Cyclists extraordinaire

Meet Tim and Flavia, from Boston. They decided to explore the Shawangunk Ridge, cycling first to High Falls, then on to New Paltz over the ridge via Rosendale, with a well-earned rest at the Waterstreet Market. Having been told in the cycle shop there that there was no way they could go back up using the steep route with 3 gear bikes, they did it anyway! From the top of the ridge, they found a great way down through the Mohonk Preserve, taking in the 'Million Dollar View' at Spring Farm Trailhead, and then later using the railtrail that goes from High Falls right up to our house. They had a fantastic time and recommend this route to anyone with mountain or hybrid bikes......and maybe a few more than 3 gears!

New ways, old ways

What could be more traditional than freshly baked bread for breakfast? Most mornings we include this now, and it's making everyone very happy indeed ..... but this is not traditionally made bread.

It's a new way of baking that's been around a couple of years, that doesn't require kneading. A wet dough is mixed with enough ingredients for at least four pound loaves, and is then left a couple of hours to rise before being placed in the fridge, where it can be left for up to two weeks. Every time you want to bake, you scoop out a portion, shape it briefly, and leave it for a while before baking. That's it!

The recipes we're using right now come from Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day by Zoe Francois and Jeff Hertzberg MD. Zoe trained at our very own Culinary Institute of America, 30 minutes away in Hyde Park. Check out Zoe's website! Our favorites right now are Betsy's Seeded Oat Bread (above) and the 100% Whole Wheat and Flaxseed Bread. Certianly the tastiest way of getting your Omega-3s. Yum.

Sunset at Ashokan

Nothing much to add really... just wanted to share the view. The Ashokan reservoir with the Catskill Mountains, about 5 miles from here.