Peterborough Players Summer Theatre 30 May 2012, 2:37 pm
We are excited about the upcoming summer program at Peterborough Players. Our Theatre Package includes an overnight stay, 2 theatre tickets, and dinner for 2 at a great Peterborough restaurant. Ask about our Theatre Special when booking.
June 20 - July 1
A World Premiere comedy/drama by Jack Neary
NYPD Blue Emmy-award winning actor Gordon Clapp stars in this world premiere as Joe LaCedra, a gangster with unsavory intentions. You will laugh, you will laugh, you will laugh! And you may even shed a few tears.
July 4 - 15
A musical with book and lyrics by Tom Jones, music by Harvey Schmidt
A musical chock full of song and dance, based on the Jan de Hartog play The Fourposter, with music by the same team who wrote The Fantasticks.
July 18 - 29
A mystery/comedy adapted by Patrick Barlow from the book by John Buchan from the movie of Alfred Hitchcock
Mix a Hitchcock masterpiece with a juicy spy novel, add a dash of Monty Python and you have The 39 Steps, a fast-paced whodunit for anyone who loves the magic of theatre. Patrick Barlow adapted the play from the novel by John Buchan and the film by Alfred Hitchcock to create over 150 zany characters (played by a ridiculously talented cast of four, including Tom Frey and Kraig Swartz).
August 1 - 12
A comedy by J. M. Barrie
Downton Abbey meets Swept Away, from the playwright who brought us Peter Pan! Once a month, Lord Loam invites his servants to the drawing room for tea, whereupon the household is forced to abandon class distinctions for an hour.
August 15 - 26
A comedy by Noel Coward
An audacious comedy, starring Jack Koenig as the popular and pampered actor, Garry Essendine, who is busily making preparations for an extended overseas tour. His plans are complicated by a beautiful stage-struck ingenue and an ardent, aspiring playwright who both insist on his attentions. When his wife, his agents, and his numerous admirers arrive, Garry is hard pressed to escape.
August 29 - September 9
A comedy with heart by Richard Dresser
Two coaches. One believes that his job is to shield the kids from the intense pressure of competition while making sure everyone has a good time. The other coach thinks he should be teaching the kids how to win. Out of these conflicting philosophies, the real issues of the play emerge: how should we raise our children? And what does it mean to be an American man?
September 19 - 23
A comedy by Jane Condon
A hilarious and moving account of how a girl with working class roots became a Greenwich, CT housewife and an award-winning comedian. Janie Condon has been a storyteller and comedian since she was born the youngest of four in an Irish Catholic family and wanted attention. She learned comedy at the knees of the masters, her fellow students at Cardinal Spellman High School in Brockton, MA.
Second Company
10:30am Jun 29, 30, July 6, 7, 11, 13, 14, 20 & 21
By Catherine Gray, adapted from the book "The Ugly Duckling" by Hans Christian Andersen
A heartwarming tale of finding true beauty, happiness, and a sense of belonging. Watch the “ugly duckling” grow into a swan and discover that what’s on the inside is what counts! Suitable for age 4 and up.
Tickets: $8 children, $10 adults
2pm August 18, 21, 24 & 25; 7pm August 20
adapted by Gus Kaikkonen from the book by Louisa May Alcott
Boys—they bring joy as well as troubles! Little Women’s Jo, after inheriting the house, turns it into a school for boys and helps them to be good in studies and to be good human beings. Suitable for age 8 and up.
Tickets: $8 children, $10 adul 
Fabulous Vegan Blueberry Muffins 21 May 2012, 10:16 am
Vegan Blueberry Muffins – makes 12 regular or 6 jumbo muffins
2 cups flour
1 ½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
zest from 1 lemon
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup white sugar
1 cup soy or rice milk
1/3 cup canola oil
2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
1 Tb. white vinegar
1 ½ cups fresh or frozen blueberries*
Topping
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
3 Tb. Earth Balance, softened
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease muffin tin.
In a small bowl mix topping ingredients together until small clumps form.
In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking soda, salt, and lemon zest.
In a large bowl combine the sugars, milk, oil, lemon juice, and vinegar. Mix well.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, stirring until just combined. Do not over mix.
Gently fold in the blueberries. *If using frozen blueberries lightly dust them in flour first.
Fill the muffin tins about 2/3rds full.
Sprinkle a little topping over each muffin.
Bake approx. 22 mins. for regular muffins, 30 mins. for jumbo muffins or until a toothpick inserted into the muffins comes out clean.
Bird Sightings 4 May 2012, 6:52 am
| Eastern Bluebird in our yard |
In my next life I think I will be an ornithologist. My first true awareness of birds happened during the summer of my 15th year. It was my job to weed our enormous vegetable garden. I would begin very early in the morning because that is when the ground is the softest and the weeds pull easily. In my early morning solitude I was alone with my thoughts but I was not alone in my garden. The birds greeted me every day. Over time I would stop and look up to see which bird it was that was singing which beautiful song. They made me stop and pay attention. Slowly I learned to distinguish bird from bird and song from song. It was the beginning of a lifelong friendship.
Currently residing in our yard are cardinals, goldfinches, bluebirds, tufted titmice, chickadees, nuthatches, robins, blue jays, swallows, sparrows, crows, rose-breasted grosbeaks, red tailed hawks, wrens, mockingbirds, woodpeckers, mourning doves, wild turkey, and killdeer. I’m sure I am forgetting some. The ducks, geese and loons have returned to the lake. Next week the Baltimore orioles and the hummingbirds should arrive. Last summer a magnificent bald eagle made frequent visits.
Here is a link of all the Massachusetts birds from the Audubon Society. Better than viewing them online, however, is seeing and hearing them in person. Sip your morning coffee outside on the porch while enjoying the ever-changing symphony.
Mother's Day 1 May 2012, 6:25 am
| Pickity Place, Mason NH |
"A mother is the truest friend we have,
when trials heavy and sudden, fall upon us;
when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends who rejoice with us in our sunshine desert us; when trouble thickens around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts."
~Washington Irving
If you are looking for a special gift for Mom this Mother's Day why not treat her to a beautiful 5-course luncheon at Pickity Place, followed by an overnight stay at The Maguire House. Contact us by email or by phone (978) 827-5053 and we will take care of all the arrangements for you.
One Hungry Child at a Time 25 Apr 2012, 1:29 pm
| Kira Andreucci |
17 million children go to bed hungry and wake up hungry every day in America. That’s 1 in 4. For 11-year-old Kira Andreucci from Fitchburg, MA that is not acceptable. Last year Kira took her birthday money and made “kidpacks”, bags filled with food for a few local students to take home. From this humble beginning Karing 4 Kidz was launched. United Way has entered Kira in their Community Builders Star Projects Competition and now Kira has a chance to win $1,000.00 to put towards more food for more children. Please read the article in today’s Fitchburg Sentinel, view Kira’s blog and vote for her and Karing 4 Kidz on the United Way website.
Books and Cooks 23 Apr 2012, 8:37 am
| A few members of Books and Cooks Todd and Sue Rowe, Paul, Kathryn Kay, Terry, Brian and Enie Quinn |
We were so fortunate to have author Kathryn Kay and her husband, Robert Young, stay with us last weekend and discuss her new book The Gilder with our Books and Cooks reading group. If you are looking for a great read, don’t miss this book. Kathryn weaves a brilliant story of friendship, family, love, betrayal, and forgiveness. The Gilder captured my attention from the very first page and held it right to the bittersweet end. Thomas, Marina, and Sarah are fascinating, complex characters whom we come to know intimately through their human frailties. Great character development and Kathryn’s detailed description of Florence made me feel like I was right back there. I can’t wait for her next book.
You've got to have Art! 13 Apr 2012, 8:18 pm
| Fitchburg Art Museum Watercolor by Ann Capodagli |
"I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn't say any other way - things I had no words for." ~ Georgia O'Keeffe
The Fitchburg Art Museum's Best Art Museum Auction Ever! will begin on Friday, April 20 at noon and run for 2 weeks. During this event bidders will be able to select culturally rich, exciting, and valuable items! Get ready for a truly inspiring and creative adventure of bidding. Show your support by clicking on the Bidding For Good website which features donated items including a night at The Maguire House!
Every auction item purchased helps the Fitchburg Art Museum's world-class exhibitions, youth programs, and community engagement activities. Your generous interest and support is greatly appreciated. Contact your family, friends, and comrades about this once in a lifetime auction!
9 Apr 2012, 5:24 am
| Fruitlands Museum, Harvard MA |
Fruitlands opens for the 2012 season on April 15.
Fruitlands Museum, founded in 1914 by Clara Endicott Sears, takes its name from an experiment led by Bronson Alcott and Charles Lane, which took place here in 1843.
The complex includes:
The Fruitlands Farmhouse, the site of an experiment led by Alcott and Lane in 1843
• The Shaker Office Building, which houses the largest archive of Harvard Shaker documents in the world
• The Native American Gallery, which houses a significant collection of artifacts that honors the spiritual presence and cultural history of the first Americans
• The Art Gallery, containing 100 Hudson River School landscape paintings, and significantly, over 230 nineteenth century vernacular portraits, the second largest collection in the country.
THE SEARS SUMMER ESTATE
Sears maintained a summer estate and “gentleman’s farm” here along with the museum complex from 1914 until her death in 1960. During her lifetime, Miss Sears published several books, wrote popular songs for WW1, and ran a cannery and food drying charity, which sent 2 tons of food to the troops in the trenches of France. In 1930, the Fruitlands Museum, which continues her work in historic preservation, was incorporated.
ANCIENT GLACIAL LANDSCAPE
The property has a rich history and has been host to some of the most famous people in history. Thoreau walked Prospect Hill and admired its view. Emerson visited Alcott here, and Louisa May (then 10), would relate her experiences here in Little Women.
When Miss Sears looked out over the landscape at Fruitlands decades after Thoreau, she imagined the Nashua River valley and recalled the past people who contemplated that same vista in the past. Sears believed that our common experiences link us together across time.
5 Apr 2012, 1:53 pm
| Cathedral of the Pines, Rindge NH |
All Faiths, One Family, One Earth
If you can't make it this Sunday make sure you put a visit to this incredible place on your "must do" list. It is a real treasure.
Easter Bubble Bread 25 Mar 2012, 5:21 pm
| James and Jeanne and Bubble Bread |
James made this delicious Bubble Bread last year for Easter brunch and it was a huge hit! It's a lot of work, but worth it.
Ingredients
For the Bubble Bread
1 1/4 cups whole milk
2 teaspoons instant yeast
4 cups all purpose flour
5 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
For the Cinnamon Sugar Coating
1 1/4 cups firmly packed dark brown sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
Make the Bubble Bread
Generously spray the inside of a 10-inch Bundt pan with non stick cooking spray.
In a small saucepan, warm your milk to slightly above room temperature, then remove it from the heat, add the yeast, and whisk to dissolve. ( Do not warm it beyond 110 degrees F or you will kill the yeast).
In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the flour, sugar, and salt until combined.
In a small bowl, beat the egg with a fork and add it to the dry ingredients. Mix on low speed until combined.
Keeping the mixer on low, slowly stream in the milk until combined. Add the melted butter and mix until the dough comes together. Replace the paddle attachment with the dough hook attachment. Continue to mix on medium speed until the dough becomes silky and tacky,but not sticky, 8-10 minutes. The dough should mound together and easily come off the bottom of the mixing bowl. ( If the dough is too wet, add some flour. If it is too dry, add a tiny bit of water. )
Spray the bottom and sides of a large bowl with cooking spray. Place the dough in the bowl and roll it around to make sure it is completely covered in oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a dish towel and let it rest in a warm area until the dough has doubled in size, approximately 1 hour.
Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
Use your clean hands to push down and deflate the dough. Remove it from the bowl and pat it into a rough circle approximately 8 inches diameter. Use a bench knife or serrated knife to cut dough into 1 to 1 1/2 inch pieces ( about 1/2 oz each )- alternatively, use your hands to pinch apart the dough. Roll the pieces into balls ( they don't have to be perfectly round). Place the balls on the sheet pan (you will get about 60 pieces in all). Cover the balls lightly with plastic wrap.
Make the Cinnamon Sugar Coating
In a small bowl, stir together the sugar and cinnamon. Place the melted butter in a separate bowl.
Assemble the Bread
Remove the plastic wrap from the dough balls and dip one ball in the melted butter. Let the excess butter drip back into the bowl, roll the ball in the brown sugar mixture, and place it in the Bundt pan. Continue this process with each ball, until you have several layers, arranging them as if you are building a brick wall.
Wrap the Bundt pan tightly in plastic wrap. Set it in a warm area of the house for about 1 hour, or until the dough balls have doubled in size and appear puffy.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Remove the plastic and bake the Bundt until the top layer is deep brown and the caramel coating begins to bubble around the edges, about 30 minutes.
Cool the bread for 5 minutes, then turn it out directly onto a platter and serve warm. Should you have any leftovers ( this is rare), simply reheat them in a 300 degree oven until warm to the touch.
Baked Notes
You do not need an icing or topping for this bread-too sweet. Second, you can make the dough ahead of time. Once the dipped dough has been placed in the pan, wrap it tightly, refrigerate it, and bring it back to room temperature to "proof" the dough before baking. Lastly, this is one of those breads that exists to be eaten warm straight from the oven. Once the caramel begins to cool, reheat the bread in the oven before serving. Enjoy!
