I keep a close eye on my pantry inventory these days; sorting root-cellared apples for sauce, peeling and freezing garlic and roasting the butternut squash with soft spots. The urge for this annual routine of spring sorting and cleaning reminds me of squirrels, checking their food supplies, cleaning out their nest and getting ready for …
My friend Susan Wells brought a bowl of bright red, chunky sauce surrounded with crackers and toast points to the garden club potluck. Smothering a cracker with the mixture, I popped it in my mouth. A taste explosion! Bright, tomato and sweet pepper flavors with rich undertones, a pop of acidity, hints of charred roasting …
What is your go-to dish for a special supper or festive potluck meal? A recent student query had me pause to reflect for several moments. My family enjoys eating a wide variety of foods, fruits, grains and vegetables. Our proximity to the coast and local farms allows us the luxury of plentiful seafood, fresh vegetables …
The cabbage, which derives from the French word “caboche” (a colloquial term for head), was introduced to the Americas in 1541-42 by Jacques Cartier on his third voyage to Canada. Although the vegetable became an important New England crop that sustained many homesteading families, the first writing of its cultivation wasn’t recorded until over 100 …
Last week was Arts Week at Deer Isle-Stonington High School, and the theme was a celebration of Maine’s bicentennial. Once part of Massachusetts, Maine became independent — very independent — in March of 1820. For the entire week, over 120 teenagers were engrossed in studying the history of Maine and Deer Isle and creating works …
On a recent foodie trip to Portland we enjoyed three delicious and innovatively different meals. No peeling vegetables, no chopping garlic, no mixing, baking, cooking, and no washing dishes. It was pure luxury. We dined on soul-bending bar food paired with locally brewed beer, Portland Harbor Hotel stylish Eggs Benedicts and champagne cocktails and a …
Every year in January we have an artistic project here on Deer Isle known as Fun-A-Day. The premise is simple: participants pick a project like take a photograph, paint a series of pictures, create a quilt, or bake a cake and work on it every day. Then in February, we share our work with the …
The year 2020 is big for Maine, as we’ll be celebrating our 200th birthday year as an independent state (no longer part of Massachusetts!). Even though we know the indigenous peoples of Maine have been here for thousands of years, this opportunity to explore more “recent” Maine history and learn about how Maine became a …
Maine Dish At a recent Deer Isle potluck supper, I enjoyed the most delicious stuffed mushroom caps. They were golden, bite-sized morsels, perfectly cooked, with a nice and buttery, garlicy and clam flavor. And so easy to eat! Unlike many stuffed caps, these mushrooms were not greasy, watery or runny. The tasty tidbits were the …
We’re enjoying the Thanksgiving holiday in Ithaca, N.Y., visiting with our daughter Emily and son-in-law Kent. It’s a break from the clan tradition of feasting at my mother’s family homestead in Norway, Maine. No 25-pound turkey, mounds of mashed potatoes, squash casserole, Robin’s buttermilk rolls and Aunt Jen’s pies. Instead of the assorted collection of …
Looking for something new, exciting and festive for your family’s Thanksgiving dinner? How about chutney? A spiced fruit condiment whose origin food historians have traced back to 500 BC in India, chutneys were an early form of food preservation adopted by the Romans. The sauces later travelled to the British Empire, where the Brits added …
My sister Jennifer Wixson and her husband, Stanley Luce, of Troy, Maine, are diversified farmers who raise Scottish Highland beef cattle, tend beehives and cultivate a wide variety of fruit, including cranberries. This has been a banner year for cranberries, also known as bounce berries (because the ripe ones bounce). These shiny, scarlet berries grow …
