Writing

After running a farmers’ market, I started writing about food and agriculture because I felt compelled to tell the stories of food and the people who feed us. I was never interested in writing mouthwatering words, but in showing the details of work that most of us can’t imagine. We live removed from the realities of farming. I want to illustrate the work it takes to eat.

Look for my writing in LETTERS TO A YOUNG FARMER, on THE COUNTER, and CIVIL EATS.


Here’s an archive of older stories.

No Baking Required To Savor Writer’s Bread Odyssey
Zester, February 2015
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Farmers, Industry Reps Share Perspectives on Local Food Networks
Lancaster Farming, December 2014
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Cooking with Local Grains
NOFA-NY Newsletter, Fall 2014
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Local Flour
NOFA-NY Newsletter Summer 2014
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Reviving Small Grains in the Hudson Valley
Lancaster Farming, July 2014
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The Kneading Conference Grows Maine’s Grain Economy
Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association, Spring 2014
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Author, Baker, and Teacher: Richard Miscovich
Edible Rhody, Spring 2014
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Jack Lazor: The Guru of Grains
Edible Green Mountains, November 2013
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The History of Aunt Jemima’s Mill
Lancaster Farming, November 2013
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Flour to the People
Culinate, October 2013
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Sourdough from Sprouted Grains
Seedstock, September 2013
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Locally Grown Grain Feeds Johnnycake Revival
Lancaster Farming, September 2013
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Field to Griddle
Metroland September 2013
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Mission Driven Publisher Seeks to Enact Change
Seedstock, August 2013
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Worker Cooperative Embraces Sustainable Agriculture
Seedstock, August 2013
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Good Pasture Starts With Good Maintenance
Lancaster Farming, August 2013
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Grain Mill Opens Market for Local Grain Production
Lancaster Farming, August 2013
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Small Grains; Big Market Potential
Lancaster Farming, July 2013
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Market Strives to Connect Farmers With Consumers
Lancaster Farming, July 2013
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Field Day Focuses on Managing Organic Grains for Markets
Lancaster Farming, July 2013
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Focus on Rebuilding Regional Grain Economy at Kneading Conference in Maine
Seedstock, July 2013
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Regional Access Plays Part in Creation of Sustainable Local Food System
Seedstock, July 2013
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In Grass Seed Capital, Recession Precipitates Farmer’s Shift to Edibles
Seedstock, June 2013
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Out Here in the Fields
Edible Green Mountains, May 2013
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Backyard Chickens Made Easy
Edible Green Mountains, May 2013
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Shared Interest Between Friends Helps Regional Grain Movement Gain Ground
Seedstock, May 2013
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Capital District Community Gardens
Metroland, April 2013
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Liquid Assets: The Hops Project
Edible Green Mountains, February 2013
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Ag and Feed Alliance Stresses Continuity
Lancaster Farming, February 2013
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Farm Brewery Law Presents Opportunities and Challenges
Lancaster Farming, February 2013
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Angus Advocate
Lancaster Farming, December 2012
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Hops Conference Reflects Interest in NY State
Lancaster Farming, December 2012
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New Upstate NY Mill to Boost Production From Local Grain
Lancaster Farming, November 2012
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NY Towns Share Stories of Ag Planning
Lancaster Farming, November 2012
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Farm Auction
The Morning News, November 2012
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Recipe for Recovery
Metroland, November 2012
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New Mill Boosts Local Grain Production
Lancaster Farming, November 2012
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Sharing a Passion for Grains
NOFA-NY Newsletter, Fall 2012
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Putting Culture Back in Agriculture
Civil Eats, October 2012
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Bring Back Local Grains!
Civil Eats, September 2012
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NY Miller Cultivating Interest in Local Grains
Lancaster Farming, September 2012
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The Original Corner Store
Metroland, September 2012
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No Farmer is An Island
Metroland, September 2012
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Meeting a Knead
Lancaster Farming, August 2012
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Counting Your Cantaloupes
Metroland, August 2012
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From These Tiny Grains
Metroland, August 2012
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Aaron Bobrow-Strain: The bread historian
Culinate, July 2012
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Pack Your Picnic
Metroland, June 2012
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Bolting Together
Edible Green Mountains, Summer 2012
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Tracie McMillan, Interview
Culinate, May 2012
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Growing Uncertainties
Metroland, May 2012
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Anti-Frack Attack
Metroland, May 2012
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All Good Bakers, Profile
Metroland, May 2012
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Skating Lessons
Times Union, February 2012
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Farewell Albany Icon
Metroland, February 2012
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For the Farmers
Metroland, February 2012
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The Evolution of Fresh
Culinate, January 2012
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DOA at the DEC
Metroland, January 2012
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Frack No
Metroland, January 2012
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Hot, Sweaty and Out of Breath
Metroland, January 2012
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Dara Greenwald, Memoriam
Times Union, January 2012
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Dr. Oz, Profile
Independence Today, December 2011
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Christopher Wells, Profile
Independence Today, October 2011

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The Farmer and the Well: Hydrofracking in NYS
Metroland, November 2011
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Over the River and Through My Life
Metroland, November 2011
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Community Bread Oven in Cambridge, NY
Metroland, September 2011
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Farm Aid After Irene
Metroland, September 2011
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Crop Safety After Irene
Food Safety News, September 2011
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Farms Hit After Irene
Metroland, August 2011
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Garden Harvest Safety
Food Safety News, August 2011
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Food Swap
Metroland, August 2011
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Cage Accord
Food Safety News, July 2011
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When Odors Warn
Food Safety News, July 2011
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Five Years of New York Cider Safety Rules
Food Safety News, July 2011
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Best Summer Ever
Metroland, June 2011
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Saratoga Farmers Market
Metroland, June 2011
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Nature’s Candy
Metroland, June 2011
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Local Meat Processing
Food Safety News, May 2011
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Test Kitchen
Food Safety News, May 2011
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Preserving Safely
Food Safety News, April 2011
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Getting the Word Out on Hudson’s Fish Advisory
Food Safety News, April 2011
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You’re So Old School
Businesses that last
Metroland, April 2011
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NY’s New Commissioner of Ag and Markets
Food Safety News, April 2011
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Wild and Free
Roadkill food safety issues
Food Safety News, April 2011
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Mark Winne: The food-system reformer
Culinate, March 2011
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Food Sovereignty in Maine
Food Safety News, March 2011
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No GMOs
Metroland, February 2011
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Poultry History
Food Safety News, March 2011
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Roundup in Question
Food Safety News, February 2011
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GAPs
Food Safety Workshop at NY-NOFA Conference
Food Safety News, February 2011
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New Commissioner of Department of Health
Food Safety News, February 2011
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Taking Stock
Food in Review, 2010
Metroland, December 2010
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Safeways
Food Safety Modernization Act
Metroland, November 2010
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Yes We Can!
Home Canning and Preserving
Metroland, August 2010
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A Dairy Tale
Robert Duncan’s Dairy
Metroland, August 2010
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Jennifer Roy
Profile of Jennifer Roy, author
UAlbany Alumni Magazine, Fall 2010
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David Bordwell
Profile of David Bordwell, Film Scholar
UAlbany Alumni Magazine, Fall 2010
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Oases in the Food Desert
Is Local Food Getting to Low Income People?
Metroland, July 2010
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People-Powered Research
Community Based Participatory Research in Action
Ode, May 2010
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Got Grub?
A Garden Grows at Joseph’s House
Metroland, April 2010
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Get cracking: Homemade crackers are easy — and fun
Culinate, November 2009
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3 books coming from Troy native
Interview with Richard Selzer
Albany Times Union, August 23, 2009
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The Farmers and the Chef
Interview with the Beekman Street Bistro’s Tim Meaney
Metroland, 2009
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Goodbye, Tomatoes
Metroland, 2009
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Op-ed column: Putting the city back together
The Daily Gazette, March 22, 2009
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Everything Old is new again
Metroland, 2009
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To Sleep or Not to Sleep
Metroland, 2009
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Personal Touches
Metroland, 2009
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Here’s to Equal Rights for All
Albany Times-Union, March 2, 2009
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Taking ‘Liberty’
Former Troy church memorialized by an inflatable artwork
Albany Times-Union, May 25, 2008
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‘Secret Language’ explores slang’s Irish roots
Albany Times-Union, March 16, 2008
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Development in Troy still a guessing game
Albany Times-Union, February 28, 2008
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Critic explains ‘How Fiction Works’
Albany Times-Union, February 24, 2008
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Let Us Eat Cake
Delicious City, Winter 2008
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For You, My Sweet
From oysters and lamb testicles to cream puffs and spun sugar, the evolution of cakes as a symbol of wedded bliss
Metroland, 2008
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How I Learned to Love the Egg
Delicious City
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Hot Dog Cult
Famous Lunch has been buying locally since 1932
Delicious City, November 1, 2007
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Thinking Outside the Package
The surreptitious joys of nonmaterial giving for the anti-consumer
Metroland, 2007
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What Are You Like? by Anne Enright (Review)
Raintaxi, Winter 2000-2001
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Going to the Well
Bringing a Literary Classic to the Screen
Seattle Weekly, October 7, 1998
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The Thrift Shift
Seattle Weekly, April 8, 1998
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Poet Ron Koertge’s Absurd Divination
Hot Ink, July 30, 1997
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An Interview with Candace Fleming
Mom Writer’s Literary Magazine
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