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Mount Lebanon Fest Promises Herbal Delights |
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On: 12:22AM / Thursday May 31, 2012 |
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NEW LEBANON, N.Y. — The first annual Mount Lebanon HerbFest celebrates the intertwining of herbs and local history in the heart of Lebanon Valley, the birthplace of the nation's herbal pharmacy on June 9 and 10.
The two-day festival starts on Saturday, June 9, with downtown events sponsored by local businesses around herbs. Restaurants and stores marked by green balloons will provide samples and promotions on meals, products and services. Guided walks and talks will take place in several local venues. Local lodging establishments are offering special rates to festival attendees.
On Sunday, June 10, the HerbFest moves to the historic Shaker grounds of Mount Lebanon on the Darrow School campus. Thirty workshops, walks and seminars include hands-on sessions that utilize herbs for a variety of products and cooks will demonstrate techniques with herbs and garden experts will speak to growing them.
Admission to the June 10 activities is $10 per person or $20 per family. Registration is suggested at www.mountlebanonherbfest.com. The HerbFest is held rain or shine.
The HerbFest is a project of the Lebanon Valley Business Association. For information or vendor application contact Linda Hursa at 518-794-8800 or angelstrumpetflowers@yahoo.com.
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Haflinger Haus Bringing Austrian Cuisine To Adams |
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By Andy McKeever On: 03:30PM / Thursday May 24, 2012 |
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The main dining room is decorated with a historic feel. |
ADAMS, Mass. — The wait for wiener schnitzel, kasespatzle or hahnchen gerostet is over.
The Haflinger Haus in the former Harrington's Restaurant on Commercial Street is open for business with a menu filled with Austrian favorites. The restaurant and inn had a soft opening on Monday — opening for the dinner hours.
"It's got charm," said 25-year restaurant business veteran Dan Dougherty, who is the general manager. "It reminds me of walking into 1925."
The historic building was purchased last December by former Selectman Donald Sommer as a "reclamation project." Sommer and his family purchased the building for $110,000 and has put what Dougherty estimates is about $100,000 worth of renovations into it. The goal, Sommer previously said, is to "bring life into the building" after it has sat dormant since 2010.
Sommer hired Alexis Girhiny, former director of career services and instructor at Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts, as head chef. Girhiny boasts more than 25 years in culinary including two stays in south Germany, where she learned to cook Austrian food.
"I lived in a town that borders Austria for six years. I understand the whole 'hearty' culture," Girhiny said on Thursday.
There are four rental rooms upstairs. |
Sommers often travels to Austria, which is his heritage, and owns Haflinger horses, for which he named the restaurant and decorated with photos of — bringing that culture to a town that has no other restaurants like it.
The Haflinger Haus will be open from 5 until 9 p.m. Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and from 5 until 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. It will be closed on Mondays. The tavern will open at 4 p.m. The menu is available below.
Once reconstruction is completed on the porches, which Dougherty said will "hopefully be completed in a month," there will be outdoor seating. Four upstairs rooms were renovated for rental so the restaurant operates as an inn as well.
The last two operations out of that location, once the Adams Rest Home, went into foreclosure. The first was Silvia's Inn and the second, Harrington's Restaurant. Succeeding where others have failed will be based on providing "good food, good service at a fair price," Sommers previously said.
Haflinger Haus Menu 2012
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Hancock Village CSA Shares Available For 2012 |
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On: 02:15PM / Friday May 18, 2012 |
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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — There are still some shares left for those interested in joining Hancock Shaker Village's community-supported agriculture program.
Shareholders can stop in on Tuesdays and Saturdays to pick up vegetables, herbs and flowers, and share recipes.
Participants like grabbing the pre-packaged shares, said Bill Mangiardi, director of farm and facilities, but anyone with the yen to join in the harvesting as well is welcome to do so.
The working history museum was recently awarded a $1,550 grant from the Green Pastures Fund, a fund of the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation, to improve the cold-storage capacity of the root cellars built by the Shakers in the 1910 barn complex.
"The upgrade to the root cellars gives us more time to pull together the harvest and keep everything in pristine condition on hot days," said Mangiardi.
Harvest distribution will runs about 20 weeks between mid-June and late October. This is the second year that the village has operated a CSA. It's designed to provide for up to 80 housholds; full shares for up to three to four people are $500, half shares for one to two people are $250. Reserve at www.hancockshakervillage.org or by calling 413-443-0188.
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Williams Professor Awarded For Food Publication |
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On: 10:55AM / Thursday May 17, 2012 |
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Darra Goldstein's publication Gastronomica won another award for its serious conversation about food and culture. |
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Darra Goldstein, a professor at Williams College, received the 2012 James Beard Foundation Journalism Award for Publication of the Year for the quarterly journal on food and culture, Gastronomica.
The Francis Christopher Oakley Third Century Professor of Russian is the founding editor and editor-in-chief of the publication.
This is not the publication's first award. In 2011, Gastronomica was named the best food magazine in the world at the Gourmand Awards in Paris. The journal also received the 2007 Utne Independent Press Award for social/cultural coverage and the Prix d'Or at the Gourmet Voice World Media Festival in 2006.
The awards committee cited the journal for "proving that food can be the catalyst for meaningful and serious discussions about culture, history, literature, art, and politics. Founding editor Darra Goldstein has turned her enthusiasm for food into a substantive and intelligent publication that influences us all."
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Cummington Creamery Co-op Finds Financing Support |
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Old Creamery Cooperative On: 06:52PM / Tuesday May 15, 2012 |
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CUMMINGTON, Mass. — The transition of the Old Creamery in Cummington to a community-owned cooperative grocery store took a giant leap forward this month with Florence Savings Bank's commitment to provide necessary outside financing.
Thanks to the bank's commitment, just one more fundraising task remains before the Old Creamery Co-op can purchase the business. In a drive to raise a total of $285,000 in member-owner loans or additional gifts — the final financing component — three community members have challenged the greater co-op community by promising $25,000 if member-owners pledge an additional $75,000 by the end of the month.
If this challenge is met, the co-op will be able to purchase the business and proceed with renovations to the store and grounds, and finish the last of the fundraising during this year. Of the needed $285,000 in member-owner loans and gifts, $135,000 has been raised already.
"We are excited to be providing the financing support for the Old Creamery Cooperative project in Cummington," said John Heap, president of Florence Savings Bank. "We are also looking forward to serving our Hilltown customers with ATM service at the Creamery when the renovations are completed. The Creamery has been part of the Hilltown community for more than 100 years and we are happy to play a role in building the financial foundation for the next hundred."
Financing for the project, including acquisition, construction, and a capital credit line, is being provided by Florence Savings Bank.
"The vibrant cultural heart of the Hilltowns is the Old Creamery in Cummington," said Rachel Maddow, MSNBC host, author of the best seller "Drift," and a Hilltowns resident. "It is my favorite retail establishment in the entire universe."
The Creamery, in turn, has created a sandwich called the "The Spicy Maddow" to honor the well-known supporter of the co-op.
"The Old Creamery is one of the most values-based and community-oriented businesses I have ever known," said co-op member and longtime Creamery cook and baker Emmy Howard. "I feel very fortunate to be able to work and shop at a business that is able to hold service to the community and environmental awareness as guiding principles. Because the community, in turn, supports the Creamery, it is able to remain a viable business that continues to give back to the community. If this sounds circular, it is, and that is the beauty of the Old Creamery and its community."
To learn more about the creation of the Old Creamery Cooperative, visit www.OldCreamery.coop.
Submitted by Bill Latimer, communications coordinator for Old Creamery Cooperative
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Stephanie Farrington of 
