Rachel Litner Associates

A Big Demand for Small Plates

Small plates are everywhere. In new menu offerings at restaurants, holiday recipes, party themes, food trend articles, you name it. And for good reason. They offer great variety and give us an excuse to share our dishes around the table - which is more fun anyway. Tapas-style menus are among my favorites, but that's also because I love bread so I get the best of both worlds. Anything that has to do with Meditteranean food is at the top of my list, for that matter.

Here are just a few recent stories about small plate offerings and trends that caught my eye: 

Restaurant of the Future? from The Wall Street Journal 

2010 Trend: Artisanal Breakfasts from Food & Wine

And, among the latest small plate menus worth checking out, of course, there's Bugaboo Creek Steak House (check out the sharable starters)  and The Office Beer Bar & Grill, to name a few.

Home Composting: What took me so long??

I finally started composting, which was on my "to do" list forever. It's become so second nature that I can't believe it took me so long. A recent workshop given at the Livingston, NJ library on home composting basics was a great help in answering questions and sharing info with other residents. Tricia Idrobo, teacher by day and composting maven, led the workshop and drew a solid crowd, including writers from www.patch.com, which led to some lively conversations. 

For those of you who are unfamiliar with composting - it's essentially the transformation of organic material (plant matter) through decomposition, into a soil-like dark rich material - "black gold."  It involves purchasing a composting bin (I got mine for about $50 through the town, it's the size of an outdoor trash can). Then, you mix "browns" and "greens" together in your bin on a regular basis. Browns include shredded paper, cardboard, and brown leaves, and Greens include vegetable and fruit scraps, coffee grounds and filters. Add water as needed, and then aerate for oxygen every week. 

I set everything up in early November, so it will still be a while before I see significant results. It could take six weeks to six months to produce harvest finished compost that can ultimately be used for garden fertilizer, soil building or potting mix. Will keep you posted! For great articles and other info, check out www.howtocompost.com.