Edible Garden at NYBG

Sunday was a lovely day at the New York Botanical Garden's Edible Garden Exhibition which goes through Oct. 17. My wife and daughter and I got there in time for a cooking exhibition by the blogger/author Cathy Erway (photo in slideshow) who spent two years blogging about her experience NOT eating out at a single restaurant. For her demo she roasted different varieties of eggplant, whipped up a couple of sauces -- east-west she called them (one was a pesto and another a sesame paste like the kind you put on Chinese sesame noodles) and served them up to the audience. Mmmmmm.

Later we took the shuttle through the grounds to the Family Garden where we were permitted to harvest a bunch of different vegetables and herbs like basil, peppers, cucumber, chard, etc. Then my daughter was taught how to pickle the cucumbers (she's anxiously awaiting Sept. 1, which is the date on the ziploc bag in our fridge, indicating when they'll be "pickled" and ready to eat). At the Family Garden, kids dug for worms and went on a little scavenger hunt testing their knowledge of all things pickle. (American's favorite kind of pickle? You guess it: Dill.)

Other photos in this slideshow including kids digging for worms in the family garden, my daughter in front of the "pizza garden" (includes all kinds of vegetables you could put on a pizza), gourds hanging from an arbor, colorful chard, and some flowers I unfortunately don't have the names for (feel free to fill me in). 

If you haven't gotten to the Edible Garden yet, it's worth the trip. In addition to the activities above there are also audio tours guided by celebrity chefs. Check it out.