KISMET
intentionally delicious food created with passion. *
Thursday, August 07, 2008
Thursday, July 03, 2008
its been a while...
lets see..
spring birthdays--both alanna's and mine, and moses too and so many others...then there are the baby spring greens that come in with such tender and earnest eagerness--they come in and sing to us "use me, use me, use me quick!!",and well, we do our best and try to be the instrument that the song of spring wants to come through..
and now, well, this message comes at 12:30 pm, with me just really returning from my first real vacation in 10 years and sitting with kismet and the first snap peas of the season (stuffed in the fridge in big bags next to the first brocolli) and looking for words to describe who, when, and why i am here= everything just comes together and at the same time, emphises how sepreate things are.. i guess owning and running a restuarant and being a member of montpelier's close community and being a single-mom and, well being me, can be kind of overwhelming.. but in the spring, and in the summer it doesnt seem so bad--it just kind of grows on me, like the wild grape leaves and the bright moss and like how the artimisia just stand so tall by everydoorway, we too just kind of get a bit stronger, more alive and wild and free....i like that--dont you?
this spring at kismet we have explored the new local cherries, we have miandered through the many flavors and depths of the cheeses emerging from jasper hill's new caves and we have celebrated the earliest and freshest greens from the vermont herb and salad company.. our customers seem happy (it's actually really impossible to tell from my perspective) and we are all learning so much.
stefi has rejoined us, meagan and kelly have become trully exceptional, sara grace and alexis hurley in the kitchen have helped to fine tune somethings as well as lightened us with their vocal charms --and us--well we are still here everyday and honestly falling more and more in love with this process..
a recent talk with basil reminded me that love and intesity are not the same thing..
honor each equally and and watch the seasons go by...............
by the way---our pistou at the moment is amazing!
Monday, May 05, 2008
its spring..?? again..
spring
do you know the joy of dandelion?
i do..
jaded leaves-jagged and bitter--- ready to make my winter liver glow... yellow blossoms-promising fine fall wine- tempting children with the "pick me pick me" blossom of the first steady blossom..
i know spring.
i long for it all winter long
i was born in its quaking song.
i know wild leeks.
i know spring eggs.
i know easter
champagne
hunts
babbling brooks..
i know mothers day.
i know what it means to ask for something
and get it.
and here i am in vermont
loving
really loving vermont
and still pining for other places.
but i am here because it is spring
and i know two or three months of summer will follow
and it is my desire
and my challenge
to celebrate those who celebrate
these next two months with me..
broccoli in the green house..
cauliflower on the rise.
radishes and spinach all summer.
kale beyond disguise.
and love
where is love?
it is in the air we all know.
wedding bells
showers
and babies being born..
and homes built
and summer vacation before first grade
and tomatoes from the garden
and swimming,,,,,......................................................
where is love?
in the micro basil..
in the raspberry patch..
in the walk after midnight
in the heart
of it all..
Thursday, January 10, 2008
thinking about spring? us too..
i miss how the air feels on my skin- seems like i'm covered in multiple layers all the time now.. i miss green leaves and fresh local braising mix.. i miss long sunny afternoons and swimming.. i miss summer, it's true- and though i appreciate that it is winter that makes me appreciate every fleeting moment of summer, i can't help but feel that longing pulling at me a little..
When Alanna and I decided to close Kismet for all of February, we did so thinking that we would use that time to take a little winter vacation. We've both been working over 50 hours a week at kismet since last year as well as single-parenting each of our two children, and taking care of life's little miss-haps.. We fantasized about puerto rico, mexico, callebra, new orleans, and long hours lying in bed reading those books we've heard about on the new york times best seller's list.. I thought that I would take care of my book tour- i initiated and booked radio interviews and made little tour plans in my head- But alas, as the harsh reality of another vermont winter continues to deplete and demand all of our energy and attention, it feels like all we can do just to get our car out of the driveway and feed our children something other than miso soup and dumplings..
I have a feeling that a lot of people in this town feel the same way right now-- we all are enduring winter, because we're vermonters, and that's what we do- we stay inside for days at a time, we look deeply at ourselves, our homes, our health, our secret desires for ourselves as individuals. And we fantasize about how after this winter, after we are rejuvenated by this coming spring, we will enjoy the coming summer more furtively than the last, and we will sort it all out
Don't get me wrong, i appreciate months of meat and root vegetables.. I like cozy afternoons by the fire and how quiet the world is after fresh snow- i love going to bed early, watching movies, and the warmth of friends as we gather for meals. I love it when every branch of the trees are covered with ice or snow- i love the feeling i get when i open a jar of locally made preserves or pickles in the coldest months, and i so fully appreciate that every potato, beet, carrot, onion, and garlic that i pull from the pantry was grown nearby in earth that i can almost smell, harvested by humble hardworking hands like mine, with the intention to maximize every moment of our momentary growing season so that we can sustain ourselves and each other all year long.. Can these beets and garlic be enough? As I ration them out and try find new and excited uses for rutabagas and carrots, can i use this time to appreciate the little things? Can i really know simplicity and love it? how simple is a winter in vermont though?
Tomorrow morning the photographer from the seven days will come to take photos of our food for next week's paper.. We are featured as an organic local foods eatery and continually talk about how dedicated we are to the local foods movement and seasonal heirloom recipes. We make crepes with local organic flours, we limit our fruit and vegetable selections to those locally grown, and use only local meet and cheeses that are hormone free.. and tomorrow at ten am i will make a crepe dish and a salad for him to photograph for the paper... now- at the moment we have 5 pounds of beautiful mesclun mix in our refrigerator that has been flown in from california.. the last week has been particularly warm (for montpelier) and so we've sold lots of it.. everyone wants salad.. and the closest we can source it from is california... Now when the photographer said "make a salad" did he mean leafy california greens? or should i make something more season and local- as our menu (our menu says "seasonal salad") and mission statement promises? Is he trying to test me? Are we being set up? Honestly, the most photogenic of our salads is mesclun greens, vermont chevre, grated beets and carrots, slices of local apples, toasted sunflower seeds and sprinklings of organic pomegranate... hardly local really ... what if i made it with just the local ingredients? (apple, beets, carrots, chevre, grated cabbage, apple cider vinegar, maple syrup, maine sea salt...)
Winter is full of hard choices like this i suppose.. and more..
Sunday, November 25, 2007
summer suddenly seems so long ago...
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
hooray for autumn harvests!
Thursday, July 05, 2007


