Category Archives: Food

Flowers, Food, Gardening, People

To the Red Barn, Fernwood Nursery, and John’s Ice Cream

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Yesterday was a finest kind of day, even though it was hotter than heck—in the 90s. For Mother’s Day, Shannon gave me a gift certificate to the fabulous Red Barn––thank you, Shannon!—and our first stop was lunch. I had one of my favorite things—a delectable lobster roll—and Clif had fish and chips and a side order of onion rings.

After that, it was on to Fernwood Nursery in Montville, where I met my blogging friend Denise Sawyer and her husband Rick. A note about blogging friends in general and Denise in specific: Blogging has enhanced my life  in unexpected and utterly delightful ways. In this country and in many others, through blogging, I have met a wonderful, creative group of people who inspire me. You might even call this a far-flung community of kindred spirits.

I met Denise in a roundabout way, through an Irish blog called The Aran Artisan.  As it turned out, Melissa, of the Aran Artisan, is originally from Maine, and Denise, one of her followers, lives in Maine now. Hence the connection. Denise found out I was Franco-American and very kindly sent me a book about Franco-Americans. I discovered Denise and her husband own a nursery that specializes in shady plants.

I have a shady yard and gardens with, ahem,  a few holes. As Fernwood Nursery is within driving distance of where we live, Clif and I decided to make the trek to Montville after our Red Barn lunch.

What a treat to visit Denise, Rick,  and their delightful nursery tucked in the woods. Truly, it felt like Clif and I were connecting with old friends, even though we had never met. Despite this being a very busy time for Fernwood, Denise graciously took time to talk with us and to give us advice about planting in dry shade. I came home with a Solomon’s seal, just perfect for that aforementioned hole in the garden.

Denise also told us a little about herself, about how she came from an old Connecticut family that dates back to the 1600s. Rick is from the Lewiston/Auburn area, and they own about twenty acres of land in Montville, which not only supports the nursery but also provides about 85 percent of what they eat.

Most of the land remains wooded, and Denise is quite rightly proud that they get so much out of a small footprint, their livelihood as well as a lot of their food.

As we sat outside in wicker chairs, I heard the clucking of chickens in a nearby pen, big with plenty of room to peck and scratch. In the background came the melodious song of large wood chimes, and it almost seemed as though the woods were singing.

Denise and Rick have what can only be called a flair for making their nursery a lovely place. Green, green, and green, so bright yet soothing. Lots of little containers tucked with different varieties of hens and chicks. Double-blossom white trilliums. Arresting sculpture.

Here are some pictures of Fernwood Nursery.

As Denise noted, “It’s a good place to be.”

It most certainly is, and we look forward to visiting again.

Now, you might be wondering how in the world we ended the day that would be in keeping with seafood and a delightful nursery.

Following Denise’s suggestion, we went to John’s ice cream.

As the sign indicates, the ice cream is handmade and oh so delicious.

What a good life we have!

Food

Utterly Delicious Best-Ever Bagels at Forage in Lewiston, Maine

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For this post to make a lick of sense, you need to know a little about Lewiston, Maine, a city about a half-hour from where we live. Once upon a time, when the mills were booming and a decent living could be made, Lewiston was a thriving albeit small city that people actually wanted to visit. My mother and Clif’s mother both spoke about how going to Lewiston—from Skowhegan and Bangor, respectively—was a treat they looked forward to.

However, by the end of the last century, the booming days of the mills had come to an end, and Lewiston became a gritty, edgy place where people struggled to make ends meet. Gray and shabby and a little menacing, it was not picturesque. It was not cool. It was definitely not a place that tourists wanted to visit.

But Lewiston does have a few things in its favor. It is the home of the fine Bates College, which brings a little pizzazz to Lewiston, no matter how down and out the city might be. Lewiston is not far from snappy Brunswick or trendy Portland, but it is far enough away so that real estate hasn’t soared to the point where ordinary people can’t afford to buy a house. (Always a very bad sign, in my opinion, when house are out of reach for average folks. )

Slowly, businesses and good restaurants, lured by affordable real estate and a college community, have started coming to Lewiston. There seems to be a good change in the air, and Forage Market is a perfect example of this.

My friend Mary Jane alerted me to Forage Market. On Facebook she shared a piece from Saveur magazine describing how Forage’s sourdough bagels were baked in a wood-fired brick oven. The writer, Mathew Kronsberg, then went on to make this astonishing claim: “These were not just great bagels for Maine. They were great bagels for anywhere.”

On Facebook, I immediately wrote to Mary Jane, “We’ve got to go to Forge.”

“Ready when you are!” came her immediate reply.

So yesterday, on an April day with a lovely light rain, Mary Jane, Clif and I traveled to Lewiston to check out these great-for-anywhere bagels. Even on a Wednesday afternoon, Forage was packed with people of all ages. The tin ceilings, dark interior, and hip staff give the place a cool vibe that we all loved.

But how were the bagels? Readers, they deserved the high praise they got from Mathew Kronsberg. Simply put, I don’t remember having a better bagel anywhere, even in New York City. Heresy, I know. I got a sesame bagel, and it was loaded with those luscious seeds. Crispy on the outside, soft and springy on the inside, that bagel was oh-so delectable, and I could have one right now. Clif, with his poppy seed bagel, and Mary Jane, with her garlic bagel, concurred that these were terrific bagels.

My one regret is that because I had a bagel sandwich–smoked turkey, lettuce, tomato—I wasn’t able to appreciate the full deliciousness of my bagel. This means that I’ll have to go back soon, in midmorning, and have a bagel spread with butter and nothing else.

Mary Jane, are you up for another trip to Forage?

Scenes from the totally excellent Forage Market:

The funky interior
Honey and a glimpse of the hip staff
Clif and Mary Jane, ready for bagels!
Words to live by

 

And finally, those bagels!

Food, Nature, Recipes

The Velocity of Spring and the Easiest Soup Ever

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In northern New England, spring always drags her pretty heels until suddenly she bursts upon us in all her glory. This year, however, the burst seems to have come at lightening speed.

Here is the picture I took on Monday, April 3, to toast my blog-friends Derrick and Jackie.

Here is a picture I took on Wednesday, April 19, a little over two weeks later.

Even by Maine standards this is fast, fast, fast, and I just can’t get over the velocity with which spring has come this year.

The male goldfinches have begun to turn bright yellow, the phoebes are singing their  “fee-bee, fee-bee” song, and my perennials are poking their bright green leaves up from the cold dirt.

Tra-la, tra-la! Spring is here, and even though yesterday and today have been chilly and rainy, I know that winter is firmly behind us.

Time to remove the leaves from the front garden beds (me). Time to rake the yard and clean up the sand by the edge of the road (Clif).

Because of the chilly weather—very common in Maine in the spring—for supper last night I had soup in mind, specifically a curried chickpea and cauliflower soup.

I poked around  the Internet,  and using suggestions from various recipes, I came up with the easiest, tastiest soup I have ever made. And I mean ever. This is chiefly due to using cans of diced tomatoes with green chilies. Spiced with onion and garlic as well as green chilies, these canned tomatoes are so flavorful that they make an excellent albeit spicy base for a soup, and no additional onion or garlic are required.

Add chickpeas, cauliflower, and a few other spices. Let the soup bubble and violà! You will have a spicy, satisfying soup for a cool spring day. Broiled toast with olive oil and grated cheese makes a fine accompaniment.

In fact, who could ask for anything more?

Curried Chickpea and Cauliflower Soup

Makes 6 generous servings

Ingredients

  • 2 (14.5) ounce cans of diced tomatoes with mild green chilies
  • 2 cans of water, using the chili cans
  • 2 (15,5) ounce cans of chickpeas, drained
  • 2 cups of cauliflower, cut small. (Add more or less, depending on how thick with ingredients you like your soup.)
  • 1 teaspoon of curry powder
  • 1 teaspoon of fresh ginger, minced
  • 1/2 teaspoon of cumin
  • 1/4 teaspoon of coriander
  • Salt and pepper to taste. (I added neither.)
  • Splash of milk, optional

Directions

  1.  Put all the ingredients into a slow-cooker.
  2. Cook on high for three or four hours. On low for about eight hours.
  3. When the cauliflower is tender, the soup is done.
  4. Near the end, add the splash of milk—coconut would be lovely—but this is optional.
  5. See what I mean about this being the easiest soup ever?
Celebrate, Food

A Beauty of an Easter Weekend

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A few days ago, the weather forecast was for sun on Saturday and rain for Easter Sunday. Clif and I had planned to have crab-meat rolls on the patio on Easter, but as the forecast didn’t look good, we decided to have the rolls on Saturday. After all, our philosophy is to celebrate early and celebrate often.

Saturday, as predicted, turned out to be a beauty of a day. In honor of the occasion and of the lovely weather, we brought out the round white table from down cellar. I felt like jumping up and down with joy. It is always a thrill to have the outside furniture on the patio, and soon the large green table will be joining the smaller one.

Oh, what a nice little feast we had, with a shared whoopie pie for dessert.

The sun was warm, the red buds were showing on the maples, and all around us birds called, sang, and twittered. Best of all, in April, there are no biting bugs to vex us, which makes time spent on the patio even sweeter.

Today, Easter Sunday, did indeed start out cloudy, and in the spirit of celebrating often, we decided to have a small Easter brunch of egg-in-toast and turkey bacon.

By eleven, the clouds were gone, the sun was shining, and I made a pot of green tea sweetened with honey. It will be chilled for iced tea for mid-afternoon when we go out on—you guessed it!—the patio.

It’s shaping up to be a lovely Easter weekend, the gateway to spring then summer and lots of time spent outside.

Food, Nature

Back on Track with Anniversary Brouhaha: To the Red Barn

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As regular readers of this blog know, Clif and I will soon be celebrating our fortieth anniversary—on Sunday, March 19, to be precise. To mark this milestone anniversary, Clif and I decided to celebrate often and early with a week of special outings in central Maine.

As it is March and still cold and snowy, most of what we did involved food and eating, although we did throw in art and a movie for some variety. We were moving right along with our staycation/celebration, but then Mother Nature had other plans, in the form of a blizzard.

That knocked two days off our fun as we hunkered down on Tuesday and then cleaned over a foot and a half of snow. This took us right to Wednesday, and I don’t mind admitting that Clif and I were just plain pooped when we had finished cleaning all that white stuff.

Our friends Judy and Paul did bring us lunch on Wednesday—deli cheese and ham, potato salad, sour dough bread—so it wasn’t a complete bust. In fact, lunch was very tasty indeed, and I will be keeping such lunches in mind for other occasions, with pesto and mozzarella added for vegetarian friends.

On Thursday, the dog was ill with digestive problems, and we didn’t dare leave him.

Fortunately, Liam was back to his old self on Friday. The day was sunny and warm—for March and for Maine—and Clif and I knew where we were going for lunch: To the Red Barn in Augusta.

We also knew what we would order—a seafood basket, filled with flaky fish, sweet little shrimp, even sweeter scallops,  delectable clams, and French fries.

And for dessert? Why, a whoopie pie, of course, to round off this wicked good Maine meal.

Now here’s the astonishing part. For this meal, with its fresh, fresh seafood and homemade whoopie pie, we paid $20. Total. Admittedly, Clif and I shared the basket and the whoopie pie. We even shared a drink. But still. For most adults, there is plenty of food in a Red Barn basket for two people, and half a whoopie pie is more than enough after all that fried food.

A teenage boy might not be satisfied with so much sharing, but Clif and I are way past our teenage years.

The storm that was supposed to hit Maine this weekend decided to bypass us. Hallelujah! This means we can keep to our schedule of anniversary fun.

I’ll report back tomorrow.

Food, Nature

About Yesterday

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First the good news.

There was apple pie, in honor of pi(e) day.

And we didn’t lose our power. Hip, hip, hooray! Make that a double hip, hip hooray.

But, oh, how the snow came and the wind blew. Clif took a picture from inside as the blizzard was whipping full force. (You can see one brave, lone plow-truck in the road.)

We figure a foot and a half of snow fell. Our home now looks like a winter wonderland.

Spring is how many days away?

Not seventy-four. That’s our house number 😉 Actually, spring is only five days away. But with more snow slated for Saturday, it feels like seventy-four.

Ah, March!

Food

To Lucky’s

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Yesterday, to continue with the foodie celebration of our anniversary, Clif and I went to Lucky Garden in Hallowell for lunch. (It is March in Maine, after all, so no long walks on the beach for us.)

Both Clif and I are very keen on Chinese food, and Lucky’s, as it’s known locally, has a tasty buffet with nary a hint of jello of any color. In Maine, alas, it is all too common for jello to be featured in many buffets at Chinese restaurants. As a rule, the jello is an indication of the quality of the rest of the food.

Clif decided to try the Chinese beer, which he described as a bit like a light lager, and it went well with the food.

Here is my plate of noodles, and sesame chicken, and egg roll.

After lunch, we went down to the landing by the Kennebec River so that we could take pictures of the ice chunks. I especially love this time of year when the ice in the river is in the process of melting, and the chunks are heading out to the Atlantic, many miles away.

As the photos indicate, the day was bright and sunny. A perfect day for pictures.

Not so today. A nor’easter is blowing up the coast, and the prediction is for between sixteen and twenty inches of snow.

Clif and I will be staying home today—no going out and about in such stormy weather. But, today is also pi(e) day, a perfect time to make one of Clif’s favorites—apple pie.

And after all the cleaning we’ll have to do after this storm, apple pie will be just the thing.

I’ll be sure to post a picture tomorrow.

Food, Food for Thought

Of Chocolate Mousse and Cupcakes

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Yesterday, the weather turned frigid again—7° Fahrenheit with a brisk wind. Oh my, it was brisk. And yet some people were waiting in line at Fielder’s Choice for ice cream. They were either really brave, awfully numb, or a combination of the two.

Not Clif and me. We had a gift certificate to Barnes & Noble, and we went to the cafe for tea, chocolate mousse, and a cupcake. Very tasty and ever so much better than waiting outside for ice cream in such cold weather.

We also bought a copy of The Atlantic, and we have decided to subscribe to this excellent magazine in honor of our fortieth wedding anniversary.

Since the last presidential election, Clif and I are committed to supporting the various media who believe that facts do matter. Yes, subscriptions cost money, but we consider this money well spent.

In the land of alternative facts, never have publications such as the New York Times, The New Yorker, or The Atlantic seemed so important.

Food

March Ice Cream

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In the spirit of celebrating our anniversary early and often, Clif and I have decided to have a little staycation, of sorts, and do something special every day until our anniversary on March 19.

And what did we decide to do yesterday? Why go out to an ice-cream stand, of course, and have sundaes for lunch, even though the wind was whipping and the air was uncomfortably brisk.

We went to Fielder’s Choice in Manchester, which has very good ice cream, and we weren’t disappointed. My peanut butter ice cream was smooth and flavorful, and Clif’s butter finger ice cream had huge chunks of candy in it.

Still, only northerners would think it was a good idea to go get ice cream when it was bitter cold and then eat in the car.

The picture below pretty much says it all. (The white hills beyond the sundaes are indeed snowbanks, still piled high.)

Even after nearly forty years of marriage, we are still a silly couple. 😉

 

Food, News

Let the Celebration Begin!

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Next week, Clif and I will be celebrating a very special event—our fortieth wedding anniversary. Holy guacamole! That’s a lot of years to be married. As Clif and I are both fans of celebrating early and often, last night we decided to go to Margaritas in Augusta to start the festivities. We plan to have a week of fun but simple pleasures leading to our big day on Sunday, March 19.

The staff at Margaritas is so friendly and accommodating. One server, who saw us struggling to take a selfie, offered to take our photo. (For some reason, Clif kept taking the picture upside down, and he hadn’t even had one sip of his margarita.) So here we are, Ma and Pa, after nearly forty years of marriage.

We had tasty baby chicken chimichangas to go with our delicious margaritas. I could have one of those little chimis right now.

We also had a plate of nachos, but we were so busy sipping our drinks and eating that we forgot to take a picture of it.

However, not so with dessert, an ice-cream ball with a crispy coating and drizzled with honey and chocolate.

Readers, I will admit that dessert was a bridge too far, and after the meal we waddled to the car. When Clif and I got home, we collapsed on the couch to watch two episodes of The Last Kingdom.

However, what a splendid way to begin celebrating.