Mushrooms on my mind

The seasons are changing here...there's a nip in the air in the wee hours of the morning. I've recently joined the NY Mycological Society and am back in mushroom heaven. Recently R and I went to NJ in search of mushrooms, namely the maitake, or hen of the woods mushroom. I found a big one, and at Monday's forager's meeting, a very nice woman brought big chunks of one she had harvested in Pennsylvania.

Most days whenever I'm walking, I have my eyes focused downward, and then once in a walk, high up. I'm hunting for mushrooms. I'm wild about them actually. Wouldn't you be? In these modern times when we more often than not source our food from the supermarket, it's nice to be able to find your food right at the source.

Mind you, I stay clear of eating mushrooms that I find right next to walking paths or on side walks. And of course, before I eat, I make sure to find a few specimens to bring to my local mushroom experts for identification and confirmation. And I do a spore print!

I've got mushroom mania...the colors, the smells, the patterns. I met an artist recently who does spore print art...now how cool is that?

A slideshow of some mushrooms I've found in NYC and NJ

Babar celebrates his 80th birthday

In May R and I visited the spring rummage sale at the Croix Rouge Française to say hi to our friends and fellow volunteers. This group does great work and are some of my favorite old active people. What I learned in France was that retirement doesn't mean sitting all day on your fesse!

Laying in a giant mountain of plush toys and dolls, R spotted the kingly Babar—with a gold crown atop his head, spotless bright green suit, and black shoes. Babar stood out from the rest of the other peluches there, and R bought him for us, to bring to the U.S. as a reminder of France. Earlier I had found a beautifully illustrated French version of Babar at the Christmas rummage sale, so we needed to add to our collection.

At first Babar graced us with his presence in France, and now he's sitting in NYC after having survived the transatlantic trip in R's suitcase. He wasn't any worse for the trip, and recently we were lucky enough to meet Babar's author/illustrator, Laurent de Brunhoff.

September 10, 2011—R and I were so thrilled to have met Laurent de Brunhoff and his wife Phyllis Rose at Books of Wonder in NYC. Laurent graciously signed and illustrated my copy of his latest book, Babar's Celestville Games. Phyllis Rose autographed Babar's Yoga for Elephants, a project that the de Brunhoffs worked on together. The couple took our address in France and will be sending us a paper invitation for Les histoires de Babar exhibition in Paris which is planned for later this year.  

We recently found out that our Babar is special—not only is he proportionately made and the best example of a Babar toy the de Brunhoffs have ever seen, Babar speaks and sings in French. We put some batteries into him and he recounts 5 or 6 stories and sings about 15 different songs en français. Magnifique!

Links:
The 80th Anniversary of Babar
Les histoires de Babar at the Les Arts Décoraftifs Musée in Paris

A roundup of cool edibles

There's a statistic out there that New Yorkers eat half of their meals out—whether it's at the local deli, a street vendor, food truck, or at one of the 13,000 bars and restaurants in NY.

In recent months R and I have been dining much more outside our home...first out of necessity when we were still apartment hunting, and now because there are so many temptations in our neighborhood. While NYC has many options, those in the know come to Queens which is sort of like a small version of the UN. Walking down the streets below the 7 line, there's no shortage of places to whet your appetite.

Queens is a food mecca of sorts and you don't have to empty your wallet for a delicious dining experience.

Consider Flushing Mall's Food Court. I hear it's closing at the end of this year to make way for a parking lot for the new Flushing Commons development. Before I say goodbye to this place, I'm planning on eating there as many times as possible....and try stinky tofu for the first time!

Or the Roosevelt Food Court which closed down a few years ago. What a shame we never got to try the goodies there.

Here's a quick round up of eats and culture from the past few weeks.

Xi'an Famous Foods

81 St Marks Pl
(between 2nd Ave & 1st Ave)
New York, NY 10003
Neighborhood: East Village

(212) 786-2068

If this place is good enough for Anthony Bourdain and Andrew Zimmerman, then it was certainly good enough for me to try. I brought my Chinese friend M for company. We each ordered a stewed pork bun ($2.50 each); she was prudent and ordered a cold buckwheat noodle dish ($5.00) while I tempted fate with a spicy chewy noodle dish called Concubine's Chicken Hand-Ripped Noodles ($6.00).

Verdict: Xi'an, home to one of China's most amazing treasures, the terracotta warriors, is also known for its yummy spicy cuisine. The spicy chewy noodle has a great texture and is very different than the hand-pulled noodles from Lan Zhou. M and I only scratched the surface of this little resto's offerings. Next time I promise to sample the lamb buns and other not so spicy noodles.

Martha's Country Bakery
70-30 Austin St

Forest Hills, NY 11375
Neighborhood: Forest Hills

(718) 544-0088

Verdict: "A balanced diet is holding a cookie in each hand"......a sign seen at Martha's Country Bakery. R and I visited it for the second time in as many years. This time we had just finished dinner so we only wanted a small nibble and settled on a smallish cherry tart for $3.95 + tax. The results: a flaky but not overly buttery crust, a great cherry not too sweet fruit filling, none of that canned mess. A bit on the expensive side compared to the delicious fruit tarts in my small town in France but I wanted to do a tasting. Besides Martha's, Forest Hill is home to a few other places I'd love to try next: World of Cheese and Homefront.
 
Udon West
150 E 46th St

(between Lexington Ave & 3rd Ave)
New York, NY 10017
Neighborhood: Midtown East

(212) 922-9677

Verdict: Situated across the street from the Grand Central branch of the NY Public Library, it's a small unassuming place except for the large signs outside which enticed me inside to try their little Japanese tapas dishes. A bit cold that day, I had my mind on a big bowl of hot udon soup to warm me up. First, I love the vibe of this place...the entire crew shouts a welcome whenever anyone enters, then you're seated and served a hot cup of green tea right away. I ordered chicken teriyaki which came with jasmine rice, a salad, and miso soup. The chicken was moist, juicy, with the right ratio of salty and sweet. The salad was fine but the miso was delicious! It was clear they don't make miso from a bag, or a can...it tasted fresh, deep, and briny.

Cool edible NYC, Queens-style

In the few months that I've been here, I've found so many cool new places to try in the greater NYC area. We all know that NYC has always been cool (loud, dirty, but cool). And in recent years Brooklyn has become super cool. But what about Queens?

I'm a fan of Edible, a publication about local, sustainable food. This week I found out that there's an Edible Queens!

A new season in NY

Bonjour septembre! With all the moving, settling in, and frequent trips from NYC to Boston, this summer slipped by too fast. Then it was the Labor Day long weekend. Before summer escaped us, R and I decided to visit Luna Park, a new amusement park situated right along the beach in Coney Island, Brooklyn.

If you're in Manhattan or Brooklyn, and itching to get out of the city, it's a nice ride on the F train to Coney Island. From Queens or beyond, be prepared for a lengthy subway ride. Despite the distance it was worth the trip, if only for people watching, walking through the flea market next door, or watching riders on The Slingshot get shot up in the air. Imagine a reverse bungee cord ride. No thank you!

What will I remember from my first trip to Coney Island? Luna Park with its amusement rides and many games and fried food stalls, typical of any amusement park you might visit in the U.S. Anticipating unhealthy options and succumbing to fried stuff at Luna Park, we actually ate in Koreatown before hopping on the F train. However I secretly wondered what a deep fried Oreo would taste like.

There on Coney Island we said goodbye to summer by taking a walk on the boardwalk and pier where locals were throwing in lines. I saw bait and lines, but no actual fish being caught.

I'll miss summer but autumn is one of my favorite seasons anyway. Besides fall fashion, I like smelling the crispness in the air, the leaf peeping, and the mushrooming! With the rains this past summer, most notably from Hurricane Irene and then Tropical Storm Lee, I predict a good crop of mushrooms this month. Even in a city as large, sprawling and dense as NYC, mushrooms are growing for those who know where to look. If only I could predict where to find them...