Goldenrod Kisses

Another tradition that I have missed for a few years! Short Sands, York Beach is worth a visit... for some reason... real SALTWATER TAFFY!

If you haven't taken a trip to the Goldenrod, then please make the time to stop in. It is an old fashioned ice cream soda shop, and to top it all off, you can watch them make taffy in the window with vintage taffy making machinery.

WARNING! Tourists, cars, white sand beaches, and more tourists. Every day I go to work, I am thankful for the folks who come and visit our state. It is when I have the day off and I attempt enjoying one of these tourist destinations when I often have something to complain about. Probably why I work 40 hours, so I have very little time to enjoy the traffic and chaos of the summer in Southern Maine.

Even though I have only eaten sweets at the Goldenrod, they must be doing something right. They have been in business in the same location since 1896.

They have food, ice cream, candy, baked goods, (we tried these macaroons) and of course, TAFFY!

As we were leaving we all wondered why we weren't eating ice cream... this is because our bellies were full of chinese food! So, if you are interested, go and see the website and get the whole scoop - but I will add my window photos of the taffy process! Sticky, gooey, and yummy.

http://www.thegoldenrod.com/

Kind of Blurry - it was SO sunny that day - the glare was a challenge! But you get the yummy picture I am sure! Melting butter and sugar always makes me drool.

Making peanut butter taffy - molasses taffy with PB filling. This might be my favorite. It is really hard to decide. The Maine BB is also pretty tasty!

I love this place. I love this taffy! It is one of the yummiest smelling places I have ever visited in my life. They have an exhaust fan on the side of the building that blows out warm sweet air from the shop... drooling starts before you even see the taffy.

GO TO THE GOLDENROD! HAVE FUN! EAT TAFFY!

FIRST APPLE PIE!

Crust from a box and easy crumble topping! We all love short cuts! Especially when they are this tasty. Now for some ice cream.

Early Apples

Romac Orchards, Acton Maine

Every year that I remember, the Dumas family - or some combination of family and friends - has picked apples at Romac Orchards. It is an amazing spot on the top of a hill with an incredible view.

Picking well over 100 pounds - maybe nearer to 200 hundred some years - we are definitely apple eating maniacs! Like I mentioned before about 3 pans of apple crisp, it takes a lot of apples to make that much crisp!

The news has reported that the apples are ready, and it is time to pick Macs, but I need to say that last weekend was a little early. There were a lot of apples ready for picking, but it took a little extra time to be choosey finding only the ripest apples on the tree. I tasted a few different apples while I was there - a great benefit to PYO! They are crisp and delicious, a little tart, but perfect for a tasty apple pie. Despite the slow picking, I came home with about 25 pounds of apples.

This little Macoun sign had it's own special patch of grass. I walked up to this tree and sign, and there was a perfect square patch of freshly grown grass. Looks like they took extra special care to get this grass looking it's finest especially for this little sign. We do love Macouns! They are great to eat, and also look nice with the darker skin when they are ripe.

Sadly the Empires weren't ready. They are extra crispy and they stay that way for months after you pick them. It is a great addition to any baked apples to get a little bite even when you are using the end of your supply. We didn't pick enough apples to get through the fall, so we will be planning another visit to Romac in the coming weeks to pick some of these crispy Empires.

The visit wouldn't be complete without a hay ride around the orchard. This boy has driven the tractor the last couple of years. I feel thankful when I see people like him, with a profound respect for what he has, the land, his family, and every day that he can share this with others. To be so young, but to have so much figured out offers a perspective that we don't often see in the younger generation. (Fresh out of this generation... I am comfortable making these statements :) ) It is funny to watch him checking over his shoulder every minute or so - just to make sure we haven't suddenly fallen out - or gone sliding down the hill!

Part of this ride is talking about how the orchard used to be. How many trees they had when I was little. Dad and Aunt Jeanne talk about where we used to pick and how the ice storm destroyed so many of this small orchard's trees. Every year since, there are more and more trees, but still not the way it was 10 years ago. The first picture in the row above is one of the many piles of apple trees that still sit on the property - a memory of how the orchard used to grow.

So - another fall begins! Two bags of apples on the kitchen table, one pie on the counter and apple chutney on the way. Apple muffins, apple crisp, apple pancakes, heck, maybe apple whoopie pies! We will just have to wait and see.

I'll get my peely gizmo greased up and ready to go and my cinnamon supply refreshed and we'll be on our way!

Thanks Dad, Amy and Aunt Jeanne for a great apple picking adventure!!

Waffles!

Last Sunday's Breakfast. I have a great waffle iron that I bought from (of course) LLB! It is a stove top Belgian waffle iron. It is about the size of a frying pan and it is easy to clean and store! Brian has always loved waffles, and his Mom is the Queen of delicious family breakfasts... especially waffles! Not the same, but yummy on the days that we aren't eating Mama Dodge's waffle breakfast.

Of course, I have a giant box of blueberries in the freezer, so I made some blueberry topping and we had a yummy Sunday breakfast.

Why would nuts float to the top of zucchini bread?

MARCO?

POLO!

Earl is here - it is raining. I can't help but feel like I am on Lost. Constant, hard, determined to wash out the drive way, kind of rain.

Apple Crisp

I made an apple crisp on Sunday last week. Our family usually makes 2 or 3 9x13 pans of crisp at a time so I have had a lot of practice. Since it is just the two of us - I usually use a bread loaf pan so we don't waste such a yummy dessert.

We went to the grocery store and were pleasantly surprised when we came across Maine apples picked in Standish. Over priced, yes, worth every penny, definitely!

Cinnamon, sugar, butter, oats, nuts, and more butter. Sounds great right? There is just one more ingredient in the crumb topping - which is crucial for the crumble factor: FLOUR! I forgot the flour.

Oh well! We went to Bow Street and bought some vanilla ice cream and in 2 days the pan is gone! Even mistakes sometimes taste good - especially crisp. I'm not sure there is a wrong way to make crisp.

No photos - I was way to busy drooling and peeling apples to take a snap shot of the season's first apple crisp. Once we do some picking, I am sure there will be apple crisp - the sequel - with lots of delicious photos!

My First Crepes

Last Sunday's breakfast. Stuffed crepes... my first time! Made some batter, grated zucchini, summer squash, chopped onion, grated sharp cheddar. (Plus rosemary and garlic, 2 standards when I don't want to think too hard about flavor! I LOVE rosemary... I am dreaming up some rosemary cookies as we speak!)

Thanks Dad - again for the fresh zucchini and summer squash - there is nothing better. I have a beautiful butternut squash picked from his garden too. It is waiting for the heatwave to pass and I think it finally has! Maybe dinner tonight!

Fried up the veggies and made a big scramble. Stuffed eggs into the crepes with cheese, we dumped maple syrup on top and of course - shared some thick cut bacon on the side. WE NEED our weekly supplement of pork at breakfast time. Bacon, sausage, ham, whatever is handy!

Sadly, the final picture doesn't really do it justice - looks like a soggy burrito. IT WAS DELICIOUS! Next time I think I might take on the challenge of this "white sauce" that they serve with crepes at All Day Breakfast in Kennebunk. Not only would it taste good - but it would also make for better pictures for the end result!