“Our Bees, Ourselves” by Mark Winston, author of forthcoming “BeeTime: Lessons from the Hive”, is a frighteningly convincing essay about the parallels between Honeybee collapse and human environmental degradation and subsequent challenges to golbal health and habitat. Read it, bee-ware, bee-warned, and bee-inspired. 1. There is a noticeable reduction in the number of bees in our garden. Luring birds … Continue reading
It’s blueberry season! Seems like I just wrote about the pleasure of harvesting fresh berries for breakfast. There’s been a slog of frosty Maine winter since then, making the barefoot trek to the garden especially gratifying. The components of this dessert can be adapted to create other goodies; take liberties when taste and larder dictate. The base is a … Continue reading
Annie hosts an annual spring gathering to celebrate the tulips in her garden: flowers, friends, and food. This year, among other things, she served tiny cheddar “biscuits” made with bits of savory bacon. Not bragging, not even particularly proud, but bacon hasn’t been on the marketing list for months. Annie’s cheesy bacon bites satisfied a craving … Continue reading
More good news for people who eat a GF diet (or love someone who does) and live around Greater Portland: Jill Miller started The Maine Pie Company. Gus didn’t like pie as much as the rest of the family, so creating a successful fool proof GF crust wasn’t an early priority. Still, since his diagnosis in 1998 … Continue reading
Hopefully you’ve been convinced that miso soup for breakfast is a great way to start the day. Now: miso for dessert! These brownies don’t have the health benefits of soup, but the savory nuttiness of miso evokes popular modern flavor profiles of salted caramels and bacon infused chocolate. When warm they have an excellent aroma and smooth rich texture, … Continue reading
Bakers Chef Professional Plastic Food wrap is efficient, effective, and easy to use. Loved it. Had boxes in several widths. But plastic isn’t good for the environment. Glass food storage systems are an alternative, however sometimes left-overs need to be just covered. Julia brought Bee’s Wrap as a hostess gift to a gathering at which I was a guest. … Continue reading
Anyone who follows this blog knows we are fans of scones. This recipe is in response to a recent post by Gluten Free For Lunch Boxes reminding that scones made with nut flours may be prohibited on school grounds since exposure to nut proteins is a risk for those with tree nut and peanut allergies. The little bit of Turmeric called for … Continue reading
Baking is essentially science. While it’s possible to make the occasional substitution or omission to accommodate dietary or pantry constraints the (muffins) may be a little different than originally conceived. Oven temperature, humidity, salted or unsalted butter, white or brown sugar, GF or conventional flour, egg size and freshness are among factors that will determine the quality … Continue reading
Hallie told us she checked out Maine Island Multigrain Pancakes to determine the what “grains” made up the flour mixture because her family was experimenting with “paleo” banana pancakes. Our conversation during a walk in the woods led to one of the easiest and most satisfying developments of a recipe in recent memory. Serve them with maple syrup for … Continue reading
Gingerbread cake in April?! The Farmer’s Almanac prediction for spring in our neighborhood has proven true: cooler than normal temperatures with near normal rainfall. We served this spicy cake at tonight’s end-o-season Paddle Tennis round-robin and dinner. With temps in the low 40s and a crackling fire inside Karen and Ford’s log cabin, the Ginger Olive Oil Cake with Lemon Icing suited everyone’s tastes. One … Continue reading
Gluten Free Gus 