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 …
ELLSWORTH — It was an unseasonably bitter day in November, with a soft gray sky, threatening snow and red-nosed residents hustling to and from their cars, collars drawn high. But inside Steamy Buddha Cafe & Yoga Studio on Church Street, one could be forgiven for mistaking it for a morning in Mumbai: on one side …
Pies-to-go Apple, pecan, lemon meringue, chocolate cream … The local chapter of PEO International, a philanthropic organization that helps further women of all ages’ educational aspirations, is ready to take orders for Thanksgiving pies and will hold its fall sale from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 27, in front of Renys and …
Of all our national holidays, Thanksgiving holds a special place. It’s apolitical and nondenominational. It brings families together. It conjures up a brief moment when we were not trying to dominate or extirpate the people who arrived before us on this continent. And it’s all about food. We know very little about that “First Thanksgiving” …
By Merry Post Special to The Ellsworth American Reformers in 19th-century New England tried to improve the lives of women through legislation: to obtain voting rights for women, to liberalize divorce and custody laws, to guarantee women control of their own property, and to improve the conditions of factory work. Early feminist Melusina Fay Peirce …
Finding rare apples Fedco Trees expert and Maine heirloom apple authority John Bunker will speak about his 407-page book “Apples and the Art of Detection: Tracking Down, Identifying and Preserving Rare Apples” (2019, $30) at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 19, at the Blue Hill Public Library. Co-hosted with Blue Hill Books, Bunker will sign books …
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 …
ELLSWORTH — The sweetest things grow naturally from the earth. Case in point: Maine’s wild blueberries. “For me, blueberries just scream summer,” said author, photographer and Boston Globe columnist Sally Pasley Vargas. Down East Books recently released Vargas’s latest book, “The Blueberry Cookbook,” which is packed with over 50 recipes, baking tips and lush photos …
ELLSWORTH — Sow’s Ear Winery’s proprietor Tom Hoey is among six Maine cider makers while Barbara Brooks of Seal Cove Farm and Kim Roos of Garden Side dairy in Jonesboro are among five Maine cheese makers who will be featured at the second Downeast Cider & Cheese Festival at 4:30 and 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. …
By Merry Post Special to The Ellsworth American The anonymous woman from Salem, Mass., who wrote “The American Matron, or Practical and Scientific Cookery,” addressed young housekeepers in her preface. Writing in 1851, she sought not just to ennoble the mission of housekeepers and cooks but also to caution the reader about the seriousness of …
Going whole hog Halcyon Grange will serve up its annual Pig Roast Harvest Supper and Live Auction from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 26, at 1157 Pleasant St. in Blue Hill. This year’s lavish menu will feature Quill’s End Farm’s roast pork, warm red cabbage salad, potato salad, squash, baked beans, local greens, …
Pass the pandowdy In the second issue of the former Peninsula Gazette, which was launched and edited by Bernice “Bunny” Richmond in 1954, the May 4, 1954 issue’s “Cook’s Corner” column featured a recipe for apple pandowdy. Over half a century later, the recipe might come in handy for all those apples recently picked from …
