FROM SCRATCH CLUB

I grew up loving food, so much so that I fluctuated between 180 and almost 200 pounds from the time I was 18 until after marrying my hubs at 33, almost eight years ago (we joke that I was overweight and he was bleach-blond when we got married…must have been true love). Much of what [...]

I’m not the only one who has been thinking about how our community of Albany, NY, jokingly referred to locally as “Smallbany”, is pretty fantastic. A popular local food-blooger, Leah the Nosher, just wrote a piece for All Over Albany extolling the virtues of the wide net of friends and family that came to her [...]

Well, they did it! Nick & Britin Foster has opened their flagship bakery, breakfast & lunch spot and future location of cooking classes (and more) at 540 Delaware Avenue in Albany, NY. Yes, they had a teeny space on Quail Street but it was just a stepping stone towards finding a bigger & permanent space [...]

For the first time since the inception of the FSC Swappers, we have permanent homes for both food swaps. Not only that, but they are new in both locations. Home Sweet Home. Our business location in Saratoga Springs is the same, Common Thread Saratoga, but owner Ashely moved the store from the artsy Beekman Street [...]

According to the Smithsonian, “French women traditionally have relied on subtle culinary cues to signal their amorous intentions. The July 1956 issue of the journal Western Folklore reported: “a young maid lets her swain know whether the answer is ‘yes’ or ‘no’ by what she feeds him on St. Valentine’s Day. It’s a custom that [...]

2011 was a year of amazing growth for me personally and for the tiny bakery my husband and I opened in April of this year. After 25 years of working in restaurants (full and part-time; mostly on, sometimes off), I’m learning how to manage our very own bakery/café – not an insignificant challenge for someone [...]

I’m not exactly sure how to start off this quick {recap} post about the lecture/reception/book signing heard around the local food food scene world- “Michael Pollan Visits Hudson Valley Community College” on October 25, 2011!!!! As it was such a big event for the community and the college.  For a lot of people Mr. Pollan [...]

{A View from Hadley Mountain, Summer 2010 Photo by Christina} Some days, life feels like I’m climbing a forty-five degree mountain in our ‘78 Volkswagon Westy, whose maximum level speed is about 65 mph.  Every mile requires more effort coaxed from my engine as my tread hugs the road of human highway, urging me forward…slowly, [...]

{photo booth style photos by Christine at the Albany Swap. amazing right?} We (Britin & Nick) at All Good Bakers hosted the second Albany From Scratch Club food swap Sunday, August 21.  Our tiny bakery was filled to capacity with an enthusiastic crowd loaded with homemade treasures, and something magical took place. Before Kate Payne [...]

This past Tuesday, Nick and I learned that Meadowbrook Farms won’t be able to bring us the butter we use every week from The Country Creamery in Canestota, NY any longer. The news was a bit alarming; we use 18 lbs of the stuff each week for croissants, scones, muffins and cookies. We love its [...]

Before I announce that the free ticket “sales” are live (Hint Hint: Albany Swappers go here and Saratoga Swappers go here) I need to recap July’s swaps. Yep. I said swapssss because we began the FSC Swappers:ALB food swap on Sunday, July 17th at All Good Bakers on Quail Street in Albany, NY. Let me [...]

Every weekend at our bakery over on Quail St. in Albany, my husband Nick prepares Specialty Focaccia Pizzas with fresh produce & herbs we get from our farmer friends at Farmer Jon’s Produce in Selkirk, NY and cheeses from R&G Cheesemakers in Cohoes or Palatine Cheese in Nelliston (in the Mohawk Valley). Jon and DJ [...]

Lordy! Lordy! Look who’s…over the hill. I celebrated my 40th birthday over the Memorial Day weekend. I convey this information to you with a sense of pride. Life hasn’t always been easy, but sometimes it has, so I can’t complain.  It has taken me this long to understand that the hardships I’ve survived have shaped [...]

Paul Tick, Market Manager of the Delmar Farmers Market contacted me about a possible giveaway to celebrate the upcoming opening day of their market, this Saturday June 4th from 9am to 1pm at the Bethlehem Central Middle School, 332 Kenwood Ave. Delmar, NY. I jumped at the chance to do a little something to entice [...]

Editor’s Note: You’ve met Erika T, Britin F, and Jillian E. To rap up this “new-contributor-meet-n-greet” is Christine H from Unspeakable Visions. She will be joining us as our token 20-something non-mom foodie (score!) We were dying for a slightly larger spectrum of viewpoints, and Christine’s humor, wit, D.I.Y. knowledge, urban design sense and social [...]