Note: Sadly the Blue Trout Grill has closed it's doors.A complete makeover for the heavy, dark pub atmosphere on the former 176 Main premises was Amy and Ryan Miller's first agenda before opening Blue Trout Grill in Keene. Their eye…
David Watters is an academic with a bushelful of credentials - professor of English at UNH, director of the Center for New England Culture, a scholar for the N.H. Humanities Council, a trustee of the Robert Frost farm and an…
Simon Leeming has been in this country - mostly in Canterbury, N.H. - since his family came here from New Zealand when he was 18, but his heart still belongs to the land of Kiwis. So much so, he serves…
She hasn't learned to do it yet ("it's really difficult"), but that doesn't keep Michelle Keezer from being a great coach to a bunch of 7- to 14-year-olds who ride unicycles. They learn in a unique program at the Andover…
Steve Priest is retired, but for him that only means more time to work as a motivational speaker and writer, and to do things outdoors- hike, bike, run, swim, canoe and bang up his nose riding rapids. And that's just…
When Peter Ramsey, now 50, was a kid his house was right next door to the New London Barn Playhouse, and on summer nights he listened to "Hello, Dolly," "Oklahoma" and the other Broadway songs that wafted up from the…
If you're into politics, Jennifer Donahue is a name you know. You've seen her on "Hardball," "Anderson Cooper360" and the nightly news on all the networks. She's widely quoted in top newspapers like the New York Times and magazines like…
By day, he's an economic consultant for RKG Associates in Durham. By night, he could be any number of things - king, friar, villain, soldier, courtier. Those are the kinds of roles Larry Cranor plays for the New England Shakespeare…
Not many children have an 18th-century painting hanging on their bedroom wall, but Susan Strickler did. It was a reproduction of Gainsborough's "Blue Boy" and she remembers it being there from the time she was 8 or 9. Whether that…
About one percent - that's David McDonald's guess about how many people know very much about the stars:"People tend to know their trees, the animals because they see them out their back door. We don't encounter the stars as much."…
Frank Coppola says he was a bookworm during his school days and never participated in organized sports, but in the years since then (he's now 32) he's become a major player in the state's fantasy football craze. The Lee resident,…
Kung-Tai Tsay came to this country from Taiwan back in 1975 when her husband was accepted into graduate school here. But, in all the years since,Tsay never forgot the Chinese traditions she grew up with. She pursued the ancient arts…
They say it takes 21 days to make or break a habit. In the case of becoming a runner it took me over 30 years ... and then 21 days. I ran track in high school, avoided running in college…
Chocolate pudding is a great nostalgic dessert at home or finish at the finest restaurants. Chilled chocolate pudding isn't just for snack time anymore. It belongs on menus in the finest of restaurants if it's made with passion and quality…
Dulce de Leche, cajeta, majar or milk jam - this sweet sauce made from caramelized milk is a treat in any language. Milk jam or milk candy just doesn't sound as fancy or intriguing as confiture de lait from the…
It's a Yankee tradition. You just need clean snow and a good supply of March gold. Does anyone eat sugar-on-snow anymore? I must say the first time I had the opportunity to sample sugar-on-snow I just didn't get it. Eating…
J-E-L-L-O can be made at home along with simple cookies to re-imagine your childhood, but even more tastefully. Several recipes come to mind when I start reminiscing. Shortbread cookies were all the rage for years until butter had to take…
This recipe for brandied nut cream is one of my all time favorites. The combination of peanut butter and brandy sounds a bit odd but they really do taste so good together. Other flavor combinations that have worked well, but…
Lemon prices are rising along with gas prices. Here's an easy guide to switch over to the more reasonably priced lime. Move over lemons - limes are getting a second look. Cooks all over are finding more interesting ways to…
Take a walk in the woods for a tantalizing snack or a sophisticated condiment Over 20 years ago I remember hiking in northern New Hampshire just outside of Errol and stumbling upon the famous wild blueberry bushes that decorate the…
For the best flavor read labels and look for pure ingredients. In tough times - when food prices are through the roof, and labor and healthcare costs are at an all-time high - many restaurants and food service establishments look…
In spite of its name, Indian pudding was not adopted from American Indians by the settlers. The name came from the use of "Indian meal," another name for corn meal, which, of course, was adopted from Native Americans. When you…
With so many apple desserts in New England, where does Apple dumplings for breakfast just can't be beat, or how about a warm and crunchy oatmeal apple crisp, or perhaps a bubbling-hot apple cobbler right out of the oven, served…
With Alaska on the ticket and Florida sure to be a battleground state, it's the perfect dish for election night. Alaska Florida - that's actually a dessert you probably know better as Baked Alaska. In 1893, in the cookbook "Epicurean,"…
Two very different milieux - one loud and flashy, the other naturally quiet. It's amazing how much there is to say about sea birds - in Hugh Hennedy's "Variations on a Natural Theme" [Hobblebush Books, $15.95], there are 111 pages…
Two books - one writ large, the other writ small - explore the texture and meaning of the female experience. Her home is in Concord, but writer Diane Les Becquets chose Maine's Moosehead Lake as the setting for her third…
It had been voted the safest town in New Hampshire, but then Doris Gleason was found dead in her cookbook store, killed with a kitchen knife. Townsfolk figured it was Doris' rare cookbook that the killer wanted and they soon…
The “Moose of Humor” is at it again When you laugh out loud four times within two pages, it’s a good sign that a book that’s supposed to be funny really is funny. Such is the case with Rebecca Rule’s…
50 Sundays and 50 Churches Raised a Catholic, Suzanne Strempek Shea was taught that Protestants were doomed and that “if we kids ever so much as set foot inside one of their churches, so were we.” Who could have imagined…
Books from two local authors who treasure the world around them - one whose sights are set on faraway galaxies and another who has star status in the world of green business practices. "For more than 25 years, I've been…
You have to wonder what Harriet Wilson would think - more than 100 years after her autobiographical novel, "Our Nig; or Sketches from the Life of a Free Black," was published, it's receiving fresh acclaim from academics, activists and others.…
Dennis Robinson’s latest book is a weighty tome — four pounds, to be exact. Aside from its sturdy clothbound cover and substantial pages, the reason “Strawbery Banke: A Seaport Museum 400 Years in the Making” is so heavy is contained…
During the week Robert Kozlow is a dentist in Meredith, doing the close-up work that dentists do. Away from the office, though, he turns his attention to the broad expanses of the White Mountains. He’s hiked them for 20 years…
In the midst of turmoil, it’s nice to remember that some things endure. No matter the ups and (way) downs of the stock market or the rise and fall of political fortunes, “The Old Farmer’s Almanac” — just as it…
OK, so Zack Conroy is no boy. He's 23 and a working actor. Born in Portsmouth and a regular returnee to the state, Conroy lives in New York City now following a traditional grind through the star-making machine: auditions, modeling…
... these would make Shakespeare’s head hurt.Fact: Hair care establishments are either named for their proprietor or are christened with unbelievable puns, bordering on the ridiculous.In traveling New Hampshire, I couldn’t help but notice the outrageous names of barber shops…
Featured Shop: Museware Pottery • Manchester Manchester artist Sherlee Burlington has a wicked good attitude these days and there’s a reason — her work is about to go national. Burlington, who was one of the founders of “Your Fired Pottery,”…
Mud is drying, grass is sprouting and the earth is beginning to hold the warmth of the sun. Spring begins the parade of perennials, and for most mediocre gardeners it can mean a few surprises popping up in the flower…
What better way to soothe our sorry souls than with a hot bowl of soup? A nourishing bowl of steaming vegetables in a full-bodied broth warms the hands and the heart, too. Soup making itself is therapeutic — chopping vegetables…
October 25, Portsmouth On Sunday, October 25, the Sea Captains will perform at Portsmouth Harbor Lighthouse. The outdoor concert will celebrate the release of their first full-length album, "Unfathomable," which will be available starting October 20. You will find the…
LOWELL, Mass. – This fall, the Whistler House Museum of Art will premiere a special exhibition by the internationally acclaimed artist, Arshile Gorky (1904-48), known to be the Father of American Abstract Expressionism. The exhibit, “Drawings and Paintings by Arshile…
October 15–18, Portsmouth After receiving more than 700 submissions this year, the New Hampshire Film Festival judges have announced a roster of 80 accepted films for what is expected to be NHFF's largest turnout so far. Headlining films include "Serious…
October 10 – Portsmouth Celebrate harvest time with Strawbery Banke's second annual New Hampshire Fall Festival. Come enjoy four centuries of traditional home and farm harvest festivities and experience a traditional New England country fair like no other. Experience a…
You won't get into trouble with the fur police with these fleece and faux hats and jackets by Leslie Kane of Intervale. Kane, who works under the label Leslie David, designs and stitches women's skirts and jackets — some tailored…
Featured Shop ReStore • DoverImagine a one-stop store that might actually allow you to move forward with remodeling plans while saving you money. ReStore, 15 Fourth St., Dover, is an 11,000-square-foot public warehouse full of donated new and reusable building…
No cure for Alzheimer's yet, but there is help for managing it. When there is the possibility that a loved one has Alzheimer's Disease, the first reaction may be denial. One looks, hopes and prays for another way to explain…
Begin in Groveton, north of Lancaster on Route 3, and follow Route 110 east to Stark Covered Bridge, one of the state's most perfectly set, beside a white church. Walk through the bridge to look back at a view that…
