cityrag

on the job
Buddy's off to his weekend job: being a dog

it's apple pickin' season
over the last couple weeks pick-your-own-apples mania has been hitting areas all around the city. and you won't here us complaining, what's not to love about picking apples on a clear fall day in the beautiful orchards of an old farm (and grabbing a big supply of fresh hard apples in all varieties at .29 cents a pound)

one of our all-time favorite farms is Boehm Orchards in Climax, NY. a huge old family run farm, surrounded by rural beauty; the orchard is incredible, long winding rows with striking views of the mountains in the distance.

each row is clearly labeled and they have a huge variety (last visit we were able to grab the last of the peach pickin crop.) they even make their own pies right there in the farm kitchen, with the freshest apples and a perfect crust. about the best apple pie we've ever had!

Manhattan Users Guide just published an info filled "Apples" edition. and the Chowhound Tristate board is an excellent source for finding orchards around the city. you can do a search or post a request for recommendations. here's some old posts...Where can I go apple picking in NJ?, Farmer's Markets - Apple Picking

friday links

this weeks laugh-every-time-you-see-it photo, on our new fave site Verbose Coma (via NewYorkish)

wanna know where to stalk, see or eat with celebrities in New York City... Gawker Stalker kicks-ass each week in rounding up the latest NY celebrity spotting

KDunk's hilarious "What Your Cube Says About You" is a cathartic rant for all of us that work in shitty cubed out offices.

more breaking Lesbian news - Simpson sister is a lesbian (from Unca Grambs)

we love a good burger, and New York's got a ton a great spots - on the Manhattan Chowhound board this week there were 2 HUGE burger posts discussing which is NY's best.

recipes for city kitchens: ny deli frittata
in NY, it can be difficult to find the ingredients for an easy, healthy meal close by; or a recipe that you can make in small apartment without a lot of cooking utensils. one of our favorite standby's is this quick frittata recipe, with the ingredients easily available at most NYC delis and bodegas... you'll need butter, bread, eggs, milk, cheese, and whatever vegetables you can scrounge up at the deli.

set your oven to 375 degrees and...
1) butter a pie dish (or square pan about that size)
2) toast 1 piece of any kind of bread/roll, lightly butter it and then tear up into small pieces and scatter on bottom of pan (the bread absorbs some of the vegetable juices, helps it get nice and firm)
3) scatter layers of vegetables in pan to almost the top. we like: layer of grated zucchini, grated onion, torn up spinach, and chopped tomato. use whatever you like and is available, mushrooms, broccoli, left over chicken (sometimes it's onion, tomato, green pepper, cuz that's all they got.) 2 tricks to the veg part - squeeze most of the liquid out of the grated or chopped items before you add to the pan; and grating is much faster than chopping for vegetables like zuc, onions and peppers.
4) cut up a couple handfuls of the cheese (sharp cheddar and gruyere are awesome) and add to the top, push the chunks down into the vegetables a bit.
5) crack 10-12 eggs into a bowl (you can substitute egg whites for some or all of the eggs, but use more), add 4 tablespoons of milk, a bunch of salt and pepper and seasoning. seasoning can be crunched up herbs, a scoop of salsa, Italian dressing, hot sauce (reduce milk if you use something wet)
6) mix everything together and pour over top vegetables/cheese in dish. egg mix looks like a lot but once you start pouring almost all should fit!
7) stick in oven for about 30-45 min until it's firm through the middle (if it gets fully browned before it's firm, reduce heat to 350 degrees and cover lightly with foil) - let it cool a couple minutes, cut up and serve! (goes great with some fruit, toast, muffin, or even tortilla chips)

100 miles up the Hudson River
about 100 miles straight up the river, north of NYC, lies Olana, the magnificent estate of Hudson River School artist Frederick Church.

a friend of ours likes to say "the Hudson River School artists were the ROCK STARS of their time", as throughout the 1800's their highly romantic style and "use of light effects, to dramatically portray such elements as mist and sunsets" broke new ground and moved the nation. walking through the beautiful Olana woods last weekend to watch the sunset with friends, it was easy to see how these artists were inspired to create this moving style.

NY dog rescue: WaggyTail
WaggyTail Rescue is a wonderful organization, similar to the one we got Buddy from. they go into NY "kill" shelters, pick out dogs (and cats!), post them on Petfinder.org and foster them in volunteer apartments around the city until they get adopted into loving homes.

WaggyTail is currently listing several ADORABLE small dogs... a Chihuahua/Corgi mix named Wilbur, who's insanely cute (looks like a black version of Buddy.) Cookie, the sweetest thing we've ever seen, with a story that will break your heart.

Jackie Chan looks like such a funny and loving dog. and little Rocco is a wiggly, snuggly, nuzzler.

we want them all! if you're thinking about adopting a shelter/rescue dog and want to talk to someone who's been through it, send us an email. words cannot describe what a rewarding, loving and beautiful experience it's been for us.

if you want to help but can't make a long term commitment to a pet, you can foster an animal or volunteer, donate something needed on their wish list, or make a donation, they need every penny.

and on WaggyTail's site we discovered a great way to help non-profit orgs. iGive.com lists a ton of big online retailers and when you buy from them through iGive's website, a percentage of your sale goes to your favorite charity. and it's not small change, there are some significant percentages and bonuses being paid (right now ther's an additional $5 bonus.) we're planning on doing all our online holiday shopping through their site!

voter reg scavenger hunt!
CityRag has a challenge for you - find one person who is not registered to vote, have an informative and passionate conversation with them, and get them to register and participate in this years election! bonus points for nailing down someone in a swing state!

and just in time Kottke.org has put together an excellent Voters Information Guide for the 2004 US Election that has every possible link and bit of information on how and where to register.

in response to our "mom" post yesterday....
our friend NO sent this in... "nice work getting your mom to vote! i got the confirmation from my mom over the weekend that she and my dad are totally kerry supporters..."

and Gail sent us these inspiring words... "Miracles do happen! You CAN get people to THINK and change... my Mom and I are going to watch the Thursday debate together so I can simplify and explain stuff to her. She even asked me to make sure that she would be taken to the polls to vote" (Gail's mom just turned 80 :-)

happy eyes
happy boy Buddy loves his new life with us. this Oct it will be 2 years since we adopted him.

fair fight
at the Demolition Derby a couple weeks ago we watched this fight go down... the stands and grounds were packed and people started congregating on the stairway landing to watch the show, blocking the view a bit for the people in the first rows. this drunk, red faced, jerk starts screaming obscenities and threats at the people standing. they don't respond, so he takes his plate full pizza and full soda and THROWS IT ALL at the backs of the kids and adults standing! the people are all like "what the fuck?!", and a short round woman (with her arm in a sling) runs over and freaks out on the dude...

he then stands up and TAKES A SWING at the woman in the SLING! and she ducks backwards like a prize fighter! at this point her husband runs over and tells them BOTH to stop the craziness. he gets right up in the assaulting drunk guy's face and chills him out! it was miraculous!!

we talked to the woman's husband after the derby and asked him "how did you control yourself?" and he told us the fight starter was "drunk off his ass and had his kids on both sides of him" (the f'ing coward) and he didn't want to throw it down "in front of his kids". Lesson: even if a guy takes a swing at your wife, you're not going to win by beating him up in front of his kids.

mid summer night's smoke-in
this week's CityRag Smoke-in features a precision "handoff" in front of the reconstruction of the 9th Precinct on E 5th St....