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

Can Jam: Lime Curd for Water Bath Canning

19 January 2010 by local kitchen

Apparently it is Citrus Curd Week on the Interwebs – and no one told me! I’ve been thinking for a couple of weeks now about what I was going to make for Tigress’ January Can Jam; citrus is a lovely and broad category and there are so many choices! There are a couple of marmalades that I make each winter that Tai loves; one a pink grapefruit version with bourbon vanilla bean, the other a spicy orange marmalade with Arbol chiles. […]

Categories: Can Jam, canning, citrus, dessert, eggs, winter, year round • Tags: cooking, dessert, food, local, preserving, recipes

Dark Days: Venison Chile Verde

18 January 2010 by local kitchen

Friends of ours gifted us with some venison this week, received from friends of theirs who had shot and butchered a deer. I’m not exactly sure where the deer came from but I’m pretty confident that it was somewhere in the Northeast; our friends live in Connecticut, not far from Mystic, and the deer probably came from either New Hampshire or the Adirondacks in NY. It seemed a perfect candidate for this week’s Dark Days spotlight meal. I’m not a […]

Categories: 100% local, cilantro, Dark Days Local, hot chile peppers, main course, meat & dairy, tomatillos, winter, year round • Tags: cooking, food, local, recipes

How to Make Clarified Butter

16 January 2010 by local kitchen

As part of my commitment to the Dark Days Challenge this winter, I’ve vowed to reduce my dependence on olive oil and other non-local cooking oils. For a locavore living in the Northeast this is not the easiest task; almost every winter dish seems to start with sautéing onions and garlic, or searing meat. You need some portion of liquid fat to make most quick-breads and granola. And while we all know how much I love bacon grease, and that bacon makes […]

Categories: 100% local, techniques, year round • Tags: clarified butter, cooking, food, ghee, local, preserving, recipes

Beauty, Bloggy-Style

15 January 2010 by local kitchen

The lovely and talented Tigress nominated me, along with 6 others, for a Beautiful Blogger award. Now that the blushing is over with, it’s time to pass along the bloggy love. The Rules: Nominate 7 blogs that are beautiful. Send thanks (Thanks, Tigress!) and a link back to the person who nominated you. Share 7 things ‘interesting’ about yourself. So… there are a number of blogs that I visit on a routine basis. Some of them don’t need me telling them […]

Categories: community

Easy Homemade Hummus

14 January 2010 by local kitchen

I know what you’re thinking: “Hmmph. Easy. Says she of the 3-day pie crust and the day-long chicken pot pie.” But, really, this recipe is easy. Easy as pie. Well, way easier than pie, actually. Easy enough for Rachel Ray (although why make hummus when it’s so much more convenient to buy it in the store? And why do I pick on this woman when I’ve never even seen her show? I’m sure she’s a lovely person. Really.). Anyway, you […]

Categories: appetizer, beans, chickpeas, chives, citrus, herbs, quick & easy, spreads, vegetarian, year round • Tags: beans, cooking, food, local, quick & easy, recipes, vegetarian

Dark Days: Handmade Whole Wheat Pasta

10 January 2010 by local kitchen

I’ve been meaning to make fresh pasta again for a while now; I probably would not have done it today if I had not remembered that it is Sunday and I hadn’t yet planned my Dark Days meal o’ the week. Thanks, Dark Days Challenge, for giving me a kick in the pants! The last time I made whole wheat pasta, I used all whole wheat bread flour (hard red spring wheat flour from Wild Hive) and the dough was so […]

Categories: 100% local, appetizer, Dark Days Local, eggs, main course, vegetarian, whole wheat flour, year round • Tags: cooking, food, local, recipes, vegetarian

Yogurt Cheese Scones with Lemon & Thyme

9 January 2010 by local kitchen

The latest entry in my scone obsession, these are a savory, tangy mini scone that I made to bring to dinner tonight at our friends Amy and Bob’s house. These are an appetizer scone, great nibbled with fresh slices of apple or a nice chutney. How lemony they taste depends on the depth of flavor in your cheese; a strong cheese will allow just a hint of citrusy freshness to come though, while with a milder cheese you will really taste the […]

Categories: appetizer, baking, breads, breakfast, cheese, citrus, quick & easy, thyme, whole wheat flour, year round • Tags: baking, cheese, cooking, food, local, recipes, whole grain breads

Calypso Bean Minestrone

7 January 2010 by local kitchen

Calypso beans are so gorgeous. They are one of those fantastic heirloom varieties that you only see when you start searching out such a thing; a bean so gorgeous, you want to wear it as jewelry, so tasty that the unique flavor and texture are impossible to describe, so miraculous that if you push it into the soil, in Spring a plant will emerge. (That simple fact never fails to thrill me). Calypso beans, also called orca beans because of […]

Categories: 100% local, beans, heirloom beans, kale & leafy greens, main course, soup, vegetarian, winter • Tags: beans, cooking, food, local, recipes, soup

Local Fizzy

6 January 2010 by local kitchen

My name is Kaela and I’m an addict. Dedicated local eater that I am, there has always been one item on my grocery list that I can’t live without. One that you can’t find at any farmer’s market, is heavy to ship, requires a lot of packaging, and the closest local source is Maine. What is it, you ask (breathlessly), what magical food item is so important that you sacrifice your values, and the environment, to ship it from Maine? Sparkling […]

Categories: 100% local, tools & gear • Tags: cooking, food, local

Dark Days: Pancake FAIL

2 January 2010 by local kitchen

We’ve had many guests over the holidays and we’ve made quite a few pancake breakfasts. Tai has made a couple of batches, I’ve made a couple of batches, and while I would not say our pancakes are outstanding, they are generally pretty good (and anything that you can drown in Ronnybrook butter and New England Farms natural maple syrup can’t be all bad). In fact, Tai made a batch just yesterday, for our friends Erik & Melissa, who came up from Philly […]

Categories: 100% local, berries, breakfast, Dark Days Local, sauces, whole wheat flour, winter, year round • Tags: breakfast, cooking, food, local, recipes

Ginger & Orange Scones

29 December 2009 by local kitchen

It’s very cold here today, with temps in the teens and gusty winds up to 50 mph making it feel like 1 degree F. Brrrr! Wind is howling around our little cottage, but we are snug as bugs in a rug with the oven warming up the kitchen and the tropical flavors of orange and ginger making us dream of sunny beaches and warm breezes. This is another variation of my basic sweet scone recipe, with the added bonus of […]

Categories: baking, breakfast, citrus, dessert, non-local luxuries, whole wheat flour, year round • Tags: baking, breakfast, cooking, dessert, food, local, quick & easy, recipes

Dark Days: Sausage & Pepper Pizza

28 December 2009 by local kitchen

Last night we had the happy coincidence of two friends traveling back home from Christmas celebrations, both of whom decided to stop and spend the night with us en route. We had a delicious, impromptu, and local dinner of sausage & pepper pizza, served up with Saranac ales, good conversation, and many laughs. Thanks, Frannie & Christina, for a great night! Happy holidays everyone! ————————————————————- Sausage & Pepper Pizza INGREDIENTS 1 recipe Quick(er) Whole Grain Pizza dough 1/2 lb smoked […]

Categories: 100% local, basil, cheese, Dark Days Local, main course, pizza, sausage, tomatoes, whole wheat flour, winter, year round • Tags: cooking, food, local, pizza, recipes

Black Bean Veggie Chili

27 December 2009 by local kitchen

As a nice respite from all of the rich, heavy holiday food, as well as a warm bowl of comfort food against the chill and dreary 39-degree rainy day, yesterday I made a big pot of chili. Packed full of veggies and protein-laden black beans, this dish is winter locavore cooking at its best: peppers chopped and quick-frozen back in August only need pouring into a measuring cup; sweet corn, blanched and cut off the cob, frozen at the peak of […]

Categories: 100% local, beans, carrot, celery, cilantro, corn, garlic, hot chile peppers, main course, parsley, stew, tomatoes, vegetarian, winter, year round • Tags: black bean, cooking, food, local, recipes

Dark Days: Swiss Chard Quiche Minis

21 December 2009 by local kitchen

Undaunted by the blizzard, a few intrepid souls made it to our annual Christmas party on Saturday night. Luckily for them, there was no shortage of yummy food on hand. My kitchen counter was groaning under the weight of this sausage bread, made with linguica and local smoked mozzarella, Wild Hive rosemary bread crostini with olive oil, garlic and basil, a selection of local cheeses, curried apple chutney, sweet cherry chutney, cranberry apple butter and cranberry sauce, homemade stuffed grape leaves […]

Categories: 100% local, appetizer, breakfast, cheese, Dark Days Local, eggs, kale & leafy greens, main course, vegetarian, whole wheat flour, winter, year round • Tags: baking, cooking, food, local, recipes, vegetarian

Asiago and Green Apple Omelet with Chipotle Bacon

18 December 2009 by local kitchen

Christimas is only a week away and it’s been a crazy week between cooking and prepping for our annual Christmas party, cleaning the house, decorating the tree, stringing the house lights, wrapping presents, writing holiday cards – phew! Add in a visit from Mom last weekend, my car breaking down (and the subsequent attempts at repairs by the long-suffering Tai), trying to get wedding thank-you notes out the door, and some last-minute jobs from clients, and it’s a wonder I’ve managed to […]

Categories: 100% local, apples, breakfast, cheese, eggs, main course, parsley, quick & easy, year round • Tags: cooking, eggs, food, local, quick & easy, recipes