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October 2017
Pr i m e Ti m e October 2017 1944 Warwick Ave. Warwick, RI 02889 401-732-3100 FAX 401-732-3110 Distribution Special Delivery PUBLISHERS Barry W. Fain, Richard G. Fleischer, John Howell MARKETING DIRECTOR Donna Zarrella donnaz@rhodybeat.com Editor / Creative Linda Nadeau lindan@rhodybeat.com WRITERS / CONTRIBUTORS Michael Cerio, Don Fowler, Elaine M. Decker, Meg Chevalier, Larry Grimaldi, Mike Fink, Rhonda Taddie, Michelle LaFrance PRODUCTION Lisa Bourque Yuettner Brian Geary ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVES Donna Zarrella – donnaz@rhodybeat.com Bob Giberti, Lisa Mardenli, Janice Torilli, Suzanne Wendoloski Classified ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVE Sue Howarth – sueh@rhodybeat.com
inthisissue Let’s Eat! 5 The Right Ingredients A second career is born at the RI Community Food Bank
6
8
Gelato Dreaming
Cookie Monster and more in Westerly
Oldies & Goodies
Retaurant reviews with Don Fowler
Pretty in Pumpkin 13 Tasty desserts White Oak Farms 15 Step back in time
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LIFESTYLES What Do You Fink......................................18
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October 2017
let’s eat!
b y michael cerio
The Right Ingredients for an unexpected Most everyone close to Barry Albright, 54, knows a man who was always on the go. Despite being busy with the demands of life—a full-time job and family—Barry could always be found working on a car, tackling a new house project or two, or embarking on a Boy Scout adventure with his son. Then, suddenly, everything changed. It was the fall of 2014 and, seemingly out of the blue, Barry began having trouble remembering things, followed by challenges processing conversations and information. He and his wife, Judy, became increasingly concerned when Barry started to walk differently and would suddenly become fatigued. By that December, the 17-year veteran of Brown University, where he worked in Computer Information Systems, needed to take a leave of absence. “I was managing the computer systems used by faculty and staff, and in student labs,” says Barry. “I’d been there a long time and was one of the go-to people in my department.” After what seemed like an endless stream of tests, Barry and Judy started to get answers. Barry was suffering from Fistulas on the brain—an abnormal connection between an artery and a vein. The condition caused arteries to leak, which needed to be repaired during a surgery that also helped to re-route blood flow. “I like to say they changed some of my plumbing,” he says. “I had veins acting as arteries and that’s a problem.” With a strong prognosis, each day brought Barry closer to his pre-condition self. While he may sometimes take a hair longer to do things he once did more quickly, Barry was looking forward to returning to work. In August 2015, he was back on the job. “I had to think a lot more about what I was doing, but I was happy to be back and in my normal routine again,” says Barry. “But after about six months, I was told I was having too much difficulty performing my job.” Gone from the job he held for nearly two decades, Barry took some time to consider his next step and further focus on his health. Almost a year after leaving Brown, and while searching online for computer-related positions, he stumbled upon the Rhode Island Community Food Bank’s website. “I saw something for the Community Kitchen program and gave it a read,” he recalls. “It sounded really interesting,
October 2017
Career Change
so I decided to give it some thought and sleep on it.” While the Food Bank may best be known for its hunger-relief work and food distribution to a statewide network of 160 member agency pantries that feed 59,000 Rhode Islanders each month, it also offers programs that tackle hunger and employment in unique ways. Over the course of 14-weeks, Community Kitchen provides culinary jobtraining to unemployed adults. Each class is led by two professional chef instructors, Chef Heather Langlois and Chef Ron Lewis, who deliver curriculum between a dedicated classroom and stateof-the-art commercial kitchen; both located within the Food Bank’s Providence home at 200 Niantic Avenue. In addition to the cooking and food service skills students need to land a job in the culinary field, Community Kitchen also features a Career Readiness and Life Skills Manager, Mev Miller, who focuses on the secondary skills that help lead to success after they get their foot in the door. And, of course, if you’re going to learn how to cook…you’ll need to cook…a lot. So, not only do Community Kitchen students cook as part of their training, each class is tasked with preparing 100 meals each day. Those meals, which amount to nearly 7,000 over the course of a single class, are for Kids Cafe—an- Barry Albright helps prepare a special lunch for Food Bank guests. other Food Bank program that serves (Photos Courtesy of RI Community Food Bank ) nutritious evening meals to at-risk children through a partnership with Boys & Girls Clubs and community centers. After a bit of internal back-andforth, Barry decided to apply to Community Kitchen. A couple of weeks later, he was invited for an interview and to participate in a “Kitchen Day” alongside students from the program’s class at the time. During “Kitchen Day,” Chef Heather and Chef Ron gauge a prospective student’s basic skills and how they interact with others. Barry passed with flying colors and was accepted into class 63 of Community Kitchen in February 2017. “I had a little bit of anxiety before my first class; after all, I was basically going back to school to reinvent myself,” says Barry. “But I also think I had some confidence going in, because cooking was already part of who I was.” Proudly wearing their chef’s whites, students from class 63 of the Rhode Island Community Food Bank’s Community Kitchen program pose for a group BARRY – PAGE 16 photo, with Barry Albright in the middle, beneath the “D” in Food Bank.
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b y jessica selby
Gelato Dreaming cookie monster, cake batter, peach and pistachio
Melanie Wolf stands at the front of her classroom speaking to a group of college students in Spanish. She can effortlessly switch to Italian and then back to English and is even fairly fluent in French and German. Her husband, Denis St. Amand, is first mate of a busy fishing boat out of Point Judith. He typically sails for weeks at a time pulling up scallops and squid for all of the seafood loving people back on shore. While both have very demanding positions in their everyday lives, both Wolf and St. Amand said, that their minds were hopelessly consumed by cookie monster, cake batter, pistachio and peach…all different gelato flavors. The couple said that for the past few years they talked endlessly about opening their own gelato shop, but it had never really got past that; until now. Pompelmo gelateria is a small gelato shop located in the heart of Westerly’s city center. It is surrounded by a cornucopia of quaint little businesses like the Tapped Apple, a solely apple made wine shop, Vintage Cigar Lounge and Club, Perks and Corks Coffee Cup, The Twisted Vine, which literally has a sign out front made of twisted vines, and the Eagles Nest, which markets local artists and antiqued work. Pompelmo, which means grapefruit in Italian, opened its doors in June of 2016. And according to Wolf, it wasn’t an easy process. “As a college professor I have summers off; almost 4 months off,” Wolf said. “So I would always ask myself ‘what can I do all summer so that I don’t just spend money?’ | PrimeTime
“Den[is] also usually wraps up his fishing season at the end of June and doesn’t go back until September, so we both have a lot of free time in the summer,” Wolf said. “We would just drive around in the summer and see these lines of people at all these different ice cream shops, even at places where we know the ice cream isn’t even that good, so we talked a lot about there being business in sprinkles and cherries, but at first we just talked and talked about it.” Then, Wolf said, she and St. Amand began to do a little bit more…they visited every local gelato shop that they could find, tasting the product and talking to the people who worked and owned these businesses. It started out as research, she said, but ended up helping the couple establish the root of their own business. “What we learned is that there are no real Italians making your gelato for any of the shops around here,” Wolf said. “It’s all done in a factory in New Haven and all of the small shops buy it from them so it all tastes exactly the same.” At first Wolf said that she and St. Amand discussed jumping on that gelato band wagon, but ultimately chose differently after Wolf took a trip back to Argentina to visit her dad, Ernesto. At the age of 16 Wolf moved to Narragansett in 1996 from Argentina with her mother and brother. Her dad, however, stayed behind and continues to run a flourishing food business there. “My dad owns a restaurant in Argentina so he has lots of friends in the business, but he has this one friend who owns the best gelato place around,” Wolf said. “So when I was there I went to see him and what he told me is that once you figure out how to make gelato, making it is not difficult, so you have the freedom to make whatever kinds of flavors that you’d like, but if you buy it from someone else, you’re stuck with the flavors that they offer you.” So Wolf said that after great discussion she and St. Amand agreed to travel to Italy to learn how to make their own gelato. Wolf said that she and St. Amand took a week long “intense” course on the methodology of gelato making. “It was all day, like 7:30 to 5:30, every day for a week, but it was good,” Wolf said. “We learned a lot about the chemistry of gelato, what makes it icy, the math of making gelato, how to variegate it, basically all the science behind it. And at the end, we earned our certificates to be certified gelato makers. “We came back from there very, very excited,” Wolf said. Just a short time later the couple found the location for Pompelmo in Westerly in September of 2015. After searching for all the equipment that they needed,
October 2017
let’s eat! including their secret weapon, what they call their “Willy Wonka� machine, and revamping the empty shell of a store front that they found, they opened their doors to the public in June 2016. Since that time the couple said business has steadily improved. “We knew going into this that gelato in America is not as widely desired as ice cream,� Wolf said. “All the ice cream shops in Europe serve gelato and that’s all, but its different here and they talked about that with us in the school that we went to in Italy; that we would likely have to educate our customers about what makes it so special over another and how there is no preservatives, it’s all natural ingredients; I mean gelato is basically ice cream in its purest form.� But that is why, Wolf explained, she has incorporated several more Americanized flavors into their selection of more classic gelato flavors. “I was reluctant at first, but I guess I was just being stubborn and stuck in my ways, but Denny knew better,� Wolf said. “And he encouraged me to make some of those more American flavors and they are now our biggest sellers so it was a good thing.� Behind the chilled glass case customers can typically choose from more than 20 freshly made flavors including Cookie Monster, Cake Batter, Dark Chocolate and Mint Chocolate Chip. There are also some less classic and untraditional choices like Mojito, forest berry, green tea and almond joy. All of the gelato is made fresh daily right on premises by both St. Amand and Wolf. Wolf said that she makes a large batch of a gelato base and then makes flavors from that base on a daily basis depending on demand. Making and creating the flavors, Wolf said, is basically done by trial and error. “We just play with it and try to perfect the recipes,� St. Amand said. “We basically live and sleep gelato now!� While the gelato business is taking off successfully, the couple has maintained their full-time positions as both a fisherman and a college professor. Ideally, they said, some day, they hope to solely be gelato makers. In the meantime, Wolf said she has continued to travel back to Italy to broaden her knowledge of gelato making and now makes gelato popsicles and cakes for birthdays, weddings and bridal showers.
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THAT’S ENTERTAINMENT
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restaurant reviews by DON FOWLER
Oldies But Goodies Most restaurant reviewers, me included, concentrate on recently opened restaurants. The problem with that is we neglect to honor those establishments, most of them family owned, that have been a part of the fabric of Rhode Island from the time our parents first took us there. While I enjoy trying new places to dine, especially the small ethnic ones and the eclectic spots opened by Johnson and Wales graduates, my greatest pleasure comes from returning to the “oldies but goodies.” TWIN OAKS Twin Oaks leads the list. The former Cranston speakeasy was my first dine out experience when I moved to Rhode Island in 1965. My first meal was a quahoag pie with a salad with Roquefort for a buck. My daughter celebrated her 12th birthday there and was told she could have anything on the menu she wanted. She ordered toasted cheese. The waiters brought her a cupcake with a sparkler and sang Happy Birthday off key. The Fire Department outlawed sparklers, but the waiters still sing off key. People often repeat Yogi’s quote: “No one goes there anymore; it’s too crowded.” Go there on a Friday or Saturday night and you will wait, but we seniors are smarter than that. We go during the week and eat dinner early. My favorite spot is on the “porch”, looking out at the ducks and geese on Spectacle Pond. Frank, the maitre de, corrected me when I asked to be seated there. “They haven’t called it the porch for years. It’s the Founders Room. You can still get a quahoag pie. It’s more than a buck. You can also get prime rib and lobster, or enjoy Rhode Island’s best hamburger and Italian dishes. Last week I had the best Reuben I have ever eaten. And, of course, there is the baked stuffed shrimp with mashed potatoes in the middle.
Rather you are a regular or a newcomer, the experienced waiters will quickly get to know you and treat you royally. And if Gene is your waiter, no matter what you order, he’ll say “Good Choice”. And he’s always right. GOVERNOR FRANCIS INN I’ve heard the popular Warwick restaurant referred to as the Warwick Senior Center, and as I look around I see many people my age. There’s a reason for that: They serve a large variety of home-cooked dishes at reasonable prices, with a choice of large or smaller portions. I always get the large portion and home take enough for the next day. Service is swift and friendly. Moments after you order, fresh bread and butter appear on your table. Most meals include soup or salad. The salads are very good, but I go there for the soups…usually a choice of four. My favorites are the corn chowder and the seafood chowder. When I came home from a hospital stay and nothing appealed to me, Joyce ran over to Gov. Francis for the best chicken soup in Rhode Island. The menu is huge, but I always go for the daily specials, including meatloaf, mashed potatoes, gravy, and carrots and turnips. (Under $10). WRIGHT’S FARM Our family has made the trip to the popular Burrillville family restaurant every May for over 20 years to celebrate the birthdays of our two granddaughters. There are very few places where you can fit a dozen or so people at one table and feed them all without having to take out a loan. Reservations can be made for ten or more people. We are one of dozens of three-generation families enjoying this great Rhode Island tradition. The family-style, all-you-can-eat meal eliminates the task of deciding on a dozen different meal choices, and once you are seated, there’s no waiting for the meal to arrive.
The Restaurants and the Customers... Rolls and butter and salad are immediately brought to the table, followed by bowls of macaroni and sauce, hot, tasty French fries, and delicious chicken. My son holds the record for most pieces of chicken eaten, while Uncle Bob, when he can make it from Connecticut, gives him a good challenge. We gather in the large waiting area after the meal to exchange birthday cards and stories, and make plans for the following year. ANGELO’S My first job when I came to Rhode Island was working for the Boy Scouts. Our office was in walking distance of Angelo’s on Federal Hill. Living on a very limited income, we often walked over to Angelo’s for a plate of pasta, veal and peppers, or meatballs and French fries at a cost far, far less than the touristy, overpriced establishments. Back in the sixties, luncheon patrons sat together at long tables and were given a ticket, which was punched, telling how much we owed. The tickets and long tables are gone, but the food is still as delicious and authentic, including the classic combination of meatballs and French fries. And for us older folks with smaller appetites, we can still place half orders. My favorite meal at Angelo’s is the lasagna, served with thin pasta and smothered in their famous “gravy”. Joyce loves the aglio and olio. Local CHAINS Rhode Island is blessed with two popular local chain restaurants, Gregg’s and Chelo’s, that are visited frequently by senior citizens. My son-in-law (Yes, he’s a senior citizen) enjoys the turkey dinner at Gregg’s at least once a week, while a friend wouldn’t think of missing his fish and chips every Friday at Chelo’s. Thanksgiving and Christmas used to be the time when mothers and grandmothers baked pumpkin pies and chocolate cakes. Now it’s sons and grandsons making their trip to Greggs for Death by Chocolate.
Eclectic menu with Dominican touch at Parkview Bakery Café There’s a new restaurant at 1228 Broad St. in Providence, directly across the street from the entrance to Roger Williams Park, a few blocks from the Cranston/Providence line. The Parkview Bakery Café serves breakfast, lunch and dinner with an ethnic twist that not only attracts the largely Hispanic neighborhood, but we nonHispanics who love their food. They have a large selection of mananitis (“morning” breakfasts) that incorporate plantains, Cassava, avocado, cilantro, and other delicacies with their hievos (Eggs), with prices ranging from $4.99 to $9.99. Bocados (Bites) include Toston Gourmet ($10.99), a whole fried mashed plantain topped with your choice of meat, or shrimp or crabmeat ($3.99 extra). Chicken wings, Fried Cassava and other appetizers range from $2.99 to $10.99. We came for their specialty sandwiches and were not disappointed. Most are priced at $8.99, including Joyce’s Pesto Chicken and my Tripleta Borinquena, and included French fries. | PrimeTime
Umelt adds pizzazz to grilled cheese I grew up on steady doses of toasted (grilled) cheese. One slice of Kraft American cheese between two slices of Wonder Bread. Today, grilled cheese sandwiches have evolved from basic, inexpensive, comfort food to creative gourmet dining, thanks to innovative grilled cheese food trucks and stores. UMELT recently opened their second location at 267 Thayer St., across from the Avon Cinema, taking over and renovating the former Nice Slice pizza place. They have been at 129 Weybosset St., near the Arcade for the past four years, where it has been popular with those who work down city. We just had to check out the brightly decorated store after a movie at the Avon, where they were doing a brisk sit-in and take-out business. The small space has one long table, stools against counters, and an outside patio with stools. There are 15 sandwiches to choose from, and we plan to try them all. My first choice was # 6, the Cubano, Swiss cheese, ham, BBQ pulled pork, pickles, garlic aioli, and honey mustard on a fresh baquette. ($7.95) It was delicious and filling, with the combination of ingredients making for a tasty treat. Joyce chose #7, the Jalapeno Popper, with cream cheese, pepperjack cheese, bacon, house pickled jalapenos, and roasted red peppers on grilled sourdough bread. ($6.95). She loved it. For only $3.95, you can order the Classic: American cheese on white or wheat bread-perfect for fussy young eaters. If they are more adventurist, you can add tomato, bacon, turkey, ham, chicken, or for the connoisseur kid, avocado, at a small additional cost. We can’t wait for our next movie so I can try the Vermonster: Cheddar cheese, maple glazed bacon, and caramelized onions on marble rye bread. ($5.95). Joyce has her eye on the Big Cheese: American, cheddar, Swiss, Rocotta, Feta, Parmesan and Mozzarella all blended together on sourdough ($6.95). UMELT also offers an interesting salad of baby kale, parmesan chips, and house croutons with a creamy Caesar dressing for $9.95, plus gluten free and vegan sandwiches, and soup and mac’n cheese. For a look at the other sandwiches or to order on line, go to www.SoGoodUMelt.com.
Joyce’s sandwich was served on toasted sourdough bread and included a grilled chicken breast, provolone cheese, pesto spread and spinach. Mine was served on a huge, fresh French roll and was packed with pulled pork, ham, steak, Swiss cheese, cabbage, and tomatoes. Filling and delicious! Ensalada (Salads), Quesadillas, Tacos, fajitas, and a gourmet Dominican style hot dog are also on the large menu The Dominican style hot dog ($5.95) is topped with cabbage, ground beef, cheese, mayonnaise and ketchup. The dinner menu is filled with meat and fish specialties and features daily specials. At our visit there were a number of people sampling the incredible desserts and coffees from their bakery. We were stuffed after our sandwiches, but vowed to return for the sweets, including a Death by Chocolate cake. The plan is to add a gourmet pizza section to the large restaurant. For take out orders, you can call ahead at 461-BAKE. October 2017
ELVES FOR ELDERS Wine Tasting & Silent Auction
Purple Cat Winery 11 Money Hill Road, Chepachet Wednesday, October 18th 5:30 pm to 8:30 pm Appetizers & Dessert Purchase Tickets for $25 at: www.eventbrite.com
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October 2017
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A Health Concepts™ Nursing & Rehabilitative Center in Johnston It is a crisp, mid-autumn day and long rays of sunshine are streaming through the windows of Morgan Health Center, a Health Concepts ™ Nursing and Rehabilitative Facility tucked in a quiet neighborhood of Johnston. The sunlight floods one of the second story “day rooms” of this inviting facility and bathes in warmth a group of captivated residents who have gathered to hear Leo “the Music Man” sing. The sight of residents assembling to listen to Leo play his guitar, or to make crafts or play a rousing game of Bingo is not at all uncommon at Morgan Health Center. This is a place where residents can feel at home and engaged in life, especially when they are no longer able to live safely and independently in their own homes. The comfortable and familiar atmosphere felt here at Morgan has not come about by accident ~ in fact, it is the direct result of an intentional and deliberate effort made by the center’s staff to make this community as close-knit, welcoming, happy and safe as it is. When asked what sets Morgan Healthy Center apart, Administrator Ken DeLisi says without hesitation, “It is all about the center’s dedicated staff who provide stability and consistent care to the residents here.” One might even say that it feels like one big extended family at Morgan. From the multi-disciplinary therapy team in the center’s recently renovated therapy room to the caring nurses and CNA’s who tend to each resident in this 120-bed facility, to the enthusiastic team in the admission’s office, Morgan Health Center is a place where residents feel cared for, protected and valued. Under the watchful and ever-creative eye of Tammy Barone, the Activities Director (and the recent recipient of the “Activities Director of the Year” award), there is always something going on at Morgan Health Center. The activities calendar has something planned for every day, from Wii-Bowling to Coffee Socials to Trivia games to daily sing-a-longs to field trips out in the community; Tammy keeps the residents busy and involved. Her goal is to organize activities which promote important socialization opportunities and which provide predictable routines which the residents can depend on. Every aspect of the residents’ lives is taken into account, from their physical health to their social and emotional well-being. The rehabilitation services at Morgan Health Center are also comprehensive and exceptional. An experienced team of Occupational, Physical and Speech therapists offer a full range of skilled services for those seeking care following falls and surgeries, or for those with chronic respiratory challenges such as CPOD. Their singular goal is to help their patients return to the highest practical level of independence possible. If you or an elderly parent is seeking skilled nursing care, including memory-care in a secure setting, or short-term rehabilitative services, visit Morgan Health Center, located on 80 Morgan Avenue in Johnston. To learn more and to tour the facility, contact Director of Admissions Erin Campbell at 401-944-7800. Check them out at www.healthconceptsltd.com.
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80 Morgan Avenue Johnston, RI Residents and staff at Morgan Health Center joined the festivities for last year’s Mardi Gras ~ just one of the many ways this close-knit skilled nursing 10 | PrimeTime and rehab community in Johnston loves to celebrate life.
401-944-7800
www.HealthConceptsLtd.com October 2017
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October 2017
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October 2017
let’s
eat!
Family Features
How do you create special desserts that look as great as they taste? By giving your favorite recipes a simple twist which is as pleasing to the eye as it is to the palette. Start with versatile and easy to use canned pumpkin, with its mellow, sweet flavor which pairs especially well with citrus, spices, chocolates and nuts. Then, add your own simple touch to dress-up your dessert. Simply drizzle a ribbon of melted chocolate over a pumpkin tart. Or spoon a sweet, cinnamon-scented pumpkin mousse into puff pastry shells. Decorate a pumpkin layer cake with fragrant curls of fresh orange rind. Finish off a pumpkin pie with orange-flavored cream topping. These simple additions make your dessert even more perfect for the holiday table. For an easy but attractive gift giving idea, decorate a jar of pumpkin butter with a festive piece of fabric and ribbon to present with a loaf of pumpkin bread to your favorite hostess or teacher. For even more holiday recipe ideas — including moist and delicious pumpkin bread, perfect for gift-giving, visit VeryBestBaking.com/Libbys.
ousse in ells M n i k p Pum Pastry Sh n o m a n n Ci
s astry shell rvings zen puff p ar* o fr ) Makes 12 se h c a e g ces es (10 oun innamon su 2 packag ons melted butter C umpkin Pie Mix P lling mix o 3 tablesp unces) Libby’s Easy t pudding and pie fi o n 1 can (30 ounces) vanilla insta 1 box (3.4 s ground cinnamon awed n , th 2 teaspoo n whipped topping e and z o fr p u 1c with butter ns. . s p °F 0 to 0 4 sh to ru o B ti oven ing sheet. ckage direc PREHEAT ells on bak ake according to pa rnish. Remove sh ry st a p a B PLACE on-sugar. tops and reserve for g ith cinnam sprinkle w temperature. Remove mixer . m on in large top m a Cool to roo side shells and discard n in c d n in ding mix a in whipped soft pastry ie mix, pud minutes. Gently fold h pastry shell. p in k p m u into eac BEAT p d for 2 edium spee kin mousse bowl on m about 1/3 cup pump tely. n dia ar and ping. Spoo ry tops. Serve imme ulated sug n ra g n o st o a p sp Top with ine 1 table gar: Comb in small bowl. su n o m a n *For cin innamon n ground c 1/2 teaspoo
One-Step Pumpkin Butter
Makes about 40, 1-tablespoon servings 1 can (30 ounces) Libby’s Easy Pumpkin Pie Mix EMPTY pie mix into medium, heavy-duty saucepan. Bring to boil; reduce heat to low. Cook, stirring frequently, 40 to 45 minutes. Let cool at room temperature 1 hour. Store in airtight container(s) in refrigerator up to 2 months. Makes about 2 1/2 cups. Serve with pumpkin bread, buttermilk biscuits, corn muffins, gingersnaps or hot cereal. NOTE: For a great gift idea, after adding pumpkin butter to jar, seal with lid and decorate with fabric and ribbon.
October 2017
Zesty Cream Topped Orange Pumpkin Pie
Makes 8 servings 1 unbaked 9-inch (4-cup volume) deep-dish pie shell 1 can (30 ounces) Libby’s Easy Pumpkin Pie Mix 2/3 cup (5-fluid-ounce can) Nestlé Carnation Evaporated Milk 2 large eggs, lightly beaten 2 1/2 teaspoons grated orange peel, divided 1 1/4 cups sour cream 2 tablespoons granulated sugar PREHEAT oven to 425°F. Place pie shell in pan on baking sheet. COMBINE pumpkin pie mix, evaporated milk, eggs and 1 teaspoon orange peel in large bowl. Pour into pie shell. BAKE 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F. Bake 50 to 60 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack 10 minutes. COMBINE sour cream, sugar and remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons orange peel in medium bowl. Carefully spread over top of pie. BAKE an additional 8 minutes. Cool on wire rack 1 hour. Refrigerate 2 hours.
Pumpkin Cheesecake Tarts Makes 12 tarts 2/3 cup (about 15) crushed gingersnap cookies 2 tablespoons butter, melted 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened 1 cup Libby’s 100% Pure Pumpkin 1/2 cup granulated sugar 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 large eggs 2 tablespoons sour cream (optional) 2 tablespoons Nestlé Toll House Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels (optional)
PREHEAT oven to 325°F. Line 12-muffin pan with paper cups. COMBINE cookie crumbs and butter in small bowl. Press scant tablespoon onto bottom of each paper cup. Bake 5 minutes. BEAT cream cheese, pumpkin, sugar, pumpkin pie spice and vanilla extract in small mixer bowl until blended. Add eggs; beat well. Pour into muffin cups, filling 3/4 full. BAKE 25 to 30 minutes. Cool in pan on wire rack. Remove tarts from pan; refrigerate. Gar nish with sour cream. If desired, place morsels in small, heavy-duty plastic bag. Microwave on HIGH (100%) power for 20 seconds; knead. Microwave at additional 10-second intervals, kneading until smooth. Cut tiny corner from bag; squeeze to drizzle over tarts.
PrimeTime | 13
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b y meg che v alier
Make a Difference, Become a Community Tax Volunteer The IRS is looking for community volunteers to provide free tax preparation and help to their neighbors and other area residents in 2018. The IRS sponsors the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) and the Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) programs. These two programs offer free tax help across the country for people with low-to-moderate incomes, senior citizens, persons with disabilities, those with limited English proficiency and Native Americans. This year, VITA and TCE volunteers prepared more than 3.5 million federal tax returns for all types of taxpayers at no cost. Tax volunteers can and do make a difference in their community. Here are five reasons to become a VITA or TCE tax volunteer: 1. Flexible hours. Volunteers generally serve an average of three to five hours per week. The programs are usually open from mid-to-late-January through the tax filing deadline in April with a few sites open all year. 2. VITA and TCE sites are often nearby. Over 11,000 sites were set up in neighborhoods all over the country for this past filing season. These free tax help sites are located in nearby community centers, libraries, schools, shopping malls and other similar areas with flexible hours. 3. No prior experience needed. Volunteers receive specialized training and often serve in a variety of roles.
VITA and TCE programs want volunteers of all backgrounds and ages as well as individuals who are fluent in another language. 4. Free tax law training and materials. Tax volunteers receive training materials at no charge. The tax law training covers preparing basic federal tax returns electronically and learning about tax deductions, credits and allowable expenses that benefit eligible taxpayers. 5. Continuing education credits for tax pros. Enrolled Agents and non-credentialed tax return preparers can earn continuing education credits when volunteering as a VITA/TCE instructor, quality reviewer or tax return preparer. Taxpayers who volunteer are joining a program that has helped millions of people file tax returns at no cost for more than 40 years. Taxpayers who volunteer make a difference. This is people helping people and it’s that simple. To become a VITA or TCE tax volunteer, visit IRS.gov and type “tax volunteer” in the search box or contact Meg Chevalier at Miguelina.y.chevalier@irs. gov. Avoid scams. The IRS does not initiate contact using social media or text message. The first contact normally comes in the mail. Those wondering if they owe money to the IRS can view their tax account information on IRS. gov to find out.
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Cranston resident Alice Laurenson fulfilled a lifelong dream by riding in a three-wheeled motorcycle driven by her friend, Idowu Kuti on her 100th birthday. Alice was honored at a special reception at Edgewood Church, where she shared her motorcycle experience with friends and family. (photo by Margaret Kuti) October 2017
b y L arry G rimaldi
lifestyles
White Oak Farms Cultivates Fresh Produce and a Reverence For History grave yard, he paused to Walking past the zucchini patch read the weathered, fading to the apple and peach orchards at epitaphs on tombstones of White Oak Farm, owner Roger PhilStephen Colwell, his wife lips, pauses to show you the ancient Martha, original property New England stone wall he has meowners, their daughter Lilticulously restored. The wall surlis, and son Stephen, Jr. It’s rounds grave stones of the original important to Roger that land owners dating back to 1775. he honors the pioneers of Roger realizes the past of his 79-acre White Oak Farm, and I’m farm in North Scituate is prologue sure that somewhere the to the next generation of the Phillips Cowells are smiling in apfamily legacy. proval. White Oak Farm dates back to White Oak Farm is 1909. Henry and Laura Phillips, located at 74 White Oak Roger’s grandparents, bought the Lane in North Scituate. property in 1937 to run as a dairy For information, call 486farm. When their son, Newell and 9085 or 934-1576, or go his wife, Myra took over the farm to www.farmfreshri.org. in 1939 they turned it into an apple farm which eventually grew to over The Rest of the Stories 3,200 trees. (Thank you Paul Harvey): Newell worked the orchard with Sometimes, earlier his wife and sons Roger, Billy, and PrimeTime columns reKenny. They also cut and sold 100 to quire a post script to bring 200 cords of wood each year. Newell worked White Oaks while holding The Phillips family at the North Scituate Farmers readers full circle on stoa full time job as a truck driver for Market. Pictured left or right is Lily, Shelby, Pat, ries already told. Here are three post scripts. the old Outlet Department store in Jackson, and Roger. RHODE ISLAND’S Providence. In the 1980s, in addition MUSIC MAN, June try ride, stop by White Oak farm, and to marketing the apples, the family opened the farm to the pick-your-own enjoy the taste of fresh fruits and vegeta- 2016: Ed DiMeglio, owner of DiMegcrowd for a few years. Newell died in bles. On my visit to the farm in August, lio’s Music Store, passed away in DeI bit into one of the peaches. The peach cember at age 90. In retrospect, it was 2002 and Myra passed away in 2016. By 2004, White Oaks began a new looked as round and perfect as an ad in a pleasure to tell the story of Rhode Ischapter as a vegetable farm run by Rog- a grocery store flyer; but the sweetness lander’s modern day Renaissance Man. er and his wife Pat. The transformation and flavor of the fruit far exceeded any The store closed in August; but the rich was necessary because 25 to 30 year-old photo! White Oak Farm crops make musical legacy of five generations of the apple trees that had sustained the farm their way to your table through whole- DiMeglio family lives on at the Musifor so many years were producing less salers, Dave’s Market, or via Farmers’ cians Corner and Learning Center in fruit. Today, Roger and his wife Pat are Markets in the center of Scituate, God- North Providence. HURRICANE CAROL REVISITjoined by their son Paul and his wife dard Memorial State Park in Warwick, ED, August 2016: My sister Maryanne Jessica, in working White Oak. Grand- and Fisherman’s Memorial Park in Narchildren Shelby, Jackson, and Lily also ragansett. Contact White Oak for dates read the Hurricane Carol column and pointed out an important detail that I pitch in. In total, five generations of the and times. Working a family has many rewards, had missed. I had forgotten that an InPhillips family have tended to the crops but there are also challenges. A success- fant of Prague statue was the only thing on the farm. Roger and Pat are both retired and ful growing year depends on notorinow manage the farm full-time. Roger ously fickle New England weather, crop was an auto shop supervisor for the viruses and diseases, expenditures for Adult Correctional Institution and Pat supplies and maintaining farm equipworked at Bank of America. Pat moved ment, buying starter plants for certain to rural North Scituate when she mar- crops, warding off pests and foraging ried Roger in 1972. Although she grew deer, frequently scaring off hungry bird up in a house on busy, raucous Smith flocks, and dealing with possums, racStreet in Providence, she has learned to coons, and other country wildlife. I wondered why Roger still puts in appreciate quiet country living. White Oak Farm grows corn, cu- the long hours and tackles the hard cumbers, eggplant (6 different kinds in- work that farming demands. His ancluding a Sicilian variety-who knew?), swers were simple and direct. “I love summer squash, zucchini, green beans, waking up early in the morning, walk gourds and pumpkins, tomatoes, and out into the fresh air, and soak in the peppers. In addition to seven different peace and quiet. I enjoy working with kinds of apples, the Phillips crew grows my family and I’m happy doing something I like.” blueberries, peaches, and strawberries. When Roger began cleaning the old You should treat yourself to a counOctober 2017
left behind after the hurricane swept any trace of our summer shack out to sea. For many years, my mother would light a candle in the statue’s small candle holder to pray for special intentions. IT WAS MUCH HARDER THAN I THOUGHT, May 2017: Despite the challenging (but enjoyable) task of publishing our first book, the Wandering Across America account of our Great American Road trip, Stillwater River Publications of Glocester has released our second book, “Cooking with Mammie.” This anthology of family recipes, written with our grandchildren, connects the past to the present, using personal observations that add color and texture to the book. Check it out at stillwaterpress.com or amazon.com. Larry Grimaldi is a retired freelance writer living in North Providence. Comments can be e-mailed to lvgrimaldi49@gmail.com.
Larry’s new book Cooking with Mammie will be released in April 2018
PrimeTime | 15
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BARRY – continued FROM PAGE 5 Once class got underway, Barry and his fellow students immediately found themselves knee-deep in curriculum, learning measuring conversions, cooking techniques, knife skills and more, and putting them into practice. The group also began preparing and studying for ServSafe—a food and beverage safety training and certificate program administered by the National Restaurant Association. And although students’ ages covered a wide range, including some in their 20s, Barry said his class gelled quickly as a mix of people looking to change the course of their career or begin a new one to better provide for their family. After a month into the 14-week program, students began their on-the-job training internships one day each week, with Barry landing a position at Tockwotton on the Waterfront, a senior living community in East Providence. “I really enjoyed my internship and the experience I gained,” he says. “It one-hundred percent gave me a sense for what it’s like to work in a kitchen.” Embracing his new opportunities, and eager to continue honing his skills, Barry was one of a handful of students who helped represent Community Kitchen at the Food Bank’s “Truck Stop: A Festival of Street Eats” fundraiser on April 28. The program was one of twenty-one food vendors giving out samples of their delectable wares, serving a special shrimp and kale salad with Barry having smoked the dish’s salmon. A month later, Barry donned a cap and gown; the oldest of 12 students to graduate class 63. “I definitely felt a sense of relief for making it through the program, but there was also some sadness—you work so closely with a great group of people and then realize it’s come to an end,” he says. “I went into Community Kitchen with my eyes wide open and learned so much. But most of all, you can tell that Chef Heather and Chef Ron really care about their students.” “Chef Barry was a real team player during his 14 weeks in the Community Kitchen,” says Chef Heather Langlois, Director of Community Kitchen. “And he continues to give back, volunteering faithfully every week to work with the current class, teaching students that more hands means less work.”
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Almost before the ink could dry on his Community Kitchen certificate of completion, Barry had an interview at Atria Lincoln Place, a popular retirement community in northern Rhode Island, and was hired as a chef. He is currently working three days a week and picking up additional shifts when there’s a need. Energized and happy, Barry can’t see himself working anywhere but a kitchen for the rest of his career. And, he has advice for anyone like him who may need a change. “You just have to go and do it; don’t be afraid of failing and don’t worry about your age—what they say really is true, when one door closes, another opens,” he says with a smile. “I’m really glad I did this. Cooking is something that allows for instant feedback; when people like something, they let you know. And when they don’t like something, they let you know that, too.” When asked about the one thing he wished everyone could know about Community Kitchen, Barry raised the stakes and said there were two points everyone needed to know. The first was how Community Kitchen truly provides a well-rounded experience that not only addresses culinary skills, but also life skills such as preparing a resume, addressing conflicts that at work, and the importance of proper follow-up after an interview. The second captured the commitment the Food Bank and Community Kitchen have to nutrition. “Some people may think the program only involves canned foods because it is associated with a food bank, but that couldn’t be further from the truth,” he explains. “We were always working with fresh food and fresh produce; real food that was both healthy and delicious.” For more information about Community Kitchen, including how to apply for the program’s next class, visit www. rifoodbank.org/CommunityKitchen, or call (401) 942-6325. * Barry continues to be involved in CK; he is volunteering once a week to be supportive of new students and help where he can, like with the occasional demo: How to break down a chicken (give back)
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retirement sparks
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b y elaine m . dec k er
Hers: I told you I was sick. His: Every day for forty-five years.
His and Hers Tombstones On a recent drive back from a restaurant where the meal had been a disappointment, my husband apologized to me even though the food choice had been mine. I told him: “You’re always so willing to take the blame.” He said: “If I weren’t planning on being cremated, that’s what I would want on my tombstone.” I laughed. “Yes, yours should read: I was willing to take the blame. And then mine would read: Because he was always wrong.” That kept us laughing most of the way home. This gave me the idea that husbands and wives (or other partners) should plan their paired epitaphs well in advance. Halloween is this month, and a lot of you will decorate your lawns for the holiday. You might consider putting some faux tombstones out there to test the best messages for you and your significant other. Here are some combinations that I’ve come up with.
Hers: Going out in style. His: You’re wearing that for eternity? His: The grass is greener on your side. Hers: And your point is? Hers: He always made me laugh. His: That wasn’t the plan. Hers: The fun is over. His: It never started.
Hers: But I wasn’t finished… His: She was never finished. Hers: Does this headstone make me look fat? His: Not if you stay below ground. (Think about that one awhile.) His: Snored like a woodcutter. Hers: Buried with earplugs, just in case. His: Her cooking killed me. Hers: Technically, it was my skillet. (He should have ducked.) Hers: Are you listening? His: Were you talking to me? His: My work here is done. Hers: His work never started. Mine never ended. His: Gone too soon. Hers: It depends on whom you ask.
issues
His: I’m sorry. Hers: He should be. Hers: I’ve been waiting years for him to get here. His: I “misplaced” the directions she left me. Hers: You can take the girl out of Rhode Island, but… His: Just put her back when you’re done. (Think about that for a minute…) Hers: Beloved wife and mother. His: If you say so, dear. Hers: You couldn’t have gotten us a better view? His: Not if I wanted to be sure you’d be out of earshot. I could keep going, but I’ll let you have some fun with this on your own.
Copyright 2017 Business Theatre Unlimited Elaine M. Decker’s books include Retirement Sparks, Retirement Sparks Again, Retirement Sparks Redux and CANCER: A Coping Guide. Her essays appear in the anthologies: 80 Things To Do When You Turn 80 and 70 Things To Do When You Turn 70. All are available on Amazon.com. She’s also been featured in ReaderSupportedNews.org. Contact her at: emdecker@ix.netcom.com.
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wHAT DO YOU FINK?
LIFESTYLES
by MIKE FINK
Searching in Stockholm October is a month for ghosts, spirits, memories. I’ll come back to a few festivals, films, and fantasies that take place in the month of the falling leaves. I have been longing to fly off to...Sweden!...to visit the Stockholm cemeteries in quest of buried treasures that I know I cannot find, because what I seek is, in fact, not there, or... something is there, but what? Okay, I’ll come clean, or clear, about this. I want to see the stone that bears the name, written in the handwriting calligraphy of the secretive star, “Greta Garbo.” You can locate it on your laptop. Just “google” and there it is, neat and straightforward. But there is another, more difficult, homage to the Great Beauty who starred in a Hollywood tribute to the Queen (King?) of Sweden, “Christina.” An Icelandic sculptor translated a close-up studio portrait produced at MGM in the 1930s into a quite large monument, but hidden in a secret meadow as a recognition of her love of privacy, that all-but-vanished virtue so valued in that Scandinavian culture. It’s the theme of her entire career, that poetically paradoxical mix of exposure to the camera and withdrawal from the public! Well, even to get the right to print a snapshot of the memorials to Garbo is not at all easy. I desire to travel to the site, but strangely, not only for the Sphinx of Cinema. Also for the other magnificent personality from Stockholm in Sweden: Raoul Wallenberg. Yes, there are several graveyard symbolic art designs devoted to interpretations of his life, but where are his bones, his ashes, his headstone? Nowhere! Wallenberg is famous all over the world (but controversally) for having visited wartime Budapest in a personal mission. You may already know the story. He was studying architecture here in the U.S.A. but decided to visit one of the many Swedish beauties in Hollywood...Viveka Lindfors. Although he was a wealthy and “well-born” visitor, scholar and artist, he was hitching, thumbing, just wandering on the roads. He was robbed and abandoned, and so he returned to his fine family, aboard an ocean liner. He watched the movie “Pimpernel Smith” with Leslie Howard and said to his mother, “Pack my trunk with my fanciest outfits, and line the luggage with champagnes and luxuries, I’m off to do what the star of that shipboard film did, maybe what I was born for after all.” In Hungary, he wined and dined the Gestapo officers (Eichmann included) and directly told them to stop the cattle car deportations. Since he was an aristocratic guest from a neutral “Aryan” nation, they dared not harm him openly. He is credited with saving perhaps as many as 100,000 lives...of Jews destined for death without his slips of signed papers as dubious documents. He was actually arrested and impris- with no roof, only a few branches to hold oned, ironically, by the Soviets and died the walls upright. It is supposed to be anonymously in a gulag prison: he sim- flimsy, and open to the stars and moon, ply vanished and returns as a stone trib- even the rain and chilly mist. You invite ute in many lands to the moral heroism not only your guests and neighbors...but of which he became the metaphorical also: your forebears, real, remembered, model. I would like very much to pay or imagined. You can ask Abraham, homage to the interpretations in design Isaac and Jacob...or Garbo, Stiller, and that grace the towns and cemeteries of Wallenberg, to share your supper with Stockholm! your children and grandchildren. Is it There is yet another October “spirit” my all-time favorite religious ritual? I I would very much like to see and touch like them all and make them mean what and perhaps snap a shot of with my I want them to. I am writing this as outdated camera (a gift from my eldest a sort of travelogue with a special focus INDEPENDENT LIVING • ASSISTED LIVING • MEMORY CARE daughter.) And that is, Mauritz Stiller, on Sweden...for my own perhaps pretenA Place for Mom has helped over one million families find senior the Russian innovative immigrant movie tious purpose. I had a colleague who pioneer who “created” Garbo. He is asked us fellow faculty to contribute our living solutions that meet their unique needs. Our Advisors are buried in the Jewish cemetery and, as own interpretations of a Swedish virtue trusted, local experts who can help you understand your options. you also may know, the Hebrew custom he called, in English “recalcitrance,” is to avoid the preservation of a human which meant, stubborn resistance, with a Here’s what’s included with our free service: body. No floor for the coffin, no nails, flavoring of the absurd. I admire the fact only wooden pegs, and certainly, above that Wallenberg had no selfish or even all, no preservative or formaldehyde. For profound motivation for his magnificent the soul to be free, its prison must first sacrifice and achievement. Likewise, dissolve altogether. Garbo had no conventional happiness in There is nothing to see in the “House the usual sense of success, only her poetic A dedicated Hand-picked list Full details of Life,” a euphemistic phrase and title pride and the elegance of her close-ups, local Advisor of communities and pricing of the garden park for those who have resistant to the obvious. Her guardian passed away. So what I seek is not there, guide, Stiller, did not succeed in Holout of the Sundlun airport to the Bergen lywood, except through her career. We airport and thence by train into Swe- have no heirs to these disembodied souls, den. Maybe I can find my phantoms nor the usual tombs one can bow to. Help scheduling tours Move in support on the silver screen or upon my “ordi- Which makes them superb and splennateur,” the French word for the magic did symbols of October itself, in which carpet, the “apple” or the google ghosts the colorful flowers and leaves turn dark that summon up images and words like like the light of the day, but leave bestones in Stonehenge. hind the seeds beyond the winter. Those October also holds an ancient Biblical who have gone from us come back to There’s no cost to you! holy day with a wondrous architectural us, transformed by the enhancement of fetish. The “succah” may be a preview memory and the magic of artistry. CALL (855) 430-9494 of Halloween or the Day of the Dead ! We’re paid by our partner communities in Mexico..or? It is a hut you put up
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