This week I interviewed a local farmer for Better TV. Her name: Judy Morris, the owner of Coop D’etat — your go-to “chick with chicks.” Judy also happens to work for Martha Stewart as a special project producer, and she invited me to her farm to experience the world of farm living. But don’t let this farm life fool you, as Judy also happens to be an Emmy award winning producer, too. I can say I held an Emmy today, and one day I hope to have my own.

So how did Judy’s love of farming come about? Seventeen years ago Judy found great inspiration from Martha herself, who introduced her to the world of backyard chickens during a photo shoot. Keeping chickens is a lifestyle that one can only understand once one experiences it for oneself. So I wanted to find out more. Judy told me that converting her old pony barn on her property was the best thing she could do for not only herself but for her family.

I was hooked the moment I arrived and after I held a four-week-old chick in my hand. I mean, who doesn’t think they’re adorable? I learned that as they get older they apparently can even help around the house: not only do they provide us with a high protein food, they are a natural pesticide, tillers of your garden and amazing lawn fertilizers. Chickens offer compost that is nitrogen-rich, so their manure does amazing things to a backyard vegetable garden. And let’s not forget they offer hours of entertainment for the kids and adults.

The domesticated chicken has been laying eggs for thousands of years, and most lay an egg every 25 hours. Egg color and sizes may vary depending upon your chicken selection—and their diet. There are so many varieties of chicken to select from, but regardless which type you choose, owning chickens forces you to appreciate not only the food chain but the role these chickens play. In short, one learns not to take things for granted. Today, Judy shares her passion with Martha, and from time to time they “talk chickens,” sharing their love for these animals that are here to serve.

Not long ago I was lucky enough to have Judy provide me with a dozen fresh eggs, and I found them to be delicious—creamy in texture with a bright orange yolk. I would learn later that the Grade A eggs that I buy at my local market are already about 30 days old by the time they arrive in the stores. What a bonus to have them available in your own yard!

At Judy’s, the combination of the cutest vegetable garden ever, the sheep, the alpacas and the chickens all made me feel as though I was transported to a rural farm, far way, possibly even in another time. At Judy’s, a working farm is sacred and respected, and harvesting and living off the land is a way of life. As a wife, a mother and a part-time producer, Judy Morris opened a window to a world of chickens that surprising enough is attainable to all. I had no idea that tending to chickens could be so easy and fun.

So which do you think felt better in my hand: the adorable baby chick or the Emmy? I have to admit that I was momentarily tempted to want both. Visiting Judy is a casual experience that leaves you pondering “Why don’t I have chickens?” The answer may surprise you—when you walk away you just may find yourself saying “I can!”

Today I enjoyed a terrific Eggs Polenta brunch prepared by Chef Mark Barrett, from the renowned Henry’s restaurant on the upper west side of NYC. It’s rated among one of the top 50 best brunch places in the country. Perhaps if I ate here more often, I’d wind up as talk as the chef and owner, Henry Rinehart (on the left), just kidding guys. On Saturdays, Henry’s is famous for their brunch and live jazz music. Top off brunch with a mimosa, mmm, and it’s a nice morning!

Guy Fieri is in front of Macy’s at Herald Square cooking us up some waffles! Mmmmm. Yup, Guy gave me a HUGE bite of waffle with lots of syrup. I’m a fan of his cooking shows on the Food Network. Guy told me about how he manages his schedule while filming 4 shows, hanging out with his wife and kids, and just keeping an overall positive attitude – he’s definitely the real deal. 

Here is Guy with his son Hunter who he took on the road with him. Guy feels that cooking is great family time, and I couldn’t agree more. As you can see, it was a big production with Guy and Hunter, who started making waffles at 6:30am in the morning for hungry New Yorkers, the whole team made over 7,000 waffles this morning!

Summertime is grill time!  So why not fire up the grill and cook outside whenever possible? I enjoyed filming outside in the sunshine today while catching up with pit master Troy Black. The BBQ champion has some of his famous recipes in Southern Living’s ‘Big Book of BBQ.’  Black is best known for his slow BBQ but taught me a fast and easy BBQ recipe today, Cane Pole Kabobs. He even teaches others how to perfect grilling, for more head to www.Learn2Q.com.

I’ve been eating steamed clams since I was five or so…and yet in all those years I’ve never given much thought to the fundamental layout of the these odd creatures. Never, that is, until I was forced to explain to my husband my understanding of Basic Clam Anatomy.

“That’s…the stomach…and that thing you pull off covers the excretory…mechanism…thing?”

Basically, I had no idea what I was talking about. Enter: Google!

What is a clam? Oh, am I ever full of information on this subject. A clam, if you must know, is a bivalve mollusk housed in a shell that consists of two equal halves joined together by a ligament that pops open when you cook them (remember to discard clams that don’t open up).

A clam does not have a head or eyes, but does have kidneys, a heart, a mouth, and an “excretory mechanism.” That weird brown filmy substance that you’re supposed to pull off? That would be the gills, which cover the clam’s “neck” (actually the siphons that it uses to draw in water and oxygen and carry away waste), which isn’t really a “neck” at all (the clam’s mouth is at the other end of the whole contraption).

For butter-dipping purposes, though, all you really need to know is what’s edible, and what sits on the grosser end of the spectrum. Once you’ve discarded the brown gunk, it’s more or less all good stuff, but you may want to toss aside the darker portions that line the thicker side of the clam.

How To Steam Clams:

1. Soak clams in cold water overnight in the refrigerator in a mixture of 1 cup salt per 1 quart liquid. If you add a little cornmeal (about 1/4 cup per gallon of water) to the mixture, you’ll encourage the clams to purge out that dark stuff in their stomachs, and will end up with whiter meat (which most people prefer).

2. Drain clams.

3. Set clams in a large pot with a small amount of liquid over high heat.

4. Remove each clam as its shell opens, discarding any critters that don’t open after 10 minutes. Serve with broth, but make sure to let it settle a bit before serving so that all the sand falls to the bottom.

- Jordan Reid

Last night my husband and I were craving something fresh and light, so I stopped off at the supermarket on the way home to pick up the four simple ingredients (pasta, mozzarella, lemons, basil) I needed to make a sort of loose interpretation of Giada’s Lemon Spaghetti.

TWISTY LEMON LINGUINE

Ingredients:

1 container fresh linguine (approx 9oz)

1 container fresh bufala mozzarella, torn into pieces

Juice from 2 lemons

1 tbsp lemon zest, finely chopped

1 big handful fresh basil, chopped

1/2 cup olive oil

Salt & pepper

Directions:

1. Combine olive oil and lemon juice in bowl; whisk to combine.

2. Cook pasta in salted boiling water until al dente (fresh pasta should only take 2-3 minutes to cook)

3. In a large bowl, toss together pasta, olive oil/lemon juice mixture, mozzarella, basil, lemon zest (reserve a little basil and lemon zest for garnish), and salt & pepper to taste.

Et voila!

-Jordan Reid

Last week, reader Lisa sent me a recipe for something called “Fool’s Toffee” that looked both super-simple and unbelievably delicious – a killer combination, in my book.

FOOL’S TOFFEE

Ingredients:
2 sticks butter

1 cup packed brown sugar

36 Saltine crackers

1 bag chocolate chips

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 375F.

2. Line a cookie sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray.

3. Place the Saltines close together in a single layer on the cookie sheet.

4. In a small saucepan over medium heat, blend together butter and brown sugar. Heat to boiling and boil 4 minutes.

5. Pour hot butter mixture evenly over Saltines and place cookie sheet in oven. Bake 5 minutes.

6. Immediately sprinkle chocolate chips on top, and spread the chocolate evenly across the crackers and butter topping as it begins to melt.

7. Sprinkle nuts over top, and refrigerate until cool.

8. Break into pieces and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Keeps for up to 2 weeks.

-Jordan Reid

I’m currently in San Francisco, where I have discovered the joy of It’s Its (a “San Francisco Legend”). Basically just different flavors of velvety ice cream sandwiched between perfectly chewy oatmeal cookies and covered with a thin layer of chocolate, these things take ice cream sandwiches to a whole other level. I tried Cappuccino, but I hear that Mint is also to-die-for.

To make your own version: Just sandwich a scoop of slightly softened ice cream (I think Starbucks Java Chip would be delicious) between two oatmeal cookies, cover in foil, and freeze for at least six hours.

You can also visit the It’s It website to find a retailer near you or to get them FedExed straight to your home (a good idea, I promise).

-Jordan Reid

What I’m reading while I sit in jury duty for two days: Steve Almond’s Candyfreak. The author, an admitted “freak” for everything chocolaty, sugary, and nutty (although, oddly, not almonds), goes on a journey across America to document the efforts of regional candymakers before they fall victim to the monopoly of the “Big Three.”

Between the World Wars, candy manufacturing exploded in America, with thousands of boutique confectioners springing up in every state. Gradually, however, the three “majors” (Hershey’s, Nestle, and Mars – later renamed Masterfoods) took over, and the smaller manufacturers were slowly driven out of business.

Almond travels from Boston, where he meets with the foremost expert in the candy business, Ray Broekel, to Nashville, where he discovers the wonder that is the Goo Goo Cluster (I can vouch for this one), all the while including searingly funny anecdotes and a healthy dose of awareness that this is all, really, quite weird.

This is the second time I’ve read the book, and it’s even better this time around. There are echoes of David Sedaris, and even Phillip Roth…and for someone who adores both food writing and Portnoy’s Complaint, this book is just about perfect.

-Jordan Reid