Camp Food and Travel Pictures: Cape Hatteras N.C.
23 May 2012 1 Comment
in Recipes, Essay On Health Tags: avocado, bacon, beach house, Berkshires, cabbage, camp food, camping, candida, candida cookbook, candida diet, candidiasis, Cape Hatteras, cast iron skillet, eggs, fish tacos, flax bread, Frisco NC, green veggies, health coach, kale, Mahi Mahi, one dish meal, onion, protein, sausage, snack, travel food, tune sashimi
The Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel, only 4 more hours to go!
Last week Dana drove us over 600 miles from the Berkshires to Frisco, NC on Cape Hatteras and back again, whew! Our little ’84 Jetta was packed with camping equipment and of course, lots of food! The state forest camp grounds were beautiful and totally worth the long drive to get there. We camped for the first part of our trip and then moved a few miles down the road to a house on the beach that we shared with friends, what an awesome vacation!
The view of the Atlantic from our camp site in Frisco, NC
First I want to share my favorite way to enjoy avocados, with some tamari, wasabi and a spoon….
Chipolte, salt and lime on the left and my tamari and wasabi half on the right.
All you need is a spoon, and maybe someone to share the other half with : – )
Dana’s camp stove, which he took bike touring with him over a decade ago, decided it was time to retire when we tried to use it our first morning. So we had to rely on the charcoal grill at our site. Good thing we brought our cast iron pan!
Chopped cabbage, sauerkraut, bacon and eggs; everything you need for a hearty seaside breakfast.
I cooked the bacon first, then sauteed the cabbage, pushed everything to the side and fried the eggs in the rest of the bacon fat. Flax crackers and sun tea on the side. Eating directly out of the skillet means no dishes to do, we are on vacation after all!
One night for dinner we grilled asparagus and then cooked sausages and kale with mushrooms and onions in the skillet. Dinner is served.
Best beach house dinner: fresh fried mahi mahi fish tacos (‘slaw and corn tortillas not pictured) and sashimi tuna with bacon tacos. Gotta give Bill credit for the bacon and sashimi combo and the picture too! I used romaine lettuce leaves to make my tacos, wicked good guys, you gotta try it!
Fire Cider: New Site, New Store, New Events!
23 Sep 2011 Leave a Comment
in Essay On Health Tags: A Fine Example, Alchemy Initiative, Berkshire Botanical Garden Harvest Festival, Berkshires, candida, candida cookbook, candida diet, County Fair, culinary curio, dietary supplement, Fire Cider, Hancock Shaker Village, Hancock Shaker Village County Fair, Harvest Festival, health coach
Our Fire Cider all dressed up and ready for YOU!
Today is a big day for Fire Cider, we have our new website up, thanks very much to Brian Huebner of a FineExample.com. On our new site you can order Fire Cider and yes, the shipping is free to US addresses, thanks to priority mail and the USPS. We are getting ready for two festivals: this weekend we will be at the Hancock Shaker Village Country Fair in the Farmer’s Market tent. Dana and I will have plenty of Fire Cider for sale or sample along with custom tee shirts from A Fine Example, herbal tinctures and more!
Next weekend we will be at the Berkshire Botanical Garden Harvest Festival. We will have Fire Cider for sale as well as a little preview of our homemade holiday gifts that we make exclusively for Alchemy Initiative’s Handmade Holiday Festival in December!
I’ve got to go set up our tent at the Shaker Village, and drop off two kegs of home-brew for our friend’s birthday bash tomorrow. See you around the ‘shire!
Shire City Herbals loves the Berkshires!
Exciting Updates on Farming and Fire Cider
16 Jun 2011 Leave a Comment
in Essay On Health Tags: apple cider vinegar, Berkshire County, Berkshires, community, farming, Fire Cider, health tonic, www.firecider.com
Dana and I met Jen Morse at the Handmade Holiday Festival last December. She asked me about our Fire Cider and what our plans were. It wasn’t long before we were talking about our farm dream and our search for affordable land in Berkshire County. Jen immediately invited us to come out to the farm she and her husband own; a family horse farm that goes back several generations called Green Meads Farm.
The fence is finished, time to start planning the garden.
During our first visit to their farm, Jen and Jeff offered us some space in their garden, they were planning on expanding it anyway. This is what I love about native Berkshireites, their generosity and understanding of real community. We helped them put up the new fencing and as soon as that project was done we started in on the planting. Well, first there was the weeding and raking and the laying out of beds and the manure hauling, shoveling and distributing and then the planting. It was all very gratifying work that will eventually reward us with delicious healthy food.
Jen's chickens enjoying the leftover grain from Dana's last batch of homebrew.
Then there’s the old farm down the road. Jeff mentioned one day in early spring that his neighbor was looking to sell his family farm and told us to stop by on our way back to Pittsfield. We did, and now, two months later we are watching our first commercial crops coming up in one of their fields. Dana and I are also in the process of working out a rent to own deal with the current owners. We may be farm owners, with the help of our friends and family, as soon as this fall, so very exciting!
Last week Fire Cider was approved by the state health inspector and is officially a legal and safe product (but we already knew that!), ready for stores as soon as our newest batch matures. We have two 55 gallon drums of organic apple cider vinegar and a pending order for a ton of produce from Albert’s Organics. We will be making an appearance at Wilco’s Solid Sound Festival Saturday June 25th in North Adams, so come out and see us at the open air market. We’ll be handing out free samples and selling bottles of Fire Cider!
This Post Has An Attitude!
07 Feb 2011 Leave a Comment
in Essay On Health Tags: action items, Berkshires, negative thinking, positive thinking, running, thought patterns, writing
This winter is my second back in the Berkshires and this time I’m continuing my daily run through the season, in spite of the weather. I have more appropriate gear; my carbide studded Icebug running shoes, for example. But what’s more important than my fancy shoes and wool layers? My attitude. It’s really the one thing that has changed the most and it’s made a huge difference. I realized that my negative attitude about running in the cold winter months was the only thing holding me back from enjoying something I love. So, here are my tips on how we let negative thoughts hold us back and what to do to break the cycle and start making things happen!
Run club on Thanksgiving, showing off our silly running layers!
First, examine your thought patterns. Do you typically shoot yourself down when it comes to new ideas and challenges? When we were getting snow storm after snow storm in January I had to fight myself to get out the door for a run. I was telling myself, you can’t run today, look at all that snow! What I found, when I slowed down enough to think about what I was telling myself was that the only thing holding me back from getting out there and doing something I love, was me.
Next, ask yourself this: Is it true? Is it true that you can’t start your own small business? Is it true you can’t lose weight, write that novel or run in the snow? Many times the answers is no and realizing this can open up doors that were previously closed due to negative thinking. What force is not allowing me to pull on my running tights and lace up my shoes? A thought in my head; it’s too much of a challenge so I shouldn’t bother to try. Our minds are powerful agents in constructing the reality we inhabit. Start thinking in the positive and you’ll start living in a more positive reality. I stopped accepting what I was telling myself and instead started accepting the challenge. It is really snowy outside and it will be more difficult to get through my run. I know I will feel so much better about myself for meeting this challenge and overcoming it.
Write down the thoughts that hold you back. Writing, and I’m not just saying this because I love to write, is a great way to turn your ideas into something more tangible. Look at what you write down and ask yourself what can I do to meet this challenge? My friend Lizzy calls these steps action items, things you can do, like purchasing the right gear or setting time aside to work on that passion project that will help you reach your goal.
Motivation is the next step and you’ll need to get your biggest supporters involved. Maybe your brother, best friend, business partner or co-worker, whoever it is that you can share your goal with and ask them help you stay on track. For me it’s a fellow runner who frequently runs by my house and posts on Facebook about her running experiences. It’s such great motivation to see her out there and read about how great it was. It’s hard to say can’t when someone I know is saying ‘CAN’ loud and clear. Especially when that someone is me!
Easy Italian Style Kale
13 Oct 2010 3 Comments
in Candida, Recipes Tags: anti-Candida, Berkshires, cast iron skillet, garlic, green veggies, kale, Local food, onion, oregano, organic, quick meal
Three different types of Kale, all of them delicious and nutritious!
I wrote the following recipe for my friend Jonathan. He is thirteen and has taken an interest in eating well and trying out new foods. He had never eaten kale before but when I told him he could season it to taste like some of his other favorite Italian foods he was willing to try it! Kale can be grown all year-long in the Berkshires and it can be prepared so many ways. I have a great Kale Chips recipe on my blog and there are literally hundreds of recipes on the web. This hearty green makes an excellent addition to any diet.
Easy Italian Style Kale
Makes 2 generous portions in about 20 minutes.
Ingredients: all organic, all the time!
1 bunch kale, any kind will do! Ribs removed and ripped into pieces.
2 cloves garlic, minced or even better, use a garlic press and press directly into the pan when it’s time to add the garlic.
3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, or more if necessary
½ medium onion, sliced into half moons
1 Tablespoon capers
5 – 7 sun-dried tomatoes, sliced thin
1 Teaspoon each fennel and oregano
Sprinkling of hot pepper flakes
Splash of Balsamic
Salt, if necessary, to taste
The Procedure:
In a cast iron skillet heat the oil over medium heat and add the pepper flakes and fennel. Cook for about 1-2 minutes.
Add the onion, capers and sun-dried tomatoes. Cook until the onion is clear and wilted.
Add the garlic, stir to incorporate and then add the kale and the oregano. Mix well so that the kale cooks evenly. When the kale is wilted but still has a bit of bright green to it, add a splash or two of balsamic.
Taste, adjust for flavor. Add more capers or herbs, more hot pepper and garlic or nothing at all!
Remove from heat and eat.
When I want to turn this side dish into a meal I will separately cook up some hot Italian pork sausage from Holiday Farm in Dalton, slice it and add it to the kale just before serving. French lentils also work really well with this kale dish for a hearty vegan option or in addition to the sausage.
Cooked kale, ready to eat!
The New York Times Has A Crush On The Berkshires!
23 Aug 2010 Leave a Comment
in Uncategorized Tags: Berkshires, Local food, New York Times, organic
According to the New York Times the Berkshires are the epicenter of the local food movement! Check out the article here: http://travel.nytimes.com/2010/08/22/travel/22journeys.html
I love to get food locally because local means it’s fresh. Buying locally grown food means I’m supporting my neighbors, not some big corporation, and that my food is fossil fuel free (or close to it) and it just tastes better. I get my eggs from a farmer who lives down the road from my parents. The chickens have a huge barn and field and the farmer is very happy to answer all of my chicken related questions! I only buy local organic meat and dairy. It’s a great feeling knowing where my food comes from. Where do you get local food and how does it compare to chain grocery store stuff?
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