New Friends, Old Market

On Sunday I returned to the New Amsterdam Market, in part to purchase a few things I had previously bartered for at the last market. My other reason was a meeting with a young woman currently in a semester-long art program here in NYC, has a blog, and is deeply interested in food and photography. For nearly two hours we discussed options for her future and then headed over to the market.

Yishi Xie, copyright 2013

Yishi's photo of my garlic and a wild mushroom pasta dish made in her dormitory room. 

Yishi loves NYC, but is not a citizen (she's from Chengdu, China), and has to return to a rural western PA college for her final semester. She's thinking of grad school, but after our conversation I encouraged her to find a job or internship here in NYC with a food mag/website or other food business where she can put her photographic and web-design skills to work and gain a sponsor.  She is an excellent photographer, smart, poised, and funny. I wish her the best. See some of her photos and words here.

Despite a nearly cloudless sky, it began to snowflurry. You can hardly make it out, but the white specks in front of the tower is snow.

The market with Yishi was fun and her Canon 5D inspired my iphone to do better. This lady knows way more about eating than I do -her palate is a compass. It was local, hard cider day at New Amsterdam Market, and I was looking for something dry, not sweet, and thought Doc's Pear was best. Yishi aimed for sweet and she nailed it -the Black Bird Cider Works' Red Barn is excellent. We had ours with roast chicken and vegetables last night.

Each about six or seven for the 23 oz bottle. Doc's is easier to get in NYC, but as of now I think there is only one place offering Black Bird -here.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. Eat well, give thanks.