Suvir

Mums? These? Yes! And some other flowers too....

Visiting Delhi, and more particularly my ancestral home, Charlie finds a new love for the Chrysanthemum flowers he finds in my mothers garden, and also around some other homes, and gardens we visit or drive or walk by. This saddens him, for he is one who is not moved by mums back home in the US, and her, he can now like me wax poetic about their beauty.

Spys Are For Pies

Northern Spy Food Co.

511 East 12th Street

New York, NY 10009

Get Directions

(212) 228-5100

Taking its name from the heritage apple from Upstate NY, Northern Spy celebrates locally sourced fare, used in a menu that is small, approachable and mostly wonderful. And for those locals that care to buy artisanal and local groceries, at Northern Spy, you can buy them and take them home after enjoying a nice meal. The owners have made eating and shopping local very easy.

Ithaca - leaves leaving lasting impressions

Since Cornell Dining brought me in to open American Masala at their Trillium location, my visits to Ithaca have been monthly, sometimes even more often, and of course when we opened, I spent more time in Ithaca, than at home. Luckily, the colors of fall, and the people that I have met at Cornell, have enriched my life in a myriad ways.

Cooperative Extension - Un-Cooperative Local Leadership - Mindless Budget Cuts Threaten This Community Minded Organization

CCE Washington County That is how we refer to Cornell University, Cooperative Extension for Washington County. These extension offices help people improve their lives through the collective experience and knowledge of their community. It is a wonderful resource for newbies to come to, to learn about the soil, water, agricultural heritage and most any local issues involving farming, living and community.  They also help keep the local 4H program active, informative and meaningful (above you can see the 4H milkshake and ice cream stand at the county fair).

The power of community gardens, local businesses, and peanuts...

Our community is wonderful. Salem, Hebron, Cambridge, Granville, Greenwich, Rupert (VT) and West Pawlet (VT) are some of the towns that co-mingle and coexist. We all have one thing in common, our agrarian lives, our wealth of great farm land. And our rollings hills, beautiful valleys and honest simple people.

Edible Poetry... and even those two words, do the food or experience no justice

There is a certain austerity to the above photo, at least in my eye. As rich and golden as the colors are, they also speak of a simplicity, a very modest kind of flourish, that can either be noticed - by those savvy and sophisticated, or be lost to most. Such is the brilliance of Hiroko Shimbo's food, and her world.

Bubbly is the occasion! Today, now, and whenever you want it to be...

Ever since coming back from Beirut, I have been dreaming of pomegranates. To be honest, dreaming of the pomegranates of Kandahar. And wondering how it is doing during these times. But that does not lead to restful living. And certainly does not make for happy entertaining.

My night in New Haven...... and I felt at home

Kimberley Taherian, a website designer, also has a life outside of the net. She is wife to an Iranian man, with a personality larger than life. Why do I say this? Since I am  the exactly similar Indian man with the larger than life personality, and have Charlie, who like Kimberley, has to endure such energy. Here, Kimberley is setting the table as Rafi Taherian cooks for us in their Guilford home, a suburb of New Haven.

Baklava, Baqlawa, Baklaawa, and the spelling and taste variations continue.....

Finding one spelling for a word from Arabic, Turkish, Hindu or another such language, is quite a chore. There seem to be sounds in these languages, and subtle nuances, that cannot be captured into Latin characters in any standardized way. Hence the variables in spelling.

Japanese food I crave - a new craving for me - strange, but so true

August in North Country (Upstate NY and Southern VT) was not the same. Nor were the months prior.
The Battenkill Kitchen, the Salem based educational facility for growing food businesses, was hosting three divas that we knew would change our lives and world, at least of those that were lucky enough to be part of their classes, dinners and books singnings.