19 chef's corner Photo by Bradley Hawks END OF SUMMER FOOD MEMORIES As summer simmers down, a sweet and dreamy form of food nostalgia sets in in kitchens all over the city and around tables at home. These last days of summer are when great food memories are made at family reunions, weddings, that great adventure with your friends, rooftop barbecues and beach campfi res. The farmers’ market gives its last big beautiful harvest of summer squash, day strawberries and tomatoes and slowly hints at the comforts of fall with early pumpkins and apples. Summer time cooking is always laid back and easy and has its own corner in the comfort food ring. When I think of late summer dishes and what to cook for my menu at Bear I draw on food memories gathered throughout the years of lazy summer evenings spent with family and friends. One of my favorite summer food memories was taking a long hike with my grandpa, mama, papa and my baby sibling Sasha, who is now my business partner at Bear. We walked for what seemed like hours taking windy and steep seaside dirt roads, stopping at the occasional farm stand to pick up some apricots, some bursting ripe tomatoes, a kilo of young potatoes and maybe some raw almonds. This was by the Black Sea in the 1980s in Soviet Ukraine. After a cool swim, we boiled the potatoes in the salty sea water, sliced up the tomatoes and toasted some almonds over a small makeshift fi re. My grandpa brought with him a chunk of salo, a.k.a. Ukrainian lardo - this saltyfatty porky-goodness is gold when you are hiking in Eastern Europe. I can still smell the sunshine on the pebbles, I can still see the enjoyment on my mama’s face as she peppered the potatoes with fresh dill. Everybody there that day honestly and fully enjoyed every aspect of this simple meal. A slice of salo on black bread, that instead of slicing was hand pulled, with sweet and juicy tomatoes and warm, sea salt poached potatoes is a memory that still inspires my cooking. Cooking should be an act of love, it should be done with love. It shouldn’t be complicated; it doesn’t have to involve a million recipes, the fanciest cheeses, the most expensive wines or the rarest meats. Our tastes are informed by the context of our surrounding, and that surrounding informs our joy and creates lasting memories. Any chef will tell you, the simpler the better. So before we dive into the seriousness of fall tasting menus, take a moment to just enjoy the simple things of summer. Cook with love and the food will taste amazing, and seek out company that celebrates the memories and joy that food creates, whether it be in my restaurant, your own kitchen, or any other place that follows this mantra. Thanks for reading and in my next article learn how “Fracking” is quickly and quietly taking these simple pleasures away from us. Editor’s Note: Chef Natasha Pogrebinsky, executive chef and owner of BEAR Restaurant in Long Island City, will be writing columns each month. CHEF NATASHA POGREBINSKY “Fracking” Problem You’ve probably heard of “fracking,” but you may not be sure what it means or how it directly affects you. Fracking is known as hydraulic fracturing and has been around for a while. It is a process where toxic chemicals are blasted under immense pressure into the ground, fracturing rock formations, releasing the oil and the gas that has been trapped for millions of years. Most people in New York don’t like the idea of fracking, but may not know how it directly affects them. As a chef I am deeply concerned because the toxic chemicals used in the fracking process seep into the soil, and this poisons and affects the food we eat. Some people may think, “Well fracking is bad, but it’s happening far away on some farm somewhere.” To them I say: That farm somewhere is where you get your food and in reality it’s not on some farm somewhere, it’s on your dinner table. Why should this be at the top of our food activism issues? If we can’t have clean soil, clean water sources and clean ground, I don’t think our farmers will survive. Neither will our farmers’ markets, our heritage hogs and chickens, our heirlooms and the beautiful American country side. To support your local farm-totable restaurant and farm stand, we need to do a little more than buy a couple of bunches of kale. The Northeast and New England areas have one of the highest concentrations of oil and gas drilling and “fracking” related accidents that pollute our Earth. The research and information is out there, check it out for yourself and be an informed activist if you love your farmer’s market. Chef Natasha Pogrebinsky Executive Chef and owner of BEAR Restaurant 12-14 31st Avenue Long Island City www.bearnyc.com
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