'moose-erabilia' below!
Me in the inner sanctum...now what should I order?!?
Cream of broccoli soup, salad with ginger/miso dressing and pomegranate Italian soda!
Three cheese ravioli.
Nearly 25 years ago, as a fledgling vegetarian...
...I bought the original Moosewood Cookbook.
Becoming a vegetarian back then was considered a much more 'alternative' kind of choice than it seems to most people today...
...and I remember adding dry milk powder and cheese to nearly every recipe at first, in order to reassure my mother that I was getting enough protein!! Giggle.
Of course, we now know so much more about nutrition than we did in those days...
...but cookbooks from the Moosewood Restaurant and former Moosewood chef and author Molly Katzen have been a mainstay of my collection ever since!
I now own copies of The Enchanted Broccoli Forest, Pretend Soup, Honest Pretzels, Still Life With Menu, Sundays at Moosewood and New Recipes from Moosewood Restaurant...
...and all of these books are like beloved friends...
...food-stained, dog-eared, reassuring and familiar, and all still in regular use!
Ten years ago I went on my first 'pilgrimage' to the restaurant itself, and the food was absolutely amazing...
...so you can imagine my excitement when I realized that we'd have time for, not one, but two meals there last week!!!
You know how it is sometimes when you plan and anticipate an event...
...and then the reality ends up disappointing you somehow?
Well, this was NOT one of those times!!!
The restaurant was bright and full of friendly servers (and customers!)...
...and the food was fresh, colorful, beautifully presented and perfectly seasoned.
If you ever have a chance to visit Ithaca, New York for fun or on business...
...please make sure that you take the time for a meal in this iconic restaurant!
You won't be disappointed!!
Next time: a visit to a FIBER MILL!!!!
