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...