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What Can You Do to Battle Winter Colds? Make Fire Cider!

November 30, 2016

Winter is almost here and that means it is time to bolster your defenses against incoming cold and flu viruses. Of course, wash your hands often, eat healthfully, laugh a lot and get enough sleep. But beyond these commonly known preventive measures, there is something else you can do – make and take fire cider.

Fire Cider is an herbal concoction (or more correctly – decoction) that may be an old folk recipe for a vinegar tonic made with medicinal herbs. It seems to have been formulated and written down by Rosemary Gladstar, a California herbalist, at the California School of Herbal Studies, in the 1980’s. Since then, people have battled over the rights to the name but you don’t have to buy the offending brand because you can make your own. Why pay a hefty amount for a small bottle (around $15 for 8 oz) when for a small outlay, you can make a yourself a quart with high quality organic ingredients you choose and control? I first bought Fire Cider from someone selling wild crafted bottles of it at a gas station in Vermont but have since seen it sold at lots of healthy food stores.

The basic recipe was given to me by a friend who is an impressive homesteader – she gardens, keeps chickens, grills paella and, now, makes her own fire cider. It calls for horseradish, onion, garlic, ginger, garlic, turmeric root, citrus and hot peppers soaked in apple cider vinegar for a month. These are herbs and spices known for their anti-inflammatory, antiviral, mucus-thinning, expectorant and stimulating properties. Possible add-ins are a personal choice and could include parsley, rosemary, cinnamon, lemongrass, thyme, echinacea, astragalus root, cayenne powder or flakes, burdock, rosehips or black peppercorns. (Please try to use organic ingredients if you are able). Some people drink it straight. Many sweeten it with honey. If you are vegan, you could use stevia, agave or maple syrup. You can use it as a tonic, taking a daily shot, or as a medicine, sipping as needed to battle congestion, colds or indigestion.

Pour unpasteurized apple cider vinegar over the chopped and grated ingredients

It isn’t too late in the season to make this immune booster. If you make it this week, your fire cider will be ready right around New Years when you may need it most. Some cooks use it in salad dressing (as the vinegar component), add it to mustard or put a splash in tea or a cocktail. Once strained, it can sit on a counter in a cool room for weeks or be stored in the refrigerator in a glass bottle or jar. If you go into production this week, you could give fire cider (with the recipe) as a thoughtful, homemade gift for the holidays. Who couldn’t use a shot of immune boosting to get through the winter, especially when you’ll feel so virtuous?

Turmeric, ginger and horseradish roots and habanero pepper Pressed and painted earthenware plate by Patrick Loughran — Turmeric, ginger and horseradish roots and habanero pepper
Pressed and painted earthenware plate by Patrick Loughran

FIRE CIDER

1/2 cup fresh horseradish root, chopped or grated
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1/2 cup garlic, chopped
1/4-1/2 cup ginger root, chopped or grated
1/4-1/2 cup turmeric root, chopped or grated
1 habanero (or Serrano, cayenne or jalapeño) chili pepper, chopped (please use gloves)
1/2 orange, chopped (including peel)
1/2 lemon, chopped (including peel)
3-4 cups unfiltered apple cider vinegar (Bragg’s is a good brand)

Optional ingredients:

1-2 cinnamon sticks, broken
1/2 cup parsley sprigs
1 TBs fresh rosemary leaves
1 TBs black peppercorns
1/4-1/2 cup chopped burdock root
1 TBs fresh thyme leaves
1/2 cup chopped echinacea or astragalus root

Place all chopped ingredients in a clean glass jar (either 1 half gallon or 2 quart jars will work – dividing the herbs evenly) and pour enough vinegar over to cover contents. Put a piece of waxed paper over the top of the jar and then screw on the lid.

Let the closed jars sit out for 3-4 weeks at room temperature, shaking daily, or when you remember. After about a month, strain the liquid into a clean jar (if you strain through cheesecloth you can squeeze out every drop) and discard the solids. (Gladstar, who devised the formula, suggest making a chutney from the strained herbs). Taste (be prepared for a strong taste!) and add up to 1/4 cup of raw honey, as you want. Your fire cider can sit at room temperature for a few weeks (if your room isn’t warm)or you can store it in the refrigerator. Shake before using.

Take a prophylactic shot daily, or as needed to feel you are participating in your own good health!

Bottled and ready to gift with a copy of the recipe

Summer Bounty in the City

July 6, 2016

Chiogga Beets simply boiled and sliced Plate by Mary Barringer — Chiogga Beets from the Greenmarket – simply boiled and sliced
Plate by Mary Barringer

Although I love certain things about summer in New York – looser schedules and clothing, the way our neighborhood empties out and how weekends are much quieter, even peaceful at times – I can’t stand the heat and humidity here and aging only seems to make me less tolerant. (I really should live somewhere near the Arctic Circle). There are, however, a few things about city summers I think of happily and gratefully – more frequent and welcome visits from out-of-towners, outdoor music all over the city, a drink on a rooftop terrace or on a pier by the river, a drive to Maine to visit friends or a weekend with Mom in Connecticut, either of which might include a swim or blueberry picking. Beyond these highlights, one steady and really bright spot of the week – in my constant search for a cool, shady spot – is our local Friday farmers’ market.

Just walking through the 97th Street Greenmarket early on a July morning is enough to make me forget I am hot. Not only are the overflowing farm stands gorgeous in their reds, yellows, and all shades of green but they are incredibly fragrant in a good way. I can’t often say that about any part of New York, which is frequently fragrant but certainly not in any way we would choose! This market is perfumed with ripe peaches and sweet basil and makes me heady just breathing normally.

Sometimes it’s all so tantalizing that I can’t restrain myself and I get home with more than I can fit in my refrigerator. Yellow, green and purple beans, yellow, red, green, purple and even white tomatoes, obscenely large heads of lettuce and broccoli, the first tiny kerneled white corn, mild garlic scapes and freshly picked garlic bulbs, not yet dried, all fill my bags. I am no longer embarrassed to bring what I used to consider an “old lady” shopping cart, as it means I can get more home without hurting my back! And I feel virtuous because I can drop off textile recycling as well as all of our food scraps into bins to be composted, a simple act that has reduced our trash by more than half.

Composting location at 97th Street Market

Besides vegetables, our market also provides me with cage free eggs (from chickens who actually run around and scratch and eat bugs), pork chops, slab bacon and pork roasts from a chef turned farmer who now farms and raises pigs upstate – Ray Bradley. Ray is also my source for tender fennel, all kinds of herbs, squashes, Italian pole beans, haricots vert, juicy, extremely flavorful heirloom tomatoes, yellow potatoes, onions, garlic, paprika, pickles, and occasional flowers. You will read about him in a future post.

Hardeep and Ray on 97th Street — Hardeep Maharawal and Ray Bradley

Bradley's Italian and Heirloom Tomatoes — Bradley’s Italian and Heirloom Tomatoes

New York State grass fed beef is hawked by jaunty, usually bearded and mustachioed young guys, while spicy turkey sausage, necks and backs for soup, and my Thanksgiving bird are supplied by a family-run, New Jersey-based turkey farm. We get milk, yogurt and unsalted butter from grass fed cows from Pam, who lives nearby but sells for Ronnybrook every week very dependably no matter the weather. I buy every variety of local berry one could imagine as well as musk and watermelons from Jorge, transplanted from Colombia to Pennsylvania and who, thankfully, eschews pesticides. He grows all kinds of leafy greens, sweet cucumbers, snow peas, hot peppers and purslane (which I had previously thought was just a weed but adds a lemony flavor to a salad), eggs, pumpkins, corn, and yellow, red, and purple potatoes that will keep, like his winter squashes, for months.

When this local Greenmarket began years ago, before every neighborhood food store had fresh sourdough and ciabatta, we could buy great bread from the Tribeca Oven stall manned by Alan Cohen, whose son Keith trained at Tribeca and went on to buy Orwasher’s, an old time bakery still putting out a delicious seeded rye and Russian pumpernickel with a new west side store opening soon on Amsterdam Avenue. Now we can buy exotic loaves (baked by immigrant women who have been trained uptown to make the breads of their home countries) at the Hot Bread Kitchen stand and toothsome and tasty whole grain sourdoughs from She Wolf Bakery. We get our choice of every type of apple and pear I can imagine, along with cherries, berries, plums and other stone fruit, even into the winter months from Locust Grove Farm, now run by brothers I have watched grow from teenagers at the nascent Union Square market into middle age to take over their farm and broaden its market sales. Jeff Bialas, who grew up in a traditional farming family but started the J & A Farms in 2010 to farm organically, grows many kinds of greens, like tatsoi, bok choy, mustard and dandelion greens, arugula, purslane and sorrel, along with the more widely available but flavorful beans, lettuces, turnips, fennel and many types of herbs.

Buying directly from markets reminds us of all the work involved in producing and delivering our food. When I see groups of pre-school and kindergarten kids talking with the farmers and sellers, I feel happy that they are learning that their vegetables don’t just grow on supermarket shelves. Plus this market takes food stamp vouchers so it is accessible to a wider range of residents. Most of the farmers or sellers are set up before 8, when the market officially opens, so it is possible to shop and still get somewhere by 9. I run into friends and acquaintances from the neighborhood, parents and teachers from my son’s various schools and sports teams, other artists who live nearby, even people who live in nearby buildings who I don’t know well but chat with at the market, finding a connection amidst the fruits and vegetables. With all this gorgeous, fragrant and healthy produce and community, it is easy to forget the heat and appreciate the abundant bounty of summer.

To find a Greenmarket in New York near you, check their website at grownyc.org/Greenmarket.

With the explosion of farm-to-table eating, farmers’ markets have sprung up across the country. Surely, wherever you live, there is bound to be one nearby. Tell us about your favorite!

(Happy Birthday, Frida Kahlo!)

Raffetto’s: 110 Years of Fresh Pasta and Still Innovating

June 22, 2016

Despite widespread gentrification and demolition, New York still has many old, unique food shops specializing in everything from cake-decorating supplies to Spanish imports. One of my favorites is Raffetto’s, a more than 100-year old Italian market on Houston Street near 6th Avenue. A charming, old-world type store with wood cabinetry and shelves stocked with all kinds of locally produced and imported Italian foods and ingredients. It is a place you need to visit for a taste of non-sarcastic “artisanal” food. Their pasta is simply delicious.

I first stumbled upon Raffetto’s in the mid-80s, when I was an art advisor and used to spend a lot of time combing the galleries of Soho (before they morphed into expensive boutiques and chain stores). Walking north across Houston Street, I would pass Raffetto’s on the way to get a coffee or hear music in the Village. When I finally stopped in, I was amazed at the other world behind its front door – a wall of different colors and shapes of dried pasta on one side and shelves full of grains, beans, soup mixes, oils, vinegars, a refrigerated case with fresh sauces, cheeses and more on the other. In the back, several women in white lab coats were packaging sauces and filled pasta in an open kitchen and were cutting fresh pasta to order, something I hadn’t seen before.

Kitchen and packing area in the back of the store

According to their website, and from the looks of it, Raffetto’s is still using the same pasta-rolling machine that their patriarch/founder bought when he opened the store in 1906. And the pasta “guillotine”, on which you have your fresh pasta cut to your choice of widths, dates from 1916. Don’t you wish more equipment was still made and maintained that well now? Three generations of the Raffetto family are working in and running the business, making the pasta and sauces and staffing the shop. But I’m getting lost in history: the real story is the food they produce.

Raffetto’s offers cut-to-order fresh pasta in traditional and non-traditional flavors Including tomato, parley-basil, whole wheat, lemon red pepper, rosemary, black squid-ink and, my favorite, black pepper. Sometimes you can get lucky and arrive when chestnut, lemon, saffron or even chocolate are available. Ravioli fillings range from the usual cheese or cheese and spinach to pesto, goat cheese, seafood and chicken with smoked mozzarella and the occasional special like arugula and ricotta, pumpkin or Gorgonzola and walnut. (My son says he doesn’t like mushrooms but he loves Raffetto’s mushroom ravioli. Go figure!) Tortellini and potato gnocchi are made and sold here in a range of fillings and flavors. Happily for all of us, many varieties of the ravioli are available at stores like Fairway and Citarella and the jumbo ravioli are available at Zabar’s. Both the fresh and filled pastas freeze well, although I wouldn’t keep them in the freezer for more than a few months.

In addition to the fresh and filled varieties, Raffetto’s stocks a selection of imported dried pastas, including spelt, farro and quinoa, and a huge assortment of shapes. If you aren’t a pasta eater, there are plenty of delicious red and green sauces, olives, anchovies, condiments and seasonings to buy for yourself or for a gift. Arriving with a bag full of groceries from Raffetto’s (easy to make dinner) would make you a dream house guest!

Raffetto’s was one of many Italian food stores in its West Village neighborhood and you can still find a few others open. Faicco’s Pork Store, dating from its first incarnation on Thompson Street in 1900, operates a couple blocks away on Bleecker Street, as does Pasticcerio Rocco, which opened in 1974, the youngster of the group. Caffe Reggio, claiming to have served the first cappuccino in New York, has offered espresso to generation after generation of NYU students and tourists since 1927 on MacDougal Street.

Unfortunately, other old establishments in this little “Little Italy” didn’t make it. Joe’s Dairy, across Houston Street, produced and sold the best smoked mozzarella I’ve ever tasted, but they moved to New Jersey where costs were less expensive. Balducci’s, which started in Brooklyn in 1900 and moved to the Village in 1946, had a large bustling market on 6th Avenue, about 10 blocks north, but it closed after being bought out by a big food company. (Incarnations have opened and closed and opened in various spots around the city). The charming Cafe Dante on MacDougal, with a case full of more than a dozen flavors of gelato before gelato was a household word, closed last year, a victim of surging rent, now replaced by an upscale restaurant of the same name.

Fortunately, Raffetto’s survives, possibly because it keeps up with what people want, continues to innovate, provides quality products and maintains a knowledgeable, efficient and friendly staff. In order to meet wholesale demands, they expanded by opening a small factory, first nearby and now located in New Jersey. It probably doesn’t hurt that they own their own building on Houston. But whatever the reasons for its success, I hope Raffetto’s continues producing delicious pastas and sauces far into the future.

Black pepper pasta with vegetables Earthenware dish by Ayumi Horie — Black pepper pasta with vegetables
Earthenware dish by Ayumi Horie

Black Pepper (or Rosemary, Whole Wheat or Parsley-Basil) Pasta with Vegetables

1/2 lb. fresh black pepper pasta, cut to your preference of width
1/2 package of frozen peas
2 or 3 handfuls of clean arugula or spinach
3 TBs olive oil
1 TB butter or ghee
2 cloves garlic, minced
Salt to taste

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add a big pinch of salt. Shake the cornmeal off the pasta and add to the boiling water, stirring immediately to break the starch bonds and avoid clumping.

Check for doneness after 2 minutes and again at 3. Just before the pasta is cooked to your liking, add the peas and greens and cook 30 seconds and then drain.

Heat the oil and butter or ghee in the now empty but still warm pan over medium heat and then add the garlic with a pinch of salt. As soon as the garlic is softened, about 1 minute, turn off the heat, add the drained pasta and vegetables and toss to mix. Add additional salt to taste. If you like, sprinkle with freshly grated cheese. Makes 4 starter or 2-3 main course servings.

Note: Preparing the fresh pasta or ravioli makes one of the easiest dinners ever. It cooks much faster than dried pasta so watch it carefully – a few minutes is really sufficient. To fortify, you can toss in some small pieces of broccoli or cauliflower and some cooked beans, with or without cheese. Alternatively, use a tomato sauce or pesto (the garlic scape pesto recipe from a few weeks ago would be delicious with the whole wheat pasta), add some cooked chicken or shrimp, sprinkle with fresh parsley or basil and you’ve amped up your main course to restaurant status.

Beyond Utility: The Pleasures of Handmade Pottery

May 18, 2016

Pourers by Polly Ann Martin, Janice Tchalenko, Jeff Oestreich and James Makins

Taking time to make a meal is a choice. Plenty of options exist, like prepared foods, take-0ut and delivery, yet I choose to cook when I am able. Cooking and sharing meals is a way to express care and connect with others. Buying handmade pottery is also a choice, and one I do whenever possible. Using pots made by hand reminds me to slow down and appreciate what I am eating or drinking and makes a meal feel more celebratory. Those pieces feed a hunger for the handmade, for intimacy and for beauty.

I love to sip my morning coffee from a hand-crafted mug that feels just right in my hand, put flowers on the table in a graceful vase or serve a salad in a generous wheel-thrown bowl. There is something personal about using handmade dinnerware that makes food look important and feel special. After all, it was made by hand by a person! Sure, there are loads of beautiful objects that are industrially produced. Some of the bowls I use every day come from Ikea and our oval, factory made, diner-style plates are from the Bowery Restaurant Supply. It is the handmade pieces we use, however, which make a meal, or even a cup of tea, seem significant.

At least in Manhattan, handcrafted pots are rarely available to buy retail anymore except at seasonal craft fairs or studio holiday sales. We used to have lots of small shops and galleries where you could buy handmade pieces but they are mostly gone, probably due to rising rent. When you can find them, in upscale shops or museum stores, the pots are usually at the highest price points of the artisanry market. Fortunately, we have been able to find places selling ceramics when we travel, having had luck in cities from Chattanooga to Copenhagen.( I will compile a list of outlets and post it soon – please share any sources you know). Some of our favorite travel keepsakes are handmade pots. For example, my husband bought a lovely hand painted porcelain tumbler in Montana last summer (I think it was $60). Every time he uses it, and that is daily for almost a year, he enjoys its beauty while it reminds him of what a good time he had on that trip.

Part of the problem may be cost. Have we become so used to discounted prices for cheap, imported manufactured goods that we balk at buying a handmade cup for $40 (but spend $4 or more on a cup of coffee regularly)? Are we happy to go out for a pricey brunch but are offended at the cost of an artist-made cereal bowl? Or purchase expensive, factory-made sets of china but think it outlandish to spend the same money on handmade dinner plates? Studio rents in places like New York skyrocketed years ago so artists have had to move further afield while trying to make a living selling their work. The balance to the high cost of a unique piece is the satisfaction and repeated pleasure in its use.

Pots just out of a wood firing at Gustin Pottery in Westport, MA

The good news is that there are still lots of working potters out there and many have websites through which to buy their work. Prices vary widely as do colors, techniques and styles so there are lots of pots from which to choose. In A Good Dish, I will routinely highlight the work of interesting potters and how to get in touch with them to buy their work, a resource for you not only when you need a simple recipe for dinner but when you want to buy handmade pottery to use or to give as a gift.

cups by Josh DeWeese, Liz Rudey, Lynn Croton and Gay Smith

Because I have been a potter for decades, I have lots of pots – both my own and those of other potters that I have collected over the years – and I use them often and will use them here, whenever possible, to plate the recipes I post. In this way, you can glimpse the wonderful wares of potters from all over the country and from other countries. When a pot in a photo is uncredited, the piece is probably historic, mine, unsigned or commercial.

If you are only using IKEA plates or mass produced dishes, as beautiful and practical as they might be, I encourage you to incorporate some handmade pieces into your daily routines – a coffee mug or teacup is an easy place to start. You might be surprised at how much more you will enjoy what you are eating or drinking.

A Lighter Cocktail

April 17, 2016

makins2 — Porcelain tumbler by James Makins

Scotch. Bourbon, Rye. All delicious. But sometimes you want a lighter drink with lower alcohol content. There are days when even a glass of wine or a beer seems too heavy. In those moments, I reach for the sweet vermouth. Yes, sweet vermouth. What is usually thought of as an ingredient in a Manhattan or Negroni, makes a delightful drink on its own. I find it refreshing as the weather starts to warm up and a stiff drink would make me too woozy.

Vermouth, a fortified (added spirits) wine with botanicals, is made in many countries. It is thought to have originated in Turin, Italy. There are more and more brands of sweet red vermouth (as opposed to the dry vermouth used in a martini or the blanco I just read about which is white and sweet) marketed in the U.S. and the taste runs from syrupy sweet to medicinal. We bought several bottles to try since our local liquor stores have started carrying a wide variety of vermouths in a range of sizes and prices.

The more aromatic varieties, like Carpano, which makes Antica Formula, and Punt E Mes (both Italian), are preferred in upscale bars and restaurants. My palette finds them somewhat bitter on their own but they are the most complex of the vermouths we sampled. Cinzano and Martini & Rossi (Italian) are more old-school and a bit sweeter and heavier. Dolin and Noilly Prat (both French) lie somewhere in the middle and are a little more sherry-like. The best tasting solution, for me, is to mix one of the traditional Italian sweet vermouths with any of the others. It’s fun to experiment and see which brand or combination you prefer. Let me know what you choose. My current favorite blend is Cinzano with Dolin.

In Italy, a sweet vermouth on the rocks is a classic aperitif. It is a lovely drink on a warm afternoon but I think it is made even better with a splash of seltzer and a squeeze of an orange. If you prefer your drink less sweet, squeeze in lime or grapefruit instead of orange juice and add a slice of lime or grapefruit rather than an orange. If you want to get adventurous, you can try adding a dash of sherry (it’s been sitting in your cupboard anyway, right?) or a few drops of bitters. My husband prefers it with both sherry and bitters (we used Angostura). A piece of mint in summer could be refreshing. Try naming your concoction – that is always a fun diversion. Hmm. Perhaps a vermouth tasting would make a festive spring or summer get-together? Salute!

orange2

CONTINENTAL DRIFT (or make up your own name!

1/4 cup sweet vermouth
2 Tbs orange juice or a squeeze of half a small orange
Splash (or 2) of seltzer or sparkling mineral water
Piece of an orange (I cut a medium orange in 6 pieces)

Stir together in a glass and add ice.

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