Inside the Kingdom
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
INSIDE THE KINGDOM September 21, 2016 the Chronicle Section B – 20 Pages Quilter moves from courthouse to schoolhouse by Joseph Gresser TROY — Anyone who had business with Tina de la Bruere during her tenure as Orleans County Court Clerk, knew what she really enjoyed doing. For years she had two offices, one in the Criminal Division of Superior Court, one in the Civil Division. Both were filled with small pieces that displayed her skill as a quilter. Today, retired from her state job, Ms. de la Bruere happily greets customers and fellow quilters at Vermont Quilters Schoolhouse, her new store in Troy. As its name indicates, the store is located in a former school, one that Ms. de la Bruere said she long admired. “I drove by the building for years,” she said Thursday. “I thought it would be the cutest little quilt shop, but it was for lease, and I didn’t want to lease.” Then one day a couple of years ago a friend called and said Ms. de la Bruere’s dream could now come true. Ms. de la Bruere said she reminded her friend of her aversion to leasing, only to be told the building was for sale. “We made our offer on the Fourth of July 2014,” she said. With that, she became the owner of a 114- Tina de la Bruere stands amidst some of the fabrics offered at her new store, Vermont Quilters Schoolhouse in year-old school building and all the problems Troy. Photos by Joseph Gresser that came with it. The old school needed a new roof, new said. Tim, she said, encouraged her to refinish books for her husband’s electrician business. windows, new siding, a new porch, and the wainscoting before the store opened, noting Her father asked if she wanted to stop insulation. The last didn’t need to be replaced; that once the fabrics were in the building she working at her kitchen table, and brought over a there had never been any in the first place. would not want the amount of dust put out by large oak desk, Ms. de la Bruere said. In addition, the floor had to be repaired and sanders. It turned out to be the desk where Troy refinished. Ms. de la Bruere was clearly pleased that teachers once sat as they instructed their pupils. Ms. de la Bruere said her goal was to keep her son’s viewpoint prevailed. She was Today it’s back in its original home. the building looking close to the way it appeared especially excited to encounter a reminder of the The school began teaching children from when it was a working schoolhouse. The only past. first through eighth grades. At some point, the major change, aside from the array of bright When her husband and son took off some of seventh- and eighth-graders started attending fabrics that fills one of the school’s two rooms, is the wainscoting to work on it they found another school and the school served first the wooden slats that cover the blackboards to “DeCosta, Orleans, Vermont” marked on the back. through sixth grades. provide display space for quilting accessories. Ms. de la Bruere said she had a connection A former Troy student who went to Sacred Ray, Ms. de la Bruere’s husband, and Tim, with the building long before her shop was even Heart High School with Ms. de la Bruere her oldest son, did much of the inside work, she a dream. Early on in her marriage, she did the stopped in and left one of the small desks where children once sat to learn. Another told Ms. de la Bruere that her class planted a nearby willow tree and buried a time capsule nearby. While one of the building’s two high- ceilinged rooms is now devoted to fabrics, the other is again slated to be used for education. Ms. de la Bruere said she plans to start quilting classes in October. Sessions will break for the Christmas season and resume in the new year, she said. She said she will teach special courses on advanced techniques, but many of the classes will be designed to help beginners find their way into the craft Ms. de la Bruere clearly loves. Every beginning student, she promised, will go home with a finished piece at the end of the course. Ms. de la Bruere remembers when she first learned to quilt. “I didn’t own a sewing machine, and Sacred Heart had no home ec classes,” she said. A friend suggested she go to meetings of the quilt guild, but Ms. de la Bruere said she resisted, thinking she would be ashamed of her lack of skill. When she finally got the nerve to go to a gathering, she found the more experienced quilters eager to share their knowledge with the newcomer. Troy’s old schoolhouse is dressed up and ready for its new life. Ms. de la Bruere said she has done her best to keep the original look of its interior. (Continued on page 7B.) IN THIS WEEKLY SECTION, YOU’LL FIND: BIRTHS l WEDDINGS/ENGAGEMENTS l OBITUARIES l KINGDOM CALENDAR l CLASSIFIED ADS l RESTAURANTS & ENTERTAINMENT l REAL ESTATE & AUCTIONS l YOURS FROM THE PERIMETER l RUMINATIONS l AND MORE! Page 2B the Chronicle, September 21, 2016 Ruminations Jazz on a plate, salads call for improvisation by Joseph Gresser Salads, known as rabbit food in my family, make up a major portion of my summer diet. For the most part, I wander out into the garden and grab whatever looks good or, on a very rainy day, whatever is close to hand, and throw it into a bowl with some dressing. Such salads are improvised, put together on the fly with a hope that the ingredients will harmonize to create a whole. They resemble in that way the kind of performance a jazz group might put together. The theme is salad, but its expression on the plate differs widely from night to night. In the hands of a skillful cook the music always is worth hearing. There is another approach to preparing a salad. That calls for a set collection of ingredients put together in a preordained way. In French cuisine, these are called salades composées, or composed salads. The cook is no longer soloing, but playing an established piece with a score, or rather a recipe. There are famous examples of such salads, such as the Waldorf salad, named after the well- known New York City hotel, the Waldorf Astoria. That salad was invented in the late nineteenth Summer green beans share the stage with fall potatoes in a September salade niçoise. century. Photo by Joseph Gresser Originally, it consisted of diced red apples and celery with a mayonnaise dressing. Over the grilled tuna, or in a pinch, canned tuna. One to about 1/3 of an inch. Put them on top of the years chopped walnuts made their way into the recipe in my collection pulls out all the stops by grapes. recipe, and that is how it is generally served including artichokes, green peppers, and hard- Peel the garlic and shallot. Cut them into these days. boiled eggs in the dish. thin slices and cut the slices into fine slivers. Like many composed salads in the classical Like any rendition of a great piece, the Keep them separate. tradition, the Waldorf salad is built on a bed of enjoyment comes from the performance a cook Pour oil into a medium-sized frying pan or lettuce. Whether one chooses to eat the lettuce is gives of the classic recipe. The basic framework wok to a depth of one inch. Place over medium a matter of choice, its main function is purely of salade niçoise provides plenty of room for heat. decorative. variations on the basic theme. While the pan heats, set a sieve over a bowl Larousse Gastronomique, the grande dame of While the foreign salads included in Larousse, and place on a work surface near the pan. culinary reference books, does not deign to notice are, to my taste, unconvincing examples of great Spread a paper towel over a large plate. the Waldorf salad, but among its nearly 50 national cuisines, there are other cultures that When the oil is hot, put in the garlic slivers entries for composed salads, it does list two it enjoy composed salads. One of the best has been and stir-fry them until golden. Drain the oil and calls American salads. my go-to recipe when I’m invited to a summer garlic into the sieve. When the garlic is drained One calls for vinaigrette flavored celeriac to potluck. move it to the paper towel. Repeat the process be mounded into a dome and surrounded by The recipe comes from one of my favorite with the shallots. rounds of potato and tomato. The dish is cookbooks, Madhur Jaffrey’s Far Eastern Cut the chicken into long thin strips and put garnished with quartered hard-boiled eggs. Thin Cookery. It’s out of print, but can be found online these into a clean medium sized frying pan. Add slices of onion adorn the peak of the celeriac without too much trouble. The book presents water to cover and one-quarter teaspoon salt, and mountain and the whole is sprinkled with recipes from Thailand, Korea, Hong Kong, bring to a simmer. Simmer gently for about five chopped chervil and tarragon. Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Japan minutes. Remove the chicken from the water and The second “American” salad starts with and is worth reading even if you don’t feel like tear it into shreds.