Category: Connecticut Travel

The Silo at Hunt Hill Farm Trust located on 44 Upland Road in New Milford Connecticut is offering up a series of cooking classes in March featuring a wide variety of food offerings. On Sunday, March 15 for example from 11 a.m. 2 p.m. join Nancy Stuart for “Green Eggs and Ham” for ages 6 to 13 ushers in St. Patty’s day and celebrates Dr. Suess’ birthday. Kids will make an assortment of items and get recipes to take home for the family. Full participation. $45 per person.

Tuscan Holiday zings into Spring on March 21 from 6 to 9:30 pm with Chef Daniel Rosati. The menu will include: Warm Spinach Pesto Crostini with Creamy Fontina; Tuscan Leek Soup; Tuscan Pork Tenderloins “Porchetta” Style; Sweet & Savory Marinated Artichoke Hearts; and Chocolate Hazelnut Zuccotto Cake. This class offers full participation and is $90 per person.

If you like brunch, don’t miss the Sunday Brunch Classic class on March 29 from 6 to 9 pm with Chef Daniel Rosati. The brunch menu will include: Chunky Apple Cinnamon Muffins; Parmesan Herb Scones; Vermont Cheddar & Sausage Savory Bread Pudding; Asparagus & Herb Miniature Frittatas; Smoked & Fresh Salmon Hash; Classic Pecan Sticky Buns. This class offers full participation and is $90 per person.

On April 25 the Silo is hosting a special class based on the Titianic with Chef Catherine Titus Felix, CCP. This is a classic dinner that you can share with your friends and family. The Titanic – It’s the story that continues to fascinate the world. April 14 marks the anniversary when “the large luxurious ship carrying many of the wealthiest people on the globe met its doom. “The story of the Titanic isn’t just about the mysterious circumstances of the sinking, or the tragedy and loss of life. Much of our fascination with Titanic is in the details. It’s a look back at how the Edwardian-era passengers lived, dressed and of course, how they ate.” This multi-course feast, with champagne and wine, will allow you to take a journey back in time to an Edwardian world of strict class distinctions, obsession with etiquette and fashion and the era’s love of fine food. This is a demonstration class. and is $100 per person.

For more information and to register visit http://www.hunthillfarmtrust.org, or call (860) 355-0300. Registration is also available at The Silo during regular business hours. The Silo Gallery and store are open Wednesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. The Silo Cooking School at Hunt Hill Farm, 44 Upland Rd, New Milford, CT. 860.355.0300; www.hunthillfarmtrust.org.

For area information www.litchfieldhills.com

Beth Carlson is a life-long resident of Litchfield Hills and has been drawing and painting since childhood. A lover of nature and the scenery of the northwest corner of Connecticut, she strives to celebrate the beauty of the local landscape using oils on canvas. Her favorite subject is Lake Waramaug. Beth has been fascinated by the ever-changing, vibrant colors and patterns created during sunsets as seen from Tanner Hill Road in Warren. Yearly trips to Cape Cod also provide inspiration.

Decades of painting for her own enjoyment have led to a body of work that she now wants to share with the hope that others will enjoy her visions and journey. Beth studied illustration at Paier College of Art in Hamden and attended workshops and classes taught by fine artists at the Washington Art Association in Washington Depot and The Wooster Community Art Center in Danbury. She also studied graphic design at Northwestern Connecticut Community College in Winsted and made a living in that field at The Litchfield County Times where she was involved with the production of many award-winning publications. In the gallery: March 1- April 24.

In the gallery: March 1- April 24. Reception- Thursday, March 5, from 5:00- 7:00 p.m. at the Oliver Wolcott Library, 160 South Street, Litchfield, CT. 06759. 860-567-8030.
www.owlibrary.org.

After Hours at the Bruce Museum, a special program hosted by the Museum on Thursday, March 5, will offer evening gallery hours and a variety of activities – including a chance to take a “selfie” with an American Black Bear — with free admission from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. The Museum normally closes at 5.

“After Hours is a program inspired by the spirit of philanthropy,” says Peter C. Sutton, Executive Director of the Bruce Museum. “We cannot exist without the generous support of the community. Since March 5 is Fairfield County Giving Day, like most other local non-profits, we will be asking for the community’s support. We wanted to also give back to the community, and make accessible the treasure that is the Bruce.”

In addition to free admission and open galleries, the Museum will be offering special tours and other activities designed for families and accessible to all. Several experts will be on hand and available for discussion and questions, including Executive Director Peter Sutton; Jack A. Somer, the owner and collector of the antique maps currently on display in the Museum’s Lecture Gallery; Tara Contractor, the Museum’s Samuel H. Kress Interpretive Fellow and an expert on the Hohenbuchau Collection paintings currently on view; and Daniel Ksepka, the Museum’s Curator of Science. Special marine tank animal feedings will be held, and visitors will have an opportunity to take a “selfie” with an imposing figure, the Museum’s specimen of an American Black Bear.

To give to your favorite local non-profit on Fairfield County Giving Day, you must donate during the March 5th 24-hour period, from midnight to 11:59 p.m., and must do so on the Fairfield County Giving Day website, fcgives.org. Participating non-profits each have a dedicated page on the specially-created site. To donate to the Bruce Museum, visit their page at https://www.fcgives.org/#npo/bruce-museum-inc11.

For more area event information www.visitfairfieldcountyct.com.

The Institute for American Indian Studies will present its Annual Maple Sugaring Festival on Saturday, March 7, 2015 from 11:00 am – 3:00 pm. What makes this Festival unique is Jim Dinafor who will present a full Native American Sugar-making demonstration in the Institute’s outdoor Algonkian Village.

Inside the Museum and Institute, from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm, staff members will serve pancakes with delicious local maple syrup. Fun activities for the children will run from 1:00 – 3:00 pm.

The Native American lore of sweet maple syrup is fascinating. The Mohegans believed that the melting snow caused the spring sap to run in the maples. They considered the sap to be the dripping oil of the Great Celestial Bear, who had been wounded by the winter sky hunters – according to their own Pleiades story. The bear, sometimes becoming the celestial bear and embodying the Big Dipper, repeats itself through many Indian origin stories.

Native People discovered in their woodlands the sources of seasoning and sweetening medicines and foods. Long before recorded history, their investigations unlocked the secrets of extracting many dietary substances from their natural environments. Lost in pre-history are the earliest experiences that led to “sugaring”.
It was usual for whole families to participate in the labor of sugaring, although in some tribes the women went first to the maple forests to make any necessary repairs to the camp and sugaring utensils. Among the Iroquois and the Ojibwa Indians, the women owned the maple groves, which they inherited through their maternal line. Seensibaukwut is the Ojibwa word for maple sugar, which means, “drawn from the wood.”

Tree sap is essentially water absorbed by the roots and mixed with some of the stored tree sugars. Sap will begin to run upwards from the roots on warm late-winter days followed by freezing nights. These conditions usually begin in late February in southern New England.

Once the sap had been collected, it needed to be boiled down (reduced). The sap was then put into a hollowed out log where fiery hot stones were placed into it. The purpose of the hot stones was to cause the sap to boil. This may have needed to be done several times to obtain the correct consistency.

This was the traditional “Native” way.

Please call for tickets 860-868-0518. Advance tickets $15 Adults/ $10 Children. For more information visit http://www.iaismuseum.org/. for area information www.litchifeldhills.com