Tag: 230928

Mint or basil?

Yes, you’d heard rumors about mint: “Be careful, or it will take over your garden.” “No, really, it’s surprisingly aggressive.” “Mint is the Tribble of the plant world.”

So you were careful. Once you put in a couple of raised beds — that’s where you planted the mint.

But the surprise was the basil. You like basil well enough, and who doesn’t like a nice pesto? The plants you picked up at the grocery store were pretty small, so seven or eight plants seemed like a reasonable number.

Ultimately, it turns out that the reason the mint stayed under control is that it was scared of the basil. It started off slowly, and everything seemed fine but then it started growing faster and faster and there’s only so much pesto a human family can eat and oh my god it’s taken over all the raised beds and now you’re scared of the basil and what in the name of Little Green Apples are are you going to do!?

2 margarita glasses containing cocktails garnished with a mint leaf
Southside Cocktail. Photo by John Fladd.

First of all, take a deep breath, and maybe eat a popsicle.

Secondly, identify the problem: You have a lot of mint and too much basil and you don’t know what to do with it.

Thirdly, you need a drink.

So, in an act of service journalism, let’s compare and contrast two classic minty cocktails, and the same recipes with basil in place of the mint.

(It will be alright. The herb police are not going to come crashing through your window if you just throw some of this away.)

Southside Cocktail

6 mint leaves (1.5 grams) or 2 large basil leaves (2 grams)
2 ounces dry gin
½ ounce fresh squeezed lemon juice
½ ounce fresh squeezed lime juice
1 ounce simple syrup
more herbs for garnish
Thoroughly muddle the mint or basil in the bottom of a cocktail shaker.
No, more than that.
That’s about right. Now add the rest of the ingredients and some ice, and shake until it is blisteringly cold.
Strain into a chilled cocktail glass, and sip to Herb Alpert’s A Taste of Honey.

A classic Southside is only very slightly sweet, and I like it a little sweeter, so I’ve doubled the amount of simple syrup. (If that sounds like a lot, we’re only talking about an extra half ounce.) This is a grownup drink that lets the herb in question shine through. Winner: by a nose, the basil version. It’s refreshing and delicious, with just a hint of Italy.

Mojito

12 sprigs (3 grams) fresh mint or 4 large leaves (4 grams) fresh basil
1 lime, cut into 6 wedges
½ ounces simple syrup
lots (a technical term) of crushed ice
2 ounces white rum
3-4 ounces plain seltzer
In the bottom of a tall glass, muddle the herb of your choice, and four of the lime wedges. Be careful; the lime won’t like this and will spend its dying breath trying to squirt you in the eye.
Add the simple syrup and crushed ice. Stir.
Add the rum, and top off with seltzer. Stir again. Garnish with the two remaining lime wedges.
Sip while watching the waves from your cliffside cabaña (pending availability).

If you’ve never had a mojito, it’s a good thing you’re remedying that now. It is delicious and deceptively light. Lime and rum go well with all the ingredients and let the herbiness of your mint or basil shine through. This drink’s reputation for being dangerously drinkable is well-deserved.

Winner: the traditional mint; classics are classics for a reason. The basil version is fine, and if you weren’t drinking the two side by side, you would be perfectly happy with it, but the mint shines through in a way that makes the whole drink sparkle.

John Fladd is a veteran Hippo writer, a father, writer and cocktail enthusiast, living in New Hampshire.

Featured photo: Mojito. Photo by John Fladd.

In the kitchen with Savannah Nemiccolo

Growing up, much of Savannah Nemiccolo’s time spent with her grandmother was in the kitchen. The mother of three from Loudon has been a part of Brother Cortado in Concord (3 Bicentennial Square) since its first day in 2021, as their social media manager and eventually as a barista. In addition to being the social media manager, she is now a full-time baker for the specialty coffee shop, where 300 to 400 pastry items are made weekly. For her, food is an expression of love.

What is your must-have kitchen item?
Of all the items I use on a daily basis the one I cannot live without would have to be my giant mixing bowl. When I say giant bowl I mean twice the size of my head!

What would you have for your last meal?
For my last meal I would have to go with something seafood-related. A good seafood risotto combining all my favorites: lobster, scallops and shrimp.

What is your favorite local eatery?
My favorite downtown Concord eatery is a toss-up between Sour Joe’s Pizza and Curry Leaf. You will catch me visiting Sour Joe’s at least once a week for their mushroom pizza because it is hands-down the best I have ever had. At Curry Leaf you will find me loving their shahi paneer.

Name a celebrity you would like to see eating in your restaurant?
My dream would be to make some cinnamon buns for my favorite New England artist right now, Noah Kahan.

What is your favorite thing on your menu?
My favorite item on our menu is our bacon, cheddar and scallion scone. I love the combination of flavors. If you were to ask my children what their favorite items would be, it would be a toss-up between the s’mores cookie or our cinnamon buns that we have only on Saturday.

What is the biggest food trend in New Hampshire right now?
A significant food trend that I see in the Concord area is creating unique limited-edition menu items. A small business that excels at this is DeadProof Pizza. They encourage their customers to get their unique flavor combinations now while available before the opportunity is no longer there.

What is your favorite thing to cook at home?
My favorite dish to make is one my dad always requested, which is my sausage, potatoes and kale soup.

Spinach & Feta Frittata
From the kitchen of Savannah Nemiccolo

24 eggs
2 cups half & half
salt & pepper to taste
3 cups of spinach
1 Tablespoon chopped garlic
2 Tablespoon olive oil
1 cup of feta cheese crumbles

To start, saute your garlic in olive oil on medium for a minute or until you see some slight color on the garlic. Then add your spinach (season to taste) into the pan until slightly wilted. Turn off the skillet and set aside while you crack your eggs into a big mixing bowl.
In the mixing bowl, whisk the eggs, salt, pepper and any other of your favorite seasonings (some great additions: onion powder, parsley, minced onions or whatever flavors you want to incorporate) until all the yolks are broken.
Next, combine two cups of half & half and whisk until combined.
Next, add the spinach to the mixing bowl, take a spatula, and fold it together. Take a glass 13×9” baking dish and coat it with your preferred cooking spray, then add the egg and spinach mixture.
Top the dish with crumbled feta spread evenly over the top of the dish. Top with a final sprinkle of salt and pepper. Bake at 350 F for 20 minutes or until the eggs are cooked thoroughly.

Featured photo: Savannah Nemiccolo. Courtesy photo.

Souvlaki, gyro, baklava

Concord’s Greek food festival returns

The Taste of Greece Festival at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in Concord is back. After a three-year hiatus, you can get your fix of homemade Greek cooking on Saturday, Sept. 30, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

“Entrance [to the festival] is free and everybody’s invited!” says the Rev. Constantine Newman.

Dishes on sale under the main tent include all the classics: moussaka, dolmades, spanakopita, lamb and chicken souvlaki, Greek meatballs, gyro and baklava. There will also be a number of more unique entrees and desserts available, as well as salads, water, and soft drinks. For savory offerings, try loukaniko — Greek sausage made fresh by a local butcher — or pastitsio, a lasagna-like dish of noodles and meat sauce topped with béchamel sauce.

Those with a sweet tooth need to try the loukoumades, or Greek fried doughnuts, and the galaktoboureko, a milk custard dish that is a favorite among festival attendees.

“It is delicious. It’s a lot of people’s favorite because it’s nice and creamy, very rich and very sweet,” Newman said. “The baklava tend to be relatively common, whereas the galaktoboureko is a lot harder to make well, and so when it’s really good it’s … a little out of the ordinary. But of course our baklava is excellent too.”

All the food comes from authentic Greek recipes, made by the church’s Ladies Organization and other parish volunteers. It takes several multi-day workshops to prepare the 150 to 200 servings of each dish that will be for sale at the festival. They stick with traditional recipes and are sure to keep things consistent over the years, said Newman, so if you’re a returning festival-goer, your favorites will taste just as good as you remember.

“We specifically named the festival the Taste of Greece Festival because we do want to feature the food above everything else,” Newman said. On the day of the event, 50 or more volunteers will be filling plates, running cash registers, grilling kabobs, and more. “Really it’s a whole parish event,” he said.

In addition to all the food, there will be jewelry and some religious items for sale, as well as someone selling honey made on their property in Greece. There will also be face painting for the kids, tours of the church, a cash raffle, raffle baskets, and a DJ playing Greek music during the event.

The last time the church was able to hold the festival was before Covid. Now, Newman says, people are eager to get back out to local Greek festivals.

“This year it seems all the Greek festivals in the area have been experiencing considerably more people than they were expecting to begin with. After really not having the festivals for a number of years, people are coming out wanting to enjoy the atmosphere, the Greek food, and the festival feel of the day,” he said.

The festival will take place in the church parking lot, rain or shine. Parking is available on the street or in the parking lots of Waypoint or the Democratic Headquarters. Credit cards and cash will be accepted for purchases, and entry is free.

“Everyone is welcome to come and enjoy a nice fun time, good food, and good company. Everyone can be Greek that day,” Newman said.

Taste of Greece Festival
When: Saturday, Sept. 30, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Where: Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church (68 N. State St. in Concord)
More info: holytrinitynh.org

Featured photo: Taste of Greece Festival at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church previous years. Courtesy photo.

Taste of New Hampshire

Boys & Girls Clubs organizes 18th annual event

Have a taste of what New Hampshire has to offer with vendors like Alan’s of Boscawen and Flannel Tavern at the 18th annual Taste of New Hampshire event benefiting the Boys & Girls Clubs of Central New Hampshire at the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center in Concord on Tuesday, Oct. 3, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.

“It started out as The Taste of Concord at the Capitol Center for the Arts and a few years later it got bigger and outgrew that space … and became the Taste and New Hampshire,” said Tanya Frost, Development Manager at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Central New Hampshire.

Since then, the event has expanded to include 25 to 35 restaurants and vendors like Granite State Candy Shop, M.S. Walker, Constantly Pizza, 70 North Kitchen out of Laconia, New Hampshire Distributors offering beer samples, and a few wine vendors.

“The funds from the event benefit the Boys & Girls Clubs of Central New Hampshire and the greater Concord area,” Frost said. “It can go toward programming, scholarships, whatever we can do to help keep our sites active and growing so we can keep a safe place for our members.”

According to their website, the nonprofit organization in New Hampshire started as a group exclusively for boys called the Addison Martin Boys Club in Concord, and the name later changed to the Concord Patrolman’s Association Boys Club. After catching on to the national Boys Club movement, it became the Concord Boys Club, which was one of the first groups in the nation to include girls in the program in 1983. The organization continued to grow and expand into surrounding towns, becoming the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Concord, which merged with the Lakes Region branch in 2015, officially becoming what is now The Boys & Girls Clubs of Central New Hampshire with more than 25 centers and 1,000 members.

“Our mission is to inspire and enable all young people, especially those who need us the most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring and responsible citizens,” Frost said.

Members of the Club will also be at the event selling baked goods. In addition to the food and drinks, there will be a raffle with prizes like golf passes, gift baskets, restaurant gift cards, brewery tours and art made by Club members.

“All of these restaurants that we have in our sponsors of the club as well, so it’s really great community engagement,” Frost said. “[We hope] to get as many people in and just enjoy a great night, mingle, have some great food … and just to have a really good time.”

Taste of New Hampshire
When: Tuesday, Oct. 3, 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Where: McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center, 2 Institute Drive, Concord
Cost: $40, 10 tickets for $350, visit tasteofnh.com

Featured photo: Courtesy photo.

Kiddie Pool 23/09/28

Family fun for the whenever

Farm fun

  • The Joppa Hill Educational Farm (174 Joppa Hill Road in Bedford; theeducationalfarm.org, 472-4724) will hold a Fall Fair on Saturday, Sept. 30, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tickets cost $30 for a family admission. The day will feature artisan booths, food trucks, vendors, tractor rides, apples, pumpkin decorating, live music, kids’ activities, farm fun and more, according to the website.
  • Charmingfare Farm (774 High St. in Candia; visitthefarm.com, 483-5623) holds its Pumpkin Festival Saturday, Sept. 30, and Sunday, Oct. 1, as well as Saturday, Oct. 7, through Monday, Oct. 9. Admission costs $29 per person (23 months and younger get in free). Pick a pumpkin from the pumpkin patch, take a tractor or horse-drawn wagon ride, enjoy live music and more. The festival also features a cow milking contest (not involving a real cow), pumpkin art, costumed characters and a visit with the farm’s animals.

Movies!

  • It’s the final “Movies in the Park” for the season at Wasserman Park (116 Naticook Road in Merrimack) this Saturday, Sept. 30. At 6:30 p.m., catch 2022’s Puss In Boots: The Last Wish (PG), the third movie in the animated series (a spin-off of the Shrek movies) that always knew how to make excellent use of the vocal talents of Antonio Banderas. See merrimackparksandrec.org.
  • If you’ve got a kid of the right age (roughly pre-preschool through early elementary) you’ve probably been counting down the days to the Sept. 29 release of Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie (PG), the second big-screen outing of the popular Nickelodeon cartoon series. Tickets for the movie are already on sale at some area theaters — O’neil Cinemas at Brickyard Square (24 Calef Hwy., Epping, 679-3529, oneilcinemas.com), Regal Concord (282 Loudon Road, Concord, regmovies.com) and area Chunky’s (707 Huse Road, Manchester; 151 Coliseum Ave., Nashua; 150 Bridge St., Pelham, chunkys.com). If your younger movie-goers prefer a sensory-friendly screening (when house lights aren’t turned completely off and the sound is turned down), there are a few on the horizon: Saturday, Oct. 7, at 10 a.m. at the O’neil in Epping and Friday, Oct. 20, at 3 p.m. at the three area Chunky’s.

On stage

  • American Girl Live stops at the Capitol Center for the Arts (44 S. Main St., Concord) on Thursday, Sept. 28, at 7 p.m. The show brings American Girl characters from various decades to life with music and dance, emphasizing friendship and empowerment, according to the website. Tickets range from $43.75 to $75.75. Visit ccanh.com.
  • The Portsmouth Symphony Orchestra’s “Family Matinees” Chamber series returns Saturday, Sept. 30, at 3 p.m. at St. John’s Episocopal Church (101 Chapel St. in Portsmouth) with the orchestra’s principal winds performing “Carnival of the Animals.” Admission is a suggested $15 per family donation at the door. See portsmouthsymphony.org.
  • Catch a mid-week show with the Palace Theatre’s (80 Hanover St. in Manchester; palacetheatre.org, 668-5588) youth company presentation of Big Bad on Tuesday, Oct. 3, and Wednesday, Oct. 4, at 7 p.m. Actors from grades 2 through 12 will present the story of the Big Bad Wolf as he is taken to court by the fairy tale characters he has wronged, according to the company’s Facebook post. Tickets cost $12 to $15.
  • Music, science and general fun will come together for “Mr. C: World of Motion,” part of the Education Series, at the Capitol Center for the Arts (44 S. Main St., Concord on Wednesday, Oct. 4, at 10 a.m Tickets cost $8. Visit ccanh.com.

Treasure Hunt 23/09/28

Hi, Donna,

I enjoy your Treasure Hunt and hope you can give me an idea of the market and value of this unique mirror.

I salvaged it from a barbershop in Central Falls, Rhode Island, in either 1979 or 1980.

We had intended to open an ice cream shop and use it for the back wall; that didn’t work out but we hung on to it anyway!

Unfortunately I didn’t get a photo while it was still standing at the barbershop.
There are six sections approximately 3’x4’. The top three are clear mirror. The bottom three are blue mirror.

The top has four additional clear sections accented by eight blue strips/panels (approxdximately. 4’x3.5”). Each of the four accent pieces also has lights.
There are three blue strips that run horizontally across the top (approximately 3’x3.5”).

You can see from the picture that I have one narrow panel that broke in a move.
Thanks for your input.

Dan

Dear Dan,

Antique architecture is always collectible! You just need to find it a new home and use.

I think your Art Deco barber shop mirror could easily be repurposed in a business or a home. First you have to start with a value. I have a saying: ‘Find me another one.’ Then you have to say to yourself you have no use for it any longer. It would be better for it to be seen again.

As far as an approximate value I would start in the range of $1,000. Then work from there to find it a good home. I also think to do that you’re going to need to advertise that you have a treasure.

Dan, thank you for reading the Hippo and sharing with us. Good antique salvage save!

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