Whatsa New? Just Ask Essen.

The great thing about a new business is that you have little reason not to try a new idea because nothing's been done the same old way for-ever and it's hard to make a mistake when things haven't been done before.

Well, a friend called for some menu planning advice yesterday of which I was happy to oblige. As you all know, I love food, I love everything about food and miss few chances to talk about food and its effects on people and their communities.

She hung up feeling satisfied given the refinement and direction in her menu and I felt good that I had helped minimize any insecurities related to entertaining. All of which got me thinking. (This is the part when growing up my father would say, "Oh, no, here we go again. I hate when you do that thinking thing.") Wouldn't it be useful if you had a place to call with your food, cooking and entertainment-related questions? You'd speak with a real, live person, you wouldn't have to figure your way through a long list of phone prompts only to find the company's closed and no one really speaks your language, both literally and figuratively. And it would be a courtesy service open to anyone in the community.

Well, here it is. Announcing ... Just Ask Essen.

Beginning Monday, October 1st, ring Essen each Monday from noon - 1 pm and I'll be there to brainstorm ideas to your wildest food-related challenges. Have you struggled to come up with side dishes for that fabulous vinegar chicken? How can you adapt your favorite recipes in light of dad's newly diagnosed heart disease? Try as you might, you cannot get that basic knife grip from Class correctly. Refresher please!

Whatever the issue, I'll be there with a big ear, ideas for you to consider, and, most importantly, a live voice to respond specifically to your needs at that moment in time. Essen time.

Here's to a Sweet, Sweet New Year

Some things just belong together. Tomatoes, mayonnaise and white bread (yes, I do eat it selectively). Movies and popcorn. Convertibles and sunny days. In my family, we define fall as: back-to-school, crisp mornings and hot days, apple picking and the Jewish New Year.

At this time of year, it is customary for Jews to wish each other "a sweet new year" and reinforce that goal by devouring copious amounts of food containing apples and honey. It got me thinking, "Why specifically apples and honey?"

A little bit of research turned up lots of reasons. The one that resonated most strongly goes something like this: There is a difference between the sweetness of an apple and the sweetness of honey. An apple is a sweet fruit which grows on a tree. There is nothing surprising about that--many fruits are sweet. But honey comes from a bee--an insect that is not only inedible, it actually stings. Nevertheless the honey that it produces is sweet. In fact, honey is sweeter than an apple.

Similarly, there are two types of sweetness in our lives: we have times of family celebration, successes in our careers, personal triumphs and harmonious relationships. These are sweet times like the apple is sweet. But then there is a different type of sweetness; a sweetness that comes from times of challenge. When things don't go the way that we would like them to, when tragedy strikes, when our job is in jeopardy, when we fail to reach the goals we expected of ourselves, when our relationships are being strained and tested, when we feel alone.

At the time when we are facing these challenges, they seem bitter and insurmountable, like the sting of a bee. But if we are strong and withstand the difficult times, and overcome the obstacles to our own happiness, we reveal layers of our personality that we would never have tapped into if we weren't challenged. Something deeper is brought out when we are tested.

My kids, at nine and five years old, already maintain a strong association between their religious New Year and sweet foods. To reinforce it even further, we decided to start a new family tradition and pick our own apples on the actual holiday. (No, we won't be collecting honey any time soon!)

So, last Thursday we took a short, ten minute drive south on 272 to Cherry Hill Orchards . The summer apples are at their peak and did we have a blast. John, the resident apple educator, encouraged us to ask him anything and to taste everything. The sweet apples are to the right; the tarter ones to the left. I planned to make apple sauce and apple cakes for the freezer and the occasional apple crostata, or Italian freeform apple pie. We also go through 3 -5 apples each day and wanted enough for the fruit bowl. We visited both sides of the orchard as I like to mix tart and sweet for the cooked items and we prefer the sweeter, crisper apples for everyday munching.

Here's what we sampled:

• Sweeter apples: Rambo, Ginger Gold, Gala, Honey Crisp, Fuji
• Tarter apples: Courtland, Pink Courtland, Jona Mac

By far, our hands down favorite was the Honey Crisp. It's sweet, with a hint of sour lemon, yet very crispy. Ginger Gold was the blandest apple we sampled. Pink Courtland was new to us and our friends. Curiously, the flesh is light orange and has a faint apricot taste. Gosh, am I talking apples or wine?!

A great surprise was that peaches, both yellow and white, were still plentiful. We grabbed a couple of handfuls as we were pretty overloaded with apples. I could have filled four more bags without blinking and I'm glad the voices inside my head encouraged me to stop. That's the thing about picking your fruit. It only takes a few minutes, you have a wonderful time connecting with the land, and you're always ready to come back for more. Maybe not 40 pounds more, but more.

First Fall Class, What a Blast

WOW! Thank you to the first participants in Essen's first fall season.

Glimpses into written feedback probably sum up yesterday's experience most succinctly:

"wonderful, practical, enlightening!" K.B., Lancaster

"very 'user friendly'" T.S., Lancaster

"learned to cook with ease using fresh and local ingredients ... in an intimate setting" K.S., Lancaster

We had an unbelievable time yesterday devouring the last bites of summer. Fresh on the menu:

• Creamy Tomato Soup
• Basil Croutons with Cherry Tomatoes
• Lemon Arugula Chicken Paillard
• Summer Corn and Rice Pilaf
• Watermelon, Feta and Black Olive Salad

We talked techniques, we traded secret local sources, we swapped adaptive lifestyle and planning techniqes, we made new friends, and most important of all - we had fun.

A huge thank you to Tina, owner of Cafe East on Centerville Road. I ran into her at Market on Tuesday and was it my lucky day. Tina had just returned from one of her foodie trips to Manhattan, where she routinely seeks out new and unique foods, especially produce. To make a long story short, thanks to Tina's insightfulness and generosity, the Essen Class participants and I were able to try two new fruits at class yesterday.

The first is like a large Concord grape and the eating itself is an adventure. You place the hole where the stem had been inside your mouth and suck. Hard. And watch out for that smallish seed. And don't eat the skin. This incredibly tender flesh oozes into your mouth and tastes like a solid version of Manischewitz Concord grape wine. For those who have never experienced this pleasure, let's just call it hangover in a bottle, thanks to the over the top sugar content. Really delish.

The second Tina treat was called a logan berry. As my husband stated this morning, "Sounds like something they'd eat on Dragon Tales." The logan berry is small, the size of a small super ball. It has a light brown, rough hewn, almost non-descript exterior, kind of like a dried out grapefruit. The skin is peeled away to reveal a clear yet translucent, almost pearly, gelatinous 'meat' which surrounds a single black seed. I'm still struggling to describe the flavor. Something musky. Slightly sweet. Email me if you've experienced logan berries and can put your finger on the flavor.

Next class is Wednesday, September 19th at 10 am. I've got some family friendly, seasonal subsitutes lined up to replace the corn and the watermelon. We may still be looking for our millionth use for tomatoes, and that's fine with me.