Local Food Memories of Maine

Special Guest Post by Natalie Bolton

Maine supports its local fare.

Natalie Bolton is a Boulder, Colorado based marketing and design professional, as well as my friend and a former colleague. When we worked together in Bangor, she is the one who always arrived at the holiday parties with a basket full of homemade preserves and other goodies made from the yields of  local Maine harvests. I'm delighted to be able to share her memories of Maine and its foods in her guest post for Nosing Around Maine.

Many of my best memories of Maine involve food – local, fresh food. Until I moved to Maine, I'd never eaten fiddleheads, whoopie pies, or freshly boiled lobster.

One of the things I loved most about summer in Maine was driving down nearby roads on a sunny day and seeing small stands at the end of long driveways with extra garden produce for sale – zucchini, tomatoes, squash and more. I loved the fact that payment was always on the honor system, and while I never heard of anyone taking advantage of it, the general attitude I heard was, “If someone just takes it, they probably need it more than we do.”

After graduate school, I started getting more involved in picking, cooking and eating  local foods. Picking strawberries and raspberries in Corinth in the summer became an annual tradition, followed by days of making jam. Later, we bought flats of blueberries to freeze (and make more jam!), and September was a time for homemade relish, made from a combination of purchased and our own garden vegetables including peppers and cabbage. What didn't get eaten became Christmas presents for friends and family around the country.

Now I'm living back in my home state of Colorado and am glad to be continuing the tradition of preparing homemade foods to share with family and friends. I'm also glad to be in an area that, like Maine, values local food – a place where I can take advantage of  great farmer's markets and CSA memberships.

When I walk through the aisles of supermarkets today, I'm horrified at the vast array of new products that get packaged and categorized as “food” – things with additives I can't begin to recognize and which friends and I lump together in a general category we call “Sodium Cancerate.” Because of this, I'm excited to see people from Maine supporting the Slow Food and Local Food Movements to keep their heritage of locally-grown foods alive for generations to come.  

Natalie Bolton

Wise Penny Marketing & Design, LLC

1-800-833-0456

Follow the Wise Penny Blog for marketing and design tips.

Maine Food Links of Interest:

http://www.wildblueberries.com

http://www.lobsterfrommaine.com/

http://www.mainepotatoes.com/

http://www.danamoos.com/

http://theyankeechef.blogspot.com/

Nosing Around Maine © Copyright 2012 Gail J. VanWart All Rights Reserved

Tidal Falls Preserve; Fresh Maine Air, Lobsters, and Free Concerts

A protected Maine environment for your enjoyment.

Conservation is a wonderful thing. It allows us to protect and enjoy the land we love. A perfect example of just how great it is can be witnessed at Tidal Falls Preserve in Hancock, thanks to a generous land grant from Land for Maine’s Future and the Frenchman Bay Conservancy, which, by the way, is celebrating its 25^th anniversary this year.

Picnic tables and grills provided.

The conservancy owns and protects the 4.2 acre Tidal Falls park offering public shore access—the only public shore access in Hancock—for hand carried watercraft, plus a very pleasant picnic area complete with tables, iron grills, and a pavilion. Tidal Falls also houses the Frenchman Bay Conservancy office on the second floor of its lobster pound, which operates a take-out in July and August to benefit the conservancy. 

Free Monday Evening Concerts at Tidal Falls

This beautiful preserve, and challenging reversing falls on the Taunton River it overlooks, boasts a colorful history, abundant wildlife, and even provides a spotlight for local culture by offering free concerts on Monday evenings from July 9 to August 20. Add a food cart serving lobster rolls and hot dogs to the festivities and it’s the ultimate example of Maine, the way life should be. The only draw back for some, such as my Border Collie, Blae, is dogs are not allowed on the grounds.

Getting there is easy, though off the beaten path for many who never realized its existence. From Ellsworth, travel north on US Route 1 through the village of Hancock, turn right onto Eastside Road, then turn left onto Tidal Falls Road. If you come to bridge, turn back. Directions from US Route 1 in Sullivan, heading south, take the first left after crossing the bridge into Hancock onto Eastside Road then another left onto Tidal Falls Road. You’re there!

If you’d like to support the Frenchman Bay Conservancy further, you can reserve your seat at a BYOB Lobster Dinner with all the fixings, July 21, 2012, 5:30-6:30 p.m., rain or shine. See link below.

Note:  Fido needs to make other plans.

More information can be found on these links:

Free Concerts at Tidal Falls Preserve

July 21st Lobster Dinner at Tidal Falls Preserve

Maine Department of Conservation

Sullivan/Sorrento Historical Society

Taunton River's history is as strong
as its currents and tides.

© Copyright 2012 Gail J. VanWart  All Rights Reserved