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Spring has Sprung!

Backcountry Mercantile

Apr 28, 2021
2 min

Spring has Sprung!

It's been a while since we last connected. While there has been no shortage of 'languishing' over the past year, now that Spring has sprung, and vaccines are becoming more widely available, there is a desire to step outside of our comfort zones again (aka our stretchy pants) and to actually leave the house! And boy, does it feel liberating. I've enjoyed meeting friends for an alfresco lunch or a coffee in the park to catch up. I'm taking long(er) walks and, dare I say, I've b

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A Valentine's Day Brunch

Backcountry Mercantile

Feb 13, 2021
3 min

A Valentine's Day Brunch

Valentine's Day falls on a Sunday this year, making it the perfect opportunity to show your love and affection with a heartfelt brunch! We've set our brunch table with our hand-painted heart ceramicware, milk glass, a colorful floral arrangement, and some satin heart candy boxes. I haven't ever known anyone to deny a box full of chocolates! Who doesn't love pancakes? Our two favorite versions happen to be those that we reserve for making on special occasions. The first is wha

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Mandarins bring Good Luck in the New Year

Backcountry Mercantile

Jan 29, 2021
5 min

Mandarins bring Good Luck in the New Year

They say that mandarins bring good luck in the new year. Well, then bring on the mandarins in plenty! They are not only the sweetest tasting of the fruits in the 'orange' family, but also the most vibrant in their color, making them beautiful to display. While it seemed symbolic to place a bowl of these citric fruits on the countertop for the new year, that was not the reason I had purchased them. It was during a trip to Whole Foods that I stopped dead in my tracks. Habituall

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The 'Galette des Rois'

Backcountry Mercantile

Jan 24, 2021
4 min

The 'Galette des Rois'

Traditionally, in France, a 'Galette des Rois', otherwise known as a 'king cake', is served for the Epiphany. As history will tell it, the twelfth night following the birth of baby Jesus marks the arrival of the three kings to Bethlehem, and therefore, the day the Galette des Rois debuts. If you have done your math correctly, this translates to the sixth day of January. It is at this time that every pastry shop and boulangerie throughout all of France will display this decade

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Bone Broth for the Soul

Backcountry Mercantile

Jan 11, 2021
6 min

Bone Broth for the Soul

After a long month of glutinous eating (truffles, cheese, and cookies, oh my), it is time to detox a little. Nothing speaks to the soul more on a cold, dreary winter's day than a bowl of homemade chicken soup, and that is exactly what we are going to prepare from our bone broth. Understanding the health benefits of drinking bone broth is equally as satisfying. You can make bone broth from just about any animal - chicken, pork, beef, lamb, and fish, to name a few. We enjoyed a

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How to Make a Bûche de Noël

Backcountry Mercantile

Jan 3, 2021
5 min

How to Make a Bûche de Noël

A Bûche de Noël is a traditional Christmas cake in the shape of a log that is served for dessert around Christmas time in countries such as France, Belgium, and Switzerland. The tradition dates back to the 19th century when families would burn a yule log in their homes starting on Christmas Eve. Some say the log was cut from the bottom of the Christmas tree, and others say it had to be big enough to burn for twelve whole days, up until Epiphany. The burning of the log symboli

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The Art of Handmade Ceramics

Backcountry Mercantile

Nov 18, 2020
4 min

The Art of Handmade Ceramics

Our love for melding vintage treasures with new, carefully curated, and sought after ones was our purpose for launching Backcountry Mercantile last November. We believe that setting a table that not only looks elegant, but one that also tells a story, is what becomes the foundation of a memorable celebration. It is what we call "a true mélange of passé et présent." The idea that we should wait all year to break out the holiday tableware for just one specific day was also a pr

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Is it really even Fall if you have yet to make Butternut Squash Soup?

Backcountry Mercantile

Oct 27, 2020
3 min

Is it really even Fall if you have yet to make Butternut Squash Soup?

How many of you have already had your dose of butternut squash for the season? We sense the overload! However, we promise that once you get your hands on a bowl of this slightly sweet, somewhat nutty, and very light butternut squash soup, you will find yourself asking for more. We hosted an afternoon of pumpkin carving on our lawn this past weekend. Following an earlier rain, a damp chill hung in the air. We poured soup in mugs for each of our guests to enjoy upon arrival. Th

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Autumnal Delights & Butternut Squash Risotto

Backcountry Mercantile

Oct 12, 2020
4 min

Autumnal Delights & Butternut Squash Risotto

Autumn has officially arrived. The days seem just a little bit shorter, as they remain darker longer, and the air has taken a turn to a crisp nip. Heirloom pumpkins and cheerful mums have made way into our gardens and onto our front doorsteps. We are finding comfort in warm sweaters, seasonal soups, and apple crisps. In our household, we have switched out the 'everyday' milk glass that was used so often during the summertime and moved onto our cheerful pumpkin earthenware. Th

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A glass of rosé. A bowl of bouillabaisse. You've now transported yourself to the south of France.

Backcountry Mercantile

Aug 8, 2020
6 min

A glass of rosé. A bowl of bouillabaisse. You've now transported yourself to the south of France.

Transport yourself to the south of France with our version of traditional bouillabaisse, accompanied by aioli toast. Chill your favorite Provençal Rosé to serve alongside this dish, or, even better, select a few bottles and do a wine tasting amongst your guests. For those of you who don't know what bouillabaisse is, it is a Provençal fish stew originating from the city of Marseille, one of the major ports of the Mediterranean Sea, situated west of the Riviera. Depending upon

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Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner!

Backcountry Mercantile

Aug 5, 2020
7 min

Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner!

It's been a while since my last blog post. And truth be told, the reason is quite simple. Life just gets busy. Has anyone else lost track of time? None the less, I have been wanting to share some more of our super-easy summer recipes, since I last shared our 'easy peasy summer salads' with you. It's difficult to make selections, so I'm beginning with those that have been most requested. Investing in an air fryer recently has been, hands down, the best decision we've made in a

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Easy, Peasy, Clean Summer Salads

Backcountry Mercantile

Jul 8, 2020
6 min

Easy, Peasy, Clean Summer Salads

For years we have been serving the same two summer salads from Memorial Day through Labor Day. The first is a watermelon, tomato & feta salad. Variations can be made by using either tomatoes on the vine or heirloom varieties. As far as the cheeses are concerned, ricotta salata can be used as an alternative to feta cheese. Both of these cheeses crumble easily, so we suggest either slicing or grating them. Pictured below is a crumbled feta. When purchasing either cheese in bloc

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Summer Solstice Calls for Cherry Gazpacho and Apricot Clafoutis

Backcountry Mercantile

Jun 26, 2020
5 min

Summer Solstice Calls for Cherry Gazpacho and Apricot Clafoutis

Longer days, thanks to the summer solstice, haven't exactly meant logging in extra hours of sleep in this household. What it has allowed, however, is a preconceived notion that because the days are staying lighter much longer, that the hours we stay awake, too, should be much longer. As a result, more time is being spent in the kitchen, allowing more sweet treats to make their way into our 'before bedtime' rituals. I suppose that when my children look back one day, the memori

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A Father's Day Well Spent at Home

Backcountry Mercantile

Jun 23, 2020
4 min

A Father's Day Well Spent at Home

Like most holidays for our family, and quite frankly all of them over the recent months with the current pandemic, Father's Day was spent at home. With spending so much time at home lately, we had recently purchased a fire pit for some outdoor enjoyment. Our grill had quite literally failed us the last time we attempted to use it, and so a new grill was in order, as well. It was easy to see how we were, therefore, going to spend our Father's Day celebration this year - enjoyi

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A Special Mother's Day Tribute

Backcountry Mercantile

Jun 18, 2020
6 min

A Special Mother's Day Tribute

With Father's Day around the corner, I thought it might be a good idea to finally take the time to blog about what we did as a family for Mother's Day. It was a busy time, as we were still in the thick of 'homeschooling'. We had just two weeks of school remaining, and we were maintaining a grasp of what was left as far as the children's daily Zoom schedules and work loads were concerned. Often, we were four or five people all trying to use the same home network, and sometimes

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Home of the Free, Because of the Brave

Backcountry Mercantile

May 25, 2020
3 min

Home of the Free, Because of the Brave

Today, we saluted those who serve us both presently, as well as honored those who have served us in the past. As we gathered around the table with our loved ones this evening, we remembered the fallen soldiers who bravely fought for us and for this country. Westmoreland milk glass in the paneled grape pattern as well as a floral bouquet designed by McArdle's Florist in Greenwich was the inspiration for our tabletop. With the inclement weather we've experienced, we decided to

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