-
Concert Review: Loudon Wainwright III & Richard Thompson
For my birthday this year, Elisa bought me tickets to the opening night of ‘Loud and Rich,’ a multi-city concert tour pairing Loudon Wainwright II with Richard Thompson. It was my first time seeing Loudon Wainwright, so I didn’t really have any particular expectations, although I always look forward to seeing someone in concert that I haven’t seen before. I’ve seen Richard Thompson once before, around the time Rumor and Sigh was released, and I was looking forward to seeing him again. The venue was the Lebanon Opera House in Lebanon, New Hampshire. While I’d never been there before, mostly because it is almost a two-hour drive from my home, I…
-
Canterbury Shaker Village
North of Concord, New Hampshire, just a short detour off of I-93, you’ll find Canterbury Shaker Village. Founded in 1792, just eighteen years after the first Shakers immigrated to America from England, the Shaker village in Canterbuy was one of nineteen Shaker communities in the United States. Shakers lived, worked, and worshiped at Canterbury Village for some 200 years, with the population reaching 300 during the 1850s. The last shaker who lived at Canterbury Village, sister Ethel Hudson, passed away in 1992. Functioning solely as a historical museum since then, Canterbury Shaker Village offers a unique opportunity to immerse yourself into another time and place, and for the contemplative among us,…
-
October: Apple Tasting at Scott Farm
Just north of Brattleboro lies Dummerston, Vermont, home to Scott Farm. A long-time dairy farm, Scott Farm was tranformed into an apple orchard in the mid-20th century by owner Fred Holbrook. In 1995 Mr. Holbrook donated his farm to the Landmark Trust with the stipulation that it remain in agricultural use for perpetuity. Over the years since the Landmark Trust has owned the farm, the orchard manager, Zeke Goodband, has used classic grafting techniques to convert the 45 acres of orchard from Macintosh apples to a mixed orchard of heirloom apples. Among the varieties grown at Scott Farm are Roxbury Russet, Belle de Boskoop, and Cox’s Orange Pippin, as well as…
-
H-Mart Comes to New England
For those in the know, the Korean supermarket chain H-Mart is a wonderful place to shop–they have a fish department and a meat department that puts virtually all American supermarket chains to shame, as well as a fantastic produce department and an in-store food court where the hungry shopper can choose from a variety great dishes. For over a year now people in New England have been eagerly awaiting the announced grand opening of a new H-Mart in Burlington, Massachusetts, New England’s first. The big day finally arrived this past Friday, and the place was absolutely mobbed. There was even a nice little writeup in the Boston Globe. The store was…
-
Apple Picking at DeMeritt Hill Farm
This past Saturday we met up with our oldest son, his wife, and his wife’s sister in Lee New Hampshire to do some apple picking at DeMeritt Hill Farm. Elisa and I arrived a bit early, so we spent a little time watching children interact with the goats, chickens, miniature horses and alpacas that form a cute little barnyard petting zoo. Once we were all together we purchased our apple picking bags from the farm store and waiting for the ride to the orchard–a hay wagon with seating that was pulled by a farm tractor. Once among the trees we picked up some apple picking poles (haven’t seen those before) and…
-
Dave’s Fish and Fowl Paella
Ingredients 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil 5 cups chicken broth (preferably homemade) 1/2 teaspoon saffron threads 1 medium spanish onion, diced 1/2 cup fresh tomatoes, pureed 8 chicken wings, segmented 1 lb. Italian style chicken sausages, in 1/2 in slices 12 large shrimp, shelled 12 Mussels, scrubbed 1 teaspoon kosher salt 3/4 teaspoon Sweet Pimenton (Spanish smoked Paprika) 2 1/2 cups Spanish rice, such as Valencia or La Bomba (medium grained white rice is a good substitute) Instructions Roast the chicken thighs in a 375 degree oven until done. Remove casings from the chicken sausages and cut in 1/2 in slices. Fry in a Saute pan until done. Preheat a…
-
Supporting Local Farms
New England has a surprising number of small and medium-sized farms scattered throughout the region. Unlike the government subsidized socialized factory farms that dominate in America’s farm belt, the comparatively small, often family-run farms in New England are much more accessible to consumers, presenting us with a variety of ways to get our weekly fix of fresh, local produce. Now that summer has arrived, it’s a perfect time to take advantage of everything that local agriculture has to offer. Farm Stands It’s almost impossible not to encounter a farm stand on any leisurely drive in New England. While many farm stands ship in produce from far away during the months that…
-
Prairie Home Companion Live at Tanglewood
For my father’s day gift from my wife Elisa we went the following Saturday (June 27) to Lenox, Massachusetts and Tanglewood, the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. It was our fourth visit to Tanglewood and the third time that we saw Garrison Keillor’s Prairie Home Companion performed there. The guests that were scheduled to appear were Martin Sheen, Steve Martin with the Steep Canyon Rangers, multi-instrumentalist Stuart Duncan, and singer Heather Masse. During the brief warm-up before the show goes live on the radio, Garrison announced that Arlo Guthrie would also perform. In a word, the show was awesome. Arlo played a couple of nice songs during the show…
