APRIL IN PARIS - Really

We've just returned from a springtime visit to London and Paris where the weather was hot, the skies were sunny, and the prices were insane. Which means that we ate well, but not luxuriously, and since Lanny doesn't drink, I ordered wine by the glass or half carafe which means that I didn't drink dreadfully well, but well enough. Or not enough. Either way, my resolution to not drink except on weekends(fattening, blah, blah, blah) went right out that proverbial window. So much for resolutions. I'd like to be able to tell you that this was a fact-finding business-expense mission for Berkshire Preserves, but I didn't so much as touch marmalade.

I did, however, touch lots and lots of macaroons. Touch, as in eat. And, since no one makes macaroons like the French, and they are available in every conceivable color and filling, I had several of each. And I ate gorgeous salads, and lentils with bacon, and veal blanquette, and steak tartare by the kilo. And fresh vegetables and Moroccan chickpeas. And omelettes aux fines herbes and pommes frittes, and fresh o.j.

We walked all over Paris, miles and miles every day. I took  500 photos of the markets alone, and shop fronts. I fell back in love with Rodin's sculptures and marvel at his ability to sculpt the human hand. I reaffirmed that I like his male forms better than his female forms  - but that holds true for me in life as in art. 


So now, we're home in the changeable Berkshires. This morning was warm and sunny so I put on sandals, opened the doors, raised the windows and drove into town. Then the sky turned black and the air now has a definite chill to it so I quickly turned around to rush home and close the doors and windows. And put on a sweater and sneakers and socks. Living here is great for the wardrobe; everything gets worn in ample time.


I made our first delivery of Berkshire Preserves early in April to the  Garden Shop of The New York Botanical Garden. I created three marmalades exclusively for them; Lemon Mint, Grapefruit Pomegranate, and Valencia Orange with Rosewater. They also have our top three sellers, Pink Grapefruit, Blood Orange and Seville Orange marmalade. It's a wonderful new venue for us and I couldn't be more delighted. All of you New Yorkers need to get up to the Bronx after May 21 to see their show "The Gardens of the Alhambra", stop into the gift shop, and pick up a jar or two of these extraordinary new flavors.


For those of you coming coming this way and looking to purchase our jam and marmalade, they're available at the following stores in and around Great Barrington:

 

Guido's

Bizalion's Fine Foods

Taft Farm

The Red Lion Inn

Locke, Stock and Barrell

They're also on the menus and tables of The Old Mill in Egremont, The Red Lion Inn Restaurants in Stockbridge, Nudel Restaurant in Lenox

Check out the "Products" page to see what's available and remember, we ship and deliver.

Barbara

SPRINGTIME (SORT OF) IN SEATTLE

I'm in Seattle for the week visiting family. I always love coming here, as much for the grandchildren as for variety of scenery, produce and flowers. Right now the Cherry Blossoms are in full bloom, as are the Camelias. The grass never gets brown, the trees and shrubs maintain their moist green glimmer year round and, yes, the sun does shine. Although, not today. I never tire of the stunning beauty of this place with its endless vistas of chunky  mountains and gleaming sea wherever I look.

The markets hold a marvel of fresh produce and locally grown flowers that ours, back in the east, won't have for months. The fish at the Pike Street market shines like it has just jumped out of the ocean onto its bed of shaved ice. The people are friendly and the food is spectacular. My daughters and I ate like gluttons today at a local dim sum restaurant in Chinatown where our gorging cost only $30.00. I defy you to find a similar place in Manhattan.

I'll be back east next week and chained to the stove to produce 18 cases for Berkshire Preserves' newest client, the gift shop at The New York Botanical Garden. To coincide with their upcoming exhibit  Spanish Paradise: Gardens of the Alhambra, I've been asked to create three new flavors exclusively for them based on the fruits and flowers found growing in Andalucia. I've developed delicious Pink Grapefruit Pomegranate Marmalade, Valencia Orange and Rosewater Marmalade and Lemon Mint Marmalade. These will be sold along with Berkshire Preserves staples; Pink Grapefruit, Seville and Blood Orange Marmalades.

Berkshire Preserves is also for sale in the gift shop at The Red Lion Inn in Stockbridge, MA as well as being served on the dining tables in their restaurants. We were represented at Nudel Restaurant in Lenox, MA and at The Old Mill Restaurant in South Egremont.  And, you'll find us at The Chef's Shop in Great Barrington, MA.

Orders are coming in on the Products page of this blog, for which I'm always grateful. So, thank you to all our loyal customers. Please be aware that since all the fruit we use is fresh, seasonal produce, when an item is sold out it will remain so until it returns to growing season. That is one thing that distinguishes Berkshire Preserves from other jam and marmalade companies. We rely on the trees and shrubs for food, bees for pollination, farmers for picking.

Barbara

THE BEST INTENTIONS

February 27, 2011


Well, my intention was to write this blog at least once a month (having decided early on that my original intention of writing once a week was pushing things). And, not only have I not written monthly, I just noticed that the last time I did write was way back in September. When the leaves were turning and the birds were still singing. It is now (the end of) February. We have so much snow on the ground that, really....I feel like a soldier in Napoleon's army walking home from the Russian winter campaign. The icicles hang from the house like daggers, beautiful and dangerous. My booted feet scream for a sandy beach and warm surf. Alas, that is not to be.


Marmalade season is upon us. Seville and Blood Oranges are absolutely gorgeous this year and I am making the most extraordinary and juicy jam. The Moro Bloods are redder than last year and produce marmalade that is gem-like in color.  The Sevilles are as sour as last year, but are also amazingly juicy. It's good to be back in the kitchen.


I've been making lots of hearty soups lately. Yesterday I made one using left over roasted root vegetables, a bean soup mix, leftover vegetable broth and chicken stock, leftover baked ham, leftover spinach. Lots of diced onion, garlic, salt, pepper, leftover arugula pesto, leftover tomato sauce. It was fabulous.
 Today I made a fish soup using red snapper, salmon trout, grouper. I made a soup base using onion, carrrot, celery, garlic, bay leaf, parsley and basil. After softening the vegetables, I added a 28oz. can of pureed tomatoes, a jar of clam juice, 2 cups of white wine (because it was open, and the red wasn't), salt, pepper, a hot dried chili pepper, 1/2 tsp. of harissa, a good squirt of anchovy paste, a squeeze of lemon and I simmered it all for 20 minutes. Then I chunked the fish, added it to the soup, cooked it on  low for 10 minutes, added fresh parsley and served it over peasant bread. Yummy.


Leftovers and a little imagination (and onion and garlic) can make any meal an adventure.


I'm going to sleep now.



Oh, I almost forgot the most important things.....BERKSHIRE PRESERVES is being served at the restaurants of the Red Lion Inn in Stockbridge http://www.redlioninn.com/rli/dining.html ,Nudel in Lenox. http://nudelrestaurant.com/ and The Old Mill in South Egremont www.oldmillberkshires.com/

VACATION TIME

will be closed for vacation until October 14th. All orders placed on this blog, by email or by phone will be filled after October 16, 2010. Thank you for your patronage. 


Barbara