Tag: Seth Fera-Schanes

Community Gardening: A NYC Experience

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Space comes at a premium in New York; we all know this to be true.  Large outdoor park spaces such as Van Cortlandt, Central, Prospect, Latourette and Kissena are weekend havens for the millions of residents who live across the five boroughs.

In addition to public parks, there are community gardens interspersed in neighborhoods around the city.  These gardens will generally have time scheduled for the general public but they also contain planter boxes for individual use.

Urban Garden Center: Eden Under a Harlem Bridge

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You look up and your eye follows the length of the train bridge overhead.  Above you, passing on those tracks are Metro-North trains taking passengers up to White Plains, along the Hudson and over to Connecticut.

Your lower your gaze and it front of you is a long path of greenery, found at the Urban Garden Center.  It is a garden of eden on 116th street and Park Avenue.  Surrounded by the city, you are standing amongst trees, flowers, succulents, vegetable and herb sprouts.

Wilted Kale Salad with Poached Duck Egg

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I think cauliflower might have replaced kale as the new ‘it’ vegetable (Nashville for example has all the cauliflower dishes you could ever hope for.)   But don’t worry, kale had it’s time in the sun and in case you aren’t ready to make the switch I put together a kale salad for you below.

The kale in this dish is lightly cooked so it retains a little bite and is complimented with the slightly sweet shallots.  You can pick up some duck eggs at the Union Square farmers market.  They have a rich yolk which is the perfect compliment to the salad and brings the whole dish together.

Warm Weather Meals: Mahi Mahi Lettuce Wrap

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No surprises here but New Yorker’s talk about food a lot…..like a lot a lot.  Where to get the best sandwich, why we are refusing to eat carbs, where there is a new gelato spot that imports their milk from real Italian Tuscan cows.  The Tuscan cow thing peaked your interest, right?

I was eating a banh mi sandwich and wanted to do a version that used all the flavors of the fresh veggies and cilantro.   I decided to use Mahi-Mahi and in place of the baguette picked out some butter lettuce leaves.  The result is a dish that would be perfect for a NYC rooftop bbq (if that is permitted) or get your cast iron skillet.

Afternoon in Cold Spring

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Cold Spring is a town of about 2,000 located right on the Hudson River and a 70 minute train ride from Manhattan.  It is no secret to people in the Hudson Valley and NYC but if you haven’t made the time to visit, be sure to schedule a 3/4 day visit in the immediate future.

Did Edgar Allan Poe Live in New York?

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Did you know the house where Edgar Allan Poe lived and worked for the last three years of his life is in the Bronx?  Well, believe it and get ready to hop on the D or 4 train up to Kingsbridge Road.

Pkhali: Georgian Vegetarian Spinach Dip

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The diverse cultural influences reflected in food and restaurants across the city are astounding.  Taking weekend trips to deeper parts of Brooklyn and Queens pays dividends to the traveler willing to sit on the N train for an extra 20 minutes.  Included below is an example of one of the great dishes available when you are in the city.

New Orleans: by Foot and by Fork

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Ask for a restaurant recommendation in New York and get ready to start Google mapping locations.  People in the city love to tell you their favorite haunts from brunch to borough for specific cultural dishes.  They will tell you what to order, what to expect and what time to go.  It’s quite impressive.  My trip down south had many similarities to this NYC approach.

Enchanting Charleston

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I decided to head down south to the city of Charleston, South Carolina.  Flight times come in just under 2 hours (2 hours out and 1.5 hours back!) Having never been to Charleston, I chose to stay downtown in the historic district to be close to landmark locations on my list of places to see.

I learned a few things on my trip to the Palmetto City.  First and foremost, Charleston is a city that forces you to make a lot of decisions.  Shall I get another order of Shrimp and Grits?  I already tried She Crab Soup, but should I get another bowl.  Do I spend a day on a boat in the harbor or walking around taking pictures and visiting historical landmarks around town?  An afternoon on the beach or marshland?  Fishing or Kayaking?

The Four Major Food Groups: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner and Dessert

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Pick a weekend (any weekend,) gather your friends and prepare to eat your way through the city and experience the four major food groups for yourselves: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner and Dessert.