Almond Scented Apricot Jam

I’ve been doing a lot of jams and preserving this past month, if you haven’t noticed already. But there is a reason for all of my madness. Every year Alex and take a summer trip to Provincetown, MA for vacation, and it just so happens that this year there will be a craft market taking place the day after we arrive. So I signed up for a booth and am crazy excited. Not only will it be a great way to promote the blog, but by participating I will also help give back to a community I love very much. A percentage of all the profits made from the fair are being donated to the Provincetown Soup Kitchen, which is one of the least funded organizations in Provincetown.

So needless to say, I’ve been going crazy getting ready for my big debut.

The Perfect Spring Fruit Tart

There are not many things better than a homemade fruit tart. Flaky crust, creamy custard, and fresh fruit. But you know what’s even better? A fruit tart that can be made in under an hour. I know I’m not one to take the easy way out when cooking, but I’ve gotta say, this is one easy recipe for the books.

I’m personally not a huge fan of Paula Deen. Her recipes usually contain a nauseating amount of butter, that even I can’t bring myself to eat –and I eat just about everything. But this fruit tart of hers? Absolutely delicious. By using a mere stick-and-a-half of butter for the pastry crust, its richness balances out quite nicely in contrast to the lightness of the fruit. So if you’re looking for a quick, easy, and absolutely beautiful dessert, look no further. Check out the recipe over at The Food Network. I’ve already made this a number of times in the past, but I made it again just this past week for Alex’s boss’ birthday, and he said the entire thing was gone in less than 5 minutes.

Note: I usually switch out the limeade concentrate for lemonade concentrate, and the lime juice for lemon juice. I just prefer the tartness of a lemon as opposed to limes. But to each their own.

Astoria Food Swap

This weekend was the inaugural Queens Swap here in Astoria, Queens. The festivities took place at Queens Kickshaw, a great new café/grilled cheese place in the hood (that just received a fantastic review from New York Magazine).

The turnout was fantastic. With some 22 swappers in attendance, the abundance of food was awesome, and slightly overwhelming. After much deliberation, I settled on bringing my black onion relish and strawberry rhubarb jam. Both were a big hit and I came home with tons of new goodies.

Recycled Container Gardening

The other night as I was whipping up some grub for dinner, I went to throw my empty tomato can in the recycling bin and paused. I had just picked up a little thyme plant earlier in the afternoon and knew I still needed a container for it. And then it clicked—why not use this tin can as my flower pot? I’ve been looking to creatively expand my little fire escape garden and this seemed to come along at the perfect time (no pun intended). All it needed was a little drainage, and it would work wonderfully.

Radish Pickles

It’s radish season in New York and boy are those little bundles of crispy red bulbs gorgeous. And the best part about any fruit or vegetable being in season is the fact that they are crazy cheap. I just bought 2 pounds of radishes for about $3. Not bad, huh? Even better is the fact that you can make 4 8-oz. jars of pickled radishes out of them. And you probably already have most of the things in your cabinet you need to make a batch.

Swapping Out Your Cabinet Hardware

It’s true what they say: A little really does go a long way. Replacing cabinet hardware is a great example of this, and can really transform a piece, making it feel brand new.

Now, I know my bathroom isn’t much to look at, as is the case with most New York City apartment bathrooms. But the boring silver knob that adorned my bathroom vanity was definitely not helping. So with 2 minutes of my time, and one common tool, I swapped the drabby old knob out for a cute, simple one from Anthropologie.

Rosemary Olive Oil Sea Salt Crackers

There is nothing better than a really good cracker. It’s the vehicle to so many delicious toppings—cheese, relishes, dips, spreads—the list goes on and on. But a boring, lackluster, or (heaven forbid) stale cracker? Well that can really ruin things. Can I get an amen? So I decided to put the store-bought crackers down and try my hand at making my own. Yup, homemade crackers are my new thing.

Strawberry Rhubarb Jam

As previously mentioned in my Mother’s Day post, this weekend my mom and I rolled up our sleeves, and got into the kitchen to cook some Strawberry Rhubarb Jam. With all the wonderful things my mom has taught me throughout the years it was nice to actually be able to teach her a thing or two. You see, even though my mom has a good handle on most everything in the kitchen, she has never in her life made homemade jam, let alone preserve anything in a jar. So it was a lot of firsts and a lot of fun.

Queens Swap-Food Swap

Springtime crops are currently growing in abundance, and we are finally coming out of the dull harvest (at least on the East Coast) that is winter. All of the yummy fruits and vegetables currently flooding the local markets as well as those that are still on the horizon have got me thinking about food swaps. In particular, how my neighborhood—Astoria, Queens—is lacking one. That is until a few days ago, when I first heard that a few lovely ladies in my hood have been thinking the exact same thing as me.

The first ever Queens Swap meeting is May 22nd and I’m super excited! The event will be held at the fabulous Queens Kickshaw, a wonderful grilled cheese place with some killer (and unconventional) side dishes, from 4-6pm. If you live in the hood, you should think about signing up! It should be a lot of fun. They are limiting the event to 20 food swappers, so don’t wait around if you’re interested. (Whoops, it’s actually all filled up, but put yourself on the waiting list!)

Mother’s Day <3

For Mother’s Day this year, my mom is coming into the city for a visit. I’m very excited to spend a couple of days with her and drink wine, eat good food, and just hang out. What could be better than that? I consider my mom to be one of my best friends, which makes me feel incredibly lucky. And she is, after all, the person I learned to cook and craft from. As I’ve mention here before, growing up we were always doing crafty projects, whether it was on the beach, upstate at our family’s cabin, or right in our own backyard. In addition, I was always in the kitchen helping my mom cook. Yup, I was a mamma’s boy (and still am). One of my fondest memories in the kitchen was listening to Patsy Cline while dancing on my mother’s feet in the midst of cooking up weeknight spaghetti and meatballs. To this day, whenever I listen to Patsy, I always think of this.

So in honor of Mother’s Day I thought it would be fun to share one of my newfound crafty cooking pleasures and whip up some jam with my mama. Making jam was never something we did as kids, but I do remember many a summers spent picking fruit, whether it was apples, strawberries, or blueberries.

So here’s the plan–in proper New York style we are going to go to brunch, then go “fruit picking” at the Union Square farmer’s market, then return home to make some yummy jam (I’m thinking strawberry rhubarb).

Not only will this be a great way to spend some quality time with my mom, it also provides me with the perfect Mother’s Day gift. She gets to go home with some homespun preserves along with some sunny spring memories she can revisit months down the road as she spreads it on some toast one chilly winter morning.

How do you like to spend Mother’s Day with mom?