Tag: 260212

Candy contest

Valentine’s Day leftovers — sweet!

Liz Ryan is a reference librarian and the adult programming coordinator at the Derry Public Library. Part of her job is to come up with activities for the Library to sponsor that will resonate with adults. She said that can be tough in the middle of the winter.

Her solution? A Post-Valentine’s Day Candy Taste Test.

“Food is something that gets people in,” Ryan said. She “had this idea of a Valentine’s candy taste test, and it was initially going to be before Valentine’s Day.” Unfortunately, the scheduling didn’t work out, and she had to move it to after Valentine’s Day. “We’re actually going to host it on the 18th,” she said, “which is actually better, because then we can go get all the discounted Valentine’s Day candy. That was exciting, because now it will be even more low-cost, because we can get it at half price.”

“We’re going to hold [this tasting] in our meeting room,” Ryan said. “We’re going to have stations that have a number of different types of candies at them — probably the really well-known ones like Reese’s, the Queen Anne’s chocolates, Cherry Cordials — I love those; I know they’re terrible — and maybe have some Skittles and stuff. We will try to take into account that people have dairy allergies or peanut allergies, so we’re going to put the bags out for people to look at, rather than writing everything out. And then at the end we’re going to have a vote for people’s favorites. There will be a ballot box and we’ll ask everyone, ‘Of everything you tried, what was your favorite?’”

Ryan is confident she will be able to find candies that will appeal to a wide range of tastes.

Because she will get to choose the candies, chocolate will almost certainly play a big part in lineup, Ryan said.

“Chocolate is always something I love. I will say that I’m not a big fan of coconut. And, well, as much as I like peanut butter, and I like almonds, and cashews and a lot of nuts, I don’t like chocolate-covered nuts that much, and I don’t really like, you know, peanuts and almonds and whatnot in my bars. If I had to pick my favorite chocolate, Lindt chocolates, hands down.” She said she hopes to find a good deal on them.

“In the end,” she said, “I’m a milk chocolate person. I have a sweet tooth. I think I get that from my grandmother. She lived to almost 103. Apparently, she had a sweet tooth and ate candy every day, almost up until the end.”

Candy
The Post-Valentine’s Candy Taste-Test will take place at the Derry Public Library (64 E. Broadway, Derry, 432-6140, derrypl.org) Wednesday, Feb.18, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. This event is free and open to the public, but participants are asked to register for it through the Library’s website, to determine how many people will be there and how much candy the staff should buy.

Sleazy Vegan’s new digs

The vegan eatery finds a new brick and mortar home in Concord

K.S. LeBlanc is happy to put down roots.

LeBlanc is the owner and operator of Sleazy Vegan, a popular food truck that has finally found a permanent brick-and-mortar location after a long journey.

“When we first started, we opened as a ghost kitchen back on April 1 of ’22. In September of this past year we were told that that place was no longer going to be available to us, and so we had to skedoodle. We had to find a new commercial kitchen to do our catering from and to be our commissary for food trucking, even though we don’t have a food truck exactly right now. We moved to what was formerly known as State Street Kitchen in Concord. There were actually two identities here. There was State Street Kitchen that was meant to be a pay-by-the-hour community-based kitchen for [new entrepreneurs]. And then in the front there’s a retail space that was, for a while, Pilar Art Studio. When we reached out to the owner of this building, to see about coming in and really having a much bigger footprint than just a community kind of user and taking over the kitchen and using that front spot, he was very amicable to the idea, and loved the idea of having the space get used more than it had been. So we moved in here in October and we took over that front retail spot as the Sleazy Vegan Cafe. And we’ve actually been running from here from seven in the morning until two in the afternoon, since October.”

Since then, LeBlanc said, she and her chef have been fine-tuning their menu, focusing on baking.

“We did all of our Thanksgiving catering from here,” she said, “all of our Christmas catering from here. Lots of pies. We’re making sourdough bread every week. We’re making three or four different kinds of vegan muffins every week. We’ve got … a sourdough cinnamon roll that we’re making every week.”

As of this week, however, the Sleazy Vegan will be open all day, LeBlanc said.

“[It will be] a full-service day here, where we’ll be running breakfast, lunch and dinner from the new location. We did two seated six-course dinners that were really great. They were lovely. It’s very private, kind of glam up the front, and the seating is limited to 10 or 12 people per service. So it’s very intimate and very quiet and private and a little more glammed up version of sleazy vegan chefery going on. We did two of those events in January that were fantastic, and we have another event coming up for Valentine’s Day. We’re doing a 6 p.m. service — a six-course dinner — and an 8 p.m. service.”

“So now there’ll be kind of two locations that will be here in Concord,” LeBlanc said. “There will be the Sleazy Vegan Cafe, which will be in the front, and then Sleazy Vegan Mobile Catering is in the back. And that’s where we’ll be doing our catering and our cooking classes. We’ll be hosting a Food is Medicine meetup once a month. At each meetup we will bring in an expert to help guide us through some plant-based health secrets and some plant-based health lies that we might believe and help us get healthier and more educated around what we can do for our health with plants. Our next one is going to be Feb. 18.”

LeBlanc said the new location gives her confidence that there is a demand for high-quality, plant-based food in Concord.

“People come here,” she said, “and it’s not by accident. They didn’t just accidentally show up someplace where everything happened to be vegan on the menu. They’re coming here because this is what they wanted, and they’re very excited to have some place where they can look at a menu and know that everything on the menu is right for them.”

The Sleazy Vegan
205 N. State St., Concord, thesleazyvegan.com. Open Wednesday through Saturday, 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Featured photo: Sleazy Vegan Concord location. Courtesy photo.

The Weekly Dish 26/02/12

• Weather delay: The Fire on Main event hosted by 603 Brewery (42 Main St, Londonderry, 404-6123, 603brewery.com) originally scheduled for this weekend has been postponed due to anticipated weather conditions. It will be held Saturday, March 14, instead. Visit 603brewery.com/fire-on-main-bonfire-event.

• There’s always room for dessert. And wine. LaBelle Winery Amherst (345 Route 101, Amherst, 672-9898, labellewinery.com) will host a Chocolate Desserts & Wine Pairing Class Thursday, Feb. 12, at 6 p.m. Wine Educator & Sommelier Marie King leads this interactive event where you’ll enjoy four desserts, each paired with LaBelle wines. The cost is $48.16.

• All you need is truffles: Van Otis Chocolates (341 Elm St., Manchester, 627-1611, vanotis.com) will hold a chocolate truffle-making class Friday, Feb. 13, at 5:30 p.m. Guests ages 18+ will tour the chocolate factory, where a chocolatier will demonstrate how to make a chocolate ganache. Tickets are $55.20.

• Cookie season: Girl Scout cookie booth season has begun, with booths scheduled across the area throughout the weekend including at the Irving Gas Station in Bow on the afternoon of Friday, Feb. 13; Chunky’s Cinema and Remix Roller Skating in Manchester at times on Saturday, Feb. 14, and Sunday, Feb. 15; the Brookline Transfer Station in the morning (through 1 p.m.) on Saturday, Feb. 14, and Sully’s in Suncook on Sunday, Feb. 15, from noon to 8 p.m., according to girlscoutsgwm.org. Click on “Find Cookies” to find booths this weekend and beyond.

• Food and theater: The Capitol Center for the Arts (44 S. Main St., Concord, 225-1111, ccanh.com) will partner with Street Restaurant (76 N. Main St., Concord, 333-2125, streetfood360.com) on Feb. 17 for a special Community Night eventfrom 5 to 9 p.m. When you dine in at STREET and mention the Capitol Center for the Arts to your server, 20 percent of your meal will be donated to support it.

• Observing a wine holiday: Join Barrel and Baskit (377 Main St., Hopkinton, 746-1375, barrelandbaskit.com) Wednesday, Feb. 18, for a celebration of National Drink Wine Day with a free wine tasting by Ruby Wines.

Kiddie Pool 26/02/12

Family fun for whenever

Winter fun!

• The Wilton NH Main Street Association will hold its Winter Fest on Saturday, Feb. 14, with ice carving in Main Street Park from 1 to 4 p.m.; a campfire with s’mores and hot cocoa from noon to 4:30 p.m.; a winter market at Wilton Town Hall, and a chili cookoff potluck from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Wilton Community Center, all according to a post on the Association’s Facebook page.

• The Squam Lakes Association Winterfest will take place Saturday, Feb. 14, from noon to 3 p.m. at 534 Route 3 in Holderness, according to squamlakes.org. The day will include a chili cookoff, winter mini golf, sledding, ice skating, a campfire with hot cocoa and s’mores, a Squam Lakes Natural Science Center Discovery Table and more, according to the website.

• And speaking of the Squam Lakes Natural Science Center, 23 Science Center Road in Holderness, this weekend’s Wild Winter Walk takes place Sunday, Feb. 15, with 90-minute sessions at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.The walks are geared to ages 6 and up; see nhnature.org to register.

Valentine fun

• Bookery, 844 Elm St. in Manchester, will hold a Valentine’s Day themed storytime and craft for the book The Day It Rained Hearts by Felicia Bond on Saturday, Feb. 14, at 11:30 a.m. Reserve a spot at bookerymht.com.

• Valentine’s Day — Saturday, Feb. 14 — is also Second Saturday at the Currier Museum of Art, 150 Ash St. in Manchester, when admission is free for New Hampshire residents. This Saturday, the Creative Studio artmaking activity will feature heart collages and runs from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., according to the Currier’s In Focus newsletter. The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. See currier.org.

On the court

• It’s another weekend of SNHU Penmen basketball with the women’s team playing Adelphi University at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 14, at Stan Spiro Field House at Southern New Hampshire University in Manchester. The men’s team will take on Adelphi at 3:30 p.m. Both teams will take on Franklin Pierce University in games on Wednesday, Feb. 18 — women at 5:30 p.m. and men at 7:30 p.m. See snhupenmen.com.

Treasure Hunt 26/02/12

Donna,

My father owned a restaurant years and years ago, and we found these plates from Syracuse China, 11 of them with this pattern on them. I’m wondering if they’re worth anything. Thank you.

Bob

Dear Bob,

Your Syracuse China plates stamped with the Cornell University coat of arms were used for some event or for the school itself.

Diner china, restaurant ware, can be very collectible, depending on the company and what it represents. Examples would be Howard Johnson’s, ships, military, etc. Condition is very important. Most collectors want them old but in new condition.

Syracuse China was around from the late 1800s through the 1960s. They made lots and lots of different industrial china.

The pricing on plates like yours again depends on what they say and condition. I did find some similar to yours in the range of $40 each. That would be you finding a collector of Cornell University items. I think if it were just for Syracuse China then the value would be in the $15 range each. Again the condition of each plate matters in giving them value.

I hope this was helpful, Robert, and you find a new home for the plates. Thank you for sharing.

Elle-ementary

Sherlock tale re-told in Ms. Holmes & Ms. Watson — Apt. 2B

The game is afoot, and the many tropes made famous in tales of the world’s greatest detective are extant in Ms. Holmes & Ms. Watson – Apt. 2B. The Community Players of Concord production, directed by Vicky Sandin, runs for three shows, Feb. 13 through Feb. 15, at Concord Civic Auditorium.

As with all Sherlock mysteries, there’s a twist. In what she calls “cheerfully desecrating the stories of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle,” playwright Kate Hamill reimagines the famous sleuth as a woman, along with her sidekick. In the process, she looks at their stories through a fresh and funny lens.

This is Sandin’s second Hamill production for Community Players. She previously directed her adaptation of Pride and Prejudice in 2023.

“I just know the vibe that she’s going for,” Sandin said by phone recently. “Kate Hamill and I are very tight in my eyes.”

Despite gender bending, familiar pieces are in place in Hamill’s play.

“What she did was modernize the canon,” Sandin explained. “Anybody who’s a Sherlock fan or who has read the stories will recognize tidbits from Conan Doyle’s original stories; she’s put those in there into the play as well.”

As Sherlock (a girl’s name too, but don’t call her Shirley), Suzanne Watts shines.

“This part was written for her, it’s just her all over,” Sandin said, adding that audiences will love her RP, Queen’s English accent. “I’ve always been so impressed by her acting charms, so I really wanted to work with her.”

Watts evokes the frazzled demeanor of television lawyer turned “cop-sultant” Elsbeth, with a distinct difference. “Our Sherlock is very much like that in the sense that she is able to put things together like Elsbeth and arrive at the solution sooner than everybody else,” Sandin said. “But she is not modest about her talent.”

Julia Kehr plays Ms. Watson, an American who’s moved to London for what one critic termed “an adult gap year,” who becomes Sherlock’s codependent flatmate. Sandin worked with Kehr in Pride and Prejudice. “She’s a very funny, comic, physical actor, and I just love watching what she brings,” she said.

Together they crack cases, all while Holmes is nagged by a crime she can’t quite name. “She’s solving all these little mysteries with Watson and she’s finding out that there’s a larger force at play … Holmes goes a little mental,” Sandin said. “When she figures out who’s doing all of this, it’s from the canon, but it’s not how you expect it to turn out.”

Travis Laughlin, who played the arch Mr. Darcy in Pride and Prejudice, is bumbling Inspector Lestrade. It’s a world away from his Masterpiece Theatre character, said Sandin. “There’s a whole level of amusement and laughter he’s brought to this part that I never knew existed … he is just laugh-out-loud funny.”

Rounding out the versatile cast are Heather McFadden playing Irene Adler with what Sandin termed “a lot of sexiness and suave,” Players veteran Karen Braz as Mrs. Drebber, Griffin Stuart as Texas tech billionaire Elliot Monk (the play happens amidst 2021’s late pandemic jitteriness), and Linda Pilla as grieving widow Mrs. Hudson.

Apart from the two Americans, everyone on stage uses different accents, but Pilla’s is genuine. “She was actually born and raised in Scotland, and in his books Conan Doyle made Mrs. Hudson a Scotswoman,” Sandin said. “She brings her native brogue from Glasgow … and does a wonderful job.”

As rehearsals have progressed, Sandin’s casting decisions have been reinforced.

“They know these characters more than I do,” she said. “They’ve started to interpret them in ways that are refreshing and new, which bring ideas on how to enhance the characters that they’ve built … that, to me, is the funnest part.”

Ms. Holmes & Ms. Watson –Apt. 2B
When: Friday, Feb. 13, and Saturday, Feb. 14, at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, Feb. 15, at 2 p.m.
Where: Concord City Auditorium, 2 Prince St., Concord
Tickets: $22 and up at communityplayersofconcord.org

Featured photo: Suzanne Watts (Sherlock), Julia Kehr (Watson). Courtesy photo.

Stay in the loop!

Get FREE weekly briefs on local food, music,

arts, and more across southern New Hampshire!