{gardening} My End-of-Season Garden

Remember way back in the beginning of gardening season when I showed you my garden and said it’s good to spend a few minutes in it each day? Yeah, well I’m going to be blunt and tell you that I didn’t follow my own advice this year. Last year it was so easy because I…

{Hot Sauce} putting peppers to good use

I have a lifelong history of love and hate with peppers.  I think they are visually stunning and as a printmaking major in college I often used them as subject-matter.  I love the human-like gestures inferred from their twists and turns.  They look beautiful to me, but sadly, when it comes to eating peppers I’m…

{No-Crust} apple pie

I’ve finally found the perfect apple pie recipe. It’s perfect because you don’t have to make a crust. That’s right, all of the glory and none of the pain. In a small kitchen, even a simple pie crust is typically out of the question. Really anything that requires rolling out dough usually gets vetoed. So…

{WELCOME} harvest fest visitors

{Butter, Mustard, Cider and Swapping- Oh My!} Photo Credit: Nadia from Cooking My Way to Healthy This is a quick post to welcome all of the wonderfully engaged and excited visitors that came through our booth at Honest Weight Food Coop‘s Harvest Fest. It was EXTREMELY well attended and not just attended but ATTENDED. Every…

{weekend reading} local edition

LOCAL IRENE FUNDRAISERS OR DONATION CENTERS – We are hosting two fundraisers; For the Farms: Denison Farm & Kilpatrick Family Farm and one for Amanda, a FSC Contributor. Any amount of money donated will qualify you to win one of the many gift baskets we have to offer. I have been bombarded with generosity; so…

{SPECIAL EVENT} FSC at HWFC’s Harvest Fest

We are excited to announce that we are a “vendor” at the 2011 Honest Weight Food Coop Harvest Fest. Our booth will be jumping all day long with informative demonstrations, samples with the day ending with a MINI FOOD SWAP!!!! As of this evening (Friday night at 9:26pm) it looks like it might be sunny…

{DIY Apple Cider} from Tree to Tummy

Our old farm has a fun history. From the reseach I’ve been conducting on the property, here’s what I’ve found: The original farm was started by the Gaige family pre-Revolutionary War (the Gaige family can be traced to our area since the 1730s). The house across the street was built in the early 1800s by…

{DIY Backyard Chickens} the coop

Not long ago, I began a little series on keeping a flock of chickens in your backyard. You can read the first installment here. This week I introduce to you: THE COOP I began dreaming about my chicken coop back in 2005. I was living in New Canaan, CT and working in Tarrytown, NY. One day…

{Hello} I’m Heather

EDITOR’S NOTE: Well, we’ve done it again…we’ve sucked another dynamic woman into the From Scratch Club vortex. Ha! We all met Heather at the very first {public} Saratoga Food Swap back in June and since then we’ve all been smitten. Heather is a quiet force, one that walks & talks with intention. (I wish to…

Climbing {and Making} Mountains

{A View from Hadley Mountain, Summer 2010 Photo by Christina} Some days, life feels like I’m climbing a forty-five degree mountain in our ‘78 Volkswagon Westy, whose maximum level speed is about 65 mph.  Every mile requires more effort coaxed from my engine as my tread hugs the road of human highway, urging me forward…slowly,…

{community sharecropping} September is for Eggplants

September is the biggest harvest month in the community share-cropping gardens.  That means that we have to do something with the perishable stuff we grew all summer.  While I think zucchini make excellent compost, I want to use each and every eggplant, no matter how small.  I have spent years convincing my husband that we…

{weekend reading} local edition

{Liz’s Chicken Coop} LOCAL IRENE FUNDRAISERS OR DONATION CENTERS – We are hosting two fundraisers; For the Farms: Denison Farm & Kilpatrick Family Farm and one for Amanda, a FSC Contributor. Any amount of money donated will qualify you to win one of the many gift baskets we have to offer. I have been bombarded…

{events} Kate Payne Visits the Farm

EDITOR’S NOTE: Author, blogger and From Scratch Club’s inspirational springboard, Kate Payne, was in town last Wednesday and Thursday for a handful of book tour events. We will be recapping these events over the weekend, but first up, Erika will share a special {FSC Field Trip} to Kilpatrick Family Farm she organized. The FSC ladies…

{locavore challenge} Roasted Root Vegetable Tart

Sure I’m still harvesting (an enjoying) tomatoes from my garden, and I’m still making pickles from the cucumbers I pick every day. But the weather is crisping up around here and it’s time for some comfort food. To me that means it’s time to make my infamous Roasted Root Vegetable Tart. I’ve been making this…

{gluten free, dairy free} Tomato-Basil Jam and Cornbread Muffins

Recently I found myself with a box of tomatoes {Farmer Jon’s Produce, Selkirk, NY}, a desire to process them, but no real plan of attack.  I flipped through the pages of the “Better Homes & Gardens: Canning”  issue, and landed on their Tomato-Basil Jam recipe. I wondered how, exactly, could: tomato+basil = the sweet awesomeness…