summer time

the garden today!

It's been dry and and hot & sunny for most of the last 8 weeks.  We've had so many beautiful days, & this summer really has been unlike any other I have ever experienced in vermont.  The lack of rain does have it's disadvantages- which, in my opinion are much easier & more pleasant to deal with than an over abundance of rain, the likes of which nearly killed kismet last year.  Honestly, the lack of rain means that our sandy garden needs constant watering- which (due to a tiny budget that prevents us purchasing any sort of high tech irrigation) means at least 9 hours a week speant watering the garden!  Besides the obvious impact it has made on my seriously minuscule social life,  I am happy to spend the time in the garden & for the first time in nearly 7 years, I get to work outside of the kitchen!!

Thankfully, earlier this week we were showered with a blessed inch of rain & a hearty amount of lightning that woke the soil, stimulated the plants & gave everything a little boost of confidence for a couple of days.  Today, Moses & I went to the garden together to check on the 40 foot rows of tiny carrot seedlings genevieve & I planted nearly 3 weeks ago- with their roots so tiny & our soil so sandy, I was keeping my fingers crossed that they hadn't met their fate in the 90 degree weather we had earlier this week.  Sure enough they were still there, though a bit stunted & already dry in this morning's early sunshine.
Moses watered & I weeded, pulling out & setting aside the plantain for a salve we will make for gifts later this year.  We snacked on succulent purslane & nibbled the blueish gray leaves of the wild lambs quarters.  Then together, we walked through the garden to count toads, harvest herbs & green beans, & check on the pollination activity buzzing around the mellon & squash stations.
I asked Moses if he would rather work in the garden or in the kitchen & he readily said, "The garden!".  "Even if it were cold & rainy like last year?", I asked.  "Oh, right" he said, "definitely the kitchen."  Then he said, "Well, I guess you're pretty lucky to get to do both."  Yes, indeed I am.

TODAY'S HARVEST

another batch of green beans, ready to be pickled & set aside for august weddings

calendula blossoms, these perfectly orange blossoms will spend 4 months hanging out in 2 gallons of olive oil for a cheery golden salad dressing to brighten up our winter salads

sage tips, about to be married to a large jar of honey- a particularly aromatic & sensational relationship 

nasturtium & pansies, because they are fun to put in salads & i like the way the purple pansy petals look chopped up in my feta marinade mix

celebrate today

lately i have been so full of awe and inspiration

true gratitude

today i was met with

garden flowers

blue sky

& sunshine

i met the children after school to celebrate

the end of another school year

& the beginning of summer

tomorrow moses will turn 13

and officially kismet

will watch another set of teenagers

grow, blossom, and become

adults

just as we did with alexis years ago.

today is also my grandmother's birthday

june blake

one of the most gracious and inspiring people i have ever known

& whom i was named after 

When I was 15, I cooked a meal for my grandmother

whole grilled tomatoes with rosemary & lemon

and while we ate she exclaimed

"oh crystal, when you open a restaurant I WANT TO EAT THERE!!"

i laughed at the thought

because i never thought i would open a restaurant!!

now, 

30 years later

I

 invite you to join me in celebrating

 the many days and moments that have lead us all here

eat well 

love deeply

and enjoy yourself!

tonight:

for grandma:

chilled tomato soup

of pureed grilled tomatoes with rosemary & lemon

for my kiwi:

gluten free fish & chips

fresh maine flounder, house fries

xxooo

inch by inch

it has been such an amazing spring! hot weather, sunshine, green everywhere, birds everywhere, but also kismet is back in the garden!!

watch as our garden grows, and look to mark your calendar for upcoming garden events!!

today genevieve & i dug raised beds (with emer in the lower bed pulling sod & making beds too), and planted our wee little onion stets (from cate & paul at high ledge farm), as well as sewed some seeds! it is kind of crazy how amazing it feels to be in that garden! Every morning when I arrive, i take a walk around the grounds and note the growth that occurred since i had been before.. sometimes, even while i am working, i feel like i can look up and SEE things GROWING! dandelions have practically blossomed & gone to seed before my eyes in this crazy 80 degree spring heat wave!

join us in celebrating the tiny miracles!

hello spring!!

mother's day menu 2012!

ok, it's true.. i picked some of my favorite things.. 

xoxo

spring harvest in session

 this weeks local produce includes:

wild ramp pistou 

steamed fiddleheads

hartwood farm baby parsnips

mystic morning farm radish

blackwell roots turnip

pete's tatsoi, kale, basil & salad

dog river spinach

deep root carrots & beets

jim markle's baby potatoes

genevieve's sprouts

our own violet petals 

champlain apples 

leeks

and all of it will be featured along with local meats & cheeses on this week's restaurant week menu!!

now it begins! and will just get better & better!!

xxoo

melissa told me to

from time to time, someone will give me insight from the perspective of a kismet diner (something i rarely ever get to be, considering i spend open hours in the kitchen).  Last week, while discussing our menu and specials being offered for the week, Melissa (our saturday host and our newest member), commented that she wished that the kismet menu offered more appetizer or "snacky things".  It's true that we have a very limited selection of apps, and all of them have been on the menu for at least a year now.  

"Hmm, ok," i thought, that's a good point.  I also like to order apps when i go out to eat, and sometimes will go to several places in one night just to sample appetizers (one of my favorite ways to dine while on vacation).  Recently, on my trip to new orleans, I think I mentioned that jay and I went to 6 or seven restaurants one day, ordering snacks and sampling wine menus- it was really fun! And just last month, several of us from kismet when to burlington to celebrate a birthday and went app hopping with a group of 8! We were psyched to get to sample different little bites, and also thankful for the places that could accommodate us (we are a very flexible group & can squeeze 8 into a table for 4 if that's what was needed! & we LOVE going out and leaving BIG TIPS for our hosts!!)

ANY WAY

tonight, in honor of melissa's request, we have 3 app specials, inspired by MY favorite meaty things (veg specials featured next week!!):

moses & miguel's flounder ceviche 

with toasted spices & grapefruit

moses & miguel made this today while talking about their girlfriends, sports & books they like to read.  moses will be 13 this year, and has really been attached to miguel who will be 17 this year.  Though this is not the first time they have made ceviche, this is the first time they made it together= i think it tastes better today for some reason.. (and i'm a sap that just loves teamwork)

carpaccio 

with capers, our own horseradish, fennel & pickled red onion

i think that carpaccio is one of the sexiest, luscious, delicious ways to eat good cuts of beef.  one day, while playing with some leftover end cuts of fillet, i made a plate of carpaccio for my 7 year old son fela.  he was heard from all of the restaurant yumming & wowing while he devoured it using knife & fork like a prince.  Since then, he has declared this his favorite "salad" and asks me to make it nearly everytime he comes to the restaurant.  I agree, it is pretty darn good.

lamb meat balls (g.f.) with white bean ragout & ramp pistou

something you may not know about me is that i LOVE meatballs.  My love for meatballs is truly an adult revolation.  When i was a kid, i was much more of an eggplant parm kinda girl over meatballs (unlike my sister who was seldom more pleased by anything other than a meatball).  In my early adulthood, i spent my naughty vegan fantasies on brownie sundays and anchovies, but in the last  years, since identifying my own "comfort foods" I've come to accept and appreciate my honest & pure love for a good meat ball.... here's one recipe that i love- it's inspired by minestrone soup, but served as an appetizer with a healthy olive oil & lemon garnish perfect for spring..

xxoo

hunting for spring

today i woke up to birds chirping and a family of deer outside my window-

i woke like a creature coming out of hibernation-

visualizing wild leeks and fiddleheads

i felt like i could almost smell them- & feel moist dank dirt on my hands.

so i made a few calls and set out to a patch of forest near the reservoir-

the sun was warm today, and the brook was babbling- so i knew that i could very well find something despite how early in the year it is to be foraging.

I walked along the brook

found puffballs and bones

saw dainty blades of chicory

and thought about what may or may not be growing beneath my feet.

It's true that i returned to town with an empty harvesting bag,

but my little visit to the forest inspired me in a way that

reading cookbooks, planning menus, or leafing through seed catalogs leave lacking.

today we celebrate the farmers & foragers

dedicated and determined to

find & nurture the wildness around us

special

steak frittes

seared greenfield highland beef NEW YORK STRIP, topped with a poached alpaca farm duck egg, drizzled with a savory butter of capers & allen lapage's wild leeks

served with vt grown potato fries