Super Sloppies.

Vegan slop-sloppy joes.


October 1st marks the first day of the eat local challenge. It's day one and I am already chalking this years challenge up as an epic failure for me personally. Mainly the neighborhood supermarkets are slightly scary, and definitely are not even close to being on the organic bandwagon yet. I honestly do not want to know where most of the items are grown and I feel I may be better off not knowing. When your local super market is nicknamed the ASS-MART, I think it's safe to say market basket and Johnie food master would be a god send right now. Yeah there are plenty of green markets in the Brooklyn area, some I really do like. Regularly shopping at them just seems to get pricey faster than normal. I try to keep on it as there is a green market literally everyday of the week if you're looking for it. I think the key to healthy living and schooling the eat local challenge is clearly having a csa share or having your own garden. That should cover about 80% of what you need to eat leaving you only to search for proteins and grains. I miss my Parker farm share.

I loaded my fridge up with tempeh and tofu last time I made it to unholy foods. I've been eating less and trying to eat more vegetables and vegan things. Mainly after my last visit to the local mart smelled of cow urine, the already suspicious meat department was looking worse by the day.

Anyway...

This is my vegan super sloppy joe.

Note the package of sloppy joe mix. It's actually from Brockton Mass, I had to buy it, at 79 cents who could say no. The packaging looks as if it is from 1974. Surprisingly, there is nothing but spices listed in the ingredient list, it saved me from buying quite a few expensive spices.


So I browned one crumbled package of Soy Boy tempeh in olive oil. Added one diced Wheeler pepper, one can of tomato paste, 1 cup of water and Brockton's own sloppy joe spice pouch. This was topped on my purple cabbage apple slaw marinated in rice wine vinegar for a bit of a kick. all on top of a classy white bun.

The slaw completed the package & you will not miss the meat.

A bike ride, a water taxi and pupusa's

All roads lead to Red Hook.

So it started off as any other Sunday morning would. The weather was great, the air was starting to crisp with fall now upon us. This is prime bike riding weather, as it's still warm enough. Perfect for shorts and a long sleeve shirt. I have a certain loop I usually ride which is great for after work or before bed. I did the loop and was still roaring to go so I ended up biking to Dumbo in order to investigate a new market called Foragers Market. The New York Times ran an article mentioning that they are carrying a very limited supply of fresh New Mexico green chile's from Hatch. The market was nice with plenty of high end goods such as cheeses, salami's and imported goods. The green chile's are prominently on display as soon as you walk in the door. After visiting Hatch and seeing the chile's roasted first hand I couldn't get myself to plonk down the inflated price per pound that Foragers Market was asking.


Onward I go. Just down the street is the beautiful Brooklyn bridge park, this was my first time visiting this park, it has some great views of the Brooklyn bridge, the Manhattan skyline and the waterfalls. I truck on over the Brooklyn Bridge, I end up at the world trade site. I carry on through battery park and the Manhattan waterfront greenway. Finally deciding on going to the south street seaport to catch the awesome, free ikea ferry over to Red Hook to make my way back home. Not only do you get to enjoy a great 20 minute boat ride, you have spectacular views, you can bring your bike and it's free. I've hopped on this ferry quite a bit the summer just for the ride.

So it's the weekend, and I know the Red Hook food vendors are in full swing. I've been reading about this food mecca for months now, finally this is my chance to check this place out.


As I approach the Red Hook soccer fields I hear music playing in the distance. Soccer matches are in full swing with more spectators than the New England Revolution will ever have. Surrounding the fields are around 10 to 15 food vendors all hawking a taste of South America. The best way to describe the scene here is a massive block party with live bands playing and so many people running around I could barely get situated.

The first truck I stopped at was a horchata/fruit juice vendor. I went with the horchata, this was top notch. I'm going to assume this is grandma's secret recipe because this was the smoothest and most flavorful cup to date.


After walking between all the vendors I decided on pupusa's, mainly because the line was the longest. Obviously pupusa's from this truck were the most popular item of the day. I've tried pupusa's once before and thought they were quite bland. Maybe the mesa to filling ratio was off but these were spot on. The plate consisted of one pork & cheese, one bean & cheese, pickled jalapenos, and curtido. Curtido is a pickled cabbage Salvadorian side dish, with just enough bite but pretty far off from sauerkraut. This was just great, so much flavor, the pupusa's had a nice char with great fillings, the whole atmosphere of the day was really something else.

I had some serious cramps biking back, I ate way too much.

Check out Bourdain and Andrew Zimmern feasting in Red Hook.

Chippers and Blue!

A slightly higher brow approach to Wellfleet's bastard fish.

I can still remember getting pushed out of bed by my dad before the sun was even up. We would make it from Dennis to Wellfleet before the sun eventually pushed through on those grey Cape Cod mornings. My grandfather had an old center console boat at the town landing in Wellfleet. He fished for blues & stripers for a while.

me & a striper: circa 1990-something off Cape Cod

I was pretty young when they went out, but it still is of my best memories. I can remember leaving the harbor and trucking out to sea at full speed for what seemed like forever. Eventually there was no land in sight, the water was deep and choppy. This was the point of no return, it's time to show your sea legs or you'll be turning green and praying for shore. Luckily I stood strong, as I think most Adams' were born with sea legs.

The outboard finally slowed down. The fish finder, the active birds, "boiling water" and the strange faint smell of watermelon all pointed to a feeding frenzy. We dropped our lines and started reeling them in, they kept coming. We had all sorts of lines, rod and rigs out. I know we had some reels set up with lead line and jigs, you needed a glove to fish this one. I can't recall how many we caught on this particular trip but it seemed like a hell of a lot. Those bastard bluefish liked to fight too, they didn't come in easily. The blues weren't afraid to take one last look at you in the eye before trying to bite some of your flesh off while you're lazily removing a hook.

On the way back in to Wellfleet we went around the tip of Provincetown, I got to do some diving and swimming near some sand bars. Back to business at the pier as it was time to sell the days catch before stopping at the Beachcomber. They must have known a guy because I was way too young to be in there...Anyway I guess you can say I have a soft spot for the bastard so here it is.

Chippers and Blue: Old Blighty style fried bluefish, mixed rosemary oven chippers and a fresh corn & tomato salad.


Mixed rosemary oven chippers

• Sweet potatoes & baby new's tossed in olive oil, chopped fresh rosemary, sea salt and pepper roasted at 450 for a half hour. These are our new favorite chips or "chippers."

Fresh corn & tomato salad

• 3 ears of corn, kernals sliced.
  
• 3 roma tomatoes diced.
  
• Quarter of an onion diced
• Chopped basil
• Toss with sea salt, pepper and olive oil and bring up to heat on the stovetop. You don't really want to cook this, I just wanted it warm with a nice "raw" bite.

Old Blighty style fried bluefish

• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup seltzer water (unshaken next time please...)
• 1 egg
• sea salt and pepper
• bluefish (or fish of choice)

Stir the batter up, get rid of those lumps. (It's probably not too late to turn this batter into pancakes.) The seltzer is suppose to give the crust a nice airy lift and a good bite which it did. Cut your FRESH bluefish into serving size pieces and dip into your batter before frying in medium high oil. The fish took around 8 minutes per side. When I'm frying battered fish I always cook by color. You're looking for a nice dark golden brown.

Plate & enjoy.

Have you seen the video yet?...

This is the first of hopefully many more video's to come for The Salted Cod. We're still working on a few things, but keep a look out for more.

You can also subscribe to our video feed on BLIP!

A big thanks to Oats for making our video dreams come true.

"Chippers and blue, chippers and blue!" God I couldn't stop saying that for a few days.

Cannoli deconstruction.

Maybe?


I had close to a cup of left over ricotta from the stuffed zucchini blossom recipe and couldn't let it go to waste.

I made a quick deconstructed cannoli.

1 cup ricotta
~1/4 cup confectioners sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon lemon zest for garnish

Tasted great like a lemony cannoli filling pudding, but would have worked much better with an anise wafer or something crunchy to complete the idea.

Maybe next time.

Factory Fresh

Tortilleria Los Hermanos...with out factory tastes.


Behind the unassuming factory doors of Bushwick's, Tortilleria Los Hermanos, lies something special. Not only are they pumping out case after case of homemade tortillas for purchase and distribution regionally and possibly nationally, they are also utilizing these ultra fresh tortillas at their in-house taco stand.

For gringos like me in this neighborhood, Los Hermanos is a gift from above, meeting and exceeding most of my picky demands:

• proximity to my home (less than a 5 minute bike ride)
• fresh and clean (lets just say I've seen a few questionable establishments in this general area.)
• $$ ($2 tacos- COME ON!)
• honest food (a nice lady was owning the grill with her daughter bringing the tacos over to everyone at the communal table on the factory floor)

I pigged out for less than $10, 2 tacos will fill you up. I had three out of sheer excitement and was completely stuffed.


LOS HERMANOS TACO AWARDS!

Simple two tortilla tacos, seasoned with a squeeze of lime, a drizzle of sour cream, sliced lettuce and cilantro and your choice of homemade red or green sauce.

3RD PLACE: Spicy Pork

Great pulled pork, just spicy enough, dripping with a bit of red oil with a good bit of heat depending on who you ask.

We like things hot, because we're hot to trot.

2ND PLACE: Salty Beef

Not sure what cut this came from, I'm assuming it was a braised shoulder stripped and seasoned. There was something about the overly salty meat that just melted in my mouth and made me smile.

1ST PLACE: Chorizo

I'm awarding the gold ribbon to the chorizo taco because I feel it represented everything that's great about the 2nd and 3rd place winners. Salty, spicy and simple.

Honest food, be sure to wash it down with a Mexican cane sugar coke.



Tortilleria Los Hermanos
271 Starr St.
Bushwick, Brooklyn, NYC
12-9 p.m. Monday through Friday
Leave your plastic at home

Little Moscow by the sea

So I'm coming to the conclusion that there is nothing better than having fast and cheap public transportation that will take you from your door to countless destinations including many beaches within an hour. After a rather disappointing trip to rock, rock, rock-a-away beach I decided to see what other seaside destinations the silver bullet could take me.

Just past Coney Island lies Brighton Beach with clean sand, and a tight knit Russian community with many cheap eats possibilities.


M&I International Food at 249 Brighton Beach Ave in Brooklyn is one of the largest eastern European markets this side of the Kremlin. Hosting endless displays of smoked fish & meat, pickled goods, breads, cakes, lots of great fresh produce and a nasty selection of Kvass.

Some Russian tough guy started speaking to me IN Russian as I was holding a big ol bottle of Kvass. I have to assume the rough translation to English went something like this:

"That bottle will grow hair on your chest, do you think you can handle that little man?" Followed by an awkward wink.

Upstairs at M&I is where to go, there is a small cafe with a hot food bar, everything is $5.99 a pound. I got a plate full for under $5.00. My favorite was the golumpkie, it reminded me of my grandmothers Polish golumpkies she use to make for my grandfather and I. There were some mystery meat filled "tortellini" dumplings, potato pierogies and also a strange ground chicken pattie which was saltier than the dead sea.

There is a lot to choose from at M&I, most of it was pretty good and very reasonably priced. After soaking in some rays head over to Brighton Beach Ave to fill up.

Learn some Russian phrases before you go to better enjoy your trip to little Moscow by the sea.

Creative Spaces

A garden grows in Brooklyn...

Leaving Behind the Trucker Hat

The New York Times ran an excellent article yesterday on the young farmers movement. The Times interviewed the two young farmers who left life behind in Brooklyn to start the The Hearty Roots Community Farm in upstate New York. I found this article to be quite inspiring as I've thought about doing this myself for some time.

It's nice to see some of my peers finding success in this field...

Click here to continue to the New York Times article.

Fornino: Williamsburg

Fornino, Margherita Classica
Originally uploaded by Slice

We really love pizza. We’ve been known to go on long pizza binges, sometimes so desperate we'd fry a pizza slice to reheat it out of necessity. We've also been known to anger others with our intense pizza cravings. Luckily for us, we found heaven at Fornino’s in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

Fornino’s is artisan pizza at its very best. As far as we know from reading the menu, everything is made in house, including the mozzarella. They also have their own garden space to grow herbs and tomatoes. The wood fired oven gives the crust a nice, crispy, slightly charred flavor. This is the only way too cook a pizza; we’re thinking of starting a petition to have the government mandate this.

We actually visited Fornino on two consecutive nights. On our first visit we ordered (and engulfed) a pie called the Al Roker. This was ordered partly due to the hilarious nature of the name, being the only celebrity pie on the menu. More so because we were craving caramelized onions on our pie. In addition to the caramelized onions, the Al Roker included sopressata, garlic, rosemary and fresh mozzarella. A winning combination, the rosemary really accents the sweet smokey tomato sauce while the sopressata is just salty enough to make you crave more.

The next night we truly tried to find a new joint to check out but we had to face the facts, we wanted another slice of Fornino. We order the Margherita classic as pictured. So simple, so good. Some great olive oil drizzled on at the end was a nice touch.

We’re already craving more; maybe we’ll hit up Emmas in Cambridge this week…

Press 195

Fresh fresh fresh, pressed to perfection, very nice patio, poor service.

Drama Cafe - 341 Fifth Ave, Brooklyn NY 11215

Sweet outdoor patio seating, extremely hospitable ridiculous chef hangs out with you as well.

Totonno's Pizza

The famous coal oven pizza endorsed by the Ramones was CLOSED for the day.