You know autumn has arrived in New England when boxes of tangy-sweet Concord grapes start showing up at local markets and farm stands. In fact, these dusky-purple orbs are so fragrant, you can smell them before you see them. Their growing season is brief, so enjoy them now, either straight from the vine or in […]
recipe
A collection of fun and easy summer vegetable recipes that put the flavor of the season’s harvest on your table. Nurtured all summer long and tended to perfection, piles of red and yellow tomatoes in every shape and size await your inspection. Neat stacks of white and golden corn nestled in silk … hard-shelled squashes […]
Food
10 Tomato Recipes
Got tomatoes? Here are 10 tempting tomato recipes to make with your fresh garden produce. Don’t miss our Gazpacho recipe, and expand your vegetable horizons. From heirloom tomato salad to scalloped tomatoes, these recipes will delight everyone in the family. Try them now and let us know which tomato recipe is your favorite in the […]
Yankee
Artisanal Cheese Makers
In September, the hills of western Massachusetts surrounding Hillman Farm are blazing with autumn color. Carolyn and Joe Hillman’s herd of 50 Alpine goats are outside grazing, as they are for most of the year. This pasturing of goats is largely responsible for the nuances of flavor found in the Hillmans’ Harvest Wheel, a raw […]
Cooking Advice
Macaroni and Cheese | Easy Does It
Most people enjoy macaroni and cheese just like their mom made. For some, that means a custard-based sauce; for others, it’s a béchamel sauce with the addition of cheese. Then there’s the entire generation that prefers the boxed version (this group does not know what they’re missing). I’ve had fun with all three versions. (Yes, […]
1. Be organized. Gather together everything you are going to need from start to finish and be sure to make a trip to the restroom. Once you get started, you can’t walk away — this is live fire cooking. Do you have enough charcoal (or propane)? Do you have all the ingredients? Do you have […]
Main Dishes
Cranberry Recipes
Cranberries have a storied New England history: Native Americans are said to have combined dried cranberries, meat, and fat to make pemmican, a practically nonperishable (and not so tasty) wintertime staple. Revolutionary War veteran Henry Hall began cultivating cranberries in the Cape Cod town of Dennis in 1816. Today, Massachusetts is known as the premier […]
Food
Asparagus Tips
Photo/Art by Michael Paul/ Stockfood Asparagus cultivation dates back to early Greek and Roman civilizations, but our local fondness got jumping in the 1920s when Massachusetts’ Pioneer Valley showed its fertile self with such prodigious harvests that the town of Hadley was crowned the “Asparagus Capital of the World.” Some describe this member of the […]
Here’s a recipe for a good day: Take one lakeside home; add four friends and fresh local ingredients. Toss in laughter and good conversation. The friends — Ravi Gongaju, Karen Doris, and Anna and Timothy Blanc — originally met while working at Eastern Mountain Sports in Peterborough, New Hampshire, a few years ago and now […]
For four precious weeks in early summer, strawberries by the ton come up out of Maxwell’s strawberry fields, which lie across Cape Elizabeth like random quilt squares. They come by the truckload to the Maxwell farm market, to Maine supermarkets, and into Elsie Maxwell’s kitchen and freezer. Ken and Elsie Maxwell are the fifth generation […]
History
Some Tall Tales are Almost True
While rum and other spirits are widely consumed throughout New England today, the traditional New England drink is, of course, cider. Hard cider. Sure, there’s always been plenty of sweet cider handy-particularly during the fall months-to be served when the minister calls, but during my growing-up years in Maine the favorite recipes had names such […]