Kalustyan's - Tuesday, April 3, 2007

Tuesday, April 03, 2007

Kalustyan's Since I have the next three weeks off, I'm going to do some real cooking at home. First of all, I have to take a trip over to Kalustyan's on 28th and Lexington. It's my favorite store in the whole world. I could spend hours there! I also want to take a trip up to Arthur Avenue. Arthur Avenue is in the Bronx, and it's the real Little Italy. It's nothing like the Little Italy in Manhattan. The one in Manhattan is for tourists, and I've always been hard pressed to find a good Italian restaurant there. Go figure. Arthur Avenue has a variety of different Italian markets, plus it has a large central market that's pretty awesome. Lots of different meats, cheeses, plus tons of really nice, fresh produce. The seafood markets are amazing, and they have some really great butchers up there as well. They also have pastas, olive oils...you get the picture. During certain times of the year, you can even buy fresh olives that you can cure yourself. Pretty cool. I've been meaning to make mole for a long time now. I'm not one to really use recipes so much, but since I've never made it, I'll probably use Diana Kennedy's recipe. She's an amazing cookbook author, and expert on all things related to Mexican cooking. I think she lives somewhere near Oaxaca, but don't quote me on that. In my neighborhood, there are quite a few Mexican markets where you can buy things like Abuelita (Mexican chocolate), and epazote. Perhaps I'll make that tomorrow. I also want to bake more pies in the future. I've sort of fallen away from baking as of late, but I love to bake pies and tarts. I can't wait for cherry season to start. They sell the tart cherries at the Union Square Farmers' Market, and I like to mix them with the sweet variety. Speaking of farmers' markets, I need to find out if there's one in my neighborhood. I'm hoping that's the case, because sometimes I just don't feel like going into the city. The Union Square market is always so crowded, unless you go at like 8:00 in the morning - and let me tell you that's definitely not happening. I also want to get some kim chi started soon. I love that stuff, and it's soooo much better if you make it yourself. Really. I kid you not. I don't go to the extent of burying it in a clay pot in the back yard, but maybe if I had a back yard in the first place, I might consider doing that...