If you tour Maine’s farm stands right about now you will find a lot of root vegetables, potatoes, onions, baked goods and donuts….but most notably BRASSICAS.
This plant genus covers all things cabbage-y from Brussel sprouts, so impressive on their thick stalks, to broccolini and broccoli , mustard greens and the many variations of cauliflower…. to my personal favorite, the Collard Greens.
I love them so much that I grow my own. Revered in the Deep South they are wonderful stewed or long cooked with onion a piece of “side meat” which is a fatty cut like bacon, or cut into a chiffonade and blanched to an emerald green. A great side for pork ribs and a nice addition to a vegetable soup.
Collards come into their own after the first frost, which sweetens and tenderizes them making them perfect November fodder. I wait until the frost subsides from the leaves and harvest them in the afternoon for the evening meal. Eating “live” food is a particular joy!
Cook up some cornbread in a spider ( a large cast iron fry pan) and serve up a mess o’ greens with beans or ribs. You will be popular. Promise!
These are the Seckel pairs pickled as my Great Grandmother Ida taught me to cherish when I was a boy. She was born in 1871 and lived to 1972. They are an important part of many dinners and especially Holidays in my family. I make them as presents for my 9 brother and sisters. When I would make them with Grammy I would always tell her that I can’t wait to eat some with Thanksgiving Turkey or with a big slice of Extra sharp cheddar. She lived her whole life in Vermont so cheddar cheese was always around. She would smile and say she was glad I liked them and would always comment that after a long hard Vermont winter the jars in her pantry of seckel pears might be the only thing to get them thru the winter in the 1800s. Even today almost every farm in Vermont and infanct much of all New England had at least one seckel pear tree. My dad had two I have one. Slice a few and try them with the sharpest cheddar you can find. We eat them with beef, turkey, even salmon. Place them on a cedar wrapped salmon and cook on grill. Awesome. When the jar is empty of pairs I use the juice as a base for my bbq sauce or smoking bath/ glaze.
Stop by any farmstand in Maine in September and be prepared for a gorgeous and colorful bounty! Black Krim, German Stripe, Cherokee Purple, Yellow taxi, Brandywine, Green Zebra, Amish Paste, Ox Heart, Black Prince, Big Rainbow….these are all names of Heritage or Heirloom tomatoes.
Known to gourmands and seed savers alike, these varieties are lacking a gene favored since commercialization back in the forties that offers uniformity. Which is helpful in shipping. But heirlooms are far superior in old fashioned flavor and are just so much fun to work with! And to eat.
Nicely balanced with ample acids to offset sugars, the heirlooms’s classic tang and flavor reign supreme!
Half my growing area every season is given over to the cultivation of garlic (allium sativum). I plant mine in compost enriched raised beds and I prefer the stiff neck type. I enjoy the variety MUSIC, which is both sharp and mild and has about four large cloves in each head of garlic, making it easy to use.
Garlic, like all of the allium family are essentially bulbs. Like a tulip bulb, garlic is planted in the fall at a depth of about 3 to 4 inches and 5 to 6 inches apart. I then cover the garlic beds with a thick layer of straw to protect them from the winter cold as well as the thaws.
It’s always encouraging to see the first green shoots of garlic poke forth before most anything else in Springtime.
When I’m convinced that the weather has warmed and settled, off comes the straw and the garlic shoots quickly thicken. We enjoy using the young, or green, garlic in stir frys and other preparations.
About mid-June it’s time to cut off the curly scapes, which resemble goosenecks. These would develop into a blossom if not cut. The idea is to send the energy of the growing plant downwards to increase the size of the bulb, not divert it upward into flowers and seeds.
About the third week of July, it’s time to pull the garlic out and let it dry in an airy place, eventually clipping the stem off for storage. The fun of growing your own garlic and superior flavor far exceed anything grown commercially
Garlic may be used fresh, cooked, stored, pickled or fermented. Black garlic, which is fermented, and essential in Korean cuisine, is gaining in popularity for reasons of unique umami flavors and health benefits.
Try something unique and satisfying and try planting some garlic yourself this Autumn! You’ll be glad you did.
It’s a Maine tradition that marks the start of the summer season with more. emphasis than the Memorial Day parade.
Our gardens deliver the first peas and new potatoes in early July.. Wonderful Atlantic salmon its available in the market.
Putting it all together in one spectacular meal is a family celebration, with junior shelling the peas, Granddad digging the potatoes and Mother finding the nicest fresh filet of salmon.
We like to fire up the grill, season the fish and place on a new cedar shingle. It all goes on the grill, the cedar burning around the edges and giving the fish a bit of smoke. Yep. Its really works! Quite delicious too.
Add some Romesco sauce …you can fire grill the red peppers for this while the grill is on…. (recipe in Seasonal Recipes) and a handful of fresh chopped dill from the garden.
You’ve got a” summer in Maine “ treat that screams “CELEBRATE SUMMER!”And we will, if it ever stops raining!
It’s early June and I’ve been eating my fresh asparagus for about two weeks. My asparagus bed is now 12 years old. I never tire of it, steamed, blanched or roasted…pureed into a soup or on an Eggs Benedict.
Asparagus as we know it is the sprout of the Asparagus Officinalis, sometimes affectionately called sparrow grass. As with all culinary sprouts (think Belgian endive), this plant is all about the root system. The larger the root system the more it sprouts and produces the stalk we know and love. If left untended, the stalk grows and ferns out, creating a beautiful hedge and small red berries or seeds. Leaving it to grow is a surefire way to increase production for next season.
Growing asparagus requires a lot of preparation. It’s “like digging a grave” as an old and wise woman once said.” You dig a trench, add a lot of organic material, lay in your root bundles, spreading them out for best effect and then wait for a few years. Water, water, water. Seriously. At first all you’ll get is slender shoots, which you leave alone, but as the root systems develop that’s when the magic happens. It’s a long wait, then a short season. It’s no wonder that asparagus is known as a luxury!
Considered a delicacy in many cultures, Spargle, or a type of blanched, white asparagus is widely celebrated throughout Europe… especially in Germany. Festivals are held just to exalt the seasonal vegetable, which is often served topped with Hollandaise, with buttered boiled potatoes and cured ham. And beer… always good beer or a dry white wine such as a German Kabinett.
It is cooked and eaten in much the same way and it’s flavor is similar to the green, if not slightly more bitter. Sometimes with the fatter spears, the bottom part of the stalk is peeled and naturally there is a special tool for this. IF one cannot be found a common vegetable peeler will do.
Now, asparagus is not just a beautiful vegetable and plant. It is a powerhouse of nutrition offering vitamins A, C , Folic acid and plenty of fiber. Honestly, it always smells like it’s flushing something evil out of me, so I hope it is!
Try fresh poached asparagus in season on a smoked salmon Eggs Benedict topped with a tarragon flecked homemade Hollandaise. You can find this recipe under my seasonal recipe blog.
It’s a great reason to get up on a Sunday morning!
These beautiful spring days have us out and about in the back woods of Maine enjoying the wonders of nature. And perhaps foraging.
If you’re lucky and know a little bit about foraging, you may be able to identify a low growing, broad leafed plant, the ramp, a member of the onion or allium family. Sporting just a few broad green leaves and a white or reddish stem, the taste is reminiscent of garlic and onion.. but somehow more sublime. Their taste raw is far more pungent than when cooked. The ramp stands in nicely in quiche , pesto or a compound butter. Sometimes you can spot them in a Farmer’s market. Or a Trader Joes, which its where I got the ramps I used to start my own bed of them! They cannot be farmed, so they are a true wild food .
Ramps are not as prolific in the wild in Maine as they once were. In fact, they’re now protected. So it’s important to note that when foraging anything, never take it all. If we want all the gifts of the woods in the beautiful State of Maine to continue to thrive, we must never be greedy. Conservation begins with every foraging event. Take care to not harvest the root of the plant, but cut some of the leaves to maintain the plants viability.
Here’s the good news… ramps are easy to grow IF you happen to have a spot with fertile, moist soil near a stream lined, with hardwood trees. My wild ramps are coming along splendidly after two years of uninterrupted growth, as you can see in the picture. Once they flower, the leaves disappear and they’re harder for a novice to ID.
Because I am obsessed with the ramp’s flavor, and yet am loathe to use mine fully, I take just one leaf per plant to make my friend Charlotte Davenhill’s famous salted ramp butter. The recipe may be seen on our Seasonal Recipes section of this website.
A crusty loaf of bread and fresh ramp butter … Absolutely decadent.
We flew into Larnaca. Rhymes with Narnia and it was something like a fantasy world at first. From Lanaca on the East side of the island we travelled West to Kouklia where we were hosted by a charming couple who served as our tour guides to historical digs, museums, craft markets, the most wonderfully ’typical” restaurants and tavernas and wineries as well as beaches and sites of distinction.
Talking about wine, the volcanic nature of the soil here makes for some delicious drinking ( and beautiful black sand beaches!) from crisp whites, to pleasing roses to a spectrum of delightfully different and distinctive reds. Grapes that are typical to Cypriot wines include Maratheftiko, Mavro,and Commandaria for reds. For whites Xinisteri may be the most popular. Grand dads, for the most part, gather around a strong glass of OUZO , an aperitif made from the fennel plant.
In a wet spring, such as we experienced in March, the countryside explodes with a carpet of wildflowers….Cupid’s Dart, Nigella, Tulips, Chrysantheum, Cyclamen, Fennel, Rosemary , Thyme and a million different flowers I have no name for….all blooming freely and making the tastiest fodder for the local sheep, goats and cows. You can taste it in the cheeses, honey and yoghurt.
Cyprus is a bread basket, a self sustaining island that does not need to import much so, in fact, it offers beautiful and well priced meats, cereals, dairy, fruit and produce all from “right here.” There is an abundance of fresh and farmed fish, including sea bass and sea bream, calamari and octopus . We enjoyed these offerings in a variety of different preparations. Outdoor grilling is great fun and perfect for whole fish stuffed with lemon and herbs.
Because of the heat of the summer, bread, pastries and long cooked stews (like the famous Kleftiko) are often cooked outside of the home in clay ovens sometimes called Tandoors. Sometimes a special earthenware vessel , or tava, is used for long cooking. It’s a type of red ware.used since ancient times in Cyprus. As a historical aside, the name Kleftiko is rooted in the the word KLEPHT, which means stolen…the word kleptomaniac comes from this word. The mountain rebels from the Greek Revolution or Klephts often cooked their food underground to prevent it form either being stolen or lets the smoke and steam give away their strategic positions.
Pastries, too many to discuss here but were incredibly different and delicious, often made with their world famous Cypriot honey. Oranges also factor into the pastry lineup….we found one dessert made with phyllo dough, oranges and honey for the win! Citrus was growing everywhere and we even spend a day making a bitter orange marmalade.
Dairy: who knew that ice cream was a “thing” in Cyprus? Because of the sweltering summers, it has gotten to be incredibly popular over the last 100 years and unusually rich, a favorite with street vendors, of which there are many. Flavors can be unique too from feta/watermelon to mastic, which is a flavor made from a resin and gently reminiscent of spruce.
Textile arts are prevalent there with weavings and home made clothes abounding. Folkloric wood carved furnishings, sometimes painted or distressed continue being crafted today. Pottery making has been exalted since ancient times and continues to this day.
If you enjoy the abundance of a tropical garden, exuberantly fresh produce and walking into a grocery store smelling of hot, fresh breads and pastry, a visit to Cyprus may be for you. The food and wine is incredible, the people are lovely and if you can’t speak Greek, most everyone will speak English. Costs are relatively low and the weather is nice with two growing seasons. So much to see and do and Spring is the perfect time to do it.
I was fortunate to travel to Peru in the mid 70’s when it was fairly off the beaten track.
Lima was our first stop after flying in over the spectacular Nasca ruins, which really do beg the question concerning extra terrestrial life. Enourmous works of inspired art appearing to the airplane viewer.The ultimate goal was Machu Pichu, but it became more about holding down any food rather than eating it there due to altitude sickness, despite coca tea!
Lima was a rainbow from the very wealthy neighborhoods , like Mira Flores, to the barrios and everything in between. The street foods were amazing and varied from colorful “to-go” dishes featuring beets and avocado, to quinoa preparations( often found in graves as food for the afterlife) interesting drinks including maca ( or Peruvian Ginseng) to Pisco Sours.
Let’s talk about Pisco Sours, the national drink, a white brandy. Pisco is a study in itself. Like wine different kinds present different features. It can be smooth and floral …..or a lot rougher in it’s cheaper forms.
We frequented Lima’s Hotel Boulevard , a grand dining room, in a grand hotel where lunch was an event. There I learned to love conchitas. While conchita means shell in Spanish, these tasty local scallops were served barley broiled in their shells ,with their roe, and dressed with lime and hot peppers, sometimes parmesan cheese.
But my biggest infatuation was with SEVICHE. In Maine , in the winter, our local sea scallops are wonderful and Seviche is a fresh and lean way to enjoy them.
Please see our SEASONAL RECIPE for one of my favorite variations.
Wanna get Scrod? Well, you could at Durgin- Park in Boston’s Faneuil Hall.
Or at least you could while it was open. It closed 3 years ago at the age of 193!
You could also get abused by their surly waitresses…famous for it and seemingly having some fun with it too. Call them terribly rude, but they have a reputation to uphold!
The restaurant began in 1827 as a small dining room in a market house near the waterfront. It grew over the years becoming more recently ,a multi-level extravaganza featuring the Gaslight Bar and a comedy club. It operated continuously until the pandemic did it in .It was a hallmark of traditional Yankee cooking.
Once a “must-see” on any tour of Boston, and a long time family favorite of tourists and many local families alike including the Boston Cabots, it sported a menu unique both in it’s inclusiveness and in it’s adherence to tradition. They’ve enjoyed a fiercely devoted following over the generations for their Yankee cooking and large portions.
Known initially as a seafood restaurant , they also featured nice hand cut steaks, dry-aged prime rib and New England favorites such as Yankee Pot Roast,corn bread and baked beans. Their Indian pudding was scrumptious and practically unchanged since Colonial times, except for the vanilla ice cream.
Of course there was lobster and all manner of seafood…but the only nod to a vegetarian was called humorously “The Bale Of Hay”. A vegetarian at the time of my visit I had to laugh…four different vegetables and a potato made up the plate. But kudos to them for offering it. It wasn’t notable but it wasn’t bad.
The property is now owned by a restaurant group and there is talk of a re-opening using some of their original staff …fingers crossed for another round of good natured abuse and fresh fish.
Known to gourmands and seed savers alike, these varieties are lacking a gene favored since commercialization back in the forties that offers uniformity. Which is helpful in shipping. But heirlooms are far superior in old fashioned flavor and are just so much fun to work with! And to eat.
It’s early June and I’ve been eating my fresh asparagus for about two weeks. My asparagus bed is now 12 years old. I never tire of it, steamed, blanched or roasted…pureed into a soup or on an Eggs Benedict.
Growing asparagus requires a lot of preparation. It’s “like digging a grave” as an old and wise woman once said.” You dig a trench, add a lot of organic material, lay in your root bundles, spreading them out for best effect and then wait for a few years. Water, water, water. Seriously. At first all you’ll get is slender shoots, which you leave alone, but as the root systems develop that’s when the magic happens. It’s a long wait, then a short season. It’s no wonder that asparagus is known as a luxury!
It is cooked and eaten in much the same way and it’s flavor is similar to the green, if not slightly more bitter. Sometimes with the fatter spears, the bottom part of the stalk is peeled and naturally there is a special tool for this. IF one cannot be found a common vegetable peeler will do.
Talking about wine, the volcanic nature of the soil here makes for some delicious drinking ( and beautiful black sand beaches!) from crisp whites, to pleasing roses to a spectrum of delightfully different and distinctive reds. Grapes that are typical to Cypriot wines include Maratheftiko, Mavro,and Commandaria for reds. For whites Xinisteri may be the most popular. Grand dads, for the most part, gather around a strong glass of OUZO , an aperitif made from the fennel plant.
In a wet spring, such as we experienced in March, the countryside explodes with a carpet of wildflowers….Cupid’s Dart, Nigella, Tulips, Chrysantheum, Cyclamen, Fennel, Rosemary , Thyme and a million different flowers I have no name for….all blooming freely and making the tastiest fodder for the local sheep, goats and cows. You can taste it in the cheeses, honey and yoghurt.
Textile arts are prevalent there with weavings and home made clothes abounding. Folkloric wood carved furnishings, sometimes painted or distressed continue being crafted today. Pottery making has been exalted since ancient times and continues to this day.
