CT Archives - Jane Heller

Shooting a Video for Three Blonde Mice

June 2, 2016

On Wednesday I spent the afternoon at Arethusa Farm in Litchfield, CT. It was a glorious sunny day and as Michael (husband) snapped pics like the one above of me “chatting” with a dairy cow named Velour about Three Blonde Mice, Garrett, our videographer from Digital Video Productions in Brookfield, shot lots of video that will somehow be edited down to a three-minute trailer for the book. Such fun!

Matt Senecal, Arethusa’s farm director, was a delight to work with. He answered all my crazy questions about cows, instructed me in the finer points of milking a cow, showed me how to brush a cow’s tail (and tease it up so it looks fluffy and camera ready) and let us have the run of the place, including their prized John Deere.

The cow that I milked, Viona, was a white Holstein – a blonde just like my three heroines in the book – and other than a few kicks, she was very cooperative during the milking. She even read the book.

Actually, she licked the book. We had to move it away from her because we were afraid she’d try to eat it.

The purpose of all this was to recreate some of the research I did last summer for Three Blonde Mice, in which three best friends, Elaine, Jackie and Pat, take a “haycation” together – i.e. they spend a week on a farm. They learn to milk a cow, make cheese from the milk, forage for wild edibles and take cooking classes with a famous farm-to-table chef ….only to find that one of their classmates intends to kill the chef before the week is out.

Complicating matters is that Elaine’s boyfriend Simon shows up – just as she’s getting cozy with a hot guest named Jonathan.

I wanted to share my haycation experience in the video, and I’d love it if you’d share yours. If you plan to milk a cow this summer, pick your own fruits and veggies, make cheese, forage for wild edibles, collect eggs from chickens, please upload your photos to my Facebook and Twitter pages using the hashtags #ThreeBlondeMice and #DairyPrincess. Why #DairyPrincess? Because that’s what Michael calls me these days. He used to call me a princess, but now I’m the Dairy Princess. What can I tell you? If the crown fits…..

A Series Sweep and a Birthday – Not Too Shabby

May 4, 2015

Yes, I ate that chocolate confection on Saturday night – that and much, much more. After the Yankees edged the Red Sox in Game 2 at Fenway, I celebrated my first birthday on the East Coast in years. Michael and I and our two good friends, my old boss in publishing and his partner, dined at Litchfield County’s #1 destination spot, Arethusa al tavolo in Bantam. Readers of my Mainly Jane blog may remember that I wrote about Arethusa last summer when I was researching my new novel in which my three heroines take cooking classes at a farm resort in CT. (My agent is sending out the manuscript to editors this week.) As part of my research, I interviewed Arethusa’s Executive Chef Dan Magill, who, it turns out, is not only a brilliant chef and all-around nice guy but an avid Yankees fan. When he found out I wrote this blog, he dubbed me “Bronx Bad Ass,” hence the inscription on Saturday night’s birthday dessert (the dessert before the other desserts, I should add; we all ate so much amazing food our stomachs were bulging and we vowed to fast for the next century).

Back to the Yankees, they’re on quite a roll. Their road record is staggeringly good. And while the Red Sox aren’t the formidable team they used to be, the Yanks have gotten their defense together. Their pitching has been stellar, both starters and relievers. And they’re getting clutch hits.

The most talked about clutch hit, of course, was A-Rod’s milestone pinch hit homer against Tazawa in Game 2. What to make of this guy? (A-Rod, not Tazawa.) He’s being such a good boy doing and saying all the right things. It’s as if he’s been taking Jeter pills. (“I just want to help the team win games.”) Cashman finally came out and admitted the Yankees don’t intend to pay him for the “Willie Mays” homer, so it’ll be interesting to see how this all plays out. But if A-Rod keeps contributing, stays healthy and plays clean, they may have to acknowledge his achievements after all.

As for last night’s game, even Beltran was a hitting star. Tex has been a revelation with all those homers this early in the season. Gardner and Ellsbury have been huge for us. Everybody (well, almost everybody) has contributed. And Adam Warren has turned out to be a much better solution in the rotation than I expected. The idiotic “retaliation” pitch that landed on Ellsbury’s butt for an earlier Hanley Ramirez hit-by-pitch was mildly entertaining and put some spice into the rivalry, which hasn’t been much of one lately. We’ll see if there’s a carry-over the next time the teams face off. If CC’s pitching, it could happen. He seems to get fired up about those things.

Anyhow, a great birthday weekend for me and a great road trip for the Yankees. I hope everyone enjoyed the nice spring weather here in the Northeast too.

I Saw These in My Yard Today!

April 29, 2015

Before the daffodils appeared, the property was pretty barren. No, it was sadder than barren. Thanks to the brutal winter in New Preston, CT, there were tree branches, dead leaves and all sorts of debris covering what I hope will be flower beds. Having just moved into this house, I don’t know what will bloom until it actually does.

Today’s excitement after yesterday’s visit from the electrician is the power washing of the front and back brick walkways and patio, the hanging of bathroom towel bars, the paint touch-ups of gouges in the walls caused by the movers and the unpacking of still more boxes. I don’t remember being so immersed in minutia.

But the house is coming together. It doesn’t feel as alien as it did last week. I’m not waking up in the morning with that “Where am I” feeling. I’m learning the house’s creeks and groans. (It’s an old house or, as our building inspector called it, “an experienced house.”) By this weekend, I predict we’ll be hanging artwork, and once that’s done we can turn our attention to the landscaping. The grass needs TLC and there are trees and shrubs to plant. We don’t have any outdoor furniture but we’re going to look at some used Adirondack chairs owned by a client of our contractor (she’s got a big house by the lake and she’s downsizing). And a neighbor invited us over for tea later (she’s British).

What about writing? I admire authors who can write with workmen around. I’m not one of them. I’m not good at chaos. I need order and organization and a fixed schedule. I need the certainty that someone won’t be knocking on the door any minute with a set of tools and an invoice. I need peace – a few hours of it anyway. The good news is I finished Farm Fatales, the spinoff of Princess Charming, before I left California. So once my head clears, I’ll figure out the next book. And the one after that. I will not let this move or this house or this pervasive sense of disorientation sidetrack me….unless, of course, I end up writing about that.

Settling into My New House

April 22, 2015

It’s been a long time since I’ve written a post for Mainly Jane. Just too much going on, including the move across the country into our house in New Preston, CT. But after a wild ten days during which the moving truck arrived and we were boxed in by a gazillion boxes and kept saying, “I can’t find the scissors” and “I think that lamp in the living room is missing” and assorted other cries and moans, we’re making progress. We still have boxes – too many – but I can see daylight now. And the rooms are coming together. I even had a manicure yesterday. The nail lady had to use glue on three of my nails because they were split down the middle from opening – you guessed it – boxes, but I felt semi-human.

We picked a good time to come. The snow is gone and though everyone has stories about “the worst winter ever,” we dodged it.

Here’s what we didn’t dodge. A bathroom toilet leaked. The washer and dryer wouldn’t wash or dry. Some of our furniture didn’t fit in their allotted spaces. We spent too much money at Home Depot buying unglamorous things like light bulbs, a medicine cabinet, a hose, a broom, a barbecue.

What I’m dreading the most is our trip to the CT DMV to get our licenses and register our cars. We’ve already been there once, but we didn’t have the right paperwork so we failed and were told to try again. I understand that there’s a lot of red tape with all this, but what I don’t get is why every single person who works at the DMV – the one in Danbury, CT anyway – has to be so grumpy? Not a smile anywhere. Not a “Welcome to Connecticut.” Not even a “Sorry we can’t help you today.” Just one surly person after another. Not a pleasant experience.

On the other hand, our contractor has been a joy to work with. Talk about doing it all. Frank Montelone and his crew at FJM Construction have made the move as painless as possible. No matter how big or small the job, they’ve been willing to take it on or know someone who will. Eric Popilowski is their office manager and we literally couldn’t have functioned without him. He waited at the house for the cable company while we were in California. He waited here for the TV installers from Best Buy. He measured. He answered questions. He reassured. He even said Frank would fix the antique chair that came off the moving truck broken. He’s the answer man.

Do I feel like an East Coaster yet? No. I’m still disoriented. I still operate on Pacific Standard Time, turning on the TV to watch shows that have already aired here. And the other day I walked over to our nearby sandwich shop, a terrific place in New Preston village called Nine Main Bakery & Deli. I was waiting at the counter for my sandwiches when a woman showed up to place her order. She started talking to me about her son, the doctor, and how proud she was of him. “I’m even more proud of him than I am of my screenwriter son-in-law.” Well, since I’m still in a California state of mind, I said, “Has the screenwriter son-in-law had any movies produced?” She laughed and said, “Of course! His name is Kevin Barnett and he writes for the Farrelly brothers. You know. ‘Dumb and Dumber’ and ‘The Heartbreak Kid’ and ‘Hall Pass.'” She gave me his phone number and said, “Call him. Maybe he’ll turn one of your books into a movie.” The moral of the story is that I came all the way across the country, but Hollywood is never far away. It always beckons.

Meanwhile, Michael and I went out to one of our favorite haunts for dinner last night, the White Horse Tavern here in New Preston. It’s an English pub, so Michael indulged himself with Shepherd’s pie. He was in heaven.

Note all those mashed potatoes on top. They were a thing of beauty.

When Research Is a Pleasure, Part 4

July 21, 2014

Yup, I’m the one in the middle and I’m wearing a chef’s hat and apron, as is Michael along with Kimberly Thorn, the co-owner with her husband Clint of Thorncrest Farm in Goshen, CT.

Thorncrest was the next stop on my research adventure (see blog posts Parts 1, 2 and 3) to put myself into the farm-to-table “agri-tourism” world my characters will encounter. Our agenda for the bright and sunny morning was to begin in the barn with Clint and learn about his dairy cows.

Unlike Arethusa Dairy with its state-of-the-art facility, Thorncrest is a two-person operation (plus Clint and Kim’s two sons) and no less engaging in its own way. Clint and Kim are all about the milk, of which they’re justifiably proud, but also about the cheese and chocolates Kim makes like a true artisan. Everything tasted pure and fresh and like nothing I’d ever experienced before. It all comes from the cows and, Clint was emphatic in noting, the fact that they’re cared for in a stress-free environment because stress affects the quality of the milk. Check out these Jerseys cows. Don’t they look relaxed?

After Clint gave us all a little history of the farm, we got down to business: I milked my first cow! It was fun! And I was thrilled when milk actually came out!

After we all had our chance to milk, Clint took over and pumped out the necessary quota for the day. The milk was then transferred into the dairy area where Kim met us and gave us the hats and aprons to put on. Then into her kitchen we went and it was time to learn how to make cheese. She gave us step-by-step instructions in making both ricotta and mozzarella. Here she is taking the temperature of the hot milk I was stirring.

It was exciting when it reached the proper temperature and the curds were very much in evidence.

My ricotta came out great and we took home several containers. Yum.

Next came the mozzarella, which involved stretching it to get the lumps out.

Once it’s shiny and smooth, it goes back into a ball and is ready to sample. Yum again. We took home several containers of it too, along with the samples of the chocolates Kim had just made.

Seriously, maybe I’ll forget about writing novels and just research them. Could there be anything more fun?

When Research Is a Pleasure, Part 3

July 18, 2014

Continuing in my series of blog posts about my research (see Part 1 and Part 2), the above photo is of me mixing homemade pesto with just grilled zucchini that came right off the farm for what turned out to be a fun and informative cooking class at Jones Family Farm in Shelton, CT.

Jones Farm was on my “agritourism” itinerary this month because this picturesque farm, which has been in the Jones family for generations, not only provides the community with bountiful crops in the summer, pumpkins in the fall and Christmas trees in the winter but also offers weekly cooking classes and wine tastings. Check it out here.

We showed up on what promised to be a stormy Wednesday night for our cooking class but the skies stayed lightning and rain free until it was time to leave. Whew. Our first task was to get out into the pasture and see what looked dinner worthy.

(Yes, I’m the one who’s dressed all in black on a hot summer’s night. Crazy, but I’m always cold, what can I say.)

We came back inside the kitchen and, lead by Jean Jones, a member of the farm family and registered dietician, and Sherry Swanson, a chef in and around CT, we were split off into groups, each assigned a different preparation of the meal, which consisted of roasted herbed chicken for the main course and a blueberry and strawberry cobbler for dessert, plus a glass of Jones’ own wine. For the side dishes, we made…

…a bulgur wheat cabbage salad with blueberries

…a kale salad with goat cheese, tomatoes and a strawberry vinaigrette.

… and grilled zucchini with the pesto I mixed.

When it was all done, the 12 of us sat down and enjoyed the fruits of our labors. It was fun getting to know the other guests who’d signed up for the class as well as the instructors and learning more about life on a working farm. Just as we were tasting our last bites of food, the thunder came and we took that as our cue to run for our car. The drive back to our rental house was precarious in the heavy rain (we got lost a couple of times), but it was worth it. A good time was had by us and I took copious notes for my novel, which was, after all, the point.

How I Spent My Summer Vacation

July 25, 2013

Yesterday I spent the day with my old friend Lois Juliber. I hadn’t seen her in years because I live on the west coast and she lives on the east coast and we lead very different lives these days. When I was a New Yorker, she and I played tennis every weekend in the summer and spent memorable evenings with our husbands and other friends and it was great fun. Now I’m holed up in my home office in California writing and she’s traveling the world. The former VP of General Foods and Vice Chairman of Colgate-Palmolive (we’re talking about one of the highest-ranking women in corporate America), she now either chairs or sits on multiple boards. In between trips to Uganda, she plays a mean game of golf and has played the world’s best courses. Yesterday we met up and caught up and talked for hours. At times she was making me awestruck with tales of moving in circles I couldn’t fathom. At other times she was “just Lois,” telling me with pride that she has all the hardcover copies of my books displayed at her house. It was a lovely day.

As have been so many other days during my month in Connecticut. I’ve had laughs with old publishing pals and have reunited with one of my closest friends from summer camp. I’ve seen cousins I rarely get to see. And I’ve spent time with my mother, who came to California for her 96th birthday but rarely ventures out of New York.

So with only a week to go on my summer vacation, it’s with a wistfulness that I go about the rest of the trip. The weather has turned cool – kind of strange for July – and I slept with all the covers on for the first time since I got here. Maybe it’s telling me it’s time to go home. Or am I home? Hard to tell right now.

Cashman's Food Preferences Revealed

November 6, 2011

We don’t know what the Yankees General Manager intends to do about the starting rotation, but we now know what he likes to eat, thanks to today’s New York Times. It turns out that he has a favorite dish that’s been named after him at a restaurant he frequents in New Canaan, CT. In Patricia Brooks’ review of Chef Luis Restaurant:

Cashman’s pasta was equally zesty. Named after Brian Cashman, general manager of the Yankees, the dish features tubelike bucatini tossed with white wine, olive oil, parsley, imported pecorino cheese and bits of pancetta and onions.

Sounds good, doesn’t it?

Daily News columnist Mike Lupica’s dish sounds more expensive, however:

Especially vibrant was Lupica’s pasta (spaghetti swirled with a luscious mix of jumbo shrimp, tender lobster meat, garlic, fresh pear tomatoes and bread crumbs).

Shrimp and lobster? You’d think Lupica was the one with the giant payroll.

Cashman’s Food Preferences Revealed

November 6, 2011

Cashman’s pasta was equally zesty. Named after Brian Cashman, general manager of the Yankees, the dish features tubelike bucatini tossed with white wine, olive oil, parsley, imported pecorino cheese and bits of pancetta and onions.

Sounds good, doesn’t it?

Daily News columnist Mike Lupica’s dish sounds more expensive, however:

Especially vibrant was Lupica’s pasta (spaghetti swirled with a luscious mix of jumbo shrimp, tender lobster meat, garlic, fresh pear tomatoes and bread crumbs).

Shrimp and lobster? You’d think Lupica was the one with the giant payroll.

Sheep, Pigs And A Psychic

August 21, 2011

Today was the annual Bridgewater County Fair.

I know. Not my usual entertainment of choice, but it was right around the corner from the house where we’re staying here in Connecticut, so it seemed worth checking out. Plus, Michael and I were accompanied by our twitter pal, @Gweeds, and she made it even more fun.

First up was a visit with the sheep. Baaaaaah.

They were warming up for their big event: the sheep herding show.

They got chased by a Border Collie and everybody clapped.

Then we moved on to the pigs. Apparently, “hot dog pig races” are a big deal around these parts.

What are hot dog pig races, you ask? They’re little contests where pigs with names like “Jerry Swinefeld” and “Brad Barbecue Pitt” and “Kevin Bacon” run around a track.

And a county fair wouldn’t be complete without a reading by a psychic, who sits at a booth waiting for suckers like me.

The best part was when @Gweeds, who was dressed in Yankees gear as were Michael and I, handed me a Yankees shopping bag with a special gift inside. She’d made it herself. It was a Yankees “rally bra,” and Michael gave it an up close look.

The beard and the bra really go together, don’t they?

The only disappointment was that we couldn’t find the pie-eating contest or even any pies. What’s a country fair without pie???????????

Why Are There So Many Italian Restaurants?????

August 17, 2011

I live in a small town in Santa Barbara County and we have a handful of restaurants – all but one of which serves Italian food. Why is that? Is it because people love pasta and pizza more than anything else? Because kids will always eat spaghetti and meatballs? Because Americans are off fussy French food and dismissive of Chinese takeout?

When I got to Connecticut on my vacation, I found the same situation. Ninety percent of the restaurants in my area are Italian, which means we end up trying them all but feeling as if we went to the same place.

Tonight we went with friends to a lively spot in New Milford called Tivoli.

It was your basic “red sauce Italian,” which means that everything was smothered in tomatoes, olives, capers and onions. Michael’s osso bucco? The same sauce as my grilled salmon. My friend Harriet’s mussels? Same sauce. Her husband Henry’s beef? Yup, same sauce.

I’d like to say the service made up for the one-note food, but a waitress dropped a tray of ice water behind us and we were lucky not to get soaked.

Such a shame. The location is great and the patio is perfect on a balmy summer evening. But I won’t rush back.

The Help: The Movie

August 16, 2011

I saw it last night and really liked it. And I didn’t expect to. Not because I didn’t love the book, which I did. And not because I’m one of those people who thinks Hollywood can’t possibly translate a book to film; I’m not. I didn’t expect to like the movie because of the trailer and the clips of it that aired in TV ads. The studio made the story seem like a lightweight, giggly girls story – a “Steel Magnolias” with a few black actresses thrown into the mix.

Instead, the movie is a story – improbable but compelling – of brave women in Jackson, Mississippi who risked their own safety and, in the case of Emma Stone’s character, their social status, to fight for civil rights. No lightweight subject there.

I thought the acting was superb. Jessica Chastain practically steals the movie. Emma Stone gives us a very likable heroine. Olivia Davis plays every scene with nuance. And Cicely Tyson’s all-too-brief moments on screen made me cry. The only flat notes for me were the normally excellent Allison Janney, who seemed miscast, and Bryce Dallas Howard, whose witchy villain was a bit too cartoonish.

Mostly, I loved the way the story unfolded – slowly, as with the book. No editing tricks. No car crashes. No special effects. No forced humor. What a relief.

To top it off, I had a great dinner at a place called Lucia Ristorante in New Milford, CT. You know how you can just walk into a restaurant and tell you’re in the hands of experts? That’s how I felt at Lucia. There’s an antipasto that comes when you’re seated. Delicious. There’s warm, freshly baked bread that shows up soon after. Delicious. There are entrees on the menu that make you want to order every single one of them; I had salmon and Michael had pasta and we were both happy. Delicious.

A nice evening with good entertainment and good food. Now if only it would stop raining. Sigh.