The New York Times and Bon Appetit

We have gotten a little press lately.

In case you haven't seen, there is a link here for a lovely story written by the talented Julia Moskin in The New York Times, about the happening food scene in Portland, Maine. As if that is not enough, there is another link here for a pretty serious shout-out from Bon Appetit's Foodist, Andrew Knowlton, naming Portland, Maine America's foodiest small town. We have always known that what's going on here is special. The inspiration for our business came directly from what we knew of the chefs, farmers, fishermen(& women), gardeners and home cooks of this dynamic enclave. After we opened and began to meet these folks personally all of our impressions were fully borne out. Moving into our third Fall with the Out on a Limb Apple CSA, Goatstravaganza II, the 20 Mile Meal and the FoodFilms series we are continually inspired by what's going on around us. This is a really cool place to be!

One of the unforeseen results of the New York Times piece has been the repeated calls we have been getting for reservations. We are included in the listing of "Where to eat in a city of abundance", in the context of all those restaurants. So folks eager to eat at some of Portland's finest have been calling our number to reserve a table. The desperation in some of their voices has led us to believe that our good friends also mentioned in the story have been booked solid. It is easy for us to steer them to some of the other fantastic restaurants in town that didn't get mentioned (because there are so many good places it was inevitable some would get left out of this go-round with the press). Just another way in which the rising tide raises all boats. If you think what you read about is good, there is even more here to be sampled....

Fall books are starting to arrive on the shelves!

My Bread, The Revolutionary No-Work, No-Knead Method by Jim Lahey with Rick Flaste
Jim Lahey of Sullivan Street Bakery in New York, and the originator of the no-knead technique that took the New York Times by storm back in 2006, has written his own version of this fantastic technique into a book. Fall is almost here (by the calendar) and with it comes bread baking season. Some may say that it is always bread baking season, and they may be right. But for us cool weather brings on baking urges. Starting with his own history as a bread baker, progressing into a detailed description of how and why the no-knead technique works, and then rounding out with recipes, Lahey speaks to the reader with a genuine warmth. The book includes some of his famous pizza recipes as well as those for sandwiches, and even what to do with stale bread. Sure to be as well received as the New York Times article.
W.W. Norton & Company, 223 pgs, cloth, $29.95.

Love Soup, 160 All-New Vegetarian Recipes by Anna Thomas

Now that we've got you thinking about cold weather cooking, here is the perfect accompaniment to the delicious bread you are going to make. She of The Vegetarian Epicure, a 1973 classic, Anna Thomas is back after a long absence with a new soup book. Ranging from the basic stocks to the hearty bean soups, there are recipes here from the light soups of Summer to the hearty soups and stews of deepest darkest Winter. Nothing as comforting as a warm bowl of soup and a hunk of crusty bread....
W.W. Norton and Company, 28 pgs, softcover, $22.95.



Encyclopedia of Pasta by Oretta Zanini De Vita, translated by Maureen B. Fant with a foreword by Carol Field

Every possible pasta shape, 310 variations, from Abbotta Pezziende to Zumari. Each entry has cultural information from ingredients to how it is made, from alias' to where it is found. If you are a pasta afficionado this is a book for you. Translated into English from the original Italian, this is the real deal, straight from the horse's mouth.....

University of California Press, 375 pgs, cloth, $29.95.

Our beloved friend, Julia Child has returned to us. We are back in stock with both the cloth and the softcover. While the cloth edition does have that silly belly-band advertising the film, it is removable without any damage to the book or the dust jacket. We are proud that she made it to the New York Times bestseller list finally. If the movie inspired you, come on in and get the book. Boeuf Bourguignon!

Alfred A. Knopf, cloth $40, softcover $30.

Mastering the Art of Selling a French Cookbook

In the weeks running up to the release of the film Julie &Julia, we worried (only a bit) that the film might trivialize the iconic American chef, we wondered how the two books My Life in France and Julie & Julia would be woven together, and we looked forward to Meryl Streep's portrayal of Julia Child. When we saw the film last Monday, our worries were erased and our anticipation for Streep's acting was rewarded. It was great fun. But we hadn't expected that Mastering the Art of French Cooking would be a hit alongside the movie. In fact, we barely ordered more copies. The regular versions of the books have been replaced with movie tie-in editions, with photos of the stars included, and there's little in the book world I care for less than movie tie-ins. Besides, didn't everybody who eats already own these books?

Apparently not. This Sunday, MTAFC will top the NYTimes bestseller list. The weighty, serious cookbook which brought French cooking to America's home kitchens has surpassed sales of the two popular and slightly breezy books the movie was based on, and even Sam's Club and Costco are ordering palettes to be parked next to skids of the toothy Rachel Ray and the slinky Giada Delaurentis.

It's a surprise bestseller. And I really mean surprise. The publisher ran out within what seemed like minutes of the movie opening, and the distributors are still playing catch up (as of this writing, one of our distributors has none in stock, 6000 on order, but 15,000 currently on order with them - so they're already 9000 copies behind). And it warms my heart to see that not even the inventory wizards over at Amazon got this one right, and are taking orders for books they hope will arrive in the next few weeks.

Used copies of the book have been selling quickly also. At Abebooks, only 41 copies of the title are listed for sale, which for a books of this sort - in print for nearly 70 years - is a tiny number. And many of the copies listed are paperbacks, or listed by foreign dealers. Prices have escalated as rapidly as supply has dwindled, with ordinary copies of vol. 1 or vol. 2 selling for two or three hundred dollars. My favorite is offered by the ever amusing dealer, "Extremely Reliable" of Richmond Texas, for $48675 (for the paperback). A near very good copy of the first edition, first edition, sold recently on eBay for around $2300, where someone else lists a first with underlining for $3000.

The good news is that Julia and the book are reaching a new generation (or two) of readers and cooks. It's fun to watch teenagers come in with their parents and ask about the Julia books (it was more fun when we had MTAFC in stock). The kids are excited, and making a beef bourguignon as something they too can do. After all Julie Powell did it, right?

So now we wait for the backorders to arrive, and steer customers to some of Julia's many other great books that we do have in stock. Or show off the first edition, first printing that we have, or the signed Julia's in the case. Or best of all, remember to go back to the MTAFC on our own shelves when we wonder what to do for dinner.

The Best Part of Summer

It's the time of year when gardening starts to really pay off. Besides a short battle with tomato horn worms earlier in the month, and now the first appearance of blight on those same tomatoes, things are looking good. Here's a look at the ingredients for breakfast this morning. The chanterelles are from the edge of the woods, picked this morning; the tarragon is a day or so old, left over from pruning back the out-of-control herb; the beautiful potatoes are Purple Majesty, and the eggs are from what's left of our three year old layers.

Last night at Peter and Natalie's we shared three

lovely haddock from a local CSF (Community Supported Fishery), with potatoes, roasted cherry tomatoes, and an olive oil, lemon, fresh-crushed coriander sauce. My favorite item of the evening was a fresh crabapple juice, from

Portland's own foraged crabapples. It was a beautiful color.

Finally, although Samantha thinks I'm a bit batty for this, I've taken a shine to a pair of fully bolted lettuce plants. They've gone through flower and now are in seed. They're a handsome five foot tall, colorful, with a full head of small yellow flowers. They're deer tongue lettuce, and now I can see where it gets its name. I'm now fully tempted to plant lettuces and other plants which seem to me quite lovely when allowed to grow at will.

I'm already leaning toward lovage, which is a beautiful, large, dark green leafy thing in spring, hyssop, with its August purple flowers, and the lettuces.

Farm Lunch

Did you know that August is National Goat Cheese month? I am celebrating on my day off with a delicious and simple farm lunch that includes some beet greens newly harvested from the garden, a couple of recently layed eggs and a healthy dose of fresh Chevre from our friends Karl and Margaret over at Ten Apple Farm. The recipe (such as it is ) is borrowed from The Improvisational Cook by Sally Schneider, a marvelous book that flies wonderfully under the radar. This makes a lovely lunch but can also be a delicious last minute dinner. The following is more of an outline than an actual recipe, not to be repeated slavishly but rather to be interpreted in your own style.

Some greens: beet, mustard, kale, broccoli raab, chard etc.
A couple of eggs (fresh from the laying box if possible)
A generous handful of Chevre.
Oil for the pan, S&P, a splash of vinegar.

The whole thing can be done in one pan, unless you are a poached egg fan, in which case you will need two. Wash and coarsely chop the greens. Heat your pan with the oil of your choice and then gently saute your greens until they are soft, but not brown. You could add some chopped garlic, some hot pepper, some sliced onions/shallots/scallions.... I like to hit the grens with a shot of vinegar, but that's just me. Transfer greens to a plate and cover with your Chevre, as much as you desire. Then in the same pan gently fry your eggs: sunnyside up, over easy, but don't over cook them, you want your yolks runny. That's what makes your 'sauce'. Then layer your eggs over your cheese covered greens, sprinkle with some salt and pepper and dig in. Delightful....

See you at Chicken Run!

So it may be a bit gray tomorrow. What else is new? So I'm headed for One Longfellow Square for the FoodFilms showing of Chicken Run. The Aardman animation classic poultry film will be paired with a fried chicken dinner by Josh Potocki of 158 Pickett Street in South Portland. Short chicken-themed films and a question and answer session with the chef are also part of the night. 6pm, at One Longfellow Square.

The dangers of outdoor cooking...

Thanks to Easily Mused for this classic interpersonal food moment.

The One-Straw Revolution

“I was aiming at a pleasant, natural way of farming which results in making the work easier instead of harder. ‘How about not doing this?’ ‘How about not doing that?’—that was my way of thinking.”
Masanobu Fukuoka, in The One-Straw Revolution.

Over on the Good Magazine blog, Peter Smith talks about this classic book and briefly examines this author's individualistic philosophy of farming, extending it into the world of the kitchen. This important book has long been out of print, and sadly unavailable. But now the NYRB Press has brought it back for us, with an introduction by Wendell Berry. Michael Pollan called it, "one of the founding documents of the alternative food movement, and indispensable to anyone hoping to understand the future of food and agriculture."