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Community Supported Agriculture ~ Eating Local and Working Together

I’ve been wanting to blog on Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs for some time now.  I find CSA’s so interesting for many reasons.  It is a definite trend that continues to grow (no pun intended!), helps people to eat local and brings so many people together between the farmers and the people who buy the produce.  One of the most intriguing aspects of CSA’s for me is the entrepreneurial spirit they bring, and the fact that I have seen so many women becoming farmers and running small farms!  Typically, a CSA charges about $500 to each person who joins, and in return that person receives about 22 weeks of beautifully fresh, local produce late spring to early fall!  I think it’s a great way to be in touch with the local economy and eat healthy all season long.  CSA programs definitely fill up early – and the earth’s bounty only goes so far, so I would do your research and find a CSA in your area today if you are looking to join one for next season!  Below are a few resources that I have found helpful:

 

Just Food - an organization that works to develope a just and sustainable food system in New York City.

 

Columbia County Bounty - has all sorts of great resources on famers markets and other food related info for Columbia County, NY - and the "Taste of Columbia County" is on August 3rd - so you can taste all the locally produced food yourself!

 

New York City Community Garden Coalition - in case you can't get into a CSA program - Community Gardens are just as great!

Murray's Ice Cream Event!

As you know by now – Ice Cream is one of my favorite things!  When I heard that Murray’s Cheese was holding an ice cream event I just had to leave the birthday party I was attending in far Queens to taste the ice cream!  The event was nice, held in the upstairs room of Murray’s and the event was packed with ice cream lovers!  The Van Leeuwen Artisan Ice Cream was yummy – but the real lesson I learned was a nifty tip that I will share with you all!  All of the toppings were supplied by Knipschildt Chocolatier and if you like caramel sauce, but think it might be too sweet at times – the Knipschildt representative suggested I pour a little sprinkle of sea salt over the sauce to cut the sweetness.  Well I’ll be – that was the best part!  So, next time you think your caramel is a little too sweet for your liking – make sure you have a little salt to temper the taste!  That tip alone was worth the reasonable $5 I paid for the ice cream!

 

Have no fear, if you can’t get over to an ice cream event, Better Homes and Gardens has about 23 amazing recipes on it’s website for frozen treats.  So get on over there, start churning that ice cream and tantalize your taste buds!  If any of you have a great ice cream shop that I just HAVE to try, please comment and let me know - meanwhile I will be scoping out my next “scoop”! 

Outdoor Pianos Bring Music to the Street!

Outdoor pianos are slowly starting to take over the streets!  On Sunday, July 12th on the CBS Sunday Morning show I watched an amazing story about a project in London to bring music to the streets.  30 Pianos have been placed around London each one with the words "Play Me, I'm Yours" written on it.  Artist Luke Jerram brought this event to life as part of the City of London Festival.  I love the idea of music spontaneously happening around a city!  Go figure, two days after I saw that segment I was walking down into the West Fourth Street station and came across a man with a full piano playing in the subway!  Later I found out he was the "Crazy Piano Man", who is in fact, not crazy at all, but simply thinks its a great idea to bring a real piano into interesting places while making people happy and making himself some money!  His name is Collin Huggins and I would definitely listen to him when you can - visit his website to stay on top of where he is.  Here is a pic of when I saw him in the subway!

cNOTE Artwork ~ Where Sounds Comes to Life!

I happened to be walking through the Conde Nast Building on Tuesday and saw these images that reminded me of African textiles – I was thinking it was so interesting that they were on display!  As I walked closer and saw the name of the exhibit, I realized, in fact, it wasn’t African textiles – but cNOTE art by Erik Rosen.  Erik, after going through a stem cell transplant procedure, started seeing the music – these colorful images are a phenomena called synesthesia – basically a misfiring of the senses.  He created these beautiful images of boxes of differing shapes to represent the notes he sees.  Since it reminds me so much of the African textiles I so adore – it makes me think if some of the artists of the earliest textiles also had this unique sensory experience.  Either way – definitely check out Rosen’s images on view until July 20^th! 

Choc-o-lait - Soothe Your Sweet Tooth

While attending the 55^th Summer Fancy Food Show, I came across something for all you chocolate lovers to soothe your sweet tooth.  With Choc-o-lait, stir up a delicious cup of hot chocolate in less than one minute.  Unwrap the luscious authentic Belgian chocolate cube, stir with the attached wooden stick and enjoy!  Choc-o-lait comes in four delightful varieties: dark, milk, hazelnut or real Cointreau.  For those who would like to share this as a gift, Choc-o-lait offers gift packages complete with either eight Choc-o-lait sticks of each kind or four Choc-o-lait sticks and a mug. 

Wedding Cake Toppers - The Icing on the Cake

Who ever thought that the top of a wedding cake could be embellished with so many possibilities? Renellie International and One & Only Figures have definitely taken this category to a new level. Specializing in a variety of lovely keepsake quality wedding cake toppers, Renellie has created eight different interchangeable multi-ethnic partners that can be individually matched as a couple.  And if you want to see your matrimonial faces adorn your special confectionary creation, One & Only Figures can definitely make this happen with magical precision. Wedding Cake toppers are definitely the new icing on the cake!