For many in the North America, February 2 marks the celebration of Groundhog Day, a popular tradition that has historical roots in Pennsylvania Dutch superstition. IF the furry fellow exits […]
January 22 is the start of the “Year of the Rabbit”. In the Chinese culture, the rabbit is a symbol of longevity, peace and prosperity. The luckiest of all the […]
I like to set goals and objectives for myself, almost akin to New Year’s resolutions. Just the process of thinking about what I might want to do in the coming […]
This winter solstice in the Northern hemisphere occurs when the earth’s pole reaches its maximum distance away from the sun. For centuries, this longest night of the year, either December […]
Chocolate is one of our most indulgent and luxurious foods. The cocoa or cacao bean, native to South America, was cultivated by the Aztecs for centuries before being discovered by […]
Every year after the Thanksgiving holiday, instead of joining the hustle and bustle of crowds at the shopping malls, I like to spend quality time in the kitchen. Cooking and […]
Long before Columbus landed in the New World, the Native Americans were cultivating and eating pumpkins. Grown together with corn and pole beans in a system known as the three […]
I have enjoyed creating recipes and cooking for a number of different folks with varied food eating styles and cultures, food sensitivities or intolerances, and food allergies. Often it’s an […]
What’s not to love in food that has been fried? The crispy texture, the delicate and delicious morsel waiting inside, the crunch of the bite, and the beautiful golden brown […]
“You should roast us a chicken”, my husband suggested, “Remember the days? I nodded and smiled, nostalgically recalling the first years of our marriage. We were students at the University […]
With the onset of fall weather, shorter days and cooler nights, my dining room is lined with trays of pink tomatoes, bright blue-green pears, and fuzzy orange peaches. This “fruit-ripening” […]
As a space saving measure on our tiny plots of gardens sculpted into the granite boulders, we grow many of our crops vertically. Up rather than out. Shell peas, sugar […]
One of my early food writer heroes was Marjorie Standish, longtime columnist for the Maine Sunday Telegram. In addition to writing for the paper for 25 years, she published several […]
During the hot, dog days of summer our dining style becomes more casual and relaxed. The gardens and farmer’s markets are bursting with fresh fruits and vegetables that are a […]
Summer is a busy time for Maine families as we try to squeeze in every ray of sunshine before the long, cold winter. Our home becomes a literal bed-and-breakfast as […]
It’s Maine strawberry season! Our family can never have enough of the luscious, red-ripe strawberry that leads the parade of summer fruits. Strawberries in sugar over piping-hot biscuits with Jersey […]
My latest “coffee-table” reading is Thomas Keller’s, “Ad-hoc at Home”, a collection of recipes that the acclaimed chef prepares when not cooking at one of his nine restaurants and bakeries. […]
I once owned and operated a specialty food store, catering company and small café on Central Street in Bangor, Maine. My shop, located in in the heart of the city, […]
The recipe for Green Goddess dressing has a storied past, originating as a sauce for eel on the plate of Louis XIII. In 1923, the creamy rich condiment made its […]
Our household eats foods seasonally, and the winter diet of root vegetables gets quite long. So I am quite excited in the spring to spot clumps of fresh chives, purple […]
There is nothing more welcoming in spring than a clump of fresh chives. The smallest species of the onion genus, Allium Schoenoprasum, is a choice edible herb, and the only […]
Of all the root vegetables, the humble beet, or beetroot is one of my favorites. Beetroot (sometimes called table beet, garden beet, red or golden beet, or just beet) is the […]
In many households, the lengthening daylight hours heralds the time to do some major cleaning. This age-old ritual of “spring cleaning” is rooted in religious and cultural traditions, and linked […]
In her seminal book “The Way to Cook”, Julia Child writes that “while attitudes about food have changed, fortunately the principals of good cooking have not. The more one knows […]
