Food/Garden Portal lead

Shore Food: A Master of Cakes Opens Up in Easton

July 16, 2020 by Val Cavalheri

Six years ago, Ruby Vanags knew nothing about making cakes. This month, she opened Ruby’s Cake Shoppe & Pastries at 415 B, East Dover Road, in Easton. If the long lines at her business are any indication, she not only succeeded in learning, she’s mastered the art of baking.

To get to today, you have to go back to six years ago, when Vanags received a special birthday cake her husband bought from Desserts by Rita in Ocean City. It was a mixture of mangos and strawberries, flavors that reminded her of her Philippines heritage. She became obsessed with it, hoping that a bakery closer to the Eastern Shore could replicate it (and preferably make it cheaper as well). Her search was unsuccessful, and Vanags decided to learn how to make it herself. When store-bought cake mixes didn’t give her the results she wanted, she went online and tried variations. Each attempt was a failure.

Fortunately, at the time, Vanags was working for the Hyatt Regency in Cambridge and asked for help from her pastry chef friend. “I want to master chiffon cakes,” she told him. “But my cakes keep overflowing. So, he said to me, ‘honey, you have to find a deeper pan.'” That was the beginning. “I failed nine times,” she said, “but I got it right on the 10th try.”

Vanags suddenly found herself a new hobby. Friends and family began to ask her to bake for special occasions, birthdays, anniversaries, and even weddings. And she got really good at it. “Every time I wanted to create something, it just clicked. Every time I wanted to learn something different, I wouldn’t stop until I got it right. Baking is very time consuming, and you need to be patient, and I was patient.”

Even though Vanags was willing to remain patient as she learned all she could about baking, some of her friends urged her to open up a store. One, in particular, asked her to explore how much it would take to start a business. “I can’t afford it,” she told him, and he said, ‘You know what? Get your s— together and come back to me. I will help you out.'” And that’s how Ruby’s Cake Shoppe & Pastries came to be.

In January, Vanags left her job at the Hyatt and began construction on her shop. And then COVID-19 hit, and everything was put on hold. Everything except the rent she had to pay. That was difficult, she admitted. Recently, after she got final approval from the health department, she was able to fulfill a promise she made. “I’m going to bake a lot of cupcakes and bring it to the hospital and the frontline workers. So that’s what I did.”

On July 11th, a ribbon-cutting ceremony was held, and as Vanags admits, she’s been slammed ever since. She thinks she knows why. “You cannot find around here, what I’m selling. People haven’t tried the kinds of flavors that I make. Some of them are Asian based flavors, like fruits that you would find in an Asian market.” There is the Purple Yam cake, the Mango Cake, the popular Strawberry Pretzel, the Mocha pie, and a version of the Tiramisu. She says she also makes a great carrot cake. Sure, you can find your yellow cake with buttercream or chocolate frosting, but don’t expect it to be just average.

What she enjoys are the custom orders for items not on her regular menu. “I ask the customer to name me the flavor they want,” Vanags said, “and then I look for ways to make it. It has helped me improve my skills.

One cake she learned to make is the classic Tres Leches, a cake popular in the Mexican community. Vanags first made it for a birthday party. She recalls how a few days later, a new customer came in talking about a cake she had tasted, hoping that Vanags could replicate it. When Vanags realized what she was describing, she showed her a picture of the Tres Leches cake on her cell phone. “Is this the cake that you’re talking about? The customer jumped up, spun around, slapped her forehead. and said, ‘Oh my God, you made that cake!’ I now get slammed with orders for Tres Leches.”

Since all of her cakes are made from scratch, and since she’s had requests, Vanags is working on a dairy-free and gluten-free version of her desserts. “It’s not a big deal for me, and it’s going to happen. I want it to be fair for everyone.”

For now, you will have to stop by the shop to buy a slice or a pie from her display cabinet. There is no written menu. You can also call ((443) 205-3979) and place an order. Ruby’s Cake Shoppe and Pastries has a Facebook page, but no website yet. They’re open Tuesday – Sunday from 10 AM to 6 PM.

Val Cavalheri is a recent transplant to the Eastern Shore, having lived in Northern Virginia for the past 20 years. She’s been a writer, editor and professional photographer for various publications, including the Washington Post.

COVID Makes New Partners with the Avalon, Tidewater Inn, and Wylder Tilghman Island

July 7, 2020 by The Spy

There was a lot in common with the Avalon Foundation, the Tidewater Inn and Wylder Tilghman Island before COVID-19 came knocking on their doors. All three have always been heavily dependent on the summer months for special events, weddings, and seasonal crowds all eager for entertainment and hospitality services. But after the coronavirus crisis hit, most of those long awaited plans were left in the dust in the wind as stay-at-home orders came down from the Governor’s office.

Nonetheless, the desire by all three to partner on a creative way to create new revenue was almost immediate. With the Avalon’s Suzy Moore, using her eighteen years as its artistic director, securing popular local bands, coupled with chef Jordan Lloyd at Wylder and chef Daniel Pochron at the Tidewater on the food front, the team has formed a dinner and music program that has already become a huge success on Tilghman Island and in downtown Easton.

The Spy asked Suzy, Jordan and the Tidewater’s Lauren Catterton to spend a few minutes to talk about this new alliance and how Wednesday and Thursday nights have been turned into the Sunlit Summer Song Series, an al fresco style dinner and some of the region’s best performers.

This video is approximately three minutes in length. For more information about the Wylder Inn concert series please go here. For the Tidewater Inn’s programming please go here.

Simpatico Virtual Wine Dinner Set for June 13

June 11, 2020 by Simpatico Italy's Finest

When life gave us lemons earlier this year, Simpatico made “limoncello”…

When Simpatico, Italy’s Finest had 3 Wine Dinner events in March canceled due to the COVID outbreak, Bobbi Parlett, Owner of Simpatico, knew reinvention was needed for survival. So, drawing from her Telecommunications career, she decided to create Virtual Wine Dinners through Zoom, so that her customers could still experience the connectivity of being with a group and enjoying wine and food together. She took the concept one step further by including the Winemaker or Winemaker representative from Italy, or the Italian importer, to join the dinners and talk about the wines, foods and culture of the regions. And for the Umbria Wine Dinner coming up June 13th, in addition to the winemaker Federico Bibi co-hosting from Torgiano, Umbria, Italy, she has added a performance with a singer-songwriter Eugenio Picchiani from Assisi, who will be joining during the dinner live from Rome.

Eugenio Picchiani from Assisi

Bobbi shares: “The dinners have created more than a wine dinner, we are creating a community of people interested in connecting, interested in learning about the Italian culture, wines and foods, and cooking of Italy. We gather together as if we are all around a virtual dining room table, talking and sharing. Think “Blue Apron” plus 3-4 bottles of wines, recipes and all foods and/or ingredients needed for the 3-4 course dinners, picked up at Simpatico or delivered to your home. This is what Simpatico implemented since March 16th, starting with the first one on April 4th” Bobbi states. Simpatico does periodically offer a break on the cooking as in one Sardinian dinner cooked by Alfredo Osteria, and for the upcoming June 13th dinner, Scossa Restaurant is providing the 3-course dinner. “As we reinvent our businesses in today’s environment, we are finding new ways to connect and survive”.

Featured for the June 13th dinner are 3 wines debuting in Maryland for the first time from Terre Margaritelli Vineyards, from Torgiano, which is a stop on the Simpatico annual Wine & Food Tour in May and also has been a stop on their Assisi Pilgrimage Tours. Terre Margaritelli winemaker Federico also provides the Simpatico branded olive oil from his Trampetti oil production in the Montefalco area. Bobbi found singer-songwriter Eugenio and his family agriturismo Locanda della Angeli looking for an authentic alternative place to have dinner in the Assisi area during the St. Francis Pilgrimage Trip. “When we discovered while eating there, that our host Eugenio was a singer-songwriter who toured and gave concerts throughout Italy, we became fans of his music and his kind loving persona. So, Bobbi has arranged for Eugenio to sing a few of his personal songs and also a few Italian favorites during the evening. This promises to be another fun new experience.

For information about the tickets for the June 13th Virtual Wine Dinner go here. For more information about Simpatico’s Virtual Wine Dinner Events, go here.. For any questions call Bobbi Parlett at 610-209-5409.

It’s a Family Affair (and Farm) by Val Cavalheri

May 30, 2020 by Val Cavalheri

With limited opportunities to experience the ‘normal’ things in life, the Spy has been on the lookout for fun or interesting things to do, close by, that can be enjoyed outdoors. We heard about Family Affair Farm from someone who said they had encountered all three, while also picking a gallon of delicious strawberries, and learning about the Farm.

It seems that the name, Family Affair Farm, is very appropriate to how owners, Donna Saathoff and friend Nicole Barth, think of their business. First, there’s Saathoff’s husband, Bobby, and their son, who help prepare and plant 10,000 strawberries and other crops. Then there’s a daughter who lives in Pennsylvania, who comes down to help pick, as does Bobby’s aunt Sharon. There are Bobby’s 80-year-old father and 78-year-old mother who plant pumpkin seeds, along with Barth’s parents and… Well, you get the picture. The Farm is a family passion.

Family is how the whole idea started anyway. Saathoff recalls how she picked strawberries with her grandmother every year when she was a little girl. They would sell the berries, make a little money, and a lot of memories.

When the Saathoffs, who had a farm that grew corn, wheat, soybeans, sorghum, decided to change direction seven years ago, they considered at the possibility of a ‘pick-your-own’ opportunity. With Barth as a partner, they discovered they would be the only ones in Talbot County. This is how Saathoff sees it: “This millennial generation is very interested in where their food comes from. They’re also more interested in having experiences with their children, rather than spending money on them. So, I thought it was a great idea to have them come out and pick berries and learn about how they grow. Kids are more likely to eat something they know about and pick themselves. So that’s how this kind of started. And then that just bloomed into the next thing and then into the next thing…”

The blossoming into the next thing is how the Farm has expanded from strawberries to blackberries and blueberries, to pumpkins, interactive autumn corn mazes, fall festivals, nursery school tours, kids’ birthday parties, trolleybuses, etc. And in expanding, Saathoff has watched families make their own memories. “Our farm has always been a place where families come. We’ve had the same kids that were in their mom’s bellies that are still coming. They get their picture taken by the same sign every year that shows them how much they’ve grown. They pick their own, and we see these cute little red juicy faces running out of the field. The kids remember, and they ask, ‘Can we go pick strawberries at the strawberry farm?’ it’s something that’s become a tradition for them.”

Drive by anytime during the season, and you’d see 30-60 people picking fruit anytime they were open. Half of them were kids, of course, who were doing more eating than picking. Afterward, there were picnic tables, playgrounds to explore, and farm animals to pet. And these families became part of the Family Affair Farm, as well.

But those were different days, ones Saathoff and Barth hope to see again very soon. For now, like the rest of us, they deal with the realities of COVID-19 and all of the restrictions.

“I support Governor Hogan a hundred percent,” says Saathoff. “I totally understand the 10-person restriction. But if Nicole and I are there, we also count in the 10. So now I’m down to 56 people per day when we usually had 50 to 60 people per hour. But we’ve been doing it and doing it successfully because at week six, and we’re still doing it.”

Success does not necessarily mean they’re happy with the decisions they’ve had to make. Part of the decision was to close off the playgrounds and picnic areas. The bigger problem were the strawberries.

Having decided to expand their production last year, they were faced with thousands of pounds of crop possibly going to waste. Unlike the larger farms in the area, Family Affair didn’t have the staff to pick the berries and then sell them. “So, we had to come up with a plan, says Saathoff. “I lost a lot of sleep over it. I thought about it, prayed about it, thought about it some more. And the only thing I could come up with was to only allow adults to pick.”

Saathoff and Barth acknowledged that a few families were upset they couldn’t bring the kids, but most were grateful to be out in the sunshine, away from crowds, while also getting local and fresh produce. Once they announced their decision, the pair started booking eight appointments every half hour on the hours, all day.

And then, something unexpected happened. “By week three or four into this, parents became okay about coming by themselves,” says Saathoff. “Because at that point, they were working from home, they were homeschooling their kids. They were exhausted, and they needed to get out of the house. There were those who either had a job or didn’t have a job at all, and there was all this stress of worrying about it all the time.”

They began to see a lot of healthcare workers, doctors and nurses, that were coming out to the Farm as a release from what they were experiencing daily. When Saathoff and Barth realized that the fields were a comfort place for some, they started making sure that everyone who called and wanted an appointment was able to get in at some time. That has presented its own set of challenges, says Saathoff.

“I tease people; I’m like, we’re not a nail salon, so you can’t just call and say I want to pick berries on Friday at 10 o’clock. Well, that’s great that you might want to, but that’ll depend on how many berries were picked on Thursday. It might take a whole day to ripen up that next set that’s on there. It’s getting people accustomed to appointments and helping them to understand that this isn’t like Giant or Acme where you go in the back, and you pull more out. When the red ones are done for the day, they’re done for the day.”

The whole strawberry season is almost done, they tell us. Meanwhile, they use social media to let people know when the next batch of strawberries has ripened. Within half an hour, they will have received 30-50 calls, and begin scheduling visits.

Next up are the blackberries and blueberries. The pair know they will continue making appointments but haven’t decided what their game plan will be. There is a lot that is still up in the air. Governor Hogan has not announced when or what or how the next phase will be. So, for now, they’re not putting too much planning into it. Of course, they can’t help but wonder what the fall season, their most successful time, will be like this year.

For now, Saathoff and Barth are grateful to all who make up the Family Affair Farm. Their own family, of course, who work the Farm and keep it operating, and the ones who have become like family returning year after year, making memories, even during a pandemic.

Family Affair Farm, 30091 Rabbit Hill Road, Easton, MD 21601, is open by appointment only. Check Facebook page for availability. Phone: 410-310-1331

Spy Gardening: Planning Your Landscaping Like A Pro (Part 1) by Meredith Watters

May 8, 2020 by Spy Staff

Staying home, strolling our yards during the ‘shelter-in-place’ for COVID-19 can reveal our garden’s potentials. Look around. Here, at my home, I see the demise of Leyland cypresses dying from the combination 2018 record wetness and the 2019 drought. The nuisance weeds are already getting out of control and it’s time to address the dangerous front door steps or add that long-talked about patio. The list goes on….

Leyland cypress

Now may be the time to get started on long-term landscape improvements which, by the way, increases your real estate value by 5% to 15% – an immediate return on your investment. To help you start organizing, I have outlined tasks and considerations that I use in my business when working on a client’s landscape design and installation project.

Start with writing a list of long-term dreams about your landscape. When writing this vision, don’t get hung up on the costs because your plan could be implemented over many years. Prioritize your list from most important to least.

Ideally, phasing should begin with hardscape (sidewalks, patios, driveways), which is the most expensive portion of your dreams. Next phase is identifying existing and possible addition of plants, large trees and shrubs. Now think about lighting and irrigation. If you choose to do this, I recommend working with a professional. Next is mulching (no more than 2 ½” deep) plant beds and individual trees. The final stage is to establish the lawn.

To begin to implement your dreams for your home and garden:: you will need to create a landscape plan. If you were given a land plat at settlement, take it to be enlarged at the local print shop. Ask the shop to use a 1” = 8’ or 1” = 10’ scale, or, if your property is over three acres, consider a 1” = 20’ scale. Don’t have a plat? Use graph paper to record measurements of your house, existing features such as property boundaries, utilities, and restrictions, trees patios, walks, etc. Take that drawing to the print shop and ask them to enlarge it to the recommended scales.

On your newly printed plat, identify problem areas such as unattractive views, privacy issues, poor drainage, blistering summer sun, set-back restrictions, underground and overhead utilities. Identify good qualities such as existing mature shrubs and trees, beautiful views, any existing landscape features, etc. Identify areas that you want any hardscape such as patios, walkways, pavilions, swimming pool, firepits, outdoor kitchens, or even a vegetable or butterfly garden.

Now, let’s talk about plants!

Make a list of your favorites and research their attributes such as ultimate growth height and width, seasonal color, etc. To keep things less complicated, choose perhaps just 3 varieties of the following trees: shade (oak), understory (dogwood), and evergreen (pine/holly). Choose perhaps 5 varieties of deciduous and evergreen tall (viburnum) and short (azalea) shrubs.

Make a short list of your favorite perennial flowers, annual flowers, ground covers, and ornamental grasses (again, take notes on the color, time of year of blooming, etc.).

Once you have this plant list, ask a few questions.

Do I have native plants to support the butterflies, birds, and bees?
Am I retaining my rainwater on my own property so as not to impact my neighbors?
Are plants providing a variety of textures (flat, shiny leaves or spikey, fine needles)?
Are the plants suited for my wet/dry/sunny/shady conditions?
Are the plants deer or rabbit resistant? (just type that question into Google)

You are ready to put it all together – plants and hardscapes!

This is where your base drawing will be useful. Use tracing paper over it to play with your dream ideas and configurations of plants, patios, walkways, garden features, etc. Print photos of your house and use the tracing paper over it to sketch ideas as well.

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Next time in Part 2 of Planning Your Landscape Like A Pro, we’ll get to the really fun parts of your project and put it all together incorporating color, textures, and other design principles. Leave a comment below if you have any questions or email me directly at meredithwatters@gmail.com.

Meredith Watters, Watterscape Designs, received her Masters in Landscape Architecture in 1985. In her consulting and design of residential landscapes, she maintains a strong focus on ecologically sensitive and creative outdoor solutions.

A Spy Report: A Sardinia Wine Dinner in Your Home…How?

May 3, 2020 by Spy Agent 7 -- 00 Section

We’ve all heard about Blue Zones around the world where people experience exceptionally long and enjoyable lives. One of these places is Sardinia, the second largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. So, if you could have their food, their wine and one of the local experts from this Italian island in your home for an evening, wouldn’t you want to do it?

This weekend, St. Michaels’ Simpatico made all this possible for a group of local citizens. And, yes, it all happened in their homes via ZOOM! The Spy was there for the fun and captured the experience first hand — it was an amazing evening for the sellout group of almost 30 households.

https://www.simpaticostmichaels.com/

The wine from Sella & Mosca came from Simpatico under the able direction of owner, Bobbi Parlett, who organized the creative dinner party. The authentic four-course meal came from Osteria Alfredo. The four wines (yes, one for each course of course!) and the ready to eat food courses came boxed and bagged for easy loading outside of Simpatico in St. Michaels.

The participants, ZOOM instructions in hand, logged in ahead of the 6:30 PM start time on Saturday, May 2nd when the fun began. Bobbi welcomed the diners and introduced the guest speaker, Alfonso Gagliano, Sella & Mosca North American Brand Ambassador joined from Italy. He was a wealth of information about the food, the wine and the culture of Sardinia. Alfonso captivated all who followed along during an exceptional two hour journey of food and wine in a land far away.

Take a look at the amazing wine and food pairings….with Sella & Mosca Award Winning Wines:

1. Terre Bianche Torbato Alghero DOC 2018
Just awarded a Tre Bicchiere Award! One of Top 100 White Wines in Italy

Pane Carasau Flatbread & Pecorino Sardo Dolce

2. La Cala Vermentino 2017, 94 Pts James Suckling

Shrimp & Cannellini Beans with Lemon Oil

3. Carignano del Sulcis Terre Rare Riserva DOC 2014, 100% Carignano

Malloreddus Pasta with Duck Ragu

4. Cannonau di Sardegna Riserva DOC 2016: 100% Cannonau, 91 Pts James Suckling

Lamb Shank with White Beans & Sauteed Greens

Photo of the dinner group (page 1)…if you use, you might want to shrink down so names are illegible …..obviously, no one gave permission to use…

For more information about Simpatico please go here.

May Gardening Tips

May 3, 2020 by University of Maryland Extension

Warm weather is just around the corner, which means it is time get your garden ready for summer flowers and tasty home grown vegetables. Here are some helpful tips to get you started this month.

Outdoor Garden and Yard Tips
• If your azaleas, rhododendrons and other spring flowering shrubs are growing too large prune them after they bloom.
• Thin out interior boxwood branches to improve air circulation and reduce disease problems such as volutella canker. Also, look out for boxwood blight. Watch How to Prune Your Boxwoods.
• Older leaves of holly and magnolia may begin to yellow and drop. This is a natural process of regeneration and does not indicate a problem with the trees.
• Lace bug feeding may be seen on rhododendrons, azaleas, andromeda (Pieris japonica), and mountain laurel. Look for small white or yellow spots on the upper sides of leaves. On the underside of leaves, you may notice small black fecal spots, nymphs, and adults. Damage on new growth indicates overwintering eggs have hatched and the new generation has started to feed. There are multiple generations per growing season. Lace bugs are more of a problem on stressed plants growing on exposed, hot, and sunny sites.
• Rose Rosette, a relatively new disease of roses caused by a systemic virus and spread by small eriophyid mites, can kill landscape roses. Including the more disease resistant roses such as the Knockout cultivars.
• Summer annual bulbs like gladiolus, tuberous begonias, cannas, caladium, and dahlias can be planted now.
• Attract pollinators and natural enemies to your landscape by planting a wide variety of flowering annuals and perennials, including native plants that will bloom over the entire growing season.
• Begin setting out transplants of warm season crops like squash, pepper, eggplant, and tomato. There is still a small possibility of late frosts. Be prepared to cover plants with a tarp or light blanket if frost is expected.
• Pinch the blooms from flower and vegetable transplants before you set them out. This will help direct the plants’ energies to root development and will result in plants that are more productive. Gently break up the roots of root-bound transplants before planting.
• Did weeds overtake your garden last year? Start spreading mulch around plants and between rows. Use dried grass clippings, leaves collected from last fall, sections of newspaper covered with straw, black landscape fabric.
• Cover strawberry plants with bird netting, tulle (found in fabric stores), or floating row cover before the berries become ripe to exclude birds, squirrels, and other hungry critters.
• Leave grass clippings where they lay. Grasscycling eliminates bagging labor and costs, adds organic matter and nitrogen to your soil and does not contribute to thatch build-up.
• Carpenter bees cause concern at this time of year. They make clean, round holes about a ½ inch in diameter but usually will not bother wood that is freshly painted or stained.
• Ticks are active when the temperature is above freezing. Wear light-colored clothing and get in the habit of checking yourself, your loved ones, and pets closely for ticks after spending time outdoors. Repellents are also an effective tool to keep ticks away.

Vegetable Garden
• Pinch the blooms off tomato, pepper and other plants before setting them out in the garden; this will encourage root and stem growth. Continue to pinch off pepper blossoms for 2-3 weeks to establish a stronger, higher yielding plant.
• Keep cutworms away from cabbage, broccoli and other susceptible plants by putting a cardboard or plastic collar around each plant, or sprinkle ground up oyster shells, cat litter, sharp sand, or other gritty material around each one.
• Keep weeding and thinning plants. To keep down weeds, mulch plants with dried grass clippings, sections of newspaper covered with straw, black landscape fabric or black plastic. Do not mulch with wood chips or bark, which takes nitrogen out of the soil as it decomposes.
• As peas ripen, pick pods when tender, to keep plants producing.
• Don’t let transplants or young seedlings dry out. Use a drip irrigation system, soaker hose, sprinkler, or hand-held hose with a water breaker (shower head), to keep beds evenly moist, but not too wet.
• Plant warm-season crops like tomatoes and peppers, only after danger of frost is past. Mix ½ cup of ground lime with soil in the planting hole to prevent blossom-end rot. Water each transplant with a soluble fertilizer, like compost tea or kelp extract to get them off to a good start.
• Pound in stakes or install tomato cages, at planting time, to prevent plant damage later.
• Set out herbs in pots or plant in garden beds.
• Inspect plants daily for cucumber beetles, cabbageworms, vine borers and flea beetles, which can be excluded with row covers. For plants requiring cross-pollination—cucumber, squash, melon, pumpkin—take covers off when plants are flowering, to let in pollinators.
• Hand pick cabbage worms from broccoli and other members of the cabbage family, or spray with Bt(Bacillus thuringiensis). Bt may injure non-pest butterfly larvae, though, so use judiciously.

Indoor Plants and Insect Tips
• Move houseplants outdoors after the danger of frost has passed. To avoid sunscald first place them in a shady location and over a period of two weeks or so gradually introduce them to more sunlight.
• Fleas are sometimes observed in homes where there are no pets. The most likely source is a wild animal such as a raccoon living in the attic, crawl space, chimney or some other sheltered area connected to the inside of the home. If you have pets that have a flea problem, contact your veterinarian for the safest and most effective flea control products.
• Clover mites are usually most noticeable in the spring when temperatures are between 45° and 80°F and the humidity is high. On warm days they cross the grass and crawl up the sunny sides of buildings and will possibly enter into homes.

For further information, please visit https://extension.umd.edu/queen-annes-county/master-gardener-home-gardening or see us on Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/QueenAnnesCountyMasterGardeners. For more information contact: Rachel J. Rhodes, Master Gardener Coordinator at (410) 758-0166 or by email at rjrhodes@umd.edu.

University of Maryland Extension programs are open to all people and will not discriminate against anyone because of race, age, sex, color, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, religion, ancestry, or national origin, marital status, genetic information, or political affiliation, or gender identity and expression.

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A View from Luisa’s: A Chat with Vinny Assante

April 2, 2020 by James Dissette

For twenty years, Luisa’s Cucina Italiana has been one of Chestertown’s bright lights in the Chestertown restaurant scene. Like everyone, however, their business, came to a screeching halt as the nation scrambled to face one of it’s most dangerous health crises.

Co-owners Vinny Asante and Mimmo Fevola, don’t know what the future will bring for Kent County’s small businesses but they continue with their take out services as the county adjust to dire changes and are thankful for the support they continue to be given.

“March 16, 2020 was my toughest day because I had to lay off most of our staff. We’re a family restaurant and my employees are like family,” he says.

Here, Vinnie talks about the closure, his concern with the survival of Chestertown’s economic engine and whether or not we will learn any lessons going forward.

This video is approximately three minutes in length. For more information about Luisa’s Cucina Italiana, please go here.

Mid-Shore Food: Checking in with Sprout’s Ryan Groll

March 28, 2020 by Dave Wheelan

In 2017, the Spy started a unique partnership with Emily and Ryan Groll to not only put a spotlight on their innovative Sprout food service but also the dozens of producers that make up the ingredients of their locally sourced products. Since that time, Sprout has grown into a significant player in the Mid-Shore food scene, with a dozen or so “Sproutlet” self-service kiosks and retail stores in Easton and St. Michaels.

Much has changed for Ryan and Emily in the last few weeks, and we thought it would be a good time to check in with Sprout as they continue to provide the Delmarva with their fresh and unique menu selections, even during the midst of the coronavirus health crisis.

This video is approximately three minutes in length. For more information about Sprout please go here.

Mid-Shore Food: Checking in with Piazza’s Emily Chandler

March 26, 2020 by The Spy

Almost from the day the Spy started, we’ve been tracking the career of Emily Chandler and her beloved Piazza Italian Market in Easton. It seems like yesterday, but it has been ten years after Emily opened her doors in Talbottown, where she and her concept of a local Italian food store have thrived in provided unique products and prepared meals for many around our five-county area.

But there is nothing like an international crisis to put your business plan to the test, so we decided to call Emily this morning to see how things are going.

This video is approximately two minutes in length. For take out and deliveries go here.

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