Author: Kacie Cotter-Harrigan
My Little Cupcake
Hello my Foodie Friends!
This coming week Paula and I will each celebrate another birthday (we stopped counting the years). One of our favorite desserts to have to celebrate is with a cupcake that allows us to each choose our own creative flavor. With so many special events such as baby and bridal showers, birthdays, and weddings, bakeries and small businesses have been busy making delectable desserts for these events. The cupcake is a baked good that has gained tremendous popularity over the past two decades. The big business and trend of making cupcakes has expanded through entrepreneurial bakers and bakeries taking advantage of the multiple varieties and creativity that can come with cupcakes. However, making your own cupcakes can be an endearing gift that you can make for yourself or for someone special.
So, what is your cupcake personality? Do you prefer to indulge in rich double chocolate or simply vanilla? Maybe a wonderful red velvet or carrot cake with cream cheese frosting? Peanut butter fudge sounds delicious or even salted caramel, mocha, or coconut. Whether your personality is fun and festive, salt and sweet, business like, lovey-dovey, colorful, adventurous, or serious, there is a cupcake flavor for you. Since their creation, cupcakes have become a pop culture trend in the culinary world. They have spawned dozens of bakeries devoted entirely to them. While chocolate and vanilla remain classic favorites, fancy flavors such as raspberry meringue and espresso fudge can be found on menus. There are cookbooks, blogs, and magazines specifically dedicated to cupcakes.
The history of cupcakes (retrieved from All About Cupcakes) is interesting to learn about. The cupcake evolved in the United States in the 19th century, and it was revolutionary because of the amount of time it saved in the kitchen. There was a shift from weighing out ingredients when baking to measuring out ingredients. According to the Food Timeline Web, food historians have yet to pinpoint exactly where the name of the cupcake originated. There are two theories: the cakes were originally cooked in cups, and the ingredients used to make the cupcakes were measured out by the cup. In the beginning, cupcakes were sometimes called “number” cakes, because they were easy to remember by the measurements of ingredients it took to create them: One cup of butter, two cups of sugar, three cups of flour, four eggs, one cup of milk, and one spoonful of soda. Clearly, cupcakes today have expanded to a wide variety of ingredients, measurements, shapes, and decorations – but this was one of the first recipes for making what we know today as cupcakes. Cupcakes were convenient because they cooked much quicker than larger cakes. When baking was done in hearth ovens, it would take a long time to bake a cake, and the final product would often be burned. Muffin tins, also called gem pans, were popular around the turn of the 20th century, so people started creating cupcakes in tins.
At Compliments to the Chef, your neighborhood kitchen and cutlery store located at 33 Railroad Place, we carry various accessories to assist you with making your favorite cupcake recipe. Cupcakes are a sweet way to please a crowd, and to say “thank you” or “I love you” to your little cupcake and to celebrate “another” birthday!! Remember my Foodie Friends: “Life Happens in the Kitchen.”
Take Care,
John & Paula
Farming Philosophies & Practices
What are your farming practices? As a farmer, I receive this question in varying forms often from customers who visit the Saratoga Farmers’ Market. So do many of the other agricultural vendors who bring fruits, vegetables, meats, eggs, cheeses, spirits, and other locally produced items to market.
I appreciate the question. It creates an opportunity to chat and build a relationship through a sharing of farming philosophy. But because farming is a personal endeavor, how the question gets answered varies.
I decided last Saturday to ask a few of my farmer friends at the market to share their philosophies and practices. Here’s what I learned:
From Lee Hennessy, owner of Moxie Ridge Farm, which brings goat milk, yogurt, and cheeses to market as well as pork: “The philosophy behind my farm … is based in terroir (a French term that depicts a sense of place in food and wine).”
For Hennessy, terroir is achieved through what his goats and other animals eat: “Everything is non-GMO and comes from within 10 miles of my farm. That sense of place in milk and in meat is what makes it unique.”
From Andy Burger, of Burger Farm, a multi-generation family farm that brings seedlings, potted plants, and vegetables to market: “We are no-spray, non-certified organic. We try and keep as close to naturally grown as we can.”
Burger’s use of the terms no-spray, organic, and naturally grown offers a means to differentiate many practices. “No spray” means no chemical insecticides, herbicides, or fungicides are used to protect crops from pests. “Organic” allows for certain spraying and fertilizer use, while “naturally grown” further limits these uses to materials that are fully natural.
“Non-certified” highlights the fact farms use organic and naturally grown methods but have not sought formal recognition. Such is the case twith my farm. We do not use sprays and minimize organic fertilizer use by incorporating animal manure into our soil.
Organic certification comes from the USDA. It is expensive and time-consuming, but it ensures crops are grown in the cleanest possible environment, as Echo Creek Farm owner Jennifer Palulis has explained.
And the difference between certified organic and certified naturally grown? “The single biggest difference is the certifier,” says Jason Heitman of Green Jeans Market Farm, which receives its certified naturally grown recognition from another farmer. “I don’t use the USDA; I use a colleague.”
Saratoga Farmers’ Market runs at Wilton Mall 3-6 p.m. Wednesdays and 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturdays. Follow on Facebook and Instagram. Subscribe to the newsletter www.saratogafarmersmarket.org/weekly-newsletter.
Estate Planning Basics
With the Federal estate tax exemption (the amount you can pass estate tax-free) at more than $11.5 million per person, or over $23 million for a married couple, many people may be inclined to believe that estate planning is simply not something they need to concern themselves with. While that may be true from an estate tax perspective, estate planning is a multifaceted concept with certain principles that apply to virtually everyone.
At the end of the day estate planning is about making sure your assets go to whom you’d like them to, and in the most efficient way possible. One way to do this is to write a will which dictates the distribution of your estate, but a will, alone, can be a very inefficient tool due to a process called probate.
Probate is the public process of certifying your will and distributing your estate. During this process your will can be contested, making the process potentially very long and expensive. You could expect to spend up to four percent of your probatable estate in legal fees and, even after a years-long process, your estate may not be distributed as you would have wished.
In order to help eliminate these concerns, it is usually recommended that your assets be titled in such a a way as to avoid probate altogether.
Non-retirement funds can be titled as “Transfer-on-Death” accounts. If held jointly, these accounts can also be titled as having “Rights of Survivorship.” Upon your death, assets in these accounts would be easily transferred to your joint owner first, and then to the named beneficiaries upon the second death.
Your retirement accounts, including IRAs and employer-sponsored plans can have named beneficiaries. Just as with a Transfer-on-Death account, upon your death your assets can be easily transferred into the names of your beneficiaries.
Because these types of designations are contractual, they are excluded from probate, and cannot be contested. Avoiding probate means these funds are available to your heirs almost immediately, and privately.
We recommend reviewing your beneficiary declarations annually, or upon a life event, to help ensure they accurately reflect your wishes.
This certainly isn’t to say that a will is unnecessary. Quite to the contrary. A will is an important estate planning tool for distributing assets which can’t be distributed in a more efficient way.
Many people mistakenly believe that if they don’t have a will, and don’t utilize beneficiary declarations or joint ownership tools, then their spouse will simply inherit everything. They are often wrong.
This is called dying “intestate.” In this instance these assets would still be subject to a probate process, but without any documents to dictate your wishes, the State determines who inherits your assets.
If you die intestate in New York, with a spouse and descendants, then your spouse will receive the first $50,000 of the intestate estate, plus half of the remainder. Your descendants would receive the other half. Nobody will be more surprised than your spouse!
Work with your Certified Financial Planner ® and a qualified estate attorney to help determine the best way to help ensure your estate goals are met. You may not require an intricate estate plan with many moving parts, but you should certainly be aware of the basic steps and tools available to you to help simply the process for your heirs.
Stephen Kyne, CFP® is a Partner at Sterling Manor Financial, LLC in Saratoga Springs and Rhinebeck.
Securities offered through Cadaret, Grant & Co., Inc. Member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services offered through Sterling Manor Financial, LLC, or Cadaret, Grant & Co., Inc., SEC registered investment advisors. Sterling Manor Financial and Cadaret, Grant are separate entities. This article contains opinion and forward-looking statements which are subject to change. Consult your investment advisor regarding your own investment needs.
The Responsibilities of a Guardian After Appointment: How to Comply with the Reporting Requirements
If you are appointed as a Guardian under Article 81 of the New York State Mental Hygiene Law, you are charged with certain responsibilities under the statute. Included in those responsibilities is the completion and filing of an Initial Report and Annual Reports.
What is in the Guardian’s Initial Report?
The Guardian’s Initial Report includes the details of the assets of the incapacitated person (IP). The Guardian must set forth exactly what IP assets are coming under their control at the outset of the guardianship. The Guardian must also detail their plan to meet the medical, physical, and social needs of the IP.
When does the Initial Report need to be filed?
The Initial Report must be filed within 90 days of the Guardian receiving their Commission.
Is there an educational requirement for the Guardian?
Yes. The Guardian must take a state mandated course regarding their responsibilities. Proof of completion of the course must be filed with the Initial Report. In some cases, however, the Court waives the educational requirement.
What is in the Guardian’s Annual Report?
The Annual Report addresses the ongoing property and personal affairs of the IP. Regarding their property affairs, the Annual Report details the amount of assets the IP started with at the beginning of the year and the amount of assets they finished with at the end of the year. Each item of income and expense during the course of the year must also be itemized. Regarding the personal needs of the IP, the Guardian must report regarding the general welfare of the IP – including the medical care received by the IP during the year, the appropriateness of the IP’s current residence, and whether there is any reason to change the guardianship.
When does the Annual Report need to be filed?
The Annual Report must be filed by the end of May each year regarding the activity from the prior calendar year.
Where do the Guardian Reports need to be filed?
Where the reports need to be filed varies depending on the particular circumstances of the guardianship; however, in all cases, the reports need to be filed with the Examiner of Guardianship Reports for the county where the IP resides. The Examiner will then review the report and issue their own report to the Guardian and the Court.
The completion and filing of proper guardianship reports can be a challenging process. If you need assistance complying with your responsibilities as a Guardian, you should seek the assistance of an experienced elder law attorney.
Matthew J. Dorsey, Esq. is a Partner with O’Connell and Aronowitz, 1 Court St., Saratoga Springs. Over his twenty-three years of practice, he has focused in the areas of elder law, estate planning, and estate administration. Mr. Dorsey can be reached at 518-584-5205, mdorsey@oalaw.com, and www.oalaw.com.
Home Stretches
Working from home has become the new normal for many people.
While some are lucky enough to have a dedicated home office set-up, many others find themselves in an ergonomically challenging work environment which can result in aches and pain throughout the spine.
Incorporating stretches into your daily routine can help counteract the negative effects of prolonged sitting and less than ideal work stations. Stretches should be performed on a daily basis and can be done once or twice a day. Stretches should be held for 30-60 seconds.
Making Decisions in Uncertain Times
AS WE NAVIGATE THE START AND POTENTIAL STOP OF A NEW SCHOOL YEAR, DAY-TO-DAY LIFE CAN FEEL ANXIETY-PROVOKING, OVERWHELMING AND DIFFICULT.
The fall season has always been a time of changing weather, shifting priorities and new intentions. It marks a point in time when we begin to make plans for fall festivals and upcoming holidays.
From childcare to holiday planning, decision-making can feel burdensome and never-ending. It seems many decisions rest on the cliff of choosing between sanity and safety. For example, you know to preserve your sanity you need to get a babysitter a few times a week to bring more balance to your life but you have anxiety about bringing someone into your family pod.
How do you make healthy decisions during this time of uncertainty?
1. EXPLORE ALL OPTIONS
If you are not sure what decision is best for you and your loved ones, talk or write each possible scenario out. One of the things I do when I feel stuck is to speak out all of the different possibilities. Whether I am talking to a loved one, friend, or simply saying it out-loud to myself, this ritual allows me to hear the options I have stated in an organized, orderly way.
2. PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR BODY
Our bodies are so wise. They have an internal GPS system that guides us along the right path in any situation. As you state or write out your options, pay attention to your body. Is your heart rate accelerating at one of your choices? Do you feel uneasy or anxious as you are considering one of the options?
This is your GPS alerting you that this is not the right option for you. Whether it is an increased heartrate, pressure in your chest or overall discomfort, your body will let you know what options you can cross off the list.
Use your body as a built-in GPS to help you make better decisions in every area of your life.
3. FOLLOW THE PEACE
If you feel anxious, drained or fearful about any of your options, this is the opposite of peace. A very simple way to make decisions in this time is to honor your peace of mind. Do not let outside noise in the form of well intentioned family members or friends move you off the path of peace. When in doubt only go forward if you have true peace and resist the urge to over-explain to those who don’t agree with you.
In a time full of rapidly changing information, guidelines and rules, it’s important to slow down, keep it simple and honor the basics when it comes to making decisions. State your options, listen to your body and follow the peace.
YOU ARE WORTH IT!
Meghan Fritz is a psychotherapist practicing at Fritz, Stanger & Associates. For more information email meghanfritzlcsw@gmail.com
Back to School in 2020
School starts for my boys and many (most?) of your children next week, and I know many families who have already started.
My back-to-school pieces in past years have tended toward tips and tricks for a smoother beginning of the school year, or sometimes verklempt pieces about how fast time goes. There seems to be little room for those topics this year, though, as we’re all grappling with other concerns.
From what I’ve seen among my own family and friends, as well as on social media and in the news, there are parents who are eager for their children to return to in-person school, and parents who are scared for their children to return to in-person school. Some parents are choosing to keep their children home and utilize whatever virtual options are being offered by their school, or are choosing to fully homeschool, while other parents don’t have a choice, whether because their schools aren’t offering it or because the parents’ jobs don’t allow the flexibility for their preferred choices. I know parents of children with special needs who are scared for the unavailability in many places of the services their children need to succeed, and scared for the risk to their children’s health posed by receiving those very services. I know teachers who can’t wait to get back in the classroom, and teachers who are terrified to do so; the same can be said for the students. I don’t think any family with school-age children or teachers are untouched by worry about this upcoming school year.
I thought I’d offer two thoughts that have been helpful to me as I try to remain mentally and emotionally healthy in the midst of all the worry. First: a delay in the kids’ educational path isn’t the end of the world. This is something I can start freaking out about if I think about it too much! I’ve really loved the pace and direction of my children’s lives thus far. It’s been easy for me to plan and prepare for each step of their development, because it’s all been laid out neatly: elementary school, then middle and high school, grade by grade. Extracurricular activities and sports at the youth level, then modified, then JV, then Varsity. Academic opportunities, PSAT and SAT prep and test taking. College visits and applications, then college itself. Then adulthood, with all its jobs and relationships and fulfillment of so many of the things I’ve hoped for them. I don’t do well with uncertainty—I definitely like to know what’s coming and when—so this past spring, when it was unclear at first whether the school year would be able to finish normally, or if everyone would fall behind, I tried to stave off panic. What will life look like for my kids if the normal flow of things is interrupted?
Around the time that I was at peak panic, back in early spring, I’d been reading up on a particular psychologist named Mihalyi Czikszentmihalyi because of his theories about tapping into what he calls “flow” (that feeling of being “in the zone” when working on something—something that I often can’t find just when I need it!), and in reading about his work I came upon more personal information about himself. I was amazed to discover that he’d had to flee Budapest with his family as a child during World War II because the Russian soldiers were coming (the bridge over the Danube blew up right after his train crossed it), and that he and his family had lived in a refugee camp for a time. Of course his educational path was derailed, and he wasn’t able to start college until he was twenty-two; even then, he had to grapple with language, cultural, and financial challenges. And yet, he went on to be incredibly successful and respected in his field, and married and had children as well. Reading about this man living through things much worse than my family and I have had to, and for much longer, has given me some much needed perspective and peace.
The second thought that’s been helpful to me is that what’s going on right now is not only happening to my children. The fear of “falling behind” begs the question: “Falling behind whom?” Local peers? National peers? We know that students, teachers, administrators, and families locally and across the country are all dealing with new guidelines and protocols, worries about their own health and those of their loved ones, and uncertainty about how the school year will proceed despite everyone’s best efforts. Whatever difficulties or delays we encounter this academic year will be encountered by all of us, everywhere. I find great solace in the thought that, despite our differing opinions about how best to proceed, we are, truly, all in this together.
I very much hope and pray and that the 2020-2021 school year sees an end to this pandemic and a return to the best parts of “normal life” for all of us: hope for our children and their futures; peace for all the adults trying to keep everything on track; good health for all, including the most vulnerable.
Kate and her husband have seven sons ages 15, 14, 12, 10, 8, 6, and 2. Follow her at www.facebook.com/kmtowne23, or email her at kmtowne23@gmail.com.
Ferraro: A Unique Racing Background that has Carried His Career for 30 Years
As the Saratoga Race Course season ends its 2020 season, James W. Ferraro is also wrapping up his 30th year as a trainer at the track. While he may not be a household name to current horse racing fans, he does come from a unique horse racing background that does merit some attention.
His father – James Ferraro – was a trainer and later a bloodstock agent, as well as a close friend to late Hall of Fame trainer H. Allen Jerkens, often known as “The Chief.” Because of that, the younger Ferraro had good insight on training horses.
“My father and him were good friends,” he said. “Some of my best memories are going out to dinner with them and listen to them talk about training philosophies, taking care of horses, how to handle certain problems, and what to do about them.”
After spending his teenage years by helping his father train horses, Ferraro eventually became a stablehand for Jerkens from 1974-1977. At that point, “The Chief” thought it was time for Ferraro to train horses on his own.
“He said get out there and learn now,” Ferraro said. “His theory was go out there and start training because you are going to make the same mistakes now that you will also make five years from now. I learned that from both my father and the Chief. I knew I could always go back to them for advice.”
As soon as he got his trainer’s license, Ferraro saddled his first winner with a maiden claimer coincidently named Talking Partner on Dec. 20, 1977 at Aqueduct, which has been part of his home base for over three decades.
Ferraro’s thought of coming to Saratoga didn’t happen until three years later after his first winner. When Ferraro came to Saratoga, he made it worth the trip with just two horses: Lorine who finished first and second in two claiming races, and Table for John, who was second twice in an allowance race.
While Ferraro continued to train horses throughout the 1980s, his father stopped training horses to become a bloodstock agent.
It has been reported that his father was the one who helped Sam Rubin purchase the great Hall of Fame gelding John Henry for $25,000. Later, John Henry earned several accolades that include becoming the oldest horse to win the Eclipse Award for Horse and a Grade 1 race at the age of 9 in 1984 after earning the same honor in 1981.
Over the years, the younger Ferraro has posted a respectable career with more than 300 winners and earnings over $11 million from horses that include New York-bred stakes-winning mares Double Dee’s, Board Elligible and Aunt Babe. However, there is still a mare who has Ferraro’s memory: Courageous Karen, whose 2-of-10 career wins came at Saratoga.
Even though she never won a stakes race, Courageous Karen was a versatile mare on both turf and off track. In fact, Ferraro recalls one moment at Saratoga where she dominated an off-the-turf event in 1988.
“We had shipped up here a day before the race, which was supposed to be on the turf,” Ferraro said. “That night, it started downpouring. That filly won on the turf, but she loved the mud, too. Once that race came off the turf, she took off and won. I still remember that race well.”
Today at 64-years-old, Ferraro believes his “old school” style of training is still effective for his stable, just as he learned from his father and “The Chief.” However, he doesn’t dismiss some of today’s technology and science that can benefit horses.
“That was definitely old school then with the way they took care of problems with the horses,” Ferraro said about their approach to training horses. “Years ago, you were able to give horses time. You didn’t necessarily rely so much on the veterinarians. I’m not closed-minded. I try to mix it up a little bit. You have to still use technology and modern medications.”
Before the COVID-19 pandemic in mid-March that halted New York racing, it seemed like things were moving forward for Ferraro as his horses found the Winner’s Circle at Aqueduct five times while finishing in-the-money 10 other times. However, with New York racing not resuming until the beginning of June at Belmont, some of his horses were kept on idle.
“Some of my horses were taken out of training and they lost all of that conditioning,” he said. “All we did was hand-walk them for 45 days. That’s kind of frustrating because you see the track right there and you are losing conditioning every day.”
Now that racing has resumed, Ferraro’s horses have gotten back into shape with two of them winning near the end of the Belmont meet and Bank Gala winning her first career race halfway through the Saratoga meet.
“We had a slow start at Belmont, then we picked up a couple of wins during the last week,” Ferraro said. “Saratoga is nearly impossible to win up here, especially with small stables.”
As challenging as it may be to compete at Saratoga, Ferraro, who is on multiple committees for the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association that include backstretch and safety, as well as a representative for the trainers, still enjoys the scene and people around the Saratoga backstretch.
“Saratoga is fantastic,” he said. “A lot of people say the same thing. It’s that banter. Even though we are very competitive, we are close-knit. We rekindle friendships. It’s that comradery.”