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By Shannon, Posted in MK Untapped

Our first MKUntapped Beer Blog of 2019 is here and we are so excited to share two new breweries with you! The last few months of 2018 were so incredibly busy that we didn’t get out too many breweries, but that doesn’t mean we weren’t thinking about our next brewery trip. We headed out on January 26th to two breweries in Northern NJ that we have yet not visited. And to our surprise, one of them was hosting their grand opening on the day we decided to visit, so it was exciting to be a part... read more.

• January 29, 2019
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By Shannon, Posted in MK Product

We get the question often, “Why do you run out of stock of specific products?” I am here today, to share with you why some of our products are out of stock, sometimes for months at a time. As plant medicine makers, we try our hardest to use plants/weeds/herbs that grow on our land, or ones we can locally forage sustainably. With that being said, living in Northern New Jersey sometimes poses that to be difficult. We start seeing plants break through the winter ground sometimes as early as mid-... read more.

• January 21, 2019
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By Shannon, Posted in MK Product

Happy New Year and Welcome to Tincture Tuesday! We get asked ALL THE TIME “What is a tincture?”, so I thought explain what a tincture is and how to use them. Tinctures are simple. It’s a plant medicine made with a solvent extracting the medicinal properties of a plant. Most tinctures are made with alcohol but can also be made with vegetable glycerin or apple cider vinegar. Here at Mayernik Kitchen, we make our tinctures with 100 proof vodka and sometimes brandy. The herbs we use are hom... read more.

• December 30, 2018
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By Shannon, Posted in Food Photography

Peaches…they are all over the farmers market’s these day’s here in New Jersey! And boy are they fun to cook with! Most think peaches should be in a pie or used as a dessert, but this flatbread made an amazing dinner for two here in our home. As part of the food photography group I am in, Grey Salt Collective, our prompt was this Arugula, Roasted Peach and Goat Cheese Flatbread. It had all the elements in it; homemade flatbread, fresh, seasonal fruit and vegetables, creamy goat cheese alo... read more.

• August 09, 2018
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By Shannon, Posted in Travels

Hidden treasures, don’t we love them all? I grew up in Clifton, New Jersey, just minutes from Cedar Grove and not until the past year or so, did I know there was a working farm, that grew organic veggies, fruits and flowers, next the historical Canfield-Morgan House, that was built in 1845. I have a feeling many people are unware of this hidden gem that sits right on Pompton Ave in Cedar Grove, NJ. This gem is Morgan's Farm.  It’s crazy how social media sometimes is such a blessing. I... read more.

• July 17, 2018
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By Shannon, Posted in MK Untapped

A typical Saturday for us is to head out early and see where the day takes us! On this specific Saturday, we only had one place on our list, Well Sweep Herb Farm. As we were heading out to Port Murray, NJ to purchase our perennial herbs for the year (most of which the deer have already nibbled and enjoyed, unfortunately), we ended up getting out there earlier than expected, so we stopped at another nearby farm, Donaldson Farm. There is nothing like stumbling upon another awesome farm when heading to one of... read more.

• July 05, 2018
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By Shannon, Posted in Food Profile

Happy Summer Solstice! Whenever I think of summer, I think of sweet, little strawberries that can be picked and enjoyed right in the fields. Strawberry smoothies, pies and desserts all scream summer time! But here in the Mayernik Kitchen, we like to enjoy strawberries year-round and that is why we harvest in mid-June, and preserve in a number of ways to enjoy throughout the year. This year was a little different then past years. We have been preserving the summer bounty of many fruits but I would say str... read more.

• June 21, 2018
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By Shannon, Posted in MK Untapped

Let’s take a ride up to New York State, the Hudson Valley to be exact. It was a rainy weekend but sometimes breweries in the rain can be fun because we can’t be out in the garden, so we might as well sit and enjoy locally brewed beer! For anyone that has been following us, you know we harvest spring water in Blooming Grove, NY and then visit one of our favorite farms, Blooming Hill Farm. We enjoy a delicious breakfast with a farm fresh Bloody Mary, and then shop in their farm market.   ... read more.

• June 01, 2018
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By Shannon, Posted in Food Photography

I {LOVE} to bake. I {LOVE} sweets. I am the only one in the house who enjoys sweets though so it’s sometimes hard to bake often. But I had some friends coming over to plan our trip to Greece so I thought this was the perfect dessert to serve. Lilacs were in full bloom just a few weeks ago and I always try to use/preserve the bounty we have growing in our garden. I have never made Lilac Sugar before so I thought, well this is perfect timing. The recipe was a prompt from a wonderful food photography... read more.

• May 25, 2018
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By Shannon, Posted in MK Untapped

Let us take you on a tour of three breweries in Northern New Jersey. Matt and I ventured out on St. Patrick’s Day to visit some new breweries. This was not a planned day at all. We woke up, got some things done around the house and around noon, we decided to head out to try some local breweries. All three breweries we visited were within 23 miles from our home – some of the closest we’ve visited. If you are in the Northern NJ area (Bergen/Hudson County) this would be a perfect day trip fo... read more.

• April 04, 2018
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