tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-88566591424366010862024-02-06T23:15:23.934-05:00CityCountryCityboldsteinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14075495828609387403noreply@blogger.comBlogger43125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8856659142436601086.post-33012270092046939062012-03-25T21:53:00.002-04:002012-03-25T21:53:48.175-04:00Year 4 = N.F.A.The Almar garden is three times the size.<br />
<br />
The grow light is mounted. <br />
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The seeding station is heated.<br />
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Hops, peas, spinach, arugula, turnips, radishes and brocoli rabe are in the ground.<br />
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Tomatoes, tomatillos, eggplants, brocoli, brussels, kale, romanescos, herbs are germinating.<br />
<br />
No fucking around!<br />
<br />
Maybe I'll even blog a little more...boldsteinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14075495828609387403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8856659142436601086.post-86099115260717728362011-02-21T09:47:00.003-05:002011-02-21T09:52:17.027-05:00Alta off piste adventures with Larry, Jamie & PeepsLarry Wagenberg hooked this video up after our trip to Alta in January. It was fun to explore Alta and Snowbird with a group of great skiers. They helped me up my game and sent me down a few chutes that would probably qualify as "out of my element"... Good stuff!<br /><br /><iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/19905512" width="400" height="225" frameborder="0"></iframe><p><a href="http://vimeo.com/19905512">Alta 2011 (Medium)</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user6022513">Lawrence Wagenberg</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p><br /><br />Keep an eye out for the guy in the grey jacket with poor form and no helmet...one of those conditions got remedied on this trip...boldsteinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14075495828609387403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8856659142436601086.post-90786022312081593942010-10-05T23:01:00.003-04:002010-10-05T23:02:40.616-04:00signing off as a family of 2...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGKuDyppvuZJvvoXanLH1nW79TL5VC-TAkiO_lagsiK4ou-GQ-MtHjIkJaZxEDrIvdS5vc4eQ1zVQHg0XheBo7XEBfujq9PGi2eWulLNFZ6K35L745pW-P8gOgnGGHqXouXPr2yWN1U-pz/s1600/IMG_1517-1.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGKuDyppvuZJvvoXanLH1nW79TL5VC-TAkiO_lagsiK4ou-GQ-MtHjIkJaZxEDrIvdS5vc4eQ1zVQHg0XheBo7XEBfujq9PGi2eWulLNFZ6K35L745pW-P8gOgnGGHqXouXPr2yWN1U-pz/s400/IMG_1517-1.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5524763085611120626" /></a><br />everything changes in about 8 hours! lez, its been a fun five years, and i can't wait to start the next chapter!boldsteinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14075495828609387403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8856659142436601086.post-64576108739512673732010-08-28T13:35:00.003-04:002010-08-28T13:39:01.182-04:00working up an appetitequads humming. stomach growling. ready for some lunchalicious green zebras!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV9oGGWL1QESNc1lDAaaEtyC3jLbRSVAxqE_CBLklItNPvChb7YeMy6fDwO1e48HkqtwLV6LGVQjD8I2QLUF_ODazv3xIAGYADWbnaOQN63vmso1EBelArJF_98WC4fTDmMZm_qFP0QU2q/s1600/IMG_4138.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV9oGGWL1QESNc1lDAaaEtyC3jLbRSVAxqE_CBLklItNPvChb7YeMy6fDwO1e48HkqtwLV6LGVQjD8I2QLUF_ODazv3xIAGYADWbnaOQN63vmso1EBelArJF_98WC4fTDmMZm_qFP0QU2q/s400/IMG_4138.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5510516375300128866" /></a>boldsteinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14075495828609387403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8856659142436601086.post-70245222842150638082010-08-28T13:07:00.003-04:002010-08-28T13:27:16.582-04:00Suburban posse mi whhaan hear you!Yellowman provides the title and soundtrack for this morning's ride... a short jaunt around the local back roads. http://blip.fm/~vg7zn<br /><br /><!-- Start MMF Embed Tool --><br /><iframe id="mmf_blog_map" src="http://js.mapmyfitness.com/embed/blogview.html?r=355128301484239426&u=e&t=ride" height="500px" width="400px" frameborder="0"><br /><a href="http://www.mapmyride.com/route/detail/22139952/">katonah nice</a><br/><br /><a href="#">Find more Cycling Routes / Bike Rides in Katonah, NY</a><br />;</iframe><br /><!-- End MMF Embed Tool -->boldsteinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14075495828609387403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8856659142436601086.post-37163014356344141942010-08-22T14:13:00.003-04:002010-08-22T14:18:01.751-04:00Summer Harvest In Full EffectEvery trip into the garden is bringing mad veggies into the kitchen...these photos show consecutive weekends worth of goodies...there's a san marzano sunday lunch cooking up as i type...<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6Id1x-5SRO8ycyPRJe94TcnhbB0DwjKjMbsxqnKLWyKAZGCDI54M50Svtmmw51dDLfHpk-2RHR082g6oGEFraq6_XExSdwBlODXZZYYBvA2_7Nvssq3g9fdjy4pwgnjl2dDMP2HcyeUiG/s1600/IMG_4129.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6Id1x-5SRO8ycyPRJe94TcnhbB0DwjKjMbsxqnKLWyKAZGCDI54M50Svtmmw51dDLfHpk-2RHR082g6oGEFraq6_XExSdwBlODXZZYYBvA2_7Nvssq3g9fdjy4pwgnjl2dDMP2HcyeUiG/s400/IMG_4129.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5508299508641724578" /></a>boldsteinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14075495828609387403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8856659142436601086.post-32539923403302473132010-08-10T22:44:00.004-04:002010-08-10T22:58:15.514-04:00Nightly HarvestTwo posts in one night? Believe it! Its a blogging explosion!<br /><br />The Almar garden is in full effect right now. After coming back from a 3 day trip, there was all kinds of chaos...tomato plants crashing out of their cages, cucumbers going ballistic, the first eggplants and a couple of godzilla squashes, with one pictured alongside a couple of bottles for scale. that would be the polite picture...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjH-gPEFdyPVzCzn_JLBYwIFqc1F5xSlZ7f9pLg7G0DeCaeXGAtwSIwqi1MwM7wkuud9HTVNrUGTPPCcHsTQ25Vy7VumGnL8Tsru-mOH6H7JIoGMhigkwLHdc3SC430YBgFYgRCqAcG7Bc/s1600/godzilla.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjH-gPEFdyPVzCzn_JLBYwIFqc1F5xSlZ7f9pLg7G0DeCaeXGAtwSIwqi1MwM7wkuud9HTVNrUGTPPCcHsTQ25Vy7VumGnL8Tsru-mOH6H7JIoGMhigkwLHdc3SC430YBgFYgRCqAcG7Bc/s400/godzilla.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5503979375611831922" /></a><br /><br />Its pretty cool to go in there and find harvestable veggies every night. I threw a handful of san marzano and yellow pear tomatoes into a sauce with an eggplant...from garden to pan in a couple of minutes. Now I just need to figure out what to do with 4 pounds of squash!boldsteinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14075495828609387403noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8856659142436601086.post-6081450608757695402010-08-10T22:29:00.003-04:002010-08-10T22:43:11.865-04:00Adirondack flavaA few photos from last weekend's trip to the Adirondacks. Union Falls Pond is about 10 miles North of Lake Placid...we stayed on the lakeside camp of Jason's friend Dave, who's got mad boatbuilding skills! The 2am arrival was key...so nice to wake up in the middle of nowhere for a couple of days completely devoid of blackberries/cellphones/etc!<br /><br /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" width="400" height="267" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&hl=en_US&feat=flashalbum&RGB=0x000000&feed=http%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2Fmitchbernstein%2Falbumid%2F5503967730845816849%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed>boldsteinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14075495828609387403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8856659142436601086.post-91629857276059401852010-08-04T21:02:00.002-04:002010-08-04T21:05:19.441-04:00for new readers and oldyes, its been way too long since i posted. and there's been all kinds of good stuff coming out the garden. so apologies that this took so long, but here are the first of what promises to be a bumper tomato harvest, a couple of costata romanesca squashes, a hot pepper and the latest in a production line of cucumbers...next up eggplants...can't wait!<br /><br /><br /><p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRk9hwDXVzXudmAQ20-fxnCJExTSsfQph54BZFMJIkvhGIvCmUHAJeSikfb05tsYdeoBxNPhWtT0gyLsOJ_MZmd4QB3UKQGKqMurwBY4fzCzjaOboJ4Uc0gd3-8E4rIWjn8mRyuQorfhAw/s1600/IMG00004-20100804-2035-741652.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRk9hwDXVzXudmAQ20-fxnCJExTSsfQph54BZFMJIkvhGIvCmUHAJeSikfb05tsYdeoBxNPhWtT0gyLsOJ_MZmd4QB3UKQGKqMurwBY4fzCzjaOboJ4Uc0gd3-8E4rIWjn8mRyuQorfhAw/s320/IMG00004-20100804-2035-741652.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5501724863642737794" /></a></p><br /><br />sorry about the lousy picture quality. i'll either blame blackberry or my inability to use its camera. scratch that, its way better than the camera on my other dinosaur nokia phone!boldsteinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14075495828609387403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8856659142436601086.post-51182750770351923802010-07-29T14:25:00.006-04:002010-08-10T23:07:44.633-04:00Wenger's new sigingOK OK, so I've become a cog in the Nike marketing machine, but I figure that this is as close as I'll ever come to getting signed by Le Boss...<br /><br /><OBJECT classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab" WIDTH="910" HEIGHT="700" id="thechance"><br /> <PARAM NAME="movie" VALUE="http://www.nike.com/nikefootball/global/swf/writethefuture/film/Film.swf?digimikey=26999969&viral=true&preview=false&sharepagetype=video"/><br /> <PARAM NAME="quality" VALUE="high"/><br /> <PARAM NAME="bgcolor" VALUE="#000000"/><br /> <PARAM NAME="flashVars" value="crtr=1&locale=en_GB"/><br /> <PARAM NAME="base" value="http://www.nike.com/nikefootball/global/swf/writethefuture/film/"/><br /> <PARAM NAME="allowFullScreen" value="true"/><br /> <PARAM NAME="allowScriptAccess" value="always"/><br /> <PARAM NAME="salign" value="tl"/><br /> <EMBED src="http://www.nike.com/nikefootball/global/swf/writethefuture/film/Film.swf?digimikey=26999969&viral=true&preview=false&sharepagetype=video" quality="high" WIDTH="910" HEIGHT="700" NAME="thechance" flashVars="crtr=1&locale=en_GB" bgcolor="#000000" base="http://www.nike.com/nikefootball/global/swf/writethefuture/film/" allowFullScreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" align="" TYPE="application/x-shockwave-flash" PLUGINSPAGE="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"/></EMBED><br /></OBJECT><br /><br />Arsene knows...boldsteinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14075495828609387403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8856659142436601086.post-74738682850524501322010-04-11T18:22:00.002-04:002010-04-11T18:33:22.419-04:00The proud owner of two dead legsI knew this one was gonna hurt. I haven't been on the bike for way too long, so its probably good that I didn't have to keep up with anyone! While there were plenty of nice views, I definitely need to step it up a bit if I want to cover more ground and have something left in the tank afterwards!<br /><br /><iframe src="http://js.mapmyfitness.com/embed/blogview.html?r=d25d8fd9d863cc12fd4d0213dda81eed&u=e&t=ride" height="700px" width="100%" frameborder="0"><a href="http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/ny/katonah/716127102397518803">Pound Ridge Loop</a><br/><a href="http://www.mapmyride.com/find-ride/united-states/ny/katonah">Find more Bike Rides in Katonah, New York</a></iframe><!-- MMF PARTNER TOOL --><br /><br />In terms of the Almar Garden 2.0, I've done a bunch of work on the aesthetics, and have planted the spring crop...a few varieties of peas, brocoli rabe, arugula, spinach & radishes. I've got tomato and pepper seedlings coming up, and hope I get better results from the transplants this year!<br /><br />And in other news, Lez and I are having twins, hopefully some time in October!boldsteinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14075495828609387403noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8856659142436601086.post-87531487645015663982010-03-16T21:12:00.003-04:002010-03-16T21:32:29.537-04:00cucina chiantigiana alla sirianaIf there's one thing in life that pisses me off*, it's the gratuitous use of the adjective "Tuscan". Restaurants love it. Decorators too. Most of the time the object in question is about as Tuscan as John Edwards' mistress (she's on the cover of the Post today in case you're wondering...). But it sells, so the marketers can't attach it to too many products...<br /><br />But cavolo nero is the real deal Holyfield. It goes into my favorite all time dish, ribollita, and finds its way into many other tasty formats. But tonight I found a way to bastardize a Tuscan classic with the wife's S-Y roots.<br /><br />Peep this: http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/vegetable/recipe-cavolo-nero-kale-065339<br /><br />It's going into the garden in the not too distant future...bring on the spring!<br /><br /><br />*There is far more than one thing in life that pisses me off.boldsteinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14075495828609387403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8856659142436601086.post-56988214368173214222010-02-26T20:07:00.002-05:002010-02-26T20:10:53.856-05:00does this site still work?Fair comment. I've been lazy. Haven't updated this beeeeeyatch in way too long. Interesting stuff happening around this way, but I gots to be hush hush, on the QT.<br /><br />In the meantime, an experiment:<br /><br />best catskills ski mountain? day http://twtpoll.com/srcbjd #twtpoll four feet of snow in four days...<br /><br />Anybody voting from CityCountryCity gets a mad shoutout to my worldwide audience next post!boldsteinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14075495828609387403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8856659142436601086.post-91637511739248644632009-10-31T16:37:00.004-04:002009-10-31T16:49:07.815-04:00take me home country road<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3ucHx5iidMMoBx225bQRnl-6qScB9HhoRH3SebqIBvqEICLCm5NV3gQQhACyv15nko0zuwFQSMB5HS2lU1lL81MkqA-kx3wDATV5jkTA5pxbq1kW5un_RRmLEXhZ3UF3K26O8qhbB6V2I/s1600-h/IMG_3609.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3ucHx5iidMMoBx225bQRnl-6qScB9HhoRH3SebqIBvqEICLCm5NV3gQQhACyv15nko0zuwFQSMB5HS2lU1lL81MkqA-kx3wDATV5jkTA5pxbq1kW5un_RRmLEXhZ3UF3K26O8qhbB6V2I/s400/IMG_3609.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398868268155065202" /></a><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/mitchbernstein/AutumnColor#">This album</a> has a few shots from a recent drive out to the <a href="http://www.hemlockhillfarm.com/">Hemlock Hill Farm</a>, Westchester's only working farm. They can hook up lamb, turkeys, chicken...all of its running around a few days before you pick it up, so its <a href="http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://livingliberally.org/files/images/Lisa_Vegetarian.jpg&imgrefurl=http://livingliberally.org/eating/story__scuse_me_while_i_eat_the_sky_apr_17_2008_id883&usg=__TL38zxYSU1noOoYQDtH4Y4etmA0=&h=375&w=400&sz=78&hl=en&start=18&sig2=g5GImH0jjPcjZWMMT6OvBw&um=1&tbnid=me-oyTjrFLocdM:&tbnh=116&tbnw=124&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dlisa%2Bdon%2527t%2Beat%2Bme%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26sa%3DN%26um%3D1&ei=dqHsSo6EN8yYlAe9xdT_BA">super fresh</a>!boldsteinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14075495828609387403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8856659142436601086.post-10818141459269694922009-10-13T06:52:00.004-04:002009-10-13T09:31:50.821-04:00harvest scorecard<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIqSuX9GUNtCxBiWEN87lE_GQQRJ87fpkiJaeehEvHHD4KaeNQ29p4_6yW31z0ADI9gO4PkQkST0_ivzYLkqIqZgwNkiYlJOTsWNM7Of523kuKUn1Y-rw8D6qHDdng0uisuMlvLOoxsQw5/s1600-h/IMG_3587.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIqSuX9GUNtCxBiWEN87lE_GQQRJ87fpkiJaeehEvHHD4KaeNQ29p4_6yW31z0ADI9gO4PkQkST0_ivzYLkqIqZgwNkiYlJOTsWNM7Of523kuKUn1Y-rw8D6qHDdng0uisuMlvLOoxsQw5/s400/IMG_3587.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5392035983690264274" /></a><br /><br />Statement of the obvious: its been a while since I updated the blog with any kind of progress report from the garden. Unfortunately, I haven’t spent that much more time in the garden itself. But I clipped a few cuttings yesterday that ended up on the dinner plate, and figured that I’d try and match the outdoor efforts with a written report.<br /><br />So here we go: the (almost) end of the season report…sorted subjectively by a combination of eating and growing satisfaction:<br /><br />Eggplants…ichiban! I always liked the sound of the Japanese word Ichiban. It translates to #1. And this was the #1 producer in the garden. A fairly continuous harvest of curvy, long, purple delights! They went on the grill, they went into pasta alla norma, and they went into a ratatouille style sauce. They definitely out-produced their heirloom cousin, the Rosa Bianca, on the other side of the garden, but she was tasty too!<br /><br />Shell peas: As a kid, I hated peas. I was completely scarred by early encounters with school dinner “mushy peas’. I’d push ‘em round the plate, drop them “accidentally” on the way to my mouth, pretty much anything to avoid eating them. But the ones that came up in the garden completely changed my perspective on peas. Next year, I’m going to grow them on a larger trellis to increase production. Their one shortcoming was that I never harvested enough to serve more than bird sized portions.<br /><br />Cucumbers: This was the midsummer highlight. Mad production out of one plant that kicked off at least a dozen tasty treats. This made tzaziki and all kinds of salads. It could have been even better, had I not overplanted the lemon cucumbers, which overran the garden in July and August without really justifying their space. Lemon cukes definitely grew themselves out of a place in the 2010 garden!<br /><br />Arugula: One of the first plants to end up in the salad bowl, I got a small crop of this in the spring. Looking forward to a second fall harvest soon. Nice and spicy.<br /><br />Squash: I thought I was gonna be rolling in these, as they pretty much dominated the southern tier of the garden. It was not to be. The acorn squash did well, kicking off 7 fist sized fruits that I look forward to roasting. First readers to invite themselves up can have a taste! The summer squash weren’t so prolific…one Ronde de Nice and a handful of flying saucer shaped pattypans ended up on the grill, but we did enjoy a summerlong stream of zucchini flowers to stuff and sauté. You gotta, you gotta, stuff ‘em with Ricotta!<br /><br />Beans: The proverbial mixed bag. The tavera string beans were tasty, kicking off a couple of great side dish sized harvests. The black turtle beans were one of the biggest disappointments: after waiting for them to ripen, the pods turned a beautiful shade of purple on the plants. After picking them, I left them to dry in the kitchen and put them in a mason jar in the closet. After a 4 day business trip, the jar was pretty furry, and my bean harvest was gone. Weak.<br />Herbs: The winners were oregano and parsley. The mint grew well, but didn’t have much flavor flav. I got a fair amount of basil, but not nearly as much as I could have used. Ditto thyme. It was gone faster than Morris Day. Cilantro and dill both bit it in the first rainstorms. <br /><br />Broccoli: Last night’s dinner. Very tasty, and very good looking plants. But a lot of effort for one side dish! I’m hoping that they kick off a few more florets before they expire.<br /><br />Radishes: Leslie’s favorite. A nice bitter kick for some early season salads. There should be another decent crop kicking in, if I haven’t planted them too close together.<br /><br />Spinach and Lettuce: Both tasty, but definitely need more space for a decent sized harvest. The spinach was gone in one rabbit sized meal, the lettuce was more baby leaves than properly developed heads. <br /><br />Peppers: They’re still on the vine, so I couldn’t tell you, but only 2/3 have fruited<br /><br />Tomatoes: An unqualified disaster. Nine out of ten succumbed to Dan Barber blight. His NY Times editorial blamed a combination of bad weather and suburban gardeners buying from Home Depot (aka me), but his heirloom varieties seemed to succumb first. The one survivor was a san marzano varietal that ended up in a classic tomato/basil pasta sauce.<br /><br />Romanesco cauliflour: I had such high hopes for this crop. Only one seedling made it to a plant, and although its still growing, I don’t see any signs of the fractal vegetable that I was looking forward to photographing. And eating. I’ll keep my fingers crossed, but I’m not holding out too much hope. <br /><br />Diablo brussel sprout: Still growing…likely to be the last survivor.<br /><br />Beets, brussel sprouts, broccoli rabe, artichokes, onions, and most disappointingly, carrots (my favorite veg of all time) all failed. The beets, brussels and carrots were over run by the squash. They never had a peep of sunshine. I’m not quite sure what did the others in, but I’ll have to try again next year. <br /><br />In the meantime, there’s a fall crop of spinach, arugula, lettuce and radishes to come out. I want to put some garlic in for next spring. And we’ll see what happens with the peppers and cauliflower. Stay tuned for a photographic wrap up, and the last of the LoHud articles later this week…boldsteinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14075495828609387403noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8856659142436601086.post-61289720014344333872009-10-11T19:08:00.003-04:002009-10-11T19:11:44.578-04:00exploringEvery time I get on my bike, I like Katonah a little more. A quick loop around the Titicus reservoir became a good exploration of some local farmland and a couple of quad-busting hills. <br /><br /><iframe src="http://js.mapmyfitness.com/embed/blogview.html?r=37c0a5e069b0552506c1f61098dab4ac&u=e&t=ride" height="700px" width="100%" frameborder="0"><a href="http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/ny/katonah/278125530204778276">titicus & waccabuc</a><br/><a href="http://www.mapmyride.com/find-ride/united-states/ny/katonah">Find more Bike Rides in Katonah, New York</a></iframe><!-- MMF PARTNER TOOL --><br /><br />A note to Jeff...we'll have a garden update soon...frost forecast for tonight...I wonder what's gonna survive?boldsteinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14075495828609387403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8856659142436601086.post-57562172906336174042009-09-05T17:19:00.002-04:002009-09-05T17:25:35.068-04:00Raspberry rideDefinitely got my country fix today...took the bike out with el diablo and rode out to the Amawalk farm where we ate our fill of raspberries and brought back a couple of pints for the ladies to turn in to Julia Child inspired dessert. It was a lovely spot tucked up in the Muscoot Park, and has a bunch of other organic veggies that you can pick. We tasted some of the porcelain music garlic which has some crazy bite to it. <br /><br /><iframe src="http://js.mapmyfitness.com/embed/blogview.html?r=609e5d627d787c5ebb188808d4c32a8d&u=e&t=ride" height="700px" width="100%" frameborder="0"><a href="http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/ny/katonah/952125218536242097">Raspberry Picking Route</a><br/><a href="http://www.mapmyride.com/find-ride/united-states/ny/katonah">Find more Bike Rides in Katonah, New York</a></iframe><!-- MMF PARTNER TOOL --><br /><br />The ride also took us past some fly fishermen...and I fully intend to get some waders and check out this spot sometime soon!boldsteinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14075495828609387403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8856659142436601086.post-80809219567263248452009-08-16T16:43:00.002-04:002009-08-16T16:48:00.075-04:00stoopid loopidI managed to get fairly lost on my bike today, and ended up having to double back on a route that I had already blazed a few months ago. We did cover some serious hills though, and saw some beautiful farmland...certainly not an unsatisfactory journey, but a little longer than i would have liked in 90 degree heat! The extra loop provided the killer climb of the day, but with that came the best views...<br /><br /><iframe src="http://js.mapmyfitness.com/embed/blogview.html?r=cea674497c39a520b77b6f20fec22a7f&u=e&t=ride" height="700px" width="100%" frameborder="0"><a href="http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/ny/katonah/882125045358142304">Stoopid loop</a><br/><a href="http://www.mapmyride.com/find-ride/united-states/ny/katonah">Find more Bike Rides in Katonah, New York</a></iframe><!-- MMF PARTNER TOOL -->boldsteinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14075495828609387403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8856659142436601086.post-36896451678138271372009-08-09T10:19:00.003-04:002009-08-09T10:35:38.943-04:00thinking about the gardenThere was a <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/09/opinion/09barber.html">very interesting piece</a> in today's Times about how my garden (OK, and the other 43 million home gardeners) is partially responsible for a colossal systemic failure of agriculture. There's definitely food for thought here. Dan Barber argues that industrial farmed plants distributed through major retailers are responsible for introducing fungal pathogens from other regions into the Northeast. <br /><br />While I found the article very thought provoking, I couldn't help noting the irony that I've observed in my garden: namely that my plants that seem to be suffering from blight came from his farm! Doh!<br /><br />Still, after a week of biz and recreational travel, I can't wait to go home to the garden and see the progress. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7lww4KZXSQgMBbUo6peQlgT-HXWmvqsf3EMOyaavd7QDXgJQqTlFDiZoI1jMpBsmRPd0GksIU2xlGC69cPyxjZEzDjcbYphkBWEP3tzSBsHjUBElzZh8ZxRebbZF0YbqTNf88rV66IHBB/s1600-h/whywetravel.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7lww4KZXSQgMBbUo6peQlgT-HXWmvqsf3EMOyaavd7QDXgJQqTlFDiZoI1jMpBsmRPd0GksIU2xlGC69cPyxjZEzDjcbYphkBWEP3tzSBsHjUBElzZh8ZxRebbZF0YbqTNf88rV66IHBB/s320/whywetravel.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367972235580937506" /></a><br /><br />Sticking with the topics of gardeners and recreational travel and the NY Times, they published this photo by my friend Jason Gardner in the travel section today. Congratz dude, may it be the first of many!boldsteinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14075495828609387403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8856659142436601086.post-54261865395156179452009-07-29T18:56:00.007-04:002009-07-29T19:12:59.411-04:00harvest time + ichibanThe last couple of weeks have thrown off a pretty consistent bounty from the garden...I've harvested peas, cucumbers, beans, and today, a Ronde de Nice squash and a Japanese eggplant. And because its the first eggplant, it gets dubbed with the ICHIBAN label...truly one of my favorite words on the planet! <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmxlol7OICs4B8fzVBhR20ugqZAUbgLSXOXv-PE4pCyHF8ZWQDJivqx0d1myDsRbk8r7I8Wgj0QrcYrMGIyw1S95SLe50F8E4yfLq3ZVkIM09gg7C_dL-1wCX8fmk-P4kjHNLSdZ2H9T71/s1600-h/IMG_3545.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmxlol7OICs4B8fzVBhR20ugqZAUbgLSXOXv-PE4pCyHF8ZWQDJivqx0d1myDsRbk8r7I8Wgj0QrcYrMGIyw1S95SLe50F8E4yfLq3ZVkIM09gg7C_dL-1wCX8fmk-P4kjHNLSdZ2H9T71/s320/IMG_3545.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5364022444780924114" /></a>boldsteinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14075495828609387403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8856659142436601086.post-32214008229088571892009-07-18T12:40:00.003-04:002009-07-18T17:46:22.777-04:00tour de france it ain'tGorgeous ride around Titicus reservoir, past a bunch of horse farms with Jeff "El Jefe" Haber. Good stuff! <br /><br /><iframe src="http://js.mapmyfitness.com/embed/blogview.html?r=df87eab1c5a07b2e1421dad79de04c66&u=e&t=ride" height="700px" width="100%" frameborder="0"><a href="http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/ny/katonah/511124793490774979">Titicus Resovoir loop with Jefe</a><br/><a href="http://www.mapmyride.com/find-ride/united-states/ny/katonah">Find more Bike Rides in Katonah, New York</a></iframe><!-- MMF PARTNER TOOL -->boldsteinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14075495828609387403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8856659142436601086.post-37073199506665701972009-07-05T22:11:00.002-04:002009-07-05T22:20:46.581-04:00july 4 flowersThe beginning of July has featured the first harvest from the garden, a salad bowl of lettuce, arugula, radishes & spinach with Elliot & Asegul. And to celebrate the holiday a bunch of the veggies have started to flower...i've got action on the peas and peppers, cucumbers and courgettes (zucchini, but altered for alliteration). <br /><br />Thought I'd share some of the color...double click to enlarage.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNmHIPZ6xztIbWVtZlEIZgE5knEK6PCR1JC5qMNhP7rsH3c90y-lvtsNLQmGtPvgBrE-PIhgaAH2l6YOpClzYkCqCGS1oiRuehtNuo0VZTkh663SoGY8QjxdUzZxA7dKwgY_D-faHAsZ0x/s1600-h/IMG_3192.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 262px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNmHIPZ6xztIbWVtZlEIZgE5knEK6PCR1JC5qMNhP7rsH3c90y-lvtsNLQmGtPvgBrE-PIhgaAH2l6YOpClzYkCqCGS1oiRuehtNuo0VZTkh663SoGY8QjxdUzZxA7dKwgY_D-faHAsZ0x/s320/IMG_3192.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5355166210775110930" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjjYot4buu2xwDPn_ejL-h3YQCNwrR4agpMFfbI0Iw5mR5FHig5bBO7FBHPLMb6bgHArmwfyHBk8XnabOZz2Qt2KiAUsmEXTODFCILfKtGHSWPK_49mYV5ubT3xisaChGAwx9QDQ3MEwBp/s1600-h/IMG_3193.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjjYot4buu2xwDPn_ejL-h3YQCNwrR4agpMFfbI0Iw5mR5FHig5bBO7FBHPLMb6bgHArmwfyHBk8XnabOZz2Qt2KiAUsmEXTODFCILfKtGHSWPK_49mYV5ubT3xisaChGAwx9QDQ3MEwBp/s320/IMG_3193.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5355166205362383602" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJbs63oHB2ZNIi4mINOXqOGVaOHrn5EBwwvlk7YlSuKvYUbIjdb2nQvqTpgesKKbQMd8-F-b_Ujiu9U_tTmFbtfEWtjhvw-Y3iaPxq0blc7A6z1SyRYc-ggmZMYHUSoVSCyrGSUfFAn7a2/s1600-h/IMG_3198.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJbs63oHB2ZNIi4mINOXqOGVaOHrn5EBwwvlk7YlSuKvYUbIjdb2nQvqTpgesKKbQMd8-F-b_Ujiu9U_tTmFbtfEWtjhvw-Y3iaPxq0blc7A6z1SyRYc-ggmZMYHUSoVSCyrGSUfFAn7a2/s320/IMG_3198.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5355166199117099634" /></a>boldsteinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14075495828609387403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8856659142436601086.post-13693668748028389402009-07-05T09:12:00.006-04:002009-07-05T09:37:19.732-04:00kicking it lohud style<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-sCes0KjEM3G5QbsWzcm8LnwvN8lrCP2F39bsKllQvdCybvoblICB0P5f7Ev6OXPrI2N6uvl4gZWda09lrcmf_FEV9RHz4D8ybJrMBcIOw80TNiu5Ds_JU9fPyoEsPcnFfcvtBzGgFfLu/s1600-h/DSC01003.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-sCes0KjEM3G5QbsWzcm8LnwvN8lrCP2F39bsKllQvdCybvoblICB0P5f7Ev6OXPrI2N6uvl4gZWda09lrcmf_FEV9RHz4D8ybJrMBcIOw80TNiu5Ds_JU9fPyoEsPcnFfcvtBzGgFfLu/s320/DSC01003.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5354965488875438098" /></a><br /><br />Big shout out to Bill Cary and the LoHud crew who are following the progress of my garden! Check out the article <a href="http://www.lohud.com/article/20090705/LIFESTYLE01/307050021/1039/lifestyle06/Lots-of-successes-(and-failures)-for-first-time-gardeners">here</a><br /><br />It was good to see that there are other local gardeners who seem as obsessive as I've become! I was definitely jealous to hear that one of the other gardeners has had to give her lettuce away...<br /><br />The first harvest was a tasty salad made up of lettuce, arugula, spinach, radish leaves and radish. Made whole with a lovely rose' from Provence. They know their winemaking stuff down there!<br /><br />So two questions for any gardeners who show up here: any tips for tomato plants that are showing little yellow and black spots on older leaves? and what do i do about the carrots that have been shaded by the squash plants? can they dig a little bit of shade, or are they done for?<br /><br />One last request for LoHud: can you make the link to the blog live?boldsteinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14075495828609387403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8856659142436601086.post-39521342246339659092009-06-25T09:16:00.002-04:002009-06-25T09:20:09.290-04:00A great way to sell cars...I thought that this was a very interesting way for a car company to catch my attention. I would like to see more brands trying to break out of the box that says advertising has to be about one way messaging. Even if VW mistakenly think they can sell me an SUV, they've definitely proven to me that they get interactive advertising!<br /><br /><a href="http://creativezone.eyeblaster.com/?ItemId=4470">Creative Zone by Eyeblaster - Volkswagen - Twitter in banner</a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4I6l8q2yrEIBJBta1zMgOEEEx7C40Kfh8SImKN0Litijxlc8U7_y2WPWEP7OnS-w_zDVhVCYNtFFu-3MdLFIdbUX-3qyJiaxDb1jInPnznphyb6knA3bgr-P5_jvmhfDI1zVu6VHw9OrQ/s1600-h/vw+twitter.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4I6l8q2yrEIBJBta1zMgOEEEx7C40Kfh8SImKN0Litijxlc8U7_y2WPWEP7OnS-w_zDVhVCYNtFFu-3MdLFIdbUX-3qyJiaxDb1jInPnznphyb6knA3bgr-P5_jvmhfDI1zVu6VHw9OrQ/s320/vw+twitter.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5351254272994686642" /></a>boldsteinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14075495828609387403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8856659142436601086.post-30708185278736001192009-06-20T17:48:00.006-04:002009-06-20T18:05:47.761-04:00garden mid monsoon/mid summer<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg1YEEtPt0emYbkpFn4AIPhCCt9e3cGL-_oiCp9QzEZafHIO5VY3lLe64ecfBB-LsFe8XDbW6ByTrvUEryi0TQLxEfY7TOvVcoxSrnEO9kH5XeBEIDp30AnhMG3upK8atDzaOokA0S8dtJ/s1600-h/IMG_3059.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg1YEEtPt0emYbkpFn4AIPhCCt9e3cGL-_oiCp9QzEZafHIO5VY3lLe64ecfBB-LsFe8XDbW6ByTrvUEryi0TQLxEfY7TOvVcoxSrnEO9kH5XeBEIDp30AnhMG3upK8atDzaOokA0S8dtJ/s400/IMG_3059.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349531848164854946" /></a><br /><br />After 2 weeks of almost constant rain (6" plus), the garden is certainly not thirsty. Now if we could get a little sunshine up in Katonah, I reckon I'll see some real growth. Still, this photo shows you a pretty major difference since the last shot at the end of May...<br /><br />The zucchini, squash and a host of heirloom tomatoes are raging along the northern and southern borders of the garden. I'm hoping that the carrots, arugula and radishes don't mind the shade a little bit. The trellises are supporting a couple of varieties of peas and cucumbers, and there are herbs, peppers, broccoli, cauliflour, brussel sprouts and eggplants chugging along as well. Even the artichokes that I had left for dead seem to have perked up a bit. Keeping my fingers crossed for those guys. So far, the only casualty out there has been my dill plant; it was too fragile for all the rain.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTahUZTgWH-DKvY0q15giw2jpp_b1PIg1TMC6ZoaSnUPGbQ9vlvhKmimdhO8tzZommqihYmFwP9Tmbzyt0__ijiyZWHK8v8QwqSZNtqAGGI4lKE3jXD0NHoGQddys1l_ZAP4w8tmFkOdii/s1600-h/IMG_3042.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTahUZTgWH-DKvY0q15giw2jpp_b1PIg1TMC6ZoaSnUPGbQ9vlvhKmimdhO8tzZommqihYmFwP9Tmbzyt0__ijiyZWHK8v8QwqSZNtqAGGI4lKE3jXD0NHoGQddys1l_ZAP4w8tmFkOdii/s320/IMG_3042.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349533953776721922" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga7plWt3Ql9hjiUljclIiaWUiMOxfRjJB_9xV1VQrJrW_e3i03JzaVa3it4flT9gIxmBXMhYxj_2c6gvGmo8MkM41uTdpJGY02tLAXISLgo_uDfJ6E9UMFckOF0Wo6R2UDg_FWfNvRIAK8/s1600-h/IMG_3036.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga7plWt3Ql9hjiUljclIiaWUiMOxfRjJB_9xV1VQrJrW_e3i03JzaVa3it4flT9gIxmBXMhYxj_2c6gvGmo8MkM41uTdpJGY02tLAXISLgo_uDfJ6E9UMFckOF0Wo6R2UDg_FWfNvRIAK8/s320/IMG_3036.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349533651316259122" /></a>boldsteinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14075495828609387403noreply@blogger.com1