Summer's End

The sun is setting earlier and the crowds are getting smaller, a sure sign that summer on the Coast of Maine is drawing to a close. 

The benefits of fine weather

The garden is exhibiting all the benefits of fine weather (with the total exception of yesterday).  This spring and early summer have brought forth a bountiful bouquet.

The benefit of benefits

On Sunday, April 25th, a "committee" of five held a benefit fundraiser for Elizabeth Biddle.  Elizabeth was diagnosed with stage 3 cancer last year and has had surgery, chemo, radiation, etc. so far to no avail.  The goal at the moment is to get on a drug that will inhibit the growth of new cancers and hope for treatment to eliminate all cancer.  Elizabeth is closing her law office in June.  I worked with Elizabeth for 10 years and she donated so much time and talent to help non-profits and others by providing pro bono work and it showed to me that when you give, you get back.  We had people waiting one half hour before the event to get in and people were still standing in line at 6 pm for food and access to the auction room. It was a tremendous outpouring of the community of people who wanted to share the day with Elizabeth and her family.

We had a lasagna dinner with salad, bread and dessert for approximately 250 people.  The volunteers and contributions were huge.  Ten huge pans of lasagna, along with chafing dish, sterno, napkins, etc. was donated by Cappy's Restaurant in Camden.  It was an excellent lasagna.  We also had contributions of about 10 pans of veggie lasagna.  Rock City Coffee and Books donated coffee and focaccia.  Atlantic Bakery gave us all their leftover bread, and there was a lot.  People brought in some fantastic desserts to share.  

We also had a silent auction of over 100 items.  All in all we brought in over $15,000 for this event and chances are by the end of payment of the auction items, it will be around $20,000.  This money will help Elizabeth and her family tremendously and remove a bit of the strain of the cost of medical care and allow them to enjoy their summer.

Winterfest Wonderful Weekend

The girls (Lauri, Theresa and Susan), minus one (Darcy), came up for the weekend.  We went to the Winterfest at the Cellar Door Winery.  When we entered there was a perfect spot of all of us to belly up to the bar for the Food and Wine Pairing.  The food was prepared by Lani Temple of Megunticook Market in Camden.  My favorite pairing were of the Casa Blaca, a dry Savignon Blanc with the Scallop wrapped with Prosciutto and the Vino DiVine, a dry Vidal Blanc paired with Creamy Spinach Souffle on Crostini.  There was also some barrel tasting of red wines in the kitchen, served with piles of cheese and chocolate delights.  We then went to the Waterfront Restaurant to enjoy the view and sip some more wine and finally, to Cafe Miranda in Rockland for dinner.  The girls had never been to Cafe Miranda and we all thoroughly enjoyed the food.  One of the unique starters was BRUSSELS SPROUTS!-roasted w/kosher salt, olive oil,balsamic vinegar, caramelized onion, garlic, cream.  Yum Yum and another unique dish, GNU EVAN’S- mixed field greens tossed w/our hand cut fries, olive oil, romano cheese and lemon.  What a wonderful way to get kids to eat salad.  After a great evening of challenging Wii games, we got up and started eating all over again. 

Theresa prepared a wonderful crustless quiche that seemed to me to be very light and filled with flavor.  However, it did contain 6 eggs and 3 cups of cheese, so I don't think this would register as "light" food.  She is a great cook, as are all the girls and we thoroughly enjoy their efforts.  The Quiche was served with a salad of mixed greens and pistachio spread and little screwdrivers.  What a wonderful way to start a Sunday,

Ganache - Panache

I am not really a baker, it is simply too scientific for me and to me, makes one try to become more of a perfectionist than necessary. But this little cake recipe really attracted my attention. For one, it is small and attractive but mainly because it is covered in chocolate. It is a Red Velvet cake with chocolate ganache and raspberries. It barely resembles the cake I found on the website by Wayne Johnson, but in my imperfectionist eye, it didn't matter. It was pretty and it tasted great. Also, I never made red velvet before and for Valentine's Day, I thought it would be the perfect meal ender.  I recommend you give it a try, it is incredibly easy and wonderfully sinful.  Is it heart smart?  No, not by a long shot.  But a small piece is enough to satisfy even the biggest chocolate lover.

Getting our lives back on track

Just about four weeks ago, while the hubs was preparing to go to work, he collapsed and fell to the kitchen floor.  Two ambulances arrived, paramedics, trip to local hospital, many tests, more tests and finally a trip to Maine Medical Center filled out the day.  The following Tuesday his aortic valve and ascending aorta were replaced.  The next Friday they implanted a pacemaker.  Needless to say, since that day, we have been visited by medical people who have kept up testing and trying to get all the numbers right.  He is really on the mend now, seemed to have turned a corner last Tuesday and got more energy and more interest in doing things.  Wednesday last we went back to the surgeon for a post-op and he was deemed to be fine and we went to dinner at David's 388 www.davids388.com   on Cottage Road in South Portland to celebrate.  We started out with Baby iceberg wedges with Maine cluster tomato and crispy bacon with blue cheese dressing.   Paul ordered Ginger and scallion crusted salmon with wasabi mashed potato and sesame snow peas and asparagus and I had special of the night consisting of haddock topped with lobster on mashed with a fabulous flavored cream sauce.  A bottle of Malbec and a shared decadent dessert and we were very happy people.  I highly recommend this restaurant.  The mains are $14, starters are $8 and salads $10.  The food is superb and the service is impeccable.  Well done Davids.

Baked Stuffed Cabbage Rolls - 5 points

 
What a wonderful weekend, it was so slow and laid back due to the storm.  Got to do some reading, watching movies and cooking.  Oh yeah, there was a nap to two in there too.  Well, the new electric snow blower worked like a charm until my sweetie rammed it into a log that was laying near the woodpile and broke the blade.  Oh well, back to shoveling.  

We walked the little guy down to Marshall Point where the snow was virtually blown out to sea.  The land was clear of the high white stuff and our little buddy really loved being able to stretch his legs.  You could almost hear him thinking "I'm flying."

Fourth day into the resolution.  I have exercised each morning and have kept to my points limits.  The online Weight Watchers program is pretty cool, but you need to commit to putting your information into it on a daily basis.  For me, if I am paying for a program, I will use it and I love the computer anyway, so it is not a problem for me. 

Last night I made Baked Stuffed Cabbage Rolls from the Discovery Health Eating Well Website.  I calculated the recipe to be 5 points on the Flex or Momentum WW program.  Flavor in healthy recipes is what I am looking for.  I don't mind if it takes time to make the recipe or how many ingredients are in it as long as it tastes great.

Although the cabbage rolls looked lovely, they really lacked flavor despite the fresh dill, garlic, salt, pepper, caraway seeds and lemon juice.  I think it needs a little red pepper flakes.  So, my take on this recipe is, it is filling, but needs some spices added to make it into a meal you would want to have again.  

The New Year

The sound of the snow trucks rumbling down the road and the quiet - super quiet.  The first storm of the year is descending on us this weekend.  We are having snow as I write this, the weather is supposed to deteriorate by tomorrow afternoon and not end until Sunday evening.  Because the hubs has some heart dysfunction, we picked up a little snow blower to make life easier this winter and it looks like just in time.  We will really get to see if it works well by Sunday night.


I know I complain about the freezing cold and snow as winter progresses, but there is a wonderful comforting feeling of the first storm of the year, it is almost romantic.  The woodstove is humming, the fire place is heating the front room and the thought of comfort food crosses my mind.

We have brought in the cross county ski shoes from the barn to warm up and remind us to USE them and get out in the weather, white or not.


Tonight, to bring in the good luck of the year, we had a lentil soup with collard greens.  Thick and yummy.  But to start out the year we went to a brunch at a friend's house.  They served scrambled eggs (just like Julia Child's) sausage links, patties and bacon, home fries, and huge cinnamon rolls.  To start things off we had bloody s and mimosas.  Working this little menu into my new weight control plan was a little difficult, but not totally impossible.  The brunch took the place of two meals and that was the saving part of it all.  Also, we went to the movies to see Sherlock Holmes.  What a great action film.  I will watch anything with Robert Downy, Jr., and now anything with Jude Law.  


There are all sorts of wishes and resolutions surrounding the first day of the year.  This year I hope for good health and prosperity for all.