From Brooklyn to the Catskills, the latest and greatest to inspire your week.
(Ya Basic) Blueberry Muffins
The arrival of a new edition of Cook’s Illustrated Magazine always makes for a highlight in my day. The second I step through the front door and find a new issue waiting for me everything else fades into the background as I sit down and flip through the pages to find what new culinary delights are waiting to be made.
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Ice Box Peanut Butter Pie: A Heatwave-Breaking Delight
In New York State, the month of August is typically the hottest month of the year. As we finally reach the tail end of the second heatwave of the summer our mind wanders to frozen treats that refresh, don’t come on a stick, and that you’d be proud to serve to guests. Which brings me to a much-requested favorite, the Ice Box Peanut Butter Pie.
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Shrewd Fox Brewery, from Barrel to Table (Now in Two Locations!)
Some people dream of throwing it all in, moving to the Catskills and opening up a brewery. They dream of turning their hobby into a business, of tapping into the famous Catskill water to create a superior craft ale, of creating a sustainable operation that gives back to the environment rather than pollute it. Some people dream it, and some people do it. Bill Lenczuk is one of the rare few who is doing it. In 2015 Bill and his wife Cindy opened Shrewd Fox Brewery in Eldred, NY and this weekend their second location is opening a few miles away, a tap room serving pub food in Glen Spey, NY.
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Garden Fresh Tomato Salad
Nothing says summer like red, ripe, juicy tomatoes (except maybe Creamsicle Ice Cream, a Stained Glass Cake, or a Blueberry Crumble)! With an endless number of tomato varieties approaching peak season, now is the time to hit the farmers market and grab whatever catches your eye.
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Creamsicle Ice Cream, a New Take on a Childhood Favorite
Chasing fireflies at dusk. The smell of chlorine, sunshine and sunblock. Rushing to finish your popsicle before it melts. Your childhood’s perfect summer day has been captured in this from-scratch, no churn required, Creamsicle Ice Cream.
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Austrian Plum Cake: Not Your Grandmother’s Fruitcake
Summertime means different things to different people. To our kids it means 12 weeks free of school and homework, replaced by time with friends and lots play. To farmers it is a time to showcase the produce they have been working so hard to cultivate all year long, and to see a return on their investment. To me summer means pies, lots and lots of pies. That’s because summertime is peak season for all of my favorite fruits. And what better to do with a bushel full of fresh fruit then to bake a pie?
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Catskills Farmers’ Market Guide – Summer 2018
Growing up in the suburbs of Pennsylvania we didn’t have a farmers’ market. Everything we bought came from George’s, the grocery store at the local strip mall in the center of town. Next to the lobster tank at George’s was a koi pool with a giant water wheel – I believe what the kids today call experiential marketing. We did get our milk from an actual dairy farm and that was always a fun trip because my dad would buy us kids ice cream cone when we went with him.
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Need a Lift? Catskill Carriage Gets You There in Style
One cold Wednesday afternoon in late February Gabriel Brodbar sat in his car at the Monticello bus station waiting for his wife to arrive. They had purchased a home in Downsville and would often travel there from the city separately, with Gabe arriving by car and his wife following later by bus. As he waited he passed the time by watching cars pull in to pick up their passengers and noticed among the vehicles a couple of Land Rovers and a Maserati. On that fateful day in February the idea for Catskill Carriage was born.
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For the Love of Honey, a Catskills Success Story
How Claire Marin Turned a Part Time Hobby into a Full Time Business
Do you ever dream about starting a business in the Catskills? Maybe you are visiting one weekend and notice how so many of the businesses are run by the owners, sometimes even entire families. It plants a seed in your brain that you can’t get rid of. The idea of being your own boss, doing something you live, producing something tangible, and creating jobs. 8 years ago Claire Marin had that seed planted in her brain, it grew into an idea and now she is living the dream.
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A Looky Loo’s Peak Inside the Catskills Real Estate Market
This Looky Loo’s Peak inside the Catskills real estate market is just a small glimpse of what is available in a very active market, and represents what I think are the most important categories of real estate. So check out our picks and perhaps plan your visit to check the listings out in person.
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