Summer Photos from Skylands

August 27, 2018

It has been such a beautiful summer at my home in Seal Harbor, Maine. The weather has been warm, but glorious and I've had a lovely time exploring, hiking, and entertaining.

During my stay, I took many photos. Here are some from around Skylands - the lush, green landscape, Kevin’s stunning arrangements, and more of the glorious meals I shared with family and friends.

Enjoy.

: Kevin made this gorgeous arrangement for the Living Hall faux bois table – it was spectacular. See a closer view of the plants on my Instagram page @MarthaStewart48.

: Here is young Emperor Han – he looks so handsome sitting in the doorway.

: Here’s Federico enjoying a game of Monopoly with my grandchildren. Truman is a mastermind Monopoly player – he loves being the banker. The children can play for hours.

: Kevin made many arrangements using the fine green specimens from Skylands – each one always so unique and beautiful.

: Of course, I brought many, many eggs from my chickens at my Bedford, New York farm. We ate so many delicious eggs.

: On one morning, we had salmon, poached eggs and avocado toast. Everything was always so fresh.

: I often like my eggs soft boiled. Do you know how to make the perfect soft boiled egg? The boiled egg shouldn’t be boiled throughout the cooking process, but instead brought to a boil and then immediately removed from heat. Go to my web site for the recipe. https://www.marthastewart.com/318797/marthas-soft-boiled-eggs

: On this day, we had our eggs scrambled.

: Here I am with Chefs Molly and Nick, and Federico – our chef in the making.

: For lunch one day, we had this shrimp cobb salad. We poached the shrimp in water with aromatics to give them flavor and added eggs, and lots of cherry tomatoes from my garden.

: Here is a grain salad – made with red quinoa, basil, radishes, three varieties of cucumber, and a lemon vinaigrette dressing.

: And here is a salmon salad we enjoyed with the leftover poached salmon from one of my gatherings. We made a homemade lemony mayo, added some celery and dill, and served it with toasted bread from New York’s Balthazar.

: A trip to Maine wouldn’t be complete without at least one meal that included crab cakes. We used fresh Maine crab meat, added some spices, then coated them with a mix of panko and sesame seeds before cooking. They were served with lemon on a bed of fresh arugula from my garden.

: And here is a simple, light, and fresh salad of mixed lettuces from the garden, chopped Marcona almonds, chives, parsley, and flowers from Triple Chick Farm.

: Here is Cheryl Dulong who works at Skylands.

: Gretchen Sweet also works at Skylands and the two take such good care of it, especially when I am not there.

: On this day, we had a Middle Eastern beet dip, made from roasted red beets from the garden, Greek yogurt, lemon, garlic, and salt. It was served with a fresh home grown crudité platter.

: This was among my favorites – roasted red peppers with olive oil, and caper berries. It was so good.

: Here’s another salad – Farro with fresh corn, cherry tomatoes and basil with a sherry vinaigrette dressing.

: Our lunches were so healthy and so flavorful.

: This is a view off the West Terrace with one of several Boston ferns hanging from the pergola above and a moss filled planter bowl below. During summer, we always fill several garden planters with moss and other natural elements. Once the season is over, we always make sure the moss we harvested is returned to the forest where it can regenerate and flourish.

: The exterior of Skylands abounds with stone step walkways and naturalized ferns of many types.

: On another day, Chef Molly made a beautiful roasted garlic and tomato tart. The pate brisée flaky crust is spread with a layer of roasted garlic, which we brought up from my Bedford garden. The tomatoes are sprinkled with fresh thyme, salt and pepper – so pretty.

: This is a classic French lunch dish. Perfectly cooked eggs seasoned with flaky sea salt, black pepper and chives, then drizzled with a Dijon vinaigrette.

: On this day, we enjoyed stuffed peppers from my garden. We’ve had such a great season for sweet and hot peppers.

: Here is a lunch plate filled with artichokes, peppers, tomatoes and beans – all from my vegetable gardens.

: I love this view of the wall ledge with “Rockefeller’s Teeth” at the top.

: Did you see these on my Instagram page @MarthaStewart48? Check out what I called them. I made these for my family one morning for breakfast – everyone loved them.

: Here is my new Grill Dome from Southern Botanical. The round shape provides even heat distribution while the thick ceramic walls hold in the heat. Plus, you can have it custom colored, of course.

: This is one of two giant Soderholtz pots planted on my expansive terrace. Ellis Soderholtz was a pioneer in American garden pottery at the turn of the last century, turning concrete into these gorgeous vessels. I planted it with Bird of Paradise. Bird of Paradise is best known for its banana shaped leaves and bird shaped tropical flowers. It is underplanted with Lysimachia.