| Local cooking and eating in New York's Hudson Valley.

Vaquero Bean & Chorizo Stew

6 January 2011 by local kitchen

Vaquero beans are so beautiful, I wish I had photographed some for you before I soaked them. They do, however, maintain their lovely markings even after cooking, along with their shape and a toothsome texture. This is a pretty classic bean stew: tomatoes, sausage, aromatic vegetables and a little cilantro or parsley to finish things off. Truly, any bean will work in this recipe, so why not take the opportunity to explore an heirloom varitety that you’ve never tasted? Rancho […]

Categories: 100% local, beans, heirloom beans, main course, pork, sausage, stew, tomatoes, winter, year round • Tags: beans, chorizo, cooking, food, local, main course, pork, recipes, sausage, stew, tomatoes, winter

Browned Butter Rice Krispie Treats

4 January 2011 by local kitchen

You know how I’ve been organizing? Well, I had half a bag of these gigundo marshmallows leftover from Tai’s birthday weekend: seriously, these things were huge, too big for roasting over a fire, really, as the middle did not get melty even when you burned the crap out of the outside (my preferred marshmallow ‘technique’ – set ’em fire, blow ’em out, enjoy). And since my organizing fever tackled the Dread Food Cabinet (no, not “dreaded;” “dread” as in Dread Pirate Roberts), […]

Categories: dessert, non-local luxuries, year round • Tags: baking, cooking, dessert, food, quick & easy, recipes, rice krispie treats

My Favorite Posts of 2010

2 January 2011 by local kitchen

As promised, my top 10 list of favorite posts in 2010: some old favorite recipes, blogged about for the first time, some preserving experiments that came out just right, some geeky math and rule-breaking canning, and bacon, of course. I don’t care what they say – bacon will never die! Lemon Lavender Marmalade It seems fitting to kick off this year’s list with a Can Jam post: after all, it was the inaugural year of Tigress’ Can Jam (the first […]

Categories: community, year round • Tags: food, local, preserving, recipes, top ten

Your Favorite Posts of 2010

31 December 2010 by local kitchen

Along with everyone else on the Interwebs, as the New Year approaches, I have in mind a post rounding up some of my favorite recipes & posts of the past year. Which I still may do, but first I thought it would be fun to take a look into my site statistics and discover your favorite posts & recipes of 2010. So, without further ado, here are the Top 10 Most Popular Posts, based upon number of hits, at Local Kitchen over […]

Categories: community, year round

Dark Days: Green Salad with Jam & Buttermilk Dressing

31 December 2010 by local kitchen

And to ring in the New Year – salad! OK, I know it’s not very exciting. But in the midst of a busy holiday season filled with cookies and pie, pizza and peppermint bark, chocolate cake balls and artichoke dip, cranberry nut bread and eggnog, mac & cheese and yet more pie, well, the thought of a crisp green salad gets my mouth watering. So when I saw some heads of cold-frame lettuce at the last farmer’s market before the holidays, […]

Categories: 100% local, Dark Days Local, main course, quick & easy, salad, winter • Tags: cooking, dark days, food, local, quick & easy, salad, vegetarian

Dark Days: Chicken & Sweet Potato Stew

27 December 2010 by local kitchen

Snowpocalypse 2010 dumped about a foot and a half of snow on us, as we snuggled cozy and warm in our little cottage, snacking on popcorn and watching cheesy movies in day-after-Christmas bliss. Today, although the winds still howled, the sun appeared along with bright blue skies, and we forced our way out the door against 3-foot snow drifts in order to shovel out. A couple of hours later, with a clear deck, stairs and driveway, lunch was definitely in […]

Categories: 100% local, chicken, Dark Days Local, hot chile peppers, kale & leafy greens, main course, potato, stew, tomatoes, winter • Tags: chicken, cooking, dark days, food, local, recipes, winter

Cranberry Walnut Galette

26 December 2010 by local kitchen

Hapy Boxing Day, everyone! I owe you a couple of Dark Days posts, but as usual, I’m procrastinating until the last minute. So instead, I’ll tell you about this wonderful cranberry galette that I made for our annual Christmas party a couple of days ago. This may well be the perfect holiday dessert: it’s beautiful enough for a fancy dinner party yet rustic enough for a simple family meal; it is gourmet without being fussy and wihout making you search […]

Categories: 100% local • Tags: baking, cooking, dessert, fall, food, local, recipes, vegetarian, winter

Merry Christmas

25 December 2010 by local kitchen

Categories: 100% local

Cranberry Orange Nut Bread

22 December 2010 by local kitchen

From the archives ~ A Christmas tradition Chez Porter. Now updated with weights and non-crappy (well, less crappy) photos! Merry, merry! ———————————————————– When I was a kid, my Mom always made cranberry nut bread around the holidays. Now, I’m 99% certain that this was from a mix; my Mom was (and is) a horrible cook. But I loved this bread, and to this day, cranberry nut bread reminds me of Christmas. Mom is coming up from Asheville, NC tomorrow; she’s […]

Categories: baking, breakfast, citrus, cranberries, eggs, fall, non-local luxuries, nuts, winter, year round • Tags: baking, bread, breakfast, cooking, cranberries, food, local, recipes, walnuts

Dry-Brined Roasted Turkey

19 December 2010 by local kitchen

What do you cook for Christmas Day? Do you have a leisurely day of cranberry nut bread and eggnog, like we do? Do you whip up a full breakfast of eggs, bacon and pancakes? Or do you go all out with a traditional dinner, roasted turkey or goose, plum pudding and the works? Just in case roasted turkey is on your Christmas dinner agenda, I thought I would share my Thanksgiving turkey recipe with you: a simple dry-brine with sage, bay and orange […]

Categories: citrus, fall, holiday, main course, roasting, sage, turkey, winter • Tags: cooking, dry-brine, food, holiday, local, main course, recipes, turkey

Homemade Body Scrub

17 December 2010 by local kitchen

Have you ever made body scrub? I hadn’t, until a few days ago, and now I’m embarrassed that I ever bought the stuff. Five minutes of mixing together ingredients already in my pantry and what do you know? A wonderful spa treatment, made completely of natural and organic ingredients, for literally pennies a jar. I confess that I’m already somewhat addicted to the lavender sea salt scrub: the salt makes your muscles really warm & tingly (great for those of us who have been spending long hours […]

Categories: gifts, holiday, year round • Tags: bath, beauty, body scrub, holiday, homemade gifts, quick & easy, recipes, spa

Dark Days: Spicy Basil Roasted Chicken

15 December 2010 by local kitchen

Chicken is difficult. Not difficult in that it is tasteless, bland, rubbery, spongy or just plain boring: I never find those things to be true about organically-fed, pastured, humanely-raised chicken. Not difficult in that it’s too hard to cook: in fact, roasted chicken is one of the easiest dishes I make. Chicken, that most ubiquitous of American meat staples, is difficult because it is hard to find. My regular local chicken guy used to be Pat of New England Farms. Pat […]

Categories: 100% local, basil, chicken, Dark Days Local, hot chile peppers, main course, roasting, winter, year round • Tags: chicken, cooking, food, local, main course, recipes, roasting, winter

Gifts: Food Gifts, Local & Far-Flung

14 December 2010 by local kitchen

‘Tis the season for fabulous food gifts from near & far! Small or large, fresh or preserved, local or luxuriously exotic, these are some of my favorite food items to give and receive. Check ’em out – you may just find the perfect gift for someone on your holiday list. But act fast – Christmas is a week from Saturday (yikes!). Merry, merry! Tuthilltown Spirits Local wine is pretty easy to find in New York & Connecticut; local booze? Not so […]

Categories: gifts, holiday, winter • Tags: food, food gifts, holiday, local

Dark Days: Pan-Fried Gnocchi with Roasted Pumpkin Seed Oil

13 December 2010 by local kitchen

I’m participating, along with a whole lot of other bloggers, in (not so) Urban Hennery’s Dark Days Challenge again this year: the challenge being to eat one meal a week that is made exclusively from SOLE (sustainable, organic, local & ethical) ingredients and to blog about it. Since local eating, and with that, sustainable, organic, humane and ethical eating, is the norm around here, the challenge for me is to make more 100% local meals, without any of my standard exceptions (olive oil, […]

Categories: 100% local, appetizer, Dark Days Local, main course, quick & easy, scallions, stir-fry, winter, winter squash, year round • Tags: cooking, food, gnocchi, local, pasta, pumpkin, quick & easy, recipes, vegetarian

Space Solutions: Magnetic Spice Tins

12 December 2010 by local kitchen

Not exactly revolutionary, right? Most anyone who has ever decided that something must be done about the spice drawer/cabinet/bowl/debacle has considered a magnetic spice rack. And, if you’re anything like me, after a moment of sticker shock, you promptly went scurrying off after a different idea that wasn’t going to cost a month’s rent. Chances are, if you cook, you have more than, say, six spices to store (if you don’t, than spice storage is probably not a problem). I must […]

Categories: herbs, Space Solutions, tools & gear • Tags: cooking, food, kitchen, spice rack, tools & gear