. Cindi was really informative and engaging. We ripped open tea bags and compared Bigelow teas with some of their competitors. She was very careful not to disparage the competition. She left us to see and taste the difference for ourselves. It was eye opening to empty the bags and see that some tea companies use tea dust instead of the higher quality leaves. I was fascinated to discover that Bigelow uses real oil of bergamot as opposed to some companies that use artificially flavored “bergamot” pellets in their Earl Grey tea.
We also did a comparative tasting of English Breakfast, Earl Grey, green, peppermint and chamomile teas. Here’s a video clip of us doing this:
It was extremely “taste-formative” to mindfully compare the teas. The object was to discover what we really liked or didn’t about the different brands of the same teas. I do the same thing at my chocolate tasting events. It’s always much more interesting to taste across brands although most chocolate manufacturers prefer that you taste just their chocolate — no kidding!
I popped into Cocoa V, a new vegan chocolate shop and wine bar on 9th Avenue in Chelsea for a peek, not a nosh because I had just pigged out a less interesting cafe down the street. I took a quick video to try and capture a few things I’d like to try when I am back in the ‘hood.
Cocoa V, 174 9th Avenue New York, NY 10011(212) 242-3339
Posted by Jackie on Mar 24, 2010 – 7:45 AM Tags
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On a chilly, wintry afternoon, I popped over for lunch with holistic nutrition counselor and Park Slope mom, Jennifer Schonborn. In her business, Jennifer counsels people so their food and lifestyle choices help them achieve their health and weight loss goals in a way that is flexible and fun.
Believe the hype! Today we had lunch at Calexico on Union St. in Brooklyn today and loved it. For once, I let everyone order what they wanted so there was a plethora of pulled pork. We had it in a taco, a quesadilla and a burrito. The child veered from the pig pack and had chicken quesadilla. We also ordered a small salad and a side of guacamole. Everything was delish on its own, but I had too much fun at the salsa bar and tasted them all. The only thing I did not care for was their infamous “Crack” sauce, but I am not a big mayo fan. Get a yummy peek on the video:
My NYC foodie fantasy came true: I spent a fall afternoon at the Union Square Green Market with author, culinary historian, chocolate tasting-tour expert, Les Dames Escoffier member and of course NYC mom, Alexandra Leaf. She answers my “NYC Food Tips From A New Yorker Who Really Cooks” questions at the end of this post. Check out Alexandra’s Chocolate Fest: A Walk-Around Tasting event on March 14th, at the 92nd St. Y (I’ll be there with a spicy chocolate fountain!).
