ITS A GOOD DAY FOR BEE'S IN NYC

    Actually, March 16th was a great day for bees. Thats when the Dept. of Health lifted the beekeeping ban thanks to the help of everyone who wrote in support of the legalization of beekeeping in NYC. Join the New York City Beekeeper's Association on Tuesday April 6th at 7pm (123 East 15th St) to celebrate this victory for the bees, for the plants that the bees pollinate, and for all of us who benefit from all that hard work the bees do that we take for granted. Thank a bee today!
   While at the Farmer's Market, I was so happy to see NYC Honey being sold! Talk about local.

MELON PEPPER SALAD

While I was visiting the country I really wanted to try to only prepare dishes with ingredients that I could get locally. Usually, I do food shopping in NY and cart everything up here. It gets really cumbersome and I always end up running out to the store anyway. The first farmer's market I tried had nothing but plants, but Antidormi's up the road had a lot of nice fresh veggies and some delicious local honey. I imagined how pretty fresh cantaloupe and green peppers look together then began to imagine how would they taste together? I quickly sauteed the peppers in a little olive oil with hot chili flakes for a nice kick, then combined it with fresh raw cantaloupe, chopped parsley, fresh honey, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper. The flavors combined really nicely. The crunchy pepper complimented the mellow cantaloupe flavor, and the sweetness of the melon and honey was rounded out well with the lemony parsley. The little bit of heat from the chili flakes and tang of the vinegar brightened up the whole salad. 

MELON PEPPER SALAD

1/2 Cantaloupe shaved with a potato peeler

1/2 green pepper

Hot red pepper flakes to taste

Olive Oil

2 tsp. honey

2 tsp. balsamic vinegar

Chopped parsley for garnish

Salt and Pepper

Shave the cantaloupe with a potato peeler and set aside. Slice the pepper and sautee quickly, keeping the crunch, in oil with hot red pepper flakes to taste. Combine the pepper with the cantaloupe. Drizzle with honey and balsamic vinegar. Season with salt and pepper. Garnish with fresh chopped parsley.

GRANOLA, GRAPEFRUIT, BANANA, AND HONEY

Most mornings a simple breakfast is what I need. Few store bought granola bars cut it, so I experimented with making my own for the first time. I have such a variety of nuts in my fridge, it was the perfect time to try. I always start out on the Food Network, because there are tons of reviews and I can find out what works and what doesn't. I went with a Peanut Butter Granola Bar from Emeril and made a few tweaks. For example, I used a pre-toasted bag of rolled oats that was slightly sweetened and berry flavored from Trader Joe's (of course). Instead of dairy butter I used the Earth Balance. Whole chopped raw almonds replaced slivered almonds, and I omitted the pumpkin seeds, the raisins and the brown sugar since the granola was already a bit sweet. What I ended up with was a few irregularly shaped "bars" and a lot of delicious granola crumbles that I can sprinkle on everything. I want to experiment more with savory granola bars. Ideas: chile-lime with coconut, masala chai with coconut milk, pistachio with rosewater, pumpkin spice. 

Pictured: Peanut Butter Granola Bar, Grapefruit and Banana drizzled with Honey