Posts filed under 'Buying Local'
Just because the snow is about to fly, doesn’t mean that locally produced farm goods are not available. Sure November’s farmer’s market is not as glamorous as late August’s, but it certainly can be just as delicious.
For southern Maine flavoristas, check out Wolf Pine Farm’s winter CSA. From November until May, CSA boxes can be picked up or delivered to keep you well stocked with hearty vegetables like onions and potatoes in addition to farm eggs and frozen berries.
Across the country, many farms combine resources to offer an off-season CSA. Think of all the hearty stews and gratins that could be gracing your table in the upcoming months. Mmmmmm…..
November 16th, 2009
What is that you say? Your garden is behind due to all the lovely rain we had in June. Fret not greater Portland flavoristas, I have some good news.
In addition to our wonderful Portland Farmer’s Market on Wed. and Sat., you can now get farm fresh vegetables and other artisanal products on Sundays in Scarborough from 9AM -12noon. The market is located behind the Scarborough municipal buildings on route 1.
Vincenzo and I scoped it out last weekend. There were yummy baked goods, Guzman’s Salsas, specialty goat cheeses, lobster, eggs and of course vegetables. We picked up some sugar snap peas (buy them now or hold your peace until next year) and some beautiful mizuna greens. There was tons of parking and enough vendors to make it worthwhile and interesting. I’ll bring my camera next time to highlight some of the producers participating.
July 23rd, 2009
Flavorista Tracey took me to a wonderful new goat creamery here in Fennville, Michigan -Evergreen Lane Farm and Creamery. Kathy has recently aquired La Mancha goats - a California breed. This male La Mancha recently got his head stuck in a gate and lost one of his horns. I call him Rhino.
Kathy has started producing wonderful artisanal goat cheeses. Right now with her weekly supply of 100 gallons of goat milk she is offering soft goat cheeses and later in the fall she will start with her hard cheeses.
Educated at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo and at the University of Vermont’s Institute for Artisanal Cheese - she is truly becoming a master of the craft. There are 2 interns from WWOOF (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms)- a website that hooks up people who want to learn about organic farming practices and farmers who are desperately needing the extra hands world wide. If you are in the area you can stop buy and purchase cheese directly from Kathy or go to the Summertime Market on the Blue Star Highway. Try the Pyramid goat - it’s exceptionally good. Thanks for the taking the pictures Tracey!
July 13th, 2009
We have a new eatery in SoPo called Verbena; it is located right next to Smaha’s (aka Legion Square Market) at 103 Ocean Street. The owner, Melissa Coriarty, is the former sous chef of Hugo’s in Portland. The space is lovely and lofty, with a high ceiling and bright colors. The breakfast and lunch menu can be eaten in or or taken "to go." They serve fantastic coffee and yummy teas, but the real story here is the brownie and the fact that I have found brownie nirvana.
Lollie and I have always aspired to find the ultimate brownie. I do believe we have got it! Verbena’s brownies are moist, dense, rich and uber-chocolatey. Bliss, I tell you, sheer, total, chocolate bliss. FYI - Melissa rotates her bakery offerings and her cookies are quite notable, but if you are in search of a brownie, you might want to call first to make sure they are available.
Flavorista Julie loves the sandwich wraps at Verbena and the meatloaf looks really delicious, but seriously meatloaf cannot, does not compete with brownies. Stay tuned for more on Verbena, if I ever get past the brownies.
May 5th, 2009
This year, spoil mom with some seriously outstanding chocolate. Made with local ingredients like Smiling Hill Farm cream and top notch ingredients like rich European-style butter and chocolate from far away places like Tanzania and Venuzuela, Sweet Marguerite Chocolate is sure to please.
According to owner Meg Swoboda, the best way to store chocolate is to keep it at a constant temperature between 60 and 70 degrees, out of direct sunlight. So my method of squirreling away my chocolate stash in the pantry (aka hiding it form my husband and children) is perfectly acceptable.
The chocolate maker at Sweet Marguerites is "having the time of her life" making her chocolates and developing new flavors based on customer feedback and consumer trends. Meg Swoboda is a definite flavorista and the proof is in her chocolate.
Peanut Croquant: The bottom of this stepped-up peanut butter cup is a croquant layer of dark chocolate, mixed with bits of peanut brittle, topped with a creamy ganache of milk chocolate and all-natural peanut butter. Each square is dipped in our signature dark chocolate and topped with a roasted peanut and Maine sea salt.
My absolute favorite is Cafe Au Lait, a layer of espresso-flavored, dark chocolate ganache is topped with a layer of white chocolate cream. The square is enrobed with a Venezuelan milk chocolate and topped with cocoa nibs. OMG - sooooooo good!
Irish Creme Mousse is Sweet Marguerites’s version of Irish Crème. It has a very light and lively mousse center, made with ©Baileys Irish Cream and wrapped in dark chocolate.
April 30th, 2009
Earlier this month, I had the delicious pleasure of sitting down with fellow South Portlander, Meg Swoboda. Before you read on please read my disclaimer: I am the self-proclaimed #1 fan of Sweet Marguerites Artisinal Chocolates.
I first found these divine chocolates in the obscene chocolate section of our Whole Foods Market. Initially, I was drawn to the packaging. I adore the blue/brown color scheme of the box and I liked the look of the logo. With one bite I was hooked. Sweet Marguerite Chocolates easily rival any other boutique chocolate, but they are even more attractive to me because they are handmade here in South Portland.
Artisan chocolate is career number two for Meg, her first career was in finance. Following two years of culinary school, Meg decided to pursue her passion: Fine Chocolate. She furthered her chocolate education with training at the Culinary Institute of America and Ecole Chocolat.
Sweet Marguerites is a total family operation, Meg’s husband built her workshop and her website. When her children are home from college they help with packaging. For over two years, Sweet Marguerites has been delivering hand-dipped and hand molded chocolates to local retailers and to other retailers nationwide via their website.
Being a chocolatier requires a lot of dilligence. Working with chocolate can be fussy because it is so sensitive to heat, humdity and certain ingredients. For me, tempering chocolate, a process of heating and cooling chocolate to stabilize it, is harder than making a perfect hollandaise. I just to do not have the patience needed for successful chocolate making. No joke, my first foray into chocolate was this past Christmas. I was brave enough to make chocolate bark.
Starting a gourmet food company during these wild financial times may seem like a crazy idea to some, but to Meg it was "what she was meant to do." To supplement the chocolate business, Meg moonlights as a server at the award-winning, Hugo’s, in Portland. It is very safe to say that this lady knows her foods and flavors. Meg’s favorite savory dish? Risotto with a nicely paired glass of wine.
Sweet Marguerite chocolates are developed and made with sophisticated palettes in mind; sweet caramel is balanced out with Maine sea salt, dark chocolate ganache is ideally seasoned with fantastic Tahitian vanilla beans. The strawberry balsamic chocolate that I sampled during our interview was sweet with jammy berry flavor but perfectly balanced with a subtle hint of balsamic.
There were no oompa loompas in sight, but Meg’s 10×10 chocolate workshop and its contents were definitely magical.
Dark chocolate being tempered for dipping.
Planning a party? Take a look at these party favors.
With Mother’s Day just around the corner, Sweet Marguerites could make for easy gift giving. Locally, you can find Sweet Marguerites at Whole Foods or you can order her chocolates online.
April 29th, 2009
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