taralucci

homemade polenta

a lovely couple

Homemade bloody Marys!!!

If you like a spicy bloody mary, this will make you very happy. Gives a delightful burn going down! Lots of horseradish and secret spices. This will be a mainstay for awhile (at least so we can deplete it slowly ourselves). Instant mood lifter and congestion degester!

kombucha

i know some people hate this stuff, but it's like moxie, or say...sake! You have to take time, get acquainted in order to understand the magic!
So my mixture's been sitting in a pot for over a week and only little bubbles formed. I thought "it was dead, I peeked too many times, should i drink it anyway? probably not.."
But today! I smelled a smell and 'lo! a circle of cloudy bubblish things were forming! I'm excited.
It actually sits covered in a cloth next to me at the table like a friend.
So if this all works out we may be making homemade kombucha at The O+A

 

say hello to my little friend

-k

 say hello to pickled eggs!

actually we all have to wait 3 weeks to say hello to pickled eggs. in the meantime say hello to hard boiled eggs in a bitter broth, hahahahahaha!

is it just me or is there something Halloweeny about pickled eggs???

i'm so excited about pickled eggs!!!! 

did i mention that if they're good they will be our new bar food?

i'm off to go pickle more things!

k

halleleaaaaauuu!

 

before

say hello to pistachio ginger custard ice cream.

hello

after

i managed to save some to sell this weekend at the o + a.

oh man this stuff is good! homemade is so much freakin better than anything else.

we wanted to do root beer floats with homemade ice cream, but it would almost be a shame to tamper with it's flavor. we have some really great sea dog root beer for anyone leaning that way though.

this batch is very very not vegan, but i'll be working on a vegan version for the next round. any suggestions?

leftover scramble

tuesday night we made vegetarian sausage sliders for our bands- made with marinated sundried tomatoes, feta and italian bread spread with thyme, oregano, and fresh garlic olive oil. i baked it for just a few minutes in the oven to crisp the edges of the bread.
 i should really have a picture of the sliders, but instead i've posted our sloppy hangover breakfast...
greg made us a scramble with leftover "sausage", local radishes , eggs, and kale.
so good! these radishes were soo spicy and cooking them just a little took the edge off but retained there pepperiness.


The sliders were such a hit, we're probably going to put them on our menu. I've been longing to make a certain biscuit recipe again, which I think would make it a perfect balance.



k

ice cream

I thought "we can't dive into ice cream making in the Fall!  It's...cold and people don't expect it and we've never done it before, and there's so much else we need to do!!!". But to go along with new habits, we're gonna do it anyway!!!

Does anybody want to see NY style egg creams?




I do believe Fall has the best flavors known to all seasons...maple, pumpkin, cinnamon, apple cider

In that pictures Greg's eating green tea, taro, and ginger ice cream at a place in NYC called Sundaes and Cones. I haven't had enough of the flavor of Taro in my life, actually taro (a root vegatable- perfect for Fall) and ginger sounds great!



k

musings on hogfarm studio

as we creep ever closer to an opening date, i feel its important to explain exactly whats going on here. as someone who has had the fortune to tour with my bands all over the country and into europe, i've come to value the venues, and venue owners of smaller communities- the folks attempting to carve out something personal, sometimes something truly weird. the folks who take risks putting themselves out there when there may or may not be an audience for what they do. the thrill is in finding an audience in those smaller communities. somehow it manages to resonate in a way that simply doesn't happen in larger cities.
when you find a venue like that, you remember it. and what gil and coco at hogfarm have been able to do is something truly beautiful and important to me in my daily life. when we heard they were going to close the annex my wife, kristin and i, saw this as an opportunity to attempt to continue on in their spirit, because honestly this is what we want to do with our lives.
our hope is that we can be a fraction of how hospitable and warm they have been to all of you who come through our door. what we can offer is a very select collection of the things we love: the music that means so much to us, the films, art, performances and food that we long to share with all of you.
we are not from maine. but we have somehow always been drawn to it, and look forward to it becoming our home.

thanks for stopping by,

greg & kristin

for lunch

Greg made amaaaazing "chiki" salad sandwiches for us today!! I would have taken a picture but I ate it!

I was busy trying to figure out which local beers we should sell (it is actually a hard job. especially when there are no tasters :(

So what I can guess of the ingredients are:
TVP (textured veg protein)
Vegenaise
Carrots
Dill
maybe miso?
dijon mustard?
soy sauce?

I feel like besides the most obvious ingredients (I definitely know what a carrot looks like), I'm way off.

Anyway, we neeeed to add this to our menu! I've been bugging him to write down the recipe before he forgets it . I'm sure you'll see it in some form of it's not-chicken self soon soon.
ooh! I forgot, we have some leftovers in the fridge! here's sort of what it used to look like...



yip!

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( . . )
k

Welcome

It's not official but the ideas are still flowing!

We will open our doors to a brand new community in late September, early October.
Just in time for our favorite season of all!

So here's our story..

We being charmed by the world of Gil and Coco Corral fell in quick love with them, their little girl, their home and music venue/listening room, which was only an extension of their home so full of warmth- Hogfarm Studios Annex...

When we heard that they were going to close the doors of that adopted home, Greg and I looked at each other and didn't have to say very much. Our dream: to open a cafe/venue/community art space in a town that needs it.

We spent some time freaking out, writing endless emails to Gil and Coco, deciding to do it, deciding that would be totally crazy. Very suddenly, in all this confusion and the perpetual heat wave NYC has been going through I lost my vision in one eye. It was disorienting and was gradual like a curtain being drawn lower every day, plus it hurt!

I won't get too much into that whole thing, but with my mom having MS and optic neuritis as we found out it was being an initial symptom of the disease. Well, it just sucked. I went through the steps, to figure it all out, and when my MRI results came back negative everyone was shocked! We were planning for it, and I was prepared for the news. I saw this as such a second chance for me. Or a kick in the pants! Just what I needed. Clean air, water, and most importantly being in a place I love (Maine!). I decided immediately that we should just jump in!
I was on my break at work when we found out, and sent Greg home to tell Gil and Coco that we're in!

So here we are.
Still in New York, but gearing up and excited/scared as hell!

I hope you'll all get excited with us (no need to be scared)!
My vision hasn't totally come back yet, but I am legal to drive in NY once again!
So much more to say, more info soon and often!

We are Kristin & Greg
and this beautiful re-adopted space will be futurely known as
The Oak + The Ax

love \ kristin

p.s.
Gil and Coco have taken their name (Hogfarm Studios/HFS Annex) and gone back to the barn
with it, where it was born. Keep tabs on their upcoming shows!!!