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

Homemade Granola

7 April 2009 by local kitchen

Tai had this for breakfast this morning and hasn’t stopped talking about how wonderful it was. I don’t even like granola, and I never eat cereal, but on tasting this, I was tempted to have a bowl; it is that good. And really simple to make – I don’t know why I didn’t do this ages ago. I’m always trying to get Tai to cut down on the boxed cereal he loves, because it contains so much sugar (not to mention the […]

Categories: breakfast, cherries, cranberries, fruit, nuts, oats, raisins, vegetarian, year round • Tags: breakfast, cooking, food, granola, homemade, local, recipes, vegetarian

Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting

6 April 2009 by local kitchen

I’ve been testing out cake (and filling, and frosting) recipes for Kami’s birthday celebration this Thursday. Kami is turning five years old this Thursday – and while her parents are certainly dear friends of mine, Kami and I are fast friends in our own right. She has very discriminating taste for an almost-5-year-old, so I generally try to pull out all the stops for her birthday cake. Not as easy as it sounds, when you consider that most “pull out […]

Categories: baking, berries, cheese, dessert, sauces, spring, summer, year round • Tags: baking, cooking, food, local, recipes, vegetarian

Sunday Spring Cleaning: Smoky Black Bean Dip

6 April 2009 by local kitchen

In the grand tradition of Spring, I’ve been doing some spring cleaning of late. Since the weather has not been optimal for cleaning windows, and it hasn’t yet been warm enough to transition to the summer wardrobe, I’ve been concentrating on cleaning out the larder: using up canned goods that are approaching one year old, making room in the freezer for a new season’s bounty, and digging way back into the recesses of the food cabinet for those long-forgotten items; […]

Categories: 100% local, beans, cilantro, hot chile peppers, pork, side dish, year round • Tags: black bean, cooking, food, local, recipes

Goat Cheese Pizza with Garlicky Kale

4 April 2009 by local kitchen

Quick & easy, flavorful and healthy; perfect for weekend Pizza Night and a nice change from the tomato-sauce-and-mozzarella variety. Serve with a nice glass of wine and vintage Woody Allen – perfection! ————————————————————- Goat Cheese Pizza with Garlicky Kale INGREDIENTS 1 recipe Quick(er) Whole Grain Pizza Dough OR 12-Grain Pizza Dough about 1/4 cup olive oil 4-5 large kale leaves (5 oz), washed & coarsely chopped (with center stem) 1 stalk fresh/green garlic, well-washed and sliced fine, OR 4 large […]

Categories: cheese, fall, kale & leafy greens, pizza, spring, vegetarian, whole wheat flour, winter • Tags: cooking, food, local, pizza, recipes

Neighborly Advice: Friday Blog Carnival

3 April 2009 by local kitchen

Ever wanted to learn how to make jam? Get over you pressure-cooker fear? Knit a hat or make your own pizza dough? Fellow blogger Neighbor Nancy has started a Friday blog carnival over at Recession Depression Therapy called Neighborly Advice. Featured are two pizza dough recipes from yours truly, but don’t hold that against it – there is lots of good advice for anyone looking to expand their cooking or crafting horizons. Surf on over and check it out!

Categories: community • Tags: cooking, food, homesteading, local, recipes

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Pistachio Recall

1 April 2009 by local kitchen

UPDATE: Dan Laiosa of Tierra Farm emailed me to say that their supply of pistachios is not being recalled and are safe to eat. So, if you simply must have your pistachio fix, check out Tierra Farm! Just when you thought it was safe to eat trail mix again…Pistachio Recalls have been issued for Salmonella contamination; see the full list of affected products at the FDA’s pistachio recall page. The list is being updated coninuously; FDA are recommending that consumers avoid all pistachio […]

Categories: non-local luxuries, nuts • Tags: food, local, pistachios

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Herby Grilled Potatoes

1 April 2009 by local kitchen

A gorgeous, sunny spring day, a rock scramble/hike in the woods with your honey, top down on the convertible on the way home – what could be better? I’ll tell you what – the First Grill of the Season. These grilled potatoes are fluffy inside, like a french fry, but crisp and smoky on the outside from the grill. Serve with Flying Pigs Jamaican Jerk sausage, grilled bell pepper and ice cold Sam Adams. Spring is a wonderful thing. —————————————————————- […]

Categories: 100% local, chives, dill, fall, grill, parsley, potato, side dish, spring, summer, vegetarian • Tags: cooking, food, grill, local, potato, recipes, vegetarian

Spring Stir-Fry: Chicken, Radish & Green Garlic

30 March 2009 by local kitchen

I’m always on the lookout for interesting radish recipes. Radishes are one of the first things to show up in the farmer’s market in spring that is not a leek, squash, potato or leafy green, hence, I always pick some up (look! they’re pink! crisp! new!) and then, after about three fresh salads with sliced raw radishes, wonder what I’m going to do with the other dozen pink wonders. I was a bit suspicious of stir-fried radish, but this dish was […]

Categories: chicken, cilantro, citrus, garlic, hot chile peppers, main course, quick & easy, radish, spring • Tags: chicken, cooking, food, garlic, green garlic, local, main course, quick & easy, radish, recipes, stir-fry

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Seedling Update: 29 March 2009

29 March 2009 by local kitchen

There’s a whole lotta transplantin’ goin’ on! Three weeks in and the tomato seedlings need transplanting. I’ve read to transplant when there are two “true” leaves (the leaves that come out after the first set of leaves, the cotelydon), and when there are four true leaves. Some of my tomato plants had two, some had four; but all were pretty leggy, due to spending the first day or two after germaintion without much light, and so were blocking the shorter seedlings […]

Categories: gardening • Tags: gardening, local

Quick(er) Whole Grain Pizza Dough

26 March 2009 by local kitchen

Even the most ardent defender of processed foods would have to admit that for all the reasons we eat food, whole grain flours are vastly superior to refined white flour: whole grain flour contains more protein, vitamins, minerals and fiber than refined white flour, is lower on the glycemic index, and avoids the bleach and other chemicals used in the refining process. Did you know that a cup of whole wheat flour, from say, 2 large pieces of pizza, contains […]

Categories: breads, grains & legumes, pizza, vegetarian, whole wheat flour, year round • Tags: breads, cooking, food, local, pizza, recipes, whole grain

Mini Zucchini Quick Breads

25 March 2009 by local kitchen

Ah, zucchini. The magical summer squash that proliferates in every amateur green thumb’s garden each August, resulting in gigundo green monsters, bigger than your head, and the inevitable question, “What the hell am I going to do with all this zucchini?” So why am I torturing you with thoughts of zucchini, when asparagus and sugar snap peas are still weeks away and summer squash is a mere pipe dream? Maybe I am just reminiscing on the long, lazy days of summer, […]

Categories: baking, breads, citrus, eggs, fall, summer, vegetarian, winter • Tags: cooking, food, local, recipes, whole grain breads

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Lemon Basil Pesto Pizza

24 March 2009 by local kitchen

Really, amazingly, deliciously, incredibly, mouth-wateringly good. Really. ————————————————————– Lemon Basil Pesto Pizza INGREDIENTS Pizza 1 recipe 12-grain pizza dough OR Quick(er) Whole Grain PIzza Dough 1 tbsp olive oil 2 tbsp grated hard cheese, such as parmesean or Sprout Creek Barat or Ouray 4-6 tbsp lemon basil pesto (recipe follows) 4 oz mozzarella, homemade or purchased 1 head roasted garlic 4 oz cooked chicken breast, such as lemon chicken freshly ground black pepper 1/2 tsp dried lemon basil Lemon Basil Pesto […]

Categories: basil, cheese, chicken, herbs, pizza, summer, year round • Tags: cooking, food, local, pizza, recipes

How to Roast Garlic

23 March 2009 by local kitchen

Garlic is a wonderous thing. Spicy & flavorful, when roasted garlic becomes sweet & smoky, like candy that’s good for you. Mashed on bread, tossed in pasta, as a pizza topping or tossed into any number of soups or stews, I can always think of a way to use roasted garlic. Since there are only two of us eating in this house (well, outside of the friends who visit often), I don’t often want to roast 6 or 8 heads […]

Categories: 100% local, garlic, roasting, year round • Tags: cooking, food, garlic, local, recipes

Rosemary Lemon Drop Biscuits

22 March 2009 by local kitchen

A truly quick-n-easy biscuit recipe that produces light and fluffy free-form biscuits that are crunchy on the outside, melting and tender on the inside. Fresh lemon zest and rosemary make them sing, especially in the heart of winter. In the snowy Northeast, rosemary over-winters quite well in a sunny window indoors. It doesn’t thrive, but holds a sort of status quo until you can put it back outside in the spring. Worth it to have access to fresh herbs at […]

Categories: baking, breads, citrus, rosemary, vegetarian, whole wheat flour, winter, year round • Tags: baking, cooking, food, local, recipes, whole grain breads

Jacob’s Cattle Beans with Bacon & Sage

21 March 2009 by local kitchen

12 April 2013: The perfect lunch on a grey & rainy April afternoon, this simple pot of beans is elevated by plenty of aromatics, crumbled dried sage, and good-quality local bacon. Always a pleasure to have some in the fridge! Why, yes, the Great Dried Bean Experiment 2009 is still ongoing, thank you very much! This week’s beans are Jacob’s Cattle, a lovely, variegated bean, originally cultivated by the Passamaquoddy Indians in Maine, and the old standard for classic New England […]

Categories: 100% local, beans, heirloom beans, pork, winter, year round • Tags: beans, cooking, food, local, pork, recipes