I’m writing this with the tune of David Bowie’s “ch-ch-ch-ch changes. Turn and face the strange,” running through my brain. This past year has been nothing but changes. Changes in what we’re cooking in the kitchen, changes in what kitchen we’re cooking in, changes in where we are working, and changes made to our lifestyle in general. If you’d told me a year ago — yesterday — that this is where we’d be now, I would have laughed my head off. If you’d told me that we would be happier, and better off for turning our lives upside down, I would not have believed you.
Looking for all the world like little green space aliens, kohlrabi is in season and easy to find at your local farmer’s market right now. Don’t walk by and ignore it because you’ve never tasted or used it in a recipe. A member of the brassica family, the versatility of this vegetable alone is worth a whirl in the kitchen.
You read that title correctly. Those who live by the shore get to shop at the shore and what could be better than to find a weekly farmers market in the parking lot of our local beach? Just off of Ocean Avenue at the top of the Jersey Shore, the town of Sea Bright is in it’s second year of playing host to an open air market. Cool salty sea breezes and glorious sunshine were as appetizing as the culinary offerings.
Taste and Technique, a cooking studio in Fair Haven, NJ, often schedules local celebrity chef’s for demonstrations. These classes are always delicious, informative and entertaining. The cooking school also offers hands-on learning opportunities with professional chef’s. Rachel Weston taught a class recently, her first time at this studio, but not her first time teaching, that was instructive, insightful, and of course, delicious. Although I have some experience in the food world, I walked away with a few new tricks.
Next week in Long Island City, NY, the creme de la creme of cheese mongers will convene for the Cheese Monger Invitational. Caitlin O’Neill, the assistant manager of Sickles Market’s cheese department will be competing along with 49 other invitees to see who knows the most. There is a trip to France on the line here, and O’Neill, who has been invited back to this convention would like very much to win.
