"Portland Food" Launch Party Week

Tonight! Get thee to The Thirsty Pig on Exchange St. in Portland for a limited release from Bissell Brothers Brewing. Swish, a hopped ale, will be available tonight as a thank you to the pub where the Bissell Brothers got their start. Get there at 7pm to get a taste of what's sure to be a delicious brew. Even if you are late to the party and miss the Swish, the Thirsty Pig has a great lineup of local beer to console yourself, including (as of yesterday anyways) Maine Beer Company's Dinner. 

The launch party for my book, Portland Food: the Culinary Capital of Maine, is this Saturday, May 31st! It will be at Sherman's Books, 49 Exchange Street, in Portland, where another History Press author, Josh Christie, works. I will be there from 1-3pm, signing books and offering some local treats that are featured in the book. Please stop by! 

Photo via Sherman's Books

Anestes of Portland Food Map is teaming up with the Maine Brew Bus to offer a tour about a different kind of brewed beverage - coffee. The specialty "Portland Loves Coffee" tour is this Sunday, June 1 from 1-5pm. You'll tour several different Portland coffee houses and learn about the roasting and brewing of Portlander's second favorite drink. Anestes knows and loves his coffee, so it will be an entertaining and educational tour. 

New Ball Canning Products Review

This summer, UMaine Extension is partnering with the Portland Farmers' Market to offer canning and freezing demonstrations monthly at the Saturday market in Deering Oaks Park. We're participating in the "Discover You Can" partnership sponsored by Ball, in order to help increase people's use of local foods year round. At each demo, we'll have tons of preserving supplies and coupons to give away. The boxes (and boxes) of food preservation goodies are rolling into our office.

Lately, Ball has been creating all sorts of accessories for preserving and using local foods. New toys are fun and all, but I was a bit skeptical about some of these items. So I decided to test drive them all to better inform my recommendations to interested preservers.

First up, accessories for turning your mason jar into a drinking glass (er, rather a more effective one?). I think Ball must have realized they'd been scooped for a great product idea by Cuppow. Ball caught on and produced these sippy lids with accompanying plastic straws. They come in both regular and wide mouth sizes, 4 to a pack, for $6.95. I really enjoy the Cuppow lids and find the Ball version to be comparable. They're great for my iced coffee and don't leak. The straw is long enough to use with pint and half or quart jars.

Verdict: take

The mason jar infuser is a similar idea, only there's a separate screw-in insert that can be filled with ingredients with which to flavor your water. I was skeptical, but when I filled mine with raspberries, I ended up drinking my water much quicker. Combine this with my SodaStream water and I'd be in heaven. So maybe just add some raspberries to my water next time? For $7.95, I think I'll stick with the low-tech version.

Verdict: toss

I definitely had my eye on these little herb jars when they were released last year. They're priced reasonably at $6.95 for a set of four, including the jars. The top pops open to shake out herbs and easily screws off for measuring more amounts. As someone who buys herbs and spices in bulk, I appreciate these jars as a huge improvement over the plastic zip-top bags that clutter up my spice shelf. 

They're also great for storing your home grown and dried herbs (see my dried oregano pictured above). The lids are also sold separately for $2.95 for two, perfect for someone who already has plenty of 4 oz. jars. 

Verdict: take

This alien-like contraption is Ball's fresh herb keeper. The white cradle swings open to allow easy access to the fresh herbs. When it's closed, the stems of the herbs sit in an inch of water, helping to extend their lifespan. 

This product might be helpful to someone who is always losing herbs in their crisper drawer, only to rediscover them as a black pile of goo, since the clear container reminds you what herbs you have. But at $15.95, I'll stick with the wrap-in-a-paper-towel method. As a coworker said, you could buy so many herbs with $15.95!

Verdict: toss

The idea behind this potholder helped win me over instantly. The hot jar handler ($10.95) allows you to hold onto hot jars while you're filling them. This would be useful while you're ladling food into the jar or while you're screwing on the screw bands. It grips nicely around a pint jar, but a smaller jar would get lost in it. The price is a bit steep for a pot holder, so I'll recommend it with reservations.

Verdict: take(ish)

I can tell you right away that I was predisposed to dislike this Sure Tight band tool ($9.99). I think I've been disparaging it while teaching classes without have ever even tried it. This tool's purpose it to help you perfectly tension your screw bands (the metal ring that holds the lid onto the jar during the canning process). To use it, you open up the tool, place the inner rubber-lined plastic ring on your canning jar, close the tool and twist. The spring-loaded hinge in the handle provides the torque to properly tighten your screw band. There's also a jar opener in the end of the handle.

But I was taught, and have been subsequently teaching, that you tighten your screw bands until they're fingertip tight. They need to be on the jars firmly, but not so tight that the air can't escape from the jars during the canning process. Recommending someone use a tool to tighten their screw bands seems counter-intuitive to me. 

Verdict: toss

OK, reading reviews online shows that this tool is useful to people who have arthritis in their hands and wrists. If that's you, give it a whirl! 

The home canning discovery kit ($11.99) is a sort of all-in-one kit for people curious about canning. It contains three pint jars and a green plastic basket that takes the place of a canning rack and a jar lifter. The basket fits into a small stockpot that you likely already have. 

This kit would be perfect for someone who is interested in canning, but doesn't want to buy the whole kit and caboodle or someone who is looking to can small batches at a time. If you're an experienced canner, you have no need for this, but it would make a good gift for people you're looking to convert.

Verdict: you decide.

In what seems like a "wait, people are buying things for canning that aren't Ball branded; we can't have that," move, Ball made pickle and salsa spice mixes. These 12oz. containers are $5.99 each and are enough spices to make 13 to 14 quarts of pickles and 8 pints of tomato salsa. 

The salsa ingredients are relatively straight forward: dried green peppers, onions, garlic; salt; spices; sugar; sunflower oil; and jalapeno pepper powder. You only need fresh tomatoes and white vinegar to prepare your recipe. But as someone who is looking to make salsa made from fresh, homegrown ingredients, I'm turned off by the dehydrated, non-local ingredients. 

The dill pickle spice mix goes off the rails a bit, containing salt, sugar, spices, dried garlic, calcium chloride (for crispness - also sold separately as Pickle Crisp), dextrose, maltodextrin, natural flavor and color, and silicone dioxide. Compare that to a dill pickles recipe that calls for salt, sugar, dill seed, pickling spice mix, and mustard seed. If you're coming to canning to know what's in your food, adding maltodextrin, a food additive frequently used in soda and candy, isn't in line with those goals. 

Verdict: toss

Let's end on a fun note! Ball released blue heritage jars last year, for the 100th anniversary of the Ball jar. This year, they released green jars, as well as blue and green lids and screw bands. All of the items are safe for canning, but might make your food look a little strange with its blue or greenish tint.

The jars are sold in 6 packs for the same price as a 12-pack ($12.99), so maybe they're better as an occasional accent than as the majority of your canning jars. I personally don't plan to use any for canning, but they'd make fun drinking glasses. I will definitely be using the blue and green lids and screw bands.
Verdict: lids, bands: take; jars: you decide

The best part is, we'll be giving away all of these items at our demonstrations this summer! So if you see something you like but wouldn't necessarily spend money on, come see the Master Food Preservers at the Portland Farmers' Market this summer. The dates of the demonstrations will be announced on UMaine Extension in Cumberland County's Facebook page.

Weekly Portland Food Events of Interest

This week, I thought I'd share with you some events of interest - not of course, as an attempt to replicate the comprehensive Events Calendar on Portland Food Map. But every little bit of publicity helps for these businesses putting on great events featuring local food and drink.

Allagash Brewing Company and Rosemont Market Productions are hosting a fundraiser for Preble Street Resource Center tonight at the brewery. Tickets are $45 and include eight samples from Eventide Oyster Co., Rosemont, PB&ME, Nosh, The Thirsty Pig, Browne Trading Company, Gelato Fiasco, and Winter Hill Farm. Beer sample are offered with each plate. Read about the last Allagash dinner I attended to preview all the fun you're in for.

The Portland Phoenix Best Of party is also tonight; the winners for Best Food Blog will be announced (for which I am a contender) as well as all their other award winners. The event is free and starts at 6:30PM at Port City Music Hall. Food (also free) is provided by Black Tie Company, the bar will be open, and local music acts will be playing. 

An ongoing event is a Kickstarter campaign for the Bearded Lady's (Nan'l Meikeljohn) Jewel Box. Nan'l is a bartender, most recently seen at Pocket Brunch events and pop-up bar events at SPACE Gallery. He's launching his own bar, the Jewel Box, at 644 Congress Street and is looking to raise funds for the remodel. The video is an entertaining watch, and note that if you pledge $75 or more your reward is a ticket to a future (one last) Pocket Brunch in the fall at the bar. 

   

I'm not much for events on the weekend, but the Portland Museum of Art is hosting a film screening on Sunday. What with the weather report, it might be a nice thing to cozy into. As part of the MOFGA lecture series, the PMA is showing Symphony of the Soil at 2PM. There will be a discussion panel following, featuring filmmaker Deborah Koons Garcia, organic farmer Eliot Coleman, and Aurora Provision's Leslie Oster. 

Of course, the rainy weather is also a great excuse to stay inside and read! My book, Portland Food: the Culinary Capital of Maine is now available for purchase in local bookstores, Books-a-Million, and online. 

Food truck fleet updates

Portland food trucks are coming out of hibernation, so we thought we’d check in with the existing fleet for an update on their upcoming season. First, the good news: most truck owners were very happy with their first year of service in Portland. Only one truck ran out of gas, so to speak, after a season in Back Cove Park — Portside Picnic. Owner Rich Earle cites costly permits as well as size and location restrictions as his reasons for closure.

In fact, only a handful of trucks manage to operate successfully on city property. Gusto’s Italian’s business is booming, serving filled flatbread cones and fried snacks to late night revelers in the Old Port. But owner Jim Chamoff says parking is difficult to find late at night (city regulations allow for the operation of food trucks in any non-residential area after 10 pm). As a result, Gusto’s employees head out to find parking at 5 or 6 pm and then have to run generators for several additional hours to power the truck’s refrigerators.

The owners of El Corazon established themselves on Spring Street at Temple Street, serving Mexican fare to the business crowd on weekdays. Food trucks are allowed to operate on designated streets as long as they feed the meters. El Corazon owner April Garcia says it’s particularly important to maintain a consistent presence in one location: “We established this spot as this is where we are; people know we’re going to be there.”

Kevin Sandes of Urban Sugar Mobile Café (the mini-donut truck) only experienced a few months of service in Portland last fall before heading to Sugarloaf for the winter. He tried his luck on Commercial Street by the cruise ship dock, hoping to capture tourists’ business as they came off the boat. But he found the limited space allowed for food truck parking was taken up by the cruise ship vans taking passengers on daytrips. Kevin and his wife Valeri will be back this season, operating on city property during the week and in Portland Flea-for-All’s parking lot on Sundays.

Most trucks choose to rent space from a private business on the peninsula or motor out of Portland altogether. The Small Axe food truck’s chefs sold their carefully-crafted breakfast fare to Tandem Coffee’s customers in East Bayside and leased space in a parking lot next to City Hall for lunch service. This year, owners Bill Leavy and Karl Deuben easily renewed their food truck’s operational permit with the city and plan to serve lunch and dinner from the privately-owned lot. Deuben said, “Our process with [City Hall] was really smooth, in that they sent us a renewal form and we sent them money, and we want to keep it like that.”

Nate Underwood’s Wicked Good truck headed out to Peaks Island, where he served “wicked” items like chicken and waffles. With a second truck in Portland this year, Underwood hopes to emphasize the revamped “good” side of the menu, with vegan items from Modern Vegan’s Chris McClay.

Last August, the city changed its regulations to allow food trucks to cluster, like at the popular monthly Flea Bites event in the Portland Flea-for-All parking lot in Bayside. Flea Bites returns in May, and Jack Barber of Mainely Burgers plans to participate. Barber is looking forward to “creat[ing] a destination where everyone in the family can find something they like.”

Four new trucks are launching this year: Ana’s Mobile Gourmet was recently spotted serving Mexican food and plans to launch full-time mid-May. Good Shepherd’s food truck has just started serving at special events, with all proceeds going to the Food Bank. Fishin’ Ships, with a variety of fish ‘n chips, plans to launch this summer; and Anywhere Coffee Bar from Gorham Grind is aiming to be in operation June 1.

Scope out this year’s mobile fleet at the upcoming Street Eats & Beats event, featuring Gusto’s Italian, Wicked Good, El Corazon, Small Axe, PB&ME, Love Cupcakes, Good Shepherd, Pinky D’s (Lisbon Falls), and Sweet Tomatoes (Boston).

STREET EATS & BEATS | Saturday, May 3, 12-5 pm | Ocean Gateway Lot | $10 | tinyurl.com/streeteatsandbeats

Originally published in the Portland Phoenix, April 25, 2014

A taste of Mexico in Maine

Originally published in the Portland Phoenix on March 28, 2014

El Rayo Taqueria in Portland prides itself on serving authentic Mexican fare using fresh and local ingredients. But until recently, the workhorse of many El Rayo dishes — the tortilla — was bought from an out-of-state purveyor. Enter Lynne Rowe with her new tortilla business, Tortilleria Pachanga.

El Rayo’s kitchen manager Elena McMahan reports Rowe’s yellow corn tortillas, which she just started serving in the past week, are a hit with the restaurant’s customers: “[T]he difference is definitely that Lynne makes them from total scratch — the process of soaking the corn with lime overnight, grinding it into masa, and making the tortillas almost daily makes all the difference in the world!”

Rowe had the idea to make her own tortillas from locally-grown corn after traveling to Oaxaca, Mexico. A lifelong Spanish teacher, Rowe was inspired by the open-air markets where women knead fresh cheese and press tortillas made from masa, a corn dough. Rowe had plenty of experience making tortillas from dried masa at home and with school groups. But she struggled to find fresh masa to recreate the authentic flavor she enjoyed in Mexico. So Rowe decided to make her own, ordering a 50-pound bag of organic, Maine-grown yellow dent corn (from Sandy River Farms in Farmington) through the Crown O’ Maine Cooperative. Armed with a hand grinder, she began the laborious process of making fresh masa.

First Rowe soaks the corn kernels in food-grade lime, an ancient process called nixtamalization that breaks down the kernels’ coating and makes its nutrients readily available. The kernels are then soft enough to grind, which Rowe does with a stone grinder. The resulting paste is masa, which is then portioned into balls and pressed into tortillas. The finished product is gluten-free, low-sodium, organic, and high in fiber and vitamins, in particular B3. But above all, it’s tasty.

Rowe’s locally-made tortillas are part of a growing sector of food manufacturing businesses in Maine: entrepreneurs making value-added products. Value-added products are foods that have been processed to increase their value to the consumer, like turning strawberries into jam or grains into flour. The term encompasses specialty foods like gourmet sauces and spice rubs, but also pantry staples, like oils, dried fruit, and nut butters.

University of Maine Cooperative Extension Business and Economics specialist Jim McConnon says that as of 2011, there were 370 self-employed food manufacturers in Maine. This sector has grown by 50 percent in the last 10 years, whereas the number of large food manufacturing businesses has stayed relatively stable in that time.

“I’m excited about opportunities and possibilities for Maine people to follow their passion and create things and at the same time... bring more money in to their families and their communities than they expend,” McConnon says. “As long as they’re business-savvy, they have half a chance, particularly with value-added [products].”

Rowe has expanded her tortilla operation into a production space on Industrial Way in Portland next to established brewers Allagash Brewing and up-and-comers Foundation and Bissell Brothers Brewing Companies. A new machine, purchased with funding from a successful Indiegogo campaign, is capable of pressing and cooking 12,000 tortillas per hour. Rowe has learned to talk about “fixed overhead costs” and “profit margins,” while ensuring she stays true to her mission of using Maine-grown corn to produce fresh tortillas. Rowe hopes her business will help the Maine corn industry — in particular increasing the availability of heirloom varieties like the Abenaki Flint corn grown at Songbird Farm in Sparks. But above all, any tortilla connoisseur will appreciate Rowe’s products for their authentic flavor and texture.

Tortilleria Pachanga tortillas can be found at Rosemont Market, Aurora Provisions, El Rayo, El Corazon food truck, and area farmers’ markets.

TORTILLERIA PACHANGA | facebook.com/tortilleriapachanga | 207.797.9700 | tortilleriapachanga@gmail.com

A tequila-tasting education

Originally published in the Portland Phoenix on February 20, 2014

Outside, the city is digging out from under its fourth (or is it fifth?) heavy snowfall. But inside Zapoteca Restaurante y Tequileria, a warming bit of Mexico can be found in the form of an extensive selection of tequila. Sit at the bar in a luxe, dark-leather bar stool, and let the knowledgeable staff pour you a flight of warming libations or a snifter of an aged liquor that’s the color of caramel.

If your only experience with tequila involves the grimace after the lick-slam-squeeze of a salt and lime shooter, you may be surprised to hear that tequila is now being treated stateside with the same reverence as bourbon and scotch. Similarly, tequila has its own Appellation of Origin, a set of standards governing the production of tequila. In order for tequila to be called tequila, it has to be from specific territories of Mexico and produced in compliance with standards that cover everything from the fermentation process to the packaging.

Tequila is made from the blue agave plant, which grows in Mexico, South America, and the Southwest United States. The succulents resemble aloe with their thick, fleshy leaves, and are harvested for their hearts, like an artichoke. These hearts or piñas look like large, starchy pineapples and are split and roasted traditionally in a stone or brick oven, called a horno (hence Sauza’s Hornitos). The roasting process breaks down the agave’s starches into fermentable sugars. The roasted agave hearts are then crushed to release their juices, which is fermented in a process very similar to that of beer. The mildly-alcoholic agave wort is then distilled twice to produce tequila.

If the tequila is unaged, it’s called blanco or silver and is the best way to taste the pure agave flavors. Reposado or ‘rested’ tequila is then aged in oak barrels for two to 12 months. Reposado tequilas are great sipping tequilas for beginners, since the aging frequently mellows the more lively flavors of tequila (think pepper, citrus) and adds complexity. Añejo is aged for one to three years, and extra añejo is aged for a minimum of three years. Añejo tequilas are comparable to Scotch whiskey, infused with smoky flavors from the charred oak barrels in which they’re aged.

To decide which style you like best, head to Zapoteca for a flight of tequila. Zapoteca boasts the largest collection of tequila and mezcals in Maine (close to 80), which are managed by Sergio Ramos, who has completed the “Award T” certification course from the Tequila Regulatory Council of Mexico. A flight of tequila offers the three styles of tequila from one brand, giving you a chance to see how the flavors of the tequila change as it’s aged. The flights range in price from $15 to $80 and come with a palate-cleansing side of sangrita, a spicy slurry of fire-roasted tomatillos traditionally served alongside tequila to complement its acidity.

Recently, I sampled a flight of Tres Generaciones ($18). The silver tasted like you expect fine tequila should — peppery with a clean finish. As I moved onto the reposado, the spiciness mellowed, and I tasted fruity, vanilla notes. The añejo tasted much like the reposado, but with a slight smokiness. I preferred the reposado, and even moved on to the Casamigo reposado served neat ($13), which left a lingering caramel flavor in the finish.

At Zapoteca, you can also sample mezcal, another type of Mexican agave liquor. Mezcal is a catch-all phrase used to describe any liquor made from agave (including tequila). But the best mezcals come from the Mexican state of Oaxaca, and Zapoteca has several for you to try. While you may associate tequila more with patios and summertime, why not take advantage of the slower pace of winter in Maine to embrace a tequila education?

ZAPOTECA RESTAURANTE Y TEQUILERIA | 505 Fore St, Portland | 207.772.8242 or zapotecarestaurant.com

Fat and happy at Miyake's place

Originally published in the Portland Phoenix on January 30, 2014

The pigs make a racket, squealing and grunting, anticipating another meal, as we gingerly approach on paths of melting snow and ice. I’m in Freeport, where chef Masa Miyake has turned his Freeport backyard into a full-fledged hog farm; farm manager Emily Phillips built paddocks for the pigs and moved them closer to the house for the winter.

“They’re pretty food-motivated,” laughs Phillips. The pens house four different breeds of pigs, all of them eager to sniff us. They crowd against the fence, pressing their round noses against our legs. Phillips points out different breeds as she scratches the back of a fat, black pig named Raisin.

Miyake’s farm is one of many projects keeping the Portland chef busy. In the past six years, Miyake has opened three restaurants — including his Diner which just opened its doors in the original Miyake space on Spring Street — and turned his 3.5-acre Freeport property into a breeding ground for rare and heritage varieties of pigs. Phillips cares for about 15 pigs at Miyake’s farm, breeding them in the hopes of creating uniquely flavored meat. Twenty more of their feeder pigs are being raised by the staff at Wolfe’s Neck Farm, also in Freeport. Miyake’s farm-raised pork is served in all of his restaurants, with Pai Men Miyake using the most of it in their ramen and dumplings. (The pork buns aren’t made with Miyake farm pork, since the farm doesn’t yet produce enough pork belly to supply the popular menu item.)

Miyake started his pork production by raising two breeds of pigs: Landrace and Guinea. Landrace are the typical pink pigs that are bred to be lean and muscular; Guinea hogs are a smaller, rare breed that is unique to the United States. These pigs were frequently raised by homesteaders attracted to their small stature, high fat content, and their rooting behaviors, which helped till garden beds. Phillips says chefs have grown bored with Landrace pigs and are attracted to the high fat content and flavor of Guinea hogs’ meat.

Phillips is looking forward to the birth of three litters of piglets in March. She successfully bred two Mangalitsa pigs, a curly-haired Hungarian breed that’s frequently referred to as the ‘Kobe beef’ of pork. Raisin, a Guinea hog, bred with a Ossabaw Island boar, so her piglets will be a unique hybrid. Phillips’ goal is to establish a strong breeding stock, which is a long process. In the meantime, she’s busy with the daily care of the animals and managing the restaurant’s office operations.

Restaurant co-owner and manager Will Garfield explains that chef Miyake started raising the pigs to provide his customers with a meaningful story about their food. “You can find pork anywhere,” Garfield says. “I can pick up the phone and get six different types of pork from different purveyors. But we wanted at least to be moving in a direction where we could say, this is Miyake farm pork.”

Miyake and his partners aren’t looking to reinvent the wheel with their farming endeavors. They recognize that they are first and foremost a restaurant group and will never be able to farm on the same scale as full-time farmers.

Phillips and Miyake are instead looking to differentiate themselves in the market with their unique pork and produce. Phillips says, “We live in such an amazing place with so many knowledgeable and efficient local farms that produce really quality stuff. So we’ve been trying to envision how we can dig out our little niche within that.”

Phillips took a year off from growing produce on the farm, but is planning to plant Japanese vegetable varieties this year. With her care in the fields and on the farm, and Miyake’s talent in the kitchen, the food at the Miyake restaurants is in good hands.

Find Miyake farm-raised pork at Pai Men Miyake | 188 State St. | 207.541.9204 | miyakerestaurants.com/pai-men-miyake

Supporting Maine's dairy farmers for the love of cheese

Originally published in the Portland Phoenix on January 3, 2014

Maine-made cheese is having a moment. The Maine cheese industry is one of the fastest growing in
the country and produces award-winning varieties. While we don’t make near as much as cheese-loving states like Wisconsin and Vermont, Maine has 73 licensed cheese makers today, up from ten a decade ago. Thanks to like prominence of local cheese at retailers like the Portland Farmers’ Market, K. Horton’s Specialty Foods, Rosemont Market, and Whole Foods, curd-loving customers are familiar with local creameries and cheese styles like never before.

Whether it ends up buttery, crumbly, or tangy, all cheese starts out as milk. Maine Cheese Guild President Eric Rector attributes the success of the cheese industry to its high-quality founding ingredient. “Maine produces some of the best milk in the world, in my opinion,” Rector says. Unfortunately, the story of the Maine dairy industry isn’t as rosy as that of cheese. Today, Maine has just under 300 dairy farms, down from 500 in 2000. According to production reports from the Maine Milk Commission, the state’s number of dairy farms decreases every month. Dairy farmers have a hard time making a profit off of fluid milk and are increasingly retiring or selling their cows in favor of more profitable types of farming. A convoluted pricing system created in 1935 determines dairy farmers’ profits. Large dairy farms sell their milk to processors and are paid at a rate that is determined monthly by the state. At times, these payments are not enough to cover even the cost of production.

Smaller operations can fetch a higher price for their product by processing and bottling it themselves. At Winter Hill Farm in Freeport, farmers Steve Burger and Sarah Wiederkehr host a herd of heritage breed Randall cattle. Burger and Wiederkehr purchased the farm from a couple looking to retire and were attracted to the rare breed of cows. Randall cows used to be found on many small family farms in New England, since they are an all-purpose meat, dairy, and draft animal. Burger and Wiederkehr milk eight to nine cows of their herd of 20 and sell raw milk, yogurt, and cheese. Selling their milk at farmers’ markets helps Winter Hill Farm to get a higher price for their product than if they sold to one of the state’s dairy processors.

Smaller dairy farmers like those at Winter Hill Farm frequently choose to diversify their operation by making cheese from their animals’ milk. Cheese sells for a much higher price per pound than the milk itself does. “Particularly if you’re [a smaller farm], you need another outlet to sell to because with dairy prices and the way they fluctuate, cheese making sales provide stability,” says Whole Foods Market’s specialty cheese buyer Shannon Tallman. But animal products like milk and meat are often the last holdout for many locavores. The cost of these products from smaller producers can simply be cost-prohibitive.

Fortunately, there are a multitude of ways to support the industry that produces the milk used in your favorite cheeses. Buying milk that’s processed in Maine helps our dairy farmers too. The three Maine milk processors (Oakhurst, Hood, and Houlton Dairy) pay into a fund that helps to cover dairy farmers’ production costs when milk prices do not. Look for processing plant number 23 on the packaging to indicate that that milk was processed in Maine (see moomilkco.com/got-maine-milk for more information). Consumer support will help strengthen Maine’s dairy industry whether that milk ends up in your cereal bowl or on your cheese plate.

Oysters at home for the holidays

When someone describes oysters as tasting “of the sea,” it always makes me wonder the last time they tasted seawater. When I’ve ingested the ocean, it’s usually accidentally, and then I’m coughing, choking, and spitting — not how I’d like to react after eating an oyster. In fact, oysters can taste buttery, mild, sweet, earthy, or briny, and it’s up to you to figure out what you like. As the holidays approach, take the time to explore the many varieties of oysters available in Maine — and perhaps even establish your own tradition along the way. 

Of course you can go to Portland’s raw-bar hot spots Eventide Oyster Co. and Boone’s Fish House and Oyster Room for your shellfish education. Both boast impressive selections of oyster varieties and knowledgeable staff to help you discover your favorites. But there’s something to be said for shucking oysters at home. For one, they’re about half the price at a seafood market (less than $2 each) than at a restaurant. Then there’s the way serving oysters on the half-shell stands to elevate and enliven a gathering. Sharing these freshly shucked treats with your friends and family can make you feel like part of an exclusive club. Requiring a bit of gastronomical courage, eating oysters will help you find the more adventurous people at any holiday party. In order to avoid standing alone with your shucking knife, go easy on everyone and pick up some crowd-pleasing varieties.

First, think small. In oyster speak, a cocktail oyster is under three inches; avoid the intimidating two-bite oysters. Next, select a few different types. Most of the oysters grown on the Eastern seaboard are the same species, but can taste vastly different depending on where they’re from. Just like wine, oysters have their own terroir or sense of place, where the characteristics of the area’s soil or water are expressed through flavor. Chris Miller at Browne Trading Co. recommends Winter Points from Bath for their rich, briny flavor. Small, sweet Beausoleils from New Brunswick are a great variety for beginners and aficionados alike. For someone who likes a challenge, try Belons, the only wild oyster left in North America. True Belons are grown in Brittany, France, so ones grown here in Maine are known as European Flat oysters. These oysters have a strong metallic flavor that’s frequently compared to sucking on a penny.

To successfully shuck your own oysters, you’ll need an oyster knife ($10), available at the seafood market where you purchase your oysters. Above all, be careful. Shucking oysters is supposed to add to a holiday party, not interrupt it with an emergency-room visit. Wash your oysters well to remove the grit on the shells. Use the tip of the oyster knife to pry open the two shells of the oyster at the hinge using leverage, not brute strength. Watch a few videos online to get the basics, and practice your technique until you’re shucking with ease. Serve oysters with lemon wedges — save the cocktail sauce for the shrimp. I know cocktail sauce is everyone’s favorite, but all it does is mask the delicate flavors of oysters.

With a myriad flavors available, there’s no reason to say you don’t like oysters anymore. This holiday season, take the time to explore the terroir of oysters. They’re a safe conversation topic among new acquaintances or cantankerous family members, and provide a welcome break from the usual holiday appetizers. And who knows, maybe you’ll agree with French poet Leon-Paul Fargue’s assessment that eating oysters is “like kissing the sea on the lips.”

BROWNE TRADING CO. | 262 Commercial St, Portland | Mon-Sat, 10 am-6 pm | 207.775.7560 | brownetrading.com

HARBOR FISH MARKET | 9 Custom House Wharf, Portland | Mon-Sat, 8:30 am-5:30 pm, Sun 9 am-3 pm | 207.775.0251 | harborfish.com

Originally published in the Portland Phoenix on December 7, 2013

Obscure Holiday Cocktail Tasting, Vol. 5

The obscure holiday cocktail tasting just keeps getting better and better with great company, great drinks, and loads of cheese. Now in it's fifth year, the cocktail tasting has gone from finding obscure holiday cocktails (the list was pretty short) to holiday drinks (gross) to just obscure ones. 

I borrowed The Drunken Botanist from Sharon of Delicious Musings, and found the Aviation cocktail. It's obscure in that it uses Creme de Violette, a liquor (made from violets, surprise) that was popular in the Victorian age. Now there's only one maker of the liquor, but fortunately it's available locally at RSVP. It tastes like Creme de Cassis to me, and sure enough, a recommended use is to pour some into your Champagne.

Aviation
1 1/2 oz. gin (I used Aviation gin, a gift from friends from Portland West)
1/2 oz. maraschino liqueur (I used boozy cherry juice aka bourbon with cherries)
1/2 oz. creme de violette
1/2 oz. fresh squeeze lemon juice

Combine in a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake. Strain into a glass and top with a boozy cherry.

The fabulous Shannon (Cheese Goddess) paired my cocktail with St. Nuage, a triple-creme Brie.

Other hits were Dawn's Honey Badger, Meredith and Michael's Holiday Julep and Professor A.'s Want Knot. (Sorry Adam, yours tasted like cream that had been strained through the ashes of an orange zest campfire to me.)

Honey Badger 
Paired with Coupole, a wrinkly-brain rind aged goat cheese

1.5 oz. Hendrick's Gin
1 oz. Honey Syrup
0.75 oz. Lemon Juice
Top with Fatty Bumpkins dry Hard Cider

Holiday Julep
Paired with Oma, a washed-rind, Tomme-style cheese

2 oz. Bourbon (Woodford Reserve is a julep classic)
1 oz. Thyme simple syrup
1 Lemon slice for drink, peel for candied garnish
3 Bourbon cherries

Want Knot
Paired with Ewephoria, a sheep's milk Gouda

1 oz. Maine Craft Distilling Alchemy Gin
1 1/3 oz. Cochi Americano Blanco
1 oz. White Grapefruit Juice
1 oz. Honey Syrup (1 part Japanese Knotwood Honey from The Honey Exchange, 2 parts water)
1/2 tsp. Beast Feast Maine Ghost Pepper Infused Maple Syrup
4 drops Coastal Root Cocktail Bitters
1 Orange Twist

Any one of these will help to get you through/celebrate the holidays with your family next week. And cheese always makes everything better. Happy Holidays!

Read past years' cocktail tastings year 1, year 2, year 3, and year 4 for more cocktail ideas (with varying degrees of success).

Portland Farmers' Market moves indoors at Bay One

Originally published in the Portland Phoenix on December 4, 2013

This winter, the Portland Farmers’ Market will be in a new location in a neighborhood known for its food and beverage businesses. It won’t be the first time the farmers’ market has moved to complement the growth of an area. In 1990, the Wednesday market moved from Federal Street to Monument Square to counteract the loss of the Porteous department store (where the Maine College of Art is now). It makes sense now that the winter farmers’ market is moving to East Bayside, Portland’s most up-and-coming neighborhood. At 200 Anderson Street, the market will be in the newly renovated Bay One food hub, alongside the Urban Farm Fermentory, Bomb Diggity Bakery, Pure Pops, and Maine Pie Line (see “Building a Hub for Food” by Jeff Inglis, January 9).

Market Membership Coordinator and farmer Carolyn Snell hopes that people already headed to Bayside for their Saturday grocery shopping will stop by the farmers’ market too. When asked if she thinks some education will be necessary to help customers find this out of the way spot, Snell is optimistic. “That part of town is such a hotbed right now, I think it will work.” Snell says the new space will offer a layout more similar to the Deering Oaks Saturday market, in a snake-like line rather than the “echo chamber” of the Irish Heritage Center, where vendors couldn’t avoid watching customers buy from their competition. Parking abounds in this largely industrial neighborhood, although it’s true that the new location is not on a bus line.

As mandated by the city, vendors at the farmers’ market must produce 75 percent of their stand’s wares, resulting in a fantastic showcase of our state’s food. This winter, 20 vendors selling vegetables, beef, pork, poultry, dairy, maple syrup, honey, and more will attend the market.

The token program will continue at this year’s winter market to help increase the ways customers can buy local foods. For two years, the Portland Farmers’ Market Association has funded a staff member and a credit card machine to make SNAP (food stamps), credit, and debit card purchases possible.

As a result, Maine has the second-highest percentage of total food-stamp dollars redeemed at farmers’ markets in the country. With multiple ways to pay, hip neighbors, and scads of parking, the Portland Winter Farmers’ Market aims to make it easy to eat local year ’round. Check out the grand opening this Saturday, December 6.

Portland Winter Farmers’ Market | 200 Anderson Street | Saturdays, 9 am to 1 pm through April

Poutine Files: Duckfat

I have always figured that the poutine at Duckfat would be the standard against which I measured all others. Duckfat's fries are crispy and delicious and everything I've had at this restaurant has been spot on.

So I was surprised to come away from my poutine happy hour finding that I prefer Hot Suppa!'s version. Duckfat certainly nails the base of fries, but was a little short on the gravy and cheese curds. I think it needs to be smothered, no? This version was a bit restrained. I still ate it all, of course, and enjoyed my time at this super popular restaurant (so happy to have found a seat without a wait on a Friday afternoon). But Hot Suppa's poutine still reigns as the undefeated champ.

Thanksgiving Oysters

In this week's Portland Phoenix, I wrote that you should eat oysters during the holidays - share them at your holiday meal or bring them to a party instead of a ho-hum bottle of wine. Of course, I had to follow my own advice, so I bought oysters for my Thanksgiving Day celebration. (I also bought an awesome oyster knife, wooo, check me out!) 

Chris Miller at Browne Trading Co. recommended Winter Points from Bath (pictured above), and so I got half a dozen of those, as well as half of dozen of the other two available varieties that day - Deep Bay from Vancouver, WA and Bagaduce from Penobscot. I loved the two Maine oysters, but the Deep Bay was a bit much for me. It tasted like really strongly of seaweed. But that's the fun of oysters, every variety tastes different. 

Nonesuch Oysters from Scarborough are also a good choice, although I believe they're out for the season. I saw them available last week at Harbor Fish Market, so get 'em while they're in stock or remember the type for next year.  

A dozen and a half was a bit ambitious for A. and I - we didn't make it through all of them ourselves. But we took them over a friend's after Thanksgiving dinner and had another friend over for happy hour on Saturday to finish them off. After three days, I was a little worried about the oysters' shelf life, but they were fine on their little ice pack in the fridge. (As long as an oyster is firmly closed, it's still good.) 

I'm already looking for the next opportunity to bring oysters to a party. 

Out On A Limb Apple CSA - 5th Share

A little late, but here's my last share of the Out on a Limb Apple CSA. Pictured from upper left: Tolman Sweet, Black Oxford, Winter Banana, Northern Spy, Yellow Bellflower, and American Golden Russets. 

All of these varieties are recommended for storage, meaning not only do they last a long time, but improve in flavor and texture with time too. After feeling the pressure of having to eat my apples before the next share, I was left a little like, what if I want an apple now? My vegetable CSA share has ended too, and I'm feeling a little bereft of fresh food. 

Notice the variety of colors in this share, especially compared to my Week One share, which looked like this: 

Good luck telling those varieties apart! 

Now all my apples are gone, used up in a seriously amazing apple cake and a Thanksgiving apple pie. I already miss having too many apples. 

If you're interested in signing up for a share of Out on a Limb's apple CSA, sign up for their newsletter on their site, and you'll receive an email in the spring. 

A farm-to-food-truck tale made in Maine

Originally published in the Portland Phoenix on November 7, 2013

Austin Chadd of Green Spark Farm

After years spent working in some of Portland’s finest restaurants, two chefs looking to open their own restaurant ultimately decided to start small. Now cooking out of a 26-foot mobile kitchen, Karl Deuben and Bill Leavy are serving a small, but distinctive menu using local and sometimes unusual ingredients.

The two chefs launched Small Axe food truck this year, after more than 10 years of friendship. They met working together in the kitchens of Hugo’s and Miyake, restaurants known for their carefully wrought preparations of the best local foods. The aim of their new venture, Deuben says, is to “cook carefully crafted food that tastes good.” At breakfast you’ll find eggs over hash browns with a green chili gravy, egg sandwiches with a peanut satay sauce, homemade granola, and yogurt sweetened with vanilla and star anise; the lunch menu includes curry rice bowls, fried haddock sandwiches, grilled cheese and tomato jam, and savory hand pies.

The meat, fish, dairy, and produce Small Axe serves is all from local sources, drawing on Deuben’s and Leavy’s longstanding relationships with nearby purveyors. Small Axe’s vegetables come from two farms, one in particular that focuses on unusual varieties appealing to chefs: Green Spark Farm. Deuben first noticed the attractive display of Green Spark Farm’s produce at the Portland farmers’ market while shopping for Miyake’s tasting menu. He was further drawn to the farm for the varieties of produce growing there, in particular Asian greens and cabbages like totsoi and red choi.

Green Spark Farm is a small organic operation in Cape Elizabeth, farmed by Mary Ellen and Austin Chadd. Drawing on Mary Ellen’s extensive knowledge of herbal medicine and botany, the Chadds sought to set their product apart when they started their farm in 2009. They grow traditional vegetable varieties, but also types they know will be attractive to chefs, like spicy Japanese stir-fry mustards, Asian salad greens, and Shishito peppers (a sweet, Japanese pepper also called the “Russian Roulette” of peppers because about one in ten peppers is slightly spicy). They are trending on menus, appearing at El Rayo and Grace as an appetizer, seared and sprinkled with sea salt.

Small Axe’s smokestack lightning burger had people buzzing this summer, a cold-smoked beef patty, with Jack cheese, Shishito peppers, and Gochujang ketchup on a soft 158 Pickett Street Bakery bun. I never had a noticeably spicy Shishito pepper, but they added a nice crunchy, almost bitter element to the otherwise rich burger. But on the day I spoke to Deuben and Leavy, the last of the season’s Shishito peppers were in their cooler. “That burger was made for those peppers,” Deuben told me. So when the peppers are gone, the burger is done for the year.

Small Axe’s menu items follow the seasons, says Leavy — for instance, the curry bowl, once stocked with zucchini and broccoli, now contains thinly sliced rings of Delicata squash. Although the smokestack lightning burger is gone, you might find a tempting pork belly sandwich with slaw and pickles when the truck is parked at Bunker Brewing Co. or Rising Tide Brewing in East Bayside. Deuben and Leavy frequently add a menu item that they think will appeal to their location’s customers. Pairing pork belly sandwiches and local craft beer seems about right to me.

Find Small Axe truck for a meal that might only exist that day, for once the location and season change, these fleeting tastes are gone. Fortunately, you can be sure they’ll be replaced by something equally good.

SMALL AXE TRUCK | smallaxetruck.com | 207.400.9971

GREEN SPARK FARM | 316 Fowler Rd, Cape Elizabeth | Farm stand hours: 8 am-8 pm, June-Thanksgiving | greensparkfarm.com