A light touch with toffee
New England Toffee Company was started in Acton by Kathy Frizzell when she tried to duplicate a family Christmas gift. Her version of the candy was so popular at a fund-raiser where her husband worked that he cajoled the then-unemployed mother of three into starting a business. That was January 2003, and with the use of a local church’s commercial …
Get your farm fresh produce here
More than 125 farmers’ markets operate statewide. Most begin this month or early in July and stay open through October. Below are the markets closest to Boston; the complete list is at www.state.ma.us/dfa/massgrown/farmers_markets.htm and www.massfarmersmarkets.org.
Golden potato salad with smoked trout and green beans
Serves 4 Any cured fish or meat can be substituted for the trout.
A fresh and breezy white wine is perfect company at the cafe
What we call plonk in this column is the kind of thing that might once have been called cafe wine — and may still be in lots of places. Served up with inexpensive meals in small-scale mom-and-pop restaurants all over Europe, cafe wines may come in a glass carafe rather than a bottle and are likely to be described on …
Dishing it out
Thanks to CitySprouts, 10 Cambridge public schools have gardens that are used to teach students about the food cycle, sustainable agriculture, and the environment. And what better way to raise money for the program than to feed people? At tonight’s Flavors of Fall , restaurants from Cambridge and Somerville dishing out selections from their fall menus include dante, the Blue …
Clams in garlic and wine
Serves 8 as an appetizer. These clams, writes Penelope Casas in ”Delicioso!” are standard tapas fare along Spain’s coast. ”The sauce is exceptional for bread dunking,” she writes. The 1 1/2-inch aquacultured mahogany littleneck clams from Great Eastern Mussel Farms work especially well in this dish.
Oven-roasted mussels with garlic butter
Serves 8 as tapas, 4 as an entree 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature 2 shallots, finely chopped 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley 3 tablespoons chopped fresh chives 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme 1 tablespoon lemon rind 2 tablespoons lemon juice Dash of hot sauce Salt and pepper, to taste 1 crusty …
Beef samboussas
Serves 6 2 tablespoons canola oil 2 green bell peppers, cored, seeded, and finely chopped 2 onions, finely chopped 1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef 1 cup frozen green peas, thawed 1 tablespoon tomato paste 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon 1 teaspoon ground cayenne 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1 teaspoon ground turmeric Salt and black pepper, to taste 1 tablespoon flour …
