Another Brimfield Fair

I know I said I'd be posting all these updates from the summer...you'll get them eventually. Instead, here are some photos from the Brimfield Antique Show, which I went to this past weekend. I didn't get quite as much good stuff as last year--a small wood crate for the top of the fridge (something to stash all those loose chip bags in), an off-brand Evergleam Christmas tree (now we just need to find a color wheel), a vintage Copco baking dish, and some wood type. I guess not a bad haul, really. Maybe I just felt more exhausted this time.

It's not hard, not far to reach

I'm going a little bit out of order, but I'm starting with Rockaway Beach. These photos are from July, but I just went there on Sunday so it's still fresh in my mind, in a way.

We've been going to the beach at Jacob Riis Park for the last couple of years (definitely the best beach in the city!), but I'd never realized there was a boardwalk a couple of miles down. I still prefer Riis for their huge parking lot (we drove around quite awhile looking for a spot near the boardwalk) and the awesome abandoned military base, but the boardwalk has its perks.

This year they've opened up a series of hipster concession stands, including Blue Bottle Coffee, Caracas Arepa Bar, Rockaway Taco, and Rippers, a burger joint that has a decent quinoa black bean burger.

I'll bet it's weird for the locals (definitely heard some guy complaining about "all the faggy shit") but it's a great ploy to get people to make the trek there from Brooklyn and Manhattan. I'd still be going out there anyway but I love that now the day involves great food too.

I was a little skeptical at all the surfboards I saw people carrying, but look--people actually surfing (albeit on tiny waves).


Under the boardwalk

A rusty yet active skatepark just off the boardwalk.

How I spent my summer vacation (eating)

So I more or less took the summer off from blogging, even though I hadn't intended to do so at first. But I'm back, or so I'd like to think, and am going to start with a recap of the summer. (It might take a couple of weeks...I have a lot of photos to share, and as usual, I can't narrow them down as much as I want to.)

While it rained a lot this summer, mostly on weekends, I did manage to fit in some fun excursions to both new spots and old favorites--Los Angeles, Provincetown, Beacon, Storm King Arts Center, Red Hook, Saugerties, and so on.

But I'm going to start with what I ate. Or at least the photographs of food that I found on my computer, taken with intentions of posting here but never followed through on.

Garlic scapes

We used them to make a pesto,

some of which ended up on this pizza (under the cheese, so you can't really see it). Amazingly, these photos were taken months ago but I still have some pesto in the freezer, which I plan to finish this week.

Tomatillos and a couple of jalapenos, about to be roasted

and turned into salsa.

Mushroom empanadas before,

and after.

Pasta with red chard (I love how it turns the sauce pink).

A pretty salad, made with radishes and lettuce (and maybe a couple of other items)

Strawberry shortcake

I of course ate a lot of other great stuff this summer (both home-cooked and in restaurants) but for whatever reason this is what I photographed.