Maine Bicentennial, A Cookbook, and Me

So I'm baking this pie in July, and there are simply no cranberries to be had, of course, as it is not the season. Well, I say to self, since the recipe calls for one or two handfuls, why not try one or two handfuls of wild Maine blueberries instead? And self did not reply, but simply grabbed the pint of berries in the fridge and poured out a couple handfuls! I did go to market to get "crisp apples." All I had on hand were Macintosh, and they just wouldn't do for an apple pie, especially if we are upending the apples. Macintosh just can't handle such topsy-turviness! I spied "Jazz" apples--come all the way from New Zealand, the sticker said. Well, they seemed pretty crisp to me, so I bought three for the pie. I love the upside-down feature of this pie. It's just plain kid-fun, you know? Plus, you get all that delicious brown-sugar-and-pecans goodness that was hiding at the bottom, baking, and you just flip the pie tin and put it all on top to serve!

Printed in "the first cookbook compiled and published in Maine," this recipe comes to us thanks to the Ladies of State Street Parish in Portland, who compiled recipes for "Fish, Flesh and Fowl: A Book of Recipes for Cooking" in 1877.  Being such an old recipe, there are virtually no instructions, except to scald the milk, and allow it to cool before stirring in the eggs. It is mentioned as a flatbread. So I was puzzled by the proportion of eggs and milk to dry ingredients. I cut the recipe in half, and used 4 eggs and 2 cups milk, plus a full cup of cornmeal and a little sugar and salt. I chose to add 1 t baking powder, although that was not in the recipe. All it says is to bake "in high oven." So I figured maybe I should treat it like I do a custard. I baked it at 450 for 15 minutes in a lightly greased glass pie dish, then dropped the heat to 350 for 30 minutes. The result was a thick polenta base with what amounts to scrambled eggs on top. And the fasci

This dessert allows me to publicly declare Jello as fully welcome at my table once again. I had written off the wiggly-jiggly food as something from my parent's generation that did not appeal to me. And truth be told, Lime Jello still does not appeal to me. So, when I saw that this recipe called for Lime Jello (hence, "green salad" in the recipe title) I froze in my kitchen tracks. How could I follow through with cooking every single recipe in this cookbook, and actually swallow Lime Jello? I just couldn't bring myself to do it, friends. (Please do note the "nod" to "green" by using my vintage Fire King jadeite dessert dish!) Then my adventurous side said, why do I need to use crushed pineapple, as called for in the recipe, when it is not my fav fruit? Couldn't I substitute Lemon Jello in place of the Lime, and Blueberries in place of the pineapple? I did a bit of study on the subject, and found that just pouring some blueberries into the jello

If you like crab cakes (see Mom's Wicked Awesome Crab Cakes in this cookbook and in my blog), you'll love these clam cakes. A little bit sloppier to put together, due to all the clam liquid, but the end result is "wicked good." I'm getting pretty good at looking at the amount of herbs called for in a recipe, and walking out to the herb garden and picking just about exactly the amount needed. The fresh parsley in this recipe (1/2 cup) is simply a "nice handful" from the garden. This is my first summer with an herb garden for the parsonage, and I'm so enjoying adding fresh herbs to my recipes. Due to the liquid (I drained as best I could), I tossed in more panko bread crumbs than called for, by about a half a cup, to give more solidity to the cakes.  Directions call for frying quickly over medium-low heat, turning once. I don't know what quickly means, but my cakes appeared done after about five minutes each side. The recipe makes up four thick cak

How do you fall in love with a particular food? Is it the way that it is cooked? Is it the people who have prepared the food for you (or you for them?) Is it the people that you are with when you are eating the food? Or is it the location in which you first eat it that settles into your food=pleasure memory files? When I was a very young child, I lived with my parents and my older sister in Vermont. My dad took us hiking on the Long Trail regularly, even tho we were just wee tykes, my sister and I. I have fond memories of sleeping over in a log lean-to alongside the trail, and waking up in the morning to Dad frying up brookies in a cast-iron frying pan over an open fire. That is how I came to love eating brook trout. And the love of brook trout is all wrapped up in my love for my dad, and the wonder of hiking and exploring God's good creation, and the simple joy of participating in a fun activity with my family. This recipe for Fried Brook Trout comes from a 1913 Houlton Cook Book,

Good things come out of all regions of our state, but this recipe comes to us all the way from the beautiful northern city of Caribou. Senator Susan Collins submitted this recipe, which she credits as her mother's recipe, from a family cookbook entitled "Fifty Years of Cooking: 1948-1998."  Well, Senator Collins, if you are reading this blog, hats off to your mother's recipe, it's a keeper! Senator Collins writes in the description for the recipe (p.17): "I started making muffins for my husband almost every Sunday night a few years ago. It made me feel that I was doing something special for him to compensate for the many times that one or both of us had evening events that precluded our having dinner together." I hear you, Senator Collins. I'm a pastor, with evening meetings, so I understand how you have to find times/ways to connect with your spouse that are special. And these muffins fit the bill! I taste tested these muffins on my husband this mor

There is a photo submitted with this recipe that shows a smiling Russell Libby, former executive director of the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association. Evidently, he brought this treat to some of the MOFGA potlucks. It hails from "an old Maine Rebekahs cookbook from 1955." The words "pudding" and "older" sent me off on a bit of research about the classification of puddings (yes, I know, it probably doesn't seem that long ago, but this pudding dates before I was a twinkle in my father's eye!).  I found a piece at www.thespruceeats.com website that mostly discusses the understanding of the word in the U.K. And since the U.S. isn't really all that "old," it makes sense to look further back in time regarding the word "pudding." "Pudding" seems to generally refer to foods that are considered homely or rustic. There may even be a loose association with class, as in, the lower class might have called a food a pu

In the heat of July, a cold vegetable soup is just the thing! I was quite proud of myself for picking it, because it did not require heating up the kitchen with a hot oven. Alas, I was unable to do the Jello recipe planned after the soup (pantry missing an essential ingredient), so ended up heating up the kitchen by baking recipe #2 of the day, which you can read about in the blog: Maple Cottage Pudding.  This soup apparently stands the test of a restaurant favorite, as the person submitting it says she and her husband used to own a natural foods market and cafe, and she created the recipe with natural foods in mind.  I shreded carrots, potatoes, and onions, chopped candied ginger (okay, so I popped a few in my mouth for sweet, strong ginger delightfulness!). Put in some spices, allowed to simmer in vegetable broth till veggies were soft, then let cool. I don't own an immersion blender (yet) so I poured it all into my big blender, and made a nice thick soup.  Now, my taste buds lov

Sometimes, a recipe comes along "incognito" to remind you of what you once loved. This is that recipe. I am not sure why, but my family was never a beans and rice eating family, when I was young. We were more a burgers and pasta or green salads eating family. But I had a childhood friend and they were a beans and rice eating family. And I loved the combination, with or without meat, with plenty of spice. This recipe brings me back to those wonderful meals with my childhood friend. Did I know the name of the recipe, then? No, but I love it, now that I hear it! Evidently, "picadillo" means "chopped." I could say "Picadillo" all day long, just sounds fun rolling off the tongue! This recipe was submitted by a man who left Cuba as a young child. A National Geographic photographer, he settled with his family here in Maine and shares this recipe with us. So glad this recipe found me again, after all these years! Cooking the meat, adding the bell pepper,

I am not much of a meat-eater. Give me fish anyday, or vegetarian-based meals. But my husband is a great taste-tester of all things meat. So I knew I could rely on him to run a test on the BBQ sauce. I mixed up all the ingredients, and they are to simmer together for a little while. The difficulty I encountered is that the large quantity of olive oil did not want to blend with the catsup. I suppose if I had one of those gizmos that looks like a magic blender wand, I might have been able to blend "in situ" as my resident archaeologist might say. I'm guessing the sauce probably needs to marry awhile in the fridge, for improved flavor, so we'll have to get back to the resident taste-tester at a later date, to find out if his rating agrees with "Best" as the title indicates! In the fridge the sauce sits, awaiting the Taste-Tester of all things meat.

These turned out to be more biscuit-like than roll-like. I do like the convenience of prepping the dough, then tossing it in the fridge till a more convenient bake-time. I found the directions for bake-off to be a little different than what I'm accustomed to. It says to remove dough from fridge, roll out dough, and cut in triangles. Truth be told, I wasn't especially interested in doing special geometric shapes for my rolls, leave that for fancier chefs than I. So I just did quick square cuts, still trying to adjust to the fact that I had just rolled out a yeast dough like you would roll out sugar cookie dough. It was not at all a "spongy" dough, like I'm used to for yeast bread. And I had carefully put at least a 1/2 cup less flour than what the recipe called for, just to be sure I didn't get a dry dough. I'm guessing "Aunt Bernice" could tell me where I went wrong, were she alive today (according to the contributor, Bernice had this recipe publ

Full disclosure: the fish you see in the photo is not sole! It is flounder. I was at the seafood shop and picked up the crabmeat and asked if they had sole, and the answer was no. So I asked if they had any similar fish, and they said, yes, flounder. New experience for me! And I liked it! But I knew I would like it, because haddock is a white fish, and I love haddock. Of the three pieces on the plate, interestingly, the moistest, most flavorful was the largest piece. The two smaller ones were on the dry side, but the largest piece was perfect, just the right amount of crabmeat stuffing and the fish was cooked to perfection. I bathed all three in lemon, and that added to the flavor. It should be noted that the recipe calls for too much crabmeat. It's simply not possible to stuff tiny little flounder filets with that much crabmeat. Which is a happy problem, I'll admit. We'll use the leftover crabmeat for salads tomorrow! This recipe takes minutes to prepare, and sounds and ta

I am not sure why these stewed tomatoes are unique to the Shakers, except that they appear to have developed a special herb blend which they liked to use with their stewed tomatoes: "Shaker Bouquet Garni." Now, this is pretty much your basic Herbes de Provence. But Shaker style! I decided to just make this ahead, this evening, and have it in the fridge ready to pour over pasta and pesto for an easy meal. The weather is hot and quick and easy is what I'd like to be preparing for meals, except that I've got this goal to bake all of the recipes in this cookbook in the year 2020. Hah! Which means I'm having to double up recipes in the month of July, so that I can then cook only one recipe/day for the rest of the year. And there are precious few recipes that don't use the heat of an oven...but I'll get through the extra recipes in July, and then things won't be so hectic. Right now, trying to find time to get the right ingredients together for two recipes/d

I learned that Cullen is a town on the northeast coast of Scotland, from which this recipe hails. Although for this cookbook, a the recipe comes from a woman who runs a catering company in southern Maine and was asked to make the chowder for an event. Since I have ties to Scotland on both sides of the family, I figured it is about time I learned how to use finnan haddie in a recipe! I walked into a local seafood shop to get some lobster for another recipe in this cookbook, and figured I should ask about smoked haddock, since I knew I'd need some sooner or later to do this recipe. So I said, "Do you have smoked haddock?" And she looked at me, somewhat puzzled, then said, "You mean finnan haddie?" and she pointed me to a freezer section. So apparently, when in Scotland, speak as the Scots do! I thoroughly enjoyed cooking this chowder. It was especially a pleasure to walk out to the herb garden, pick the thyme and parsley, and bring it in and prepare it. You have t

I remember my Grammie Bessie making these, among the many kinds of cookies she baked for her grandchildren.  She didn't use molasses, though, in her jam cookies.  I like these, but I suppose, due to eating jam jams without molasses as a child, I lean towards the non-molasses version. I chose to put strawberry jam in these cookies, because it is a fav jam and because all we had on hand were strawberry or apple. I'm intrigued that the recipe contributor mentions liking lemon frosting in between the cookies. I'm sure frosting on any cookie makes it that much more wonderful! The directions do not call for a hole in the top cookie of the cookie sandwich, but I remember that's how Grammie Bessie made them, so that's how I made them! Rolling the dough as thin as you can is important, mostly because with the sandwiching, you'd have a wide mouthful if you rolled the cookies thick.  Some fancier jam jams, I found online, use decorative cookie cutters such as stars and hea

This is what I would normally think of as a winter comfort food. And here we are in the heat of July. But I've always had a soft spot for potatoes in any form. And while I've eaten twice-baked potatoes at restaurants, I'd never attempted it in the home. Wow, what we've been missing out on! I thought it was terribly time-intensive. Enter The Modern Master of Time Management, the Microwave. Those potatoes were cooked within minutes, and I was carving out the hot soft interior and mashing with milk, butter, salt, pepper, and shredded cheese in no time. Then it was too fun to create little whipped mountains of creamy goodness in the potato skins, sprinkle with cheese and paprika, and bake for fifteen minutes.  You'll notice in the picture that I chose thin-skinned red potatoes. It was all we had on hand. Russets would give you a proper skin, though, and to get the crispiness for the skin, you would also want to pop the potatoes in the oven for skin crisping time, after

Again, it was the story that drew me in. The recipe contributor submitted a family photo with the elderly cousin who put this recipe in a 1903 North Edgecomb Cookbook "in aid of parsonage fund." Good church food, for a good cause! At the turn of the century, of course, lobster would have been very cheap, and so the recipe calls for far more lobster than my photo shows. Indeed, I cut the amount of lobster in half, and it still was far more lobster than I am accustomed to in a lobster newburg. The recipe appears to focus mostly on the lobster, and virtually not at all on the sauce. Hence, it was more like slightly-sherry-flavored lobster on toast, rather than a pool of the flavorful sauce filled with bits of lobster to marvel at when the sweetness meets your mouth. I can't say that I was disappointed, because lobster in any form never disappoints! But I do like a nice sauce with my lobster newburg, and it just wasn't a part of this recipe.  If you crave a lobster newbur

This recipe rates right up there in the top ten, my friends. It's a little pricey on the pocketbook, but doesn't it taste like Heaven! From the swirly cavatappi pasta that captures cheesy goodness in all of its nooks and crannies, to the succulent lobster chunks surprising my tongue with sweetness in every bite, this is Bliss with a capital B. I was introduced to several cheeses I had never met before: fontina cheese and mascarpone cheese. The fontina is quite well-mannered, melting without a fuss.  And Ms. Mascarpone? Well, she is simply divine! Let's just say that such a cheese never graced my morning bagel before. But now that we've met? You can bet we'll see more of her in our cheese drawer! Only for special occasions, of course, but she's definitely worth the investment. My taste buds could not discern any noticeable difference by adding the 1 1/2 Tablespoons of cognac. And it is my opinion that the lovely cheeses and star-of-the-show lobster upstage the co

I've made applesauce before. When I had babies and wanted them to have as much home-made food as possible. This is not so much a recipe as it is a list of the contributor's favorite apple varieties, and how applesauce can go with just about anything (breakfast foods, meats, desserts, etc.). It was really very relaxing to peel the apple (the contributor recommends cooking the apple, peel and all) and chop it and cook it down with just a splash of water. When it looked like the slices were soft, I grabbed the potato masher and pressed the soft pieces down. It all went into a lovely, chunky mush. I like my sauce with small chunks, so that was perfect. As you can see in the dish. And I couldn't wait to pair it with any other food. The applesauce (Macintosh) slipped down my throat, soothing and warm and sweet. A simple comfort food, hands-down better than storebought.

This strikes me as a good soup for winter, and here I am cooking this soup on one of the hottest days of July! Soup is good any time of year, though, and I just love pepper, so I couldn't resist trying a soup which calls for whole black peppercorns just floating around adding a little spice! I've never fried hamburg in butter. I mean, if you buy 85% you get plenty of fat melting in which to cook the meat, right? But then I figured it out, you don't have the butter in the pan just for the hamburg. It is more for the onions, which follow directly after cooking the meat a bit. The recipe does not indicate how much water, so I just poured it in till it looked like soup rather than hamburg and veggies. It says to simmer an hour with just the meat, onions, barley, tomatoes and peppers. Then an additional hour with the carrots, potatoes, and celery. Good heavens, two hours? I didn't have the time, so an hour does it, with everything poured in to simmer all to once. I filled my

This recipe calls for walnuts, but the recipe donor says herself that the cake is "just as tasty without nuts." So, I knew I had apples on hand, having recently made a yummy Bread Pudding with apples. And I couldn't find my walnuts (Honestly, sometimes I think I have put an item in my shopping cart, and I get home to find the item missing and wonder if it landed in someone else's cart by mistake!).  I took the recipe donor at her word, and baked this cake without nuts. How to pare down the size of this cake for just the two of us? It suggests a bundt pan, and happily, I have a mini-bundt pan. Half the recipe makes up six small bundts. The recipe comes together very easily, and two chopped apples give just the right moisture to the cake. The recipe suggests baking 45 minutes, but I would recommend a shorter bake time, perhaps 35 minutes, for the mini-bundts. The outside of the bundt has a wonderful crispness, and the inside is moist and apple-y. I sprinkled powdered su

This recipe dates to an 1886 cookbook put out by "The Ladies of the Second Congregational Church of Biddeford, Maine." While it does list measures (one pint of pumpkin, two quarts of rich milk...) it does not identify baking time or heat or even number of pies. It does tell the cook to peel and cut your pumpkin...cook six to eight hours, then push the pumpkin through a colander.  I like to follow a recipe to the letter, the first time I try it. But with a nod to the hard working ladies of the Second Congregational Church of Biddeford, Maine, this 21st century woman with a busy day planned drove to the local grocer and purchased a can of "One-Pie" pureed pumpkin. BTW, "One-Pie" is still distributed out of West Paris, Maine, and the cannery originated just down the road a piece, under the name "Medomak Canning Co" in Waldoboro, Maine. One-Pie has generations of loyal customers who rely upon its canned squash and pumpkin for their pie baking. I used

This gravy is paired with the recipe for Pumpkin Seed Croquettes, but don't limit it's delicious flavor to vegan recipes alone. This would be great on a steak or with pork or chicken. It calls for hemp milk or other nondairy milk, and I use almond milk, but you could use whole milk as well. When you put herbs, tamari sauce, shiitake mushrooms, nondairy milk, and sauteed onions together (and a little flour to thicken), you can't go wrong! I've never encountered shiitake mushrooms prior to this cookbook. Call me a novice, but I'm sold on these mushrooms! They add a texture you can't get with the more widely available white mushroom, altho I'm sure those would do if you don't have shiitake mushrooms. I did find that this gravy thickens up as it cools, so just thin it with the almond milk or water. I'm reviewing this gravy as a stand-alone recipe in the cookbook, but you won't find it listed separately in the table of contents. Be sure to look for Pu

Oh my, yummy goodness! When I first laid eyes on this recipe, I knew I had a keeper. My oldest stepdaughter and her husband are vegans. Even tho we are in the midst of COVID-19, should they be able to make visit this summer (socially distanced), this would be an excellent meal to offer. If you are not vegan, don't dismiss this recipe in search of something meaty. This is really delicious and will appeal to many different palates. The person submitting the recipe mentions that it is the dish she makes for Thanksgiving, with vegan gravy and cranberry sauce. I think it is great any time of year! Having a food processor is a must for this recipe. I had one in a former life, but have gotten by without one for years now.  Since a number of recipes in this cookbook require a food processor, I purchased one last week. What a difference! At the push of a button, grated carrots. Pulse, and you've got pumpkin seeds pummeled to a powder. I thought it would be hard to find pumpkin seeds thi

The title of this recipe kind of threw me, at first. I was expecting milk in the recipe. So much so that I skipped a glass of milk with my supper, knowing I would be baking the pie after supper and wanting to have enough milk on hand to do a custard. Hah, turns out I should have had the milk! Not a drop of milk in this recipe, hence the curious use of the word "custard." I regret the time it took to "finely chop" the rhubarb, per recipe instructions. In every rhubarb pie I've ever made, I just chop into chunks, usually about half inch, to allow all the sugary goodness to have proper surface to cling to the fruit, and give a nice solid fruit bite for pie consumers. It appeared that I so finely chopped that rhubarb, it all but disappeared into the sugar/egg coagulation, with the surface rhubarb slices peeking out through the top crust design as bone-dry wisps of their former juicy selves. It being the Bicentennial year for the State of Maine, and this recipe being

I looked at this recipe, and I thought, this is a stew? It just looked kind of bland to me. Plus, I remember thinking to myself, I can just open a can to get stewed tomatoes. What am I going to learn as a cook if I make this?  But I was drawn to the story behind the recipe, as I am with many of the recipes in this cookbook. The contributor speaks of his grandmother and how she shared her love of cooking with him. There is a beautiful photograph of his grandmother next to the recipe. I thought, if this man learned this recipe from his grandmother when he was just a child, and it is still a "family favorite," then it must be worth cooking. Plus, I was looking for something quick to make for my supper, and this looked quick. My husband had cooked up some pasta, so I figured perhaps I could combine the stew and the pasta and it might taste good together. Oh, what a pleasant surprise to my taste buds! It always amazes me how taste buds remember when our brains don't have a clu

Now, this takes me back to childhood! Who remembers making molasses corn balls as a young child?! It is a perfect kitchen project to do with young children, because they will love getting their hands all sticky, and spend half the time busily eating the product they are putting together. I made half a recipe, which made nine balls approx three inches diameter. Tasty and fun! And when the recipe says use buttered hands to make these balls, believe the recipe, and re-butter the hands every time you go to make a ball. I tried to make a second ball without buttering my hands in-between, and had a Sticky Fail. Easily solved by liberal applications of butter to the hands. The recipe suggests cooking the molasses, brown sugar, butter mixture to the hard crack stage, but I decided to go with the soft ball stage instead (about 235-245 degrees). I'm more familiar with eyeballing that stage (altho I did get out the candy thermometer and check it) because of making so many monkey breads for my

After consultation with a former parishioner who is familiar with all things baking, and with older recipes that would have required a wood cookstove (thanks, Wanda!), I realized that, given the opportunity, I would make this recipe differently next time. This recipe comes out of an 1899 cookbook from the First Congregational Parish in Cherryfield, Maine. Those church folk know how to put good food on the table!  I looked at this recipe as a custard. My former parishioner suggested that it is essentially a bread pudding with popcorn substituted for the bread. She said that the curdle I encountered came due to high heat. She suggested a heat of 325, and I might consider putting the baking dish inside a larger dish with 1 1/2 inches of water, to protect the baking dish. I had simply guessed at 350 degrees, since the recipe is so old that there was no electric oven heat suggested. The recipe states a bake time of 20 minutes. Wanda believes a bake time of about an hour, at 325 would work w

This salsa is what you need when People-From-Away come to visit you in Maine (wearing masks, of course, in this difficult season of COVID-19). It shows off our blueberries quite nicely. Now, granted, I've tweaked it to my personal liking. Which means no hot stuff! I like the fruit matched with the tomato and the sweet onion, and the garlic and the olive oil. And a little rice vinegar. You can add a hot pepper if you want. Me, I had a red sweet bell pepper in the fridge, so I chopped that up, and it looks quite pretty and a little patriotic, even, with the blues and the whites. It is just a nice fresh fruit-and-vegetable flavor with a crisp bite of sweet onion. You might even try a dash of lime, to spice it. As I write, today is a hot summer Saturday, and this salsa has chilled overnite, per direction, to allow flavors to blend. Scoop some of this with a tortilla chip, and wash it down with a cold beverage of your choice, and I promise it will be the best thing you have done for you

As a Methodist minister, I move around somewhat frequently, per direction of our Bishop. So, one outpost my husband and I were sent to happened to be in one of the most beautiful places on God's green earth, Greenville Junction, Maine.  What a lovely place in which to minister! My husband and I loved living there and being in ministry there. Greenville Junction, Maine is where I encountered my first experience with bread pudding. Honest-to-the-Apostle-Pete, I had never baked a bread pudding before this. A parishioner, Linda Carpenter (thankyou, Linda!) gave me her recipe for bread pudding, and I've been in love with this old-fashioned dessert ever since. It doesn't hurt that my husband is quite fond of bread pudding, so he was happy to oblige by eating it! I like this particular recipe for the surprise fruit. I'd never tried a bread pudding recipe with anything but raisins until now. The apple compliments the raisins beautifully. This is a wonderfully egg-y recipe, and

I made the chive oil that is to be drizzled into the Potato and Leek Soup (had to go buy a food processor to do it properly). The soup tastes great on its own (I like it cold, my husband prefers it hot). But the chive oil adds a nice flavor treat. The chive oil is at its best for a week or so. The soup is at its best for several days in the fridge, and then can be frozen. I did not use the heavy cream called for in the soup recipe, preferring the light cream we keep on hand for our coffee. So I'm hoping that the soup will thaw properly for future enjoyment. Cream soups sometimes will not behave well after freezing. We'll see. At any rate, I liked this chive oil well enough that I gave it separate billing from the soup. It could be used to enhance other recipes, including spreading on a piece of crusty bread.

I have always thought of seafood as a "special treat" due to the cost. But the truth is that you can purchase a half pound of fresh crabmeat (a shout-out to Graffam Bros. Seafood Market in Rockport, ME) for about $16. This recipe makes 4 crab cakes, and the only other ingredients are Ritz crackers, a couple eggs, chives out of my garden, and a bit of spice, dash of lemon.  So, where can you get a decent-sized burger for four bucks? These crab cakes are not your thin-as-air fried coins that you are served at a restaurant, costing an-arm-and-a-leg. These are substantial, deeply flavorful moist crab cakes, lightly browned and filled with savor-every-bite crabmeat goodness. Worth every single one of those four dollars, and then some. From my roomie, the guy who is king of the understatement: "You can make these again." I think he likes them! And yes, I'll make these again. In part because I'm glad to pay four bucks for that much flavor in my mouth again, and I l

It is mid-July here in Maine, and the humid days can make you feel like baking is just not the right thing to do. But this morning, we had a break from the humidity. It was a cool night, in the 50s last night. This morning, the kitchen was bright and airy, with a cool breeze moving through. What better weather in which to bake blueberry muffins?! Hmmm, there are several blueberry muffin recipes in this cookbook. I've already tried the one with molasses, and much to my surprise that was moist and wonderful. Time to try a recipe which is typed on stationery with a United States Senate letterhead. From the office of Margaret Chase Smith. It's a fine recipe, although I'm not sure why the tops of the muffins didn't brown properly. I could tell that the bottoms were done, so had to pull the muffins. Who ever heard of a dry blueberry muffin? Not out of my kitchen!  I saved them in the nick of time. Not too dry. And I appreciate that she doesn't use too much sugar in the re

Vichyssoise. It sure sounds fancy, for something so simple! Wait, it's not too simple. There is a fair amount of slicing up of leeks and potatoes and herbs. and the leeks and herbs have to spend some time in the olive oil, then toss in the potatoes and pour in the stock (I used vegetable stock). Bring to boil and then simmer. Mmm-hmmm. Smells good! But not quite done. I poured half the soup into my blender, and pushed puree, and it worked (Spoiler alert if you have not yet read the Garlic Scape Pesto adventure...pesto does not pulverize in a blender). Turns out, blenders are much happier blending liquids than solids. Then I poured the pureed soup into a Tupperware container and poured the rest of the soup into my blender, and pushed puree, and once again, a lovely puree appeared like magic!  I added some light cream (calls for heavy, but we never have that on hand) and ooh, baby, does it ever taste good! We have some hot weather in the forecast and a nice cold soup will be just wha

I've had storebought pesto and of course, pesto in restaurant meals. But I've never had the occasion to make my own. Happily, we have the benefit of a small herb garden this summer, so I knew I had plenty of basil and parsley for this recipe. I did have to go to the health food store to buy garlic scapes. I had no idea how many would make up the recipe, so I bought six, as they cost twenty-five cents a piece. Yes, a little interesting, that they sell by the piece and not the ounce. The rest of the ingredients I already had on hand at home, some grated Parmesan, some lemon juice, some nuts (I used pecans, as my roomie does not care for pine nuts). Enter the dilemma. I already have my eggs cracked for the omelet I'm to make which requires this pesto. And the mushrooms are roasting in the oven.  I begin to read the directions for the pesto, having laid out the ingredients.  Hmmm. A food processor? Well, surely a blender will do in a pinch.  I grab my wee personal blender, and

How do you make a Chanterelle Omelet without chanterelles? Well, let me just say that your local grocer doesn't typically carry wild mushrooms. So I went to a local health food store, and bought shiitake mushrooms, as well as an assorted box of guess-the-wild mushrooms, which my husband and I proceeded to look up to see what they were. And they were all delightful and we learned a lot about mushroom names, but none of them turned out to be Chanterelle (which, should you be looking for them, have their name because the cap looks like a trumpet).  I substituted shiitake. Which are at least not as expensive as some other kinds of wild mushrooms. I allowed as how we could go overbudget a little on groceries this week as this was a new experience. I roasted the mushrooms in the oven, first lightly tossing them with some olive oil.  Whipped the eggs, poured them into a buttered pan, and just as the eggs firmed, I sprinkled the mushrooms. I sprinkled the goat cheese (yes, chevre is French

Honestly, I think I am as much in love with the story behind this recipe as the recipe itself. Submitted by Phoebe Schilla, she writes of fond memories of her "Memere and Pepere." Her grandparents would take her to eat at local diners and restaurants here in Maine, and she enjoyed a wide variety of food. The restaurant where she loved to order chicken croquettes? Mary's Restaurant in South China. I don't remember ever attempting to make croquettes, probably because I have deep respect for hot oil, which is another way of saying I'm a bit terrified of having an accident with hot oil.  I do remember eating apple croquettes at the college cafeteria. I know, it sounds odd, but it tasted great. I think the cafeteria ladies were puzzled as to how to feed these strange students who demanded vegetarian food in the early '80's, so they just gave us lots of fruits and veggies disguised in what would normally have been a meat-based recipe.   I confess that I added a

Blueberries are my most favorite fruit. And, fortunately, I am blessed to live in blueberry heaven (mid-coast Maine) so there are blueberries fields everywhere you turn. This smoothie is just marvelous. I altered the recipe so it could be a one-person serving in my mini-blender. Observe the mini-ice-cubes for the mini-blender...they chop up much easier than the normal-sized cubes. The ingredients are all favs-orange juice, milk, yogurt, blueberries, banana, or other fruits if you have on hand. The only thing I might change in this recipe? The amount of maple syrup. I mean, Really. If you are going to put Maple in the recipe title, you jolly well should make sure you can taste the maple! A mere 1 1/2 tablespoons for my single-serve smoothie is clearly not enough. Keep in mind, I hail from Vermont, and undoubtedly have sap running through my veins. So more is always better when it comes to Maple Syrup. Agreed? Good, glad we had this little talk.

This is a traditional Jewish dish submitted by the Levine Chapter B'nai Brith/Waterville Chapter Hadassah. It is often served at the end of Shabbat, the Jewish sabbath. Oh my goodness, this is comfort food with a capital "C." Noodles, sour cream, cream cheese, butter. Love. It. I'm all for uncomplicated recipes, and this is one of the easiest. I will say that the cinnamon is a bit of a surprise flavor for me, just because I'm not used to it in a noodle dish. I baked the full recipe, and, well, let's just say it was a hit. How do I know? Because there were no leftovers!

Don't you just love how necessity gives you just the right choices, when you would never have thought of it otherwise?  I have been making most of the recipes in this cookbook in smaller portions, when just myself and the resident archaeologist are at table. So I have to be creative about what dishes to use to cook these smaller portions in.   Enter the mini pie tin. I just grabbed two out of the baking cupboard because they looked like they would be the right size to hold a half-recipe. They were just right, split between the two tins.  But the added benefit? You can serve from oven to table! This is the perfect container in which to serve the hot dip, because the heat of the tin keeps the contents hot for a little while (which is all you need, because it is devoured instantly.)  This recipe makes up very quickly, and you could store the filled mini pie tins in the fridge for a few hours, I think, while you are preparing other foods for your meal. Then tuck this food-for-the-gods

This recipe was submitted to the Maine Bicentennial Community Cookbook by Doreen Duke. She writes, "My mother, Eleanor Hall, got this recipe from her local church..."  There is a lovely, smiling photo of Doreen's mother, Eleanor, next to the recipe.  Some of my favorite recipes have been found in church cookbooks, or asking for the recipe after a very satisfying church supper. I think the secret to this recipe is the way in which the roux lends depth of flavor to the carrot mixture. I only made a half-recipe, but we easily could have eaten more! A great recipe to put those tender garden carrots on the table!

I was attracted to this recipe because "Home Ec" is in its title. I have fond memories of my Junior High Home Ec classes, learning such nutritious recipes as Whoopie Pies (but that's a blog for when I bake the Whoopie Pie recipe in this cookbook!). The smell of gingerbread has its own mystique. It is a bread with a scent that both relaxes and energizes, depending upon your need.  Perhaps doctors should start handing out recipes for gingerbread, to help people with either anxiety issues or inertia? When this gingerbread was in the oven, all I had to do was inhale, and exhale, and all the tension immediately left my shoulders. I then felt energized to plan the next batch of recipes for this coming week. Ah, possibilities, all because of this magical food! In the directions to the recipe, we are told to "sift dry ingredients together." When was the last time you had to SIFT?!  I remember my mother's flour sifter. It was a metal can with an exterior handle that

It's been awhile since I was a Declared Vegetarian. That was during college, and I hung out with all the vegetarians on campus (we all ate together in the cafeteria, naturally) and it was a heady time of exploring how to balance your protein needs without meat. The cafeteria staff thought we were nuts, but they provided something edible for the vegetarians at suppertime. The rest of the day, we had to forage for our protein. I am now a sometimes-red-meat eater. But mostly chicken and fish. I do enjoy a totally tofu meal now and again. So I thought the Tangy Lentil Burger would be just the ticket on a hot evening in July. However, the cooking instructions for the lentils were completely different on the lentil package than what I found in the cookbook. I learned that you should trust both. In that you want to use lots of water (lentil package) and boil the lentils til soft (cookbook). It is a great veggie burger recipe, but needs more zest. It does call for red pepper flakes in a sa

I started to lay out the ingredients for this recipe a couple of days ago, and realized suddenly that I had no idea how chocolate for cooking was sectioned into bars years ago. This 1910 recipe refers to the amount of baking chocolate as "one square" or "two squares." Not ounces. And the 21st century baking chocolate may not use the same "square" as 1910. So I consulted a local historian who also happens to be fluent in baking old recipes, (thanks, Wanda!) and she advised that one square refers to one ounce of chocolate, per Fanny Farmer cookbook.  I'm quite sure that I'm converted now. I'll never go back. No way. My days of baking brownies from a box are over! It was so simple to bake these brownies. And they turned out beautifully. So much so that I was mighty thankful we had some vanilla ice cream in the freezer to pair with a brownie when it came out of the oven. I decided to cut the recipe in half, and use my mini pie tins for the batter.