The Muddy Kitchen

The Legend of Good Sh*t

July 5, 2012

Two things things that have become abundantly clear to me in the Hudson Valley: 1. No matter how big your tractor is, it’s never big enough. 2. Your sh*t is never as good as it might have been had you only heard the Legend earlier. Each year I spend way more time thinking about sh*t […]

Read the rest! →

Spaghetti alla Haunted House

July 3, 2012

My neighbor, Rose, won’t sleep in her own house alone. If you owned Rose’s house, you wouldn’t sleep in it alone either. The stories are confirmed by impartial parties (the UPS guy, the guy who fixes the furnace, guests just passing through). They’re repeated in hushed tones over glasses of wine on the front porch, […]

Read the rest! →

The Chanterelle Whisperer

June 26, 2012

My stepson, Damon, has a talent. In the morning, if the temperature is just right, the barometric pressure just so, the wind lightly fluttering in the trees, the mood set, the weather conditions perfect, he will wake up, come downstairs, sip his coffee with a certain twinkle in his eye and calmly ask me, “Do […]

Read the rest! →

Elderflowers – make your own St. Germain

June 22, 2012

The side of the road is my favorite place to find food. Why? Because I’m a sucker for free stuff. Elderberry is especially cool because it has two seasons: the Flower Season and the Berry Season. The flowers are nice because they are the first thing you can put up. They come out in late […]

Read the rest! →

My big, fat, homemade butter

June 15, 2012

Nothing says ‘We’re in the country now’ like making your own butter. “You make your own butter?! OMGasp!” Well, actually, it’s not all that hard to make butter. You can do it in your apartment, martini in hand, sushi reservations just moments away. I have to say, while homespun butter is fantabulous, it’s just sickly […]