{Who, What, Why, How} We Are FSC

MISSION STATEMENT

{Making} Food Matter Together

We are a small group of women, living within the Capital Region (Albany, Troy, Schenectady, Saratoga Springs) striving for a sustained connection to our kitchens, our gardens and our communities. We host two food swaps a month, in Albany & Saratoga Springs,  where home-cooks swap homemade foods. We also participate in monthly community outreach at various local farmers markets where we demonstrate various cooking techniques & food projects in hopes of advocating home cooking & creating.

Lastly, we run a DIY Food Projects & Cooking School: FSC Academy. The classes offered are a variety of DIY projects from Home Dairy (soft cheeses, yogurt & butter) to bread baking to canning & preserving the harvest. We intend the classes to be affordable, accessible, low-key, fun, small-enrollment demo classes taught by the ladies and friends of FSC in a casual atmosphere, your home or at various sites around the region.

The rest of the month we are here, on the blog, sharing stories, recipes, DIY projects, homesteading tutorials, kitchen tips & tricks and food policy news in hopes of inspiring people to jump back into the kitchen, their gardens and communities as a daily way of life regardless of income, space & time.

Welcome!

EDITOR & FOUNDER

CHRISTINA DAVIS
Finding her true calling, connecting people to their local foodshed, Christina is the CSA Coordinator for Kilpatrick Family Farm. At the homestead, she is the Chef de Cuisine, Master Baker & Head Food Preservationist to her husband Charles and their 2 year old son, Miles Jae. Although always a supporter of local, sustainable, humane and whole foods, Chris is now on a serious mission to bring those principles into her kitchen due to Miles Jae’s multiple food allergy diagnosis, asthma and the rare disease, EE. All of her recipes are dairy, soy, tree nuts, peanuts, gluten/wheat, pea, corn & sesame free.

MANAGING EDITOR

CHRISTINE HMIEL
From nine-to-five, Christine works in the non-profit world of affordable housing and community development. After hours, you can find her cooking up a storm in her teeny tiny kitchen, curled up on the couch with a stack of good books, or hosting wild one-person dance parties. Christine lives in downtown Albany and likes to imagine a life filled with freshly baked bread, tea parties and 1970s kitchenware. She is passionate about the need to build vibrant communities that are connected to healthy, sustainable food sources and she thinks From Scratch Club is a great place to figure out how to do it. Christine runs the FSC Programs: FSC Podcast & FSC Book Club.

Christine writes about her efforts to create meaningful traditions and experiences over at her blog Unspeakable Visions.

CURRENT CONTRIBUTORS

JILLIAN EHRENBERG
I’m a mom of two home-schooled girls who are 4 and 6 years old, one of whom is severely allergic to dairy, eggs and peanuts; a local food lover; wife to a guy who fits me better than any other; mama to [only] one cat (my old lady cat just died, sniff sniff); farmer’s market “worker” (I use the quotes because all I do is talk, talk, talk to everyone who comes my way while I’m at the market, and I don’t consider that work); and steward of Mother Nature.
Jillian writes her personal story at Everyday Four Seasons.

HEATHER FISCHER
Heather was brought to living a “from scratch life” when her children were diagnosed with food allergies. Out of a desire to keep her family safe she began try her hand at all things domestic. She and her husband enjoy cultivating their small piece of land with a large garden and flock of chickens.

DEANNA N. FOX
Deanna N. Fox is a twentysomething entrepreneur and business owner. She lives in Delanson, NY on an old farm and apple orchard with her husband David, two year old daughter Edith, and one year old son Eric (and a bunch of mangy animals). Deanna is dedicated to leading a stylish, sustainable lifestyle (while having fun!) and teaching others how to live similarly regardless of living situation via her blog Silly Goose Farm. Deanna was raised on similar principles amongst farms in Chenango County, NY, and believes that most of the world’s problems can be solved by first ensuring everyone has access to good, wholesome food. When not hatching up new business ideas, renovating the farm or playing in the dirt, Deanna can be found trying to balance a love of baking with her husband’s Type I Diabetes, obsessing over boats, practicing for the World Bocce Championship with an adult libation in hand, or holding impromptu dance parties with her kids. More about Deanna can be found on her website.

DIANNA GOODWIN
I have been a staff attorney at Prisoners’ Legal Services of New York since 2004.  I went to law school as a mid-life career change in my early 40s; prior to law school I was an agricultural entomologist and college teacher.  We used to have goats and chickens and live in the country when our three sons were small, but now we live in Saratoga Springs with a cat and a dog.  We don’t have much of a garden in town so we share crop by gardening in other people’s yards and splitting the produce.   My dream job would be running the inmate garden at Riker’s Island.

ALEXIS KATZ
Alexis works as a psychotherapist but is most appreciated for her role as cook by her husband and 2 year old daughter.  She has always loved to cook and finds preparing meals to be a source of rejuvenation even on days when exhausted.  Her interest in food was developed early with the encouragement of her mother who fed her home-made hummus way back when it was still considered a mystery food.  Alexis’s cooking is now driven by healthy ingredients, especially those found in farmers markets, and a desire to find new, creative ways to make eating a pleasurable experience every day.

BECKY KLOPE
Becky is a mom of two, and spends her days baking and creating alongside her kids, enjoying the creativity and togetherness that the kitchen provides. At night, once the kids are tucked into bed, she pulls out the mixing bowls and measuring cups and bakes alone, creating, recreating, and taste testing her way through old favorites and new creations.  Visit her blog, The Mixing Bowl Diary, to follow along on her baking adventures. When she is not baking or playing with her children, she is often at local fruit and vegetable farms with her husband and kids, sharing with them the joys of picking your own food and knowing your food’s source.

ELIZABETH RUSSELL
Liz’s job as mama to two young children, Andrew (3 1/2) and Eleanor (2), could absolutely be considered full time but she also manages to teach fitness classes at the local Y, work part time as an e-discovery consultant,  raise sheep and chickens and manage a respectable kitchen garden. Liz is also the Region 6 Director of the NCWGA. Liz loves to keep her hands busy and makes is a priority to create every day, whether at the sewing machine, spinning wheel, knitting needles or in the kitchen. Eating responsibly is a huge priority for Liz so cooking is a natural extension of the importance of food for Liz’s family. Finally, Liz is raising a flock of nine natural colored (black and moorit) merino sheep as Brown Betty Farm.

ERIKA TEBBENS
Erika Tebbens lives in Ballston Spa with husband Chris and 6 year old son Jack. Chris is a nuclear instructor in the Navy and loves cooking traditional French cuisine and curing meats. Erika loves cooking and baking. She especially loves figuring out how to make commonly store-bought items from scratch. She plays derby under the name “Brass Snuggles” for the Albany All Stars Roller Derby league. She sports a “No Farms No Food” sticker on her helmet. Her leaguemates know her as their personal Martha Stewart and she loves baking for them. She is also their go-to-gal for many DIY projects. She is a freelance writer and social media specialist and can often be found working for various vendors at the Saratoga Farmers’ Market. She writes the weekly newsletter for Kilpatrick Family Farm and assists with their harvest/market prep on Fridays during the summer.

COMMUNITY VOICES

LEAH ANNASTAS
I am the mother of 4 (Sophia 7, Abby 5 and twin boys Simon and Charlie 3) I work very hard to provide my children and husband with healthy, delicious meals whenever possible. We enjoy cooking as a family and I believe the kitchen is the heart of my home. It is where we eat our meals, talk about our days and spend time really listening to each other without the distractions of the world. I am also on the board of the Delmar Farmers Market, where I spend my Saturday mornings meeting the farmers/vendors that grow and raise much of the food my family eats.

BRITIN FOSTER
I am an almost 40 year old Albanian wife to Nick, mother to 5 year old Katie, baker, small business owner, musician and singer, writer and food activist! Nick & I own the bakery and Community Support Bakery, All Good Bakers in Albany, NY.

AMY HALLORAN
Amy Halloran lives on half an urban acre in Troy, New York with her husband and two sons. She writes for regional and national outlets about the changing food landscape, and records dispatches from her family’s gardening, cooking and chicken raising enterprises on her blog,Home Economics. Her nonfiction, fiction and comics are archived at Amy Halloran.

PAST CONTRIBUTORS

SARAH FISK
Sarah is the Director of Education and Museum Experience at The Children’s Museum of Science & Technology in Troy, NY.  She is currently embracing the local food movement and relearning how to cook everything “from scratch” for her 3 year old son Collin.  She is also applying her new found love of food to her training as a runner.  Sarah began running just over a year ago.  Since then she has completed the Lake Placid Half Marathon in June, the full Mohawk Hudson River Marathon in October and Schenectady’s 15K Stockade-athon in November. Sarah also writes about her running journey at her personal blog, Chasing Down a Dream.

ERICA GOSH
Erica is the Deputy Director and Transitional Client Advocate of St. Paul’s Center and mom to a very active three year old.  After her son decided to boycott any and all vegetables, Erica began trying new ways to sneak in vegetables to her food which has in turn lead to lots of new (and deliciously healthy) foods in the Gosh Sandy household over the last year.  Erica is also proud to call herself a runner as of July 2010. Read Erica’s first piece on the blog, Cooking with the Terrible Twos.

LESLIE MILLS
Leslie is a pediatric Occupational Therapist turned stay-at-home-mama of two girls; 4 and a 2 year old, and family chef.  She’s passionate about feeding her family healthful, delicious, and responsible food, and is continuously on the hunt for new recipes and ideas. One of her favorite things to do is to share delicious homemade meals with friends and family.  See some of her favorite recipes on her blog, Lainey’s Plate.

AMANDA SHEEHAN ZENNER
Amanda is a working mom of three girls:  Ellie 9, Jordan 7 and Jacklyn 4. Previously a special education teacher, Amanda joined her parents in the family business, The Costumer, nine years ago. Now working side by side with her mother and husband she enjoys the flexibility that being part of a family business can provide. A year ago Amanda became a runner and has completed her first marathon, The Mohawk Hudson River Marathon on 10.10.10. Amanda quickly learned that food needed to become fuel.
A quote from Nancy Clark: “Fuel wisely, eat well, and enjoy a satisfying running experience.”
Amanda’s picture credit: Thea Coughlin Photography