So, the whole reason that I am in upstate New York with minimal phone signal and hardly any wifi is because I am interning with cookNscribble. cookNscribble is an online food writing community that also runs a food scholars programme in Rensselaerville in the summer, which is where I am currently living. The town looks thus:

The scholars arrive in August and until then, I am busy helping with prep work to get the kitchen(s) in working order so things are not all chaos and confusion when there are many people to feed. We’ve been working across three different sites, the kitchens of which all have their own quirks. At one site, for example, the ovens heat only from below. At another, there are no working ovens at the moment. At the third, there are hardly any storage shelves so we have to be ridiculously clever with boxes and stacking. And feng shui-ing the fridge. (Oh for a walk-in one!)

I’ve been baking a lot of cake. And cookies. And pie.

I’ve made a fair few staff meals.

And I have made a lot of granola. (More on that experience another time.)

It’s basically five weeks of anti-thesis work. Almost all practical, with some blog posts thrown in for diversity. Unfortunately I have to leave before the scholars programme ends – that pesky thesis needs rewriting and I have to move house at the end of August – but I will be cooking for them for the first week that they’re here. So far it has been hard work – I’d forgotten how exhausting it is being on your feet, running about a kitchen all day long – but it’s not all work. When things get too much, there is this swimming hole:

More stories (and recipes) will follow soon!