Summer Snacks: Spring Guacamole on Seaweed Sheets

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My time at Stone Barns has come to a close and while I'm in this grace period between farm jobs, I figure if I can't farm at least I can eat.  It's amazing how having this week off has been so strange.  After a year of straight working it's an odd feeling not to have a project connected with my everyday.  It's been an interesting experience recreating an identity after such a long period of connection.  Nevertheless, I still can't get the good food off my mind and I remembered as I was leaving the greenhouse for the last time I noticed the deep leafy greens of our cilantro plants standing up straight and strong.  Whenever I see cilantro my first thought is guacamole, but with no tomatoes, sweet peppers, hot peppers, or onions in season it just didn't seem to fit.  This is when I decided to put together a spring guacamole a simple concept.  I needed something with flavor and something with crunch to supplement the ingredients not yet available.   Clearly this wasn't going to be a fully local meal considering we aren't growing avocados here in the Northeast, but if I could use the majority of my ingredients from the area and only a couple from out of region, I feel that's a step in a good direction.  So using some

Pic of the Week

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Ho-Mi-Z

Keepin' it Real, Real Seasonal: Sweet Curry Parsnip Soup with a sauteed leek and crispy bacon garnish

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Patience is a virtue as they say, and with the winter weather not quite setting in as expected, it's been tough to get into winter soup mode.  Nevertheless, it's been almost a year since the parsnips were seeded out in the field and there's no better time than late winter to get harvesting.  Just like carrots and spinach, parsnips help protect themselves through the colder and darker winter months by converting the sun's energy, usually stored as starch, into sugar.  This makes for extra sweet and delicious parsnips, perfect for a rich, creamy soup.  My first instinct was to look online for some recipes, but with such incredible food resources roming around the farm, I decided to put my faith in a passionate culinary school grad/Livestock apprentice and housemate, Sam, who broke down all the basics of how to make a great root veggie soup in a few easy steps.  Throw in some extra spices and this was one of the most