We love to go apple picking in the Hudson Valley. We were excited to gather our haul but it turns out the orchard suffered a frost early on in the year and they lost their crop. So they trucked in bags of apples from their other orchards across the state and hung them in bags on the branches for us to “pick!” Par for the course, 2020!
Continue reading “Our Annual Apple Picking Trip, 2020 Style, Plus Applesauce and Chutney!”
The summer of 2020 is winding down and we are preparing to go back to school. In the words of Jerry Garcia, “what a long strange it’s been!” The last 6 months have been life altering to say the least. Being in lockdown in an apartment in New York City because of a raging pandemic was insane but I wrote a new book, spent every waking hour with my husband and son, and was forced to do nothing when there was nothing to do. On some level, I am grateful for that time but as soon as lockdown ended in June, we started taking trips outside of the city. We spent some time out east on Long Island where we hit up the farm stands and got lots of fresh corn and tomatoes and made several trips to the Hudson Valley, one of our favorite areas. This last time, my plan included picking blackberries!
Continue reading “Blackberry Picking + Small Batch Artisanal Berry Jam!”
You can think of this as a summertime public service announcement. If you have excess basil on hand, and you have made one too many batches of pesto, here is another idea. Basil oil! It is so easy, it is not even a recipe, but I will give you one anyway!
We went up to the Kingston Farmer’s Market last month and I was so happy to pick up a bunch of garlic scapes. They are one of my favorite seasonal offerings – the other is ramps but sadly, I missed them this year – and I brought them home and rationed them for as long as I could. Here’s what I made!
I get asked all the time how to make cashew cream. So here it is and it’s not complicated. I blend cashews and water in my Vitamix and turn them into a perfectly smooth cream. The texture is out of this world and until I got my Vitamix I had no idea it was possible. So, I am a big fan. Continue reading “How to Make Cashew Cream”
