Recent posts

garden

Porch Project: Black Tar and Some Paint Removed

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, […]

restaurants

Communal Kitchen, Nyack

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: […]

garden

Porch Project: Removing the Carpet

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 […]

biking

A Week of Biking!

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 […]

entertaining

Campbell’s Birthday Party

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 […]

entertaining

More Outdoor Movies! SCF’s Favorite Chicken!

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! […]

entertaining

Cathy Pays a Visit to the Farm

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 […]

shopping

New Stuff: Furniture Edition

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 […]

restaurants

Dinner at Cosme in Manhattan

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, […]

outings

Movie in the Park: The Princess Bride

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 […]

restaurants

Swimming and an Early Supper

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 […]

recipes

6 Ways to Improve Your Caprese Salad

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. […]

entertaining

BLTs and ‘This is Spinal Tap’

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 […]

outings

Dinner and a Movie, Downtown-Style

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 […]

cocktails, recipes

Gin and Tonic Recipe

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 […]

restaurants

The Taco Project, Tarrytown

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. […]

shopping

Flowers from Bluefield Farm

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 […]

recipes

Alice Waters’ Ratatouille

Last year I told you that this ratatouille is so good it’s scary. This year I will tell you that it’s still that good. Not slimy. Not mushy. It tastes of summer vegetables: each individual one and all of them […]

outings

Hamilton!

So lucky to have tickets to see the best musical to come to Broadway in years. Lin-Manuel Miranda is a genius, and this show is all that it’s hyped up to be. Go! Related posts: Silence! The Musical Bloody Bloody […]

bees

Opening the Bees

Just checking on the girls. No surprise, after a swarm in May, and installing a nuc in June, that the honey stores are not full. We’ll have to keep an eye on them, and start feeding soon if we need […]

shopping

Farmers Market Loot

Today’s loot.   Tomatoes are here! Plus: coosa zucchini, cucumbers, iceberg (BLTs are coming soon, folks!), blueberries, beets, monkfish, a leg of lamb, cheese-parsley sausage and two kinds of bread. Great loot this time around. Related posts: Farmers Market Loot! […]

shopping

The Volvo is Sold!

We’ve been trying to sell Greg’s 1991 Volvo 240 for a few weeks now, and we finally found a buyer. “Just the kind of guy I was hoping for,” says Greg. Patrick, the new owner, plans to fix up the […]

outings

Food Photgraphy Workshop at Half Moon

My friend Carrie, the visuals editor at lohud and The Journal news, arranged for a fabulous event: food photography lessons by our talented journalists. We sold all 30 tickets and even had a wait-list! Here’s a recap I wrote for […]

restaurants

Lunch at Cedar Street Grill

I’d been wondering about Cedar Street Grill in Dobbs Ferry for quite a while. I’d edited pieces by Megan and Heather on it before, but I’d never gone myself to see what it was all about. It was brunch. It […]

outings

A Visit to the Hudson River Museum

We’d never been to the Hudson River Museum! And with a weather forecast of nasty, nasty, nasty and Greg needing some time to finish some work at home, it was the perfect opportunity. Sam and I sat for a show […]