{garden tour} Because You Can’t Eat Your Lawn

When we bought our house in the summer of 2009 we quickly realized there was no simple spot for our garden. Our larger backyard was simply too shady and the front yard was engulfed by a tree and a 20-30 year old hydrangea bush. That front spot got plenty of sun though, so we knew…

{recipe} More Cool Food for Hot Nights

So, here it is, hot again.  Too hot to turn on the oven, or even to spend any real time in the kitchen.  Below are recipes for two pasta-based salads that can serve as an entree or a side dish.  The pasta or noodles can be cooked ahead of time (maybe in the morning when…

{drink it up} Watermelon Julep

There are two things that we do well here in Upstate New York come summer: Eating watermelon and racing horses. From late July to Labor Day, the population of one of our beloved towns swells to accommodate horse racing aficionados from around the world. And of course, you can’t watch a good running of the…

{recipe} Chilled Mango Salsa

Summer days ahead call for refreshing food with no heat necessary to prepare them. I picked up 3 perfectly ripe mangos this weekend. 1 mango for snacking and two to use in whipping up this delicious recipe. RECIPE: CHILLED MANGO SALSA INGREDIENTS 2 large mangos, diced ½ cup blueberries 1 cucumber, diced ¼ cup onion,…

{scaling up the northeast grain system} The Harvest

If it weren’t for my friend Howard, my wheat would still be in the field. When I got home from vacation last Saturday, I found a message that the wheat was ready. Howard had toured my plot, and found the grain passed the crack test. When the wheat is ready, the seed should feel hard,…

{winning} at the Delmar Farmers Market & on the Blog

Last Saturday turned out to be a hot & humid day with a few breaks of rain, a typical day for the farmers market. Sunny one minute, turns to cloudy with wind, then blazing sun again. Ahh the days of summer.Working at the farmers market circuit for my second summer, you really get a sense…

{food policy} Sustainable Sea Food

A few years ago I went to Rockport, Massachusetts with some women friends for a get-away-from-your-regular-life-for-50-hours-at-the-beach vacationette.  The four of us drove in one car, stayed in a cheapish funky place right on the beach and had a wonderful time.  We went out to restaurants for every single meal, drank cocktails and went for long…

{backyard-to-kitchen-poultry} Spatchcock Chicken

As you might already know, we raise backyard chickens in order to have fresh eggs and because, quite frankly, I enjoy having chickens in the yard. Its also old news that most of the poultry we consume comes from birds we’ve raised ourselves, including chickens, turkeys and surplus roosters which are quite tasty when made…

{FSC PODCAST} Episode 5: Raising Animals (for food)

Raising animals for food. It’s a tricky subject, but we are tackling it with gusto in this month’s podcast. We’ve talked about growing vegetables, joining CSAs to pay someone else to grow vegetables and we’ve even talked a little bit about backyard chickens. Now we are bringing you an extended interview with a local meat…

{recipe} Urban U-Pick Sour Cherry Sorbet

I had the amazing opportunity to pick sour cherries last week at Liz’s {FSC contributor} childhood house.  Her parents have a large sour cherry tree, full to the brim with red cherries that are just waiting for eager hands to pluck them down. My kids and I met up with Liz on Thursday, then picked…

{FSC SWAPPERS} A Place for Healing

Food is social. Food connects people, strangers, friends, co-workers and family. Everyone eats. Food Swaps are a vehicle to bring all that is food and community into one place. Sometimes I forget that. To be honest, I’ve been starting to take the our food swaps for granted. We hit the year mark back in April…

{giveaway & event} Alana is coming *back* to town!

GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED. THE WINNERS WILL BE ANNOUNCED SHORTLY. -Christina I’m excited to announce that due to Leah’s smart thinking, Alana Chernila voice of Eating from the Ground Up and author of The Homemade Pantry, is coming back to the area for a book buying-n-signing at the Delmar Farmers Market THIS SATURDAY, JULY 7th, 9-1pm. …

{recipe} Kohlrabi, Apple & Fennel Slaw

So it seems we’re on a mini-salad kick… a few weeks ago it was Radish Slaw, last week it was Breakfast Salad, this week its cold chicken salad from Alexis and now a serious Summer Slaw. Who doesn’t love a good slaw? Some of my favorites around the Interwebs are: Kaela over at Local Kitchen…

{summer farm tour} Meet Our Dairy Farmer

 {Meadowbrook Farms Dairy, Clarksville, NY} Christina (FSC’s editor) had it right in Saturday’s post (Meet Your Meat Farmers): “I can’t stress enough how important farm tours are to customer education & enlightenment, customer-to-farmer relations and community ties. To actually see & hear, in detail, up-close, how your food is grown or raised is an empowering…

{Juicing Journey} For Health & Beauty

A few weeks ago my husband Jeff and I felt like enjoying lazy time on the couch watching a movie, so we took a chance on Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead. It was recommended by a friend who loves food as much as we do. The film follows the journey of a guy named Joe…