Select Page

From Brooklyn to the Catskills, the latest and greatest to inspire your week.

A Looky Loo’s Peak Inside the Catskills Real Estate Market

A Looky Loo’s Peak Inside the Catskills Real Estate Market

Our “best of” Catskills real state guide uses a completely subjective and shamelessly arbitrary criteria, and only features houses we could feature ourselves living in. From “You Just Won the Powerball” to “Under $100k”, there is a little something for everyone no matter what your budget or style.

read more
Stained Glass Holiday Cookies

Stained Glass Holiday Cookies

The holidays are the best.  There are presents and heart-warming movies with happy endings and lots and lots of baked goods.  This is the time of year I pull out all the stops and bake my heart out, from tried and true family favorites to the little things I love but no one else will eat (like homemade cranberry sauce).  Every year I like to try and challenge myself and bake something new and unexpected.  Since we always bake and decorate sugar cookies, I thought these Stained Glass Holiday Cookies would be a great place to start and do something that no one would expect.

read more
Sprouted Root Kitchen, Bringing Plant-Based Cooking to the Catskills

Sprouted Root Kitchen, Bringing Plant-Based Cooking to the Catskills

Sprouted Root Kitchen is the brainchild of Rose Reilly and Kevin Toledo. Inspired by the season (and their customers!), their plant-based menu is taking the Catskills by storm. Just a few months ago Rose and Kevin were elementary school teachers, splitting their time between their jobs in NYC and their weekend home in Hortonville.  They had been vegetarian / vegan for a long time, but found themselves struggling to find 100% plant-base options.  Sure they could get veggie burgers easily enough but it wasn’t the same as having a real, plant-based meal.  So they turned to their own kitchen and started to collect cookbooks, to feed their family and friends. and to experiment with their own recipes.  They quickly found their health was getting better and they were also feeling satisfied with the food they were creating.  With the encouragement of their friends and family, they decided to take their healthy kitchen out into the community and the Sprouted Root Kitchen was born.

read more
Torta Caprese: The World’s Best Chocolate Cake

Torta Caprese: The World’s Best Chocolate Cake

Fruit filled desserts are the darlings of summer baking.  It makes sense, of course. With summer fruits at peak season, what better to do with them than bake up a delicious pie, crumble or shortcake?  But fruit-based summer desserts are an obvious and, dare I say, even a bit cliche, choice so I found myself lookin for something unexpected, something different.  As I gazed into the recesses of my kitchen cabinet, waiting for inspiration to strike, I came across a half-used bag of almond flour, left over from the Spanish Almond Cake I made in the spring.

And it struck me, why not look to the Mediterranean for a summer dessert that is delightfully unexpected?  With that question my journey to find the perfect, non-fruit summer dessert, was answered with the Torta Caprese.

read more
Spanish Almond Cake: a Taste of the Mediterranean

Spanish Almond Cake: a Taste of the Mediterranean

Made with one bowl and a whisk, the Spanish Almond Cake takes less than 10 minutes to make before popping in the oven. And when you pull it out of the oven it is absolute perfection. The crisp, hearty outer layer contains a moist, delicate, crumb underneath. The almond flavor is light and warm, with a subtle sweetness that is sheer perfection. Try it with a dollop of creme fraiche and fresh berries on the side, or it as-is with a nice cup of tea or coffee.

read more
Chocolate Funny Cake-Pie

Chocolate Funny Cake-Pie

Legend has it that the Chocolate Funny Cake-Pie was invented by a pretty Pennsylvania Dutch girl trying to impress her suitor. Wanting to show off her culinary expertise, she created a special new dessert just for him. Upon seeing it, he exclaimed, “What a funny cake!” And that is how this unique baked good got it’s name (and the pretty girl her suitor, or so the legend goes).

read more