Today, restaurants are serving one of my favorites, hummus; the traditional dip, as a topping on a burger or as an ingredient in the dish.

SIMSBURY — Families searching for at-home activities this summer will love the new “Mysteries by Mail” offered by The Storyteller’s Cottage. Players sign up to receive a series of letters describing an unsolved mystery over the course of five days, then try to solve the case using the clues …

FARMINGTON — Sonia Plumb Dance Company announces the premiere of two modern dance programs on the sweeping grounds of the historic Hill-Stead Museum in Farmington. The performances of Duos & Trios (July 8 and 10) and The Dance of da Vinci 2.0 (July 31 through August 2) will feature origi…

WEST HARTFORD — Ballet Theatre Company is hosting a five-hour Facebook Live Dance-A-Thon event on Saturday, June 27, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Along with the countless organizations impacted by this pandemic, BTC’s spring performance season, youth outreach programs and in-studio education classes were …

WEST HARTFORD — The West Hartford Art League is seeking artist proposals for a public art project to be completed on ten bus shelters throughout the town of West Hartford, according to an email from the organization.

A salad without dressing is like a cake without icing, at least that is the case with me.

WEST HARTFORD — Playhouse Theatre Academy is offering online summer programs for grades K-5 and 3-8, according to an email from the academy. Programs include Kids On Stage and Young Actors Musical Theatre Preparatory Program. Classes will be taught via Zoom, and they begin as early as July 6.

HARTFORD — Charter Oak Cultural Center announced recently that it will be hosting a virtual edition of the 4th Annual Hartford Jewish Playwriting Contest via Zoom on Thursday, June 18 at 7 p.m. The Jewish Plays Project (David Winitsky, artistic director) has taken its National Playwriting Co…

WEST HARTFORD — The public is invited to join Playhouse on Park for Encore! A Playhouse on Park VIRTUAL Fundraiser — “Opening Our Doors” on Saturday, June 27 from 7 to 8 p.m., according to an email from the theater. One hundred percent of the proceeds will benefit Playhouse on Park and Playh…

HARTFORD — James Varano, event producer and owner of Black-eyed Sally’s, and the Connecticut Blues Society announced recently the cancellation of the Black-eyed & Bluesfest and Daniel Salazar, Jr.’s Guitar Under the Stars for 2020 out of concern for public health.

Learn how to make candied rose petals, elderflower syrup, crushed violets and whole blossoms to bring out the best flavor for cakes, cookies and candies.

Five central Connecticut museums unlikely to reopen

SIMSBURY — The sculpture sensation that swept across Simsbury, two years ago made its highly anticipated return on last Friday, according to an email from the Chamber. The Simsbury Chamber of Commerce Art Trail will once again delight visitors with 37 lifelike bronze sculptures depicting peo…

Sugar and fried is what people think of southern food; what they don’t think about are the delicious and healthful crops grown in the South.

Nader’s politics are well known; not so much his lifelong commitment to healthful eating, plus his family’s involvement in the restaurant business.

Restaurants are preparing to serve diners alfresco and our grills are getting ready to be fired up so we can savor the smoky flavor of food cooked outdoors.

The week Chef Emily Mingrone signed the lease on her restaurant, Tavern on State in New Haven, Food Network came to the space to film footage for her appearance on “Chopped.” The restaurant had not even opened for business yet.

I have found that using a quality, sustainable canned tuna or other fish results in a tasty and easy to make dish these days.

WEST HARTFORD — Join West Hartford Art League for a new online clay workshop taught by instructor Deanna Johnson. Saturday, May 23, 1-3 p.m. plus glazing instruction Saturday, June 3 at 1 p.m. Details can be found at www.westhartfordart.org/online-classes.

In the Elm City, 1,100 meals a day are prepared, with 18 restaurants participating, and deliveries made to Yale New Haven Hospital, the Veterans Affairs medical center in West Haven and various testing sites.

WINSTED — When one hears that Ralph Nader, the consumer activist extraordinaire and former presidential candidate who has battled some of the biggest corporations in the world, has authored a cookbook you might think, “Is Ralph going soft on us?”

WEST HARTFORD — In order to provide musical enrichment to the community and encourage donations to help the homeless and hungry, Music at the Red Door, the music series at St. John’s Episcopal Church in West Hartford, has launched an online-only live-streamed recital series. The half-hour pe…

TheaterWorks streams weekly for spring season

In the oven, a pan or a pot, or on the grill, there’s a reason consumption per capita has increased nearly every year since the mid 1960s.

TheaterWorks streams weekly for spring season

WEST HARTFORD — The artwork and poetry of Kingswood Oxford middle school students, along with art from Watkinson and Renbrook School students, was selected to the exhibition, called “Our Work, Our Choice,” said an email from the school.

Easter Sunday morning brings the opportunity to click your way to a local church for holiday services online and maybe an Easter egg hunt on our lawn if you have kids. But the evening belongs to some new, adult programs on PBS and cable channels. We’ll also look at a streaming series availab…

Cookbooks are aplenty, and finding new recipes is a cinch, with the touch of a button. It is an understanding of cooking techniques that makes cooking easier.

TheaterWorks announces virtual entertainment series

Messages from around the globe, from Connecticut to the Netherlands, streamed through Melissa Etheridge’s Facebook Live page as she performed from her home recently, in what has become a daily visit with fans.

Continuing to share easy recipes is appropriate as we are hunkered down and left with few options others than to cook at home.

Do marine animals ever get indigestion? Are there any sharks that eat plants? Live Facebook Q&As prompt interesting questions from public.

Small can be intimate and celebratory, and doesn’t have to lose the spirit of the holiday you are used to.

WEST HARTFORD — Stuck at home? Want to dance? Want to exercise?

Avoiding disease takes care and social distancing, but walks, hiking and biking are still viable options to maintain good health.

STATEWIDE — Mike Wolfe, Frank Fritz, and their team are excited to return to Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. They plan to film episodes of the hit series “American Pickers” throughout the area at the middle to end of July 2020 said an email from s…

Go back to basics and be creative; think outside the box when it comes to figuring out what to cook with the ingredients you have on hand.

If you travel to different regions of Italy, you learn the recipes are different depending upon the nuances of the province’s agriculture, climate, local culture and traditions.

WEST HARTFORD — The Connecticut Blues Society, announces its annual “Blues Blizzard” dance will be held Saturday, March 28, at the Hannon-Hatch VFW, 83 South Street, West Hartford, according to a release from organizers.

WEST HARTFORD — The Paul Winter Consort which was to present a performance of music from its ecological mass Missa Gaia/Earth Mass, on Saturday April 25, 7 p.m., at First Church Congregational, along with the First Church Choir, conducted by James Boratko, has canceled the event, according t…

Stop & Shop, for example, has more than 20 plant-based meat substitutes at its stores, and sales are rising.

WEST HARTFORD — The Farmington Valley Symphony Orchestra concert, “American Reflections,” will present Jerry Franklin, long-time President and CEO of Connecticut Public Broadcasting, as the narrator in Aaron Copland’s dramatic patriotic work, “A Lincoln Portrait.” Conducted by FVSO Music Dir…

WEST HARTFORD — CT Inclusive Arts announces that it’s performing and visual arts education program will culminate with an inaugural performance centered around the theme “Believe,” inspired by a lyrically powerful anthem by Connecticut band Atlas Gray, of the same name. The production will i…

BERLIN — Connecticut Cabaret Theatre presents “Looped,” written by Matthew Lombardo, and directed by Kris McMurray, through March 21, according to an email from the Theatre.

Did you know that an air fryer really isn’t a fryer? It is actually a convection oven that cooks by circulating hot air with a fan.