Category Archives: News

A la Carte: Linguini with Rhubarb and Parmesan is a Perfect Combo, Who Knew?

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Lee White

I am wild about rhubarb. 

I had wonderful friends who had an enormous rhubarb patch. When they were younger, they would bring arms full of the ruby and green fruit to me so I could make strawberry-rhubarb pies and puddings. (Yes, I know, rhubarb is a vegetable, just as tomatoes are a fruit, but we are free to call them whatever we like!)

They also showed me how to “stew” rhubarb and use it as a sauce with pork chops, chicken and fish. As they got older, and, although they continued to drive, had a problem getting up the driveway and into our somewhat steep steps into the house, I would come to their house and cut the rhubarb myself, then spend hours talking them in their cozy kitchen.

They are gone now. I no longer live in the same town and have no idea who bought their house. I could probably find out who did, and maybe drop over and ask if they might let me cut a few stalks.

No, this is New England; one doesn’t drop in on strangers.

A couple of years ago, because the season for rhubarb isn’t long, I started freezing rhubarb, fresh and stewed. I sweeten it a bit and serve it as a savory adjunct and with strawberries for dessert.

But in this new issue of Fine Cooking, there are some new ways to use rhubarb, including with pasta. I suggest you pick up a copy of this April/May issue, but this is one recipe I found absolutely delicious.

Linguini with Rhubarb and Parmesan
From Fine Cooking, April/May, 2021. “Spring Fling”

Yield: serves 6

12 ounces dried linguini
3 cups ¼-inch-thick slices fresh rhubarb
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1/3 cup very good extra-virgin olive oil
6 ounces freshly grated parmesan cheese, about 1 ½ cups), more for garnish
1 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Photo by Heather Barnes on Unsplash.

Bring a large pot of well salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta according to package directions until al dente. Reserve 1 cup of pasta water before draining.

Place rhubarb in colander, and drain the pasta over it. Wipe the pot dry.

In the same pot, cook the garlic in hot oil over medium heat for 30 seconds or until lightly golden. Add pasta mixture. Remove from the heat.

Add the 6 ounces cheese and pasta water. Toss to coat. Return to medium heat.

Cook and stir until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add parsley and pepper. Toss to combine. Garnish with additional parmigiana and serve immediately.

About the author: Lee White has been writing about restaurants and cooking since 1976 and has been extensively published in the Worcester (Mass.) Magazine, The Day, Norwich Bulletin, and Hartford Courant. She currently writes Nibbles and a cooking column called A La Carte for LymeLine.com and the Shore Publishing and the Times newspapers, both of which are owned by The Day. She was a resident of Old Lyme for many years, but now lives in Groton, Conn.

Letter to the Editor: Resolution on Racism Does Not Say Old Lyme is Racist; Approval Will Enable Town to Focus on Process, Not Apportion Blame

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To the Editor:

Although I am the current chair of the Old Lyme Democratic Town Committee, I write today regarding the Resolution on Racism as a Public Health Crisis as a resident.

The resolution reflects the growing body of academic work that confirms that centuries of racism in the US has had a profound and negative impact on communities of color. COVID-19 and police brutality, both of which disproportionately affect people of color, have spurred a recent movement to address racism as a public health crisis.

This belief, racism as a public health crisis, was recently supported by the CDC [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.]  Their statement said “To build a healthier America for all, we must confront the systems and policies that have resulted in the generational injustice that has given rise to racial and ethnic health inequities.”

The resolution in no way condemns the Town of Old Lyme or its residents.  No one of us caused these uneven living conditions and opportunities for health, but we are all responsible and must act if we want our communities to achieve their potential.

The resolution is an important first step – it would allow us to focus on the process and not blame any individuals.  Briefly, the resolution as originally presented, suggests that Old Lyme try to:

  • enhance diversity through leadership, staffing and contracting
  • promote equity through policy
  • improve the quality of data collected
  • advocate locally and work with other partners to support relevant policies to improve health in communities of color and confront racism
  • support the efforts of others in the community to do the same
  • identify goals and objectives to assess progress and identify opportunities to advance racial equity.

After one of her constituent Zoom meetings was disrupted with racist remarks, Jahana Hayes, congressional representative for the CT 5th District said “The only way we can cut the cancer of racism out of our community is by calling it out when we see it and raising our collective voices to get rid of it.  In the words of Edmund Burke, “the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil, is for good people to do nothing.”  

I’d like to see the Board of Selectmen and the people of Old Lyme do something.  I ask the Board of Selectmen to pass the resolution.

Sincerely,

Christine Gianquinto,
Old Lyme.

Lyme-Old Lyme Schools Proposed Budget Passes Easily in Both Towns

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LYME/OLD LYME — UPDATED 5/7: The Lyme-Old Lyme Schools proposed $34.87 million budget for 2021-22 was approved by a wide margin of 273 votes Tuesday, with a combined total of 328 Lyme and Old Lyme residents voting for the budgets and only a total of 55 across both towns voting against it.

The percentage of total voters supporting the budget was 85.6 and the number rejecting it was 14.4 percent.

Lyme-Old Lyme Schools Superintendent Ian Neviaser commented to LymeLine in an electronic message after the result had been announced, “Thank you to the Lyme and Old Lyme communities for their ongoing support of our schools. We could not achieve the level of success that we have without the support of our communities.”

He added, “Support for this budget will allow us to continue providing a top-notch education to the students of Lyme and Old Lyme.”

The results by town were as follows:
Old Lyme
For: 249
Against: 50

Lyme
For: 79
Against: 5

The town numbers above reflect voter turnout in Old Lyme at 4.99 percent based on a total number of 5,992 registered voters, while in Lyme the equivalent percentage was 4.24 based on 1,979 voters.

Registration Open at Old Lyme Children’s Learning Center for Variety of Summer, Fall Programs

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OLD LYME — The Old Lyme Children’s Learning Center (OLCLC) at 57 Lyme St. is opening enrollment for the following programs:

Preschool/Kindergarten Summer Experiences: (June 28 -Aug. 6)

A six-week summer program open to children ages 3-6. Families can sign up for any amount of weeks, but programs are limited to 16 per week.  

Each week has a different theme, and events and activities will revolve around that theme.  Themes include: gardening, camping, construction, water fun, zoo and the Olympics. Reading and mathematics are built into all themes, and younger students will be provided with a rest time each day. 

There is also an option of before and/or after care for families who work. 

Programs are filling up quickly, so send your registration paperwork in ASAP. The cost per week is $300.00 for 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. care.  

FALL, WINTER & SPRING PROGRAMS

Registration is now being accepted for enrollment into the following programs:

Infant Program:  Six (6) weeks to twelve (12) months

Transition program:  Twelve (12) months to two (2) years

Toddlers:  Two (2) years to four (4) years

For more specifics and to receive OLCLC registration forms, email: office.olclc@gmail.com

Op-Ed: Faculty, Staff at Lyme-Old Lyme Schools Deserve Cash Bonuses

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Editor’s Note: This op-ed was submitted by William Fitzgerald of Old Lyme. 

In Old Lyme, we claim to value education. Now is the time for us to step up and show we mean it. The Board of Education recently put out a request to crowdsource gifts for teachers. While this gesture is well-intentioned, it’s not enough. Our school staff – every adult who worked in the building, from the custodial crew to maintenance to the kitchen staff to guidance counselors to admin assistants to tech staff to teachers and admins – stepped up under the most challenging conditions this country has seen in a generation. Their effort and care deserves cash bonuses.

Currently, the district site lists 306 people. Let’s assume, for the sake of overestimating, that the full number of people supporting our kids in the district is 350. Estimating high, paying each staff member a bonus of $1,000 would cost $350,000. A bonus of $2,000 per person is $700,000; and a bonus of $3,000 per person is just over a million dollars.

We have the money to do this. The current budget contains a little over 1.7 million dollars in unspent funds “returned” to Lyme and Old Lyme. Returning “unspent” money is an annual ritual; between 2017 and the current budget the district has refunded amounts ranging between $647,000 and $1.7 million (see footnote, below). This money is cash that has already been taxed from the townspeople, and allocated via budgets. The towns or the district could pay every staff member a $3,000 bonus and still leave $700,000 of that 1.7 million untouched.

If the school board wants to solicit matching donations from community members, the contributions could potentially be routed through the Lyme Old Lyme Education Foundation, where these community contributions could be a tax writeoff. This assumes that the LOLEF would be willing to serve in this role, but it seems a natural extension of their past work and aligned with their general mission.

Given what things have been like since March 2020, I can’t imagine that our school board and superintendent would want to do anything except show our school staff that they are appreciated via this one time cash bonus. Frequent objections to doing something different include that it’s too hard, or that there isn’t enough time, or that the politics of the budget process are too complicated.

However, our teachers, our admin staff, our custodians, our kitchen staff, our tech staff did not have the luxury of these excuses. Their work was unreasonably hard, and they did it. They did not have adequate time to plan for the continual shifts and disruptions caused by Covid – and they showed up and excelled. Our staff had to navigate the impacts of the political quagmire that marked our national response to Covid – and they showed up and made it happen, under circumstances that were and continue to be unreasonably difficult and complex. 

The commitment, professionalism, and follow through of our staff should be matched by this board, and the town selectmen.

In January, in the middle of the current pandemic, this school board committed nearly 2.5 million dollars for an artificial turf field. If we can afford millions for fake grass, we should be able to afford thousands for actual people.

Pay school staff a one time bonus for their work during the pandemic. We have the money, and they earned it.

Author’s footnotes:

School budgets listed on the Region 18 district website go back to the 2019-2020 budget, which allows us to see “returned” funds starting on 6/30/2017.

The budget overview pages are here:

Carry over funds from 2017 and 2018:

  • 6/30/2017 – $1,101,399
  • 06/30/2018 – $804,212

Carry over funds from 2019:

  • 06/30/2019  – $647,155

Carry over funds from 2020:

  • 06/30/20 – $1,725,886

The district has not yet released a projection of unspent funds for the current fiscal year ending 6/30/2021, but if past patterns hold there is potentially an additional $650,000 to $1.1 million dollars in play.