nyc, day 1, oct 3rd

i had first read about harvest fest somewhere (probably martha) approx 4 yrs ago and then decided that if i'm ever in nyc at the time of the fest i will attend, this year it worked. our initial plan had been to take metro north's hudson line to tarrytown and a cab from there on to stone barns. luckily, i had asked my frieds A & F to join us, they accepted and were kind enough to come and pick us up from our hotel and drive us to pocantico hills where stone barns is situated







pulled pork sandwich on yesterday's entry came from one like this. the hog takes 5 hrs on the pit to get done







i guess the carving guy got thirsty...no wonder, the beer was excellent and made from stone barns's hops







some of the crowd. weather was cloudy and sticky at times, until 2 pm when it started raining








this was growing in the vegetable patch. i'm sorry, but it's common name is hairy balls, think what you like... the latin name is fancier gomphocarpus physocarpus







astrograss from brooklyn provided music







breads from balthazar bakery







produce stand







gourds







wool from local sheep, natural colors, don't you love the shades?







after we had tasted all that was offered, and drank some beer, it was time to take off. we had planned to stop at tarrytown and walk around in the (small) town center and maybe visit some of the stores, but it started raining. first just a regular rain, but after a while it pouring down with it (actually, i have only once seen rain fall that plenty, it was 1989 in michigan when marie and her parents were taking me to detroit airport, but that is another story).

it was decided that F would drive around and show us fancy houses on north coast of long island. there were plenty of gorgeous, and huge, houses, this one was my favourite. it was all of 100 meters from the shore of long island sound







we stopped at sands point. originally this was built as a stable... you should see the main house, correct, castle







eventually it started getting dark and we got hungry, again. F took us to mombar for egyptian food. i had been there before, so i knew it was good. as a rule i took pics of all the food we ate, but i don't like using the flash, especially in restaurants. that is why you only get a pic of our appetizer: baba ganoush, hummus, another chickpea paste with apple slices (F, feel free to correct if i got it wrong...) we all ate different dishes, all very delicious. this restaurant was on my list to visit anyway, so it was nice that F & A took us there







after a long day we even got chauffeured back to the hotel. thank you again, what a great day!







right now it's getting way too late, or early, for me to be up... i did sleep 14 hrs last night so maybe that's why i'm not tired yet

back home

not that i wouldn't have liked to stay another few months... i managed to get a few hours of sleep on the plane but have been fighting to stay awake for the rest of the day. here are a few tasters from nyc

on oct 3rd we went to stone barns for harvest fest with A & F







they had all sorts of goodies to taste, we had some slow roasted pork sandwiches. A was so sad to see how a cute pork was being slow roasted (you'll see the pics later)







pork being the subject, this pie was in the pie baking contest, it took 3rd prize, first 2 went to apple pie variations







this is the view from A & F's balcony. yes, i'm very very jealous, of the view and the apt, and if i could have gotten away with it, i would have taken their stove with me!







i so need to go to bed before i fall asleep at my laptop... more of nyc later on

gone to NYC!

managed to pack late last night, no time to take pics of my superbly packed suitcase (hah!). have never gone to nyc with so few pieces of clothing... and only 3 pairs of shoes, might (read will) have to buy some. now heading to the airport, see you on oct 10th!

chicken with pearl barley

pre-cooked breaked barley grain from myllyn paras was the start of today's lunch. it's fairly quick to cook, 20 mins, has more nutrients and fiber than rice and has a more robust flavor







sweated eggplant before sauteeing it in tiny bit of rapeseed oil, then put aside to wait for the next step







barley got chicken to go with, chicken was browned on both sides, leftover 1 dl of 4% cooking cream was added along with juice of half a lemon, parsley and generous amount of black pepper, no salt this time either. after adding the cream bring to a boil and turn off the heat (if your stove is electric) and leave on stove to keep cooking further







barley dish coming together, cooked barley, one coarsely grated big carrot, one eggplant sauteed, 2 tbsp red (or green) pesto, chili powder to taste







you could spice this up a bit more, i usually forget to add onions, which would have been nice in this. i didn't use any salt when cooking, neither did i add any (pesto has some salt in it) later. barley bends nicely to any kind of spicing but is equally tasty as is







one lunch ready to go, the sauce had just the right lemony taste to it






no i will go and pack... maybe

preparing for nyc & pasta

yes, i do realize it's close to midnight and it might probably be a good idea to go to bed already but... there are so many things to "get done". i've been tuning my NFT guide to NYC with small notes of places to see and restaurants to visit, making a schedule (how idiotic is that? new york isn't about schedules, it's the feeling one gets there) and listing this and that. certain someone is going to NYC for the first time so i gotta play tourist guide and take him to a sight or two

have taken out suitcases







thrown some clothes on the sofa as an effort to pack. i think the skirt and orange sweater will meet martha, not sure yet, maybe i'll find something better over there...







getting organized (another yes, i do realize that this is boderline obsessive)







my tuned NFT & schedule







called my friend in the city, she offered to pick us up from JFK, which is super-nice. we are also going to stone barns for harvest fest with other friends. they offered to pick us up from our hotel and drive there, which is also very nice, saves us the hassle of finding the right track at grand central


i think i'll be all set, eventually, provided i don't sleep much. oh well, there is the almost 9 hr flight, plenty of time to catch up on sleep


somehow managed to cook lunch before work, my staple, button mushroom pasta sauce, no meat this time, doesn't get any easier than this







sauteed the mushrooms in a very hot pan with tiny bit of rapeseed oil, added 1 dl of 4% cooking cream and 1 dl of water from the pasta, lots of black pepper, parsley and lemon juice to spice it up, no salt in either the sauce the water pasta was cooked in. my sin of the day was to use white pasta







plated, did use a splash of reduced-sodium soy sauce on top







another quick salad to take to work, arugula, basil, cucumber, mozzarella and sundried tomatoes in oil, no need for dressing because of the oil