Roasted Pork Butt with Rhubarb Compote

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In high school there was a group of us, four of us. We did everything together and oftentimes everything meant breaking the rules. Of course, I went to convent school where the rules were so strict and pretty silly that breaking them, though highly offensive to the administration, was mostly innocent. There's the time I ripped my coat in half while scaling the walls to escape. For a split second or two I just hung there with my coat still attached on one side of the fence and my body on the other. My alma mater, Georgetown Visitation is connected to Georgetown University so the older, cooler students just walked by and poked fun of the poor little Catholic school escapee. Other hijinks include but are not limited to the weekly skirt exchanges where the dean called us to her office, ripped off our short skirts that we'd fringed and decorated in studio art and gave us new to-our-knees version, the day I smuggled my best friend out of school in the trunk my car because I had a note to leave early and she didn't, and the time a couple of us, after months of hiding out in the parking lot to avoid chapel were finally found out by a nine months pregnant dean who gave birth the next day.

Breakfast: Poached Eggs over Polenta

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Until ohhh six months ago I thought poaching an egg was the most difficult thing in the world. Every time I'd tried, the egg always burst apart and was an inedible mess. Turns out, poaching a delicate egg on a rapid boil isn't a good idea. Too bad it took me twenty years to figure out that a gentle simmer will yield perfectly poached eggs time and time and time again. Seriously, it's now my go-to method for eggs - easier than scrambling, I sah-wear!

Stewed Etna Beans with Apples and Herbs

I've always enjoyed bean soups, baked beans and other bean dishes, but I generally used dried beans from the grocery store. This year, as I've become more and more involved with my local Farmers' Market, I've also become more and more adventurous. I'm no longer shy, sticking to what I know rather than asking the farmer how to cook something. Now, I realize going to the market is about more than purchasing food and supporting your community. It's also about building relationships and educating yourself.

Farmers' Market Finds - June 5th

It is pouring yet again, but I have to admit I am a rainy day kinda gal. I love any excuse to wear rain boots, tuck baby girl into her stroller, strap on the rain guard and take off. Rain means Manhattan enters into a dreamy state akin to sleeping in on the weekend. Most people don't leave their homes, instead choosing to wait for the weather to clear. I love taking advantage of those times where baby girl and I own the streets and don't have to fight for our place on the sidewalk. So, today, we, along with our neighbor and her baby girl, walked leisurely to the farmers' market while the cold rain pounded down on us. Just like last week, the market was alive and well with people like us who don't mind a little rain in their hair.

The most exciting find this week was garlic scapes! They are the green stems that come straight out of the ground when garlic is flowering. Scapes have a mild, almost delicate, garlic flavor. I've never cooked with them before, but Ray Bradley of Bradley Farm and former sous chef for David Bouley, says to saute them briefly in a little olive oil or butter with some salt and pepper. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. I'll post more on my adventures with garlic scapes next week!

The market was also alive with strawberries. I'm visiting my in laws tomorrow so I made a bit of a joke out of myself, buying one container from Bradley Farm and then returning for four more! One measly pint of sweet, luscious berries for 8 adults and 3 children? Baby girl eats one pint herself if she can get away with it.