New Rochelle and Organic Glory

The (formerly) chubby and portly have taken to eating salad for dinner. In the past, this would have been a disgrace. However, the salads we make are the biggest, most delectable salads one might encounter in many moons. Thanks to our local organic farm share, a box of goods is delivered unto us every Wednesday morning. (Except two Wednesdays ago, when it was delivered to our neighbors, Lorraine and Vinny. She reported praising the Lord for our generosity and then devouring three heads of lettuce. The beets were given to a local religious man, but we did receive the turnips after the mistake was discovered.) So...the salads. They are a riot of color and beauty, chock full of red cabbage, golden peppers, scallions, lettuces of many hues, and something this week called "garlic scapes." target="_new">Linky!

Why have I lived this long and not eaten a single garlic scape? These things are the bomb! They are like the garlic's tender young cousin, or some such. They come in delicate little looping curls, which resist chopping, but once tamed they can be tossed into a salad or simply snacked upon.

We also have our own version of an "organic garden" out in back of our home, which is like a small green nirvana in the shadow of New Roc's Trump Plaza, the hideous Radisson, and other squat and ugly buildings designed by uninspired architects. New sod has completed the look. It's a lush green carpet of fun which one can run on barefoot without fear of discarded Taco Bell wrappers and empty Snapple bottles (the end of our street cannot say as much). When I learn how, I will post before and after photos. In our garden we grow tomatoes, peppers (hot and sweet), brussels sprouts (which are adored by butterflies and bees alike...who knew?), blueberries, wild raspberries (which our neighbors lay claim to), and celery. Anything that grows underground turns out stubby and runty, so we pick above-ground options. These all go into the miraculous SALADS which are also responsible for our svelte figures. Having salad for dinner requires several meaty/cheesy options during the day, so don't try this at home unless you want a headache and a grumpy attitude. Oh, and let's not forget the wine. If all you're going to do at night is eat greens and stare at each other glumly across a table, things may go sour fast. Drinking wine with salad is crucial.

I have decided on a new purpose for my blog...to bring live and love to the city that we proudly call NEW RO. New Rochelle, the sandwiched stepchild of affluent (and snarky-ass) Pelham which is hateful beyond all reckoning, and Larchmont (also affluent but less offensive and containing some nice and occasionally interesting folk). Oh, and Scarsdale on the northern border, where we once sent our cat to be schooled in the Scarsdale Diet. What can be said about it, except that the schoolchildren test rather well...most suspicous, that. New Rochelle, of course, contains many a beautiful 2 million dollar home, no doubt. These homes are not on my street. New Ro does have a bad rap, such as what my friend JD said about it when we moved here 2 + years ago: "New Rochelle? Watch it...you might get killed." That was a great thing for a pregnant mom to hear...hurrah!

So, here are five great things about New Rochelle:
1. The homes are still affordable here. No shit! Check out the 2 family Victorian down the street from us. It's like 100 years old and big and oozing with charm. I would really like you to move there. Please. Do you read good literature? Or any books at all? Please move here now.
2. Five Islands: This park is a 15-minute walk from my home and is incredibily beautiful. Never mind the discarded rusted metal things at the edge of the water. Never mind the scummy mung that was stuck to your toddler's shoes after a walk by the shoreline. Oh, and there's no swimming here. Ha, I was really tempted.
3. Story Hours at the Library (and other classes): These are FREE. The libraries are awesome, Especially the children's library, where there is an excellent playground accessible to kids in wheelchairs and hungry waterfowl that do not fear humans.
4. Easy Highway Access: To all sorts of other places. Do you like to go to VT and NH? You will get there much quicker from here than you do from Manhattan or Bklyn or just about anywhere else, including NJ. Today we went to Saxon Woods Pool. It is the biggest pool ever. It's filled with spraying fountains and swimmers in lap lanes and chunky ladies spilling out of their suits. It's really well run and the lifeguards are like Nazis. They will protect your child's life. Today they closed the whole pool for maybe two minutes to either check for a floating doodie or refresh their jugs of caffeinated ice tea.
5. Trump. He has put his name on a big-ass building here (right by the train station, which can whisk you to Manhattan in 30 minutes. Ha! Beat that, Mamaroneck!) Where he goes, we imagine fine restaurants and money will follow. So WHAT that there was an Easter riot right across the street from the giant Trump edifice. Easter is a time for rioting. People eat lots of sugary bunnies and chocolate eggs and they go MAD. It happens even in sleepy little hamlets. People eat Easter candy, fire guns. So common.

Oh, I could go on. And I will. Just wait!