Rural Intelligence (Page 667)

Style

The Case for a (Sometimes) Messy and Mismatched House

In her latest book, A Perfectly Kept House is the Sign of Misspent Life, Mary Randolph Carter, long-time creative director for Ralph Lauren, makes an amusing and persuasive case for living creatively with collections, clutter, work, kids, pets, art, etc. She also encourages her readers to stop worrying about

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Arts

Nicki Wilson Sees Beyond the Berkshires

The Maids at Pittsfield's New Stage through October 31 Ken De Loreto & Daniel Osman in "The Maids." Photo by Ritch Holben. "Pittsfield doesn't suffer from Berkshire elitism," says Nicki Wilson, who opened the New Stage Performing Arts Center above Richard Stanley&

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Style

Book News: "The Gardens of the Hudson Valley"

In his foreword to the newly published Gardens of the Hudson Valley (The Moncaelli Press; $50), Gregory Long, the president of the New York Botanical Garden, reminds us that we should not take our geography for granted and that "the Hudson takes its place among the world's

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Arts

The Frankies' Spuntino Kitchen Companion

November 6 @ 3 – 6 p.m. Let's start by parsing the title. The Frankies are two chefs, both named Frank, who knew each other as kids, then went on to do a lot of swell chef-ing here and abroad before deciding (long before it became a trend—

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Food

Antique Apples: Montgomery Place Orchards’ Pie Contest

By Kathryn Matthews Double crust or crumb top? A lard, shortening or butter crust? Wolf River, Ananas Reinette, or Hudson’s Golden Gem? These were among the tough decisions that contestants in Montgomery Place Orchards’ sixth annual apple pie contest had to make. Not to mention: a panel of pie

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Parties

An Artful Night in Millerton

Everywhere you turned in Millerton on Saturday night, which hosted a town-wide "Fall for Art" party, you saw artists—from the sidewalk outside the Oakhurst Diner to the Gallery at the Moviehouse, which opened a three-month exhibition, "The Big Country," curated by the organizers

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Food

Vickie Lieb’s 2010 Blue Ribbon Double-Crust Apple Pie

by Kathryn Matthews Lieb says her prize-winning double crust apple pie is based on an old Pillsbury recipe that she has modified through the years. For the crust: 3 cups flour 2 sticks butter 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup water Combine flour, butter and salt until pea-

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Community

It Was a Dark and Stormy Night....

What do kids, dogs, drag queens, and ghosts have in common? They're all batty for Halloween. But then, who isn't? What follows is a (no doubt incomplete) compendium of Halloween revels for adults. For child-friendly Halloween activities, please see our Kids Calendar. The Mount, the

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Arts

What's So Funny? Humor in Art Examined

Now - November 21 Real and Imagined by Phillip Knoll Any artist who attempts to express humor through his work runs the risk of being dismissed as a cartoonist or of having produced a visual one-liner. At the Spencertown Academy, an exhibit, “What’s So Funny?”, curated by the artist

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Food

Pie Wisdom from a Pro

By Kathryn Matthews If you want to dazzle family with a home-baked pie—apple, or otherwise—but, you’re a neophyte baker, or, you think that your best pie could be (much) better, take heart. Baker extraordinaire and owner of Tivoli Bread & Baking Company Mikel Gonnella, who also

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Food

AgriCulture: From Nomad's Caravans to Luxury Condos

Rural Intelligence bloggers Peter Davies and Mark Scherzer are the owners of Turkana Farms in Germantown, NY. This week Peter writes: My first real experience of nomads was in 1962 in central Turkey near Konya on the old Silk Road. An intrepid group of us had just piled back into

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Food

Smashed Potatoes & Celery Root with Chive Butter

Knobby celery root doesn’t look like a vegetable to cuddle up to, which is why most Americans don’t cook it (and why CSA members often leave it behind when they make their pickups.) But scratch its skin for an earthy aroma that’s celery-like with a distinctive

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