I teach a culinary class at the Deer Isle Stonington high school on “Introduction to Food Systems and Food Safety.” This semester we’re studying the Maine Local Twenty, the 20 food groups that Maine has
The rain from Tropical Storm Henri and the hot weather have combined to produce a cucumber explosion! Here at Rabbit Hill, our soil is rich and full of “rabbit organic material” or rabbit manure. The
Like many fishing families, we enjoy our share of Maine lobster every summer. My husband has five “recreational” traps, which usually keeps us in good supply for visiting family and friends. So when we invited
Does your family enjoy hummus, the Middle East spread or dip traditionally prepared with mashed chickpeas, lemon, garlic and sesame seeds or oil? Our tribe has always consumed vast quantities of the addictive mixture, often
Kale is a magnificent vegetable in the kitchen garden: tall, stately plants with serrated, crinkled or feathery leaves and eye-popping colors of blue-green, purple, red, pale green, white and yellow. The darling of food nutritionists,
Popsicles are a frozen treat enjoyed by all ages. Unlike ice cream, where air is incorporated into the product while churning the mix during the freezing process, frozen ice pops, or “popsicles”, are a liquid
Now that summer is officially here, I’ve been hankering for a good bowl of corn chowder; thick, creamy, sweet and rich, flecked with fresh herbs, plump kernels of yellow corn and soft pillows of perfectly
Of all the world’s vegetables, asparagus are probably the most prized and elegant. Food historians date the young shoots of this perennial plant that appears in the first warm and wet days of spring as
My husband fishes with Captain Joe Brewer aboard the boat Hey Jude II. A traditional lobster craft, this fishing vessel is rigged with lines and hooks every May to “hook” for halibut. On May 18,
Of all the herbaceous perennials that have accompanied my household every time I’ve moved, the rhubarb plant is the oldest. A member of the buckwheat family, the first rhubarb cultivar traveled to New England via
Rice is the basic foodstuff of Asian cuisines; it is the fundamental grain that feeds half the world’s population. In Asian cultures, rice symbolically represents fertility and life. An essential food, rice has almost magical
Have you ever walked the beach at low tide and picked up a very large, triangle-shaped clamshell four inches or more across? These are the shells of the Atlantic Surf Clam (Spisula solidissima), a large,
March is my favorite winter month…longer days, the sun is higher in the sky, and the winds that blow hold the promise of spring. Time to plan the gardens, start seeds, and repot the houseplants.
Although often associated with the Irish immigrants that settled here in the New World, a boiled dinner is traditional New England one-pot comfort food. In my childhood farming family, the preparation of a boiled dinner
Have you ever enjoyed biscotti, the intensely crunchy cookie, dipped in coffee or sweet wine? Developed by the early Romans as a convenience food for travelers, biscotti are unleavened, finger-shaped wafers. The word biscotto is
Sadly, aside from Peter Rabbit, the rest of my family is really not completely in love with cabbage. Sometimes call the workhorse of the winter kitchen; cabbage is one of the few green vegetables that
Like many Maine families, our Sunday afternoons in January have been occupied with watching the 2020 National Football League playoffs. After the Patriots loss to the Titans last year in the wild card round, we
When my Meyer’s lemon tree, heavy with fruit, starting falling over and out of the pot, I knew it was time to harvest. With the daylight hours growing longer, the spindly branches were practically growing
The seed catalogs flooding the mailbox always inspire me to reflect upon my garden and pantry this time of year. I evaluate the successes and operational challenges, design my planting rotation, select new seed varieties,
The Maine scallop season is here, and we’ve stepped up our consumption of these rich, succulent bivalves. As excellent source of protein, omega-3 fatty acids, and Vitamin B12, Maine scallops are also an integral part
One of my favorite winter root vegetables is the beetroot, or beets. Deep garnet red, bright yellow, golden, even candy-cane striped, the taproot portion of the beet plant has a sweet and earthy flavor. Despite
Last week, my culinary students at Deer Isle-Stonington high school prepared and served a Harvest lunch for their 120 classmates and staff. It was a heroic effort that involved the whole school and spanned over
Through much travel and separation, our family has remained bound together with a passion for good eating. Some of my most vivid memories are of the foods, meals and feasts around the dining room table.
