Eat. Drink. Live.
When we booked a hotel in the Berkshires, we had a dream. We would put Sam to bed, then take a bottle of wine (and the monitor) across the parking lot to the little cluster of Adirondack chairs in the […]
We found a winner of a restaurant for our only dinner in the Berkshires: Hops and Vines in Williamstown. A talented chef in the kitchen turns out impressive food — plenty sophisticated enough for a fine dinner out. But there’s also a […]
The Clark Art Institute is one of those world-class museums set far away from big-city life. Along with Tanglewood, the Williamstown Theatre Festival and Jacob’s Pillow, it brings art and culture to this corner of Massachusetts, and what makes “summering […]
Time to pile in the family truckster and head on up north. We’re going to the Berkshires for the night. Heading up the Thruway and the Mass Pike, and then on the blue roads over to Williamstown. The view was […]
Enjoying a cone on a late-summer evening. Related posts: Gin and Tonic on the Patio Ice Cream at Hoyer’s Sunday Night on the Patio Sunday Evening Supper at Oratamin
Day 2 for Chris. More scraping. Lots of hard work. By the end of the day, he got it down to the last layer, which was stain. We’ll move on to sanding next. Related posts: Porch Project: Black Tar and […]
We hadn’t visited o lar in way, way too long. So after Kris’s opening at Piermont Strauss, we heade over to share some pizza and pasta with Irene. No photos of the folks, today, folks, but we do have the […]
Kris had opened her latest exhibition at Piermont Strauss gallery in Piermont: Festoonology. It is a collection of her nature-inspired ideas, shaped into objects to explore. Holding the magnifying glass up to the flowers opened our eyes to see something […]
An update. Chris spent most of the day scraping with Back To Nature Multi-Strip Paint Remover. He started with Goof Off, but it didn’t do much. (Don’t you love his don’t-mess-with-me radio!) Sticky, nasty, hard work. The longer it sits, […]
An evening out with friends! We tried the new Communal Kitchen in Nyack. Everything we tasted was delicious, and we had a great time catching up. Charlotte Haze, with Barr Hill gin, Damson Plum Liqueur and apricot eau de vie: […]
This Labor Day week off, I am working on (and supervising work on) getting the porch floor in shape. It’s going to be a long haul. If you recall, we had an unfortunate accident in June: the hose sprung a […]
I had a week off of work and rode the bike every morning! (Except Thursday, when it rained.) Check out my Map My Ride routes! Here are a couple photos. And on Sept. 11, I took some quiet, reflective time […]
Says it all. Related posts: French Yogurt Cake Recipe: Granola with Yogurt, Honey and Fruit Roasted Beets with Walnuts and Yogurt Dressing Chappaqua Farmers Market: Duck, Yogurt, Greens and Sweets
The end-of-summer ritual at Oratamin: The Labor Day Games. Sam did the candy hunt, the duck relay and the walk-across-the-pool race. Sondra and Leigh joined us for a burger, pot-luck cookout. Ken did the cooking! A few pics here. Candy […]
It was a neighborly Labor Day weekend! After our cocktail party on Friday night, Faye threw Campbell a birthday party the next afternoon. A few shots: Related posts: Matt’s 40th Birthday Party at the Pearl River Hotel Carol’s Birthday Party […]
After a summer of “oh, we should have you guys over for an outdoor movie,” we finally invited the neighborhood friends over for, well, an outdoor movie — for the kids. The adults stayed busy with gin and tonics on […]
Another great summer evening at the farm. Candles lit, cocktails made, movie ready. The movie this evening, playing on the Spinal Tap theme, is Waiting for Guffman. SCF’s famous Butterflied Smoked Chicken: Good friends! (With eyes closed): Salads from Irene! […]
The Farm’s great friend Cathy stayed over this beautiful summer night. We drank lemon-gins, grilled steaks and stayed up late stargazing. It was a highlight of the season! I didn’t take too many photos after dark, but here’s what […]
SCF gets a new dining table, a new desk and a new credenza. We’re pretty excited around here. First, for old-times’ sake, here’s a last look at the table my grandmother gave us. It was given to her by […]
Fancy Mexican food is an oxymoron in Manhattan. A few new restaurants are changing that, though. Cosme, opened last year by chef Enrique Olvera —- a CIA grad who owns of Mexico City’s best restaurants — is the leader. Margarita, […]
I can’t believe the season is over. Here’s celebrating a wonderful summer of picnics and Bambi, dancing and ice cream. Related posts: Last Concert of the Season Concert in the Park The First Concert in the Park! Concert in the […]
Another fun Nyack event: summer movies in the park. Tonight, The Princess Bride. And free popcorn, too! Look at that gorgeous Tappan Zee Bridge, too. Related posts: Summer Concerts at Memorial Park The First Concert in the Park! The First […]
Our day was like vacation, but at home. We spent the afternoon with Kelli at the pool at Ardsley Country Club, then went out for pizza at The Parlor. How luxurious! Swimming in the big, heated pool: Pizza and other […]
Caprese Salad is just tomatoes, basil, mozzarella and olive oil, but it can go horribly wrong. Here are a few tricks I use to make mine beautiful and delicious. The first is never, ever do Caprese unless it’s tomato season. […]
Benton’s bacon, Brandywine tomatoes, farm-fresh iceberg and homemade mayonnaise. Hard to beat that. We gilded the lily with a Caprese salad and a showing of “This is Spinal Tap.” Wonderful summer evening. Horsing around! Cocktailing: Tomatoes from the garden: Kris […]
Outdoor movies aren’t just for Sour Cherry Farm Paradisio! This evening we head downtown for upscale bar food at 8 North Broadway and a showing of “Maciste all’Inferno,” a 1925 Italian silent film, scored live by SexMob, Steven Bernstein’s jazz […]
Our gin and tonic recipe is probably like a lot of people’s gin and tonic recipes: gin, tonic, lime. But we do prefer Tanguerey, and 2 ounces, please. And we insist on either Schweppes or, even better Q Tonic. Also, we squeeze […]
Hipster tacos have come to the ‘burbs. Still, there is more than a hint of authenticity here at the Taco Project. Radishes, chopped onions and cilantro are garnishes. Pickled onions are an option. The meat is slow cooked or fast fried. […]
Untermeyer Gardens was once one of the most famous and most visited gardens in the country. Samuel Untermyer purchased Greystone, the former estate of Samuel Tilden, and hired Beaux Arts architect Welles Bosworth to design gardens around 1915. From the […]
Our friend Kris has been working the farmers markets for Bluefield Farm, a flower farm in Blauvelt. (Here are a link to a wedding that was thrown there!) Kris puts together stunning bouquets (as she always does!). Here is one […]
My husband, Greg, and I are co-founders of SCF, which chronicles what we eat, drink and grow as we raise our daughter on a tiny plot of land in the Lower Hudson Valley.
