Saturday Night Dinner

H invited friends over for Saturday dinner, we both love to entertain but above all, we both love to get down in the kitchen. I managed to get a sourdough starter going a few weeks back after hearing about the miracles of using your own starter as opposed to traditional baker's yeast. It works wonders for your digestive system and of course, does miracles for your bread in the taste category. H made a batch of his fresh farmer's cheese and we paired it with 2 loaves of my sourdough bread- thanks to Daisy, my starter. Because who doesn't name their starter?

 

I just placed an order for Chad Robertson's latest book Tartine Book No. 3, the third in a series of books dedicated to bread baking - can't wait until it arrives. Soon as it does, I'll be working on a new and improved version of Daisy, with the help of Chad's tips on the ultimate sourdough starter. For now, here are some shots of my bread, and H's cheese making process.

Review: The Fat Radish

The hubby (addressed as H going forward) and I honor our February 15th wedding day by celebrating with a date night the fifteenth of every month. On our wedding day everything you can fathom going wrong at a wedding, went categorically wrong during ours and so this is our way of celebrating our love in a much more intimate way- stress free might I add (thank you baby Jesus). I can save those details for another rainy night, boy do I have hellish stories to recount. I will need more like a bottle of wine rather than a glass to get those stories started. I digress...

H decided on The Fat Radish for May's date night, we alternate every month picking a new location to discover while keeping the meeting place a surprise until the day of, adorable - yes, I know. We arrive for our 7:15PM reservation on yet another NYC rainy night and there was no host at the entrance. No one. We waited for about 5 minutes until the young lady made her way back to her post and asked us to follow her to our seats after asking us our names. The ambiance was interesting, dim lighting, candles lit, neutral colors, simple yet beautiful decor "I'm liking this"; I think.

 We ask to move from our original assigned table as the air-conditioning was on and aiming directly at me so we moved to the other side of the restaurant where it was significantly warmer. As is the case in many New York City eateries, there is not much room for intimacy in what are considered hip & cool restaurants such as The Fat Radish. I heard all about my neighbors experience at SoulCycle, stories about how cheap her boyfriend is, and the list goes on. Our waitress greeted us, handed down our menus and off she goes to tend to another table. Radishes appear on our table instead of the traditional basket full of bread and butter yet no one explained what the radishes were dressed in, I assumed after trying it- some sort of olive tapenade dressing which I enjoyed, H, on the other hand; not so much. After ordering our appetizers which included half a dozen oysters, curry yogurt dip with pita, and the yellow fin crudo special; they all arrived at our table and once again, no one explained what we were eating. I figured then this would be a recurring theme of the evening. H ordered fish for dinner and I ordered a cheese burger, both were ridiculously bland, overwhelmingly so. None of the dishes were spectacular, dinner felt rushed, our waitress was inattentive and the food was not what I envisioned it would be- our experience at The Fat Radish was incredibly underwhelming to say the least. 

Returning to The Fat Radish: No, gracias
Price: $$$

Michael Pollan at 92Y

Throughout my discovery of "real food" I came across various names of food activists while searching on Google, first place I go to for a little bit of healthy online stalking. One of those names that kept coming up was Michael Pollan. I went on his site and couldn't contain myself from reading all of the information he publishes on there for those seeking more knowledge on the subject of food, health, activism and writing. Mr. Pollan is not only a food activist, he's an author, journalist, and professor of journalism at UC Berkeley School of Journalism. Suffice to say I was beyond excited when I heard he would be visiting New York after an 8 year hiatus and would be coming to 92Y, located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan to discuss his latest book Cooked: A Natural History of Transformation. I purchased 2 tickets, one for myself and my hubby because of course, whatever I become fascinated with I force him to share in on the fascination along with me (sometimes it works, sometimes not). He obliged and off we went to see Michael Pollan on Tuesday, May 13th at 8PM.

Joan Gussow provided a thrilling and charming special introduction; I love when people can be serious about their work and still find time to be funny throughout those tough conversations. After about an hour and a half we said goodbye to Joan and Michael and headed to dinner before going home. It was an honor to hear both Joan and Michael speak about topics they're so passionate about, I hope to one day have the privilege of hearing them speak again about their love for the earth, food, and policy reform.

"Once in a while, I think I've had an original thought, then I look and read around and realize Joan said it first."

-Michael Pollan

Day 1

What can I say? I'm new to the world of blogging, and today I'm conquering my biggest fear- writing in private but for a public forum. Makes no sense, I know, but I've been meaning to do this for a very, very, long time and I'm glad I chose a day like today to embark on this new journey. With a glass of red wine in hand I toast to a new chapter in my life as I attempt to put my thoughts on paper the internet in hopes of documenting my experience on  food, health, and life while not forgetting to enjoy it all. Cheers!