Mrs. Reilly's Soda Bread

Katie Reilly is in the house!

You know me; I'm always looking for really good food, and traditional Irish fare is no different. I look for excellent, fresh ingredients that are written in a language that's easily understood. You know, "real food" 
as my Mom would say. So a recent grocery store trip was no different than other day except for one special person: Mrs. Katie Reilly, and her infamous Irish Soda Bread. 

The label on the back was my first tip off that I had indeed found something very special. There are no artificial ingredients added. 
Like, none. Don't believe me? OK. See here for yourself:

Real ingredients, with no crap added into the mix. Wow!

And so I put it in my basket, and went on my way...or so I thought. 
At home, I found another surprise underneath the store's adhesive label that I carefully pulled off, so as to not tear the bag. It was the real story of an actual woman named Katie, her clan, and how much her food and her kitchen meant to them as a group.

Buried treasure! "Arrrhh!"

It was an unbelievably good find, what with the plethora of fake brand names that flood store shelves nowadays; the openly desperate manifestation of many a rich corporation, in an industry that seeks legitimacy and the money that goes along with having the real thing. 

But if living in an actual Irish/American town like Pearl River that also has strong Dutch, Huguenot, and Native American roots has reaffirmed anything for me, it's that you can't steal someone else's history for very long. You either have it or you don't, just like Mrs. Reilly.

Behold: the best soda bread I've ever had.

If you still doubt the power of authenticity in a world chock full of posers, let me close it down for you, finally. It was so good that I bought one for my exceptionally finicky Mom. She ate three pieces of it in a row, and she usually has a cup of yogurt for her afternoon tea. That's right, my dear readers, it passed "The Mom Test". Put that in your pipe and smoke it, "Irishers". Enjoy!

Happy St. Patrick's Day 2015, to you and yours.

http://www.myveronanj.com/tag/atie-reillys-original-irish-soda-bread/ 

http://www.celticpassions.com/about_katie_reilly.html 

Food: Creamy Pasta

Penne and sausage and zucchini and cream. Oh, my!

We have a bounty of perfectly beautiful, succulent green squash from New Jersey pouring into the store with a rich profusion that screams "Cook with me!" Yeah!! I've waited months for this kind of produce. 

Sometimes I treat my kitchen and pantry items like an episode from the cooking show Chopped: What can I make from what I have on hand? It's actually really fun, without the intense on-camera pressure, berating, viciously competitive saboteurs, and the brutal, insanely quick time line.

A bowlful of pasta perfection!

I decided to combine the squash sitting so perkily and prettily on the refrigerator shelf with some leftover penne, pecorino romano, a little light cream, all natural sausage flavored with spices, sea salt, and natural flavorings, tossed into garlic and onion fried in coconut oil, all items I bought on sale and in season. Mmm, mmm, mmm!
Take a look for yourself, and see.

Welcome to summer, readers! Today is the first day.

Food: Springtime Bounty

Stuffed Eggplant with Chicken Sausage, tomato and onion..

 I've been reaping the benefits of locally grown fresh vegetables for weeks now, taking pictures of dishes that look particularly savory.  
Let's dive in!

Skirt steak with fresh Jersey string beans & boysenberry sauce reduction.

New Jersey is called The Garden State for good reason; they produce an extraordinarily huge selection of very high quality fruits and vegetables, making it a veritable gardener and chef's delight. So, when I see them highlighted at my grocery store (which is a mere five minute drive from the Jersey border), I dive in with all my senses, smelling and sniffing for freshness.

Warm radish and string bean salad with honey glaze.

One week I used green beans in my cooking, the week prior it was eggplant. Think of sustainable cooking like the greatest culinary game you ever played: what can you make with what's available and in season? Try it. You might just come out a better chef.

Poetry in Motion: Twilight

Bus ride home in twilight.

To the Reader: Twilight

Chase Twichell

Whenever I look

out at the snowy

mountains at this hour

and speak directly

into the ear of the sky,

it’s you I’m thinking of.

You’re like the spirits

the children invent

to inhabit the stuffed horse

and the doll.

I don’t know who hears me.

I don’t know who speaks 

when the horse speaks.

Old Cars

Old Chevy truck.

I'm not a big car nut by any means, but there's one type of vehicle that always makes me stop, and that's a classic car. There's something about the lines I respond to. And it's not just cars; this old truck was the coolest thing I've seen in awhile. I'd love to tool around town in this thing. It says whoever drives it is down. 

Made for truckin'.

Like, "I'm a farmer who's been around since the early 60s, when there was nothing but corn fields around here, sonny. You're a newcomer." How much fun would it be to see a drive-in with this here thing? A rootin tootin' kind of fun, kiddo. I'd love to pile up some pumpkins and hay in the back, and I don't even have a farm.

Check out my grill front.

The hood was open the day before, sitting in the parking lot of a local garage, so I got a good look at the works. There's a long, narrow gas tank in the front, and the original fan (rusted out, of course) sits right behind the grill to cool the engine off. The interior was tight, too: still the same upholstery on the seats, with the all the old-fashioned knobs intact. I know it's not practical to have an old timer like this in the driveway, but compared to the generic Corolla's and Hyundai's of the world, there's just nothing funkier than a joint that looks like this. '69 Mustang? I'm there. That's my year.

I'm a road trip kind of trekker. You?

http://www.pinterest.com/mariedoucette/travel/ 

Around the Way: New Jersey Diners

Cocktails and eats, from way back when.

The only really late night game in our town was either White Castle, or quietly stumbling around your parents kitchen in a quest for drunk food. Jersey, a scant ten minutes away by car, had it so much better: the all-night diner. And the great thing about diners is, the menu is long (for any type of craving) and the food from most places is actually really, really good. Most of the family joints were Greek owned and operated, so you could count on a certain type of quality.

Passing by this empty building one afternoon on a bus back from the city, I felt a nostalgic sadness for a bygone late night life that I never had in Rockland. I bet it hit locals hard to see their go-to joint close down. I am happy to see the Hudson Valley emerge as a happening fine dining kind of place, because with the kind of produce we have here, it's the perfect marriage of locale matched with interest. Enjoy!

Food, glorious food: 

http://www.pinterest.com/mariedoucette/food/. 

Around Town: Mourning

Pond in early morning light, New Jersey.

For Ann.

Around Town: Dancing Trees

Dancing trees, in Weehawken, NJ.

Around Town: Morning Commute

On the Edge

Tunnel Entrance

Alphabet City

Summertime looks and tastes like corn on the cob. New Jersey corn, fresh from the fields, is on the shelf and in baskets right now. Nothing more is required other than a quick boil and a sprinkling of coarse salt to bring out its' natural sweetness. Skip the gooey butter bath, because an ear like this just doesn't need it. 
It's simply perfection.

New Jersey sweet corn

Around Town

Sunset over The New Jersey Turnpike

Towers by The Turnpike

Weehawken, New Jersey

Rush Hour

Entrance to The Lincoln Tunnel

Leaving New Jersey