Spending more time in doors when you are living at the Jersey Shore, or anywhere the temperatures drop to around freezing is a given at this time of year. Some of us embrace the opportunity to become reacquainted with our stoves, ovens and refrigerators. What’s been steaming up the air in your kitchens? We’ve been keeping the stock pots hot and full of soup, slow braising meats, and enjoying what the market has to offer in the way of winter veggies. Here are a few high points…
The process of writing about food is often like going on a blind date. The hope for a mutual attraction, a little something in common, and maybe a good time is what you’re looking for. Tasting several dishes cooked by the kitchen crew of a restaurant is no different. You hope for something delicious, food that has been prepared properly and maybe, if you’re lucky you get an unexpected taste experience to write about.
Hand in hand, the paint palette an artist holds to create a masterpiece walks the same path as a chef who chooses to cook with the beautiful colors provided naturally. It was Paul Gaugin who said, “It is the eye of ignorance that assigns a fixed and unchangeable color to every object; beware of this stumbling block.”
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.
Living in an area of the world where the seasons dictate our gardens and our outdoor activities, the time is upon us where we take stock in what has been, what has grown, and what we have to look forward to. Plucked from a rather large bush near our garden, these two lovely pumpkins were a gift from the compost fairies. Don’t believe me? Here is proof positive.
