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Dinner on Thanksgiving Day is a meal when extended family and friends come together to celebrate and share the harvest. It’s a holiday when we talk a lot about food, sharing cooking tips and family recipes.
In year’s past we ask our readers to share what they serve for their Thanksgiving Dinner and to offer cooking tips, starting with kitchen tips on how to cook a turkey, followed by a request for favorite vegetarian dishes to cook up too
Enter to Win a 2016 Summer Farm Share from Crimson & Clover Farm! Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is a fabulous way families can support local farmers. By purchasing a CSA share for your family, shareholders pledge their support of a local farm and receive weekly shares of fruits, vegetables, herbs, cut flowers, honey, eggs, dairy and meat products. CSA’s are also great opportunities for community-based learning! Here on Hilltown Families we highlight… Read More
Despite the newly snow- and ice-covered landscape, local foods are in abundance here in western Massachusetts! By visiting local farmers’ markets, taking part in special community events, and learning more about ways to access local foods during what is most growers’ off-season, families can learn about the roots of their meals and gain insight into local food systems – not to mention the delicious foods that will fill hungry bellies, too!
Spotlighting the talents and creativity of local youth, the upcoming Kid 10 market – hosted by the Pittsfield Farmers’ Market – will be made up entirely of youth vendors! Scheduled for February 13th, the market is currently accepting vendor applications for this special event. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to become a part of the local economy!
Western Mass really drops an abundance of local food into our laps every summer! It’s an incredible bounty that brings with it a possibility of some waste, as storage can prove difficult. Enter Fermentation…a healthy and educational technique to repurpose delicious & healthy food into… delicious & healthy food! Did we mention fermentation is also educational? Involve your kids and they’ll get some experience with cellular biology & chemistry. Read on for some excellent insights!
Fiddleheads are an enigma. These unusual looking greens when handled properly in the kitchen can unleash a joyous culinary moment! Read on and see about the Fiddlehead Arugula Salad that YOU can make for your family, getting your kids excited about eating local food! Let us know how it goes!
We’re giving away a Small CSA Farm Share from Crimson & Clover Farm this spring, a $420 value! Enter for a chance to win by sharing ways your family engages in our local food culture and the learning you glean from your experiences.
Celebrate this year’s maple season at Storrowton Village’s annual Maple Harvest Day! Families can learn about maple harvests of the past in the historic village, and celebrate the coming of spring as well!
During the summer months many families In Western MA are lucky to have an abundance of basil and peas practically at their fingertips, either growing in their own gardens are available at a local farmers’ market. In “Oak & Acorn,” there is great advice on how to make something uniquely tasty from a plentiful bounty. A recipe for basil pesto with shelled peas is featured, along with a nice basil seltzer water with simple syrup and sour cherries… Give it a go for a unique basil-icious treat!
Hilltown Family Variety Show welcomes Guest DJ, Orange Sherbet. This week’s show has a delicious flavor as he celebrates local food through music!
Listen now to our commerical-free podcast for an hour-long family program of great music and a terrific guest DJ!
It’s strawberry season in Western Massachusetts and as the harvest approaches, everybody seems to either grow, pick or buy lots strawberries. They can be frozen and used throughout the year, and there is nothing better than coming up with a broad range of delicious strawberry recipes. In the “Oak and Acorn” this month, Leslie share her strawberry smoothie recipe- something that is tasty, cool and easy to make with your kids! Freeze into popsicles and have a frosty treat during the dog days of summer!
When community-based learning works, it REALLY works. The diversity of educational programs run by Just Roots Community Farm in Franklin County provides experiential learning for youth of all ages. There are also volunteer workdays that invites families to take ownership of impact that fosters greater youth collaboration, and ultimately building a stronger community!
Some trends are great to follow—like the seasons! Seasonal food is fresh and fantastic, and when you work with nature it can be surprisingly easy to grow and prepare. This fall, The Trustees of Reservations are hosting a series of workshops focused on the foods of the season at Land of Providence on Main Street in Holyoke, MA..
Kids ages 13yo and older interested in culinary arts and local food are invited to bake their favorite fruit pie using local ingredients to submit to the Tuesday Market annual Pie Contest happening on Tuesday, September 10th…
Ice Harvest to Winter Farmers’ Market. Chinese New Year to Tu B’Shevat. Wind Turbines to Meteorology. Hendrix to Ben-Hur… These are just a few of the learning highlights we’re featuring this week! Get out into your community and learn while you play! And be sure to check our list of supporting book titles to supplement the learning on the different topics highlighted each week. Purchase them for your family library, or check them… Read More
CISA’s Week of Winter Fare January 26 & February 2, 2013 It is possible to eat locally year-round and there is a lot of amazing local food to be had even in the depths of winter. On January 26th and February 2nd, CISA will kick off its 20th anniversary year with Winter Fare, a celebration of the winter bounty. In collaboration with regular Winter Farmers’ Markets in Greenfield, Northampton, Amherst, and Springfield,… Read More
Harvest Season Dinner on Thanksgiving Day is a meal when extended family and friends come together to celebrate and share the harvest. It’s a holiday when we talk a lot about food, sharing cooking tips and family recipes.. and it’s the final season we’ll be featuring in our 3-part series, Seasons at Our Table. Taking a look back this year, at the beginning of Maple Sugar Season in late February, we invited… Read More
To Buy Local is to Buy Well and Eat Well, Too By the time this goes to press, the weekend of open studios in Florence’s gigantic Arts and Industries building will be over. Mark your calendar for next year, though. But don’t despair. There are some buy local opportunities around these parts that really make winter more delightful (and if you know me, you know I don’t find winter all that delightful,… Read More
Inspiration for family dinner night… SOUP! Last year, Alice shared two of her favorite fall soups in her column, “In the Kitchen with Alice.” Download her recipes for Tomatillo and Fresh Corn Soup and Mediterranean White Bean Soup… then prepare a fresh harvest meal for your family!
7th Annual North Amherst Harvest Festival Sunday, September 23rd When was the last time that you enjoyed a bike-power-blended smoothie? Have you ever made your own cornmeal, or dyed your own fabric using wildflowers? Families can do all of these things and more at the North Amherst Harvest Festival! The harvest festival takes place on Sunday, September 23rd from 12noon-5pm at the North Amherst Community Farm (NACF), a farm run as a… Read More
Farmers’ Market Season At the beginning of the summer we invited our readers to share a family recipe using fresh local produce. Below we’re highlighting 13 submissions our readers posted, featuring local produce often bought fresh from our farmers’ markets and road side stands! Get inspired and thinking about how you can use locally grown fresh produce for your family dinner! Kat Allen of Northampton writes: I’m not a great cook, and… Read More
Youth Invited to Participate in Tuesday Market’s Annual Pie Contest in Northampton Tuesday, Sept. 11th, 2012 Are your kids precocious in the kitchen? Northampton’s Tuesday Farmers’ Market is holding their annual pie contest, and there’s a special category just for kid-made pies (ages 13yo and younger)! The event benefits the market’s Food Stamps x2 program, which provides community members with SNAP benefits the opportunity to buy delicious and healthy local food straight… Read More
For the Love of Cabbage Stuffed Cabbage & Garden Tomato Sauce The weather is softly leaning toward autumn. Though my garden is full of summer’s light and fresh bounty (tomatoes, peppers, basil, zucchini, greens, beans, and dozens of other late summer delights), my appetite begins to lean toward hearty fare. This Italian-inspired rendition of Eastern European Stuffed Cabbage fits the bill for this seasonal transition time, prepared with Fresh Garden Tomato Sauce…. Read More
Pesto and Variations The drought, deer, and heat have slowed down our garden quite a bit, but the list of chores is still long and the available time is still short. We find ourselves creating quick meals from the garden. Pasta with one of many possible pestos is a standard. We have a great variety of greens in our garden, and we’ll make pesto with combinations of basil, arugula, cilantro, mint, chard,… Read More
QUESTION AND ANSWERS Blueberries are out early this year! Where’s your favorite place to PYO with the kids? Laura LeClair writes, “Birdhaven Blueberry Farm in Southampton!” Jessica Campagna Wehry writes, “Where is close to Pittsfield for PYO organic blueberries? I’ve been dying to bring my son!” Sue Lowery writes, “Blueberry Hill on Washington Mountain Rd in Washington, MA (just outside Pittsfield) is amazing and wonderful. Roy and Marilyn Wiley are the owners,… Read More
Note 15, Pick-Your-Own Spots I wrote a little post for Momfilter, (fun site—I especially adore the pretty pictures!) about the joys of pick-your-own. For people who live in a city, I realize that the chance to go berry or apple picking—or even pluck a few cherry tomatoes from an outdoor plant, potted or in a garden plot—requires some planning (vacation activity, anyone?). And so writing that post made me think about another… Read More
Sauteed Sugar Snaps and Radishes I’ve so enjoyed the first of this season’s local cukes. At the Creamery, we have the first tomatoes and the first cukes, picked fresh from the Fydenkevez Farm in the valley. I peel the cukes, cut off big chunks, and generously salt them before popping them into my mouth and singing praises. I love the crisp freshness and the bright flavor. Add sliced or chopped tomatoes cut… Read More
Enter to Win a CSM Share from Goldthread Herb Farm in Conway This summer Goldthread Herb Farm in Conway, MA is embarking on their fifth season of providing Community Supported Medicine (CSM) Shares to the community… and Hilltown Families has a large share (enough for a family of 3-4, valued at $250) to giveaway to one lucky family! Details on how you can enter to win are below and deadline to participate is… Read More
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