The Family Garden is changing gears for the foodie crowd, jumping from Sweet and Stinky to an equally (and pungently) delightful delicacy. You’ve probably been there: the corner deli clerk plucks a zeppelin-sized pickle from that greenish jug of brine on the counter, you set into it with a crunch, and your pastrami sandwich is suddenly transcendent. You’re likely thinking it would take a family history in the pickling business, not to mention a wealth of time, to make something so delicious. But, with a little practice, you’ll prove yourself wrong!
Putting together the perfect balance of spices and other flavoring blends is where time and imagination come into play. Otherwise, the brining process is about as easy as packing up leftovers! A few clean jars, a selection of fresh cucumbers, and a handful of other easily-attainable ingredients. It’s so simple you can pick it up during an afternoon “Pickle Me!” session, now running through August 17 in the Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden, from 1:30 to 5:30* p.m. daily. You won’t even need your grandmother’s chilly cellar to let your pickles prepare; with our recipe, the refrigerator will suit just fine.
Is it too early to plan for your child’s critically acclaimed gallery showings? Maybe not! Because sometimes inspiration just needs a little coaxing. Join the NYBG on Saturday, July 28, as we host MasterCard® “Priceless Budding Masters” in the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden, guiding each young artist through a hands-on exploration of the links between nature and their own boundless creativity.
Just as Claude Monet looked to his garden to find his muse, kids will enjoy the opportunity to indulge inspiration through the plants and flowers around them, channeling what they see, smell, and touch into masterpieces of their own. Once finished, each young Impressionist’s painting will be photographed for our online gallery–or even hang in the Budding Masters Gallery if your child chooses. That’s a long way from sticking it on the kitchen fridge. So be sure to sign up today, as remaining spots are sure to disappear quickly!
Next up, dinnertime in the Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden! As part of “Mario Batali’s Kitchen Gardens,” a robust and interactive space in the Family Garden filled with beds of vegetables and herbs used at Mario’s restaurant kitchens, Family Dinners with Mario Batali’s Chefs pairs the produce from these beds with chefs from Mario Batali’s restaurants. On Thursday, July 26 join Chef Frank Langello of Babbo Ristorante and Chef Cruz Goler of Lupa Osteria Romana for an unforgettable dinner. Want to know what’s on the menu? Annie Novak, Assistant Manager of the Family Garden shows you in the video below.
Part of The Edible Garden, ‘Mario Batali’s Kitchen Gardens‘ in the Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden is an interactive space filled with beds of vegetables and herbs used in the restaurants of chef Mario Batali. The whole family will love exploring these beautiful gardens using an audio tour and Mario’s Menu Mystery game (you can pick it up in the Family Garden).
Skip your morning affair with the everything bagel and get to the root of summer’s freshest garlic and onions! As Assistant Manager of the Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden, Annie Novak’s got a direct line to the most basic of foodie cravings–a knack for not only raising all things allium, but putting them through their paces in the kitchen. So if you happen to catch a whiff of this pungent pair as you wander the NYBG between now and the end of the month, simply “follow your nose” to our Sweet and Stinky events.
That’s just what we were doing when we found Annie hard at work in the Family Garden yesterday, tending to the herbs and alliums that star in this flavorful summertime activity. But she can explain the fun of Sweet and Stinky far better than I can, as you’ll see below. Just think of it as a double whammy: you’ll have something to engage your kids while they’re out of school, and they’ll be trying new things in our one-acre vegetable garden to boot.
Wishing a wonderful July 14 to every one of our French friends! And everyone who’s just being French for the weekend, for that matter. Don’t forget that the NYBG will be on 60th street in Manhattan for the Bastille Day NY festivities tomorrow, from 12 to 5 p.m. There won’t be any storming of fortresses to my knowledge, but I figure food, music, and celebration will suffice. Vive le 14 juillet!
Hemerocallis ‘Siloam French Doll’ — Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Not what you’d expect to find growing in the Bronx, is it?
If your love for New York’s hip-hop history runs smack into a penchant for urban gardening, this might be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! Literally. I mean, how often do you get to blend the defining musical stylings of the Bronx with the green thumb’s art?
It’s called the Bronx Urban Farm Tour, and this year’s trip leads you through some of our borough’s finest working farms, as guided by a pioneer of the hip-hop movement which started here in the 1970s. It’s an enlightening way to see and experience the food, music, and culture of the Boogie Down through the eyes of one of its most esteemed supporters–this year’s tour narrator will be none other than the prolific Grandmaster Melle Mel! For the uninitiated, that’s Melle Mel of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. Or maybe The Sugarhill Gang rings a bell.
Eating better can be a constant struggle, especially for big city dwellers more likely to hit the hot dog cart than the produce aisle. For the many whose budget won’t allow for splurging on organics, the thought of piling a basket high with healthy foods is far off. But thanks to Health Bucks, a city-wide coupon program geared toward low- and fixed-income residents, bringing fresh fruits and vegetables to the table may be less of a trial.
Just as we’re all about the beauty and preservation of nature, The New York Botanical Garden stands behind the delicious, great-for-you goodness that comes out of it! It’s why you’ll find some of the area’s finest farm-raised fruits and vegetables for sale along Garden Way, Wednesday mornings through November. Blackberries and blueberries, kale, apples, cucumbers, fresh herbs–the Greenmarket is a weekly cornucopia of home-grown, seasonal garden goodies. Now made that much easier on wallets thanks to a city-wide initiative.
What did you have for dinner last night? Did you whip it up from scratch, or were there boxes involved? Did you sit at the table, or in front of the TV? I’m not one to judge. I don’t even own a dining room table (my apartment is so small, I declared victory when I found a suitably sized TV tray), and my husband and I can often be found rooting on the Yankees over a bowl of pasta and a glass of New York’s finest.
Whether that’s tap water or a pint of local brew, I’ll let you decide.
New York City is a tough place to indulge in the idyllic family dinner; our apartments are small, our kids are as busy as we are, and especially in the summer, it can get so hot that it makes it seem perfectly reasonable to splurge on dinner out–if only to soak in someone’s air conditioning while they feed us. Like I said: no judgment. So wouldn’t it be nice not only to sit down with your entire family, but to sit down with a community of like-minded families for a three-course meal prepared by some of the city’s best chefs, in one of the city’s best gardens? Yeah, I think so, too. And that’s just what you can do–twice this July and twice again in August in the Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden.
We’re bringing the City of Lights to the City that Never Sleeps, and it begins this Saturday night with the first of our Monet Evenings.
Once a month from now through September, the NYBG will host elegant cocktail nights flaunting all the romance of the city on the Seine–the pluck and jangle of Gypsy Jazz, the nostalgic swoon of “La Vie en Rose,” the swing of the Zazou movement, or the sanguine strains of Debussy. Because, the way we see it, there’s no need to stop at the rural charm of Monet’s Giverny when so many of his contemporaries found their muse on the Champs-Élysées. Impressionism goes beyond the context of the canvas, after all.
The Family Garden is changing gears for the foodie crowd, jumping from Sweet and Stinky to an equally (and pungently) delightful delicacy. You’ve probably been there: the corner deli clerk plucks a zeppelin-sized pickle from that greenish jug of brine on the counter, you set into it with a crunch, and your pastrami sandwich is suddenly transcendent. You’re likely thinking it would take a family history in the pickling business, not to mention a wealth of time, to make something so delicious. But, with a little practice, you’ll prove yourself wrong!
