Category: Q&A

In the kitchen with Tracy Fitts

Born and raised in New Hampshire, Tracy Fitts has had experience in the restaurant industry since she was 13 years old working at Golden Acres, a clam shack in Pinardville. Along the way she met Cyndee Williams, who went on to open White Birch Eatery in Goffstown. There Williams asked Fitts to join in, and she is now the executive chef and director of operations.

What is your must-have kitchen item?

There are so many tools, pieces of equipment and people that we need to do what we do. It’s all important. I will agree with a lot of the other chefs that a good-quality knife is needed.

What would you have for your last meal?

Anything from Mama Reykjavik in Iceland, an absolutely delicious vegan restaurant with an artsy hippie vibe and the nicest people.

What is your favorite local eatery?

Aside from White Birch — I truly do love coming here — I would say if I am taking a bit of a drive it would be Green Elephant in Portsmouth. For Manchester, it’s Restoration Cafe.

Name a celebrity you would like to see eating in your restaurant?

I wouldn’t mind seeing Lenny Kravitz sitting at my table, but honestly, nothing makes me happier than one of our customers telling me how much they enjoyed their meal. It’s why I do this and have done this for 30 years.

What is your favorite thing on your menu?

Our vegan Reuben.

What is the biggest food trend in New Hampshire right now?

Restaurants offering alternative menus to include gluten-free and vegan options. It’s so great.

What is your favorite thing to cook at home?

Noodle bowls, rice noodles, spicy broth or peanut sauce and lots of fresh veggies.

Warm Spinach Dip
From Tracy: This dip is a quick crowd-pleaser! All of the ingredients get stirred together and spread into a baking dish. The finishing touch is another layer of cheese. Bake your dip until it’s hot and melted, serve with bread, or tortilla or pita chips.

8 ounces cream cheese softened
1 cup sour cream
10 ounces fresh spinach leaves
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (save 1/2 cup to sprinkle on the top at the end and melt in the oven)
1 Tablespoon chopped parsley
bread, crackers and vegetables for serving
cooking spray (spray your dish first to make clean-up easier)

The most important part of making this recipe is to be sure all of the water is removed from your spinach. You can squeeze the spinach between your fingers to remove the liquid, press it in a potato ricer, or wrap the spinach in a few layers of paper towels to wring out all the liquid. You can use frozen spinach or sauté fresh — just make sure to cool it and squeeze dry.

Bake at 350 for 25 to 30 minutes and remove and sprinkle the remaining cheese and place back in the oven for 10 minutes to melt.

Featured photo: Katie Pope of Confections by Kate. Courtesy photo.

On The Job – Georgia Brust

Landscape designer

Georgia Brust is a landscape designer with her own company, The Floral Hound, based in Salem.

Explain your job and what it entails.

I am the owner and designer of The Floral Hound, a landscape design and fine gardening company. I meet with clients, walk the property and get a feel for the space and what they’re envisioning. From there, I create beautiful yet sustainable outdoor spaces.

How long have you had this job?

The Floral Hound celebrated its official one-year anniversary in June 2023.

What led you to this career field and your current job?

Growing up, my father had beautiful gardens all around our yard where he would always be working, so naturally I was always doing something in the yard. In 2016 I started working at Canobie Lake Park on the grounds crew and absolutely fell in love with gardening, maintenance and the design aspect of things.

What kind of education or training did you need?

In 2019 I started studying at NHTI. In 2021 I graduated with my degree in Landscape and Environmental Design. In fall of 2020, I took part in the UNH Extension Natural Resource Stewardship program. I learned a lot of neat little tips and tricks, but the best training is getting out and just doing the job.

What is your typical at-work uniform or attire?

My beloved Timberland hiking boots that I’ve had for years, a long-sleeve shirt, and you can almost always find me in a pair of black leggings (Lululemon to be exact — I’ve tried a lot of leggings and these are one of the only brands that stand up to the demands of the job).

What is the most challenging thing about your work, and how do you deal with it?

Mother Nature. A large part of my job is figuring out how to roll with her punches… .

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

I wish I had invested in some kind of wrist and back brace.

What do you wish other people knew about your job?

I wish others knew how rewarding the job actually is. I love creating something beautiful for a client that is living and will hopefully live for many years to come.

What was the first job you ever had?

Scooping ice cream at Findeisen’s Ice Cream in Salem when I was 15. I was still practicing getting my license, so my father would drive me to work. His payment: ice cream at the end of my shifts.

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

A dear friend had told me once ‘The devil is in the details.’ … Don’t overlook the small things.

Five favorites
Favorite book: I’m a sucker for the Twilight series.
Favorite movie: I’m sure you can guess from my favorite book
Favorite music: Folk-pop
Favorite food: Anything sweet
Favorite thing about NH: I love the ability to enjoy outdoor activities in multiple seasons. My favorite seasons? Fall and stick season.

Featured photo: Georgia Brust. Courtesy photo.

In the kitchen with Katie Pope

While Boscawen resident Katie Pope has always liked to bake and experiment in the kitchen, she didn’t originally plan on starting her own bakery. The idea was planted in her mind after she made a unicorn cake for her daughter’s birthday party and one of the moms asked her how much she charged. The idea was put into practice about five years later with the creation of Confections by Kate during the pandemic, after she experienced burnout in the health care field, as a way to support her family. She also makes cupcakes, macarons, cake pops, truffles and cookies and holds cookie decorating classes. Her goal is to open her own brick and mortar location in Boscawen with live music, local art and plants.

What is your must-have kitchen item?

A dishwasher! I spent way too many years being the dishwasher [and] I don’t think I could live without it now.

What would you have for your last meal?

Hands down the macaroni and cheese from Arms by Abbey in Worcester, Massachusetts. If you know, you know.

What is your favorite local eatery?

SourJoes. Their pizza is amazing! I’m really loving the vodka pizza.

Name a celebrity you would like to see eating in your restaurant?

Matt Rife or Payton Pritchard.

What is your favorite thing on your menu?

Sugar cookies. There are endless ways to decorate them, but I really like decorating the ones that challenge my creative abilities. You can turn a sugar cookie into just about anything, and I’m always up for a good challenge.

What is the biggest food trend in New Hampshire right now?

Definitely the food truck. My goal is to have my own within the next two years. I mean, who doesn’t like mobile sweets?

What is your favorite thing to cook at home?

My favorite thing to cook at home is pineapple beef teriyaki boats. [They] consist of pineapple halves [with] the insides scraped out. The pineapple gets filled with the beef and homemade teriyaki sauce and topped with pineapple scrapings.

Brown Sugar Maple Cookies
From the kitchen of Katie Pope

2⅓ cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ cup salted butter
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 egg
⅓ cup pure New Hampshire maple syrup (we use Ice Mountain Maple’s syrup)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Maple icing:
1 Tablespoon salted butter
⅓ cup pure New Hampshire maple syrup
1 cup sifted confectioner’s sugar
pinch of salt, to taste

Over medium heat, brown butter in a small saucepan until there is a nutty aroma.
Remove from heat, let cool to room temperature.
Whisk flour and baking soda together in a medium mixing bowl. Set aside.
In a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream butter and brown sugar on medium speed until smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Add egg and beat on high until well-combined, about 30 seconds.
Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl; add maple syrup and vanilla extract. Beat on high until well-combined.
Mix dry ingredients to the wet ingredients; mix on low until combined.
Cover dough and chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
Using a cookie scoop, scoop out and roll cookies. Place on baking sheet at least 1 inch apart. Bake for 12 to 13 minutes until lightly browned on the sides.
Cool cookies on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack. Cool completely.

Make the icing: In a small saucepan over low heat, melt butter and maple syrup
together, whisking occasionally. Once butter is melted and well-combined, remove from heat and whisk in sifted powdered sugar. Add a pinch of salt and whisk well. Drizzle icing over cooled cookies. Icing sets in about an hour.
Note: Browned butter gives a nutty taste greatly enhancing the maple flavor. Cookies can be made without browning the butter, but I promise they aren’t nearly as delicious.

Featured photo: Katie Pope of Confections by Kate. Courtesy photo.

On The Job – Matt Lazzaro

Welder

Matt Lazzaro is the owner-operator of Matt the Welder in Derry.

Explain your job and what it entails.

There is no real typical day. Some days I’ll be making a railing; another day I might be fixing a broken plow. Part of why I like it is that there’s a good amount of variety.

How long have you been doing this?

I started the business about a little over three years ago, but I’ve been welding for close to 14 years now.

What led you to this career field and your current job?

I used to work in restaurants for a long time. And then I started having kids and the nights and weekends weren’t doing it for me. I knew a couple of welders and they seemed pretty happy. So I decided to go back to school for it.

What kind of education or training did you need?

I went to college and I got an associate’s degree in welding technologies. You don’t have to do that to get into welding, but it allowed me to get more mid-level jobs out of school.

What is your typical at-work uniform or attire?

Usually burnt shirts and pants and boots and gloves. Even all summer long, I have to be completely covered in boots, long pants and long shirts to protect from the sparks and the heat of the welding.

What is the most challenging thing about your work?

The most challenging is the back end part of it, like the books, answering all the calls and messages and giving price estimates and stuff. But I just do my best with it.

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

I really wish I had known earlier how much more I enjoy working for myself.

What was the first job you ever had?

Bagging groceries.

What do you wish other people knew about your job?

I wish people knew the sacrifices that it takes to get to where I’ve gotten.

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

To show up when you say you’re going to show up and do what you say you’re going to do.

Five favorites
Favorite book: Trade magazines, like Ask This Old House.
Favorite movie: National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation
Favorite music: ‘90s and early 2000s rap.
Favorite food: Cheeseburgers
Favorite thing about NH: The never-ending supply of rusty metal.

Featured photo: Matt Lazzaro. Courtesy photo.

How to help

Food, housing costs & utilities bills are the big concerns

Karen Moynihan is the Vice President of Philanthropy, Catholic Charities New Hampshire, which provides a variety of services including food distribution through the New Hampshire Food Bank. See cc-nh.org.

What have you noticed about the community’s needs right now and over the last year?

We have more people coming to us looking for assistance than we have in the past — even more so than when the pandemic first hit in 2020 and continued into 2021. So people are struggling, and the primary reason is threefold: the cost of food has increased, utility costs in New Hampshire are some of the highest in the country, and the cost of housing. So people are having a hard time maintaining their monthly budgets when everything around them just keeps going up and up. We have more people coming to us for emergency assistance and really urgent needs. They’re really one paycheck away from disaster.

What items can people give?

There are two programs that can take donated items: We have a veterans program here in Manchester, Liberty House, and they have a pantry that provides food and clothing and gear. A lot of our veteran population in Manchester is homeless. So they need camping gear and warm clothing and things like that. They list on their website what their needs are for the pantry; those could change on any given day. The other program we have is out at the Seacoast, and it’s a transitional housing program for moms and children called New Generation. These moms and children are usually homeless, they don’t have a job, and they’ve experienced trauma of some sort. Many of them have left abusive relationships. They may come in with some addiction challenges. They may come in without a driver’s license or crucial documentation because they had to leave a situation quickly. The program works with these moms for about a year getting them back on their feet. … By the time they leave the program, they have a job, they have child care, and they have an affordable place to stay. Anyway, there is a thrift store on site that takes donations of all kinds, because when those women leave that program, they also need household items. So folks can donate household items or clothing to the thrift store. They need everything from children’s clothing to adult clothing to bedding to kitchen items, things like that. So that’s another wonderful way to donate either gently used or new items.

What can monetary gifts be used for?

Monetary donations allow us the flexibility to quickly deploy resources for the most urgent needs. Oftentimes we can keep people in their homes by helping them get caught up on a utility bill, or helping them with a car repair that they can’t afford because they’re going to be evicted if they don’t pay their rent. There are just so many enormous challenges that people are facing right now, and they are literally on the verge of losing the most important things — housing, food, medications.

Where are volunteers needed most?

We have one program here in Manchester that is in urgent need of volunteers. It’s called Caregivers and this is a program for seniors on low fixed incomes who are just slightly above the poverty level. These seniors no longer drive and they need help to be able to continue to live independently in their homes. There are two things that Caregivers does for this network of seniors: they do deliveries of food to them — every senior gets a delivery of food once a month — and we give them rides to doctor’s appointments or the grocery store, whatever their needs are. These volunteers are sometimes the only connection to the outside world that these seniors have. They often don’t have family or relatives nearby to help them, so this is a critical resource for them.

How can people find the right volunteering opportunity?

Visit the Catholic Charities website click on the “Get involved” button. This section lists various volunteer opportunities. Choose what inspires you the most. You can sign up or learn more about each opportunity directly through the website. If you have any questions or need guidance, you can always call our office and speak with our volunteer coordinator.

How to help

Here are some of New Hampshire homelessness and housing support charities.

  • Cross Roads House 600 Lafayette Road, Portsmouth, 436-2218, crossroadshouse.org
  • Families in Transition 122 Market St., Manchester, 641-9441, fitnh.org
  • Family Promise of Greater Concord 79 Clinton St., Concord, 856-8490, familypromisegcnh.org​​.
  • Family Promise of Southern New Hampshire 3 Crown St., Building B, Nashua, 883-7338, familypromisesnh.org​
  • Friends Program 130 Pembroke Road, Suite 200, Concord, 228-1193
  • Liberty House 221 Orange St., Manchester, 669-0761, libertyhousenh.org
  • New Generation 568 Portsmouth Ave., Greenland, 436-4989, newgennh.org
  • New Horizons Shelter 199 Manchester St., Manchester, 668-1877, newhorizonsnh.org
  • Harbor Care 77 Northeastern Blvd., Nashua, 882-3616, harborcarenh.org​​
  • Marguerite’s Place 87 Palm St., Nashua, 598-1582, margueritesplace.org
  • McKenna House 100 S. Fruit St., Concord, 225-8610
  • My Friend’s Place 368 Washington St., Dover, 749-3017
  • The Way Home 214 Spruce St., Manchester, 627-3491

Featured photo: Liberty House in Manchester, a program of Catholic Charities. Courtesy photo.

On The Job – Beth Wallace

Wellness and fitness professional

Beth Wallace is a dietitian, Certified Personal Trainer and the owner of The Yoga & Fitness Loft in Amherst.

Explain your job and what it entails.

I help people feel safe in their bodies. My job starts with creating and maintaining an inviting space with welcoming compassionate people, instructors and clients. I work with clients on individual postural assessments or nutrition intakes to help them better understand their bodies and learn modifications to help them feel their best. I create reports on each client.

How long have you had this job?

I have owned The Yoga & Fitness Loft since 2022 after being fully invested in the fitness and wellness industry since 1998.

What led you to this career field and your current job?

As a teenager I loved teaching martial arts … Exercise was my life until a broken ankle shifted my focus on how to best honor my body and best support those around me. A degree in nutrition was followed by a job at a hospital with long arduous hours that never resonated with my path. … Collecting fitness and yoga certifications became more than a hobby, and in addition to teaching classes I became the dietitian for New England Gold’s Gyms in 2017. … In 2022 I had the opportunity to step in as owner at The Yoga & Fitness Loft.

What kind of education or training did you need?

The education I received in dietetics is a bachelor of science that required both food service and clinical internships. This has prepared me for all the quick-thinking on-the-job training needed in fitness and business.

What is your typical at-work uniform or attire?

My work attire is the envy of corporate moms. The uniform literally starts with yoga pants topped with comfy sweatshirts and tank tops. When I’m lecturing in person, I’ll pull out the heels and jewelry, but for a Zoom lecture I’ll still discreetly be in my yoga pants.

What is the most challenging thing about your work, and how do you deal with it?

The most challenging thing is consistently not knowing what I don’t know and realizing it will take months to learn well enough to apply, from bookkeeping to search engine optimization to learning and applying yoga mudras.

What do you wish other people knew about your job?

Owning a yoga business is a little more than stretching and saying ‘Om’ on a yoga mat; it’s still running a business.

What was the first job you ever had?

Kids’ martial arts instructor and teen kickboxing instructor.

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

Slow down and pause. We’re all just people.

Five favorites
Favorite book: I am always reading three books at once: self-help, nutrition science and something for fun. Currently it’s Ask and It Is Given.
Favorite movie: What Dreams May Come
Favorite music: Country pop
Favorite food: Grapefruit or anything spicy
Favorite thing about NH: The mountain views of every season

Featured photo: Beth Wallace. Courtesy photo.

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