SUMMER TIME / RECIPE: SUNGOLD, CORN AND ROASTED ONION SALAD, July, 2016, Orient, NY

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All of a sudden it’s summer and things are growing! I’m not sure how
spring went by so fast… it seems like over night the farm went from
a brown/grey dirt patch to a lush bright green garden! It’s crazy how
many things and how much has grown just from Calvin and Peter working
the land – I must say I’m very impressed. Grass and weeds are
everywhere and we even have some food! Raspberries are popping up on
the bramble bushes – red, purple and yellow! Some veggies are ready to
pick – already made a salad from radishes, shallots and baby kale.
Meanwhile, the North Fork went from shuttered winter to open for
business summer. All the restaurants and attractions (aka the mini
golf place) are open and the summer crowds are coming out every
weekend. All the other farm stands are open for business and we
finally have a bounty of local produce – garlic scapes, kale, herbs
and hella zucchini. We’ve been making crazy fresh meals every night,
and on nights when we eat early enough ( we usually don’t eat till 10
pm) we even eat outside al fresco!

I have to say, I liked the North Fork in the winter but I love it in
the summer. It’s so nice to lounge by the pool or on the beach all day
and then just walk to the nearest farm stand to make dinner. It’ll be
even better in August when I can have Calvin pick our dinner from all
the veggies he grew himself!

Today I’m sharing a recipe I’ve already made several times this season
– sungold and corn salad. TBH almost none of the ingredients are
available locally (corn and tomatoes usually aren’t in season till the
end of the summer on Long Island) but its’ just so yummy and fresh I
can’t stop making it. It’s also a real crowd pleaser, super simple and
most importantly, can be made ahead of time! In the summer, I don’t
want to be in the kitchen for hours, I just want to have light and
simple meals that don’t require to much cooddeling. This is one of
those recipes.Though there are a few steps there are only a handful of
ingredients. This recipe is based off of one I read in Food52 a few
years back but I’ve tweaked considerably.

As per usual, recipe and farm photos below!

SUNGOLD, CORN AND ROASTED SUMMER SALAD ONION SALAD

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INGREDIENTS

3 ears of corn – sweet corn is preferable if you can find it
1 large onion, roughly chopped
1 pint Sungold Tomatoes (those sweet little yellow guys), halved
4 scallions, thinly sliced
1 tbs olive oil
salt and pepper

PREP

1. Boil water and set oven to 375 degrees F

2. Chop onion and spread out on a cookie sheet – cover with olive oil,
salt and pepper and roast for about 30 minutes – until pieces are
cooked and slightly brown. Let onions cool so they can be handles and
then place in a large bowl.

3. Shuck corn, snap or cut cobs in half and boil for three minutes.
Let cool then carefully cut kernels off the cob and throw into the
same bowl as the onions.

4. Add halved sungold and thinly sliced scallion.

5. dress with 1 tbs of olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. Eat
right away while slightly warm, keep out and enjoy at room temperature
or refridgerate and eat later. It’s all good!

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IT’S ME AGAIN / RECIPE: GRINGA-ASIAN CUCUMBER, CARROT AND BELL PEPPER SLAW, July, 2015, Brooklyn, NY

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The hardest part about blogging is to continue to keep blogging. Owning my own restaurant, starting a fledgeling Esty business (future post about this soon!), and what I like to think of as, you know, a life, I don’t find much time to write new posts. Also, as the boyfriend always reminds me, I’m lazy. I often spend my one day off a week snuggling with my puppy, watching bad television (in particular USA shows “characters welcome!”), trying to recharge for the coming week. It’s not like I haven’t thought about blogging, I have several to-do lists and notes on future blog posts that I just never crossed off. So it’s time to stop writing about to-dos and just do!

I really like blogging, not just to share but also to document my experiences and interests! My future self loves going back-  remembering the fun times, good food and (what I hope are) pretty pictures. I have a couple of recent trips (New Orleans, Miami) I can’t wait to post about as well as several weddings and adventures (ALASKA) coming up! Future me would totally be missing out if I didn’t write about these experiences and I hope future you guys will like them too!

Much like blogging, the hardest part about eating healthy is to continue to eat healthy. I don’t really want to get too into my health issues in this post, but now that it’s been over 5 months (!) since my surgery, I haven’t been the best at sticking to the Party Girl Plan. Vacations, especially those to food destinations like NOLA, really take a toll on my eating habits (YOU ONLY LIVE ONCE). Moreover, SUMMER, takes a toll on eating habits! All I want is hot dogs, pizza, cheese fries (though I have yet to eat any) and ice cream!  Even with the (more) occasional cheat, I try to keep my regular diet on the healthier side. Lots of juices and non-dairy smoothies, lots of veggies and humanly raised meat. Yes it is somewhat expensive to eat this way, but I put my money where my mouth is, and my tummy and I are happier because of it.

Today I’m sharing a recipe for my go-to healthy slaw! I’ve been eating a lot of grain bowls recently – usually brown rice or quinoa topped with lots of veggies and  a marinated protein. I often make these gringa-Asian inspired, with sriracha roasted broccoli, garlic soy bok choy and edamame. I will make a sesame-miso-ginger dressing to top it all off but in this hot weather, if I’m in the mood for something lighter, this slaw is the perfect condiment. It also makes a great side salad. It’s tangy, crispy and super refreshing. I’ve made it dozens of times and it never fails to please!

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Gringa-Asian Cucumber, Carrot and Bell Pepper Slaw

INGREDIENTS

1 large carrot, julienne (cut into little strips)

1 large cucumber, julienne

1 small to medium bell pepper, I prefer yellow or orange, never green, julienne

1 bunch scallions, finely chopped, whites and greens

1 tbs salt

6 tbs rice vinegar

2 tbs sesame oil

sprinkle of sesame seeds — to your liking!

DIRECTIONS

1. place chopped carrots, cucumbers and pepper into a large bowl and sprinkle with salt. mix and let sit for 5 minutes.

2. drizzle with rice vinegar and sesame oil and toss

3. add chopped scallion, mix and refriderate covered for at least a half hour.

4. when ready to serve, sprinkle with sesame seeds and garnish with cilantro (if that’s your thing)

***This recipe makes enough for six grain bowl toppings or two large salads.

***Slaw will keep in the fridge for one to two days, depending on how fresh your veggies are!

Here are some recent photos just for fun!!

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PIG ROAST(S), August 2010 / July 2012, Redhook, (Upstate) NY

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This coming weekend I have VERY big plans to roast a lamb in honor of mine and my friend Pete’s birthday. But before I blog about my upcoming roast I wanted to share some photos from my past roasts. PIG roasts that is! I have been lucky enough to host not one but TWO pigs roasts in my life time, all thanks to my bestie Spencer (as you may remember from earlier Party Pirls posts) and his loving parents (who just happen to be my unofficial god-parents) Marsha and Steven, who donated their lovely home and yard for the festivities.

Continue reading

GOOD OLD FASHION HOUSE PARTY, August, 2014, Bushwick, Brooklyn

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Hopefully by now you’ve all realized what I mean when I call myself a “party girl”. This blog is more about my adventures in dinner parties and fun gatherings than social escapades around NYC. Don’t get me wrong, I used to be the ULTIMATE party girl – I went out at least 5 nights a week – to bars,  warehouse parties, you name it. These nights usually included at least four vodka sodas with a splash of lime juice (VodSoLime) and dancing until the sun came up (bonus points if they played “Party In the USA“). In fact, the name “Party Girl’s Perspective” was thought up (by yours truly) after a drunken evening debate. I can’t remember what we were talking about, but I interjected with my own opinion, stating firmly, “Well, from a party girl’s perspective…” and my friends never let me live it down. I pretty much was the MOST FUN.

I even threw my fair share of (if I may say so myself) EPIC house parties (back in the day when I lived with three boys and our house was in a constant state of trashed). Even though I now live with FOUR boys (a little misses dog) my house tends to stay in a state of relative cleanliness and I hardly ever “rage”. Though some of my favorite party spots have shuddered their doors (RIP OG Coco66Paris London New York, and my very first apartment 541 Lorimer – which is now an AirBnb Hostel that YOU can actually stay in), the downfall of my party girl ways had way more to do with owning my own business, in particular my own bar. After working five to six days a week, serving drinks, the last thing I want to do is go out drinking after a ten hour shift (though, strangely this doesn’t have the same effect on my desire to cook in correlation to running a restaurant, TG). 

Now a days, I still enjoy a good evening out (though the boyfriend and my friends would agree that I should probably go out more) but I definitely no longer hold a “Party Girl” title. In fact, just last month, I was out and about on a Saturday night (at Call Box Lounge to be exact – I highly recommend you check out their website, by the way), when my good friend saw me and freaked out “OH MY GOD, you’re actually out! You never come out!”. She was totally right (and I was totally sober). SO when my roommate Al and his bandmate Taka wanted to throw a house party their band could play (it might have been just a little bit of my idea too) I was TOTALLY DOWN. We had only thrown two house parties since we moved in last August and it was time for me to show off the other spectrum (e.i. a RAGER) of my party planning abilities! Continue reading

BEACH DAY PICNIC, August, 2014, Fort Tilden, Queens, NY

To follow up on my last post, this one’s all about the day I made the boyfriend take me (and Misses Loretta the dog) to the beach! The boyfriend isn’t the biggest fan of the beach (even though he grew up in a beach town) and neither is Misses (which is mostly my fault for capsizing a canoe while I was holding her when she was just 3 months old and forever traumatizing her). Me, however, I LOVE the beach. I love swimming in the ocean, I love tanning, I love picnics! Beach over pool any day. I had only been to the beach twice all summer (once at the boyfriend’s little beach town, sans the boyfriend, and then once when we were in Cape Cod), so I was SUPER PUMPED to spend a day lounging by the sea before the summer ended. Continue reading

DINNER FOR TWO (PLUS SPENCER) / RECIPE: SUN GOLD BUTTER, August, 2014, Bushwick, Brooklyn

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This past Sunday the boyfriend and I had tentative plans to join some friend’s out on Shelter Island. But after driving to and from the Hamptons the day before for work the boyfriend just wasn’t up for it. Though I was slightly bummed, I understood his plight (especially since I’m a big unlicensed 26 year old loser), I got over it (though forced him to take me to the beach the very next day). He made up for it by bringing me to my favorite Sunday shopping spots: The Cooper Park Farmers Market and The Meat Hook! We bought way too much food for just the two of us (mostly tomatoes) and prepared a decadent dinner. Luckily, I ran into my oldest friend, Spencer, while running out for some pink wine and I forced him to join us. As per usual we had a lovely roof top BBQ and I finally got to make SUN GOLD BUTTER. Continue reading

DODGE POWER WAGON RALLY, July, 2014, Cavendish, Vermont

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Every other summer the boyfriend’s extended family (his mom’s brother-in-law’s brothers, to be exact) throw a Dodge Power Wagon Rally at their family’s farm house in Vermont. Before last weekend I had never heard of let alone seen a power wagon, though I found out plenty about them and the people who love them over the weekend. You can learn more about the Dodge Power Wagon, but basically they are vintage pick-up trucks, made between 1945-1980 that are super bad ass. There is a whole community of Power Wagon collectors, many of which congregate at the rally to talk shop, show off their rides, swap parts and most importantly, go off roading. People drive from hundreds of miles away, some with crazy souped up cars too nice to even drive, most towing beat up old wagons, all to ride, drink and EAT. Continue reading

BADGER BROTHER REUNION, July, 2014, Keesville, New York

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I had only planned on taking a couple days off to visit my sister in Cape Cod. The boyfriend, however, had a family Dodge Power Wagon Rally to attend in Vermont that weekend. On our last night he decided to take a detour en route to Vermont and visit our friends, the Brothers Badger. The next morning I decided ditch work and join. Dan and Dylan Badger used to live with my boyfriend when he was a farmer in Vermont. The boyfriend and Dylan farmed together, while Dan was a Brewmaster at a well known but not worthy of a link brewery. I used to love visiting the boys up in their little home in Woodstock, VT. They brewed their own (delicious) beer, killed their own meat and always had a plethora of farm fresh or home grown vegetables that they were all more than willing to cook up. They introduced me to fun that is the game Careers and the “Heart Attack Roll” (cream cheese wrapped in steak, wrapped in bacon). Dan and Dylan had moved to upstate New York over a year ago and had just finished building their Ausable Brewing Company, and we had never visited them. Continue reading

CAPE COD FAMILY FIESTA, July, 2014, Sagamore, Massachusetts

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I need to preface this post with a quick explanation of my family tree. I have what you may call, a unique family situation. Both of my parents have been married and divorced three times each (that’s five marriages between the two of them) and I have several brothers and sisters of varying ages and colors. Even so, in my family we don’t distinguish between “step”, “half” and “full” siblings. We all love each other and that’s all the matters. But just for a  reference, I have attached a nifty family tree I’ve come up with over the years as a quick explanation. See below. Continue reading

FARMER’S MARKET FEAST / MY FIRST ROOF BBQ, July 2014, Bushwick, Brooklyn

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I’ve been feeling really guilty lately about not buying local and/or organic. Two summers ago I lived on a farm with my (then farmer) boyfriend and puppy. (Just to clarify, it’s the same boyfriend, he just now has a different job). We picked our dinner from vegetables he grew with his is own hands (plus a few others). We always had farm fresh eggs and always ate “in season”. And it was all FREE. But now, as a struggling twenty something living once again in New York City I find it ridiculously expensive to eat fresh, seasonal and local. I take advantage of the low cost meat and produce at our neighborhood Bizarre Grocery (gotta love Bushwick). They have a butcher on the premises and the produce is pretty fresh and more importantly reasonably priced. This place is GREAT when we’re hosting a larger party and looking to keep our food costs down. But last Monday I decided to make a small intimate dinner for my roommates and a few friends. So I broke my pattern and ventured to the Union Square Farmer’s MarketContinue reading