I Cover The Automat

Bustin’ out (it is June, afterall)

icovertheautomat — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 02:18:41 +0000

Our first CSA pick up was just about two weeks ago, and following a nice weeknight meal here in Brooklyn, the harvest followed us upstate to Coxsackie, keeping us well stocked these past two weekends.

We had a nice early assortment of braising greens, swiss chard, broccoli rabe, and lettuce, along with two zucchini, radishes and salad turnips. And, of course, a few garlic scapes for good measure.

Broccoli rabe on the left; garlic scape pesto on the right

It was a quick and easy one on Montague, with the scapes getting a quick pass through the little Cuisinart to create a nice, assertive pesto. Meanwhile the broccoli rabe sauteed with garlic and tossed with some leftover lamb sausage from Fatoosh takeout. Whole wheat pita for crust. Pecorino and low-fat shredded cheese. Presto!

Lazy morning on Church Street gave me a chance to clean the greens and chard, and get them cooking slowly with some red onion and garlic, finished up with a hint of balsamic vinegar. Lunchtime was still a bit off, and we had some nice herbed chicken sausage to use up, so into the oven….

and back out of the oven for a nice mid-day meal. Here’s the chard/sausage gratin plated:

So, shockingly, the zucchini are still untouched. Sunday night supper it is. Salad is sublime, with delicious leaf lettuce, radishes and turnips, dressed with oil and lemon (one nicked knuckle slicing the radishes with a mini-mandoline type thing makes me remember why knives are so reliable). A quick aioli for garnish, and to bind pan-fried zucchini cakes (shredded, salted and drained squash, panko, and a bit of chopped up leftover chard/sausage from the day before).

Following that, the only thing left to do was to grab a knife (lesson learned) and slice radishes and turnips to go with a wonderful smoked trout dip Maura whipped up this weekend. Apologies for the lack of a photo, but we were beating the clock to get to the neighbors for supper, and the trout dip’s such a winner you’ve either already had it at one of our parties or you’ll have it soon when you come visit.

Our CSA pick-ups start tomorrow.

icovertheautomat — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 13:20:19 +0000

I started to clear out the fridge a bit in anticipation, but I’m thinking I’ll try to blog every other week with a report on what we got and what we ate. So, with that, bring on the garlic scapes!

: 2011 CSA farm share in Brooklyn Heights

First Irish continued, by way of Belinda McKeon…

icovertheautomat — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 05:27:42 +0000

Tonight, at long last, I was able to get sprung from work in time to make the 7pm curtain at PS 122 for Graham & Frost, a highly charged one-act by Belinda McKeon.

It’s an admirable undertaking – one that reminds you of the possibility of discovering something new. To be completely honest, I’m hard-pressed to remember anything I’ve seen downstairs at PS 122 in recent seasons that has demonstrated the same resonance or promise. A taut play with a spot-on cast, G&F draws you into a heightened setting that is simultaneously plausible and expertly controlled, with a persistent inflection drawn from the air of inherent menace.

The poetry rests in McKeon’s ability to resist the low-hanging fruit of predictable stage action and instead focus on the complexity and nuance of character. In return, three memorable dramatic figures follow you home, with each of them remaining well beyond the running time of the play.

Perhaps the super-harvest moon has aligned a harmonic convergence whereby PS 122 and the Project Cube have become interlocked, as the same vibrant energy radiating on the Dublin Fringe these past weeks has a strong echo ringing out on E. 9th Street. NYC is all the luckier for this cosmic coincidence.

Is the pint glass half empty?

icovertheautomat — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 22:01:41 +0000

Well, it’s been a busy few weeks, punctuated by a quick run upstate where I spent Yom Kippur organizing tax documents that are sorely overdue for our accountant. But the mental fast has been broken, and it’s all 1st Irish theater shows all of the time.

Lalor Roddy as Lev in Kabosh's production 'This Is What We Sang'. Photo Aidan Monaghan

Last night was a visiting production for the North: the extraordinary site-specific company, Kabosh, presenting their new production, This is What We Sang, at the Synagogue for the Arts in Lower Manhattan. It’s a remarkable piece of work with an exceptional cast, and you would be well served to get out and see it this week or next. Speaking of well-served, I certainly was following the show and reception, spending a wonderful night catching up with my good friend Lalor Roddy along with the rest of the cast and Kabosh crowd.

For those wonks among my readers (you know who you are), you might be particularly interested in the NYPL’s panel discussion with the company next Tuesday evening at 6pm (NYPL for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center), and equally in this Saturday’s 1st Irish Theater Symposium, featuring the likes of Garry Hynes, Prof. John P. Harrington, Belinda McKeon, and ME! I’m moderating the morning panel, before heading over to the Public for the first NYC performance of Elevator Repair Service’s GATZ.

But I digress from 1st Irish. There’s a lot to discover on the program, and some of the shows are wrapping up soon (and some you’re going to need to scrap to get a ticket). There’s been a lot of ink spilt commending Wife to James Whelan at The Mint and Frank McCourt’s The Irish… and How They Got That Way at the Irish Rep, so you’ve got no one but yourself to blame if you miss out on those. For those looking for a more intimate studio theater experience, you’re coming up on the final few performances of The Map of Lost Things downstairs at PS 122, and a pair of plays at Manhattan Theater Source, with the rollicking Ardnaglass on the Air now following the finely tuned production of Dermot Bolger’s The Holy Ground (insider tip: do both on the same night, and duck into Rabbit in the Moon between shows).

Beyond that, I fear you missed the chance to see Three Irish Widows vs. The Rest of the World at the Stage Left Studio. Take heart, however; you’ve got plenty of additional options as the month winds down: I’m on my way now to see Hue & Cry, and then Thursday it will be The Flea for The Prophet of Monto and PS 122 for the well-publicized Graham & Frost, with Guy Walks into a Bar (in a bar), Rat in the Skull, and a staged reading of Beowulf to follow. Once I’ve had a chance seen a few more of these, I’ll report back via the interweb. But between now and then, feel free to corner me over a pint — 1st Irish has taken over the Scratcher for its festival club, and, boy, do I love the Scratcher.

Yes, I am quietly judging you.

icovertheautomat — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 17:20:42 +0000

As BroadwayWorld.com reported this week, the third annual installment of the George Heslin’s excellent 1st Irish Festival, produced by Origin Theatre Company, is now afoot. Seeing as I’ve been drafted to weigh in on the relative merits and achievments of these promising productions as a Festival Judge, I’ll try to cover a bit more than the automat for the next three weeks, making periodic postings to this blog about the tee-ter, the Oi-rish, and, of course, the craic. Stay tuned for field notes and reports from the front lines!

Building bridges

icovertheautomat — Mon, 10 May 2010 16:29:00 +0000

via Brownstoner

I was quite pleased to discover by way of Brownstoner that the latest CB2 meeting included presentation of updated plans for connecting the languishing Squib Park in the North Heights to the new Brooklyn Bridge Park below. Let’s hope the City takeover of BBP will fast-track the renovation and construction of the bridge.

Rockefool me once, shame on you…

icovertheautomat — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 18:26:08 +0000

So, not surprisingly, this Ploy Street charmer is back on the market, with a recently updated listing price of $400,000. That’s a bit of a drop from the $450,000 “Chip” Smith, né Clark Rockefeller, né Christopher Chichester, né Christian Karl Gerhartsreiter agreed to pay John Day for this converted carriage house in Baltimore last July. Too bad “Muffy”, aka “Snooks”, née Reigh Storrow Mills Boss only had a short stay in Charm City. She never even got to a chance to see daddy’s yacht.

“Hello, Cleveland!”

icovertheautomat — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 14:06:13 +0000

So, young Nicolai has weighed in with his opinion on the Atlantic Yards bait-and-switch. While I might not share in his enthusiasm for our neighbor from the North, I do continue to marvel over the cut rate Metroteching that Forest City Ratner’s pushing for. Couple that with the complete failure of the BAM LDC/cultural district, the rise of the Oro, Toren and the newly named Brooklyner, not to mention the fact that Gage & Tollner is going to become an Arby’s, and all one can do is fret. Here’s the latest on the new arena, with renderings leaked to the NYT posted on their City Room blog.

Ever get the feeling you’re being cheated?

icovertheautomat — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 01:56:07 +0000

But Scotty’s only seen the sights a boy can see from Brooklyn Heights…

icovertheautomat — Wed, 20 May 2009 00:43:11 +0000

Spectacular evening tonight. Here's the latest on our new neighborhood park... Trees have arrived!