Foraged Shagbark Hickory Syrup

Moon over snow covered land

Once home I cleaned all the pieces of bark ; removing the dirt and lichen that settled in each cranny. After that you must toast the bark in the oven on low heat, which makes the entire house smell incredible - maybe I’ll reuse the bark for this during our holiday get together. Here is the recipe that I followed, which was found on Real Tree Though I didn’t have any corn syrup, I don’t particularly even like it so that was fine. We used sugar and the tea created when we boiled the hickory bark - reduced it to a thick syrup and then canned it. I’m so incredibly pleased with this beautiful syrup. It has a smoky sweet taste and was incredibly easy to make ( I don’t think I quite got all the sugar absorbed but it was my first try so yo u see a little crystallization starting). I’m even going to pat myself on the back since this was also the first time I ever sterilized and canned anything. Looking forward to foraging and canning more in the future. Next adventure is collecting white pine to make tea.

Last weekend, my partner and I took our Saturday date day to the woods and joined The Outside Institute on their Winter Foraging Expedition. Just a few weeks before our area got about 15” of snow so finding a safe place to forage was a bit hard but Laura managed to scout a good location at a state park. On our journey, we learned about identifying plants and ways to use them like rose hip, barberry, blackberry, birch, spruce, cedar, crab apples, and hickory. Hickory stuck in my head because Laura mentioned that besides it being great for smoking, hickory was also delicious as a syrup. Since our Christmas was going to be a savory brunch with our family, I was super interested in adding a special syrup to our day. So, we foraged some of the bark that was already pulled away from the tree.

Finished homemade Shagbark Hickory Syrup

Snow Covered

It’s quite amazing what snow can do to the world. When we were living in Brooklyn snow seemed like such a waste - beautiful for moments and then terrifying. Imagine standing on an above ground subway station being pelted by sideway snow waiting to get on a train for work… or walking across an intersection of a corner you are very used to only to find a hole that seems to never end filled with grey slush. Brooklyn snow was not grand or magical but Catskill snow, that’s another story.

We were waiting for 15” of snow and we were for sure given that snow. What seemed incredibly scary became something incredibly beautiful and show stopping. Trees were covered in soft flakes, ground topped with more, and the birds didn’t even seem to care.

Our snowblower broke as we began to dig our 50’ driveway out so we took up snow shovels. It was hard but it was also Britney Spears’ birthday and the tunes were blasting. Each foot felt like a victory as we cleared our path.

The next day we were out again but instead of grey skies we had crystal clear bright blue ones. I know that I keep saying how incredible these visuals were but that is the only word I can seem to muster about this experience. Snow blower be damned, we cleared our driveway, took our first snow photos and simply enjoyed the view.

Living deliberately - Our Studio's Future

It’s a lazy and gloomy morning here on the farm. Though, I’ve already accomplished quite a bit, I’ve decided to take an extra couple of minutes to sit back with a cup of tea and just read.

We’ve been in the Catskills for about 4 months and as the cold weather starts to descend I’m finally settling in. Our studio space has been taking shape - the heat is working, the lights are on - but there are still so many nexts to plan and figure out. Like the title suggests I am very much focused on living deliberately but what does that really mean? In the current environmental climate we have the opportunity to define how we live and for us it’s time to act on it. Our first phase was to get up and running to continue our exploration of pottery. Our second phase is to start incorporating more environmentally conscience ways of working, which means that we will be exploring solar energy and ways to recycle water. I’m putting this here as a form of accountability. It may take us sometime to figure these things out as we also grow and expand our farm but the goals are clear.

Fall Season Meals: Pears & Ricotta

Let’s face it, sometimes I get incredibly bored with breakfast and more honestly, with cleaning dishes in the morning. So, when I found this pear and ricotta toast I couldn’t help but see the potential in flavor and the possibility of returning some much needed time to my sleep schedule. Super flavorful and satisfying, check out the recipe at bonappetit

Featured in these images are our Navy splash & Speckled White Dinner Plates.

Art: Unison Arts Center

Saturday’s are our sacred days. As our weeks are filled with work, winter prep, and other important household things we leave Saturday open to adventures. On my way to purchase clay & supplies over the last few weeks I’ve noticed this red sign along the highway with the name: Unison Arts Center. It stuck in my mind and became part of our last Saturday journey.

After brunch at Hoot Owl in Pine Bush we set off to the Unison Arts Center and Sculpture Garden. Unison is described as a “5-acre park-like sculpture garden in a country setting laced with paths that weave their way through the woods, opening up to a large wildflower field sited with contemporary works.”

Their current exhibition is titled Composed to Decompose, which is their Annual Curated (Curated by members of the SUNY New Paltz sculpture program) Eco-Materialism Exhibit. As a person who really loves the Land Art movement it was quite exciting to stumble into this exhibition after several months of it being on view (opened July 2019). Some of the pieces made of wood, twine, and other natural fibers are already returning to the earth. On the Unison website, Co-curators Michael Asbill and Linda Weintraub explain “They demonstrate that it is through decomposition that fertility is replenished, ecosystems are revitalized, and life is renewed.” I’m very much looking forward to returning in a few months to see where each piece is in it’s decomposition.

Fall Season Meals: Breakfast Granola

Homemade granola has been a happy medium - you can add chocolate chips, dried fruit or mixed nuts. The best part is I can control how much sugar is being added to avoid my most hated sugar hangovers.

This recipe is so easy and requires barely ay prep so if I have convinced you into trying out your own homemade granola check out the recipe I found at cookie and kate.

Featured in these images are our small snack bowl & cereal bowl.

I’m a snacker. I love to snack and I really cannot help myself. Once I start to crave I don’t stop until I eat something. In the past I would munch on donuts and other really unhealthy items full of processed sugars (and yes, I still have some nights like this) but recently I’ve been trying very hard to cut out items that are overly processed and full of preservatives.