Aftermath Irene Margaretville

I can't believe the water is all gone after only a matter of hours.  Unbelievable - the amount of damage.  Waiting to hear from friends about their house in Fleischmanns - have not been able to see any photos or videos yet of the aftermath in Fleischmanns.  HWY 28 is apparently clear but traffic in and out of the two towns is limited to Emergency Vehicles only.  They had just finished remodeling this grocery store this year.

Irene Devastation in Delaware County

Poor Margaretville, Fleischmanns and Aarkville and other surrounding towns devastated by Hurricane Irene.  Fleischmanns is probably the worst from what I can see.  One 70 year old woman killed in Fleischmanns caught in hotel that was flooded.  Really horrible. Haven't heard from friends in Fleishmanns about their home yet - really concerned about them as well as friends in Roxbury who have no idea how much damage has happened to their home.  Very sad.

Great Weekend!

Two of our friends, N and B, took friday off along with Tim and myself and we drove up from the city together.  This allowed us to have an extra long evening for cocktails under the stars and Cha Cha Hut BBQ for dinner. As we sat chatting and laughing at the dining room table - we couldn't decide what BBQ sauce was hotter  ….Thundernagi or the Facemelter?

Saturday morning, we drove over to Round Barn and shopped for goodies… sampling chocolate covered bacon - not so tasty but the Chocolate mashed potatoes were interesting.  Then, we drove to Delhi to check out a couple antique stores and had lunch at our friend Stephanie's place, Blue Bee Cafe.  Saturday afternoon, N and B were incredible help in the garden, harvesting all of our onions, potatoes, picking tomatoes, zucchini and blackberries.  Then, B spent an hour weeding - he is hired!  N and B had brought this incredible mix of cheeses and appetizers and we sat on the deck oohing and ahhing over the aps with cocktails..  For dinner, we grilled peppercorn crusted steaks with grilled red onions and Tim made a salsa verde to pour over the steak along with corn on the cob and grilled zucchini with a lemon and scallion marinade.  We sat out until it got too chilly and then came inside, watched movies and had homemade ice cream sandwiches for dessert. N was a little tasmanian devil cleaning up behind everyone.  Have to love that!  

Sunday, we had quiche and cherry scones from Amy's Bakery on 9th Ave for breakfast .  We went for a hike and then N and B drove back to the city.  Tim and I took a long walk down HWY 6 enjoying the scenery with a couple cocktails.  Our new hardy hibiscus shrubs which we just planted this year bloomed and are beautiful.  We got back just in time for the rainstorms to start.  Leftovers for dinner and old episodes of Soap from the 70's.  It was a great weekend, Thanks N and B for being such wonderful guests - you are welcome anytime!

Fleischmanns - Mi Lupita Restaurant - Things To Do

Things To Do - Fleischmanns -

Mi Lupita 

I grew up in Texas and I am particularly fond of Mexican food - however - it better be good.  Tim lived in Mexico as a kid and his entire family is crazy for anything hot and Mexican.  Whenever we need a fix upstate, we drive east on 28 to Fleischmanns and stop into a smallish Mexican grocery store with a tiny cafe in back called Mi Lupita.  Don't let the exterior fool you, the food is really good.  Authentic but on the spicier side which is the way we both like it.  Very casual and a nice mix of interesting dishes along with the typical fair you would expect but all good.  The service is a little slow and there is no alcohol but the food is worth it.  Great for a late Sunday afternoon lunch on the way back to the city.  

Mi Lupita 967 Main St. Fleischmans NY (845) 468-0150.

Weekend In The Country

Pardon the Sondheim reference. Tim had a huge project at work to finish launching this weekend...so...I invited a couple friends up for the weekend to babysit me.  D, an ex-co-worker and J, an ex-neighbor, his two dogs and myself crammed ourselves onto the Metro North train and wedged ourselves into my pickup and drove upstate for the weekend.  Weekends with friends gives me the opportunity to play tourist in this part of the world vs. the city. Saturday, we shopped for antiques at Fisk House, got ice coffee at Blue Bee Cafe, picked blueberries at Country Perennials, had delicious curried egg salad at Lucky Dog, came home and grilled London Broil and had Slab Peach Pie for dessert.  Sunday, shopping at Delaware, Kabinett and Kammer, Tay's teas and a long lunch of green chili enchiladas and tamales at Lupitas in Fleishmans.  Then, home to Tim, Sookie and Burns.  Thanks J and D for keeping me company!

No Time Like The Present

It's been a busy but productive summer. In between our gardening, cooking, entertaining friends, Smurf Village games, Plants and Zombies games, Words with Friends games - Tim and I occasionally stop to take long walks in our neighborhood. The two of us get our Monster Coffee Mugs and head out in our very granola Timberland walking sneakers and take a couple hours to just enjoy the countryside.  I take my camera because we live in a world of social media.  We spend a couple hours just walking and talking and re-connecting.  No IPads, IPods, Facebook, IPhones, email and other assorted time-zapping technology.  We live in such a beautiful place and although it was misty this morning, the walk was so peaceful…the surrounding hills and pastures so serene.  No time zap, just living in the present. 

Blackberry Season

Blackberries

We have gaggles of wild blackberry bushes all over the property and it's time to pick!  We will have a couple weekends to harvest before they go bad.  Time is of the essence.  We buy all three sizes of Ball jars in order to store and freeze.  Even if we pick a small bowl-full, we take the time to put a pot on the stove to boil and add sugar and make jam.  We will do this all summer with a host of veggies and fruit.  However, don't do what I do and go picking with just tee shirt, shorts and flip flops on.  You will come back to the house a bloody mess like me.  Make sure you wear gloves, long pants, and a long sleeve shirt.  The thorns are small but deadly.  However, we will have our own jam all winter. 

Quickie Trellis

QUICKIE TRELLIS

I had some time on my hands and we have a couple weekends with houseguests coming - so no time like the present to tackle one of the projects that I have been putting off for awhile.   In the backyard, there is a section of the house that is pretty blah and I wanted a trellis to break up the space and  add some height until we can start transferring ostrich fern and jasmine this month.  We are fortunate that our property is fairly wooded with a lot of young saplings.  We will eventually have to selectively clear a lot of the saplings in order to let the trees grow to a proper height because otherwise they would choke each other out.  So, I whipped out my trusty hacksaw, electric drill and screwdriver and within a few hours - voila - a trellis.  It measures 8' by 10' and we will start moving plants over the balance of the month.  I have to wire some small Ball jars for votive holders to hang from the trellis - it should look great at night all lit up.

Lemon Green Beans with Almonds

Martha Stewart launched a special issue of Everyday Food that was sold as a full size magazine in the grocery stores this summer.  We couldn't pass it up.  We have a couple subscriptions to Everyday Food magazine so that we have copies in both the city and upstate .  The one thing you can say about MS is that all her recipes are well tested and you get what  you see.  The  Everyday Food special issue captured the essence of summer cooking with lots of great summer recipes including lots of  side dishes for all those vegetables that you are harvesting right about now.  Perfect timing for our green beans. 

LEMON GREEN BEANS WITH ALMONDS

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook 1 pound green beans, trimmed, until crisp-tender.  3 to 5 minutes.  Drain and return to pot.  Toss with 1 tablespoon each extra-virgin olive oil and fresh lemon juice and 1/4 cup chopped toasted almonds.  Sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest and season with coarse salt and ground pepper. Serves 4

Collections #2

In addition to his Paint by Numbers, Tim has a huge collection of snowglobes.  They occupy every surface available.  We pick them up on our travels, but all our family and friends buy them for us year round.  We share this particular fetish with our friend MaryAnn in Chicago so these items have to be bought in pairs whenever we do make a purchase.  My favorites are the Vintage Mermaid from San Francisco,  the Roswell aliens and my all time fave - a movie scene from Fargo where the policewoman captures the killer who is finishing off his co-hort in the wood chipper.  Love that one.

Sunday Brunch - Zucchini, Onion and Potato Frittata

With the additional raised beds that we added this spring, we are scrambling to find a library of recipes for the abundance of zucchini, tomatoes, eggplant, potatoes, cukes, peppers, beans, collards, lettuces, etc... that we will pick.  Tim learned how to can and we have been looking for recipes for sauces, jams, stews that we can can and freeze for this fall and winter. However, it's great when you can create meals around the seasonal vegetables that are ready in the garden. Tim made a zucchini, onion and potato frittata on Sunday from a quick trip to the garden in the am.  It was delicious.

Frittata with Roasted Zucchini, Onion and Potatoes

1 teaspoon olive oil

4 cups roasted zucchini, onion and potatoes ( opposite) cooled

10 large eggs

2 ounces Parmesan, grated 1/2 cup

Coarse salt and ground pepper

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Brush a 9 1/2 inch deep dish pie plate with oil.  Drain any liquid from vegetables and place in pie plate.

2. In a large bowl, lightly beat eggs, Parmesan, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; pour over vegetables.  Bake until top of frittata is golden and center is set.  35 to 40 minutes.  Let cool slightly, then invert or slide onto a plate and cut into wedges.  

Collections #1

 Tim may laugh at my pyrex collection but he uses every last  bowl and casserole dish in the kitchen.  Tim has lots of different collections and I am trying to find use for them all - other then making me laugh. Here is just a sampling of pics of his extensive vintage Paint By Number Collection.