Become a Localvore

It’s easy – not to mention healthy -- to eat local food in the height of the summer season in New England. In New Hampshire, we celebrate Eat Local Month the entire month of August (August 5-11 is NH Farmers’ Market Week.

How can you learn about the art of preserving, growing and even foraging for your own food?  The Monadnock Localvores have workshops almost year-round on just how to do that. These workshops are run by knowledgeable farmers and backyard enthusiasts who will expertly guide you through the art of gathering your own mushrooms, cooking with your CSA bounty, baking bread, making cheese and even brewing your own beer or local apple wine.

Visit the Monadnock Region, the unspoiled Southwest corner of New Hampshire, and take advantage of the opportunity to "eat local" at one of our charming B&Bs or Inns serving the most scrumptious breakfasts you will find anywhere.

Here are some upcoming workshops (click through to link to find out pricing and remaining slots available):

• August 16, 2012 (10 a.m.-12 p.m.) Wild Mushroom Foray 
• September 6, 2012 (6-8 p.m.) Brewing a Local Beer
• October 14, 2012 (2-4 p.m.) Apple Wine Making
• October 21, 2012 (1-3 p.m.) Beginner Beekeeping

Full of Hot Air - The Hillsborough Balloon Festival & Fair

Whether you love floating high in the sky in a piloted hot air balloon, or you prefer to watch balloons from terra firma, there is something for everyone at the Hillsborough Balloon Festival & Fair, held this year Thursday through Sunday, July 19-22, 2012. Parking is $5 per car, but entrance to festival itself is free.

The festival has become a major four-day extravaganza for this small town of 6,000  since the festival merged dates with the former Hillsborough Fireman’s Weekend, and recently, an artisans fair has been added to the weekend. Today, Hillsborough welcomes more than 30,000 people each year to the festival.

There are lots of activities within these four days of this charming New England summer festival to satisfy everyone in your family: carnival rides, an artisan fair, live music, a parade, a 5K road race, fireworks, and a bevy of colorful hot air balloons, which will dramatically lift off twice a day at 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. (weather permitting) on Saturday and Sunday.

The balloons are, of course, the main attraction to the festival. And there are several ways to enjoy them:

• Flights over the Monadnock Region. Full-fledged flights piloted and crewed by regional balloon enthusiasts – will be available to the general public. The rides last anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour and cost $200 per passenger (most balloons can carry 3-5 passengers as well as the pilot).  Cash, checks and all major credit cards are accepted. To make flight reservations, call (603) 464-0377. 
• Tethered flights. For those who prefer to remain closer to the ground, there will also be tethered flights available – meaning the balloon is secured to the ground and are piloted into the air about 50 feet for about 5 minutes then floated gently back to the ground. The cost is $15 per person.
• Night glow show. For those who don’t want any part of jumping into a balloon’s basket, but appreciate the beauty of hot air balloons, don’t miss the “Night Glow Show” at dusk on Friday night where a half dozen (or more) balloons will remain on the ground but inflate (using the white flame) and become dramatically illuminated. This show is free to the public.

The Hillsborough Balloon Festival & Fair is sponsored by civic organizations and groups (the Hillsborough Civic Organization, comprised of the three original local groups, the Hillsborough Fire Department, Hillsborough Lions Club, and the Hillsborough Chamber of Commerce) and the proceeds from the festival provide major financial support for these organizations.

Need a place to stay while attending the festival?  Inquire with a local B&B for great overnight accommodations to make your weekend getaway complete.

I Scream, You Scream...

It was 1984 when President Ronald Reagan designated July as National Ice Cream Month. He also proclaimed the third Sunday of July as National Ice Cream Day, where all people of this great nation should observe the day with “appropriate ceremonies and activities.”

Ice cream lovers in the U.S. will forevermore tip their cones to the 40th president of the United States for this awesome proclamation. We can eat our favorite dessert with abandon throughout the hottest month of the year – and relish some sweet celebrations held everywhere on the third Sunday – this year held on July 15 – that’s right, this Sunday!

Before digging into those cones and dishes laden with frozen desserts, here are some fun facts courtesy of the International Ice Cream Association) about ice cream:

• America is the ice cream capital of the world – it produces 1.5 million gallons per year; each American consumes an average of 22 quarts per year.
• Not surprisingly, vanilla is the most popular flavor in the U.S. (it comprises about 20 to 29 percent of all ice cream sales); chocolate is a distant second and garners about 10 percent of the market.
• One out of every five ice cream eaters admit to binging on ice cream in the middle of the night; this study discovered that men binge in the middle of the night more than women.
• About 9 percent of all the milk produced in the U.S. is used for ice cream.

In the Monadnock Region we are fortunate to have our own share of locally-made, high quality (okay, its amazing!) ice cream.  Below is a list of some of your local innkeepers favorite ice cream places.

• The best known in the area may be Walpole Creamery, which not only sells out of its Scoop Shop in Walpole, but is available in many retail locations in the region.  Their ice cream is of the highest quality and some of the tastiest around!
• Kimball Farm in Jaffrey is known for its huge portions, extensive variety of flavors, and great quality.  It is more than just an ice cream stand, it's more like a clam shack that's not on the beach since they serve plenty of lobster rolls, fried clams, burgers, fish and chips and chicken finger baskets.
• Connolly Brothers Farm in Temple is a true farm experience.  You drive up the dirt entrance road till you reach the dairy barn...cows on the right and dairy store on the left.  If you drive up on the right day you can walk in on them (the owners...not the cows) actually making and packing the ice cream.  This is not a scoop shop, their delicious home made ice cream is available in cups or pints or as cookie sandwiches and chocolate covered pops.  Don't forget to thank the cows on your way out :)
• Step back in time at the Central Square Ice Cream Shop in Hillsborough, an old fashioned soda-shop and parlor reminiscent of a bygone era.  The ice cream is homemade and worthy of a stop!

The latest local entry into the frozen dessert business is Stonewall Farm, a non-profit educational farm in Keene that is now producing ice cream from certified organic milk from its own cows.To commemorate the day with a celebration Reagan would have most certainly approved of, visit Stonewall Farm this Sunday where the farm will be celebrating National Ice Cream Day from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. If you get there early (at 9 a.m.) you’ll catch the “Bikes for Bovines” fundraiser race.

Treasure Hunting in the Monadnock Region

After watching the Antiques Roadshow, you can’t help but fantasize that a sweet little ceramic bowl you picked up for a buck or a wood armoire you got for a steal will fund your retirement or put your kid through college.

While finding priceless treasure is a rarity (even Roadshow guests are sometimes disappointed), the thrill of the antiquing is still a wonderful pastime.

If you are in the Monadnock Region this summer, you might want to spend a rainy day or two trying your luck in the region’s many antique haunts – from shows to shops to dealers and auctioneers. You never know what treasures you might uncover!

One of the most well known antiquing opportunities in the Monadnock Region happens every year in the historic town of Fitzwilliam and this year is no exception.  Saturday, July 21st is the 37th Annual Fitzwilliam Historical Society Antiques Show & Sale held on the town commons with more than fifty dealers invited.  A special exhibit, "Wedding Bells", will be presented in the Amos J. Blake House Museum during this time. Admission to the Museum is free and tours are conducted by trained docents.

In addition to the Fitzwilliam Show, here are some of the shops you may want to include in your tour around the region:

Fitzwilliam is worth a special trip for its nine antique shops in town – including Dennis and Dad,  which specializes in 18th and 19th  century English ceramics and Macreay Landy, which collects unusual architectural hardware, wrought iron, oil lamps and fireplace equipment.

Head northeast from Fitzwilliam to Peterborough and you’ll find five antique shops in town, all with a different focus. Bowerbird & Friends on Depot Square sells antiques, gifts and plants for the home and garden … and don’t miss their fabulous collection of antique children’s books. Visit Grove & Main Antiques on Grove Street for their intriguing mix of French and Swedish enamelware including body pitchers and turn-of-the-century lunch pails and more. Murray’s Home Again on the corner of Routes 101 and 123 sells an eclectic mix of household and garden items, check out their Facebook Page where they update new items almost daily.

If you happen to be staying the western part of the Monadnock Region, check out the several antique shops in Walpole. Of note is Robin Fernsell Antiques on School Street, where Robin sells folk art, furniture, art work and accessories for the home. And for the dog and horse lover, take a side trip to Dog and Pony Show on the outskirts of town on Country Road, located in a horse barn. Their collection of horse- and dog-related items date from the late 18th to the first quarter of the 20th century and include porcelain, pottery, metal ware, prints, paintings and home furnishing. They also sell custom-made needlepoint dog collars for your furry friends.

Have fun treasure hunting in the Monadnock Region and let us know what you find! For a complete list of the Monadnock Region’s antique shops, visit the Monadnock B&B Association's website and listing of Antiques stores all across the region.