My Alter Ego Blog ~ Cupcake Chronicles

OK, it's time to come out of the closet, as it were. For several months two friends and I, who are in a book group together, have been writing a blog about our adventures in the book and food world. You can read this blog, also linked at the left, at Cupcake Chronicles, also on Blogspot: www.talkingcupcakes.blogspot.com

I've always wanted to be in a book group and we have formed a small, cozy one based on our mutual interests. You can follow our thoughts on the books we read, and other related topics. My alter ego's name is Della and I'll explain more about her another time. So grab a cup of coffee or tea and join us!

Home and Harvest

The town of Antrim, near where we live, has started a new tradition in recent years called "Home and Harvest". Held in late September, the festival celebrates the best of small town life and community and the abundance of the season. Our friends at Tenney Farm provided the spot for the chicken barbecue and fireworks as well as other activities throughout the afternoon on Saturday.





Our boys were in their first prize-winning float as ears of corn (Chris Salamy and his wife, the Tenney's daughter Krista, organized the float and run the farm with her parents). Our daughter Addie scooped ice cream at their stand on a weekend home from college and helped with the pet show judging. After the barbecue, we all enjoyed pie on the porch, care of Linda, who made a sublime apple pie. And then we watched fireworks. A great day and perfect weather.


Linda's pies had a slight flavor of lemon from the Gravenstein apples


Linda sells pies to my husband from "Three Dog Bakery", a home baker from Antrim

The Tenney's barn-turned-house, worthy of Country Home Magazine, has a screened in porch that overlooks their pastures along the banks of the Contoocook River. They can see only one house, built in recent years, and Linda has a sunny, southeastern kitchen with view of the farm and farmstand. A few days prior, Linda saw a woman in a pink outfit and beehive hairdo on her porch at 7am, on her cell phone. She sounded very retro and I thought perhaps she had landed in an alien craft that may have left a crop circle. One of life's little unsolved mysteries.



This year the Tenneys grew this tremendous variety of pumpkin which looks like a massive "Howden" or "Connecticut Field" but with a thick green stem. They are gorgeous and I had to get one for the kids. They also carved their names into some others.


The boys played all afternoon: parade, amusements, barbecue, ice cream, and fireworks were just the icing on the cake


Eric and Temple hung out and directed traffic

And their cider is flowing--the best and sweetest (and no preservatives!). Their own sweet corn is still in, too, as well as other vegetables. We just love the Tenneys and Tenney Farm.


No hometown parade is complete without Veterans of Foreign Wars


Or the local firetruck brigade...


Or fireworks, care of Atlas in nearby Jaffrey ~ a grand show!

A Chef's Table ~ Raiding the Pantry

Another programming note. A Chef's Table's "Raiding the Pantry" program aired on September 15 at noon on WHYY, Channel 91 FM. I believe this is a syndicated program on National Public Radio--for someone who probably listens to too much radio and watches too much television you think I would know these things! I do know of one person who heard it live because they told my husband (at our town dump, of course, our friendly source of all local information) about it the day after I learned the program had been aired.

I will eventually link this program to my website and have just linked in the blog in the upper left column. Click on that link and just scroll down to the 9-15-07 program details and click on "Listen" (you will need RealPlayer™). I'd love to hear your thoughts.

My interview with Chef Jim Coleman, recorded in August, is about ten minutes long and leads off a program on what's in different chef's pantries. We spoke about the history of pantries in fairly good detail as well as a few of my own pantry memories (and there are many but for some reason I chose to talk about my mother's broom closet in the small, pink, post-War kitchen on Ayers Avenue in Akron, Ohio where I grew up).

It was also interesting because the program's producer, Lari Robling, is also originally from Akron, Ohio and has published a wonderful cookbook, Endangered Recipes, that I bought a few years ago. I liked it so much that I sent her a fan letter (well, a fan e-mail). It was then that we learned of our "Akron connection" and she said to let her know when The Pantry was out. So I did and she kindly booked me on this program. [We also recorded two additional pantry-related segments that may air on later shows. I'll keep you posted.]

I've decided I love radio: no pantyhose or make-up necessary. Ok, enough about me. As I've been too busy to get recent publicity updates to Ronald for my website, you have to suffer through all of this self-promotional blather from time to time. Back to canning tomato sauce and helping the boys get back into their homework! And I can't wait to make Chef Jim's Gingered Jalapeno Orange Cranberry Relish for Thanksgiving this year.

TV Land

What has happened to this month?? I can't believe it is already September 19 and soon to be officially autumn, even though the days in New England have been fall-like for a while now. I have been busy getting the boys back to school and trying to get back on track with work and writing from my home office (while trying to pack for our new home in Kentucky). Summer was long enough and now that the transition is over, I'm glad that the days are shortening and I can hunker down and focus more inwardly and work on some new writing projects and other lingering things.

Yesterday I was interviewed for HouseSmarts™ with Lou Manfredini, a syndicated home design program. One regular segment is The Bookshelf, a several minute interview with a design book author. I was honored to be selected, although a bit nervous (more excited than anxious) about being on television. Fortunately, it was a taped segment that will be edited.

I have never actually seen the program but just discovered via our Direct TV search function that HouseSmarts™ will be on WBZ-Boston (Channel 4) out of Boston on September 29 at 5:30am (but not the episode I just taped). I understand the program is in 60% of the cable market nationwide and also on stations like WNBC in New York.

My husband and I drove down to southern New York and stayed just north of the New Jersey town where the production company tapes many of the segments. Lou Manfredini, a likable guy from Chicago who runs his own hardware business and is a contractor (and has written a series of books), flew in for several days of taping. The program will air sometime in December and I'll try to post the information here and on my website well in advance [my website is already out of date, so stay with me...]. Eventually you will be able to click on the segment via the HouseSmarts™ website.

Fortunately, I was happy with my outfit--as were they--but brought an additional one at their request, just in case. [You certainly don't want to clash with the set or the host!] A silk Italian scarf from Coldwater Creek was a great purchase last week and fortunately everyone agreed. [Sorry, from the looks of their website, I may have bought the last one. Anyway, I can't say enough great things about this clothing company.] And I wore pantyhose...the first time in years (but I'll spare you those details).

Perhaps the best part was having my hair "done" (and it held its shape and curl for hours because of whatever was glopped in and sprayed on) and the entire makeup/dress up. I had just bought some great mineral-based product at my trusty beauty spa at home, just in case (another thing I hardly ever wear--except lipstick) [Thank you to the amazing Sandy at European Esthetics and Jane Iredale cosmetics.]

However, I was needlessly self-armed as TV requires the full artillery unit. I was air brushed with foundation (literally sprayed on), eyes done, blush, lips. When I was "ready for my close-up" I was brought into the set, had a nice chat with the host (whom I hadn't yet met), and perched on a stool. Oh yes, and wired with a mike, further fluffed and untousled and arranged (and believe me, tousled is my usual get-up). The makeup woman even dabbed my brow when I started to bead up just a bit. [Fortunately the set was cool.]

Amazing, too, were the amount of people involved. There was a set decorator whose primary concern that day seemed to be arranging each author's book on the table for each segment (four authors were taped). A clothing stylist. A director and assistant director. Several camera men. The producer, who booked me for the segment. Another woman who seemed like an apprentice. And the host.

Everyone put me at ease, we were able to banter and talk before the taping began, and during the interview we spoke conversationally. It was over in a few minutes and we were on our way back home. I don't know if I'll be able to watch the segment when it comes out as I don't like to be photographed. But we'll see. Of course, we barely even touched on the book and I don't recall anything I said! But it was great fun all the same.

Flower Show

I just had to blog and brag about my friend Linda Tenney who won a blue ribbon--and the New Hampshire Federation of Garden Club's "LadyBug Novice Designer Award"--at yesterday's Peterborough Garden Club Show held in Dublin, New Hampshire. Her entry was in a group of table settings with floral arrangements as part of the "From a Painter's Palette" theme. She used some of her collection of bold Polish pottery with its predominantly blue tones and it made for a lovely display. There were several other categories and individual entries too, including a particularly grand leaf of the "Sum and Substance" hosta, also a blue ribbon winner.

I would have brought my camera but Linda didn't want me to for fear I might jinx things, perhaps. But I did manage to take some pics after the show and she even gave me the floral arrangement that she used on the table. Garden clubs have reputations for fierce competition so I am very proud of her win!

Meanwhile, our husbands went off to Fort Ticonderoga for a Revolutionary battle reenactment with my two boys and Linda's oldest grandson. So I visited Linda's flower show and we had a great take-out dinner later on her porch overlooking their farm. Five fat barn spiders poked their way down each of their screens along the porch while we talked. The air was humid and waiting for more rain. We looked at some cookbooks and magazines and enjoyed a salmon Caesar salad and shared a fig tart and a slice of pineapple updside down cake, all from Fish Tales in Peterborough.

Linda is a librarian for the local school system and also runs Tenney Farm, a local produce farm in Antrim, New Hampshire, along with her family. She told me that each couple in each marriage for which she has done flowers has stayed together. After her daughter was off to college, Linda also got her degree in counseling psychology. In her "retirement" she wants to study pastry making more intensely, or perhaps different kinds of flower arranging or judge flower shows. Something tells me, however, that Linda will never be retired from anything.

Bravo, Linda!