A busy time for me. Spring, with all its attendant chores, is here. With my family’s help, I’m in the process of tweaking Maya and the Book of Everything, a young-adult fantasy novel I recently finished writing. And, Earth Day will soon be here, which for me means organizing a Mostly Maine Potluck Dinner for Winthrop. (Earth Day also, coincidently, happens to be my daughter Shannon’s birthday.)

Still, I did find time to go to The Flaky Tart for lunch yesterday. I go there once a week and spend about $5, which, in my opinion, is money well spent. The Flaky Tart has really jazzed up Winthrop’s main street, which, truth be told, had become a little ragged over the years. (It was much more vibrant when we moved here 28 years ago). A snappy little café can really add heart to a community, and even though our budget is modest, I feel as though The Flaky Tart is worth supporting. I feel the same way about other places in town—Mia Lina’s, Tubby’s, and, when I was eating meat, Pete’s Roast Beef.

Other people must feel the same way as I do because the little café was busy as can be when I was there yesterday. How nice it was to sit at a table by the window, eat a tuna sandwich made with delectable fresh whole wheat bread, and watch the comings and goings. Richard, the library’s director, came in, and we had a chat about all things library.

After lunch, I did some shopping. I went to Foshay-Carlton and bought some birthday gifts for Shannon, and I went to Becky’s Second Time Around and got some “wicked” good deals—$14 for four tops that were in excellent condition. Good thing I brought my knapsack because it was stuffed full when I left.

After a quick trip to the library, I rode by the lake. Above, the sky was a deep blue, and Lake Maranacook was a perfect reflection of this. What a pleasure to ride my bike into town on a spring day, have lunch, and do a little shopping.

You might even call it a Winthrop kind of day.

From Yahoo! Health: In “Eat This, Not That,” David Zinczenko and Matt Goulding highlight processed food that is expensive, high in fat, high in sugar, or all three. I must confess, I didn’t even know that food such as Bagel-fuls, boxed bagels stuffed with cream cheese, existed. I guess I lead a sheltered life.

From the New York Times: The excellent Sam Sifton’s ode to The East Coast Grill and cornbread.

From Epicurious: How to poach an egg. Seems like unnecessary instructions, but as a poached-egg lover, I have learned over the years that those simmering eggs can be a little tricksy.

From the Portland Press Herald: There’s a new donut shop in Portland, and it’s called Holy Donut. I’ll be checking it out, that’s for sure.

From the Bowdoin Daily Sun: A piece about a late-night snack truck. If I lived in the area, I’d be there on cheat day.

This past weekend, the freakishly warm weather ended, but it was still warm enough to do the things we wanted—go on a bike ride, hang laundry on the line, and visit Mike’s Maple House, which is about 2 or 3 miles from where we live.

Unfortunately, while we humans might have enjoyed the unusually warm weather, the sugar maples did not, and they are done for the season. Jason Smith, at Mike’s Maple house, told us that they made only 65 gallons of syrup this year. Usually, they make between 150 to 200 gallons, and Smith estimated they were down by 60 percent. Nevertheless they had enough to sell, Clif and I bought some of their delicious syrup as well as some maple sugar candies and some maple cream chocolates. As far as I’m concerned, the more maple, the better.

We had stopped by Mike’s Maple House on the way to our friend Diane’s house for dinner—where we had an utterly delicious meal of sweet potato salad, pumpkin soup, and fish with capers and artichoke hearts. Plus, blueberry cobbler for dessert. (Alas, I didn’t take any pictures. It seems a little too intrusive to take pictures at a dinner party where there are other guests, even if those guests are good friends.)

During the course of the evening, I commented on how much I love Maine food—blueberries, clams, mussels, lobster, maple syrup, potatoes, apples, and fresh vegetables when they are in season. Maine food does not have the reputation that food from other states has. Much of the time it is cooked very simply, and there is a decided lack of sauces and flourishes. However, for me, at least, when Maine food is fresh, it is irresistible, and it is at the top of my list of favorite food.

Here are some pictures from our weekend:

From the New York Times: Helene Cooper’s delightful description of a dinner party in Italy, where the weather is warm and everyone eats outside and the meal starts in early evening and ends sometime around midnight. I must admit, a dinner party like this has always been one of my dreams, too. (It wouldn’t have to be in Italy. Somewhere on the Maine coast would be just fine.)

From the Bowdoin Daily Sun: A slideshow about making maple syrup on campus. Unfortunately, because of the freakishly warm weather, it will not be a good year for maple syrup in central and southern Maine. Let’s hope our neighbors in northern Maine and Canada have better luck. Otherwise, we’ll be stuck with Log Cabin. (Just a reminder: March 25th is Maine Maple Sunday.)

From the Portland Press Herald: A piece by Meredith Goad extolling the virtues of maple syrup. Hear, hear! According to Goad, real maple syrup even has antioxidants. Included in the piece are some recipes, and I want to try the two that feature salmon and scallops.

It sounds like a trick question, I know. Is a calorie a calorie? For many years, the conventional wisdom has been yes, that a calorie is simply the energy derived from eating a particular food. An apple might have, say, 80 calories, and a cookie might have 200 calories. Eat three apples and you have the rough equivalent of the cookie.

But lately, scientists and nutritionists have come to a different point of view. That is, not all calories are created equal, and fruit and vegetables, which are high in fiber, are not digested the same way as processed food. As Mark Bittman notes in his piece in the New York Times, “Fiber is special because it’s not digested or digested incompletely. Most of its calories don’t get into the body, which is one reason why fruits and vegetables, which are high in fiber, help with weight loss.” It’s also the reason why people who adhere to a raw food diet remain thin even when they eat the same number of calories as those who eat cooked and processed food.

Bittman’s piece is really a commentary on Why Calories Count, a new book by Marion Nestle and Malden Nesheim, and it’s one I plan on reading sometime soon. Nestle told Bittman “There are dozens of factors involved in weight regulation. It’s hard to lose weight, because the body is set up to defend fat, so you don’t starve to death; the body doesn’t work as well to tell people to stop eating as when to tell them when to start.” (The emphasis is Nestle’s.)

Nestle also said, “If you’re eating a lot of fruits and vegetables, you’re not taking in as many calories as you would if you were eating fast food and sodas.”

Weight Watchers has recently adopted this point of view—albeit with a fair amount of controversy—and in its point system, fruit now has zero points.

In my own Controlled Cheating diet, where I diet for 6 days and “rest” on the 7th, I eat lots of fruit and vegetables on my noncheating days. I figure I easily reach the recommend “5 a day.” And, lucky me, even though I love sweet, sugary food, I also love fruit and vegetables, which means eating them is a pleasure rather than a chore.

So far, I’ve lost nearly 50 pounds. Onward with the fruit and vegetables!