Notes from Carroll Gardens

Blizzard Dec '10

2011-01-02T16:35:00.000-08:00

The pictures are a week after the storm dumped 20 inches in Central Park and wind blew some impressive drifts, like the one in our backyard.
Mary was buried up to her chin.

With it 50 degrees today, much of it has already melted.

Dutch Bike Tour

2011-01-02T14:00:00.000-08:00

The only remainder of Dutch New York is a foundation you can see through plexiglass. There are reminders like the flagpole below, a foundation you can see through plexiglass, and numerous street signs. The art deco font derives from the flagpole's dedication four hundred years after the Dutch set up shop.

Petunia integrifolia

2010-09-26T17:23:00.000-07:00

Petunia integrifolia or Petunia violacea. This could also be a hybrid Petunia spp. These grow wild in our backyard and around the neighborhood, though they originated in South America. The leaves are a light green. The pale center contrasts with other pictures on the web.

Sabato di Pesto

2010-09-25T09:18:00.000-07:00

A September Saturday was the perfect time to buy some pine nuts at Sahadi's and harvest the basil in the backyard. As for our other crops, the tomatoes fell to blight; and the squashes and sunflowers fell to the squirrels. But the pesto turned out great.
20 cups of basil = 10 batches!
There were 10 jars in all.

Downed Trees on Clinton

2010-09-25T09:16:00.001-07:00

Our street was spared, but around the corner on Clinton, two trees in a row both came down in the tornado of 2010. Since this photo was taken, the stumps have been sawed to the ground.

Bambu

2010-08-21T12:03:00.000-07:00

Until Oct. 31, weather permitting, a pair of brothers from New Jersey will be constructing and showing off their incredible bamboo structure. The scale is immense, overtaking much of a segment of roof at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Although the baby couldn't tolerate much more than 20 minutes on site, he did grant us access to the speedy elevator while others were turned away.

Clambake

2010-08-21T11:56:00.000-07:00

No stranger to clamming, recently we tried a new way of preparing them. Baked clams require boiling first. Then they are covered with a mixture of cracker crumbs, butter, garlic salt, and parsley. With the final step, baking, they may have gotten a bit crispy, but they tasted good. Put alongside boiling and chowder, this is another good way to consume these wild caught chewy bivalves.

Soil Testing

2010-06-14T20:57:00.001-07:00

Results for this cup of dirt were back within a week. I expected some lead, with the BQE and industrial New York as prime suspects, and moderate levels were found. It was in the low end of the moderate range, so it's not too concerning. The tomatoes, which would have been fine because they are a fruiting vegetable, unfortunately succumbed to a fungus, perhaps fusarium wilt.

June crops

2010-06-14T20:38:00.000-07:00

Here's the first strawberry from the pot out front - not really much of a harvest - but the plants are ever-bearing so these small sugary lumps should be appearing all summer.These are garlic scapes, a bonus that I wasn't aware of a week ago. They are the flower of the garlic cloves I planted last fall. We cooked them with zucchinis on the grill. They added a mild onion/garlic flavor.

Hops Find Twine

2010-06-01T19:46:00.000-07:00

At the current rate of growth, the hops will outgrow the beanstalks.

Striped Snail

2010-05-24T20:03:00.000-07:00

Roaming in the back of the garden, not the typical brown shelled oozer. I think it is a Cepaea nemoralis.

Garden pic

2010-05-24T19:51:00.000-07:00

The current state of the back garden as of May 24, 2010. Last year we hadn't even started yet. And the hops have sprouted. Today I planted morning glory seeds after work. They soaked for about 20 hours beforehand, which may have been overkill.

Brownstone Hops Farming

2010-05-09T18:03:00.000-07:00

A couple Golding hop rhizomes.I planted them in the sunniest part of the back yard and improvised a twine course for the vines to climb once they emerge.

Upstate Ramps

2010-05-09T17:18:00.000-07:00

These ramps, collected in Roscoe, New York, were being sold at the Union Square green market a couple weeks ago. I've been wanting to try them for the last couple years.I opted to saute them in some olive oil, bulbs first, then then tops. The green part cooks like spinach. After salt and pepper, I ate them as a side with macaroni and cheese. They were good but they leave you smelling worse than onions.

Bottle Beach

2010-04-03T17:13:00.000-07:00

These are the treasures we collected in one hour at bottle beach, future vases and knick knacks.
The amount of trash is really amazing: shoe soles, sinks, bricks, horse bones, broken ceramics, and of course bottles. These pictures are at low tide, reportedly the best time to go.
The trash of the future will be much less pleasant than this place and parts of the littered beach were disgusting. At times the wind smelled of petroleum and the bottles were caked in brown slime. I can't imagine plastic will age as well. Below is a cross-section of the eroding shoreline, strata of rubbish.
To get there, get on Flatbush going away from Greater Brooklyn (toward the ocean). Once inside Floyd Bennett Field take a left at the light after the abandoned hangar. There is parking lot on the right after the turn. Turn before the toll plaza or you'll pay $5.50 round trip to get to the treasure. Once you park, cross the 6 lanes of traffic to the other side and find the trailhead across the intersection. The trail will come to a crossroads. Take the trail to the right. A short distance from there you'll come to the beach. You'll know when you get there.

Carroll Gardens Stations of the Cross

2010-04-02T18:36:00.000-07:00

A video from last year, but this year's looked much the same.

Sunset Park

2010-03-28T19:10:00.001-07:00

Just south of Greenwood Cemetery, Sunset Park has some commanding views of the New York Harbor. There are also some great taco shops nearby.

Cottontail

2010-03-28T19:03:00.000-07:00

This herbivore got away from one of the neighbors and was grazing in our back yard for a few days in a row. He made a meal of the chicory sprouts, so we hope he doesn't become a regular visitor.

Greenwood Cemetery

2010-03-28T18:47:00.000-07:00

Brooklyn's beautiful garden cemetery is remarkably similar to Richmond's Hollywood Cemetery. Seeing that they were laid out within 10 years of each other, the sprawling hills and dales of Greenwood was the style preferred for suburban cemeteries in the early 19th century. To put in context what things were like when the 478 acres were imagined, Greenwood was founded 8 years before Carroll Gardens was planned by Richard Butts.

Humor can be found in strange places.

Garlic sprouts

2010-03-14T13:49:00.000-07:00

More as an experiment to see if it would really work, last Columbus Day I split up a farmer's market garlic into individual cloves and planted them in the ground. Last fall a few sprouted and weathered the winter. Along with the daffodils and other spring bulbs, all 12 cloves sprouted over the last week or two - another sign of spring.

Salvaged Amaryllis

2010-03-14T13:25:00.001-07:00

Here's the amaryllis in all its glory, and as it began.

Before it bloomed, but getting there.

Snapshot: Outside and Inside

2010-02-26T04:50:00.000-08:00

Snow Day. There is at least a foot of snow on that table.Here's a close-up of the cherry tree branches about a week after I brought them home from the Union Square Green Market.

13 days after we mashed the cut end of each branch with a hammer, we found it blooming when we came home from work. Note the red-tinged water in the vase, probably tannins. Here are two pictures, not even a week apart, of our exploding amaryllis bulb. Last winter it only put up leaves. We planted it in the ground over the summer and took it out of the ground last November. After drying in a bag for a couple months we potted it January 31.

Red Hook Lobster Pound

2010-02-13T19:18:00.000-08:00

Trucked down from Maine every week, this seems to be the closest you can get to fresh lobster in Brooklyn short of boarding a ship out of Montauk. Located on Van Brunt Street in Red Hook, just behind the storefront are two tanks full of crustaceans. These two are between 1.5 and 1.75 pounds.

Check out the Lobster Pound. This summer there will be space next door for consuming the lobster rolls.

There was a mini Boston Cream Pie for dessert. It was Valentine's Day after all.

Custom Framing

2010-01-24T14:26:00.000-08:00

Final product:Working from the premise that framing is too expensive and homemade things are always better, my brother fashioned the above frame from a rough-cut piece of cherry wood in his wood shop. The stain is only polyurethane, the rest is natural redness. The next step was having a piece of glass cut, 12.5 x 12.5. After a few phone calls, I found this place in the east village. The staff were very helpful, and the glass only cost $6. Don't let the Rottweiler "Tyson", placidly pacing the shop, keep you away.

AAA Glass Plus, Inc.
528 East 11th Street
New York, NY 10009
212-995-1635

Bread Alone Bread

2010-01-11T19:52:00.001-08:00

Six months in new york and I have finally found a way to procure whole grain, local bread without an extra plastic bag every time. Sold both at the Union Square Green Market (where they'll bag the bread in a reused bag) and at a local grocery on Court Street Gourmet Fresh (although not listed as a retailer on the website), this is a wholesome (whole food) bread without the chemical crap. At $4.59 a loaf ($4.75 at their Union Square stall - still haven't figured out why it should be more expensive) it's not cheap, but when you consider that any sandwich usually costs more, it's worth it. Plus it's healthy and tastes good. From the site it sounds like the grain is locally sourced. Win, win, win, win, win.

Blizzard 2009

2009-12-20T07:35:00.001-08:00

Enough snow to obscure the front steps.The block.It reminded me of another snow-covered new york street .Uncovering the snowblower revealed a raccoon nest. These are either his tracks or those of one of the feral cats that frequent the front garden.The digging out has already begun.

Homemade Apple Sauce

2009-11-24T17:49:00.000-08:00

It's easy to pick pounds and pounds of apples and not know what to do with all of them. An apple a day doesn't even dent the surplus that results from a day picking apples upstate. So, we peeled and sliced up the mostly Green Delicious apples and boiled them in a pot with water and cinnamon. A little lemon keeps them from browning too much. Once they're cooked to a soggy mush, run the apples through a food grinder.The result is a lot of applesauce. This is only about half the jars that were added to our freezer. So far the apple sauce has served as a complement to chicken pot pie and a marinade for pork cooked in the oven. There is plenty left.

Wild Hive Farm

2009-10-12T04:37:00.000-07:00

Not too far off the Taconic Parkway, Clifton Corners is barely a corner. The old country store is a quaint restaurant with micro-milled flour and local produce for sale up front. There's a case full of baked goods. The menu is varied and difficult to choose from - everything looks good. The place was busy and we waited 10 minutes for a table during the lunch hour. There was fresh brewed iced tea. The squash soup was perfect with a wholesome bread on the side. The hardiness of the bread made for excellent French toast.

Wild Hive Farm
2411 Salt Point Turnpike
Clifton Corners, NY 12514

Meadowbrook Farm

2009-10-12T04:35:00.000-07:00

Living in NYC makes this view noteworthy.I've always focused on the smell of the outdoors, especially those times of year when change is evident, spring and fall. Apple picking journeys offer fall colors and scents. It didn't take long to gather 36 pounds of apples, mostly green delicious.Meadowbrook Farm has the apple orchards, friendly staff, and barn full of other goods: vegetables, preserves, and homemade doughnuts. It seems that homemade donuts are part of the playbook for family run U-pick apple orchards. There were even goats and chickens. The Farm is in Wappinger Falls, northeast of Poughkeepsie in Dutchess County.

Meadowbrook Farm
29 Old Myers Corners Road
Wappingers Falls, NY 12590
845-297-3002

Peppers

2009-08-31T17:01:00.000-07:00

This is the output of four pepper plants so far this summer, two peppers, and some bonus tomatoes. I added one of the peppers to curry and tonight we had pizza with homemade dough, pesto (garden basil), tomato slices and the other pepper. They were mild to moderate in spiciness.

As for the poor pepper output, from my limited research it could be because of the high temperatures over the last month and the excessive rain in July. I'm hoping that September will be better for production. The eggplant has a flower so maybe we'll get one of those yet, this from a garden started at the end of June.

181st Street Subway Station

2009-08-17T04:22:00.000-07:00

This old tunnel collapsed the night after we were in it on the way home from the cloisters. I took these shots before the cave-in.
There are plenty of other photos of the 181 at this neurotic website.

The Waterpod

2009-08-17T04:21:00.001-07:00

The Waterpod is trademarked, which seems to subtract from its renegade image. Nevertheless, this is a great concept: take a barge and fill it with a miniature farm and a lot of innovative irrigation devices. There's even a couple chickens and there might be a hive of pollinators. There certainly were a bunch buzzing about.

The Cloisters

2009-08-17T04:19:00.001-07:00

At the northern end of Manhattan along the Hudson, the Cloisters is truly not like the rest of the boisterous island. The Pallisades are directly across the immense channel. With four medieval cloisters incorporated into its structure, this branch of the Met is unique among US museums. The collection is mostly medieval, most of the art religious from around 1000 to 1600. There are a collection of sarcophagi in the Gothic chapel, with many of the monks lying with dogs at their feet. From my research, this is a symbol of fidelity, most likely to God in this case. The dogs, or lion as in the case of a knight, are not foot warmers.
Here's a statue of Saint Roch, closet hipster and patron saint of those suffering from disease. That's why he has a sore on his left thigh. It's a good thing his dog is bringing him a bagel.
To get home we took the bus that leaves outside the cloisters to the 1 stop at 181st Street.

Underground Train Tunnel

2009-08-17T04:13:00.000-07:00

After seeing this scene a month ago, I was intrigued. What could induce people to climb down a manhole in the middle of Atlantic Avenue? In this well-organized adventure into an underground train tunnel, two rent-a-cops control traffic around the open manhole. A generator roars above ground to light a string of lights within the tunnel.This is the line for the first tour. A second line for the second tour was lined up when we left.
Information about the tunnel is available at the website. In short it was built in the 1800s to haul goods under Atlantic Avenue. It was then abandoned for other routes and eventually sealed off. The tour guide found the tunnel in the early 80's and has spent his life since talking about it. The history is fascinating but the tale of the tunnel's discovery was just as long and not that exciting. I could have had more history. The tunnel is cool, since it's always sealed off. It was a welcome difference in temperature from subway platforms in August. It's uniform and straight, running for half a mile. The walls are lined with rock dug from Manhattan and the arched ceiling is made of brick. Flashlights came in handy. Honestly, there isn't much to see after five minutes, except more darkness. At $15 it's a little expensive, but the novelty of climbing down into an old tunnel in the middle of Atlantic Avenue will keep the crowds coming.

Brooklyn Bread

2009-08-12T04:09:00.000-07:00

Offering a variety of bread products of every size and type, I've only sprung for the bagel. And for my money I don't think there's any reason to go further than that. For $1.50, it's the best bagel with butter around. This is not the typical dense bagel, but rather a lighter, air-bubble containing masterpiece. Saturday morning breakfasts will never be the same. Unfortunately Brooklyn Bread doesn't really stock sandwich-sized loafs or provide bread slicing services if they did exist. There's always room for improvement.

301 Church St
New York, NY 10013-2403
(212) 334-8282

The High Line

2009-08-10T04:10:00.000-07:00

Following the trend of rails to trails conversions all over the country, the High Line opened in June 2009. It takes the idea a step further though, since the train line is elevated. The section from Gansevoort to 20th Street, roughly paralleling 10th Avenue, is open, fully landscaped with benches. The website is well-designed and worth checking out before going. There's an entrance on either end, but also a few access points in the middle. On the north end of the currently open high line, visit the General Theological Seminary. The grounds and old church are spectacular. Looking for cold drinks and caffeine we wandered into La Taza de Oro. It doesn't take long to realize this place hasn't changed in years. It seems like a good place to get octopus soup, beef tongue, ox-tail, and a codfish sandwich.

Bamboo and Radishes

2009-07-27T20:42:00.000-07:00

This fine bamboo (locally sourced from a Long Island backyard) latticework will hopefully guide some snap beans to the light...thanks to the Mrs.

The first real produce, barring greens, from the backyard garden - tastiest radish I ever ate.

NYC

2009-07-19T16:49:00.001-07:00

It was a beautiful day in DUMBO.

South Brooklyn Pizza

2009-07-19T16:44:00.000-07:00

$3 makes their slice of cheese a treat, but the extra 50 cents is worth the exponentially better piece. In the style of pizza margherita, this place will be a regular stop when I'm craving a triangular snack.
451 Court St
Brooklyn, NY 11231-4042
(718) 852-6018

Bond Street Art

2009-07-19T16:39:00.000-07:00

This doorway tableau is near the Gowanus canal on Bond Street between 3rd and 4th Street.

Milk Thistle

2009-07-19T16:35:00.001-07:00

A quart of Milk Thistle skim runs $4, $1 deposit on the bottle. Although it sounds obvious, since it's organic and $4, it really is the best skim we've ever had. That the bottles can be exchanged is also a draw. Our pick up is at the Sunday Carroll Park green market.

The Stoop

2009-07-12T06:13:00.001-07:00

D'Amico Foods

2009-07-12T06:02:00.000-07:00

Since 1948, D'Amico's has been roasting coffee in small batches on Court Street. Stumptown has gotten a lot of press for moving to Red Hook recently, but the proximity and authenticity of D'Amico's makes it the natural choice for this family's beans. There are enough varieties and blends to keep us occupied for a while, a pound at a time. We started with the Latina, at $6.99/lb, an economical choice.
On Court, between Degraw and Sackett
Phone: see above

Slug Deterrent

2009-07-07T04:08:00.000-07:00

Having read that the holes appearing in a few of our bean plants were probably attributable to slugs; and crushed oyster shells, with their sharp edges, can fend off the slimy creatures; we crushed the left over clam shells, less the largest, the bluest, and the one with the coolest design, and strew them along the edge of our garden plot.

Chowder

2009-07-07T04:05:00.000-07:00

July 4th weekend found us clamming again in an estuary on the east end of long island. I scooped up this crab from the water. After this photo he scittered to the depths, perhaps to become a sea gull snack someday.This time we found a few more clams, despite it being high tide. Here they are cleaned and ready for boiling.
A couple rolls toasted in the oven served as croutons.
This blurry picture doesn't capture the wonder of this batch of home-made, foot-felt, hand-gathered, clam chowder. It was excellent.

Garden Happenings

2009-06-28T18:37:00.000-07:00

Last week my $150 Tumbleweed Composter arrived in an enormous cubicle box. The directions were clear and within 20 minutes we had a composter. Over the last week we have been accumulating yard waste, so it's already half way filled. After we picked its place along the fence, I shoveled in the mulberries. Last year I ate mulberries but I never want to see another one again. Now we can turn them into dirt.The radishes sprouted quicker than we thought they would. The picture is after one week of growth. (white mulberry in foreground) Tonight I thinned them to one inch apart.The carrots have sprouted as well, less substantial than expected.Here's a bean sprout. We're a little late to be starting them, but we'll hope for a long fall.Our first tomato.Lastly, here are the tripods we fashioned out of bamboo. The plan is for the beans to climb these as well. Today we planted 3 cucumber plants (for pickling), 4 cabbages, some more cilantro, some more dill, and chicory. I planted a couple delphinium seeds in a cut-off drainpipe, only half-heartedly thinking it will grow.

Yellow Horned Poppy

2009-06-23T20:06:00.001-07:00

A native of Western Europe, this Glaucium flavum was growing on the east end of long island along the beach.

Hard Shell Clams

2009-06-22T04:44:00.001-07:00

Two and a half hours from Brooklyn, depending on traffic, Mercenaria mercenaria can be collected from the estuaries. After obtaining the necessary permits and gauges, we waded into the shallow water. Using feet as shovels, we collected these specimens. We threw back the littlest one for next time.

After scrubbing off the black stuff and any sand, we steamed them in a pot with corona, lemon juice, and crushed garlic. After about 8 minutes, they opened. The largest one didn't fully open, perhaps too muscle-bound, so we didn't feel comfortable eating it.
These were much bigger than the clams usually served in restaurants, like small ravioli.
We plan to incorporate the shells, whole or crushed into the garden.
Next project: chowder!

Veggies and Herbs

2009-06-20T07:40:00.000-07:00

Vegetables: 4 tomato plants, 3 Bibb lettuces, 1 eggplant, 3 green peppers, a short row of sown radishes and carrots.

Perennial Herbs: Oregano (across the path), chives, rosemary (if we're lucky), thyme
Biennial Herbs: Parsley, Culantro
Annual Herbs: Basil, Cilantro, Dill (may resow itself)

Bird Food

2009-06-20T07:38:00.000-07:00

They're crazy for the mulberries! (Click on image for larger version.)

Backyard Garden

2009-06-19T07:09:00.000-07:00

Both photos were taken from under the metal upstairs porch. It's not porous so makes for great storage space. The back wall is on the north-northeast side. The first photo also captures the east-southeast wall. An unfortunate pair of messy mulberry trees drape over from the neighboring yard. The second photo shows the west-northwest wall with holly branches engulfing the back corner.
The approximate arrangement of tomatoes, green peppers, a lone eggplant, and herbs are in the foreground. It happens to be the sunniest spot because of the aforementioned mulberries.

Carroll Gardens

2009-06-17T19:56:00.000-07:00

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