Cheryl Dishes

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” […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

There’s an industrious level of excitement around our household as the month of October draws to a close. When the temperatures drop and daylight hours become shorter, we’re like the […]

Winter squashes sustained the Native Americans in the New England region for at least seven thousand years before the European explorers landed. Back when Maine became a state, it was […]

In her book, “Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking”, Marcella Hazan writes “one of the most satisfying salads is based on that old standby of the ingenious poor, bread and water.” […]

Besides the iconic wild blueberry, Maine apples are one of my favorite year-round fruits. An important crop for the early Colonial settlers, apples were a vital part of homesteading life […]

One of my favorite children’s novels is “James and the Giant Peach”, written in 1961 by British author Roald Dahl.  There have been several different illustrated versions of the book […]

My friend Barrett Gray, owner of Boyce’s Motel in Stonington, runs the Healthy Island Project’s lunchbox program for senior citizens down here on the island. Every week, individuals get a […]

Looking for recipes that use the zucchini explosion in your garden? Zucchini Yogurt Muffins, warm from the oven, make a delicious summer breakfast. The delicate, moist interior flecked with green […]

These days, my refrigerator shelves are overloaded with jars and small bowls of ingredients waiting for someone to eat them: extra-ripe raspberries, pulled chicken breast, roasted tomatoes, wild blueberry fruit […]