Ten New England Design Habits

Though it doesn't have to, Living Local often means embracing the styles you find right in your own backyard.  Frequently inspired by the resources indigenously available to a local region, the lifestyles, trends, and must-haves in a home were long based on geography and economy until the influences of mass media adjusted our eye(s) for fashion. Though trends now differ from home to home and taste to taste more than ever, there are still common home and home-goods designs that remain true to a geographical area, like New England.

Below are ten New England design habits. If you can check some off the list, it may just mean you belong right here in good old New England....

10.  You may or may not have a mudroom full of fancier things, but you love your LL Bean tote and rain boots.

9.  In the summer, you kickback in your boathouse, pull up a chair on a dock, or hop outside for a family canoe race.

8. Firewood is not only a heating must-have, it's also a rustic decoration on your porch.

7. Oars, lighthouses, rope, ships in a bottle, pictures of sailing boats? Yeah, you have 'em.

    
       

6.  Stars and stripes: they come in all shapes and sizes, but no house is complete without them!

5.  Shingles?  For sure.

4. Cottage or colonial, you have wood. Polished or rustic. Rounded or raw.

 

3.  You knew what shiplap was before Joanna and Chip Gaines made it famous.

2.  Without that New-England-history-lesson, it could appear to be simply boring.  But your exterior trim matches your base color, even if it's not fashionable anywhere else.

Until the Industrial Revolution, most paints in New England were mixed in small batches using naturally found earth pigments. Paint colors, therefore, tended to reflect these pigments: red oxide, yellow ocher, lamp black, red and white lead, etc. Common exterior colors were especially reds, yellows, and greens, and most often entire homesteads tended to have one exterior color.

1.  You cannot get enough stone walls!

Narrangassett Cheese

I know, I know. I'm dairy free. But do not remind my husband.

Always happy to find a reason to sneak milk into our household, Kurt recently enjoyed this tasty treat, straight off the boat (or truck perhaps...) from Providence, Rhode Island. Though the Narragansett Creamery has oodles of local artisan products, including their you-can't-go-wrong-with-this Fresh and Feathery Mozarella (left), their best is one of their most recent product creations, Mediterranean Grilling Cheese (below).

Until moving abroad, like most Americans I was not familiar with "grilling cheese," also known as halloumi. Once I tasted it, a standard fare in a number of parts of the world, it was an immediate favorite. The cheese is squeaky clean and perfect on a number of tasty complex treats or simply a slice of local, grilled apple. Grilling cheeses have a deeply savory taste that pairs well with just about anything, standing up to heat by becoming crispy on the outside and gooey on the inside. Is your mouth watering yet?! Though we may be a cheese-centric country, this is one kind of cheese Americans need to learn more about!

What's even better than good cheese? Good production practices.  At Narragansett Creamery, local milk, kind bacteria, vegetable-based rennet, and salt are used to produce a pure and responsible product. Narragansett supports fair-trade and local ingredients to the best of their ability, their farmers pledge to not use growth hormones, and they are proud to be a family-owned company providing products to their local community of New England.

Do try a slice today... just don't remind me and my dairy free tummy what I'm missing! Sigh...

Need a few fantastic ideas of how to incorporate Narrangasett's Grilling Cheese into your next meal? The BBC may not be local, but they do know their halloumi cheese! Check it out here: http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/9-new-ways-serve-halloumi

Find Narrangassett Cheeses in these local markets:

Rhode Island:  A Market Natural Foods * Belmont Market * Black Pear * The Blue Kangaroo * Blue Rocks Market * Brigido’s Fresh Market * C & R Mercantile * Carpenter’s Farm * Charlestown Wine & Spirits * Clement’s Market * Dave’s Marketplace * DeCastro Farms * Dunns Corners Market * East Side Prescription Center * Eastside Marketplace * Fertile Underground * Food for Thought * The Good Earth * Goose Pond Farm * The Green Grocer * Happy Acres Market *  Hope & Sundries * McQuade’s Marketplace * Milk & Honey Bazaar * Morris Farm * Munroe Dairy * Roch’s Market * Sandy’s Fine Food Emporium * Schartner Farms * Shaw’s * Shore’s Markets * South County Food Co-op * Sweet Berry Farm * Tom’s Markets * Venda Ravioli * Whaley Farm Market * Whole Foods Markets * Wishing Stone Farm * Young Family Farm *

Massachusetts:  Allandale Farms * American Provisions * Bacco’s Wine & Cheese * Bacon Street Farm * Bartlett’s Family Garden & Market * Bartlett’s Ocean View Farm * Bee’s Knees Supply Co. * Big Y * Blue Blinds Bakery * Boston Wine Exchange* Broadway Marketplace * Brothers Marketplace * Cape Abilities * Cape Cod Package Store * Cardullo’s * C’est Cheese  (NH)* Chatham Cheese Company * Chatham Village Market * City Feed & Supply * Coastal GreenGrocer * Common Crow Natural Market * Crusty Ventures * Dave’s Fresh Pasta * Deluca’s Market * Donelan’s * Fancy’s Market * Five Seventy Market * Foodies Urban Market * Formaggio Kitchen * Fruit Center Marketplace * Guaranteed Fresh * Harvest Co-op * Holmes Farm * How on Earth * Joppa Fine Foods * Lambert’s Farm Market * Last National Wine Co. * Lees Market * The Market at Pinehills * Milk & Honey Green Grocer * Morning Glory Farms * Natural Food Exchange * Nauset Farms * Needham Center Fine Wines * Prime * Quality Fruitland* Roche Bros. * Savenor’s * Savor Wine & Cheese * Siena Farms * Spring Brook Farm Country Store * The Spirited Gourmet *  Sudbury Farms * Tangerini Farm * Tastebuds Fresh Marketplace * Tendercrop Farm * Vidalias * Ward’s Berry Farm * Water Fresh Farm * Whittier Farms * Whole Foods Markets * Windfall Market * The Wine Cask * The Wine House * The Wine Vine * Woodberry Food Market

Connecticut:  Big Y * Caseus Fromagerie & Bistro * The Common Bond Market * Fairfield Cheese Company * Jonathan Edwards Winery * McQuade’s Marketplace * P & M Orange Street Market * Whole Foods Markets

New York:  Manhattan: Barnyard Cheese Shop * Battery Place Market * Beecher’s * Cheese on 62nd * Dean & Deluca Madison * Eataly * Eli’s * Forager’s Market * Formaggio Essex * Inwood Gourmet *  Lucy’sWhey * Malt & Mold * Market Basket * Milk & Hops * Saxelby Cheesemongers * The Wine Merchant * Westside Market Chelsea * Willoughby General * Whole Foods Market, Bowery * Zabar’s  Brooklyn:  Blue Apron * Brooklyn Larder * Brooklyn Victory Garden * Court Street Grocer * DePanneur * Eastern District * Forager’s Market * Green Grape Provisions * Lucy’sWhey * Marlow & Daughters * The Meat Hook * Park Slope Co-op * The Ploughman * Stinky Bklyn  * Valley Shepherd 

Long Island & beyond:  * Ahabs Corner Shop * Beacon Pantry * Cold Spring General Store * Deciccos * Loaves & Fishes * Plum Plums * Stuarts Seafood Market * Tarry Market * Village Cheese Shop * Whole Foods Lake Grove * Whole Foods Port Chester

Maine: Joppa Fine Foods *

New Hampshire: On the Vine Marketplace *

Small Trips: Supporting Local in Huge Ways

Want to hear what really shocked me last week?!

We live in Connecticut's Quiet Corner (2.5 hrs from NYC and 1.5 hours from Boston).  While sitting around a table of fifteen local adults, I discovered that only three of them had ever been to Boston or New York City.

What?  You're. Kidding. Me.  More people had been to the Bahamas than to a city an hour and a half away. 

I was floored.

It doesn't matter how many times I've seen it. Having lived all over the world, I am still amazed every time I realize that many of the people I live next to have never experienced popular things to do in their local area. Tourists can travel from all over the world to see special sites, and yet it often is the person who lives twenty miles away that has not taken the time to visit. Supporting local is not just about buying knick-knacks and small, artisan products. Supporting local is also about ways people interact with their community.

My recommendation to those who truly desire a way to embrace small businesses and the local economy? I'd encourage them to figure out ways to use a local geographical map or local tourism bureau to discover things sitting in their own backyards. Activities like making use of skiing passes, restauranting with friends, attending a local performance, hiking a local state park, checking out a local farm, touring a nearby winery, and seeking out a local museum with friends are excellent ways to give gifts that support local community... and in the process often builds it, too!

 When we first settled into Connecticut, we discovered a fantastic program called "The Sky's the Limit," a 2015 hiking challenge put out by the CT State Parks Department. Connecticut, like many New England States, is famous for its hundreds of miles of hiking trails; as part of a No Child Left Inside initiative, their challenge was to get hikers who visit CT's highest peaks to take pictures at the base and the top of their climb to show proof of accomplishing all 14 peaks.

I can't rave enough about The Sky's the Limit Challenge. We got out to see pieces of the entire state, becoming more familiar with the changing topography and the special nuances that separate one region from another. Soon our friends were coming with us, and wanting to explore their state, too. Once we completed that challenge, my son Jonas had bigger ideas about finding peaks and parks throughout New England. And thus our 2016 personal challenge to get to every state in New England was on!

This past week we traveled to Peterborough, New Hampshire. We camped for two days in the Greenfield State Park (it's so nice! I recommend it!), where we hiked, canoed, fished, and climbed two Monadnok mountains. Jonas discovered wild blueberries, a New England treat, and spent the weekend collecting them to feed his newly acquired addiction, his invention called the "blueberry s'more." We learned about a new place, supported the small businesses that in turn helped us enjoy a fantastic trip, and made lasting memories that may just bring us back again soon.

It wasn't the Bahamas. I'll give you that.

But, wow.  There is real joy that comes from getting to know the amazingness that lies around you in your own backyard. I heart New England.

The Coventry Farmer's Market

As may already know, New England can serve as a regional model for local economies everywhere. We have a dense population that values New England's cultural identity and connections to history. We have natural capital, industrial and intellectual capital, agricultural bounties from every corner of every state, and most importantly, a groundswell of support for a burgeoning movement to grow economies that are local, fair, and green.

"But what is all this jibber jabber of big words leading to??" you wonder.  Easy.  It serves as a simple explanation of why New England farmer's markets are some of the best in the country.  If I'm not convincing you, maybe pretty little pictures of one of New England's largest farmer's markets, located in Coventry, Connecticut, will.

Whether you live in the city or suburbs, a farmers’ market is not too far from you if you live or visit anywhere in New England. From spring until late fall, you can find local growers set up with their canopies and colorful displays of just-harvested fruits and vegetables in town squares, parks and other public spaces. Throughout the winter, many move inside and keep right on connecting farmer/tradesperson to consumer. 

Here my son Jonas runs into a local friend while walking on a Nathan

Hale Homestead rock wall from the 1700s. What a fun space to bond with

neighbors and enjoy some local delectables!

I may be a little biased, as I live right down the road from the amazing homestead-turned community gathering called the Coventry Farmer's Market.  Here one can easily find an array of products, including baked goods, honey, flowers, jams and jellies, maple products, farmstead cheeses, grass-fed meat products, eggs, drinks, organic and heirloom fruits, herbs, and veggies, spices, sauces, and salsas, housewares, knitted goods, and wood products. But what's more is I can not only run into people from all over the region as well as local friends, but I can find my child animals to pet and ponies to ride, artisans to meet, hot dishes and cold drinks to partake of, and local musicians to hear. The market is located at the Nathan Hale homestead, the historically preserved homestead of Coventry native Nathan Hale.  (Who is Nathan Hale? Touted as America's first spy, he's also that dude quoted as saying, "I regret I have only one life to live for my country.") With different themes and community events going on every Sunday afternoon, I guarantee you you'll enjoy taking in the local goodies found at this incredible gathering place.  As YankeeMagazine.com puts it, the market feels like "a momentous celebration, with cooking demonstrations, sustainable-living programs, kids’ activities, musical guests, and local artisans."  Nothing could be so quintessential New England.  Check it out this season!

Row upon row of booths fill the Nathan Hale Homestead grounds for the Coventry Farmer's Market. Visitors can also tour the Nathan Hale home and gardens.

The Nathan Hale Homestead is located at 2299 South St., Coventry, CT. The market is held Sundays 11am-2pm, June-October.

Not-So-Local-Local African Chicken Salad

If you've never tasted Zimbabwe, here is your chance.

Wait, what?

"Isn't this a blog about New England?!" you say.

Definitely. I love to take a recipe from a distant time or place and bring back a little nostalgia with one bite.  Food is truly a way to immediately relive a certain magical something we remember, in this case something far from the Northeastern mountains and shore sitting outside my window. Though the recipe I'd like to share today is from my honorary homeland of Africa, it can be made using entirely local New England products.  As the farmers markets of our region pop up in town greens all over the Northeast, fresh green things continue to be on the menu!

Try it right away.  For me, it's like biting into my Zimbabwean garden all over again. Mm mmm...

New-England-African Chicken Salad

1 chicken, deboned / or 2-3 cups of cooked and cubed chicken
3/4 cup dried apricots or other dried fruit, preferably diced (a great opportunity to use local, Massachusetts-grown craisins!)
1/2 cup salted pistachios, no shells
1 bunch of cilantro, washed and coarsely chopped
2-3 tablespoons olive oil

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl, salt and pepper to taste. Easy-peasy!

Came Across This Today

My New To-Do List!

Today I came across a quick jaunt through some of America's best farm-to-table restaurants, found all over the US.  Thought I'd share some great places now on my list!

51 Best Farm to Table Restaurants in America:

http://www.msn.com/en-us/foodanddrink/restaurantsandnews/51-best-farm-to-table-restaurants-in-america/ss-BBrx2yB

Saah-weet Sweetgreen

Fast food can be tricky.

Actually, no. I'm being too nice. 

Fast food can be disgusting. 

Sorry. I said it.  So often I have to ask where does the food come from? How removed is it from real ingredients? Should one bitty food really have over fifty ingredients? And two thousand calories?  And how is the chain sourcing enough food for the billions it's serving?

And yet, I absolutely do not judge anyone who eats fast food. In fact, I am jealous of people in my life who eat fast food.  After a little stomach ailment that left me unable to eat any processed food whatsoever for over three years, if there is one thing I know it is how LONG it can sometimes take to plan, shop for, cook, and clean up after a healthy meal at home.  My over-three-years of continuous cooking for myself, as so many people with digestive ailments, has left me exhausted and killing for a quick and easy option at the end of a long day.  Let me introduce you to a great one that is A) fast, B) healthily responsive about ingredients you cannot put in your body, and C) local, local, local!

Sweetgreen (found in a number of metropolitan areas, but specifically for this blog, in Back Bay, Chestnut Hill, Fort Point, Prudential Center, Lynnfield, Downtown Crossing, Fenway, and Harvard Square, all in the Boston area) has got the goods.

Can I just tell you?  I love to walk into a place and see a local farmer supported. Combining FAST food with truly whole, healthy -not McTwisted concepts of healthy- foods is what a quick restaurant pit-stop should be all about!  Getting a little Sweetgreen as we speak... Look at me; I'm eating fast food!

Masters, Indeed

Before I sound elitist here, know that I probably cannot afford a number (translation: any) of these pieces. 

But I can drool over them just the same.

As an interior designer, I love me some custom-made furniture.  Quality, hand-crafted, lasting pieces of art!  So you will understand why I adore the New Hampshire Furniture Masters Association. They carry-on a 300 year old tradition of handmade museum-quality furniture and you should see their pieces!  Gor. Geous.

Dedicated to preserving, promoting and expanding the art and craft of fine furniture making, the New Hampshire Furniture Masters Association was created in 1993 to build public awareness of New Hampshire’s fine furniture makers and to cultivate an audience for their goods closer to home. The concept of banding together was that not only could artisans benefit from creative relationships with each other, but they could draw greater local interest and support in their work while sharing traditional skills desperately needing to be kept alive. The Furniture Masters, working out of all corners of the state, work collaboratively and leverage their amazing body of collective knowledge and experience to stimulate one another’s creative output of furniture for museums, collectors, and every-day users combined. Each year, the organization showcases a select group of the members’ creations in a series of exhibitions, house parties, and an annual auction.

I have used pieces like these in the nicest of my Manhattan penthouse projects.  But this furniture is not something everyone can take home. However, having the right finances for this furniture or not, it can still be a pretty awe-inspiring art to behold.  Things like the bowtie and pocket joints, the intarsia, the colorful marketry, or just simply the curve of a piece of wood can illicit appreciation from art collectors to novices alike.  What incredible things we human being can do with simple tools and our hands! No matter what your bank account tells you, DO check out the website of some of the most inspiring local artisans I have ever seen: http://furnituremasters.org/