TracyFood

Saying goodbye to Eugene. 25 August 2009 7:08 am

Posted by Tracy in : cooking,CSA,eating,eggs,eugene,events,fangirl,friends,fun,garden,good news,local food,meat,Morning Glory,news,not even vegetarian,nyc,oregon,seasonality,summer,writing , 2 comments

I wrote this piece for an assignment on personal essays and memoir in my food writing class last fall, and it isn’t exactly true anymore — I have had a few more last Saturdays in Eugene since the one described here. It’s still emotionally true, perhaps more so than ever now, and it’s appropriate, since Peter is saying goodbye to Eugene this morning and coming home to New York City, at last, with his shield, not on it. Congratulations, love. See you soon.

* * * * *

My last Saturday in Eugene, Oregon was pretty well perfect, thanks to a chance encounter with some carrot greens. I spotted them in the totebags of a pedestrian on the bike path south of the Lane County fairgrounds. She was on her way home from Saturday Market; Peter and I were riding our tandem to coffee after a morning of blueberry picking with Kevin and Laurel. It was August second, and thanks to those greens, I remembered it was our last chance to go to Saturday Market before our move. So after coffee, pastries, and a stumper of a New York Times crossword puzzle, we said goodbye to Kevin and Laurel. They rode south, and Peter and I went north, to our last Saturday Market for a long time. (more…)

Musical Monkey Monday! 8 June 2009 1:17 pm

Posted by Tracy in : events,fangirl,fun,garden,geekery,monkeys,random,summer , 2 comments

First, I would like to share a Malvina Reynolds song:

with thanks to Echidne of the Snakes for pointing me to this and other videos.

Next, check out this lovely bit of food blogging by the always thought-provoking David Bryne and then, if you’re in the New York area, join me for the man’s free concert in Prospect Park tonight! So awesome! (The weather does not look promising, but I’ll be the one dancing like no one is watching, in clothes that stay warm when wet.)

And finally, speaking of free concerts, I’d like to introduce you to my new favorite NYC street performer: (more…)

I don’t believe in fasting, but… 1 April 2009 9:29 am

Posted by Tracy in : events,garden,pictures,school , add a comment

I do believe in avoiding the attempts at humor that are April Fool’s Day on the Internet, so… this is all the post I’m going to do today. Besides, I’m about to go wrangle a few dozen six-year-olds (no foolin’) in this garden:

which means I’d better hurry up and pound my Dunkin’ Donuts coffee before it gets any more disgusting — I mean, cold. (Again, no foolin’ — I got up really early, but too late to get much breakfast at home, and once in a while I just love me some serious junk food.)

Report: “Room to Grow” mini-conference at NYU, 4 February 2009 10 February 2009 1:31 pm

Posted by Tracy in : agriculture,environment,events,garden,geekery,local food,nyc,people,school , add a comment

As you probably guessed from the title of this post, on Wednesday 4 February 2009, I attended the “Room to Grow: Envisioning Urban Agriculture at NYU” mini-conference. It was a great way of getting up to speed on gardening efforts around campus, and inspiring pictures of city farms and gardens always do a Tracy good. Plus I got to plant kale in a nifty newspaper pot (you can bet I snagged an extra to dissect, in the hopes that I can learn the relevant origami), hang out with other NYU gardening geeks, and there was tasty food, much of it locally grown. All told, it was a fabulous evening. (more…)

Monkey Monday: things I’m looking forward to 10 November 2008 7:35 am

Posted by Tracy in : baking,books,dessert,garden,geekery,good news,history,milk,monkeys,school,seasonality , 2 comments

It’s wonderful, having stuff to look forward to. Which might be why I so love food — there’s always another meal in my not-too-distant future, another chance to pursue my goal of always eating the most awesome option at any given opportunity. Cooking’s great for anticipatory goodness, too — the smells, the feelings, sneaking the occasional taste — and the knowledge that I’m making it happen is an added bonus. Gardening has similar joys — albeit with more surprises, since things will happen in a garden whether I make them or not, but that’s part of the fun. As I wrote in my extended review of Michael Pollan’s Second Nature,

What I love most about gardening (besides the delicious food, anyway) is the hope. Seeds always seem to put up sprouts the day after I’ve started to think they were eaten by birds, or worms, or that maybe they were just plain dead and I should have known better than to plant them to begin with. Every time I prune my rose bushes, I think maybe this time I’ve killed them, and instead they reward me with an abundance of flowers that still feels inexplicable (which just might have something to do with why I don’t prune as often or as ruthlessly as I should). Every time I eat something that grew in my garden with little help from me beyond my own hands, tools, and attitude, I think, “This is as real as magic gets.”

And on that note, I am happy to report that I’ve found my first garden in New York City! (more…)