Greens Water

In her novel about restaurant life, Sweetbitter by Stephanie Danler, ( https://amzn.to/4w5c3P1 ), the narrator casually mentions that the chef at the restaurant she works at cooks bitter greens in the winter, like escarole. Food mentions like this in novels are enticing to the reader, but since the food isn’t the main focus, they simply provide background and help push the narrative along.   From what I could tell, there was one mention of food in the entire Elena Ferrante Neopolitan Novels series, when the main character, the fictional Elena, brings her prospective husband home to her economically poor family, her mother makes some type of potato cake. Meet the fictional Elena:   https://amzn.to/3QWS6ek . While food can help anchor a story, in real life, preparing meals can become a daily grind. Which is why the Farmers Market serves as weekly inspiration. To be free to go to the Farmers Market before the hoards arrive from work on a beautiful day means first choice advan...

Always looking for better materials not just with clothes.   100% Recycled Cotton, Garment District NYC, Woman Owned Deborah Connolly Designs Upcycled Kitchen Towels: https://amzn.to/4xZ9G24  

Original content. Independent vibes.   Photo by Tatyana Rubleva on Unsplash    

#planterpots  

Based on yet another cookin’ Jamie’s recipe: Jamie Oliver’s Purslane Pesto. It’s good — earthy, bright, and absolutely worth a switch‑up from basil pesto. Watch that garlic! Ingredients 2 cups purslane leaves (just the leaves, not the stems) ¾ cup Parmesan cheese (like Trader Joe’s Shaved Parmesan, Romano & Asiago Cheeses) 1 cup roasted, salted pistachios (I use TJs Dry Roasted & Salted Pistachios) ¾ cup good‑quality olive oil. Try:   https://amzn.to/4gyGCYH Black pepper, optional 1 smashed raw garlic clove — don’t use more than that. Even if you aren’t a 9‑to‑5er, it will try to take over your life. Splash of lemon Method: Blend everything together, adding a little water if needed. Keep the texture rustic — not baby‑food smooth. Purslane has its earthy personality; let it show.   Pestos are great on proteins during summer grilling season. I tried some Asian variations last year, which we may revisit soon… Pine nuts ...

One of the best things about the Farmer’s Market is experimenting with new foods. Admittedly, the market has been thin this year due to a rough winter, but there’s still July and August produce roll-outs. Market secret: bring cash for certain discounts. Pictured here : Purslane: Purslane had its fine-dining moment some years ago. Since it was available at the market, I decided to give it a try this time around. I’ll be using yet another cookin’ Jamie’s recipe: Jamie Oliver’s Purslane Pesto. We’ll post how it goes. Spring Garlic: While it resembles spring onion—which I use a lot—it needs a bit more work. Internet directions said to simply chop it. Not so. It has an outer husk that needed to be removed. One of the garlic bulbs had already developed into cloves, so I had to treat it like regular garlic. That’s real prep for you. Next time, check for cloves, check for husk.   The taste of spring onion adds a new dimension to what you’re cooking—subtler, fresher, more mild a...

 

 

The bottom has fallen out of clothing reselling. Everyone knows it. The platforms know it. The buyers know it. The resellers really feeling it. I found a low‑effort, low‑income lane that works for me, but the broader market is in free fall. What’s happening now is a wave of pivoting — collectibles, sneakers, vintage tech, anything with a pulse. In some cases, it’s not a pivot at all. It’s an extinction burst. An extinction burst is when you keep repeating a behavior that used to work, long after it stopped paying off. You double down. You triple down. You pour more effort into a void because of the old trick that once rewarded you. In a K‑shaped economy:  https://greenswater.blogspot.com/2026/06/are-you-ok-kshaped-economy.html , extinction bursts are everywhere. The business technique that worked last year, may not work next year. The “secret” that once made money now barely moves the needle. The grind continues, but the return doesn’t. We all have our own extinction bursts...

 https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/1560406575608615/

Olive and pickle brine are an underrated and delicious tool in the sustainability arsenal. I reused the spicy Kosher Dill brine from these Trader Joe’s pickles, added sugar for preservation, and made a quick pickle of chopped summer cucumbers. Balanced, tangy and zero‑waste, before you need to make your next shopping trip for pickles.   If you’re worried about turning your fridge into a science experiment, label your jars with dates and follow standard guidelines. Labeling jars helps keep them in order.   I’m eyeing this labeler, if you’re the labeler type:   https://amzn.to/4etx6oq Leftover brine is a stealth multitasker: dressings, marinades, pasta sauces, mocktails, sandwiches — and crab cakes, adding an unanticipated savory element.   The jars can get reused too. A word about probiotics. Fermented brines naturally contain beneficial lactic acid bacteria, which support gut balance, help with digestion, and may even improve nutrient absorption without the mar...

Original content on Greens Water.   

Resorted to grabbing a store-bought rotisserie chicken. Would not have ended well without intervention. Creamy mushroom sauce:  https://greenswater.blogspot.com/2026/06/creamy-mushroom-sauce.html Next time, I’m roasting a chicken properly — using a mash‑up of two techniques Jamie from Anti-Chef touches on in one of his videos: Jacques Pépin’s rotating‑the‑pan method Marco Pierre White’s “stuff the cavity with veg” approach If you want to see Jamie suffer through it on YouTube (his specialty): @antichef Anti‑Chef Commits To The Bit Jamie executes technically challenging recipes from the cookbooks of well‑known chefs exactly as written. Obscure ingredients, fussy steps, no shortcuts. We watch him struggle, persist and occasionally triumph. As Queen of Hacks, an ingredient like orange blossom water would not make it into my cart.  When an orange would do.  Chef Lineage Behind the Techniques Jacques Pépin , the GOAT. His excellent autobi...

A flexible, savory sauce that worked on the dry store-bought rotisserie chicken I had last week and would work for: pasta, grains, roasted vegetables, eggs.   It’s fast, easy-going, with staple ingredients, while being gourmet, to use the old-fashioned word.   Ingredients 2 small containers mushrooms (Bella, mixed, or your favorite), coarsely chopped Vegan butter or regular butter Olive oil 1–2 cups veggie or chicken stock 2 cloves garlic or Dorot cubes 1–2 tsp mustard (Dijon recommended) Splash of lemon Cream or vegan cream.   Nutpods is my North Star, and an internet favorite:   https://amzn.to/3Q6DN6y Salt or truffle salt Black pepper Instructions Sauté the mushrooms Heat a mix of butter and olive oil in a sauté pan. Add the mushrooms and a pinch of salt. Cook for about 10 minutes until they release moisture and develop color. Build the sauce base Keeping the heat on, pour in 1–2 cups of stock . Add the garlic and mustard. ...

... of a Hudson Yards lemon exhibition on Greens Water.  https://x.com/BarbanelT/status/2062898323304939620 I don’t re-post enough, actually.   #summerarts