{FSC TIME MACHINE} Backyard Chickens Part 2

We’re spending this weekend talking chicken… …backyard chickens! Yesterday we had part one of the two-part series, with links to incubating & candling chick eggs, hatching chicks, sexing chicks and general ‘how to’ get started. Today, Liz shares her experience, tips & tricks all about the after-chick stage… Liz talks chicken coops   Why bother…

{FSC Book Club} Meeting 3 Recap- Oats & Farro

We read, we cook, we chat. That is the FSC Book Club. Oats, oats, oats. Such a popular grain with so much interesting potential too. I eat oatmeal at least a few times a week, but I confess that beyond the occasional chocolate chip oatmeal cookie, I don’t do much else with it. And farro? I…

{diy project} Homemade Maple Cream

Editor’s Note: Please welcome our newest contributor, Ellie Markovitch, an artist, educator for the Agricultural Stewardship Association (among other organizations) , multimedia storyteller, member of Chefs Consortium. -Christina It is Maple season in New York and a few weekends ago I joined the Agricultural Stewardship Association tour of Peggy and Matt Cannon’s Maple and Milk farm. I captured…

{reflection on food} Improving My Culinary Options

One of the reasons I think people read and write for this blog is because they want to challenge themselves to cook and eat thoughtfully.  I love the challenge of eating well but not the challenge of finding the ingredients to do so.  I moved to this area several years ago and was immediately aware…

{diy project} Homemade Lip Balm

My name is Betsy, and I am a lip balm addict. Like many of you, I have lip balm in multiple purses, in my car, in most rooms of the house, etc. As you might imagine, this habit can get expensive, especially since those little tubes are easy to misplace. Making your own lip balm…

{grains brains challenge} A Scone of One’s Own

Grain Brains Challenge: A recipe challenge to help you get whole grains into your mouth, not just your kitchen. I never had a scone until I was in college. First week of school the Dean of Students sent out hand-written invitations to the freshmen class, instructing us, in groups of 25 or so, to attend an afternoon…

{diy project} Homemade Corn Tortillas & Chips

Raised on the Texas and Mexico border, I grew up eating fresh homemade tortillas regularly. I have never  ventured to make them myself since really well made fresh tortillas were always readily available; from the store, any number of restaurants, from friends, la abuelita down the street, ect, ect. If I needed a fix,  some…

{FSC Time Machine} St. Patrick’s Day Inspiration

St. Patrick’s Day 2013 is this Sunday. For those who celebrate, here’s a few FSC recipes to inspire your holiday fare. BOXY on the Griddle by Dianna. Boxty on the griddle, boxty on the pan, If you can’t bake boxty sure you’ll never get a man. Irish children’s rhyme +++ Way back in 2011, Erika…

{recipe} Stobhach Gaelach

Stobhach Gaelach.. sounds fancy doesn’t it? It’s not.  In fact it’s one of the most common of peasant foods.  Stobhach Gaelach is quite simply “Irish Stew” in Gaelic. My ethnic heritage is Irish, French and German with a touch of Dutch and Welsh, but if you were to ask my fraternal grandmother,  I’m IRISH… end…

{drink it up} Hot Chocolate vs. Hot Cocoa

Guess what kids… it’s still winter. At least it is here in Upstate New York. While the temperatures are supposed to hit a “balmy” 40 degrees this week, there is still a decent blanket of snow and ice covering everything on my little farm. While the terms “hot chocolate” and “hot cocoa” might seem interchangeable,…

{FSC Book Club} Meeting 2 Recap-Quinoa & Spelt

We read, we cook, we chat. That is the FSC Book Club. Quinoa! It’s the superfood that’s all the rage these days and we tackled it using the delicious recipes from Whole Grains for a New Generation. We also took a look at the spelt recipes in the book to round out our second “meeting”…

{gluten free recipe} Irish Soda Bread Cakes

I’m about to share a recipe flop with you. Enticing, isn’t it? Let me explain. Lately I’ve been playing with whole-grain/rice-free gluten-free recipes and I turned my attention to Irish soda bread. Years ago, I created a recipe that makes a large loaf of Americanized soda bread. It’s delicious. Among other things, it contains caraway…

{Grain Brains Challenge} Whole Wheat Biscuits

Grain Brains Challenge: A recipe challenge to help you get whole grains into your mouth, not just your kitchen. Early on in my expedition with biscuits, I had a hard time critiquing the recipes. I made a few great batches and thought where is the bad biscuit? How can you go wrong with flour and fat? Well…

{bread making} Homemade Pita Bread

I am going to a party tonight to which I foolishly volunteered to bring a “snack.”  Since it is my busy season at work and I have spent the last two weekends partying hard, I have not gone to the grocery store in three weeks. So this morning I looked around my kitchen and thought,…

{photo diary} Know Your Grains

When I picked a day to hold my FSC Academy Pancake Class at The Arts Center, I had no idea it was National Pancake Day. How perfect! IHOP gave away free pancakes and I gave a few people my pancake valentine. I adore pancakes because you get a hot meal fast on days you don’t…