The Food Advantage of Spending Summer in the Catskills

Every June my mother and I make the transition from living in Riverdale (NYC) to living in Jefferson NY in the Catskill Mountain's Schoharie County. It's much easier to run Catskill Maison our Bed and Breakfast when we are only 1/2 an hour away than from NYC because we are open all the time in the summer and fall. There are definitely some aspects of city living that I really miss from a culinary perspective such as an abundance of ethnic restaurants and easily accessible fresh fish (finding a place to buy fresh fish to grill up here is like trying to find a needle in the haystack). However the benefits of living so close to the farms greatly outweighs the inconvenience of having to drag fish from Whole Foods in NYC every week in our cooler.

We moved up yesterday, and the first thing that we did was purchase fresh strawberries, swiss chard, broccoli, beets and zucchini that were picked that morning from Eger Bros farm in Hudson NY on the way to our house. Then I placed a call to Horton Hill Farm to request a fresh chicken. Horton Hill Farm is right here in Jefferson (less than 10 minutes from our house), and they specialize in heritage breed livestock (chicken, turkey, and pork) as well as eggs and honey. The owner of the farm Bill Parker really believes in producing extremely high quality meat and oversees every aspect of the process of the development of his livestock. Nothing tastes better than a fresh chicken, and in the summer we are so blessed to have access to fresh chickens. Bill had a fresh chicken for us yesterday which made me extremely excited, but we also got another treat; the ability to view 1 day old chicks in their natural environment as well as baby pigs at pasture. There is something so empowering about knowing EXACTLY where your food comes from, and watching the process from day one. I am so grateful to Bill for taking the time out to show us the pastures, food (that he grows himself on his property and all animals freely graze on) and conditions of his livestock. It was an unforgettable experience. Stay tuned for the recipe that I create for the fresh chicken in my fridge.