Matt Ingersoll writes about all things food and drink, covering new restaurants and following the most delicious foodie trends in the state. Reach him at mingersoll@hippopress.com.
Fresh Start Farms to open centralized “food hub” and market
A new store set to open in the heart of Manchester this weekend will be a one-stop shopping spot for locally sourced produce, meats, dairy products and various non-perishables — and it’s also going to serve as a centralized “food hub” and production area for Fresh Start Farms, a collective of more than 20 immigrant and refugee farmers in New Hampshire.
Fresh Start Market, a year-round retail space due to hold its grand opening on Saturday, June 5, was born out of a partnership between NeighborWorks Southern New Hampshire and the Organization for Refugee & Immigrant Success. According to Fresh Start Farms program director Jameson Small, the market has been more than a year in the making.
“NeighborWorks had bought the building at an auction, and they started finding out from people what they wanted in the community. The idea of a grocery store kept popping up,” Small said. “So they had approached us, and at the time, we were just farming in Dunbarton and Concord. We had no storefront, we had no refrigeration and no real wash stations.”
According to Small, the pandemic caused Fresh Start Farms to pivot its CSA model to mostly home deliveries. The kitchen side of the market was finished first to meet that demand.
The grand opening of Fresh Start Market’s retail space coincides with NeighborWorks Southern New Hampshire’s Wellness Weekend. But in the weeks to follow, Small said, it will be open only on Wednesday and Thursday afternoons to start, with the goal to expand later this year.
The market features a wide range of items from Fresh Start Farms farmers and around 85 other food producers across mostly New Hampshire and Vermont, from fruits and vegetables to milk, eggs, cheeses, maple syrups, cooking oils, grain products and more. A grab-and-go model is expected too, including a small offering of fresh fruit smoothies.
Small also noted that Fresh Start Market is the first and only Double Up Food Bucks location in the city of Manchester for low-income shoppers.
“Part of our total mission is food access,” he said, “so if you have a SNAP or EBT card, you can get any fresh fruit and vegetable here for half the price. … So we’re even able to compete with some of the larger entities on specific items.”
Fresh Start Farms, meanwhile, will continue to sell its produce at several farmers markets throughout New Hampshire, while a mobile market will also make weekly stops this summer.
Fresh Start Market Grand opening is Saturday, June 5, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Where: 150 Spruce St., Manchester Hours: After June 5, hours will be Wednesday and Thursday from 2 to 6 p.m., and will likely expand into the summer and fall months More info: Visit freshstartfarmsnh.com, follow them on Facebook and Instagram @freshstartfarmsnh or call 606-2663
• Season of strawberries: Join The Friends of the Library of Windham for a takeout-only strawberry festival on Saturday, June 5, with curbside pickup from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the parking lot of Shaw’s (43 Indian Rock Road, Windham). Now through June 4, strawberry shortcake family fun packs are available to pre-order in serving sizes of four or six, featuring handmade biscuits, ice cream, freshly cut strawberries, Friendly’s vanilla ice cream and whipped cream. Visit flowwindham.org. Hampstead Congregational Church (61 Main St.) is also holding a strawberry festival on Saturday, June 5, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. That event will feature strawberry shortcake, baked goods, raffles and a plant sale. Admission is free. See “Hampstead Congregational Church, UCC” on Facebook for details.
• Bacon & Beer Fest returns: Tickets to this year’s New Hampshire Bacon & Beer Festival go on sale on Friday, June 4, at noon, with the event itself to take place on Saturday, Sept. 11, at The Biergarten at Anheuser-Busch Brewery (221 Daniel Webster Hwy., Merrimack). A fundraiser for the High Hopes Foundation of New Hampshire, the event brings together dozens of local restaurants serving dishes made with juicy bacon from North Country Smokehouse, with local brewers also joining in on the fun with beer and cider pairings of their own. A full schedule of live local music is also planned. This is the first Bacon & Beer Festival to take place since May 2019, following last year’s cancellation and this spring’s postponement — event hours are 1 to 4:30 p.m. (VIP ticket-holders get in an hour early). Tickets start at $60 general admission and are $100 for VIP attendees. Visit nhbaconbeer.com.
• Jewish feasts: As of June 1, online ordering is open for Temple B’Nai Israel’s New Hampshire Jewish Food Festival, which will be held virtually for the second year. Now through June 27, visit tbinh.org to order traditional Jewish-style foods, most of which are sold frozen with instructions for heating. New this year is a “picnic pack” made up of fresh ready-to-eat items, like Pullman style of Jewish-style rye bread with your choice of corned beef, tongue or Boston-style black pastrami; green half sour pickles, two pints of homemade coleslaw, one container of deli-style horseradish mustard and one pound of rugelach. Other options are matzo ball soups, chopped chicken liver, crispy potato latkes, New York-style knishes, and hamantaschen. Curbside pickups will be by appointment at Temple B’Nai Israel (210 Court St., Laconia) between Friday, July 30, and Saturday, Aug 1. Visit tbinh.org.
• Gyros to go: Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church (68 N. State St., Concord) will hold its next boxed Greek dinner to go event on Sunday, June 13, from noon to 1 p.m. Now through June 9, orders are being accepted for boxed meals, featuring gyro sandwiches, fries and a Greek salad, for $15 per person. The event is drive-thru and takeout only — email ordermygreekfood@gmail.com or call 953-3051 to place your order. Visit holytrinitynh.org.
Becky Costello of Londonderry is the owner of Owl Hill Preserves (owlhillpreserves@gmail.com, and on Facebook and Instagram @owlhillpreserves), a business she started in her home kitchen specializing in small-batch jams and jellies in a variety of unique flavor combinations. In addition to seedless raspberry jam and blueberry blackberry vanilla jam, some of her other offerings include maple peach whiskey jam, blueberry lavender jam, mint mojito jelly, apple pie jam and amber marmalade. You can contact her to place orders, or find her jams and jellies at Handmade In… (Pheasant Lane Mall, 310 Daniel Webster Hwy., Nashua); Recycled Creations Artisans Boutique (25 Main St., Wilton); the Manchester Craft Market (Mall of New Hampshire, 1500 S. Willow St., Manchester); Little Red Hen Farm & Homestead (85 Norris Road, Pittsfield); and Linda’s Less Traveled Treasures and Country Store (49 E. Broadway, Derry). Costello will also appear at the Brimfield Antique Show & Flea Market at the Deerfield Fairgrounds on May 29 and May 30.
What is your must-have kitchen item? A wooden spoon, because you have to constantly stir.
What would you have for your last meal? Pad Thai noodles.
What is your favorite local restaurant? Pickity Place in Mason. I always like to go there with friends.
What celebrity would you like to see trying one of your jams or jellies? Tom Hiddleston.
What is your favorite jam or jelly that you make? My personal favorite is the blueberry lavender jam, because I just love the combination of flavors. I usually like it on an English muffin.
What is the biggest food trend in New Hampshire right now? I would probably say food trucks. I’ve just noticed that they seem more prevalent now than they ever have been.
What is your favorite thing to cook at home? Pizza. My husband is actually in the process of building us an outdoor wood-burning pizza oven.
Pineapple sage chicken Courtesy of Becky Costello of Owl Hill Preserves (using her own pineapple sage jelly) Using a whole three-pound chicken, put fresh sage leaves under the skin. Rub the outside with melted butter, olive oil, dried sage, thyme and rosemary. Cook for 45 minutes. Melt pineapple sage jelly in the microwave for about 30 minutes, then pour onto chicken and cook until brown and crispy.
Chef Chris Viaud is on the far right. From the left is Chris’s brother Phil, Phil’s wife Sarah, their father Yves, mother Myrlene, sister Kassie, sister Katie and Chris’s wife Emilee. Courtesy photos.
Local chef, family present monthly Haitian dinner series
On New Year’s Day, Culture in Milford shared a piece of owner and chef Chris Viaud’s Haitian heritage through a menu special of soup joumou, a pumpkin-based soup also commonly referred to in Haiti as “freedom soup.” The response was so positive that Viaud decided to turn it into a dinner series, bringing his entire family together to present authentic Haitian dishes each month.
Ansanm, as the series is now known, gets its name from the word meaning “together” in Haitian Creole. Viaud, along with his parents, Myrlene and Yves, siblings Phil, Kassie and Katie, wife Emilee and sister-in-law Sarah all work together to present a menu of scratch-made Haitian items that are now prepared and served out of his other Milford restaurant, Greenleaf.
“As I’ve been growing as a chef, I’ve always had a desire to learn more about my heritage through food. I just had this innate feeling that I needed to do more and relate food back to the beginning for me, to what I grew up eating,” Viaud said. “The concept was also born out of a desire to bring my siblings and parents closer to learn more about the food, because in the coming years we’ll be sharing it with my daughter as well.”
Ansanm’s logo features an illustration of a hibiscus flower, the national flower of Haiti, along with the red and blue colors seen on the Haitian flag.
Viaud’s mother, Myrlene, with whom he has memories of helping out in the kitchen growing up, is the primary head chef of the series. Depending on the month, most dinners are served on the third or fourth Sunday, with online pre-ordering available a few days before. While the first few dinners were takeout only, the most recent one also had a dine-in option at Greenleaf.
Items have included griot (marinated twice-cooked pork) and poule nan sós (braised chicken in Creole sauce), each of which is often served with rice, plantains or pikliz, a spicy pickled vegetable slaw consisting of cabbage, carrots, onion and peppers. Diri djon djon, a rice dish made with black mushrooms that are native to Haiti, is another item recently added to the menu.
“Diri djon djon is the most iconic rice dish in Haiti, just because the mushrooms are so hard to find and are expensive,” Viaud said.
Other featured menu options are a potato and beet salad; chicken or mushroom and vegetable pate; and a Haitian-style spaghetti with peppers, onions and spices in a tomato sauce. Ansanm also offers a scratch-made pineapple upside down cake for dessert, as well as bottles of Cola Couronne, a tropical fruit soda known as the oldest manufactured soft drink from Haiti.
New dinner pre-orders are regularly updated through Ansanm’s website and social media pages.
“Seeing its growth has been tremendous,” Viaud said of the series. “We’ll definitely be doing some fun things this summer, like hopefully hosting a dinner outside with a steel drummer doing live Caribbean music.”
Ansanm Visit ansanmnh.com or follow them on Facebook and Instagram @ansanm.nh for updates. Dinners are typically held during the third or fourth Sunday of each month, with all orders prepared and picked up at Greenleaf (54 Nashua St., Milford).
Feautred photo: Braised chicken with rice and peas, fried plantains, and pikliz. Courtesy photo.
• More markets return: For the first time in two years, the Derry Homegrown Farm & Artisan Market is returning to 1 W. Broadway in Derry on Wednesday, June 2, from 3 to 7 p.m. The market always features a wide variety of produce, meats and other items from local vendors, in addition to live music, local art and more. It will continue every Wednesday through the end of September. The Canterbury Community Farmers Market will also hold its opening day on Wednesday, June 2, from 4 to 6:30 p.m. in the parking lot of the Elkins Public Library (9 Center Road, Canterbury), while the Weare Real Food Farmers Market moves outdoors for the first time this year on Saturday, May 29, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., at 65 N. Stark Hwy. in Weare. Visit canterburyfarmersmarket.com and wearerfm.com, respectively, or check out our coverage on southern New Hampshire summer farmers markets, which begins on page 20 of the Hippo’s May 20 edition.
• Grape expectations: Join LaBelle Winery for a ribbon cutting and grand opening celebration of its newest location at 14 Route 111 in Derry, set for Wednesday, June 2, at 3 p.m. There will be tours of the property, wine and food samplings and free rounds of golf for those who pre-register. LaBelle Winery’s new space, which has been opening in several phases over the past few weeks, includes a brand new restaurant concept called Americus, plus a retail market of prepared and made-to-order foods, multiple performance and event spaces and a nine-hole golf course. Plans are also in the works for the first Champagne house in New Hampshire to be built on the property. Visit labellewinery.com or check out our coverage on the new space in the Hippo’s May 6 edition, beginning on page 22.
• Support local eateries: The Boys & Girls Club of Central New Hampshire is once again going virtual for its annual Taste of New Hampshire this year, this time over the course of 12 days. From Tuesday, June 1, through Saturday, June 12, discounted gift cards for more than 40 local eateries will be available for purchase. You can purchase the gift cards or bid on auction items during those days, either paying $20 for a $25 gift card or $40 for a $50 gift card. The restaurants receive 100 percent of the proceeds, while the Boys & Girls Clubs benefit from the silent auction and sponsorships. Visit tasteofnewhampshire.com or search “Taste of New Hampshire” on Facebook for more details.
• Taking flight: Flight Coffee Co. of Bedford is moving to a new location in town, holding its final day of service at 30 Harvey Road on Saturday, May 29, and reopening at 290 Route 101 next to Wicked Good Butchah on Monday, June 7. “The time has come for us to leave our small outpost and take flight over to our new location on the corner of [Route] 101 and Wallace [Road],” read a May 16 post on the shop’s Facebook page. For nearly a decade Flight Coffee Co. has been a favorite spot in Bedford for its single-origin coffees, also offering teas, espresso blends and fresh doughnuts. Visit flightcoffeeco.com.
Lorna Aouad of Auburn is the owner of Loulou’s Bakery (loulousbakery.com, and on Facebook and Instagram @loulousbakery.nh), a wholesale and catering business she started two years ago that specializes in Mediterranean sweet cookies, savory pies and other handcrafted items. Her cookies, which include flavors like date, almond tea, sesame tea and chocolate sable, are all made from scratch and can be found in most Hannaford Supermarket locations in southern New Hampshire, as well as McKinnon’s in both Salem and Portsmouth. Aouad, who is originally from Lebanon, also makes small meat pies, spinach and feta pies, and cheese or thyme flatbreads, and offers catering for several meat, vegetarian or dessert platters with three-day advance ordering notice.
What is your must-have kitchen item?
Measuring cups and spoons, and also my spices, which I cannot cook without.
What would you have for your last meal?
My meat flatbread. It has ground beef, tomatoes and onions and a squeeze of lemon on top, and it’s on a thin crust, almost like a pizza crust. It’s to die for.
What is your favorite local restaurant?
My favorite is Cotton [in Manchester]. I love their steak and their salad and popcorn shrimp. It’s such a cozy little place. I also really like Piccola Italia [Ristorante in Manchester].
What celebrity would you like to see trying something you’ve made?
I would love to have Gov. [Chris] Sununu try some of my food, definitely my flatbread or my stuffed grape leaves or kibbeh.
What is your personal favorite menu item?
I love my kafta soup. It’s ground meat, almost like meatballs, and inside of them there’s parsley, onion and some special spices. The soup itself has rice and tomato paste and some parsley in it.
What is the biggest food trend in New Hampshire right now?
Definitely comfort food, especially because it’s such a stressful time right now.
What is your favorite thing to cook at home?
I like to make appetizers, not just Lebanese appetizers but a bunch of different things. I make the best Seven Layers, which has refried beans, guacamole, cheese, tomatoes, scallions, olives and then a special sauce in the middle with different spices in it.
Easy hummus recipe From the kitchen of Lorna Aouad of Loulou’s Bakery in Auburn, loulousbakery.com
15 ounces broiled chickpeas, warm 1 large squeezed lemon 1 clove peeled fresh garlic ½ teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons tahini sauce 3 Tablespoons warm water 1 teaspoon olive oil
Featured photo: Lorna Aouad of Loulou’s Bakery in Auburn with husband Rami Kattar
Farmers markets open with plans for a more lively summer
Ledge Top Farm in Wilton is a vendor at this year’s Milford Farmers Market. Courtesy photo.
Adrienne Colsia wasn’t sure what the Milford Farmers Market’s first day back outdoors would bring. The market canceled its entire indoor season this winter — though to make up for some lost dates, it remained outdoors for six additional weeks through Nov. 21 last year.
On May 8, the market kicked off its summer season more than a month earlier than normal, at its usual outdoor spot at 300 Elm St. across from the New Hampshire Antique Co-op.
“Usually you never know with that first market, but it was very well-attended. I had a lot more people come out than I was expecting,” said Colsia, who manages the market and also co-owns Paradise Farm in Lyndeborough, one of its featured vendors. “I actually had several vendors that day tell me that they had broken their own sales records for one market.”
At least 19 vendors are on the schedule each week, offering a wide variety of items from beef, poultry and fresh produce to prepared meals, cheeses, baked goods, craft beer and wine.
For the time being, Colsia said, masks are still required and sampling is not allowed. But other features of the market, such as live music in the center of the lot, may be returning soon.
As the summer market season returns in the Granite State, pandemic regulations and restrictions that were implemented last year may still be in effect or may be eased a bit. According to Gail McWilliam Jellie, director of agricultural development for the New Hampshire Department of Agriculture, Markets & Food, it will all likely vary depending on where you go — each individual market, she said, can have its own guidelines encouraging masks or one-way shopping, or temporarily suspending product sampling, live entertainment or demonstrations.
Here’s a look at some farmers markets that have already kicked off their outdoor seasons and others due to start in the coming weeks, plus a couple new local markets debuting in 2021.
Markets underway
Khadija A. with Fresh Start Farms, vending at the Milford Farmers Market. Courtesy photo.
When it comes to creating a vendor list for the Milford Farmers Market, Colsia aims for variety.
“We try to limit things like crafts or jewelry,” she said. “We want people to feel like they can do their grocery shopping here. That’s what I strive for.”
This year’s roster includes Lone Wolf Cheese of Harrisville, which makes many of its own cheeses, butters and yogurts; Quarter Moon Farm of Hancock, which offers a line of certified organic black garlic products; and Mola Foods of Nashua, offering world-inspired spice blends.
In mid-June, a few additional vegetable vendors will be joining the market too once their products reach their peak growing season — among them will be Groh Farm of Wilton, a biodynamic farm established by Temple-Wilton Community Farm co-founder Trauger Groh.
After a few months indoors from January to April, the Concord Farmers Market also kicked off its summer season at its usual spot on Capitol Street, steps away from the Statehouse. Market president Wayne Hall said the board has been closely following guidelines from the City of Concord, which still has a mask ordinance in effect through June 1.
“Samples are allowed now … but the vendor has to hand it to the person rather than them just reaching for it,” said Hall, who also owns Rockey Ole Farm in Concord, a purveyor of leafy greens, fresh berries and other produce in addition to eggs and cut flowers.
The Contoocook Farmers Market moved back outdoors on May 1, a few weeks earlier than normal, to its normal spot by the gazebo next to the Contoocook Railroad Museum. Many of the same guidelines from the start of the last summer season remain in effect, such as the encouragement of one shopper per household to visit the market to promote social distancing. Most of the vendors also offer several types of alternative payment methods to limit cash use.
Another market that recently moved back outdoors, the Salem Farmers Market is in a new spot as of May 16, according to president Bonnie Wright — the Tuscan Village shopping plaza. You’ll find it there every Sunday behind Drive Fitness and adjacent to the building housing Williams Sonoma and the new Tuscan Market. For the first time in more than a year, Wright said, the Salem market has extended its hours back to its usual 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. time frame.
Salem also has the distinction of being one of the only year-round markets in New Hampshire that has remained nearly uninterrupted. From March 2020 all the way until January of this year, the market had been outdoors, before finding a temporary indoor spot at 369 S. Broadway.
“Our market is so critical to the livelihood of our customers … that our vendors agreed to keep coming out,” Wright said. “Other farmers markets have used us as a model, because we were proactive right at the beginning. We were strict about social distancing and masks from the start.”
Markets on deck
Fresh vegetables from Kearsarge Gore Farm in Warner, a vendor at Concord and Warner’s markets. Courtesy photo.
As Memorial Day weekend approaches, more outdoor markets across New Hampshire are set to begin their summer seasons. Next up are the Henniker Community Market, kicking off on May 20, and the Weare Real Food Farmers Market, due to hold its first outdoor market on May 29.
Henniker is coming off the heels of an “outstanding” inaugural Handmade & Homegrown event on May 8 in the Community Center park, a primarily arts-focused market that also featured a few local prepared food vendors, according to market manager Monica Rico. The Henniker Community Market will continue every Thursday in that spot through Oct. 21.
The Weare Real Food Farmers Market held its first year outdoors last July through the weekend before Thanksgiving, and a new indoor space opened March 15, owner Marek Rivero said. Outdoors, the market has received clearance from the Town to remain open from Memorial Day weekend through the entire rest of the year, weather permitting. You’ll find vendors’ products from right in town as well as in neighboring communities — Warner River Produce of Webster, for example, has been featuring items like spinach, carrots, microgreens and shiitake mushrooms, while the New Hampshire Doughnut Co. has been dropping off deliveries of its fresh doughnuts.
On Wednesday, June 2, the Derry Homegrown Farm & Artisan Market will return for the first time since the 2019 season. Just one day before its original opening date last year, the market’s board announced it had unanimously voted to sit the 2020 season out.
“Most of our vendors have been with us since the beginning, and just about everybody is back with us and equally excited as us to be back,” market manager and board vice president Neil Wetherbee said. “The community response also has been great so far.”
New vendors are expected, like Meta Microgreens of Dracut, Mass., and Mimi Rae’s Gluten Free Bakery of Chester, which offers cookies, brownies and other treats.
With Derry holding its first farmers market since the onset of the pandemic, Wetherbee said several critical decisions were made early on, among them to permit vendors to give out samples.
“We usually have alcohol vendors … and it’s a huge thing for them to come but not be able to do samples,” he said, “and the alcohol has to be in a roped off section of the market anyway.”
Live music performances and art demonstrations are returning to the Derry market too, thanks to a grant the board received from the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts.
Also on June 2 will be the return of the Canterbury Community Farmers Market, which is set up in the parking lot of the Elkins Public Library. Like in Contoocook, the market is continuing to observe its best practices from last year, which can be viewed on the website.
The New Boston Farmers Market is due to return on June 12, co-manager Allison Vermette said.
“We have a few of our craft vendors coming back who had taken last year off,” she said. “We do have a few new vendors coming too, which is always exciting. … We have one right here in town called Coyote’s Kitchen that will be bringing vegan organic pizza crusts.”
Similar to last year, Vermette said live musicians will be performing from the nearby gazebo each week throughout the season. One-way entrances and exits for customers are also in effect.
“We’re going to see if we can get food trucks like we have at the market in the past, and we’ll kind of have a separate eating area where there’s enough space,” she said.
On June 15, the Bedford Farmers Market will begin its season. The market had moved to the parking lot at 209 Route 101 in Bedford last year out of necessity, but according to manager Lauren Ritz, it was such a success that they decided to keep it there.
Because Wicked Good Butchah and Flight Coffee Co. are both located in the shopping plaza, Ritz said, this year’s market does not have a meat or coffee vendor. Instead, there will be around 20 local vendors selling everything from fresh produce to maple syrup, baked goods, seafood and more. New faces to the Bedford market this year include Jajabelles of Nashua offering fresh pastries; Sunfox Farm, which will have sunflowers and sunflower oil; and Oasis Springs Farm, also of Nashua, offering its own hydroponically grown lettuce and microgreens.
Intown Manchester is also planning on bringing back its farm stand, which debuted at Victory Park last year, executive director Sara Beaudry said. Intown Manchester’s Farm Stand & Artisan Shop will be held on Thursdays from June 17 through Aug. 26, with produce from Fresh Start Farms, as well as a small selection of other vendors, like DJ’s Pure Natural Honey and Dandido Hot Sauce.
New markets for 2021
Shortly after the formation of the Pelham Agricultural Commission, chairwoman Jenny Larson said its board members began planning to organize a subcommittee for a farmers market.
“We got involved in the community and asked citizens what they’d like to see from us … and the overwhelming response was for a farmers market,” Larson said. “So that was the No. 1 thing we immediately put on our agenda, and it went off without a hitch from there. … Pelham had had one years ago, but it just kind of fell apart due to a lack of volunteers.”
The new Pelham Farmers Market, expected to feature more than a dozen vendors, is set to begin June 19 outside the First Congregational Church of Pelham, continuing on Saturdays through October.
“We’re going to have something pretty much for everyone,” Larson said. “Farmer Dave’s over in Dracut, [Mass.,] will have all kinds of fruits and veggies. We’re going to have a meat vendor, some breads, baked goods, some microgreens, some honey, and some organic soaps. Our applications for vendors are on a continuous basis, so they can send one in three months from now if they just want to sell in the fall.”
The market will be held rain or shine from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Larson said additional events such as live music and demonstrations have also been in discussion for future markets.
Candia’s Agricultural Commission is also planning a new Candia market that will begin on June 19. According to market manager Pattie Davis, it will be on the grounds of the Smyth Public Library on the third Saturday of each month, from 9 a.m. to noon, wrapping up Oct. 16.
“The original idea … was for people with farms in town to be able to sell their wares once a month if they didn’t have enough stuff to come every week,” Davis said. “At this point, there’s one bakery and one crafter, and after that it’s all fruits and vegetables.”
She added that each market will feature a booth highlighting a different community organization — the first one will be the local gardening club, which will be there selling perennials.
Local farmers markets Here’s a list we’ve compiled by the day of the week of summer farmers markets happening in southern New Hampshire this year. Some markets are rain or shine while others may be postponed or canceled due to weather — be sure to visit their websites or Facebook pages for the most up-to-date information on each individual date.
Sundays • Gilmanton Community Farmers Market will be from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Gilmanton Year-Round Library (1385 Route 140) beginning June 13 and through Sept. 26. Visit gilmantonfarmersmarket.com or find them on Facebook @gilmantoncommunityfarmersmarket.
• Nashua Farmers Market will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at City Hall Plaza (229 Main St.) beginning June 20 and through Oct. 17. Visit downtownnashua.org or find them on Facebook @nashuafarmersmarket.
• Salem Farmers Market is from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. As of May 16 the market has moved to a new outdoor location at Tuscan Village South, behind Drive Fitness (12 Via Toscana Drive). Visit salemnhfarmersmarket.org or find them on Facebook @salemnhfarmersmarket.
Mondays • Durham Farmers Market will be from 2:15 to 5:30 p.m. in the parking lot of Sammy’s Market (5 Madbury Road) beginning June 7 and through Oct. 4. Visit seacoastgrowers.org or find them on Facebook @market03824.
Tuesdays • Bedford Farmers Market will be from 3 to 6 p.m. in the parking lot of Wicked Good Butchah (209 Route 101), beginning June 15 and through Oct. 12. Visit bedfordfarmersmarketnh.org or find them on Facebook @bedfordfarmersmarketnh.
• Rochester Farmers Market will be from 3 to 6 p.m. on the Rochester Town Common (Route 108 and South Main Street) beginning June 15 and through Sept. 28. Visit rochesternhfarmersmarket.com or find them on Facebook.
Wednesdays
• Canterbury Community Farmers Market will be from 4 to 6:30 p.m. in the parking lot of the Elkins Public Library (9 Center Road) beginning June 2 and through Sept. 29. Visit canterburyfarmersmarket.com or find them on Facebook @ccfma.
• Derry Homegrown Farm & Artisan Market will be from 3 to 7 p.m. at 1 W. Broadway beginning June 2 and through Sept. 29. Visit derryhomegrown.org or find them on Facebook @derryhomegrown.
• Dover Farmers Market will be from 2:15 to 5:30 p.m. in the parking lot of the Greater Dover Chamber of Commerce (550 Central Ave.) beginning June 2 and through Oct. 6. Visit seacoastgrowers.org or find them on Facebook @market03820.
• Peterborough Farmers Market is from 3 to 6 p.m. on the lawn of the Peterborough Community Center (25 Elm St.) now through October. The market moves indoors during the winter months. Find them on Facebook @peterboroughnhfarmersmarket.
Thursdays • Exeter Farmers Market is from 2:15 to 5:30 p.m. at Swasey Parkway (off Water Street) now through Oct. 28. Visit seacoastgrowers.org or find them on Facebook @market03833.
• Franklin Farmers Market will be from 3 to 6 p.m. at Marceau Park (Central Street) beginning June 24 and through Sept. 30. Visit franklinnh.org or find them on Facebook @franklinlocalmarket.
• Henniker Community Market is from 4 to 7 p.m. in the town’s Community Center park (57 Main St.) now through Oct. 21. Find them on Facebook @hennikercommunitymarket.
• Intown’s Farm Stand & Artisan Shop will be from 3 to 6 p.m., at Victory Park (Concord and Chestnut streets, Manchester) beginning June 17 and through Aug. 26. Find them on Facebook @manchesterfood.
• Rindge Farmers & Crafters Market is from 3 to 6 p.m. at West Rindge Common (Route 202 North) now through Oct. 7. Find them on Facebook @rindgefarmersandcraftersmarket.
• Wolfeboro Area Farmers Market is from 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. at Clark Park (233 S. Main St.) now through Oct. 28. Visit wolfeborofarmersmarket.com or find them on Facebook @wolfeboroareafarmersmarket.
Fridays • Francestown Community Market is from 4 to 7 p.m. at the horse sheds near the Francestown Police Station (15 New Boston Road). Find them on Facebook @francestowncommunitymarket.
• Newport Farmers Market will be from 3 to 6 p.m. on the Newport Town Common (N. Main and Park streets) beginning June 11 and through Oct. 1. Visit newportfarmersmarketnh.com or find them on Facebook @newportfarmersmarketnh.
Saturdays • Barnstead Farmers Market will be from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 96 Maple St. in Center Barnstead beginning June 12 and through Sept. 25. Visit barnsteadfarmers.weebly.com or find them on Facebook @barnsteadfarmersmarket.
• Candia Farmers Market will be from 9 a.m. to noon outside the Smyth Public Library (55 High St., Candia) beginning June 19. (Note: This market will only be held on the third Saturday of each month through October. Dates are June 19, July 17, Aug. 21, Sept. 18 and Oct. 16). Visit candianh.org or email agcomm@candianh.org.
• Cole Gardens Farmers Market is from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Cole Gardens (430 Loudon Road, Concord) now through Oct. 30. Visit colegardens.com or find them on Facebook @colegardens.
• Concord Farmers Market is from 8:30 a.m. to noon on Capitol Street (near the New Hampshire Statehouse) now through Oct. 30. Visit concordfarmersmarket.com or find them on Facebook @concordfarmersmarketnh.
• Contoocook Farmers Market is from 9 a.m. to noon at 896 Main St. (by the gazebo behind the train depot) now through October. Find them on Facebook @contoocookfarmersmarket.
• Milford Farmers Market is from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 300 Elm St. (across the street from the New Hampshire Antique Co-op) now through Oct. 9. Visit milfordnhfarmersmarket or find them on Facebook @milfordfarmersmarketofnh.
• New Boston Farmers Market will be from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the corner of Route 13 and Meetinghouse Hill Road beginning June 12 and through Oct. 9. Visit newbostonfarmersmarket.webs.com or find them on Facebook @newbostonfarmersmarket.
• New Ipswich Farmers Market is from 9 a.m. to noon in the parking lot of New Ipswich Town Hall (661 Turnpike Road) now through October. Beginning in November the market typically moves indoors to the New Ipswich Congregational Church. Find them on Facebook @newipswichfarmersmarket.
• Pelham Farmers Market will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. outside the First Congregational Church of Pelham (3 Main St.) beginning June 19 and through Oct. 30. Search “Friends of Pelham NH Farmers Market” on Facebook.
• Portsmouth Farmers Market is from 8 a.m. to noon in the parking lot of Little Harbour Elementary School (50 Clough Drive, Portsmouth) now through Nov. 6. Visit seacoastgrowers.org or find them on Facebook @market03801.
• Warner Area Farmers Market is from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the Warner Town Hall lawn (5 E. Main St.). Visit warnerfarmersmarket.org or find them on Facebook @warnerareafarmersmarket.
• Weare Real Food Farmers Market will be outdoors from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 65 N. Stark Hwy. in Weare beginning May 29. Visit wearerfm.com or find them on Facebook @wearerealfoodfarmersmarket.
• Wilmot Farmers Market will be from 9 a.m. to noon on the Wilmot Town Green (9 Kearsarge Valley Road) beginning June 26 and through Sept. 25. Visit wilmotfarmersmarket.com or find them on Facebook.
Feautred photo: Lakonian Olive Oil is a vendor at this year’s Milford Farmers Market. Courtesy photo.
• ’Cue it up: The Grazing Room at The Colby Hill Inn (33 The Oaks, Henniker) launched its Sunday Night Out event series earlier this month — every Sunday now through Aug. 29, the eatery will serve a local seafood raw bar, a special barbecue-themed a la carte menu, and flight trios of beer, wine and sake, in addition to hosting a different live music act each week courtesy of the New Hampshire Music Collective. Items include New Hampshire oysters on the half shell, jumbo shrimp cocktail or crab claws with cocktail sauce, grilled marinated octopus with tzatziki, a fried clam po’ boy with spicy kimchi and chili mayonnaise, and a cider-braised pulled pork sandwich with coleslaw. Seatings are outdoors, from 4 to 7 p.m. each evening, with reservations required. Visit colbyhillinn.com.
• Ready for tacos: Londonderry-based food trailer B’s Tacos is now open for its ninth season — you can find it outside the BP Gas Station (2 Mohawk Drive, Londonderry) every Tuesday through Saturday (exact times vary) through about October, serving up fresh items from tacos and burritos to taco salads and quesadillas, with fillings that include slow-cooked pork, seasoned ground beef, grilled chicken and chorizo sausage. B’s Tacos also now has a brick and mortar location at 372 Kelley St. in Manchester that is open year-round. Visit nhtacotruck.com or find them on Facebook and Instagram @bstacos.
• Foraged foods: Join the Beaver Brook Association for Wild Edibles, a program to be held at Maple Hill Farm (117 Ridge Road, Hollis) on Sunday, May 23, from 1 to 3 p.m. Presenter and clinical herbalist Rivka Schwartz will talk about the best methods and times for harvesting herbs and how to preserve them. The vitamins, minerals and health benefits of all kinds of wild edibles found in your garden will also be discussed. Attendees will participate in a wild harvest hike followed by preparing and eating foods they harvested. The cost is $22 for Beaver Brook members and $25 for non-members. Visit beaverbrook.org.
• New pasta-bilities: Table 8 Pasta in Bedford, a fast casual eatery specializing in customizable pasta dishes with scratch-made sauces and other ingredients, has assumed new ownership after three years in business. “We are passing the torch … [to] Lisa DeSisto, owner of Rig A Tony’s Italian Takeout and Catering, who we trust will keep our pasta lovers in good hands,” reads a May 9 Facebook post from Table 8 founders Mitch and Stacey DeBonville. “Table 8 will continue to operate during our normal business hours, serve our usual menu offerings and employ our regular … staff.” The post goes on to say that new menu items are expected to be added in the coming weeks, including sandwiches and salads, while catering orders with those expanded items can be placed by phone. Table 8 opened in the summer of 2018 in a 2,600-square-foot space that formerly housed the Royal Bouquet flower shop. DeSisto, who also took over ownership of Clam Haven in Derry last year, has owned Rig A Tony’s for two decades.
• A taste of Haiti: Pre-orders are available now for the next installment of Ansanm, a Haitian-themed dinner series brought to you by owner and executive chef Chris Viaud of Greenleaf and Culture in Milford, along with his family. Viaud, along with his parents Myrlene and Yves, siblings Phil, Kassie and Katie, wife Emilee and sister-in-law Sarah, all work together to create a menu of authentic Haitian dishes each month, offering both dine-in and takeout options at Greenleaf on Sunday, May 23. Items will include poule nan sós (stewed chicken in creole sauce) and griot (marinated pork), each available with side choices of rice, plantains or pikliz, a spicy vegetable slaw of carrots, cabbage, onions and peppers; as well as diri djon djon, a black mushroom rice dish popular in Haiti, potato and beet salad, a Haitian-style spaghetti, and pineapple upside down cake. Order by Saturday, May 22, at 5 p.m., by visiting toasttab.com/greenleaf/v3.
Beth Vine of Derry, also known as The Mad Baker (themadbaker.net and on Facebook and Instagram @themadbakernh), offers fresh items baked to order like focaccia bread, butter bread, cinnamon rolls and bread bowls for soups and chowders. A self-described “stress baker,” Vine began accepting orders for her cinnamon rolls and breads last October. Orders can be placed online through the website or by emailing themadbakernh@gmail.com, with pickups at an arranged time on Fridays at The Grind (5 W. Broadway, Derry). Vine will be participating in the Derry Homegrown Farm & Artisan Market, to be held at 1 W. Broadway on Wednesdays from 3 to 7 p.m., beginning June 2.
What is your must-have kitchen item?
I always have a pastry scraper, because it cuts nicely through the dough. But I like it mostly because I use it on a pastry board that was given to me by my grandmother-in-law, who was a master pie maker in the 1950s and ’60s.
What would you have for your last meal?
Scallops in Pernod, from Street & Co. in Portland, Maine. That is the best dish that I’ve ever had in my entire life.
What is your favorite local restaurant?
I’d probably go with the East Derry Tavern. It’s right around the corner from us — I walk down there a lot with my kids. Their tandoori nachos are delicious.
What celebrity would you like to see trying something that you’ve baked?
This is sort of terrifying, but my top choice would probably be Gordon Ramsay. I’m a huge fan of his. His Thanksgiving turkey [recipe] is such a glorious way to eat a turkey, and I don’t do it any other way now.
What is your personal favorite menu item that you offer?
My favorite is definitely the focaccia bread. A fresh focaccia out of the oven is about as good as you can get.
What is the biggest food trend in New Hampshire right now?
I would say cooking at home, especially during the pandemic.
What is your favorite thing to cook or bake at home?
Honestly, I like just baking with the kids. Nothing too complicated, just cookies or brownies or whatever. It can be messy and disorganized, but it’s always a great experience and builds memories.
Beth’s “One arm chicken Parm” Courtesy of Beth Vine of The Mad Baker in Derry (entire recipe can be made while holding a baby on one arm, as Vine, a mother of four, can attest)
Thinly sliced chicken breasts or tenders 1 egg ½ cup milk 2 cups Italian-style breadcrumbs ½ cup vegetable oil 1 jar of your favorite tomato pasta sauce Shredded mozzarella cheese
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Whisk egg and milk together. Dip chicken in egg mixture, then dredge in breadcrumbs. Lightly fry chicken pieces in vegetable oil, just until breadcrumbs are crispy. Place in an oven-safe dish and cover with sauce. Top with shredded cheese. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until bubbling. Serve over your favorite type of pasta.
Pizza pies cooked in an imported Italian oven — and prepared by a fifth-generation pizza chef from Naples — will soon be available at a new spot coming to Bedford.
Gusto Italiano Market, on track to open in the coming weeks, will also be offering a variety of imported Italian items for sale, plus prepared meals, desserts and a selection of Italian wines.
The new market is the latest venture of husband and wife Matteo Ronzio and Francesca Dallora, who were both born and raised in Italy. The couple has also owned Real Italian Gusto Ristorante & Pizzeria in downtown Medford, Mass., since its October 2015 opening.
According to Dallora, she and Ronzio originally came overseas to the United States while on vacation in 2014, touring and falling in love with New England. They first settled in the Boston area before later moving up to Manchester in the summer of 2019.
“We were living in North Reading, [Mass.,] but New Hampshire was really our first love,” she said. “We were thinking also about having a second location once we moved up here.”
Last fall, Ronzio said, they came across the vacant building space on Wallace Road in nearby Bedford, a spot most recently occupied by The Wine’ing Butcher before its closure in 2019.
Unlike the couple’s Massachusetts location, which operates as a traditional dine-in Italian restaurant, the new space in Bedford will follow more of a grab-and-go concept. Imported items like cheeses, boxed pastas and bottled wines and olive oils will be available for sale out of a retail space. Ronzio said scratch-made meals like meatballs, lasagna and eggplant Parmigiana will also be prepared at Real Italian Gusto and brought up to Bedford for sale to go.
But Gusto Italiano Market will make a number of other items in house too, among them the Neapolitan-style pizzas. Plans are in the works to bring in a Valoriani-brand dome oven from Italy not available for sale in the United States, according to Ronzio. Ciro Langella, Real Italian Gusto’s chef, will come up to Bedford to help with the market’s opening once the oven arrives.
“Ciro is a fifth-generation pizza maker from Italy,” Dallora said. “He actually already had another place in Beverly, [Mass.,] where he was making pizzas before he joined us.”
Through a connection with the True Neapolitan Pizza Association in Naples, Dallora and Ronzio are also hiring Giovanni Russo, himself a third-generation pizza maker, to work with the oven.
Gusto Italiano Market’s pizza menu will be similar to that of its Massachusetts predecessor — the traditional margherita pizza, for instance, features fresh tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese and basil, while other options will include an Italian meatball lover’s pizza with ricotta, mozzarella, arugula and cherry tomatoes, and a pizza with grilled eggplant, peppers and zucchini. Dallora said a special pizza topping will also likely be created just for the Bedford space.
A few bar seats will be available by the pizza oven, with additional seating outdoors expected during the summer months. Ronzio said third-party delivery will also likely be an option soon.
Gusto Italiano Market An opening date is expected in the coming weeks. Visit their website or email them for updates. Where: 254 Wallace Road, Unit B, Bedford Hours: TBA More info: Visit gustoitalianomarket.com, or email gustoitalianomarket@gmail.com
