Meet… Slice.of.Saratoga Blogger, Emily Mopsik

Meet... Emily Mopsik

a Saratogian with a Love of the Local

WRITTEN BY MEGIN POTTER | PHOTOS PROVIDED

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Inside an 1880 Federal Brick home in the heart of downtown Saratoga, Emily Mopsik is baking up the timeless goodness that only fresh, local ingredients can provide.

Chronicling her idyllic creations on her lifestyle and food blog, SLICE.OF.SARATOGA since May, Emily says that she feels fortunate for the community she calls home. “It’s a creative outlet to highlight the things I was already doing.”

AN URBAN OASIS

Emily Mopsik is a Saratoga native who met her husband, Jerome, in 2005 while they were both attending Skidmore College. In 2009, Emily started teaching 2nd grade at Caroline Street Elementary school. The couple married in 2012 and their adorable daughter, is now two years old. In the warmer months, they can be found in the urban garden that their neighbors have graciously opened up to share with the Mopsik family. The ten garden beds are an oasis filled with fruits, vegetables, and cutting flowers. “Our daughter loves picking berries and eating the ripe ones. Most end up in her mouth, not in her basket,” laughs Emily. She also has her own watering can and loves to rinse off the fresh vegetables they harvest from their plot, as well as the ones gathered from the Farmers’ Market and Four Seasons Natural Foods store just down the street.

SHARING THE LOVE

In the Mopsik home, Jerome does most of the cooking, while Emily is in charge of baking and setting the table for entertaining. Hosting dinner parties, she delights in choosing the linens, tableware and creating the floral arrangements. “More than anything, I love hosting parties,” she said. Emily experiments with recipes from the NYTimes and Food and Wine articles, to supplement her own “tried & true” collection. The cakes, desserts, and soothing soups are offered in small batch “product drops.” Announced on Monday through the SLICE.OF.SARATOGA Instagram page, they are available for pick-up from the Mopsik’s home the following Friday.

HOLIDAY OPEN HOUSE

While her “Almost Famous” Chocolate Cake and Chocolate Chip cookies receive universal praise, it’s Emily Mopsik’s Hanukkah Open House that really fills the home during the holiday season – which begins for them the first week of December this year. Their daughter thrives on the attention, opening the door to greet her Grandparents, family friends and neighbors. She twirls to show off her special dress before going to play dreidel and do puzzles with the other children. There’s egg noodle kugel, homemade challah and hummus served on rectangular blue and white plates gathered from the couple’s travels to Israel and other locales abroad. The spectacular Latkes and Vodka course consists of a show-stopping 100 latkes accompanied by a toppings bar featuring horseradish sour cream, smoked salmon, caviar, pickled beets and onions (from their garden) and applesauce. They are paired with the Mopsik Mule, a take on a ginger mule vodka cocktail. It’s followed with a raisin brandy Bundt cake baked in a Star of David pan for dessert. “It’s all very exciting!” said Emily. Follow Emily’s baking and entertaining adventures on Instagram @SLICE.OF.SARATOGA SF