Local food: Steven's find this week is the husk cherry, which he adds to sweet and savory dishes. Related to the tomatillo, it has been described as a cross between the sweet tartness of strawberries and the mellow acidity of tomatoes. Try this unique fruit in the raspberry pear upside down cake or in a chutney served with the pork chop with maple mustard glaze, roasted potatoes and brussels sprouts. Later in the week, you'll find husk cherries in the chicken molé.

Around the Galaxy: Amy Kolb Noyes is in the house! Tuesday night at 7 the Vermont writer and photographer will talk about her new book, Nontoxic Housecleaning, as well as demonstrate how to make one of the cleaning products. Bring your own spray bottle or container!

Music Notes: Come by Thursday after 7:30 to welcome the return of local back porch music favorites Copper Kettle, with their fiddle, dobro, washtub base, kazoo and guitar.

Local Events: Jeudevine Music School benefit concert this Friday evening at the Hardwick Townhouse features David Budbill's poetry, jazz, steel drums, and the Bleuttes Sauvage quartet. More information is available at 472-5913.

Hardwick Area Transition Towns opens the doors of four energy innovating homes on Saturday, including solar, straw bale construction, masonry stoves, wind and more. Tours start at 8:45 am. For more information, call 472-6185 or email nancyn@together.net.

Local Food: Apples can be found throughout the menu this time of year. Steven uses the versatile fruit in sweet and savory dishes including Moroccan spiced butternut squash soup with apples and leeks; beet, apple, pear and arugula salad; chicken roasted with apples and bacon and a cider blue cheese sauce. Don't forget the gingerbread with caramel apples, hot cider and Vermont's Pomme de Vie apple brandy.

Around the Galaxy: The 24 Hour Read-a-Thon starts Friday at 4 pm and continues through Saturday. Pick up a registration sheet and pledge sheet before Thursday at the bookstore.

Music Notes: Blue Fox, Montpelier's well traveled blues man, journeys to Hardwick so we can enjoy what Seven Days calls his "deep-lazy-growly-sexy" vocals and guitar work described as "ultra strength." Find Blue Fox on myspace.

Local Events: Sunday, October 18, is a busy day! Enjoy an evening pumpkin walk on the Hardwick Trails, lined with 350 lighted pumpkins carved by students at the elementary school. There will be a bonfire, donuts and cider, and a friendly witch. Bring your flashlight to the Hazen School parking lot at 6 pm. Or, if your interests involve energy efficiency, come the the Button Up Vermont workshop at the Craftsbury Library at 6:30, and learn how to improve your home's energy efficiency.

Local Food: Leaves are falling, and so we have pears and the elusive fall raspberry. Steven brings them together with Butterworks Early Riser Cornmeal as a flavorful upside down cake. Jen Boucher raspberries, Bosc pears from Pete's Greens (also in the beet salad), and Butterworks yogurt combine for the perfect end to a fall dinner, topped with a little something extra - whipped cream and berry sauce. Have a forkful of fall and warm your soul.

The vase is the work of Harry and Wendy Besett of Hardwick. Visit their website http://www.vtglass.com/index.htm

Around the Galaxy: Mystery author Don Bredes is at The Galaxy Bookshop Tuesday night at 7 pm to read from the third installment of his Hector Bellevance series.

Music Notes: Singer songwriter Kim Davidson comes by with her "sexy black Martin Guitar" for a performance of what she calls "emo-icana." Learn more and listen to her music at Kim's myspace page.

Local Art: Cheryl Betz creates abstract paintings reminiscent of Turner landscapes. Cheryl's paintings possess an ethereal mystical quality that works to draw the viewer into the picture. She will have 17 oil paintings on view from September 29 through Monday, November 23, 2009.

Local Events: Our friends the Wacky Worm Sisters want to help you learn about indoor composting, Sunday October 11 at 1 pm. For more information or to register, call 533-9836 or email newleaf@vtlink.net.

And while you enjoy the fall foliage and crisp days, remember to come by any afternoon after 2:30 for sweets, coffee and bar service, or for our specials on draft, wine, and cocktails every Sunday and Monday.

Local Food: Fall is officially here and Steven is highlighting the flavors of pumpkin and maple on the menu. What could be better than maple crème brûlée with Riverside Farm pumpkin? Roasted Pumpkins also accompany the grilled trout from Mountain Foot Farm. And it's not fall without pumpkin soup, this time with a twist of curry.

Make a reservation for dinner this Thursday, October 1st and help support NOFA's Share the Harvest, a fundraiser for limited income Vermonters. Learn more at NOFA.

Around the Galaxy: Perennial favorite Archer Mayor returns to The Galaxy Bookshop Tuesday at 7PM to celebrate the publication of his latest Joe Gunther novel, The Price of Malice. All are welcome and the event at Galaxy is free. After the reading he'll dine at Claire's with a lucky contest winner who has bought the book in advance.

Local Music: Jeremy Raboin stops in Thursday night to serenade us with his guitar work and vocals. www.myspace.com/jeremyraboin

Local Art: Look for new art on our walls. The abstract work of Cheryl Betz will be on display beginning Tuesday, with a reception Monday, October 4th from 4-6.

Local Food: Steven brings back his famously spicy gingerbread cake, baked with maple syrup and molasses, served with caramel apples, Strafford vanilla ice-cream, and maple fluff.

The Burlington Free Press executive editor wrote about his recent visit to the Hardwick area and to Claire's as part of his own localvore challenge. You can read his diary entry from Saturday, September 5 at Townsend Takes Eat Local Challenge. He was a little early for the gingerbread.

Around the Galaxy: Charles Sabukewicz brings poetry inspired by 22 summers spent at Coles Pond to The Galaxy Bookshop on Tuesday at 7:00. He will read from his recent chapbook Rowing in Twilight. And get ready for Archer Mayor on the 29th - pre-buy the book at Galaxy and be entered in a drawing for dinner with Archer at Claire's!

Local Events: This week, the Jeudevine Library hosts a special sneak peak at the new Ken Burns documentary, The National Parks: America's Best Idea. The Sunday night screening is followed by a discussion.

The Highland Lodge hosts a Wallace Stegner Centennial all weekend beginning on Friday. The schedule is available at http://www.highlandlodge.com/.

And don't forget the Montpelier Art Walk, showcasing local artists, this Friday from 4-8 pm. More information is available here.

Music Notes: Country outlaws Rachael Rice and the Cosmic Americans return this Thursday at 7:30. Enjoy her transformative sensibility and a unique blend of rockabilly, country, and Americana. For more information, visit http://rachaelrice.com/

New on Main Street: Our sign! Come by and take a look.

Local Food Coming in from the Cold: With the cooler and shorter days of fall in the air, we'll be harvesting all the different basils, sorrel, thyme, sage, parsley, and cilantro from Steven's kitchen garden. Look for pestos, sauces, herbaceous braises and fragrant pastas on the menu, as well as some of our stunning cocktails from the bar. Steven is also drying cayenne and jalapeño peppers from Pete's Greens, strung on ristras in the cabinet above the kitchen.

Around the Galaxy: No event this week,but get ready for Archer Mayor's visit on the 29th. Each year, when Archer visits Hardwick, we usually get together for dinner before or after the book signing. This year, we would like to invite one of our customers to join us: every customer who pre-orders a copy of The Price of Malice, online or at the store, will be entered in a drawing to win dinner at Claire's with Archer. Details at http://www.galaxybookhop.com/.

Music Notes: Thursday at 7:30, Jay Ekis brings back his world-influenced music, ranging from the dark and melodic to the optimistic. If you haven't had an opportunity to see Jay perform, you can check out his music at http://www.ekismusic.com/

Local Events: Sunday and Monday, our cocktail, beer, and wine specials continue into the Fall. Come in and enjoy your favorite drink and watch the game.

After School: We open daily at 2:30, except Wednesdays, for sweets, coffee, sodas and bar service. Stop in to visit with friends, have a meeting, access our free wifi to do your homework or catch up with the world's news or sports on our flatscreen.

Happening at Claire's and around Hardwick

Local Food: Sunflowers and sunchokes signal the cool and short days of late summer, an earthly mirror reflecting the sun just as the first maple leaves begin to turn to deeper reds and golds. Imagine our surprise to find that Harvest Hill Farm has a crop of later summer artichokes ready to harvest. Different from their more familiar rooted cousins-in-flavor, these artichokes are deep green edible blooms prized for their fleshy petals and well-protected hearts. Steven serves them as an edible bowl, stuffed with Chèvre from Vermont Butter and Cheese Company, Bayley Hazen Blue and Constant Bliss, and Grafton Cheddar, baked with a crispy topping. Pluck a leaf and use it to scoop up the sharp and nutty fondue.

Thursday Music: Radio Rangers founder and frontman Mark Struhsacker is back to entertain us with traditional bluegrass and fiddle tunes.