In the kitchen with the Berrys

Matt Berry and Lauren Foster Berry of Milford are the owners of Dahlia Restaurant (dahlianomadic.com, find them on Facebook and Instagram), a series of New England-inspired farm-to-table pop-up dinners they launched last month. Named after the couple’s daughter, Dahlia held its first dinner at Greenleaf in Milford on Sept. 27. A second event followed a week later, at The Birch on Elm in Manchester. Dahlia’s next event, a Halloween-themed dinner, is scheduled for Oct. 25 at Noodz on Elm Street in Manchester. Collaborative dinners are also planned for Nov. 15, with Camacho Knives & Leather in Manchester, and Dec. 6, with Dunk’s Mushrooms & Foraging in Brentwood. Previously, Matt and Lauren both worked at Greenleaf — he as chef de cuisine and she as a pastry chef.

What is your must-have kitchen item?

Lauren: Spoons, in different shapes and sizes, are essential for us, not only for cooking but also for plating. Finding a good spoon to cook with reinvigorates the passion for what we do.

What would you have for your last meal?

Matt: … All of our favorite bad foods. Smash burgers, mozzarella sticks, fried pickles, strawberry milkshakes, things like that.

What is your favorite local restaurant?

Matt: Definitely Otis [in Exeter]. [Owner and chef] Lee Frank is a really good friend of mine, and he’s been a great mentor for me as well. I worked under him as the sous chef. … Lee changes his menu every week, so going to eat there is kind of like putting your faith into his hands, which is an ideology we want to reflect in Dahlia. His clientele really trust his talent as a chef.

What celebrity would you like to see attending one of your dinners?

Matt: [Chef] Sean Brock, hands down. His passion for preserving crops and utilizing classic ingredients really inspired me on a personal level.

What is your personal favorite thing to cook?

Lauren: Mine has always been caramel corn. My earliest memory of being in the kitchen was with my mom, who would make big batches of it for friends and family in our area. The smells of popcorn and caramel are still really special to me and remind me of when I fell in love with cooking for the first time.

Matt: I always tend to come back to New Nordic cuisine. One thing we put on the menu a couple of times at Greenleaf and at Otis was aebleskiver, which is almost like a pancake dumpling cooked in a cast iron pan with divots in it. I also love gravlax, which is cured salmon.

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

Lauren: The farm-to-table trend is definitely really prevalent here right now. Over the last decade, so many more restaurants have focused on local ingredients, and customers have really embraced that as well. Patrons want to hear about the relationships you have, not only with the food but with the people growing it.

What is your favorite thing to cook at home?

Matt: I’m really passionate about making a really good bread. We have a couple of sourdough starters, and we both really like to experiment with different styles.

Lauren: For me, every time I’m cooking at home I always want to make soup. I like to eat soup all year round.

Birch flour biscuits
Yields about 12 medium biscuits

250 grams (or about 2 cups) all-purpose flour
100 grams (or about ¾ cup) birch bark flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 tablespoon local maple syrup
2 teaspoons salt
85 grams (or about ⅓ cup) butter
177 grams (or about ¾ cup) buttermilk

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Set aside birch flour and combine rest of dry ingredients, whisking to combine. Using box grater, grate cold butter. Add to dry ingredients. Using hands or a food processor, mix together until butter is pea-sized and mixture looks like coarse wet sand. Whisk together birch flour and buttermilk in separate bowl. Drizzle over the top of butter and flour mixture, then gently knead to combine, being careful not to overwork dough. Turn dough out onto floured surface and work dough only until it comes together to form a rough ball. After sprinkling the surface of dough with flour, roll it out using a rolling pin to form a rectangle. Fold this in half, rotate rectangle 90 degrees, then flatten dough back out with heel of hands to not overwork dough and to keep biscuits tender. Repeat, folding, turning and pressing the dough back out three times. Using hands, press dough out to form one-inch-thick rectangle. Using two-inch round cookie cutter coated with flour, cut out biscuits and transfer to a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper. Bake at 425 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes, until light golden brown. Brush with melted butter and serve warm.
To mill your own birch flour: Collect birch bark from white birch tree (only peel bark from recently fallen trees or collect pieces that have shed naturally — cream-colored pieces that are still pliable and not grey or brittle, and that are free from rot or bug holes). Submerge strips of bark in water. Bring to a boil; simmer for two hours. Dehydrate strips in the oven at the lowest setting overnight or in a dehydrator. Mill strips into flour in a food processor. Let spin until the bark has become very fine, then sift through a fine mesh strainer.

Farmers markets
• Concord Farmers Market
is Saturdays, from 8:30 a.m. to noon, on Capitol Street in Concord (near the Statehouse), now through Oct. 31. Visit concordfarmersmarket.com.
Contoocook Farmers Market is Saturdays, from 9 a.m. to noon, at 896 Main St. in Contoocook, outdoors through at least Oct. 31. Find them on Facebook @contoocookfarmersmarket for updates.
• Henniker Community Market is Thursdays, from 4 to 7 p.m., at Henniker Community Center (57 Main St.), through Oct. 29. Find them on Facebook @hennikercommunitymarket.
Milford Farmers Market is Saturdays, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., at 300 Elm St. in Milford through Nov. 21. Visit milfordnhfarmersmarket.com.
Nashua Farmers Market is Sundays, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at City Hall Plaza (229 Main St.), through Oct. 18. Visit downtownnashua.org/local.

Featured Photo: Matt Berry and Lauren Foster Berry

Drought management

Why the drought will continue, and how to save water

According to the United States Drought Monitor’s most recent data on New Hampshire (released Oct. 6), 21.99 percent of the state is experiencing extreme drought and 73.07 percent of the state is experiencing severe drought. Stacey Herbold, manager of the Water Conservation and Water Use Registration and Reporting programs at New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services and a member of the Drought Management Team, talked about how the drought has affected the state and what residents can do to conserve water.

What impact does a drought have on New Hampshire residents?

We see agricultural operations having to work really hard to keep their crops going. … [Residents with wells] may see their well supply running low or going dry, and they may notice that their water has some sediment in it. … [Residents using community water] have restrictions put on their water use, mostly for outdoor watering … and that can range from a total ban on all outdoor watering, to watering on only certain days of the week, to no lawn watering and only hand watering of gardens. … Right now we have 165 community water systems with water restrictions in place.

What caused the drought? Is it due only to environmental factors, or are people also partially responsible?

It’s the increased water use during the summer, coupled with [environmental factors]. … Spring is one of the most important times of the year for recharging groundwater. … We had a really low snowpack in early spring and below-average rain in the spring, so that started us off in a deficit as we went into the summer. In the summer, we continued not to get enough rain to make up for it … and when temperatures rise, a lot of water ends up going to evaporation. … Water use also increases during the summer months because of outdoor watering. … A lot of people turn on their irrigation system and leave it running even when watering isn’t necessarily needed.

What kinds of water systems are used in New Hampshire, and what does a drought do to them?

Approximately half of the state is on their own private residence with well water, while the other half is on some kind of community water system. Community water systems usually have a diverse set of water sources. They may have wells in various areas, surface water sources and backup [sources], so they’re a bit more resilient when it comes to a drought. … Residential well owners tend to have either dug wells or bedrock wells. Dug wells are shallower wells that are in unconsolidated material above the bedrock. During a drought, they’re the first to run low on water, but they’re also the first to recharge when it rains. Bedrock wells are drilled down into the bedrock and receive water from various small fractures, and it takes longer for them to be impacted by low groundwater levels, but they take much longer to recharge. … It could take weeks to months.

How can people conserve water during a drought?

During the summer months, a reduction in lawn watering is the main thing, and not washing down driveways, power washing houses or washing cars with the hose constantly going. … As we move into the colder weather, people really need to focus on how to conserve water indoors. Do full loads of laundry and full loads in the dishwasher. Take shorter showers. Don’t run water while doing other things. Turn off the faucet while you’re brushing your teeth. When you’re doing dishes, fill up a basin rather than letting the water run. One simple thing that people don’t think about is that you don’t always need to have your faucet on full blast. If you’re just rinsing vegetables off, you could turn it on halfway. … Residential well owners need to space out how they use water throughout the day and throughout the week. You shouldn’t be showering, running the dishwasher and doing laundry all at once.

Should people be buying their drinking water?

Not necessarily. The percentage of the amount of water we use for drinking is so small, it doesn’t really make a difference. But if you have a well and you’re starting to see sediment in your water you may want to consider buying bottled water just to prevent yourself from drinking anything like that.

When is the current drought expected to end?

Different outlets are predicting that the drought will improve over the next month but not necessarily go away. We could enter the winter while still in a drought. Then, our next chance for a really good groundwater replenishment won’t come until next spring.

Is water conservation important even when there isn’t a drought?

Yes. It should be practiced every day. Water is not an infinite resource, and it takes all of us to make sure we have the water supply we need … One of the basic things homeowners should be doing is replacing their outdated water fixtures. … [Older] toilets and washing machines are some of the biggest water wasters. … This can also save you money on your utility bills, and [newer appliances] can save a lot of energy, which could save you money on your electric bills.

Featured photo: Stacey Herbold

In the kitchen with Valerie Roulo

Valerie Roulo of Raymond is the owner of Love & Joy Vegan Sweets (loveandjoyvegansweets.com, and on Facebook and Instagram @lovejoyvegansweets), a homestead baking business she started in August that specializes in unique vegan desserts. Named after Roulo’s two dogs, Marley Love and Willow Joy, the business offers a menu of sweet treats available for ordering online, like multiple flavors of macarons and truffles, oat hemp seed bars, chewy chocolate chunk cookies, cashew-based raspberry lemon entremets, pecan shortbread bars, and vanilla custard Napoleons. An advance notice of 24 to 48 hours is requested for all orders, which are typically available for curbside pickup at a designated spot. You can also find Roulo’s macarons on the menu at Col’s Kitchen (55 S. Main St., Concord).

What is your must-have kitchen item?

It would be my KitchenAid mixer.

What would you have for your last meal?

Vegan nachos, with salsa, jalapenos, black beans and vegan sour cream.

What is your favorite local restaurant?

I have two. Col’s Kitchen in Concord is one, and then the other would be The Hungry Caterpillar food truck. I like the “plantarella” sticks, which are basically kind of like mozzarella sticks.

What celebrity would you like to bake something for?

[Celebrity chef] Paul Hollywood, from The Great British Bake Off.

What is your favorite thing on your menu?

Probably the macarons, because they are a lot of fun to make and they took me months to master. The shell is an almond-based cookie and then the flavor is whatever you put inside of it, usually any kind of buttercream flavor.

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

People [are] becoming more interested in plant-based meals. I also think the grocery stores are starting to offer a lot more plant-based foods.

What is your favorite thing to cook at home?

I like to make a nice hearty vegetable soup and a crusty bread.

Chocolate chickpea brownies
From the kitchen of Valerie Roulo of Love & Joy Vegan Sweets in Raymond

1 can chickpeas
4 tablespoons cocoa powder
⅓ cup flour
3 tablespoons non-dairy milk
3 tablespoons nut butter of choice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon baking soda
½ cup sugar
½ cup vegan chocolate chips
Nuts (optional)

Drain and rinse beans. Preheat oven to 340 degrees. Grease or line an 8-inch pan. Combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor until completely smooth. Spread into pan. Sprinkle chocolate chips (and nuts, if using) on top. Bake on the center rack for 14 minutes, then chill the still underbaked brownies until firm.

Featured Photo: Valerie roulo, Courtesy photo

Be aware

How to help in the fight against domestic violence

How to help in the fight against domestic violence

Bruce Miner is a volunteer for Bridges, a Nashua-based chapter of the New Hampshire Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence. With October being National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, Miner talked about why raising awareness is so important and how people can join the fight against domestic violence in New Hampshire.

What does domestic violence look like?
[The abuser] is usually an intimate partner — a lover, a dating partner or an ex — who wants to have power and control over the victim. The forms of domestic violence are many. Obviously, there’s physical and sexual abuse, but there’s also economic control, stalking, intimidation and threats, the use of isolation, psychological pressure, possessiveness, the abuse of pets and even the destruction of household items.

How prevalent is domestic violence in New Hampshire?
It’s definitely a problem. Just to give you an idea, in New Hampshire, there are 13 [domestic violence centers], and they handle about 15,000 calls a year, and 9,000 of those calls are directly related to a domestic violence situation.

What is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month about?
It’s … [about] trying to open people’s eyes and bring awareness and attention to the pervasiveness and severity of domestic violence, and then have action taken as a result of the awareness. … It’s also about getting the message out there [to victims]. States do fatality review studies and have found that, in both New Hampshire and across the country, of the women killed [by their abusers], only four percent had availed services provided by domestic violence centers. That’s why it’s so huge that we make sure they know that these centers and services exist, and that they’re totally free and confidential.

What happens when someone calls the Helpline?
First, we ascertain that the person is safe and can talk safely. Then, we ask if there are any injuries, if they need to go to the hospital or if they need emergency services. If they’re in a safe spot and there are no injuries, we’ll have a conversation about what’s going on and discuss and explore what they would like to do.

Has the pandemic made it more difficult for crisis centers to help victims, or for victims to seek help?
It’s been a huge issue. Police departments have had significant increases in domestic violence calls. Women have been more reluctant to leave the house or go to the hospital for fear of catching the virus or bringing it back home to their kids. … We’ve had to cancel fundraisers. We’ve had to postpone training for new advocates. Support groups have had to be done remotely. The impact has been horrible.

What are the effects of domestic violence on the victim?
There are traumatic effects. They have a sense of helplessness, fear, lack of control and despair. Depression is a big issue. It also tends to bring on physical ailments. If a victim has children, the ability to parent becomes significantly compromised as well.

What are the effects of domestic violence on a community at large?
Money is a big one. … I’m talking about medical costs; hospitalization costs; lost wages from time out of work, since it’s difficult for a person being abused to concentrate on work, and they may not show up to work at all; and the cost of the legal system and prosecution. Homelessness is another one. Studies indicate 67 percent of women who are homeless have been victims of domestic violence.

Does domestic violence affect men?
There are situations where the woman is the abuser and the man is the victim, or there’s a man abusing a man or a woman abusing a woman, but it’s a small fraction. Nationally, in 85 percent of domestic violence situations, a woman is the victim and a man is the abuser. In New Hampshire, it’s closer to 95 percent. But we [crisis centers] treat everyone the same and provide services to anyone in a domestic violence situation.

How can [people] help?
New Hampshire chapters can always use additional volunteers to work the support lines. They’ll have to go through very intensive and comprehensive training that allows them to handle those calls, but I can say that, from my own experience, it’s tough to put into words the gratification you get when you can take someone’s tears and despair and turn them into hope and a plan going forward. … Additionally, we have shelters in all 13 chapters, and those shelters can always use household items. They could also use people to work in the shelters.

New Hampshire Coalition Against Domestic & Sexual Violence
Crisis centers are located in Concord, Manchester, Nashua, Durham, Portsmouth, Laconia, Berlin, Littleton, Conway, Plymouth, Lebanon, Claremont and Keene.
24-hour Domestic Violence Helpline: 1-866-644-3574; 24-hour Sexual Assault Hotline: 1-800-277-5570. Visit nhcadsv.org.

Featured photo: Bruce Miner. Courtesy photo.

In the kitchen with Dave Mielke

Dave Mielke of Amherst and his father Harold opened Smokehaus Barbecue (278 Route 101, Amherst, 249-5734, smokehausbbq.com) together in May 2018. The duo joined forces late the year before, completely rebuilding and redesigning the inside of the former Burger Mill restaurant on Route 101 themselves to give it its rustic look. Smokehaus is open six days a week for lunch and dinner, offering a menu of low-and-slow smoked meats available as sandwich or dinner plate options, from beef brisket and baby back ribs to pulled pork and pulled chicken, as well as fresh sides like collard greens, baked beans and coleslaw, and all types of house-made dry rubs and sauces. The eatery also carries regular offerings from several local craft breweries.

What is your must-have kitchen item?

An immersion blender. We make a lot of sauce with it. We probably make around 25 gallons of barbecue sauce a week, so it gets used quite often.

What would you have for your last meal?

My last meal would be schnitzel and German potato salad. My mom makes that for me every year for my birthday.

What is your favorite local restaurant?

Papa Joe’s Humble Kitchen [in Milford]. Those guys are great. In my opinion, they’ve got the best burgers in the entire state.

What celebrity would you like to see eating at your restaurant?

Adam Sandler. If he was in town, I would be absolutely happy with my life at that point. He seems like a down-to-earth guy, plus he’s local.

What is your favorite thing on your menu?

That would be the fatty brisket. We’re one of the few barbecue places that has fatty and lean brisket. You can get it as a sandwich or a plate. My two sides of choice would be the collard greens, which are my mother-in-law’s recipe, and the coleslaw.

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

I really see sustainability itself as a trend. A lot of places opening up are utilizing local farms as much as they can. People are really starting to see how important it is to help our local businesses thrive.

What is your favorite thing to cook at home?

I make a really excellent pho. My son loves it with Vietnamese meatballs.

Sweet bourbon barbecue sauce
From the kitchen of Dave Mielke of Smokehaus Barbecue in Amherst (quantities are for large batches; cut measurements down in half for smaller batches)

8 cans Murphy’s stout
3 cups bourbon
16 cups ketchup
½ cup onion powder
½ cup garlic powder
½ cup red pepper flakes
4 cups brown sugar
1 cup molasses

Combine all ingredients in a large pot. While stirring, bring to a boil until all alcohol is cooked out (roughly 45 minutes). Let cool and enjoy.

Featured Photo: Dave Mielke of Smokehaus Barbecue in Amherst, with his dad, Harold. Photo by Matt Ingersoll.

In the kitchen with Christos Babis and Lexi Griburas Babis

Christos Babis and his wife, Lexi Griburas Babis, of Candia are the owners of Villaggio Ristorante (677 Hooksett Road, Manchester, 627-2424, villaggionh.com), which opened in the Queen City’s North End in 2012. Villaggio is an eatery known for its classic Italian dishes, including those made with chicken, veal and fresh seafood, as well as a full-service bar with wines, beers and specialty cocktails. Other popular offerings include lasagna, housemade potato and ricotta gnocchi, and fresh egg angel hair or fettuccine pastas with your choice of sauce. Villaggio reopened daily for dinner on June 18.

What is your must-have kitchen item?

CB: Definitely tongs, because everything on the menu is made in a saute pan.

LGB: For me it would be a potholder.

What would you have for your last meal?

CB: Octopus with tomato salad, olives, feta cheese and a nice crusty bread.

LGB: Grilled calamari with fresh steamed greens, and then Christos’s chocolate soufflé.

What is your favorite local restaurant?

CB: Mine!

LGB: The Golden Tao [Restaurant in Manchester].

What celebrity would you like to see eating in your restaurant?

CB: Al Pacino.

LGB: Gordon Ramsay.

What is your favorite thing on your menu?

CB: The filet mignon with cognac sauce.

LGB: Frutti di Mare.

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

CB: Made-to-order food that can be personalized.

LGB: We never really had a big takeout business … [but] takeout is so huge right now.

What is your favorite thing to cook at home?

CB: Grilled salmon.

LGB: I like to make all kinds of soups, like bean soups, meatball soups and pumpkin soup in the fall.

Butternut squash soup
Courtesy of Christos Babis and Lexi Griburas Babis of Villaggio Ristorante in Manchester
½ gallon whole milk
1 large butternut squash (cleaned, peeled and diced)
3 tablespoons freshly grated ginger
4 tablespoons butter
Salt and pepper to taste
Bring milk to a boil. Add the squash, followed by the salt and pepper, then the ginger. Boil until squash is soft. Take off heat and blend with a hand-mixer until smooth, then add butter and enjoy.

Featured Photo: Courtesy photo

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