Get in my belly

This is for anyone who’s ever said to me, “I have no idea what’s in season when.” This is the best way to find out:

From left: napa cabbage, garlic scapes (foreground), mizuna, broccoli rabe, sugar snap peas (my favorite spring vegetable right now — and only because shelling peas are starting to get starchy), head lettuce.

[The new banner image, by the way, was hastily and half-assedly photoshopped from the hard-ground print I made last week at my printmaking class here, and you can see why I'm totally in love with this medium if you check out what I made today.]

After yet another round of pork (the whole pork butt at Momofuku Ssam — good, yet definitely something I could make myself for a tenth the price), I prevailed upon Brian to help me work off all that pig fat with some Wii action. I’d not yet had a chance to partake in the Wii phenomenon, but people, let me tell you, I’m totally going out and getting one tomorrow. I mean, I want to. (Whether it actually happens is another thing entirely. It might have to go second on the list after “get a hamster.”) Tennis and boxing are AWESOME. My right arm and shoulder are sore from all the butt-kicking I’ve been doing. Yeah, I can get into the video games.

I would just like to confirm that Stand’s toasted marshmallow milkshake IS that good. Francis did a very effective job posting about it, and I’d fixated on getting one for four days straight and then finally managed to get my hands on one. And it’s true, I’ve been thinking about it ever since. Brian tells me the ricotta-pistachio is even better.

Tableside: grilled octopus at Centovini.

Riverside: view from the Manhattan Bridge, 12.30am.

I’ve been eating up Francis Lam’s posts on the Gourmet blog because he particularly gets the medium. There aren’t too many food bloggers left out there who are really willing to let it all hang out in at least a semi-intelligent way (especially since I’m too impatient to wait for mmw to make his monthly post), but Francis definitely does. And then some. This is a recent favorite.

Champion, that is, of spring produce. All local: Greenmarket scrambled eggs (Tello), crème fraîche (Ronnybrook), and chives (I forget who, but they’re on the southeasterly side and always have tons of herbs); lettuce and arugula from my half of the weekly Hearty Roots CSA share, with pumpkinseed oil (sadly, from Austria, but seriously, one of the most life-changing additions to my cupboard this year) vinaigrette.

And here’s what that CSA share looks like:

From right, foreground: superspicy mustard greens, arugula, purple basil, japanese turnips, garlic scapes, and lettuces.

I know this is getting kind of ridiculous, but I guess if you’ve had any kind of run-in with my omnivorous ways, you’ll probably figure it’s par for the course. Is there such a thing as too much pig? I, apparently, aim to find out this summer.

I Trulli went nose-to-tail last night at its garden party. Once again, further evidence that pork crackling should rightfully be called pork crack.

No explanation required, am I right?

There’s a bagelry in Port Washington on Long Island called “Let There Be Bagels,” and aside from having pretty awesome bagels, they also do these things called almond horns, which are made of almond paste, rolled in sliced almonds and then dipped in chocolate.

Wednesday night’s Dinner + 1 action: I made Matt and Ted Lee’s NC-style oven BBQ’d pork butt.

Last night’s country ham (Missouri, represent!) with red-eye gravy at Momofuku Ssam Bar. Confirmation that pigs are hands down the most delicious animal on this planet.

I can feel it.

Some people want birthday cake. I want a Pearl Oyster Bar lobster roll and a slice of pah.

Birthday present to myself: some of the first legal batch of rye made in NY since Prohibition from Tuthilltown Distillery.

From the weekend:

Went out to Taste Good in Elmhurst on Friday, a really, really superlative Malaysian joint. Awesome deep-fried fishcakes.

On two counts:

A.’s popped the question and is making an honest woman out of Foo.

I have reached my 27th year. Go me.

Man, someday, someone is going to pay me to go on and write about an around-the-world trip and a road trip across the US. Does Matt Gross have the bestest job EVER? Survey says yes.

Also: it’s about fucking time.