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News from the local food scene

By Matt Ingersoll

food@hippopress.com

• May the best chili win: Join Goffstown Ace Hardware (5 Depot St.) for its annual Great Bowls of Fire Chili Cook-off, set for Saturday, Oct. 2. Chili entrants are welcome to bring a slow cooker of their best batches by 10:30 a.m., with sampling beginning at 11 a.m. Prizes will be awarded to the first, second and third place winners for each chili at 1 p.m., as voted by all attendees. Pat Barss of Goffstown Ace Hardware told the Hippo that all chili varieties have been known to be featured at the cook-off, from beef and venison to white chilis and vegan chilis. No cost is required to enter your chili or attend as a taster. Find the event on Goffstown Ace Hardware’s Facebook page @ goffstownhardware for more details. • A taste of Germany: Head to Mile Away Restaurant (52 Federal Hill Road, Milford) for an Oktoberfest celebration on Sunday, Oct. 3, from 12:30 to 5:30 p.m. The event will feature dinner plates available for $17 per person, with options like sauerbraten (German pot roast), schweineschnitzel (pork schnitzel), hunter’s stew or spicy beef and sausage chili with cheddar cheese, along with two sides (German potato salad, sea salt chips and sauerkraut, braised red cabbage, pickled beets or applesauce). There will also be a dessert and pretzel station with additional a la carte items, like pumpkin pie, Black Forest cake, flourless chocolate cake and more. Live music will be featured from the TubaFrau Hofbräu Band, a Waltham, Mass.-based German oompah band. There is a $20 parking fee per car. The event is cash only and first-come, first-served. Visit mileawayrestaurantnh. com. For more details on Oktoberfest celebrations and a full list of upcoming events happening in New Hampshire, check out our cover story in the Sept. 23 issue of the Hippo, which begins on page 18. • Flavors of fall: Tuscan Market (9 Via Toscana, Salem) will hold its Toscana Fest, an annual Italian street festival and fundraiser, on Sunday, Oct. 3, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. In addition to multiple flavors of gelato and other options from local food vendors, this year’s Toscana Fest will feature a variety of family-friendly activities like face painting, pumpkin painting, carnival games and a bounce house, plus crafts, live music and more. Admission is free and foods are priced per item. Proceeds from the event benefit Lazarus House Ministries in Lawrence, Mass., a nonprofit that helps people in need by providing transitional housing and educational and work preparation programs. Visit tuscanbrands.com. 20

Courtesy photo. Courtesy photo.

By Matt Ingersoll

mingersoll@hippopress.com

For more than a decade the Salvation Army of Nashua has partnered with Sullivan Farm to present AppleFest, an annual outdoor event marking peak apple-picking season with local foods, demonstrations, family-friendly activities, games and more. After a year off, the two-day festival will return to the farm on Saturday, Oct. 2, and Sunday, Oct. 3, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day.

“We are so excited to be back doing it again this year. We all really missed it,” Salvation Army of Nashua administrative assistant and AppleFest coordinator Amie Groff said. “It’s a great fall family event, and it’s something that the kids look forward to all year long.”

A rainy summer season has helped produce a bountiful crop this year for apple orchards across the Granite State, including at Sullivan Farm, which is also open for pick-your-own daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Kathy Williams, who owns the farm with her husband, Bob, said there are several apple varieties grown on the orchard, from McIntosh and Cortland to Macoun, Mutsu and Red Delicious. This year Lull Farm has also opened a small satellite farm stand at Sullivan Farm, selling its fresh fruits, vegetables, mums, cider, eggs and more.

“There’s a good crop,” Williams said. “All of the rain was definitely helpful in sizing up the apples. … They are not overly big, but bigger than they have been in some previous years.”

AppleFest will have two ticket booths set up at its entrance, Groff said — tickets are either $1 apiece or 25 for $20 and are used to purchase foods or gain access to featured activities.

Fresh apple crisp and apple pies will be available for sale, using mostly Sullivan Farm-grown apples. According to Groff, culinary students from Nashua Community College and Nashua High School North respectively prepare each dessert, both of which can additionally be ordered with vanilla ice cream. The Salvation Army of Nashua will provide additional food options, like hamburgers, hot dogs, french fries and popcorn.

“We’ll also be doing a little chance raffle, so we’ll have some baskets set up and you can put your name in there to win,” Groff said. “We have lots of gift cards from local restaurants, a watch from Cardin Jewelers, and a huge painting from the Art by Nonda gallery on Main Street.”

Throughout both days there will be live music, face painting and pumpkin painting, plus demonstrations from local groups and businesses, like Tokyo Joe’s martial arts studio. Kids will have the opportunity to make their own scarecrows or go on a hayride throughout the apple orchards. Pony rides, a petting zoo, and a touch-a-truck event with members of the Nashua Fire Department are all also expected, Groff said.

AppleFest When: Saturday, Oct. 2, and Sunday, Oct. 3, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. both days Where: Sullivan Farm, 70 Coburn Ave., Nashua Cost: Tickets are either $1 apiece or 25 for $20, and are used to purchase various foods and activities offered during the festival Visit: nne.salvationarmy.org/nashua/ applefest Event is rain or shine.