St. Patrick's Day Crafting and Snacking Round-Up

It's been a long, cold, snowy winter and I'm personally in a cold weather funk. One way to get the creative juices flowing is to break out the crafting supplies and try out some new ideas - along with some delicious snacks.

Here is a round-up of some fun St. Patrick's Day crafts and snacks.

1. Lucky Penny Letters

photo credit Made by Marzipan

This copper-colored LUCKY sign is something you could keep up all year, but it's also a great leprechaun St. Patrick's Day decoration.  It just uses paper mache letters, pennies, paint and glue.

Full tutorial here at Made by Marzipan


2. Pot o' Gold Cereal Snack

photo credit Yummy Healthy Easy.

Similar to Chex Mix, but sweet and made with Lucky Charms!

Full recipe here at Yummy Healthy Easy.


3. Shamrock Shoes

photo credit by Andres Hurtado / Magic of Ireland

Go thrifting (or maybe dig through your grandfather's closet) and find an old pair of "leprechaun" shoes. Pots of clover can be bought at a garden store, or easily grown yourself (germination is just a few days) and plopped into the shoes. Only catch? Clover needs warmth so this decoration will have to stay indoors if it's still cold where you live. 

4.  Guinness and Cheddar dip

photo credit The Parsley Thief

Beer and cheese. A match made in heaven. This dip has just a few ingredients and can be made in your food processor. It only calls for 1/4 cup of Guinness beer so, sorry, you'll have to finish off the bottle so nothing goes to waste.

Full recipe here at The Parsley Thief

Ryan - Lil' Mint and WickedMint

Where To Find The Hudson Valley Etsy Team This Weekend

Our very busy Beyond The Picket Fence will be participating in 24th Annual Taste Of New Paltz this Sunday, September 14, from 11AM-5PM, at the Ulster County Fairgrounds in New Paltz, NY.

Beyond The Picket Fence

Go and check out the bounty as well as BTPF's excellent soaps, lotions, creams, oils, insect repellents and much more!

Beyond The Picket Fence

Beyond The Picket Fence

 Happy shopping!

The Bounty of My Garden

The desire for a medium sized backyard vegetable garden turned out to be too daunting of a project for this summer.

To placate myself for the lack of one garden plot, I cleared a patch of ground outside of our back door. I planted herbs, spread wild flower seeds, and planted one Tomato plant, and one Cucumber plant, in a large galvanized container. In a front yard garden plot, I planted Zinnia seeds, spread wild flower seeds, transplanted Daisies, Black Eyed Susans, and tended to the Roses.

I am still hoping for that medium sized vegetable garden next summer, and intend to begin digging it before the frost starts.

There was something so satisfying about watching the tiny plants and seeds that were planted by my hands, mature into productive plants and flowers of vivid colors. Also satisfying is being able to utilize the bounty from my small garden for summer cooking.

Here is a recipe that is simple, and the ingredients can be adjusted as desired. The amount of each ingredient should be changed according to portions being prepared.


Garden Herbed Potato Salad

Ingredients:
Potatoes of any variety // amount according to portion size
Celery // amount according to portion size
Onion // sweet, red, or yellow variety
Fresh herbs // suggested: Sage, Parsley, Tarragon, Thyme, Chives, Dill, Cilantro
1/2 tsp. Salt
1/8 tsp. Fresh ground pepper
3/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup Vinegar ( I used Apple Cider Vinegar )
1/4 to 1/2 tsp. Prepared Mustard ( I used Yellow organic Mustard )


Peel and cut the potatoes into 1" chunks, and place in a pot with enough water to cover the potatoes. Boil until tender. Rinse and let cool. Chop celery, and onion. Mince herbs. In a lidded jar, add salad dressing ingredients and shake well to mix. Mix up potatoes, herbs, celery, and onion in a bowl. Pour dressing over the potatoes, just enough to wet the mixture. Correct the seasoning with salt and pepper. Serve.

Jenny - Reclaimed Designs

Let's Visit: Red Hook Community Garden

We love living in the Hudson Valley and sharing with others some of our favorite places to visit in the area for fun, inspiration, and exploring! Today we share another Let's Visit... blog post with Amber from amberhlynn.etsy.com.

The Hudson Valley has quite a few community gardens.  Most are run by Earth To Table, a group dedicated to the slow food movement.  Community gardens hold a special place in my heart as my boyfriend and I spent part of our first date walking to the one in New Paltz (although it was dark and we couldn't see much, especially not the dragon made of tires that was the excuse for the walk). 

This summer, I finally got over my fear that anything I try to grow will die, and started my own vegetable garden!  It was an excellent learning experience, if at times frustrating and upsetting.  Once, some deer got through the fence and devastated my young tomato plants, but they mostly recovered.  I recommend everyone tries to grow their own food, or at least visits a garden once in awhile.  They're gorgeous!

The Red Hook community garden is on Route 9, just past Holy Cow if you're coming from Rhinebeck (I highly recommend their ice cream by the way!) and between two banks.  The front has quite a few small bricked flower gardens, a shed for tools, and a place for composting.

and this cool wood thing too

Inside the fence, there's a few raised beds full of tomatoes and different foods that are open to the community and are to be used for community events.  The rest of the space is free for residents to stake out and do pretty much whatever you want with it.  Just call Joseph Baldwin at (845)635-9388 so he knows who's working in the garden. 

A birdhouse in my neighbor's garden

Even if you're not going to grow your own things, feel free to stop by, smell some flowers, take some pictures, pull some weeds, and maybe even bring home a fresh tomato! They're delicious.

That's really all I have for you, but I hope you liked the info and photographs!  If you have any questions feel free to email me at amberhlynn@gmail.com or call  Joseph Baldwin, and keep an eye out for Earth To Table at local events.  Maybe you can even find or organize a community garden near you!

See you next time!

Amber

Where to Dine in Fishkill

Foodies Love Fishkill!

Main St. Fishkill, NY  photo by Daniel Case

When you come to the amazing Hudson Valley Etsy Fine Arts and Craft Fair on June 2, 2013, you should make a true excursion of it and sample some the wonderful restaurants in town.  Fishkill may not be as well known as Beacon to the west, but our local artisans have found many delightful places to satisfy every culinary craving.  Here are some of the team's recommendations, right on Main Street and not far from the fair.

845.896.0011 1111 MAIN STREET FISHKILL, NEW YORK.

Convivial bar and comfort food, pasta and steaks!  http://www.eleven11grille.com

845.896.7779     1123 MAIN STREET, FISHKILL, NEW YORK 12524  

 The Tomato Cafe is Pulp Sushi's favorite.  The four local owners and chefs provide soups, sandwiches, salads and pizza  at affordable prices and an even more enticing lunch and dinner menu of italian specialties.  http://www.tomatocafefishkill.com

 

   

Cilantro Mexican Restaurant

986 Main St, Fishkill, NY  CVS Plaza  (845) 896-8700

https://cilantromexicanrestaurant.com/

Cilantro Mexican Restaurant treats you to a wide array of Mexican delights.  Enjoy home style  Mexican cooking as if you were in the heartland of Mexico itself.  The restaurant is right on the plaza where the fair is taking place, so get your fix of chiles and 50 different kinds of tequila.

Tanjore

Cuisine of India

845-896-6659 992 Main St. Plaza (Route 52) Fishkill, NY

Zagat rated excellent indian cuisine!  Check out their website and all their delicious dishes and even a coupon is available.  I crave!   http://www.tanjoreindiancuisine.com

Other Restaurants:

Also right on Main St:

Cibo - http://www.yelp.com/biz/cibo-fishkill (their website is still under construction)

Locanda Trattoria - http://locandarestaurant.com/I-84 Diner (the BEST French Toast!)

Il Barilotto - http://www.ilbarilottorestaurant.com

Sapore Steakhouse

Friendlys

Five Guys

Also in Fishkill (Rt 9)

Pepper Thai

Cracker Barrel

Charlie Browns

Panera Bread

Maya Cafe on Rt 9 

Happy Shopping & Eating!

Jody
www.astudiobythesea.etsy.com

Etsy Feature Seller: estheraguirre

Have you seen who the latest Etsy Feature Seller is? It's none other than estheraguirre! The team is so happy for her and her feature.   Click here to check it out, congratulations Esther!