Wild Hive Farm

Class schedule coming soon!

2011-03-05T09:10:00.000-08:00

Wild Hive's class schedule is on it's way. We currently have a schedule for the season, entering into the summer, but before i publish it for all to see, please let me know if there is anything you really want to see us put in the schedule. I will be finalizing the schedule this week upcoming, since the first class will begin on Saturday, March 26th. Email Amy at wildhivefarmbakery@gmail.com with any questions, comments, or suggestions ASAP!!!

i saw buds on trees!

2011-02-26T16:33:00.000-08:00

well, spring is near. i personally saw some buds on trees in danbury. yup, i can picture it now...fresh green leaves, bees buzzing, maple sap running. sprin is like a poem all on its own. i will be making a march menu this monday, and beware, cause i am feeling creative. i was struck down with the flu last week and i am coming back superstrong! this week, i am planning upcoming classes for wild hive. we will beginning classes in april, and although we will still be low on supplies, i plan on working with what we have, seasonally. please send me messages of what classes will be in demand for the upcoming year, and i will schedule them accordingly. i believe that i will be starting with an introductory to winemaking, to prime your palate for the season, along with drying mushrooms, braising meats, baking, and basic seasonal cooking. please let me know what you want to see, as i will plan accordingly. how about making tempeh, and sprouting grains...see you out at the hive. please keep an eye out for our extended hours, in the next month.

back in the saddle...i mean, snow.

2011-02-06T17:47:00.000-08:00

Well, I have been back for a little over a week now, and whew, i am glad to be home. eating at wild hive, seeing the members of my community who have been struggling through the snowy winter, and back into dealing with the challenge of eating towards the end of the winter. i have been cooking up a storm, both at the bakery and home since i got back. something i need to put out there...i make a lot of wine at home, and since i am looking into moving from my home to a local farm where i will be building a yurt to live in for the next few years, i am in need of folks who have something to trade me for wine. i am looking for all types of things of value for sustainable living. let me know what you have to trade. don and i are planning a fundraiser right now to save the drowning wild hive cafe right now. think about these numbers. every day that was really stormy, it cost us an average of $1000.00, between paying the staff to work, having perishible foods, paying the intense oil bill, electricity, rent, and lost revenue. we had more than thirteen of those days this year. these are near zero days. we plan for six a year. we need some support. we are about to reopen for dinners, where we are going to have burger and beer friday nights. soups, salads, burgers, veggie burgers.....and live acoustic music. this will start in 3-4 weeks. not to be negative amy, but they will only go forth if we can keep our heads above water between now and then. we are currently planning for a really fun fundraiser in early march, with a six course dinner on a saturday night and we hope to do some serious cooking that night. lots of changes. lots of hope, and lots of intentions. come on by. lets talk.

amazing farmers markets

2011-01-17T00:26:00.000-08:00

well, i moved from the west coast to the east coast of hawaii. this morning, i woke up at 6am and by 9, i had already been to two local farmers markets, and i had planned my dinner. i took photos, but they are on my cell phone, and now i have to figure out how to put those on the computer. the special thing about this market, in pahoa, was that i finally got some whole cacoa pods. and if that was not exciting enough, at the next market, i found a durian fruit. i WAS excited about this. then i gently placed the durian in my trunk (of my rental sports car, with a sunroof) as i begin to drive back to my temp. home, i can barely stand it. the durian stinks so bad, i can barely be in the same car as it. i drive the 15 minutes, and unload the local goat feta, herbs, onions, lemons, and fresh eggs and english muffins, and then i know, i have to deal with it......the durian. spiky, stinky, and heavy, i take it out of the trunk, and stick it in the bushes, as not to offend the other people staying near me. even 60 feet away, while it is outside, i can still smell it. this was a big deal for me to find and eat. suprisingly, i have a friend coming to hawaii to see me tomorrow. and another friend coming in three days. i will make them eat this 9lb durian with me. ha ha ha....stay in touch, i will let you know.

happy hour!

2011-01-10T20:05:00.000-08:00

did you know that in hawaii, or more specifically, in the town of kona, which i ventured out to today, that they have mai tai happy hour from 2-6. up to now i was glad to be going home after vacation. nothing keeping me here, but...i could learn to live with this new unexpected turn of events. don't worry, though, i will be home, making snowchickens in no time. i miss you, Goldball! (my snuggly and giant rooster) i hope you are doing only good behavior!

ahi!!

2011-01-09T22:23:00.000-08:00

dinner time again!!!!today i went to the south kona greenmarket. it was cute. when i arrived, i saw little green. actually, what i was hoping for would not have been green, either. hopefully not. i was looking for pork and pineapples, as in the week since i have been here, the only pineapples i have had access to were dole. i found some very exciting things, amongst the many crafters, and jewelers. local, organic, ripe!! lemons, 10 for $1.00. freshly dug ginger, $2.00/lb
a gentleman making new orleans style beignets, subbing agave for sugar, and making his own chocolate sauce from local cacao beans, (which i bought a pound of). Then i found some local veal stew meat, which i will use soon, and i will let you know all about. as i was leaving, lo and behold! there was a man wearing a sign around his neck. sitting on a cooler. FRESH FISH. i am pretty sure that he was not really supposed to be at this market, but i dove in. i got a pound of fresh!! local ahi tuna for $8.00 and that is what i am eating right now. seared lightly with wild rice cooked in kaffir lime leaves, and a sautee of hot peppers, ginger, garlic, onions, baby red cabbage, broccoli, all in coconut milk and topped with toasted macadamia nuts and culantro leaves. not even related to cilantro, but something i became farmiliar with when i lived in puerto rico. i have a photo, but it truly does not give this meal justice. good night.

far away, but the idea is still the same

2011-01-08T20:21:00.000-08:00

ok. woe is me...first, let me start off by apologizing to anyone who is trying to come by the bakery this weekend. we are closed for our annual january week of closure. fixing some things that broke, taking some down time and getting our heads straight. as for me, i spent a hard day swimming with tropical fish and larger than life turtles. yes...amy is in hawaii. it took me until today to decide that i really like this rock, although, not to worry, i will welcome the east coast back with open arms! anyhow, in the moment, tonights dinner for me is as follows:

local, grass fed ny strip steak rubbed generously in kona coffee, with wild hive polenta, macadamia nuts, and broccoli. check out the photos.........

Happy New Years! Celebrate it with us!

2010-12-29T21:09:00.000-08:00

Well, hello. we are slowly acclimating to our new schedule, and so are you...we are planning a delicious new years brunch this year, and we hope that you will be joining us. there will be two seatings for our local foods buffet. one at ten, and one at noon. the price is $25.00 per person, and will include a glass of local bubbly. email me at amy@wildhivefarm.com for details, and reservations. we will be serving french toast, pancakes, eggs, biscuits and gravy, sausage, bread pudding, yogurt, hot cereal, grits...........and more. you can also reserve by phone at
845-266-5863. please come, and see what changes we are making.

New winter schedule

2010-12-07T11:50:00.000-08:00

So there are some changes happening here at Wild Hive. Now. Starting this Thursday our schedule is as follows:
Thursday-4pm-9pm
Friday-8am-9pm
Saturday-8am-9pm
Sunday-8am-9pm
Monday-8am-4pm
We will be closed Tuesday and Wednesday. We will be serving beer and wine during our open hours. Meals will be prepared during all open hours. Come. This will be our winter schedule aside from a couple of changes. We will be closed on Christmas Day. We will be closing for renovations and rejuvenations for a week starting on the 4th of January. Feel free to give us a call for any reservations or wine or beer suggestions. remember...keep it local.

2010-11-24T17:03:00.000-08:00

Hello hello hello...tomorrow is thanksgiving, and i hope that you are all geared up. if not, we will be open from 8-1ish and we have the most beautiful veggies and breads.
parsnips
rutabagas
onions (red and white)
carrots (3 colors)
radishes (luobo, red, black spanish, and watermelon)
potatoes (red, yukon gold, fingerling, russet)
swiss chard
broccoli
cauliflower
salad
beets (chioggia and red)
rye
challah
sprouted wheat
italian
and so much more
We will be closed this Friday, both for our own thanksgiving, I am having a local foods mexican fiesta at my house since i gave up my turkey this year to a lost reservation, and because i want to celebrate in another style, and because the day after thanksgiving is our opening anniversary.
we look forward to seeing you all out at the cafe this weekend, 8-5 for non thanksgiving meals!! we give many thanks for all of the producers, growers, and community who have made another year possible. Thanks!!!!!

Menu for the party

2010-11-11T12:40:00.000-08:00

The weather looks good for Saturday. The food is being harvested. The oven is being moved. The bathrooms are being cleaned. The flour is being swept off the floors. The raffle jars are filling up. The mill is putting it's best foot forward. We will be in the midst of our regular Saturday production...Milling hard red 00 flour, all-purpose, and bagging them for sales. Lisa and Terry Kilmer are coming to show us their draft horses. We are cooking black beans for the soup right now. Come on out to 2645 Salt Point Turnpike this Saturday for our educational fundraiser/mill grand opening. Check out the blogs below to find out why. Beans, radishes, swiss chard, onions, garlic, families, chickens, pot roast, roasted roots, winter squash, wheatberries, polenta, beets, salad, what else could there be? Hot cider! Call or email with any questions.
Wild Hive---845-266-5863 wildhivefarmbakery@gmail.com

Shining up the Mill

2010-11-09T18:10:00.000-08:00

There may have been some confusion about the address of the mill. I am here to clear that up....
The address is 2645 Salt Point Turnpike, Stanford, NY 12581.
The cafe is in clinton corners, and the mill is only one mile away, but due to the borders that the local government slaps upon things, (and this goes for all levels of government) the mill is in stanford. we like stanford and stanfordville a lot, so we are glad to be a part of it. we spent some time shining it up a bit, and sending some extra bran to some local farmers for their pigs and chickens, to make room for us. we are going to move the oven tomorrow, and make the menu for saturday. remember...dress warm, as there will be a november chill in the air, even though the weather looks good. lisa and terry will be bringing their draft horses!!! and i will be making t-shirts to sell. the raffles are filling up, and so just to increase your chances, i will add a couple more. remember, we are trying to learn from you what you want to learn from us, so bring your ideas and bring your friends. see you there. wild hive-845-266-5863

Sign up now!!! Wild Hive Party

2010-11-05T17:57:00.000-07:00

Here I am, making raffle items...If you have any interest in Hudson Valley local foods, don't miss this raffle. Starting tomorrow and ending next Saturday, at our PARTY. This event is shaping up to be more and more exciting. If I was not already going to be there, I would definitely go! Keep in mind that rsvps help us know how many people to expect, but are not neccessary. We just may have some local draft horses to learn from, and the raffle items are EXCITING! As far as dinner, I am thinking chicken, roast squash, celeriac, cheeses, potatoes, maple roasted root veggies, polenta, salads..........oh yeah, and pickles! Call us at the bakery with any questions, or send us an email at wildhivefarmbakery@gmail.com
We will be hosting two full tours of the mill, where we are expecting to host future education, with your help! We are looking to frame an agricultural educational center at the milol in the near future, where we will brew, ferment, bake, plant, cook, harvest, and more, but we are in need of you to show us your interest. Anyhow, let us know what you think.

2010-10-21T19:11:00.000-07:00

The much awaited fall festival/mill opening is now ready to be unveiled. See the poster, email with any questions, concerns, or comments, and rsvp to our mill opening.

Dinner at the Hive

2010-10-02T07:11:00.000-07:00

So, Wild Hive has been serving Thursday night family style dinners. Simple, affordable, local foods dinners. This is the menu for the month of October. Come one, come all.

wild mushrooms!

2010-09-30T22:43:00.000-07:00

let me start off by saying that looking for wild mushrooms is thrilling. there may be some, there may not. there may be major trespassing, and there may be not. my eyes, this time of year are fully in tune with the shape of trees, the magic of edible mushrooms, and the flavor of my favorite dish that i have ever made. simple, fresh, and so delicious. keep your eye out for my cookbook next year, as i group up with the other brains and taste buds at the hive to educate our community about the wild edibles available to them. right now, floods of maitake, sulfer shelves, nettles, mint, and........get ideas, and let us hear them. amy

dinner at the hive

2010-09-30T22:28:00.000-07:00

oh boy, let me just say that i sure wish that i could go to the thursday night dinners at the hive. for less than $16.00 per person, tonight, we served all the bread and butter you could eat, a mixed greens salad with apple cider vinaigrette, roast beef with wild mushroom gravy, potato and cauliflower au gratin, sauteed garlic and onion kale, and pear cobbler with vanilla ice cream. as far as i am concerned, there should have been a wait at the door. next week we will serve roast pork in a sweet barbecue sauce, creamy polenta, bacony collards, and apple and cabbage slaw, i think. tomorrow i will be making a menu for the entire month of october, although nothing is set in stone. i am thinking...maybe a pumpkin custard??? also, we have a pretty major plan in the near future for a mill tour/fundraiser/grand opening/slow foods/wood fired dinner/educational/family friendly event. oh boy, an event!!! let me know if you would like to get involved. signing off...eat cauliflower. amy

P.S.this rain is awesome. the mushrooms are demanding it, and the cafe is rich with wild mushrooms right now.

let us support one another

2010-09-20T19:52:00.000-07:00

well hello...i am appealing to those that will listen. we are having a delightful family style dinner this thursday, and for the thursdays following. we will need you to come to us and eat our reasonably priced dinner of fresh, local mixed greens salad, our own fresh chickens, paul wigstens freshly dug roasted red potatoes, ethel's sauteed green beans, and grandma florences' apple cake. frankly, we need people to come and eat this delicious dinner, as we are planning on serving dinners all winter, and we will only do this if you want it. there are so many exciting ideas and foods that we will bring to you, if we feel the support. the plan is to serve dinner thurs through sunday with much pleasure and freshness. did i mention that we are staffing up to serve some thrilling thing things? Don and I (Amy) have been brainstorming up some wild things. Stop in for a flier! Come one, come all. Hungry.

dinner has arrived at the hive

2010-09-18T21:48:00.000-07:00

well, well. we ar on our way. with the simple realization that we need to be open for dinner in order to keep our community happy, we are doing it. slowly, like we do everything. slow and steady. we are starting this coming thursday, with a simple family style menu, come one, come all, and perhaps you will sit next to your neighbor. we hope you like them. thursday night family style starts this thursday night, 5:30-9:00 seatings. we hope to add sundays in two more weeks, with your live music, and a casua menu, and then friday and saturday two weeks later, along with the menu of beer and wine that we have been working on. give us a call for reservations 845-266-5863 and remember, we need your support and enthusiasm to show up in order to keep the doors open, so we hope to see you out here. call or email with any questions.

And fall is coming to blanket us with it's cool hands.

2010-09-09T13:24:00.000-07:00

Today we prepare for the fall. Mentally. And physically we remain in summer, chilly but with tomatoes still on our plates. The short window that we have in which we can have wild mushrooms, squash, tomatoes, and hot peppers all at the same time. A special time, when we all begin to think about the upcoming frost, fall kale, and firewood. A time when community is growing closer for the winter, ready to share our body heat and a glass of wine and share our memories of sweaty summer swims and farmers market impromptu picnics. Don't read me wrong, I am not hurrying summer, it just happens to be a cool mid September day, and I didn't have my blankets last night, and I am constantly living in fear of the dreaded "fall back" when someone evil, obviously evil, takes away my normal schedule and replaces it with a different, darker one. The real losers here are the people in which I feed. They will now miss out on the mushrooms that I was previously able to strain my eyes to see in the evening, where now I will simply give up, as the head lamp just does not seem to give me the width of light that I need. As sad as it always is to see summer go, the bright orange squash and hot pink watermelon radishes are coming in, dressed to the nines, making themselves seen, and eaten. Let me just mention that I did not take these images, but my camera is not with me today.

Tomatoes

2010-08-11T19:53:00.000-07:00

Hello out there, Hudson Valley Eaters!!! Today I escaped. I don't know how I was able to pull it off, but I made an appearance at the Woodstock Farmers Market. I used to sell at this market every Wednesday, and it has been awhile since I have had the pleasure. I apologize if you came to our stand and I was on the phone, as it turns out that I still had all types of fires to put out at the bakery and cafe from afar, but I was truly pleased to be out in the fresh air at the market, just as I used to be. There were so many farmiliar faces, and thank you all for being so pleased to see me. Jay, the brillian farmer from Four Winds Farm had an astonishing array of tomatoes, which I will be serving up this week, and I thank him for his hard work, and Regeneration Farm traded me some gorgeous veggies for some multigrain bread. I sure love the barter system. Our vegetable cooler is out of service at the bakery for a couple of days, so if you come by, ask me who, what, where, when and why, and you are likely to be pleasantly surprised. Picture it...a three pound yellow and red heirloom tomato. How on earth did the plant hold it up? Not to worry, no animal or plant was harmed during the growing process. A new term that I have adopted...better than organic...For me, it means, that whether it was certified or not, I have done the research, and the vegetable was grown with no chemicals, no pesticides, and by someone who has respected the land on which it was grown. To wild hive's personal standards. Keep in mind that not all vegetables that are technically organic are worthy of your support, as there are large corporate organics charging top dollar for you to support them. Little Debbie Organic Ho Hos.............Feel free to contact us directly about our sources and why. Oh, and a final thought...wondering why you are not seeing any chocolate at Wild Hive? How about the guy who bought ONE BILLION PLUS worth of cocoa beans, and is waiting for the price to skyrocket? For goodness sakes, we just are not prepared to compete with a greedy, billionaire, selfish single person to make the foods that we are passioniate about. Be aware, there are other chocolate sources that I am researching, and hope to join forces with the little guys. Good night, and holy tomato.

A long awaited update

2010-07-29T18:57:00.000-07:00

I know it has been awhile....But it is simply because I have been trying my best to manage all of the delicious foods that are coming my way! Today alone I received the following veggies:
sweet corn
heirloom tomatoes
cranberry beans
green peppers
red and green cabbages
basil
lettuce
hot peppers
garlic
onions
zucchini and yellow squash
banana and butternut squash
rosemary
orange mint
shallots
onions, many types
beets
blueberries
blackberries
chives
dandelion greens
kale
peaches
plums
and I know I got more veggies, but I have had such a busy day that perhaps I just can't remember the rest. I am just getting home from making some awesome foods. The menu that I made last night for this Fri, Sat and Sun is pretty exciting, perhaps you should try the Grits Gone Wild...Grits, sweet corn, pork sausage, sauteed peppers and onions, zucchini, red meck cheese, a duck egg, toast and homefries. You should probably come here...and eat this. I must say a formal farewell to Fellow Workers Farm, a local group of folks, which I was a part of, and proud to be, and we grew and foraged and fermented everything in sight, and my other fellow workers moved to Rhode Island this week. I wish them the best, and I am sad to see them go, and I only hope to carry on my part, as black trumpet mushrooms will arrive any day. (Check back, to see if I have any available in the store) Traci, Charles, Iris, Levi, and Lydia, I am so sad to see you go, and I hope that we do you justice from the Hudson Valley, and Providence is terribly lucky to have you. Good night, sleep tight, and try to avoid Rhinebeck. The Clinton wedding will cause you a great headache in the form of traffic and men in black with sunglasses. Hold tight, dinners at the Hive are on the way. GO SUMMER. GO SWIMMING. BLTs start tomorrow. Oh, and pork and feta stuffed pattypan squash. Sleep well.

Whole hive mead

2010-06-17T19:31:00.000-07:00

Oh boy...Sam of http://www.anarchyapiaries.org/ and I did some work last night. While eating bacon cheeseburgers (bacon from Mike Picinelli, Thunderhill Farm, grass-fed beef from Leigh Skidmore, cheese from NY cheese, pepperjack, onion rolls from Wild Hive Farm and wilted spinach from Fog and Thistle Farm) we made 25 gallons of whole hive mead from these wild hives. Live bees, larvae, pollen, propolis, the whole 9 yards. In 16 months, you should ask me for a bottle, and I still have some mead from the last bounty! Not to mention that so far this season I have made strawberry wine, lilac wine, dandelion wine, and I am about to make gooseberry, rhubarb, and blackcurrant. These wines are all used on the menu throughout the year on our menu in dressings, and reductions. Also, this week I have eaten my first english peas of the year. These sweet peas are my favorite food. Ever. They are what I dream of at night, and what I dream of during the day. They are perfect in every way. I like the sweet ones, and the bitter ones, when they are overripe, and when they are underripe and when they are just ripe. They are truly the perfect food. You all may think that I am crazy, but really, if given the choice, I would move to a place where peas are the main part of every meal. I will try to make that here, since next week, when I have more peas, the chef's choice on the menu will be fresh spelt fettuccine with peas, onions, and basil topped with blue cheese and broiled. Try and stop me. Just try. This weekend we have a salad with peas, radishes and goat milk feta cheese. And bright and early in the morning, I will be going over to Thompson Finch to pick strawberries, and keep in mind that they will only be around for another couple of weeks. This coming Tuesday, I will be down at Fishkill Farms, harvesting blackcurrants, both for wine and for a raw kale, garlic, toasted almond and blackcurrant salad. Next weekend. Thanks Ethel and Tom for the perfect and super-fresh lacinato kale that has been sustaining me, day to-day! Remember, this Sunday...Tuba Skinny. It is going to be packed, so plan to stand and enjoy.

Tuba Skinny is going to play at the Hive

2010-06-14T16:21:00.000-07:00

Hey, all! Just wanted to let you know that we have an exciting evening planned for next Sunday, father's day. Tuba Skinny will be playing music here at the Hive from 4ish to 7ish. Here is a link to check them out: www.tubaskinny.tk where you can listen to some music and see where else they are playing before they head overseas on tour. We will keep the cafe open to the public, and there will be a cover charge of $5 so tht they can get paid. CDs will also be for sale, and we will be serving a limited menu, also, so come hungry. If you have any questions, or just want to voice your general excitement, call or email me at amy@wildhivefarm.com or 845-266-5863
Remember, we would like to see you out here before then, too. Our coolers are stocked with greens, berries, cheeses, and overall good things to eat.

We are swimming in your future dinner!

2010-06-03T19:16:00.000-07:00

Well, well. We want to thank you all for coming out to our Memorial Day bash, where we served a ton of free food, lots of Ronnybrook ice cream, and had live music. Days like that remind us all of why we are here. With a community like ours, we are constantly reminded of what it means to support and be supported.

But, lets get down to business. For those of you who are not aware, Thompson Finch opened to the public for the first day of pick your own strawberries this past Wednesday, and Kevin and I were there! Thompson Finch is our local, organic pick your own place of choice for strawberries, and we have them, both on the menu, and for sale, and they are DELICIOUS!!!!! Ethel came by today and dropped off quite the bounty of kale, both curly and lacinato, and don't tell me that buying local is always more expensive, because we have some deals on greens that would make you blush. She also dropped off a little basil, that you will find on the menu, and so many other things. Today we got in a couple of new cheeses, and Tom stopped in from Poole Hill Farm and delivered the end of the spring spinach, and we got our last case of asparagus for the year. We also have rhubarb from yours truly, spring onions, choy sum (which I have not seen around here in years, and please ask me what to do with it, and rush here to get yours!!) , head lettuce and loose lettuce, dill, sage, cilantro, mizuna, radishes, garlic scapes, Fox Hill's hot dogs, and so much more. I will be making breakfast in bed packages for you to take home and cook up for your family or lover, so don't miss those, with Thunderhill pullet eggs and bacon.

Tonight I stopped by Taliaferro farm, an organic family run farm in New Paltz, which if you are not aquainted with, let me know, and I will connect you, and Pete gave me some beets and napa cabbage, which will be featured on the menu with snap peas, basil, radishes and grass fed steak. I can almost taste it now. Don headed to the city tonight for the Union Square greenmarket, which we will be attending for three more weeks until fall, so go say hello if you happen to be in the city.

If you happen to have a second, please enjoy this video of my pet chickens. I tried to post video of my chicken riding my 100lb pitbull, and love of my life, Willow, but the file was too big, and I will try to film a smaller one. More chicken action to follow. We hope to see you out at the bakery this weekend, and start looking at kale recipes!

Amy

George, are you out there?

2010-05-12T19:33:00.000-07:00

Oh, no!!! Wild Hive has to postpone our spring dinner. Unfortunately, it is because we no longer believe that spring exists. We are sorry to say, but as the result of much extensive research, it turns out that there are no seasons, just sunny summer days. Everywhere. Where will the water come from to drink, and help our crops grow, you ask. Well, it turns out that both we, and our food no longer need water, thanks to new genetic modifications, where from now on, everything only needs sunny summer days to grow, and, now that we are no longer drowning ourselves with pesky H2O, we will finally all grow to our full size, of heights up to 17 feet.

Just kidding!!!

We had some wacky weather, and a couple of cancellations, and Don has to be out of town, and an educator that was coming had an emergency, and another farmer was so busy that he and I could not be near the phone at the same time.......With all of these things compounded, we chose to throw in the towel and focus on our upcoming schedule changes, when we will be open for dinner a few nights a week, every week, and there is a theme of family style, family friendly dining in mind. Our apologies to everyone who was excited about the menu. Come whine to me, and perhaps, I will make the menu as our lunch menu this weekend...Nettles are a coming, so that is covered. All of this aside, there was one reservation, whose number I don't have access to. That is George. George, if you are out there, call us at the bakery at 845-266-5863. More event updates soon, as we have been brainstorming on an exciting new idea..................

Eating in the near future

2010-05-07T12:30:00.000-07:00

Here is our mothers day menu. Don't forget, moms like dessert, too, and we will be making ice cream sandwiches, with Ronnybrook coffee or vanilla ice cream and our chocolate walnut meringue cookies. There will be other exciting desserts, also, but that is my pick of the week. Also, in the store right now, we have rhubarb, asparagus, herbs, salad, watercress, lots of meats, prepared foods to go, beans, honey, maple syrup, milk, eggs, yogurt, radishes, grains, breads, oh, and a new cheese by Amazing Real Live Food Co. called Chaource. Let me tell you...a loaf of italian wheat, a hunk of Chaource, and maybe a lemon square. That is a hot date! I am including our menu for our spring dinner, next Friday. Please call 845-266-5863 or email for reservations! See you this weekend!

Mother Day!!! is coming...

2010-05-02T17:31:00.000-07:00

Hello there you hungry foodies, good eaters, and members of our supporting community. We at the Hive thank you all for coming out to an awesome day today and eating todays specials, with the first spinach of the year, so many bright yellow eggs, and rocking out with my special spring pesto, with ramps, chives, and shiitakes. We just want to make you aware of our special mothers day menu, which you will see posted in the next couple of days, and also of our special foraged foods dinner, in which we will be highlighting local, foraged and spring veggies along with an education about how the season begins, and how some of the best spring foods come straight out of the woods. We also have been attending some local events that have strengthened our conviction that small farms are the focus of our business, and we wish you would come in during the week and share our thoughts. Our freezer is full, and our fridges, also, and we are always looking to share our thoughts on recipes and food security. So, keep an eye out in the next 48 hours for an exciting bunch of menus, and in the meantime, join a CSA, or look into our CDA. Please email me if you have any questions about csa's or if you need help with the right one for you. Pickles.

Oh, polenta.

2010-04-21T07:39:00.000-07:00

This is a photo taken by Lars Klove for the NY Times. It is in the food section of the times dated April 20, 2010. We love that in this photo, we were able to identify the polenta as our own. Perhaps that it is different is what makes it special. Like us.

2010-03-22T17:18:00.000-07:00

Well, here it is, spring. Here I am, hoping for a few more cold nights just to keep the sap a-flowin. This has officially been the worst year ever for maple here at the homestead, although I am really happy to have taught the trade to a few new beginners. I am going to keep the taps in for just a week more, just to be hopeful. Last Friday was our maple dinner at the bakery and we featured both my maple and that of the Lyonsville sugarbush. I had to reluctantlly cancel the field day at my crazy homestead I had planned that was designed to educate folks about the basics of sugaring, and to also introduce interested people to the grassroots setup that still exists.

We at the hive have been thinking a little bit of restructuring our hours to include a little more of you after Memorial Day, as we feel the need to introduce more of the people who are growing these amazing foods to those of you enjoying them. Speaking of which...two things. One:I am cooking my last bag of broccoli tonight. This makes me have all sorts of emotions. I am happy to have it. I will miss it. I look forward to it again. It smells delicious. I will be there for people looking for appropiate ways to store it for next year. My freezer has a tiny little empty space in it. I need people to come over for dinner so that I can cook all of the other foods that I still have stored. I love broccoli. Two:I am looking for people with skills and motivation to be involved in a series of skillshares. One we will host this summer at the new Wild Hive Grain Project Community Center, and the other will be hosted at my home. Please email me with ideas for how to turn sustainable skills into skillsharing. Well, we hope to see anyone out there, either at the Hive, or just in passing, and we hope that you enjoy your spring! I am ready for the ramps, morels, arugula, radishes, fiddleheads, and spring onions of the future. Oh boy, I had better use up the last 100lbs of onions I have in storage!

Gold Ball!!!!

2010-03-13T17:38:00.000-08:00

Did I mention that I love my rooster? Here is a lovely picture of him....More to follow. Especially photos of us cuddling.

The Sap is Trickling...

2010-03-12T08:20:00.000-08:00

Well well, the much anticipated maple season is upon us and it is not all encompassing! I am pretty sure that north of here, it has been a good year, as the nights are just a few degrees cooler. I had mentally prepared myself for the seasons of the past and it has just not come to fruition. The nights have been too warm and the sap is merely trickling into the buckets. With all that said...on my wood stove at home right now there is some maple cooking down and when I get home I will finish and bottle it. The forecast for the near future does not look good for another maple run but it does look good for the start of a fresh new spring and the upcoming mushroom season that I am so looking forward to! These next 6 weeks or so are often the bleakest of the year for local foods in the northeast, as seeds are getting started in greenhouses, the ground thaws and prepares itself for the growing season, and the root vegetables that have been stored for the winter are dwindling, and the onions that have stored will begin to sprout, and the squashes start to lose a little moisture to the air and must be roasted and turned into the last soups of the season, and you have used up your preserves, and the list goes on and on. So, perhaps the seasons were designed to make the simplest and most delicious treats early in spring. Ramps, morels, milk (especially goat!), fiddleheads, dandelion greens, nettles, asparagus, and that leads to. . . . . . . . . PEAS!!! and before we know it, we will be back to squash again. Peas are definitely my favorite food of all time. Bring me some if you happen to come across some particularly good ones. I will never forget it if you do! Here at the Hive we are having some real creative juices flowing. With the foods that we have stored, we are getting a little silly. Deliciously silly. Example?...Warm salad of sauteed cabbage and onion, mashed root veggies, celeriac puree, and sour cream, with a polenta patty and a pinch of mixed greens. This is a layered salad of distinguished flavors. I would have taken a picture, but I was having a photo shoot with my close friend, Gold Ball the rooster, at home, and I forgot it. Next blog, if I don't get to photograph the salad, at least you can see pictures of my rooster. And me. Cuddling.

New Winter Radishes!!!

2010-02-19T08:25:00.000-08:00

Stop everything! Get down here! We have some new winter radishes, red german and luobo...firm bodied and spicy, like me. Take my word for it, you will enjoy these roots, grown by Hector at Conuco farm in New Paltz. On this weekends menu we are serving them, mixed with other roots like turnips, carrots and rutabagas over a bed of mixed greens, dressed with roasted garlic probiotic dressing and honey. Or just ask me for a sample. These are amazing raw or cooked, roasted, mashed, pureed into soup, and gosh darn the possibilities are endless. And around for a limited time.

As you may or may not already know...maple season is upon us. I will be tapping my trees this coming Monday, a little late, I know, and this will lead us into a changed date for our maple dinner, which I am posting a menu for here. Read it, tell your friends and make a reservation. I will be presenting on the process of maple sugaring, along with a couple of other maplers.

Love is in the Air...

2010-02-05T14:03:00.000-08:00

Maybe, maybe not. Really I am just leading up to our lovers menu for next Sunday, as we will be offering an exclusive Valentines Day menu on Sunday for all! I will attach it so that you can all plan to be here, or see what you are missing. Also, in food news, have you all checked out the Wild Hive Community Grain Project, designed to create a home for local food education based along the idea of a CSA, although with an extraordinarily diverse product line. This could be the opportunity to really help this community grow in the direction of local, sustainable agriculture. We welcome your thoughts and input of how you would like to become a part of this organic life called learning. We also welcome your skills, assistance, and especially your motivation. And don't be shy with your money, either.
All of this education shenanigans aside, I have just made the ALL MAPLE menu for our next dinner, which will be held here at Wild Hive this maple season, which is fast approaching. I welcome anyone and everyone to sign up here for volunteering to help out at my house for maple sugaring this year. There will be a sign-up, help-out sheet at the bakery, but you can also just speak to me, Amy. Back to the maple dinner. Five courses, all maple based. The menu will be up for print this week coming. Keep an eye out for it. Come and see us.

Gearing up for some soups!

2010-01-26T10:03:00.000-08:00

Here we go again, gearing up for another educational and delicious dinner here at the hive. Our sold out soup social is this Friday night and we have chosen nine exciting soups to prepare for our guests.
*Roasted Garlic and Potato
*Borscht with a Lemon Sour Cream (from our one and only lemon that is from the cafe)
*Chili with beef and beans
*Smoky Cream of Corn Chowder with Bacon and Chicken
*Puree of Rutabaga
*Apple and Kohlrabi
*Rich Broth of Fall Mushrooms with Julienne Winter Vegetables
*Cream of Winter Squash
*Spicy Pork and Tomatillo Stew with Heirloom Christmas Limas
These soups are all made with our own homemade stocks, with all local meats, raised at farms that have been researched and we know that they are responsibly raising their animals while caring for the land they are farming, many stored foods, such as the tomatillos that we froze, the beets from my root cellar, the beans that we dried, herbs that we dried, brassicas that we left in the field and harvested this week, mushrooms that we foraged and dried, grains that we mill and for goodness sake, we grew our own lemon. We will be serving up salad that is grown in Highland in the greenhouses of Sorbello Farms, with our own apple cider vinaigrette, and bread, bread and more bread. Many of the folks attending will be taking a few minutes to speak about their food storage practices, including drying, freezing, fermenting, root cellaring, and many more tricks of the trade in food storage. If anyone is interested in having other food preservation education, I would love for you to let me know, as demand creates supply, and we could find exciting new storage options together. As you can now see, I am a giant food preservation dork.

Soup Social

2010-01-17T13:07:00.000-08:00

Tell your friends, tell your neighbors...make your reservations...Wild Hive is having a soup social. Check out the flier. Look forward to things. January 29th. 6-9. By reservation only. Bottomless bowl of soups, and many soup options, salad, bread, and if you are good, maybe even some cookies. Call or email for more info.

Christmas in December?!

2009-12-23T13:06:00.000-08:00

Oh boy. Here we are, wrapping presents for the kiddies and drinking beer. Again. It seemed like just last year that these moments were upon us. I have decided to bring headcheese that is cooking on the woodstove at home to my grandma's for Christmas dinner. Ummm. Maybe I can shape it into the shape of a spiral ham. Or not. So, it seems like it is time to start "christmas" shopping, and I appear to be able to do most of it right in my own home. Garlic for dad, beets for sister, do you think that the children will appreciate the rutabagas? We at Wild Hive wish you all a safe and happy holidays. Thank you for a wonderful year.

Dinner at the Hive

2009-12-12T07:44:00.000-08:00

Well, well, well. Here some of you are. Eating. Meeting. Teaching. Learning. We had a dinner at the Hive last night, the first in our new series of events in which we hope to see many of you at. Next Friday we will be showing a movie and serving desserts and beverages. Contact us at the bakery if you are looking for details. Then, in January, we will be having a soup social, which is in essence a bottomless bowl of soup, shared by as many people as we can squeeze in. There will be many different soups, of varying creativity. I will post more details as the evening evolves, but I just find so much romance and depth in the idea of sharing in the same pot of soup with strangers, friends, neighbors, farmers, fermenters, teachers, writers, bakers, servers, thinkers, moms, dads, kids, uncles, goodness, I just want to share in some damn soup, with my extended community. Thank you to all who came last night, and thank you to all who would have if they could have. There will be more tables shared in the future.

Events at Wild Hive

2009-12-09T06:08:00.000-08:00

So, we at Wild Hive are finally back in the saddle, and ready to bring educational events to you, the public, our community, our family and our friends. Really, those things tend to meld together. This Friday night we will be hosting a dinner in conjunction with Slow Foods Hudson Valley, and in honor of Terra Madre day. It is also a platform for us to present some new projects by members of the growing sustainable agriculture community of the Hudson Valley. Over a delicious local foods dinner, meeting new people and learning about foods, and the future of food security...what better way to spend a chilly December night? If you are looking for more info about the dinner, please email Amy at the bakery. wildhivefarmbakery@gmail.com The following Friday we will be screening a food based movie, Fresh, and having dessert and a roundtable discussion. I am including a picture here of some broccoli that I harvested yesterday, as I spent my day harvesting snow touched vegetables to serve you all this week. I might add, that there are some spicy braising greens in the store that you should all rush down here for. Well, maybe you should not rush, since there is sleet and snow between here and there, but you should carefully make your way here...Maybe on skis?

Thank You Thanksgiving

2009-11-28T13:06:00.000-08:00

Oh Boy! The feast was almost unreasonable. We had all the standards, and all the non-standards. From the turkey from Mike, at Thunderhill farm, who we got to dine with to the venison roast with wild mushrooms and red wine that I cooked in the woodstove, to the tempeh that Nick and I made with soybeans and sunflower seeds and then he cooked up with some ginger and garlic and spice. Tonight we are going to try our hand at making black bean tempeh. I'll let you know how it comes out. So I am including some photos of thanksgiving, which was celebrated at the Germantown Community Farm and CSA. There were many folks there, from many places, all convening together to eat, drink, sing, share, and did I mention eat? Everywhere I turned there was another happy, well fed face. Send me an email and let me know what was special about your Thanksgiving.

A day of projects

2009-11-18T06:31:00.001-08:00

Well, well...Give a girl a day, and production occurs! I am sorry to have not seen you all at the cafe yesterday, but action had to be taken. It was a day filled with planning for the upcoming maple season, pressing apples, racking and making wines, lilac, apricot, gooseberry, and dandelion all needed attention. Then on to sauerkraut. This was my day, intermittently filled with cauliflower tacos, and poached eggs, sweet grits, and sauteed greens. I am both enthused and exhausted just thinking about it! An event worth sharing is coming up tomorrow night...It is a seed saving event, sponsored by the Poughkeepsie Farm Project, and it is Thursday evening from 7-9pm at the Unitarian Fellowship of Poughkeepsie at 67 S. Randolph rd. Come and bring seeds to share and make friends. The menu is looking pretty good for the weekend so far. I'll keep you posted about the cheesy yellow grits of my mind...

Back at Union Square!

2009-11-12T11:38:00.000-08:00

So, I know you have all been waiting...since I speak with many of you on the phone each week about it, and we are coming back to Union Square this coming Saturday. We hope to continue there right on until Christmas. Tomorrow, Amanda and Matt will be there together, selling the cinnamon biscuits and raisin walnut multigrain you all know and love. Tonight here on the homestead, we at Wild Hive Cafe are open late for the first time. Until 7. We want to continue to do this, but we need you to come in and let us know that this is what you are looking for. And that we have saved you, because you have unexpected guests coming that you haven't seen in a long time, and you don't have any Sprout Creek cheeses to serve them, or heavy cream for the pie's whipped cream, or salad...or so many other things that we are stocking fresh here. The vegetable of the month here is now PARSNIPS. You want them, we have them, come and get them. They are fresh, sweet, organic, local, and lets not forget...CUTE! Parsnip pie, parsnip soup, parsnips sauteed in butter and garlic, maple roasted parsnips, mashed parsnips, a parsnip smoothie, or send me your very own parsnip recipe for me to try at the bakery. So check out our weekend's menu, and come by and eat, or say hi. To view the menu in a reasonable size, right click on it, and hit open link in new tab.

Posting todays specials, hot off the press

2009-11-11T05:44:00.000-08:00

So I am posting up today's specials menu, as I am working on this weekends menu. A life of menus, I'll tell you. Sprout Creek cheese is back in the fridge for you to share with friends this holiday season, we have an order form ready for thanksgiving meals, and Gray Horse Farm still has plenty of turkeys for sale to complete the table. Stop in. I'll be here.

Biscuits and Gravy this weekend at the Hive

2009-11-05T09:36:00.000-08:00

Well, I have made the menu for this weekend. I need feedback about if this is helpful. Just right click on the menu, and hit open link in new tab. You will see, that back by popular demand for the weekend is biscuits and sausage gravy. Come one, come all. So, right now at the store we have beautiful rutabegas, for you to stock up on and pack away for the winter. I am reconstructing my "root cellar" tonight. I have enough food to feed a lot of people this winter. I hope that we can have some events this winter in which I can show off my makeshift root cellar and then cook beets, turnips, carrots...
Today was the day for our Thanksgiving order list to come out. It is hot. Come down and get one or send me an email and I'll send you a copy. We will have soup, salad, stuffing, roasted veggies, mashed potatoes, gravy, pumpkin and apple pies. Everything you will need to impress the 'rents or the in-laws. Get your orders in. Let us make things for you. Gobble, gobble.

Halloween from the hive

2009-11-03T13:30:00.000-08:00

So, we went out for Halloween. Myself, the black trumpet, Sam, the blighted tomato, and the kids, Lydia the piggie, Levi the skeleton, and Iris, as Laura Ingalls Wilder. We stopped by Tom and Ethels to show off our costumes, and then we were off to Tivoli, for some down home trick or treating. We had fun!.. and then I dropped the kids off at their new home in Germantown, at the Germantown farm and CSA. There we looked over all of the candy, and promptly stashed it away and broke into our Wild Hive goodies. Oh lemon squares. Oh black trumpets. Oh little piggies. Oh November!

You turkey!

2009-10-30T18:25:00.000-07:00

Today, everyone at the bakery seemed to think that I was nuts. After a no sleep night, helping my sister move, and then picking up a friend at the train station, you would think that I would have been spent, but there I was, bright and early, designing a menu for today, and a new one for tommorow. Guess what I made...Okay, I'll tell you. Lasagna. This lasagna was not typical, as it has polenta instead of noodles, the house made fresh cheese is spiked with cinnamon and sage, the fillings are rutebega greens with onions, and winter squash, and the darned thing weighed at least sixty pounds. It looks great, smells great, and I would be willing to bet that when I finalize tomorrows menu, in the morning, I can make it sound great. Come by, and eat it. I'll try it in the morning, as I bet it tastes grrreat! I got news today that Uphill farm, one of our local vendors, will be selling goat, which I am excited about. Look forward to goat pot pies. As Thanksgiving is coming upon us, let me put this out there...Not all of us are great and strange chefs, so let us cook something traditional and something strange for your thanksgiving table. Maybe not as strange as the cream of breakfast radish soup that I made the other day, (also on the menu this weekend). But nonetheless, exciting. By the end of next week we will be taking orders for holiday dishes, and we will also have a couple of extra thanksgiving turkeys. Come ask for an order form, or something similar. Also, a decision has been made. We will be open on Thanksgiving day, until noon. That is to enable you all to pick up whatever you may have ordered or forgot to order, but on the following day, marking the one year anniversary of Wild Hive Cafe being open, we will be closed. Closed. Can you believe it? If you know that you will be needing cream puffs, or challah, or our company, come ahead of time, because I will be at home, stoking the woodstove, and petting my lovely dogs, and plotting the next menu. See you at the bakery.

Friends in the hudson valley!

2009-10-27T19:12:00.000-07:00

This is my friend Ethel. She has provided us with a number of the ingredients for your meals, along with her partner, Tom. They are both incredibly talented. They have harvested things for us and maintained their quality of being silly. Very silly. You could only hope to run into them in the cafe, and learn from them. I must admit to being very lucky, to even know these people, these friends, who will grow for me the hottest of peppers, the purplest of cauliflower, the most beautiful of garlic, and harvest the freshest of kale. Lucky, and excited!

Cold? Strike a match to that woodstove!

2009-10-27T18:18:00.000-07:00

So, I am moving...It may not sound drastic, as it is only a quarter of a mile away from the cabin that I have maintained for years, but it is for me. I will now have electricity. Granted, only a little, but a little electricity is a lot compared with none. Plumbing...well, I will have a sink. A sink! Of my very own. Who would like a glass of water? Well, let me get that for you, from my SINK. I have firewood. Maintaining the hours I do, I am not sure that the house will be very warm, although I won't tell my dogs that, but I am prepared, in case someone tells me that I need not come to work for a couple of days, and I can stay home and enjoy the extreme amounts of food that I have preserved for...myself? for the winter. I have a terrible habit of maintaining enough food for a family of 15, and forgetting that I live alone, and really, no one is coming for dinner. My chickens have slowed down laying, and the veggies have all but stopped producing, so I can try to catch up with the recent abundance. Carrots and radishes, here i come! And the rutebegas, I dream only of you.

Craziness

2009-10-25T17:44:00.001-07:00

Well, well, well, today. I must say, everyone was patient and lovely while we were grossly understaffed to have 100% full house for over eight hours. We were running minus 33 percent, but we ran strong, and truly had a good time, like we ALWAYS do. It seems that everything was delicious, which makes me proud as your waitress, and also as the chef. I am sure that that seems unconventional, but the small business that is Wild Hive requires some multi-tasking. I feel very lucky to have such awesome farmers that bring us their freshest foods, and such awesome line cooks to make evreything hot and beautiful for your order, and such an awesome Don who lets me create whatever strange thing that pops into my mind. So, the sunchoke salad turned out to be a real hit! We will make more, and run it all this week, using sunchokes from Ethel and Tom, who brought us a new sign this week, depicting a very "hot" lady loaf of bread. You must come se, or this week I will post a picture for those of you who are far away. Now I must rest, as tomorrow is the ideal day to hunt my glorious mushrooms. With the intense Saturday rains, and the reasonable temperatures, I feel as though the Hudson Valley surely is going to offer us some fungi for the menu this week...Even though I am exhausted, the excitement keeps me up, as I am reading my mushroom fiels guides, and dreaming up the strange things that you will all eat this coming week. Sunchoke...?...

Got some other local to spare?

2009-10-21T19:00:00.001-07:00

Again, I think of food. Now, I am going to visit my father in the down time that we at Wild Hive are planning this January...to make you all want us even more, and I am also going to eat my way through New Orleans on my way there. I am currently planning a trip to go and try to learn some other traditional dishes of Puerto Rico, and of course, eat a couple of mangoes. Come by the bakery and talk mofungo or pastellone with me anytime! Viva la plaintain...

The amazing paw paw

2009-10-21T16:49:00.001-07:00

So, has anyone out there ever had a paw paw? My friends Tom and Ethel introduced me to them last year, and I must say, well, I didn't really know what to say. This is a picture of a paw paw fruit, which grows on trees, and yes, it does grow quite well here in the Hudson Valley. I would go as far as to say that you should all rush out and get your paw paw trees in the ground. The fruit is similar to a strange combination of a papaya, a banana, and an avocado. It tastes quite tropical, and besides the obvious paw paw creme brulee, the only other thing I have used it for is to wow people. (Creme brulee is my long time specialty, although I try to save it for only very special occasions now.) This was not the best year for the fruit, with the bees struggling to pollinate anything with the strange weather...Go bees! I will try to have some paw paws in the store, if only for sampling, and also, will be transplanting some babies for the future, so that I can share this custardy fruit with all. That all aside, I came up with some great menu ideas today, like chicken and star shaped polenta with creamy sauteed poblano pepper strips and blue potatoes, and a fresh ham is marinating in garlic, apple cider and roasted tomatillo salsa as we "speak". As the season dwindles down with the abundance of veggies that we just started to get used to, I urge you all to embrace the upcoming foods. Fall is exciting, as we start to get creative with radishes, turnips, beets, rutebegas, beans, carrots, grains, potatoes, greenhouse greens, and many little surprises that we have managed to find time to store away. It will be a very pesto winter! See you at the store soon, and keep on mushroom hunting...it is near the end!

Oh, and for Lisa, let me know if I have figured out the title thing. Thanks!

2009-10-20T12:55:00.001-07:00

Kale and eggs, and I thanked the chicken that laid them, Ashley and Ben who grew the kale, Ethel and Tom who grew the garlic, Chris who prepared the meal, Don who provided the cozy space, and if I have forgotten you here, I have not really forgotten you at all. I spend much of my time thankful for all who have dedicated their time to providing clean, fair food. Come by the bakery and I'll serve some up.

2009-10-13T13:31:00.000-07:00

Now we are transitioning from watermelons to watermelon radishes, from summer salads to roasting squashes. The ovens are coming on and I am going to post a recipe tomorrow for a simple roasted dish with...mushrooms. Stay tuned.

2009-10-08T13:36:00.000-07:00

Well, there she is, one of those maitakes that we will be cooking up. I am working on the menu for the weekend now, and I will try to post it to the website, although I have not figured out that skill yet...We will be at the Union Square market tomorrow, and for a limited time, so if you can't make it up to the store, go see Erika!

Another day, another maitake

2009-10-07T18:35:00.000-07:00

So, that was eventful. All I was doing was making deliveries of flour, and picking up some veggies and cheese, or so it would seem. Any good mushroom hunter or wild forager knows that multitasking is key...especially in certain seasons, for instance, in February, my eyes would have been on the road. But, for goodness sakes, mushrooms rarely grow in the road. I was fortunate enough today to have spotted several pounds of maitake, my third such score in a week. As I drove on my deliveries, I dreamt about how to best prepare them for you, the hungry public. It seems that I have settled on a lunch special, of our fresh spelt fettuccine, tossed with creme fraiche, and topped with sauteed maitakes. This simple dish will showcase the earthy flavor that only mushrooms contain. As I mentioned to a lovely gentleman earlier tonight at Local 111, mushrooms taste like earth, and if it was any good sauteing dirt up in butter, we would, but I don't reccomend it, so we settle for mushrooms. Let me remind everyone about the Fall Festival happening at Hawthorne Valley Farm, where they make that damn good beet kvass. We will be there at the farmers market in some capacity or other, but I will be at the bakery, cooking up those maitake mushrooms...see you there!

A Monday of mushroom hunting

2009-10-06T07:43:00.000-07:00

Can you believe that this beautiful specimen is poisonous? I came across it while foraging for mushrooms this Monday. (And I also came across some awesome mushrooms.) It turns out that the most delicious foods that can appear on your plate are found in the wild. I am on my way out right now to hopefully discover some delicious foods. I will write later to let you know what I find, and what you will find on our menu this week. Work up your appetite.