Toki Oshima illustration By Roberta Bailey Maine and Vermont have two of the fastest growing local food movements in the country. That is apparent in the number of new farms and people trying to figure out how to get onto a piece of land; through the health of the seed industry; in local farmers’ markets;
Purslane is high in healthful omega-3 fatty acids – for a vegetable. English photo. By Roberta Bailey Last year was the first year that purslane started showing up in my garden. When I saw it my heart leapt with a little fear. All the voices of other gardeners complaining about this difficult weed rushed through
By Cheryl Wixson For a variety of health, social and environmental reasons, I’ve been tweaking a number of my recipes to get the sugar out. Table sugar, or sucrose, is obtained by refining the juice from sugar beets or sugar cane. Today, about 80 percent of the white table sugar consumed in the United States
By Roberta Bailey Even though my gardens could easily feed the entire neighborhood, I have been visiting farmers’ markets this summer and fall. I love to see what everyone is growing. I love to see the fruits of Maine’s farming community. I always leave with a lilt to my step, a big smile and a
‘Red Russian’ kale. English photo. By Roberta Bailey Kale is all the rage! It is rocking the health studies with its cancer fighting properties and the nutritional scene with its high levels of beta-carotene and other carotenoids, vitamin K, vitamin C, lutein and calcium. The red kales have invited the popular buzzword “anthocyanin” to their
By Roberta Bailey The folksinger Greg Brown makes me grin when he sings the line, “We’re a cross between our parents and hippies in a tent.” The line brings to mind scores of young, enthusiastic back-to-the-landers whom I have known during my 20-odd years of being one. The woman who wouldn’t even have a radio
Cold-hardy greens sown in August, such as these planted by Johnny’s Selected Seeds at MOFGA’s Common Ground Education Center, can be protected and feed us for an extended season. English photo. By Roberta Bailey In A Midwife’s Tale, Laurel Thatcher Ulrich tells of walking across the frozen Kennebec River in Hallowell at Thanksgiving time. The
By Cheryl A. Wixson Because I often cook for large groups, I try to be sensitive to individuals’ many eating styles and dietary requirements. One diet that has become increasingly prevalent is gluten-free. This diet excludes all foods that contain gliadin, a gluten protein found in wheat, and in similar proteins found in crops of
By Roberta Bailey Over the last few years, I have been discovering shell beans. Their diverse flavors and uses are well worth the time that I once considered to be the reason that I didn’t grow them. This year I have discovered fava or broad beans. I tried growing them once, about 15 years ago,
By Roberta Bailey Time passes. Seasons change, and then, change again. You work hard toward one goal, and then, before you know it, that goal has passed and you’re reflecting on its moments of intensity while looking toward the next life event. Sometimes it’s all in perspective; most times it’s hard to grasp, seeming surreal.
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