Cooking in the Moment: A Look @ the Book

I always wished more people could get to know the great food crafters behind the small town of Chapel Hill, NC. Every summer I spend there is like a trip to Oz (at least for me). Except instead of an emerald city its a green city full of kale, Swiss chard, green tomatoes, herbs and so much more. Their yellow brick road is paved with summer squash and the streets are lined with farmers markets.  The characters are pulled strait out of a book. Their kind qualities and appreciation for the lore of food shines through their warm smiles.

    Cooking in the Moment by Chef Andrea Reusing is a remarkably colorful book
that takes the reader on a season-to season stroll through the small town of Chapel Hill. Andrea is the owner and Chef at one of Chapel Hills most talked about restaurants'. The Lantern serves food that has it's roots in the southern fields with some Asian crops thrown in. Unlike other fusion restaurants Andrea does it exceptionally well, with comfort food spiced with familiar and unfamiliar Asian ingredients. In addition to her incredible restaurant stands her 2011 James Beard award for the best Southeast chef in the country!
    The book starts in Spring with an entry that begins on a Saturday morning at the end of March. Andrea expresses her feelings for the moments best, broccoli and cauliflower. A bundle gently wrapped in leaves is only $10 dollars but will be the base for many meals that week. Cathy Jones of Perry-Winkle Farms has the spotlight in this entry (as many farmers throughout the book do). She offers Andrea some of the best broccoli, in which she uses to make a Sunday lunch. The following page holds a recipe for cauliflower gratin with aged raw milk cheese. This recipe showcases the minimal ingredients used throughout the book with more attention put on the quality of the seasons produce. Spring continues to offer vegetables that are at their peak such as carrots, asparagus and shitake mushrooms. Spring recipes include roast fresh ham with cracklings, Cast-iron-skillet fresh trout with cornmeal, hen and dumplings and rhubarb ginger sorbet.
    Summer opens the next chapter with a large photo of soft-shell crabs (so you know your in for a treat). Another photo has Andrea and her guests sitting at a long table with crabs, bowls of butter, beer, potatoes and corn. Summer offers cherries, corn, tomatoes and peppers (just to name a few). Andrea is kind enough to share lessons in salt-marinating, pickling, and roasting chestnuts. The book provides full page photos on various heirloom tomatoes and apples! 
    Local farmers are featured throughout the book and so are their specialties. This is one of the reasons the book is close to my heart. Andrea writes about my friends Ben and Noah from Fickle Creek Farm and their incredible property. I still dream about their creamy colored eggs. Flo and Portia make some of the best cheese around at Chapel Hill Creamery (I recommend their Hickory Grove). Even the local markets I go to with Dorette and Rich on weekends are featured. Carrboro Farmers market is a favorite of mine and if your looking for great beef head over to Cliff's Meat Market which Andrea enjoys often.
    There's a tornado that comes to whisk me away every summer. I'm always greeted by the sweet smells of honeysuckle and sounds of goats grazing in the fields near by. There may not be munchkins or ruby red slippers, but that just ensures me that Chapel Hill is very real and no dream to wake up from.  Cooking in the Moment is a delicious wholesome book that foodies alike should all indulge their senses into.

Keep on Cooking!!!

Preview "Jeremy's Kitchen to Table Experience"

This coming Saturday, July 30th I will be hosting my first Kitchen to Table Experience at Whole Foods Market in Boca Raton, FL. I'm really excited to be able to work with families in a fun and exciting new way.  

The KITCHEN and DINNER TABLE are where family and friends gather around to create delicious FOOD and great CONVERSATION.  Participants will work together to prepare and cook a seasonally inspired meal!

The Menu:
Corn & Okra Fritters with Tarragon Aioli, Grilled Summer Squash & Mint Salad
Snapper en Papillote with a Shallot & Caper Butter Sauce, Sauteed Swiss Chard
Basil & Lemon Granita with Fresh Berries.

Here are a few preview photo's to wet your appetite. I'll make sure to post photo's and a blog after the event.

Keep on Cooking!!!

Jeremy

 

The stories in the cookie jar

 I've never truly been alone in my kitchen, I always have had the company of the cookie jars. Their big eyes, tall hats, and large bellies have watched me grow up. They've seen our Holiday dinners and listened to our laughs and secrets. My mom brought up an interesting topic the other day. She spoke about how she adores the mystery of a cookie jar. All the ones gathered in our home are antiques (that mom has collected) and have been heirlooms of other families. My favorite jar rests on the right hand side of the shelf. It bears a child's face that wears a big old fireman's hat labeled "cookies". He's looking into the corner with a lipstick red smile that never fades. His pale face blushes which makes him look like a giant peach. His features may be memorable but what's his story, what's really in the jar?

Food, better then Facebook!!

 JeremyCooks has only been around for a short 2 years. However with all the food we've cooked (and ate), the adventures we experienced and the new friends we’ve made it's no wonder why it feels like forever. How could we have squeezed so much into only 2 years. With time comes change, and that's exactly what I'd like to talk to you about. Over the years I have come to realize that Food has the power to bring people together. In fact, Food is probably the greatest social networking tool in history. I’m sure all of you Facebook and Twitter users (me included) are laughing right now, but stop and think about it. Sitting around the table over a delicious meal inspires great conversation, it’s the original social network. With work, school and technology we forget that at the end of the day it's important to come home to sit around the dinner table over good food and great conversation. If we could cook, sit, eat and talk just as our ancestors (OK, maybe even our parents and grandparents did) then maybe, just maybe we could inspire others to do the same. If kids, teens and families could realize the importance of good food and conversation then maybe it would encourage them to cook, and then everything else will follow.

    If you haven't noticed yet we’ve unwrapped JeremyCooks new look.  As I mature and enter my senior year in high school JeremyCooks continues to follow me on my journey. The website is living and breathing and grows as I do. We’re still all about food and cooking but we've invited a broader audience to the table and gave the site a new paint job. We’ll soon have an updated recipe section, tip section and an all new interactive experience. In the meantime I have some very exciting things simmering on the stove.
    In collaboration with Whole Foods I’m excited to announce “Jeremy's Kitchen to Table Experience”. This unique cooking (and eating) event is where small groups of family and friends of all ages can cook together to create a seasonally inspired meal directed by yours truly. We then sit down at a large table and get to enjoy our meal over great conversation. The first “Jeremy's Kitchen to Table Experience” will take place at Whole Foods in Boca Raton, FL on July 30th. Our plans are to continue these “happenings” throughout South Florida and “hopefully” and “eventually” (with your support) take the experience on a national tour. If you’re in the area check out the Whole Foods Boca Raton calendar for more details!
    Lastly, with all of my culinary adventures I've had over the years (especially for someone my age) it's about time I wrote a book about it. So I'm currently working on a collection of inspirational stories and recipes to create my first book!!! More on that later, so keep checking back for updates.
    If you’ve been following JeremyCooks since the beginning or have just recently joined us I urge you to stick around, read my posts, follow me on Twitter and shoot me an email sometime, I’ll definitely reply (cause I love hearing from you). So welcome to the latest "chapter" of JeremyCooks where I encourage you to........
Keep on Cooking...from Kitchen to Table.