Out of yeast? Make your own sourdough starter
Some home bakers have recently found it difficult to purchase yeast. Unlike most baking ingredients, store-bought yeast is one you can get by without by growing your own sourdough starter. All you need is flour, water, a week or two and patience. Notes: It is best to start with stone-ground whole wheat or rye flour […]
Stories of Wil: A good party never ends
Submitted by Christie Taylor Wil is a 13-year-old boy with Down syndrome. He is the little brother, by 20 months, to twin sisters, Katherine and Elizabeth. Wil’s mom, Christie, knew very little about Down syndrome when Wil was diagnosed shortly after his birth. It didn’t take long for Christie to realize how enriching life […]
April 2020 Gardening Advice
submitted by Jennifer Fairfield, Garden Mill and Manchester Community & School Gardens I’ve been seeing lots of articles in the news and on social media lately about gardening and its benefits – some of the headlines I’ve seen include: “For Stay-at-Home Stress Relief, San Antonians Turn to Gardening” “Gardening self-care: Vegetables you can plant right now (indoors […]
Healthy Thoughts for 5 Healthy Towns: Lessons from the Spanish Flu
Submitted by Amy Heydlauff, CEO, 5 Healthy Towns In 1918, the entire world suffered a pandemic now referred to as the Spanish Flu. Over the last few weeks, news outlets frequently compare COVID-19 (Coronavirus) to the Spanish Flu. So, I decided to do a bit of research. The Spanish Flu occurred during World War I. […]
Stories of Wil
submitted by Christie Taylor Wil is a 13-year-old boy with Down syndrome. He is the little brother, by 20 months, to twin sisters Katherine and Elizabeth. Wil’s mom, Christie, knew very little about Down syndrome when Wil was diagnosed shortly after his birth, but it didn’t take long for her to realize how enriching life […]
March 2020 Gardening Advice
submitted by Jennifer Fairfield, Garden Mill and Manchester Community & School Gardens This is the time of year when I generally try to give everyone some hope for spring by telling you how much more sunshine we are going to have by the end of the month. It’s also to help me remember that the […]
February 2020 Gardening Advice
by Jennifer Fairfield, Garden Mill and Manchester Community & School Gardens Are you as tired of the dreary gray days as I am? Don’t get me wrong – I’m not complaining that we haven’t had the bitter cold and huge amounts of snow that January typically brings, but a little sun wouldn’t hurt every now […]
Recipe: Chocolate “burgers”
Chocolate “Burgers” by Samantha and Alan Muntz To make the “burger meat,” soften chocolate of choice in a double boiler, mixing regularly until it is soft but not soupy. Remove from heat and scoop out onto parchment paper. Dust with a mix of corn starch and powdered sugar (50/50 mix), and knead/mix by hand until […]
Healthy Thoughts for 5 Healthy Towns: The science of optimism and health
“Twixt the optimist and pessimist The difference is droll The optimist sees the doughnut But the pessimist sees the hole.” McLandburgh Wilson, 1915 Submitted by Amy Heydlauff, CEO, 5 Healthy Towns It would be logical for those who aren’t optimistic to roll their eyes and move on, leaving the rest of this column to those […]
December 2019 gardening advice
by Jennifer Fairfield, Garden Mill and Manchester Community & School Gardens I feel like the white rabbit in Alice in Wonderland – running around saying, “I’m late, I’m late, for a very important date!” I seem to be late in doing a lot of things at the moment – like getting this month’s newsletter out, […]
