We spent two delightful weeks in New York in close proximity to apples: One week in Catskill, where production
season was starting for Dave's Left Bank Cider business, and then a week in NYC. Why is it 'The Big Apple'?
But before apple picking got too hectic, Dave taught a free
class
at the Cidery on how
to properly save seeds from this season to the next. Using
his horticultural knowledge and experience, he
demonstrated preparation techniques for a wide range of
plants, especially garden vegetables. The well-attended
lecture was part of the Cidery's community outreach, so
drinking in class is allowed! Here, he's
revealing to everyone, including himself, the results of a
blind "germination check" of seeds he'd saved several years earlier.
His 100% "sprout rate" was a crowd pleaser.
Dave Reveals The Results of the Sprout Test
News & Notes
A companion page gives the specifics of our visit to Catskill and NYC, but there are two highlights:
- After Catskill, we moved to New York City. We spent 8.5 hours at the Metropolitian Museum of Art (The Met), enjoying several exhibits: Copies of Greek and Roman statues painted like they were originally, Turkish miniatures (find the hidden face), kimonos, David Drake's pottery (he was a slave who learned to read and write and signed his work at great risk), and Bruegel's epic "harvest painting." Half way through we slipped outside for a hot dog and espresso, enjoying both in the sunshine on the museum's steps.
Sittin' on the Steps at The Met
- Perhaps our most memorable meal was at Cervo's on Canal Street. Literally on Canal Street. We'd been putting around Chinatown, and after cocktails and a couple dozen oysters, we headed for Cervo's, famed for its anchovy lambburger. With the street closed, we opted for the intimacy of mid-thoroughfare.
Enjoying Supper on Canal
J celebrated her birthday as a Happy Hour with a group of neighbors, who arrived with delicious hors d'oeurves and wine. The most spectacular contribution was a unique birthday cake, baked by her friend Lisa and perfectly personalized: A koi pond! The fish, rocks, cattails, water - everything - was edible and delicious! Lisa gave the "water" lychee flavor; the koi were formed of white bean paste and hand painted; the cattails were whole-wheat ramen with dipped chocolate tops! It was a wonder to behold, and honor to receive and a pleasure to devour. Thanks, Lisa!
A Complelely Edible and Delicious Koi Pond
We returned from New York in time to have dinner with Ogawa Tatsuhiko, a nuclear physicist and son of our Japanese friends Yo and Sayoko. He was in town for a few days for work. It was delightful, and we're hopeful he'll return again soon.
Dinner at the Smoked Salmon House
Our California friends Lynne and Carl escaped to the Northwest for a month. We spent a couple of days with them on Whidbey Island. Mostly we chatted, but we also spent time hiking past some enourmous trees and hanging out in Langley. There, we discovered that a boy or man will lean his elbows on the railing and cant his right leg when staring out at the Salish Sea.
The Boy Statue, Dog, L and Carl
Periodically, J and her friends coalesce around the idea of making antipasti. It is an ambitious project that we've reported on previously. This year Lisa - of birthday cake fame - and Myong peeled, sliced, mixed and processed 23 pints of the delicious aperitif. Vegetables never tasted so good!
Finished!
