Editor

Food

Fit for A Dinner Party: Kasha with Preserved Lemons

I know some people who are perfectly confident in most areas of their lives—and perfectly capable in the kitchen—who become paralyzed at the idea of throwing a dinner party. The thing I've learned is that dinner parties aren't necessarily any more work than a

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Community

Is There A Humane Way to Kill Mice?

I wasn't feeling particularly pleased with myself the other day when I found dead mice in both my garage and in the cupboard over my refrigerator. I was feeling guilty. I have heard people talk about humanely getting rid of mice, but I wondered if that is just

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Arts

Williams College Queer Film Festival

"There are a ton of great queer films out there," says Justin Adkins, Queer Life Coordinator at Williams College. "And very few make it to Northern Berkshire County." That shortcoming is about to be remedied, and anyone whose response to this news is, "How nice

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Arts

Seeing Through Glass: 1 Composer, 2 Events

Philip Glass is one of the most inventive, admired, and controversial composers of our time. On Thursday, January 15, MASS MoCA will screen Glass: A Portrait of Philip in Twelve Parts, a documentary by the filmmaker Scott Hicks that explores the contemporary composer's creative process and offers candid

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Parties

Storefront Artists Greet the New Year

Between its December and January openings, the Storefront Artist Project in Pittsfield had a post-holiday open house on Sunday, January 4, for its board and most loyal supporters, who came to see the work of resident artists Michael St. John and Lisa Desrosiers. The next opening is on January

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Food

A Jolt of Green: Bravo for Broccoli Rabe

I'm surprised—happily so—whenever I find broccoli rabe, also know as rapini, on a menu. Whether in a restaurant or a friend's home, I always feel like my host and I have a shared secret, because I can't believe how few people appreciate—

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Arts

At Shakespeare & Company, Call on Lizzie Aspenlieder for A Good Time

A one-woman show is challenging on many levels for an actress, but Elizabeth Aspenlieder has the added burden of performing in Shakespeare & Company's first full-fledged winter season in its new Elayne P, Bernstein Theater in Lenox. "I'm the guinea pig," Aspenlieder

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Community

Powerless: Ten Lessons Brought Home by the Ice Storm

For many of us, the morning of Friday, December 11, dawned dark indeed. After a night of freezing rain, every twig and branch on every tree was heavy with ice, which was both eerily beautiful and spectacularly destructive. Top-heavy trees fell on power lines, leaving thousands of households in

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Style

Fully Booked: Two New Volumes on Gardening in Zone 5

When it's too cold to garden, gardeners dream. Sitting by the fire, they hatch schemes for the growing season ahead—new beds they hope to add, unsatisfactory ones they plan to remedy or abolish. And just as the fire requires constant refueling, so does the gardener's

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Food

Best 2009 Calendar: The Hunky Farmers of Columbia County

A posh New York City caterer, Great Performances, is selling a calendar the profits from which benefit two worthy causes neither of which is headquartered in our region. And we care about this because…? Well, for starters, the photographs that illustrate Down to Earth 2009 are of the farms and

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Community

Community: How To Think About How To Give

The mailbox is full not only with greeting cards but solicitation letters from worthy charities of every imaginable sort. Giving to the local volunteer fire department and library is a no-brainer, but how do you effectively make donations that are meaningful to you and your neighbors as well as

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Arts

The First Breeze of Summer

The main stages may be dark, but this is a busy time for our regional theaters which must announce their summer seasons so they can start casting their plays and musicals. The Berkshire Theatre Festival in Stockbridge will start its 2009 summer season in late spring and it will continue

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