Whole hive mead

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

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!

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