have hoof will travel

So I need about a 1/2 dozen pig's feet in April.  Not smoked, not cured, not jellied - just raw pig's feet.  This is something you can easily find in Chinatown, but it's probably from a factory farm in Iowa or, perhaps even China.  We bought Duck eggs a year ago in Chinatown.  And after coming home saw the "product of China" label.

But thanks to Steven, I found Stephanie at Veritas Farm.  She's a short 2 hours from us and had heritage, humanely raised, pig's feet (frozen, of course).  "Um, yeah I have them but why would you want them?"

"Well, I need them for xue riezi."

"Ah, okay, Anu."

Well, nevermind, we made an agreement for the feet.  Now, I don't have a car.  Stephanie doesn't deliver to New York City.  Thank goodness for farmer's markets.  Our favorite farmer, Ray Bradley, happens to be a good friend and neighbor to Stephanie.  

Now, he'll bring the feet down to Grand Army Plaza.  And I'll pick them up.  How's that for low-carbon footprint.

more on the feet in recipes this April.

Screaming for Ice Cream

On Saturday, I decided to take the girls for an ice cream breakfast.  Questionable?  Definitely.  There's a new ice cream shop on Atlantic Avenue, Blue Marble, that specifies in farm-fresh ice cream.

What a fantastic place!

•  Instead of the ubiquitous splenda, they offer stevia extract (necessary to sweeten iced coffee)
  
• The plates and cups biodegrade in two months.
• The proprietor offers organic, local, products.

A breakfast of champions (organic, grass-fed cream, organic eggs, sugar)!

Bio-deisel

Have you seen this in your favorite restaurant's window? This is from The Farm.  Besides a delicious lunch, this restaurant turns all that kitchen waste into fuel. 

Is that renewable?  Man's gotta have fried chicken, right?  And why not turn the waste into fuel.

Trying for a local blanket

So I wanted to purchase my cousin-in-law (originally from Hingham, with deep roots in the Ocean State) a local, warm blanket.  In a recent copy of Edible Rhody (don't ask why), I found an add for Rhody Warm Blankets.  Aha! 

So I called up the RI Resource Conservation & Development Council.  I think I got a personal home.  When inquiring about the blanket, her voice lit up.

I asked, "is this a Rhode Island product?"

She replied, "Well..."  a-ha!

She went on, "See the wool is all 100% RI and from sheep raised organically.  But because there's nobody in the northeast that scours wool.  So we send it to Minnesota.  Then, we have it shipped to Western Massachusetts. There, the wool goes through a loom.  Then, the workable wool comes back to Rhode Island and is made into a blanket."

"Hmm...  Is that really local? I guess so."

"Sir, we the best we can and oh, we're sold out. Do you want to order one for next season?"

"Uhhh, ok."

What do you think?  Local?

Beer - always a local treat

Last Saturday, I met two friends for late-night pints.  In every part of the country, people can drink locally.  I bet there isn't a person living in the lower 48 that lives more than 250 miles from a craft brewer.

At my local pub, I had myriad local choices and selected these three pints.

Chelsea Pier 59 Pale Ale - this was on cask and pure heaven.  This would be my session beer, if I drank out of the home regularly and could find this regularly.  This had all the mouthfeel I look for in a beer and then the perfect balance of hoppy bitterness, malty goodness, & refreshing crispness.  the -ness TRIFECTA.

Captain Lawrence Liquid Gold - majestic and massive.

Bear Republic Hop Rod Rye - ok, not local, but reminiscent of the massive victory in Fort Worth, Texas.