GREENFIELD — Since its inception last December, the Greenfield Public Library Cooking Circle has been a way for the community to connect virtually over a shared interest in cooking or baking.
“We were trying to find ways we could connect with our community virtually,” said Pamela McBride of the Greenfield Public Library. “Our first Cooking Circle was a cookie exchange. It was a lot of fun — we all got a lot of great cookie recipes.”
Since the winter holidays, the library has also hosted a soups and stews-themed Cooking Circle; a chocolate-themed Cooking Circle; and an Easter and Passover dish-themed Cooking Circle. For each Cooking Circle, participants email McBride their recipes, and on the day of the program — which is held over Zoom — each person gets to share their recipe with the group.
On Thursday at 7 p.m., the library is welcoming the days of warmer weather with a celebration of the community’s favorite summer recipes.
“This one is kind of our celebration of getting to have family barbecues and picnics,” McBride said. “Because of the fact things are loosening up and many of us are able to get together with our families and friends, we thought it would be a great time to share some of our favorite recipes.”
So far, the library has received recipes for tabbouleh, a lamb and fresh peach skewer, and a tomato basil upside down pie, among others.
“We go around and everyone gets a chance to talk about their recipe, sometimes about its history,” McBride said. “Maybe it was their grandmothers’ or it’s a family favorite. Sometimes people say they got their recipe out of a cookbook, but this is what they’ve done with it. We have a lot of conversations about different things you can do with the recipe, also.”
For Clarita Shaffer, the tomato basil upside down pie she’ll be sharing on Thursday is a bit of everything. Not only is it a family favorite, it also has some history attached to it. She explained the recipe was originally given to her by her sister, who got it from a woman from New Zealand while she was living in Tonga.
“I’ve always loved the idea that the pie came to Greenfield via Tonga via New Zealand,” Shaffer said.
Shaffer searched online for the recipe, where she discovered it had actually come from a woman in Australia.
“It turns out, it’s a woman named Belinda Jeffrey’s recipe, and she’s from Australia,” she said. “So it came from Australia to New Zealand to Tonga to Greenfield.”
Shaffer described the tomato basil upside down pie as the perfect meal for a picnic or a hot summer day. And although it’s originally made with tomatoes, her variation mixes tomatoes with summer squash or zucchini.
“It’s an interesting recipe,” Shaffer said. “It’s one that can be eaten hot or at room temperature, or taken to a picnic. It’s one my daughter really likes.”
McBride said the Cooking Circle is a program she hopes to continue, especially during the holidays.
“It’s a way of reaching out and talking with your neighbors, and with your fellow patrons … that you haven’t had a chance to see at the library in the last year or so,” she said. “It’s a good way for us to just get together… and unwind.”
Although the deadline to submit recipes has passed, the event is free and open to all. To get a Zoom link invitation, email librarian@greenfieldpubliclibrary.org.
Mary Byrne can be reached at mbyrne@recorder.com or 413-930-4429. Twitter: @MaryEByrne