It’s Eat Drink Local Week in New York and I feel pretty good about representing.
Among the items Edible Manhattan throws down as a challenge:
10. Cook your cast-offs! Think corn cob stock, sauteed beet tops, and pickled watermelon rinds.
>> Maybe it’s my poverty mentality or perhaps my waste-nothing husband, but I’m a big fan of putting everything to use. If we buy beets, I love to cook the greens. Last night, I made a pasta sauce with New Jersey tomatoes and I threw in a cheese rind we’d frozen to give a little added oomph. Delicious.
11. Preserve! Pickle cucumbers, can grape jelly or freeze pesto.
>> I haven’t done any pickling myself, but does it count if I took a pickling class with Bob McClure and wrote a story about pickling?
13. Shuck your own clams, mussels, scallops or oysters.
>> I had dinner at Grand Central Oyster Bar and made a point of ordering some East Coast oysters. I didn’t shuck my own but I supported the local mollusks.
15. Check out a cookbook from your local library.
17. Ponder the gospel according to Berry: Read a great food book. (Peruse our favorites below.)
>> I’m reading The United States of Arugula, checked out from our local library. Does that double count? How about if I also have a Ruth Reichl book out?
19. Drink only local water—it’s called “tap,“ people.
>> As I wrote before, I love my SodaStream. We take tap water, carbonate it and shazam! It’s like buying mineral water, but without all the shipping and packaging.
Want to support Eat Drink Local Week? Check out a participating restaurant or find the farmers market nearest you.