{diy treat} Homemade Magic Shell, Demystified

Editor’s Note: Our ‘community voices’ series rolls along with swapper, and now FSC Academy teacher, Leah A. who is back with another hot swap item, Homemade Magic Shell. Food Allergy friendly w/ only three pantry staples- you bet I’m making this asap!-Christina We eat a relatively healthy, no fast food, freshly-made, organic-when-possible diet and have…

{community voices} No-Fuss Slow Cooker Beans

Editor’s Note: One month ago today, Gina M, a local blogger at ModSchooler and a guest contributor at Albany Kid, mentioned the idea of cooking dried beans in a crockpot in a comment. She mentioned it in response to Alexis’ wildly popular piece about White Bean Burgers. The moment I saw the comment I JUMPED.RIGHT.IN….

{the breadbox diaries} English Muffins

In an effort to make more of our everyday staples from scratch, I’ve been thinking about what I buy on a weekly basis at the grocery store. I went through the basic food groups and tried to identify a few things we seem to always have on the list that I might be able to…

{FREE DOWNLOAD} Let’s Plan It!

The summer growing season is in full-swing now, and that means veggies might start piling up in your fridge! It makes you moan and groan and feel all guilty but you know it’s true. If you get a CSA share or are an avid gardener, pretty soon you are going to scowl when you realize…

{Gluten & Dairy Free} Strawberry Lemonade Muffins

{It’s strawberry picking season and I couldn’t be happier} My favorite thing about the summer months is picking fruit: strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and blackberries, peaches… It is the thought of summer days, picking fruit, that gets me through the winter months. Each dreary winter day is one step closer to having a fresh, ripe berry…

{kickstarter campaign} Building Soil w/ Pedal Power!

Food Cycle is a Kickstarter campaign that is close to my home and near to my heart. Troy Bike Rescue and Collard City Growers are two great projects happening around the corner from where I first lived. I learned to ride a bike in the driveway of my house on Second Avenue. The first self-portrait…

{weekend reading} Pink Lady’s Slipper Edition

{FOOD NEWS & GOOD FOOD BLOG READS} Hunter Angler Gardeners Cook has a pickled carrot recipe that looks lovely! DIY GOODNESS —> Birch Sap for Birch Soda Local Kitchen is kicking butt: Dutch Oven 101, and Rhubarb Persecco Jelly and Preparing for the Preserving Season! Melissa Clark via NYTimes on DIY Mayo: Alioi! LA Weekly…

{In Season} spring greens & things pesto

{Troy Farmers Market, River Street, May 19, 2012} Whether or not you belong to a CSA Program, if you are visiting your local farmers market this weekend or weekday, you will come across an array of spring/early summer greens & things. Spring greens such as chois, arugula, spinach, turnip & radish tops, kale, swiss chard…

{Backyard Chickens} yes, you can sex day-old chicks!

If you’ve raised baby chicks or you see some in your future, one of the questions you’ll ask is, “How can you tell the males from the females?” It is commonly thought that you have to wait until they grow bigger and the roosters start acting like they own the place (to put it nicely) to definitively…

{Old Skool DIY} Creating Fresh Pasta By Hand

I realized recently that From Scratch Club had never had a post about making fresh pasta and wondered why.  I then realized that I had never made fresh pasta and wondered why. While making fresh pasta this weekend for the first time there were moments when I thought it was kind of a hassle and…

{Northeast Grains System} wheat in the ‘hood

Now that the wheat we planted really looks like it might become food, I’m beginning to dread its harvest. I feel like the Little Red Hen’s friend, ready to hide until there’s dinner. Even though I’m the one who convinced my family we should plant our new lot – behind our house in the city…

{pantry 101} Guide to Using Salt

So, now we’re on to Part Three of the Pantry 101 series. We’ve covered oil and vinegar, and now it’s time to talk about salt! Salt is (in my opinion) the most important seasoning one can keep in a pantry. Usually when a dish is missing something, salt is the answer. Retailers seem to be realizing this, too,…

{springtime recipe} Of Radishes & Recaps

We were lucky enough to be invited by our Chef’s Consortium friends to participate in another fabulous event (remember the Michael Pollan event?) and this time, we got the chance to introduce the Capital Region to our DIY antics by serving up our first ever tastings table! No demos, just food. Eekkkkk! Annnnnd SO MUCH…

{Brown Bag Blues} homemade seitan to the rescue

There are the blues when you have no money.  There are the blues when the political party you can’t stand wins the election.  There are the blues when your children grow up and leave you behind.  I’ve had all those blues.  But right now, I have the brown bag blues (with apologies to Gil Scott…