The Bees' Needs

I got up close and personal with some bees last weekend and learned that these creatures far are more fascinating than I ever thought.

Andrew and Rania the beekeeper guy + gal at the St. Marks Garden opened up their hives and told us all about their residents. I tasted fresh honey right off the hive and learned all about laying eggs, making queens, impregnating queens, pollen, royal jelly, drones and swarms. Did you know that Queens eat only royal jelly and that drones can 'make' new queens by feeding royal jelly to the eggs?

Rania's hive had recently swarmed so there wasn't much activity, but Andrew's was alive and kicking.

Andrew's Hive

Then, just a few days later, I caught an interesting segment on WNYC about a new movie - The Queen of the Sun. The segment featured an interview with the filmmakers to answer the question - "Why Are Honeybees Disappearing?" Like most other agricultural crops, bees have been victimized by the use of pesticides, genetically modified crops, monocultures, and mechanization. One interesting and highly disturbing tidbit from the interview:
Bees eat honey as their food (honey as carbohydrate, pollen as protein). When industrial beekeepers harvest all the honey, what do the bees eat? You guessed it! Corn Syrup. That just may be man's greatest insult to nature. Take the most delicious naturally sweet substance on the planet away from the species who worked so hard to produce it and feed them corn syrup instead.

33 Pounds of Cheese

This article's pretty amazing. The USDA fights obesity and encourages Americans to eat healthier -- that's great. They also praise Domino's, Taco Bell, Burger King and their freaky fatty friends for adding more greasy cheese to their menu options.

Any thoughts?

Read the NY Times article here

The department acknowledged that cheese is high in saturated fat, but said that lower milk consumption had made cheese an important source of calcium.

“When eaten in moderation and with attention to portion size, cheese can fit into a low-fat, healthy diet,” the department said.

In its reports to Congress, however, the Agriculture Department tallies Dairy Management’s successes in millions of pounds of cheese served.

Farm to Table at Blue Hill

Blue Hill Tuesday night -- pretty amazing stuff. Blue Hill has a farm in Connecticut, a Farm in the Berkshires and a few sources scattered around New York. The NY restaurant serves deliciously local food and boasts an impressive wine list. That's the overview -- now to the good stuff.

We started off with 'This Morning's Farm Egg' which was served soft boiled with Lamb's Quarters (which is a vegetable, surprisingly), Roasted Tomatoes, and Chanterelle Mushrooms. The egg was sweet and gooey and the mushrooms gave the dish a salty punch. Also had the

Fall Vegetable Salad' with seckel pears, pea shoots, pistachios and three colors of cauliflower. Paired that with a Roussane, a grape I don't believe I've ever tried, that was very satisfying and refreshing with strong honey on the nose.

A little kale chip amuse-bouche came next which was a lovely surprise -- it was served in a wood block -- how interesting.

For the entree, I had 'Rabbi Bob's Veal' - it was meaty and peppery and salty! Served with sweet black dirt carrots and yellowfoot chanterelles. Unlike most veal, this little baby calf was allowed to roam free around the farm, allowing some muscular development in the animal which results in tougher meat. However, the little fella was fed grass and mother's milk, giving the meat a hardier flavor than most veal cuts. I was served two cuts, the leg, which was meaty and a little crunchy, and a piece of shank which was soft and salty. We ordered that dish with a side of Jerusalem Artichoke, which has no known relationship to Jerusalem and is not a type of Artichoke (go figure). Cassie-girl had the fresh "Long Island Fluke" served with zucchini, almonds, apples and celery. Her plate ended up cleaner than when it came out of the washer...

Perhaps the most impressive thing at the restaurant wasn't any of the dishes, it was the people serving them. The staff was dedicated to providing the best meal possible. They were quick with knowledgeable suggestions and helpful offers. Choosing the right meal for Miss Cassie can be challenging to those unfamiliar with her dietary restrictions (no cow's milk, no red meat, no cute animals, no spicy, etc.), but the Blue Hill staff was incredibly accommodating. Case in point, when I ordered the "Honeycrisp Apples", normally served with Hudson Valley Milk Jam, Almond Cake and Honey Ice Cream, the chef instinctively knew that my lactose intolerant date would want a few spoonfuls so he left off the jam and replaced the ice cream with fresh Raspberry Sorbet. And... they could tell it was a special night for us (our second anniversary... sort of) so they brought out a little sampling of coconut marshmallows, cocoa-covered almonds, and organic berry gummi - with candle.

Well... that is just about as much as I could possibly say about a meal. All in all, it was one of the best I've ever had. Thanks to SR and DQ for making it happen!

Farmers' Market Feast

The Bounty

The Chopping Pattaps

The Delicious Dishes

The Smiling Diners


A great meal of locally grown produce with the Woofing Pattaps and friends on Saturday. Fresh Caraway Bread and Goat Cheese, Pickled Fiddle-heads, Hungarian Eggplant Tomato Paprikash, Roasted Crinkle-Cut Potatoes and Rutabaga, Brussel Sprouts with Shallots and Crimini Mushrooms, and Cassie's Fresh Baked Choco-Chippers - Yum!

Bagels Toasted on an Open Fire...

You don't get that every day! Toasty H+H Bagels in NJ's Darlington Park.

Portsmouth Brewery

That's me with a 10-beer sampler from Portsmouth (and Smuttynose) Breweries. All fairly excellent selections. Finished them all except the blonde (2nd from right) and the Heffeweizen (4th from left).

Favorites were the Chat Noir (Stout - empty glass on the right), the Bock (3rd from right) and the Smuttynose Old Brown Dog (far left). Also exciting was the glass-in-hand which was the seasonal pumpkin ale. I don't normally jump on the pumpkin ale bandwagon, but this one was quite enjoyable with a delicious aroma of sweet pumpkin and well-balanced hoppy flavor.

Thanks New Hampshire!

Wild Squash in Zion Nat'l Park

It's a foragers dream come true! (except that you shouldn't really forage on national park land)

This squash was growing all around the park. I'm not exactly sure what species this is -- something in the zucchini family, I suppose. Maybe one of those Wwoofing Pattaps can help us identify it...