Tag: 220901

In the kitchen with Leah Borla

Leah Borla of Weare is the owner of Sweet Love Bakery (20 Main St., Goffstown, 497-2997, sweetlovebakerynh.com), which opened in early May. The small-batch bakeshop offers a daily assortment of fresh items like muffins, cinnamon rolls, doughnuts, cookies, cupcakes and cheesecakes, and also accepts specialty cake and cookie platter orders for weddings, birthday parties and all other types of events large and small. In addition to its sweet indulgences, the bakery partners with A&E Coffee & Tea to feature a lineup of coffees and specialty hot and iced teas. Espresso drinks and freshly baked breads are among some items Borla said she hopes to add to the bakery’s menu soon.

What is your must-have kitchen item?

My KitchenAid. I call her Big Red. She’s my sidekick — I couldn’t do it without her.

What would you have for your last meal?

Anything that is a carbohydrate — a bread or a pasta. … I am a penne person, because it holds on to the good stuff.

What is your favorite local restaurant?

Stark House Tavern in Weare. They have the best wings.

What celebrity would you like to see ordering from your bakery?

Because my husband is a Seattle native, and I spent 27 years out there, I’d have to say Dave Grohl. He is just the nicest guy and he’s really down to Earth.

What is your favorite thing on your menu?

My cheesecake, definitely. Basically, if you can think of a flavor, I can put it in a cheesecake. My favorite flavor is lemon.

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

I do see an uptick of food trucks, which I think is great, because out on the West Coast they’ve been doing them forever.

What is your favorite thing to cook at home?

Pasta. I love the versatility of it. My kids will disagree with me, but I think you can have pasta every night of the week and it’s never the same.

Easy homemade scones
From the kitchen of Leah Borla of Sweet Love Bakery in Goffstown

2½ cups flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
6 Tablespoons butter
1 egg
¾ cup sugar
½ cup whole milk, buttermilk, half-and-half or heavy cream

Combine flour, sugar and baking powder. Cut in butter and egg until incorporated into the dry mix. Add whole milk, buttermilk, half-and-half or heavy cream just enough to wet the dry ingredients. Pat into a circle and cut how you like. Bake for 20 to 28 minutes. If adding fruit like berries, use less liquid so it’s not too gooey and hard to work with.

Featured photo: Leah Borla, owner of Sweet Love Bakery in Goffstown. Courtesy photo.

Burgers, Tots and beyond

Woods Grille opens in Northwood

When The Stand Cafe closed its doors in Northwood earlier this year so its owners could pursue a coffee roasting venture elsewhere, Heather Heigis and her husband, Pete — the owners of the property since February 2021, which includes Heather’s real estate brokerage upstairs — saw a unique opportunity. For about five years before that, the restaurant space operated as Umami Farm Fresh Cafe, a spot lauded in the community for its creative burgers and cozy atmosphere.

“This is a building that we’ve loved since we were going to college at UNH,” said Heather Heigis, adding that her family has lived in Northwood since 1999. “We were common customers when Umami was here. It was always a great place to see our neighbors and bump into friends, and have a good meal. It was something that, when it went away, I think our town really missed.”

The vision of Woods Grille, now open in an all new revamped, rustic setting, is all about bringing back that vibe. The Heigises have recruited their own team that includes Mike Brieger and Lola Lamb, both of whom have a hand in creating the eatery’s final menu. Brieger, who serves as Woods Grille’s general manager, is a longtime friend of the couple with more than three decades of experience in the restaurant industry. Lamb, meanwhile, was a former employee of The Stand Cafe with a few additional years of her own spent working as a private chef.

With an interior space decked out in everything from the Heigises’ own former living room furniture to makeshift bar tops and tables using repurposed wood from downed trees in their backyard (caused by a microburst), Woods Grille is a restaurant literally built for comfort. A local artist was even brought in to paint a mural on the wall of shadowed trees under a blue sky.

“I wanted it to be warm and cozy, and the kind of place that somebody felt like they could have a beer and sit down and talk to their friend, and not feel like they’re trying to flip the table really fast,” Heather Heigis said, “and so, we were really going for that ski lodge, barn type of feel.”

Among the highlights of Woods Grille’s menu are the “gourmet grille-wiches.” They feature a total of nine signature sandwiches, all of which you can choose your own protein for, from a beef burger patty or grilled chicken to a veggie burger or portobello mushroom. If you simply can’t choose a specialty option — the “Woods-wich,” with blue cheese, bacon, sauteed mushrooms, caramelized onions and avocado, is a favorite of Lamb’s — you can build your own. All of the burgers and sandwiches have the option to substitute a gluten-free bun at no extra cost.

Woods Grille is also unique for not offering french fries — in fact, they don’t even have a frialator in their kitchen. Instead, they offer baked Tater Tots, complete with up to five signature dipping aiolis to choose from. You can order them as a side to your burger or sandwich, or on their own to share. Aioli flavors include basil, garlic, barbecue, chipotle and honey Dijon.

“I almost feel like we have gourmet Tater Tots now,” Heather Heigis said. “We find that people are coming back for them and they want a different aioli with them than the last time.”

Other items include house salads — with the option to turn each into a wrap — and tacos, which are filled with either grilled chicken or blackened mahi mahi in addition to cheese, shredded cabbage, diced tomato, pickled onions and avocado. Those come on either flour or corn tortillas.

Brownie ice cream sundaes and crustless cheesecakes with a berry sauce are among some of the featured desserts, and you can also fruit smoothies or milkshakes in a variety of flavors.

Woods Grille is currently open for lunch and dinner just from Friday through Sunday to start, but the goal, Heigis said, is to eventually expand the hours. They’re also working on building out the outside seating space directly adjacent to the restaurant.

Woods Grille
Where: 284 1st New Hampshire Turnpike, Northwood
Hours: Friday and Saturday, 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Sunday, 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. (extended hours likely coming soon)
More info: Visit woodsgrille.com, or find them on Facebook and Instagram @woodsgrille

Featured photo: Photo courtesy of Woods Grille.

Ryes to the occasion

Bread Makery now open in Salem

Andrey Bredstein found success in New Hampshire with his Russian baking business, Hidden Berry Cakes & Breads — he was perhaps best known for his rustic roadside trailer near the intersection of Routes 102 and 121 in Chester, where he lived until 2018. Now, after a short stint spent baking down in the Austin, Texas, area, Bredstein is back in the Granite State with an all new brick-and-mortar spot offering his own authentic Russian breads, tea cakes and pastries.

The Bread Makery, which opened last month in the nearby town of Salem, features all of the same menu items Bredstein has perfected over his years as a baker, from multiple types of freshly baked rye breads to traditional Russian baked goods like rum balls and wizard cakes. Breads are made fresh daily, and Bredstein even uses old Soviet-era standardized recipes. His bread baking journey began in 2002, when he moved to the United States from Moscow and found himself looking for a quality product that reminded him of home. Living in Texas at the time, when he couldn’t find a good loaf of bread, he began experimenting in his own kitchen.

“We started looking for options in baking ourselves. I don’t have any formal training as a baker. … I read books, I watched videos … [but] mostly I relied on my memory of taste,” Bredstein said. “I started making my own steps, and finally I was able to get a loaf that I like. Then our neighbors started asking, you know, ‘Can you bake me a loaf or two?’ And so we did that.”

Bredstein’s product lineup includes a white sandwich loaf, as well as three types of rye breads — a traditional Russian rye, a Jewish rye and a darker “special rye” made with rye malt called Borodinsky — that are unique for containing rye flour and using sourdough starters.

“The white bread we make early. I come in here at 6 [a.m.], so [by] 11-ish, we have a fresh white bread ready,” Bredstein said. “A rye bread we make later in the day, closer to the evening. … Until it’s cooled down inside, it’s not considered ready. So normally it’s ready at 11 at night and then we sell it the next morning. Its shelf life is long — it’s four or five days.”

In addition to his breads, Bredstein offers a selection of traditional Russian sweets regularly stocked in a pastry case. Among them is a wizard cake, a white cake with a custard filling and a chocolate glaze he equated to a Boston cream pie — it’s sold either by the slice or as a whole. You can also try rum balls, or bite-sized cakes that are mixed with cream, coated with cocoa butter and hand-shaped into the shape of a small potato. Tea cakes, the first product that Bredstein offered when he originally launched his business, are also regularly available at the Bread Makery. They feature dried fruit — traditionally raisins, although Bredstein admits he likes to fill his with dried cranberries — and are commonly enjoyed with a cup of hot tea.

A small retail area of the shop offers various items, like rye crisps — Bredstein slices down extra loaves of his Russian rye bread and slowly bakes them at a low temperature. They result in a crunchy snack that he said pairs well with beer or your favorite dipping sauce. Bredstein also sells three-pound bags of rye flour; imported bottles of kvass, a fermented drink popular in Russia and Ukraine; and cans of smoked sprats, small fish he said are similar to sardines.

“It’s made in the Baltic area, so Latvia, Lithuania [and] Estonia,” Bredstein said. “It’s [in] an oil, so when you put it on bread, it will soak a little bit in and it becomes a nice sandwich.”

In many ways, Bredstein is simply picking up where he left off a few years ago in Chester. In fact, he’s already seen customers walk through the door who ordered from him during his days on the trailer. Others are being introduced to his breads for the first time. But no matter who comes in to visit, Bredstein said he’s happy to back baking in the Granite State.

“Tastes are very different. When we lived in Chester, I would say maybe 80 percent of what we made was bread,” he said. “In Texas, nobody wanted bread … but they liked our pastries very much. Personally I’m most interested in making bread, especially rye bread.”

Bread Makery
Where: 115B Main St., Salem
Hours: Tuesday, noon to 6 p.m., and Wednesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Closed on Sundays and Mondays.
More info: Visit breadmakery.com, find them on Facebook or call 912-7677

Featured photo: Borodinsky, or Russian “special rye” bread (right). Photo courtesy of Bread Makery in Salem.

The Weekly Dish 22/09/01

News from the local food scene

• Get your Greek feast: Join Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church (68 N. State St., Concord) for its next boxed Greek dinner to go, a drive-thru takeout event, on Sunday, Sept. 11, from noon to 1 p.m. Now through Wednesday, Sept. 7, orders are being accepted for boxed meals featuring dinners of Greek pork roast, spinach pita, roasted potatoes, carrots and a roll for $20 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 also planning similar takeout and pickup meals over the next few months, including meatballs with rice on Oct. 9, stuffed peppers on Nov. 3 and cheese pitas with a Greek vegetable medley on Dec. 11. Visit holytrinitynh.org.

• Fresh from the market: The third and final scheduled Mums Pop Up Market, a small pop-up farmers market presented by Manchester Grows in partnership with other local nonprofits, is happening on Thursday, Sept. 8, from 4 to 7 p.m. Local vendors selling art, freshly grown produce and other items will be set up by the intersection of Union and Spruce streets in the Queen City. Similar markets were also held on Aug. 11 and Aug. 25. Email manchestergrowsnh@gmail.com for more details on vendors, or visit manchesternhgrows.org.

• Celebrate with lobster: Makris Lobster & Steak House (354 Sheep Davis Road, Concord) is planning its first annual Lobster Palooza on Saturday, Sept. 3, from 1 to 10 p.m. The end-of-summer celebration will take place in the eatery’s backyard beach and tiki area, featuring a wide array of lobster and beer specials, along with live music, giveaways, a 50/50 raffle, and a Sam Adams Oktoberfest stein hoisting challenge at 7:30 p.m. Visit eatalobster.com or check out the Facebook event page for more details.

• Hot sauce fest a success: More than 2,000 “fiery folks” attended the first annual New England Hot Sauce Fest at Smuttynose Brewery Co. in Hampton on July 30, which collectively raised nearly $10,000 for its two beneficiary organizations, according to a press release. The event featured more than 25 craft hot sauce companies from across New Hampshire and other New England states, along with several food trucks and craft and specialty vendors. Canadian celebrity competitive eater Mike Jack of Mike Jack Eats Heat even consumed 60 Carolina Reaper peppers (the world’s hottest pepper), beating his own personal record. “Our goals were to raise money for our local ocean-conservation beneficiaries, and to put New England on the map as an up and coming spicy region,” event organizer Gabe DiSaverio of The Spicy Shark said in a statement. “We are so thrilled to raise money for Blue Ocean Society and Seacoast Science Center, each receiving $4,417.” Plans are already underway for the festival to return for a second year, on July 29, 2023. “We plan on keeping the same formula that made Year 1 such a success, and we’ve got a bunch of new spicy surprises in the works as well!” DiSaverio said. Visit newenglandhotsaucefest.com.

On The Job – Kristen Walden

Dancer, choreographer and dance instructor

Kristen Walden is a dancer, choreographer and dance instructor at Ankara Rose World Dance studio in Wilton.

Explain your job and what it entails.

I create dance opportunities for grown-ups and teens … in a very niche area: cultural and world dance forms such as belly dance, Irish step, Scottish Highland dance, world fusion and other folkloric forms. … Prior to the shutdown I also was a professional dancer and choreographer.

How long have you had this job?

I’ve danced professionally and taught workshops since 2005. … Soon after that, I started subbing others’ classes occasionally and teaching private lessons. Ankara Rose World Dance came about in 2011 … [when] a former dance mentor lovingly nudged introverted me into taking over her weekly classes. I then formed a home base to teach regular weekly classes and host others’ workshops, while also traveling and performing weekends.

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

I had a tough time in school. I remember my high school teachers having a meeting with me, and my dance team instructor pointing out how I had a talent for dance. At a time I felt so lost and unclear, that moment got my wheels turning on how I truly was happy when I danced and how dance was the only thing that drove me. … It wouldn’t be until a few years later, though, after finishing up high school by homeschooling and having the space to discover myself and my passions, that I would really know this is what I wanted and dive in to make it happen.

What kind of education or training did you need?

Experience and networking [are] needed unless one wants to teach in a studio that requires a degree. That wasn’t what I wanted; I wanted to work for myself. … I had done the Dance Masters of America Teaching Training intensive at SUNY Buffalo. … A lot of time training on my own as well, creating my own style and honing my craft.

What’s your typical at-work uniform or attire?

Yoga, workout or dance [attire] and a T-shirt. … Thankfully, not tights anymore. I hated those.

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

The shutdown really killed my business, being in the arts. … I had to switch fields completely. I tried teaching online … but I hate that. There’s no real connection, which is what I love about teaching in person. … We started holding some outdoor classes in the warmer part of the year, just to keep things going … and we just started back up in the studio this past March.

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

That I should trust myself and my gifts fully. … In the very early stages of my professional dance career … my fears and a limited mindset got to me and halted my potential.

What do you wish other people knew about your job?

That it’s actually a lot of work outside what you see on stage or in the studio. So many hours pushing our bodies to the limits takes its toll as a professional dancer … not to mention choreographing; negotiating contracts; working on class plans, workshops and music set-lists; fixing costumes and more.

What was the first job you ever had?

Working for my dad, who owned his own business, cleaning his office for him on weekends.

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

A dancer I highly looked up to once said to me, ‘Know you’re good.’ … I still don’t think I’m the best dancer by far … but passion, creativity and dedication is 100 percent more important than perfect technique.

Five favorites

Favorite book: The Lord of the Rings and the Outlander series.
Favorite movie: The Lord of the Rings films by Peter Jackson
Favorite music: Anything from Viking music such as Wardruna, traditional Celtic, Middle Eastern music, folk, to rock classics, to some pop.
Favorite food: Avocados and guacamole
Favorite thing about NH: I love the outdoors.

Featured photo: Kristen Walden. Courtesy photo.

Treasure Hunt 22/09/01

Dear Donna,

Can you give me any information on the necklace/pin? It’s marked Jerusalem 900 on the back.

Thanks.

Betty

Dear Betty,

Your cross pendant brooch is called a Five Fold Cross. It was made in Jerusalem to represent five crosses, the main one in the center and one smaller one on each corner.

This design made up the coat of arms of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. They’ve been made since the 1280s. The 900 mark means it is almost all sterling. The stone in the center is purple glass that looks like amethyst but is not a real gemstone. Still the presentation of the piece looks substantial and beautiful.

Your piece, Betty, is in the $125 range and a nice piece of religious memorabilia. Thanks for sharing with us. I hope this was helpful.

Donna

Note: When you own an older piece of jewelry it’s better to leave it in the original condition that you found it in rather than polish it. The piece through age earned that finish!

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