Year: 2021

Bacon up a storm

BaNH Bacon & Beer Festival returns

As the event’s name suggests, crispy, savory bacon and chilled brews are the stars of the NH Bacon & Beer Festival, returning to Anheuser-Busch in Merrimack on Saturday, Sept. 11, with live music, beer samples and bacon-infused eats from more than a dozen local restaurants, food trucks and other vendors showing off their culinary talents.

This is the first Bacon & Beer festival to take place since the spring of 2019, according to event organizer Jeremy Garrett. After multiple consecutive sellouts, Garrett said, the decision was made to increase the number of available tickets and the overall event time (by one hour).

About a week before the festival, more than 500 pounds of bacon provided by North Country Smokehouse are distributed among the food vendors, each of whom has the creative freedom to incorporate how they would like into their dishes. You’ll find everything from traditional candied bacon to deep fried bacon, french fries topped with bacon bits, and bacon grilled cheeses. Other options will include a bacon arancini from The Traveling Foodie Food Cart, and the bacon hot dogs from Dandido Sauce.

“You can sample while the supplies last. … We will have a couple of vendors who will be doing full-sized servings, which is brand new to the event,” Garrett said. “We just kind of figured [that] if you really liked that bacon sample you got, then maybe you’d want a full serving of it.”

Due in part to ongoing staffing challenges among restaurants, this year’s festival has one of the more diverse vendor lineups, which bring in food trucks and even some non-food companies.

“We have a company called Welbilt, and they actually produce equipment for the restaurant industry, so things like large commercial ovens and stoves,” Garrett said. “They are going to come out and use their equipment, and do at least one or two different types of samples.”

More than two dozen breweries will also be there, most hailing from New Hampshire or neighboring New England states. Attendees will be given a “brewery passport,” which they can use to sample three-and-a-half-ounce pours of up to 20 of the more than 100 beers and ciders. Garrett said samples will be served in disposable cups rather than take-home glasses.

Live music will be featured throughout the afternoon, including performances from Grayson Ty and Laura Buchanan, as well as American Idol finalist and Mont Vernon native Alex Preston.

While there won’t be outdoor seating, attendees can bring their own lawn chairs. The festival is a primary fundraiser for the High Hopes Foundation of New Hampshire, a Nashua-based nonprofit that provides life-enhancing experiences to chronically ill children.

5th annual NH Bacon & Beer Festival

When: Saturday, Sept. 11, 1 to 4:30 p.m.
Where: Anheuser-Busch Tour Center and Biergarten, 221 Daniel Webster Hwy., Merrimack
Cost: General admission is $60 per person (includes access to 20 beer tastings and food samples while they last); designated driver admission is $35 per person (food samples only)
Visit: nhbaconbeer.com
Event is rain or shine and is 21+ only. No children or pets are allowed. Masks or face-coverings are required for non-vaccinated attendees.

Featured photo: Photo courtesy of LuvLens, luvlens.com.

The Weekly Dish 21/09/02

News from the local food scene

• PoutineFest is back: Save the date for the NH PoutineFest, returning for the first time since 2019 to Anheuser-Busch Tour Center & Biergarten (221 Daniel Webster Hwy., Nashua) on Saturday, Oct. 23. Tickets go on sale soon after Labor Day. The festival, hosted by the Franco-American Centre, features unique takes on the classic French-Canadian dish from restaurants, food trucks and other local and regional vendors. Visit nhpoutinefest.com for updates.

• Through the grapevine: LaBelle Winery recently started planting a new vineyard at its Derry location. According to a press release, about 1,600 vines have been planted on three acres, adjacent to the future location of LaBelle’s sparkling wine production facility and tasting room. Grape varieties include petit pearl, Cayuga and Itasca, all of which are cold hardy and able to withstand temperatures as low as 25 degrees below zero. About 40 people, including winery co-owners Amy LaBelle and her husband, Cesar Arboleda, and multiple friends, family members, winery employees and vineyard club members planted the first vines in a single day in late June. Planting will conclude in 2022, with the first grape harvest planned for 2024 to make estate sparkling wine, including a sparkling rosé.

• Greek eats to go: The next boxed Greek dinner to go, a drive-thru takeout event at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church (68 N. State St., Concord), is happening on Sunday, Sept. 12, from noon to 1 p.m. Now through Sept. 8, orders are being accepted for boxed meals, featuring pastitsio (Greek lasagna with ground meat and bechamel sauce), a side of Greek salad and a roll for $15 per person. The event is drive-thru and takeout only — email ordermygreekfood@gmail.com or call 953-3051 to place your order. The church is planning a similar event for Sunday, Oct. 10, which will feature a meal of half lemon roasted chicken. Visit holytrinitynh.org.

• Food trucks roll in: The Factory on Willow (252 Willow St., Manchester), a newly unveiled apartment complex renovated from an old shoe factory in the Queen City, has announced plans for a food truck park and residency, according to a press release. The pilot program began on Sept. 1 with up to four rotating food trucks, with opportunities to add more in the future. According to the release, the food truck park will operate as a year-round facility and include more than 40 permanent outdoor picnic-style seating areas, as well as a heated indoor space with beer garden-style tables and access to a full bar. Various programming is also planned for the space, from private events to live music, outdoor party games and scary movie nights. Visit factoryonwillow.com.

On The Job – Angelina McGlashan

Angelina McGlashan

Photo manager

Angelina McGlashan is a certified photo manager and the owner and founder of Preserving Memories, based in Windham.

Explain your job.

I basically help people manage their photos and videos. … People find themselves drowning in photos. I frequently get a call when their phone storage is full. … My [job]is to gather [ the media], get rid of duplicates, rename them in chronological order, [put them] into yearly folders, then create a backup system and teach [clients] how to maintain it. … Some clients have me maintain it for them. For physical photos … I scan them and create digital files. … If photos are damaged or faded, I can restore them. … I also convert every form of video tape including old film reels so they can be viewed again and shared.

How long have you had this job?

Since 2017.

What led you to this career field?

I’ve always loved photography. … I was a nurse for about 15 years. Then … I worked for my husband … from home. He sold his company in 2017, and I was searching for something new I could do from home. Someone posted on our community Facebook page that she … [needed] help organizing her digital photos. … I thought, ‘I can do that.’ I contacted her, did the job, and she asked if I could convert all her old video tapes. I [researched] how to do that and found the Association of Professional Photo Organizers. I … told my husband, ‘I think I found my new career.’

What kind of education or training did you need?

This job … entails having advanced knowledge of Windows and Mac PCs, understanding clouds and backing up versus syncing, and learning many different programs to organize photos, restore photos and convert different kinds of media. I have taken advanced courses in Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop. I continue to take workshops through APPO because new technology is always emerging.

How has your job changed over the course of the pandemic?

At first I was really nervous that my business would just slow to a stop, but the opposite happened. People were home and had a lot of free time on their hands and pulled out all those boxes of old photos and videos and wanted them organized or converted. To be safe, I arranged no-contact drop-off for items and Zoom calls for organizing services, and I still offer those services today.

What is your typical at-work uniform or attire?

Most days, when I’m not seeing clients, I’m in yoga pants. When I’m sorting physical photos or taking apart old albums, I am literally sitting on the floor sorting all around me.

What do you wish you’d known at the beginning of your career?

I wish I had found this career sooner.

What do you wish other people knew about your job?

Some people don’t know how technical my work is and all the different programs I use to organize photos, and that most jobs take a lot of time. They think I have a magic wand and one button that does it all. In reality, [the programs] are just tools, and I still have to go through hundreds of thousands of photos myself. There is a huge human element to my job.

What was the first job you ever had?

I was 14 and worked at Donut Maker.

What’s the best piece of work-related advice you’ve ever received?

Working from home can make it very difficult to separate work time from personal time. Another organizer said to set a strict schedule and work hours and stick to them.

Five favorites

Favorite book: A Knight in Shining Armor by Jude Deveraux
Favorite movie: The Green Mile
Favorite music: Anything from ’80s hairband music
Favorite food: Anything Mediterranean
Favorite thing about NH: Being close to the lakes, the mountains and the ocean. We always have fresh seafood and lobster.

Featured photo: Angelina McGlashan. Courtesy photo.

Kiddie Pool 21/09/02

Family fun for the weekend

Family fun ideas

Looking for some entertainment ideas for the whole gang this weekend? Check out some of our recent stories (see e-editions of issues at hippopress.com.). In our July 8 issue we looked at mini golf, with a rundown of some of the area courses. A note for people with littler kids: Mel’s Funway Park in Litchfield (melsfunwaypark.com.) has added a Mini Mel’s Kiddie Land set of attractions geared toward kids ages 2 to 9. For the more adventurous, we looked at water fun (paddleboarding, canoeing, kayaking and cruising on New Hampshire waterways) in the Aug. 5 issue and adventures aloft (ziplining, hot air ballooning and parasailing) in the July 15 issue.

Space!

AerospaceFest returns to McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center (2 Institute Drive, Concord; starhop.com, 271-7827) on Saturday, Sept. 4, from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is free for the outdoor event. The NH Astronomical Society will have a telescope set up, Millstone Wildlife Center will bring ambassador animals, robotics teams will do robot demos and local STEM organizations will attend, the website said. No pre-registration is required.

Fair weekend

If you’ve been missing the summer/fall fair experience, you’re in luck. The Hopkinton State Fair kicks off Thursday, Sept. 2, and runs through Monday, Sept. 6. (Free parking at 905 Park Ave., Contoocook.) The fair is open Thursday, 5 to 10 p.m.; Friday through Sunday, 8 a.m. to 11 p.m., and Monday, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday is “Townie Night,” when Hopkinton residents get in for free between 5 and 8 p.m. Admission for non-residents is $8 for ages 3 and up. One-day passes Friday through Monday cost $14 for ages 13 to 59, $12 for ages 60+ and $8 for ages 3 to 12, according to the fair website, hsfair.org, where you can also buy a pass for all five days for ages 3 to 60+ for $39 per person. You can also find tickets for a one-day megapass (allows unlimited admission to mechanical rides) and grandstand shows including demolition derby, monster trucks and Northeast Six Shooters’ horseback shooting demonstration show. Military (active or retired) with a valid photo ID are admitted free.

Find rides and games on the midway, open 5 p.m. to close on Thursday, noon to close on Friday and 10 a.m. to close Saturday through Monday. Catch demonstrations from the NH Canine Troopers Association (4 and 6 p.m., Friday), Axe Women Loggers of Maine (noon and 3 and 5 p.m.,daily), Dock Dogs (daily), Ben Risney Wood Sculpture (10 a.m., and 1 and 4 p.m., daily) and John Deere Skid Steer Rodeo (Monday. 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.). There’s also a lineup of live music and juggling. At the Ag Stage, catch Dan Morgan (11 a.m. to 3 p.m., daily) and Nicole Knox Murphy (3 to 7 p.m.). Get kids interested in 4-H (or maybe just some light gardening and chicken tending) with the agriculture displays and competitions (livestock shows, horse show, pulling competitions and the home arts hall).

The fair also has educational displays, such as the maple sugar house, the NH Fish and Game building and a Charmingfare Farm petting zoo (Friday through Sunday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Monday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.) with daily animal magic shows (noon, and 2 and 5 p.m.), the website said.

And, of course, the fair will help you get your fried dough fix. Other food options include sausages with peppers and onions, apple crisp with ice cream, turkey legs, bison burgers and giant doughnuts, according to the fair website.

Treasure Hunt 21/09/02

Dear Donna,

I have this antique railroad lantern and was wondering if you could give me an idea on what it would be worth. The lantern says New York Central and the globe says B & A RR, so they don’t match but it seems in pretty good shape. Not sure how much to clean it up.

— Judy

Dear Judy,

It’s not uncommon to find railroad or other antique lanterns around today.

Railroad lanterns in general are not too hard to find, particularly common ones that were used all the time. I think the globes were replaced often during the period of time used. Your globe is either Boston Albany or Baltimore Annapolis. There are some that are uncommon and rare to find with all the original parts and for specific railways. They can hold a very high value.

The value of yours in the condition it’s in would be in the $50 range. I would leave it as found with maybe a quick Windex wash.

Go wild

How to start wildflowers from seed

I recently visited the Nasami Farm in Whately, Mass. This is the plant production facility for the Native Plants Trust, formerly the New England Wildflower Society. I met with Alexis Doshas, their nursery manager. The 75–acre farm produces perennials, grasses and some woody plants — mainly from seed. The plants are sold at their headquarters in Framingham, Mass., and at the Nasami Farm on weekends.

If you’re interested in growing wildflowers, the least expensive way to get plenty is to start them from seed. This takes some effort, but it accomplishes a number of things: if you collect seed from the wild, you’re getting plants in your garden without diminishing the wild population — the way you would if you dug plants (which is prohibited anyway in most places).

Starting plants from seed also encourages genetic diversity. Many purchased plants are propagated from cuttings or by division, which means they’re all clones with the exact same genes. Seeds from any given plant produce seedlings with a wide range of characteristics, making some less susceptible to environmental challenges such as global warming.

Starting wildflowers from seed can take patience. While some seeds will germinate and grow the same summer you collect them (campanulas, for example), other things like lilies might take four or five years to bloom. Many require a cold period of three months, which is called cold stratification. Some planted now will grow underground next spring, but not send up any green growth until the following spring.

The Nasami Farm grows seedlings in big plastic hoop houses. These aren’t heated except in spring, or if temperatures go below zero in winter. The greenhouses allow the seedlings to be monitored and tended easily on long tables. You could set up a table in your barn, shed or garage for a few flats of seedlings. Some wildflowers do fine in flats with good drainage in the outdoors — preferably in a shady place that won’t see too much of the hot, drying sun.

Lastly, you can plant seeds directly in the ground in a site where they’ll thrive as mature plants. The disadvantage to this is you never know what percentage of seeds will germinate. If you plant 100 seeds in a flat indoors it’ll be easier to thin or transplant the seedlings than if you must do so on your hands and knees. And there shouldn’t be weed competition if you’re using a germination mix in a flat. On the other hand, I plant things like goldenseal directly in the ground as it takes two years to sprout, and I don’t want to have to water and tend them so long.

Alexis Doshas gave me some tips for starting wildflowers from seed. First, she said, collect seed when it’s easy to pull off the plant, and remove any fluffy stuff attached to it. Generally seeds start light colored, and darken when fully ripe. If you want to store seed, make sure it doesn’t dry out. Store in a cool, dark place.

Buy a very fine seed germination mix, something made of finely ground peat and perlite. A coarse mix can let seeds wash down deeper than they should be. For small seeds (the size of a grain of sand or less) just sow seeds, pat them into the soil mix and water them in. No need to cover them. Alexis suggests germinating seeds at 60 to 80 degrees, but cautioned that many wildflowers need a 90-day cold period before they’ll grow.

Alexis said you may need to provide rodent protection: metal hardware cloth over the flats to keep mice from eating the seeds. Rodents can be a problem as easily in your cold basement as in a barn or outdoors.

I asked Alexis to recommend some plants that are easy to start from seed right now. She suggested blueberries, huckleberries and plums for fruits. Of the flowers, she listed these: milkweed, mountain mint, black-eyed susans, wild bee balm, wild iris, asters, Joe Pye weed and all the goldenrods, which are great for pollinators.

Woodland wildflowers, she said, often have very specific needs and aren’t as easy to grow as the field flowers mentioned above. Soil pH and type are important. When I plant spring wildflowers I try to mimic the forest type of their native habitat: if they grow in a maple-beech-ash forest in the wild, I try to plant them in a similar environment.

Plants with large, fleshy fruits such as jack-in-the pulpit or goldenseal probably will require you to remove the fruit portion before planting. Gloves are suggested, as some have strong chemicals that may irritate your skin. You can soak seeds like that to allow fermentation to remove the skin and flesh.

A good reference text for starting wildflower seeds is by William Cullina, Growing and Propagating Wildflowers of the United States and Canada. Unfortunately, it’s out of print, though I’ve heard it’s in the process of being reprinted. It’s worth its weight in gold as it gives specifics for hundreds of wildflowers.

Featured photo: Goldenseal fruits are ready for picking in my woods right now. Courtesy photo.

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