Yesterday, the weather was humid and hot, but the rain held, and my husband, Clif, and I were able to spend the afternoon in one of our favorite places—on the patio in our backyard. Our daughter Shannon and her husband, Mike, joined us as well as our friend Claire, who just happens to be Mike’s aunt.

We decided to try cooking two small whole chickens on the grill, with indirect heat, and the results were mixed. We used a big roasting pan, and one chicken was set flat in the pan. The other chicken was propped upright on a little wire rack Clif bought at Home Depot, a rack that has space for an open can of beer onto which the chicken is placed. Supposedly, this makes the chicken moister, but unfortunately, the chicken set directly in the pan took longer to cook than the chicken on the rack. We probably should have taken the chicken off the rack as soon as it was done, but we didn’t, and it was disappointingly dry. On the other hand, the chicken cooked flat was quite good.

For both chickens, I had made a butter, garlic, sage mixture to rub under the skin—one stick of softened butter, four cloves of chopped garlic, and fifteen sage leaves, also chopped. This gave the meat a very good flavor, and I will definitely use this mixture again, for both cooking on the grill and cooking in the oven.

I will say that both chickens were brown and beautiful, but to paraphrase Dr. Who, good looks are no substitution for good taste.

Clif and I have decided we will try the rack and beer method again, but we will only cook one chicken and remove it as soon as it is done according to a meat thermometer. If at first you don’t succeed…

Despite the dry chicken, it was a lovely day on the patio. Courtesy of Claire and Shannon, we hand bang-up appetizers—a tangy Irish cheddar cheese with crackers; prosciutto and basil on slices from a very fresh baguette, and homemade tortilla chips from Whole Foods. Along with some salsa, of course.

Courtesy of farmer Kev, I served corn on the cob, green beans with browned butter, and red roasted potatoes with olive oil and rosemary.

Talking about books, movies, and family, we stayed on that patio until about 7:00. As evening came, the air cooled nicely, and Clif and I could hardly bear to go inside to clean up after our guests left. Surrounded by the forest, we listened as birds called to each other, the voices of woodpeckers, chickadees, and finches coming together in conversation.

This is a map of our Labor Day bicycle ride. It turned out to be a bit over 30 miles, and my wife, Laurie, and I were lucky that the rain held off until we returned home.

View My Saved Places in a larger map

The whole ride took about 3 hours, including two short stops. Our average speed was a little over 10 mile an hour.

Whoops! Summer sped by at such a busy blur that I forget to post my July Let Them Eat Bread Report. For new readers, here’s a brief recap: My project this year is to bake and give away at least one loaf of bread each week in 2011. I’m doing this as a personal protest against the selfishness in our society. In a time of shrinking resources and an ever-growing population, we must learn to share. The bonus: It’s good spiritual practice.

As they would say on the NPR show Marketplace, let’s do the numbers: In July, I gave away 4 loaves of bread, and the same is true for August. This makes a yearly total of 42 1/2 loaves.

Last week I gave a loaf to my friend Debbie Maddi. Because of our schedules, I gave the bread to her the day after it was made, and homemade bread, of course, is best the day it is made. Because there are no artificial preservatives to keep it fresh, homemade bread dries out much faster than store-bought bread. I duly apologized to Debbie and suggested it would make good French toast.

With a laugh, she replied, “This is not going to be used for French toast, let me tell you.”

A nice thing to hear!

But I must say, my bread does make very good French toast, and it is becoming a Saturday treat in our house.

From the Guardian: Rising sea level threatens millions of people who live in the Mekong Delta in Vietnam. The rivers are becoming ever more salty, making it very difficult to grow rice, a staple of the region.

From the New York Times: Mark Bittman introduces FoodCorps, coming to a state near you. In fact, they are coming to Maine to promote healthy food for school children. An interesting piece, and I plan to find out more about this organization.

More from the New York Times: An abundance of Maine lobster must be a good thing, right? Not necessarily, when they are pretty much the only catch in town. Once upon a time, cod, haddock, hake, halibut, and swordfish were part of the mix of what Maine fisherman caught. Now, because of overfishing, not so much, which means that we are over-reliant on one species. Woe to Maine lobstermen if some disease should wipe out the lobsters.

From the Portland Press Herald: A Monday farmers’ market in Portland featuring immigrant farmers.

From the Times-Picayune: Six years after Katrina, a New Orleans woman labors to recopy soggy recipes she retrieved from her flooded house. I wonder if any home cooks will be doing this after Irene.

From the Wall Street Journal: Chef Thomas Keller gives advice for home dinner parties, and the advice—keep it simple and serve family style—is pretty good. Also, great suggestions for appetizers.

From the New York Times: A primer by Mark Bittman on how to use herbs. Very useful advice.

From the New York Times: Another piece by Mark Bittman, and this time he visits Maine to write about  sustainable agriculture. My only quibble with the piece is that Bittman describes Maine soil as acidic. While this is true in parts of Maine—namely the coast—central and northern Maine have rich soil that is ideal for farming. In fact, in the 188os, central Maine was the “bread basket” of New England.

From Shine on Yahoo: How much protein do you need? Not as much as you think, and it can all come from plants, if you plan it right. And according to the Environmental Working Group, if you eat one less hamburger a week, it’s the equivalent of “taking your car off the road for 320 miles.” Let’s hear it for bean burgers!

From Mother Jones: Berkeley and Oakland come to the table. An interview with Alice Waters, of Berkeley’s Chez Panisse, and Nikki Henderson of Oakland’s People’s Grocery. Two very different parts of California meet to talk about good food for all citizens, not just the the affluent ones.

From the Portland Press Herald: Two Israeli brothers come to Maine and start a thriving hummus business. Now that’s multicultural!