Editor's Letter Issue 22: Spring 2019
As I write this Grist, temperatures are hovering around the low 30s and snow is still on the ground. Hard to think spring, but the clocks just sprang forward so it is still light out at dinnertime and the birds have started to sing again. The promise that spring is slowly coming.
With this issue we barely scratched the surface of dairy and where dairy is in our communities. We seem to take for granted this most elemental of substances. After all, milk gives us rich heavy cream, delicate butter and—when cultured or fermented with lactic-acid bacteria—buttermilk, crème fraîche, sour cream, yogurt and of course cheese. It’s the nuances in texture and fl avor that distinguish them.
Staying true to his childhood dream of being an ice cream maker, Paul Nasroni shares with us his personal journey of creating Adirondack Creamery with simple old-fashioned recipes of locally sourced ingredients and including label messages of inspirational quotes.
Writer Cory Burdick shares with us artisan cheeses made right in Troy by master cheesemaker Sean O’Connor of R & G Handcrafted Cheese. Available at local restaurants and grocery stores, or head to the Troy Farmers’ Market to talk cheese.
Is there ever a time that a grilled cheese sandwich doesn’t satisfy? We talk to local proprietors Mary Rizzo of The Cheese Traveler and husband-and-wife duo Mike Niccoli and Kim Baker of Restaurant Navona for their versions of this everyday crowd pleaser.
Our Edible Voices guests are Dr. Jill Greisman and Dr. Jessie Bolster of River Valley Veterinary Services to discuss how they decided to become beloved veterinarians but also the current crisis and the need for large animal vets.
Regular contributor Kathleen Willcox introduces us to Moxie Ridge Farm and Lee Hennessy, who shares with us their practices and a little bit of the heart and soul of Moxie’s Larder.
Finally, there’s a culture of community inside the Adirondack Blue Line in Keeseville. Writer Becca Miller visits with Ashlee Kleinhammer and Steven Googin of North Country Creamery and the journey that brought them there.
Our friends at Honest Weight Food Co-op have included a special coupon in this issue (pick up a copy!), and don’t forget to thank our advertising partners for supporting this magazine and our local adventures. We plan to continue exploring dairy and its multitude of fl avors here in the Capital Region. Stay tuned for more to come.
Happy Spring!
Mary Blair | Editor
