Tomatoes

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

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

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