Thank you!
Your support is sustaining the future of local news in our communities.

Waste not, want not

Waste not, want not

Trying to reduce food waste, Jane Kellner of Salisbury took a turn at processing cooked and overripe raspberries for shrub, a beverage.

Patrick L. Sullivan

LAKEVILLE — If you’ve ever looked into the refrigerator only to find elderly onions and then either a) hurled said onions into the trash with extreme prejudice or b) conscientiously placed said onions into the food waste bag ready to take to the transfer station…

Stop.

With a little bit of effort, food items usually thought of as waste can be turned into something tasty.

Carol Hawran of Sharon gave a group a hands-on demonstration of how to go about this Sunday, April 7, in the kitchen at Fairfield Farm at The Hotchkiss School.

“Taste Not Waste” was part of the Salisbury-Sharon Transfer Station’s Food Waste Prevention Week.

The participants brought assorted items deemed dubious, and Farm Manager Bridget Meigs-Lawrence contributed onions, Asian pears, and raspberries to the mix.

People brought things such as the remnants of a frozen pumpkin experiment and some tired-looking broccoli.

Hawran demonstrated how to make shrub, a beverage that dates back to the era before refrigeration.

In this case it was made with overripe raspberries, sugar and vinegar. The mixture simmered for 10 or 15 minutes on the stove, which yielded a syrupy liquid that can then be cut with seltzer for a refreshing, tangy soft drink.

An adventurous reporter tried the syrup straight up. The word “tangy” is completely inadequate to describe the experience. “Super mega ultra tangy” is closer to the mark.

Hawran emphasized that labels such as “best before” or “sell by” a certain date are for supermarkets to control inventory. They do not necessarily mean the product is unfit for human consumption.

Let’s say you’ve got an old onion that has reanimated itself, with a long green shoot sticking out the top. Oh, here’s some mummified garlic.

What’s this? Why, it’s celery left over from your cousin’s Bloody Mary phase. (After the second incident, his wife wouldn’t let him continue the research at home.)

And from the “Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time” file, here are some shrink-wrapped beets that have faded to a dull, brown color.

Chuck it?

No!

Hawran assembled these ingredients, chopped and diced, got a saute pan going and kept up a running commentary throughout.

And about 15 minutes later, the company was digging into what she called “warm beet salad.”

This was no “eat your peas” moment either. The warm beet salad was downright tasty, and this is coming from someone who is not beetly.

Patrick L. Sullivan

Latest News

Sharon voters split opioid settlement funds between ambulance, regional programs

Sharon voters split opioid settlement funds between ambulance, regional programs

Sharon voters approved splitting $24,000 in opioid settlement funds at an Aug. 27 town meeting.

Alec Linden

SHARON — Sharon voters unanimously approved splitting $24,000 in opioid settlement funds between the town’s ambulance service and a regional fund supporting addiction prevention, harm reduction and mental health services.

The decision Thursday, Aug. 27, came two months after voters rejected an earlier Board of Finance-backed proposal, 27-11, at a June 18 town meeting. Residents had expressed concern about directing all the money, which must be used for opioid remediation, to a regional organization rather than supporting the town’s emergency medical service.

Keep ReadingShow less
municipality

At Peggy Mercury, prep meets punk in ‘Imaginary Concerts’

At Peggy Mercury, prep meets punk in ‘Imaginary Concerts’
Greg Fricke and James Boehmer, co-owners of Peggy Mercury in Kent, recently launched their first fashion line, “Imaginary Concerts.”
Provided

Last month, James Boehmer and Greg Fricke of Peggy Mercury launched their first fashion line, “Imaginary Concerts,” wearable art sold exclusively at their store in the Kent Barns section of Kent, Connecticut.

The two fashion industry veterans opened Peggy Mercury more than two years ago, and a quick visit will tell you that people are finding what they’re looking for at the beauty and lifestyle store. But what they’re looking for is never standard.

Keep ReadingShow less
fashion

“Girlbomb” at 20

“Girlbomb” at 20
Photo by Jessica YurkoMillerton author Janice Erlbaum will celebrate the 20th anniversary of her memoir “Girlbomb” at Black Rabbit Dispensary on Sept. 5.
Photo by Jessica YurkoMillerton author Janice Erlbaum will celebrate the 20th anniversary of her memoir “Girlbomb” at Black Rabbit Dispensary on Sept. 5.
With memoir...the character only knows what the character knows.
—Janice Erlbaum

In “Girlbomb: A Halfway Homeless Memoir,” published in 2006, author Janice Erlbaum wrote about the years after she left her family’s Brooklyn apartment at 15, moving through shelters, group homes, squats, clubs and the streets of 1980s New York while somehow continuing to attend high school. The book has sold more than 75,000 copies, stayed in print for two decades and continues to find new readers.

Now Erlbaum, 57, lives in Millerton and on Saturday, Sept. 5, at 7:30 p.m., she will celebrate the 20th anniversary of “Girlbomb” with a reading at Black Rabbit Dispensary. The event is open to the public and will be livestreamed on Instagram.

Keep ReadingShow less
our community
google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.

Spencertown’s 21st Festival Of Books

Spencertown’s 21st Festival Of Books
Joshua Jelly-Schapiro, author of “Daylight Come: Harry Belafonte and the World He Made” is one of thefeatured authors at the Spencertown Academy Festival of Books on Saturday, Sept. 5.
Mirissa Neff

On Saturday, Sept. 5, the Spencertown Academy Arts Center in Spencertown, New York, will host its 21st annual Book Festival.

With over 20,000 gently used books, CDs, DVDs and vinyl donated by the community, it took volunteers 45 days — and an estimated 750 hours —to set the whole thing up. Most of that time was spent sorting through the vast troves of donations and organizing them by category.

Keep ReadingShow less
community

Paul Newman racing doc to screen in North Canaan on Sunday

Paul Newman racing doc to screen in North Canaan on Sunday
“Winning: The Racing Life of Paul Newman,”will be screened Sunday, Sept. 6, at the Colonial Theatre in North Canaan.
Provided

On Sunday, Sept. 6, Lime Rock Park will host a screening of the documentary “Winning: The Racing Life of Paul Newman” at the Colonial Theatre in North Canaan at 7 p.m.

Newman was one of the most celebrated actors of the 20th century, known for films including “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,” “Hud” and “Cool Hand Luke.” His 1969 film “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” also began a decades-long friendship with co-star Robert Redford.

Keep ReadingShow less
film

Community to take center stage at Dive Barn

Community to take center stage at Dive Barn

A scene from last year’s Dance Barn.

Steven Tayler

On Sunday, Sept. 6, PS21 in Chatham, New York, will host a celebration of community through dance at its second annual Dive Barn performance at the organization’s Dance Barn.

Dive Barn is the brainchild of dancer, teacher and choreographer Sayer Mansfield, who has dedicated her life to contemporary and experimental dance. She studied in the Department of Dance at NYU Tisch School of the Arts and at the Salzburg Experimental Academy of Dance. She’s performed with companies including Pilobolus, Compagnie Marie Chouinardand Mark Morris Dance Group. Her work has been featured in films including “Little Women,” “Maestro” and “Sproutland.” She has served on the faculties of Jacob’s Pillow, Phillips Academy Andover, as well as Harvard and Yale Universities.

Keep ReadingShow less
dance
google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.