Hi. I know, it has been a few days since I’ve posted. This note is a lot like the incredibly brief written and oral responses my friends have been getting the last two weeks during spare moments. Those brief, but beautiful pauses between what seems like a constant battering of intake and an ever growing TO DO list. What would I do without my lists. Oh, yes, I’m a lister. Hand-written and electronic. Anyway, some of the “stuff” going on is fun and exciting and one especially big project I’ll be sharing with you all in a few months. Just breathe is what I keep telling myself, just breathe – and no those are not instructions from a lamaze instructor. One project I can tell you about now, which while time consuming, is also fun or FUN. We know I love food, especially Maine food, so it just seemed natural that I would become the all things kitchen related columnist for themaineblog. The column titled “Ingredients” is an opportunity for me to hand-pick the craftsmen, producers, and tastemakers from Maine who contribute to kitchens and appetites in and far beyond the borders of Maine. Bartenders, chefs (on windjammers, in white tablecloth restaurants..), dairy farmers, fishermen, specialty food producers, craftsmen who make dining room tables or spoons, cookbook authors, the random off the beaten path guy who makes salt way up and over from where I live in Portland, and so on and on.
Visit here for my first column. I was fortunate enough to get Bob Matus, a craftsman in Midcoast Maine who makes beautiful hand carved wooden spoons to agree to answer my questions. I loved his responses. Getting to know the people behind the edible and non-edible things I have in my kitchen makes me cherish them all that much more or not. If not they are gone and then you will not be hearing about them, because well I want to be only positive in this column (mostly like this blog). If I tell you about something it is because I love it, if I don’t it either means I don’t know about it, have not written about it yet and will, have not written about it because I have not figured out how to cover it (whatever it is) in a different angle than the dozens of others who have, or well plain and simple I don’t like it or the person behind it. Bob’s spoons will continue to be in my kitchen and I can see gifting them as long as he makes them. A genuine person with great spirit and such talent.
**I was and will shortly get back to also doing the “Darkroom” column profiling Maine photographers for themaineblog.com. Hope you enjoy!
