My Summer in Maine 2023, Part One
Whenever I go to Skylands, my home in Seal Harbor, Maine, the days are always filled with lots of great activities and good quality time with family and friends.
This summer was especially memorable. I hosted more than 17 guests my entire stay. The weather was pleasant. The flowers from my gardens were abundant and beautifully arranged, and with the vegetable gardens in Bedford and at Skylands producing so much bounty, our meals were interesting and sensational - we all ate and ate and ate so many delicious foods.
This is the first blog featuring some of the highlights of this summer in Maine - enjoy.
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- I never tire of the stunning photos taken from the terraces at my home at Skylands. This was captured in the early morning hours. It is a super sturgeon moon on August 1st. The full moon in August is called sturgeon moon because of the large number of sturgeon fish that were once found and more easily caught in the Great Lakes in North America during this time of year. It was a name used by native American tribes. My granddaughter Jude and I took several photos of this gorgeous moon over Seal Harbor.
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- One of the first meals I enjoyed this summer at Skylands was made with freshly picked chanterelle mushrooms. Jude and her friends carefully harvested these after a good rain at Skylands. Chanterelles are among the most popular of wild edible mushrooms. They are orange, yellow or white, meaty and funnel-shaped.
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- We enjoyed them that evening served with a delicious pasta.
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- We’ve had such an abundance of cucumbers this season. I made a giant batch of bread and butter pickles. Here they are in a big bowl with onions – also from my garden.
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- I enjoy canning and do so every year.
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- These old-fashioned bread and butter pickles have a crisp texture and a well-balanced sweet and sour flavor.
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- I enjoyed several boat rides out on the Harbor. The skies were just amazing.
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- On this day, it was also a little chilly. Here I am “under cover.”
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- This summer at Skylands was very busy. I had more than 17-guests stay with me. The kitchen table was always full.
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- On one night we enjoyed a Japanese themed dinner with miso. Here are the vegetables all cut and prepared – mis en place.
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- We made miso soup all from scratch. The word miso means ‘fermented beans’ in Japanese. Miso paste is nearly always made with fermented soy beans, and is a staple of Japanese cooking.
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- We also made miso cod from scratch.
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- And miso eggplant using eggplant from my garden. The eggplants have been growing so wonderfully. The meal was excellent – everything was devoured.
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- On another day, we had a survival expert come out to teach the children how to survive in the woodland. Here I am in the teepee the children built.
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- This year, my gardener Wendy Norling arranged all the flowers cut from the gardens. She did such an amazing job. This is just one of them – an all white hydrangea arrangement sitting in the alcove just outside my dining room.
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- And look at the beautifully display of yellow lilies on the table – all flowers freshly picked the same day. This table was set for another themed dinner – Mexican night.
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- Chef Lazaro made a delicious spread with homemade salsas, dips, tortillas, and all the fixings.
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- Carnitas, literally meaning “little meats”, is a dish of Mexican cuisine that originated in the state of Michoacán. Carnitas are made by braising or simmering pork in oil or lard until tender.
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- We also had tamales. A tamale, or in Spanish tamal, is a traditional dish made of masa, a corn dough, which is steamed in a corn husk or banana leaves.
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- And here is Jude’s plate – another wonderful meal, grandchild approved. Healthy, homemade and so flavorful. Tomorrow, I will share more photos from my summer in Maine. Stay tuned.
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