Soup to Nuts: Midcoast hasappetite for good food

On a steamy summer day, Christina Sidoti turned her white Jeep down Christina’s Way, a dirt road several miles from the coast.

She pulled up to a wooden gate with a sign that said Well Fed Farm, then walked onto about an acre of organic vegetables destined for her Camden restaurant, Paolina’s Way. Her little dog, a cottony-white Coton de Tulear named Cannoli, frolicked at her feet before running off in search of adventure.

Put that garden-fresh basil to delicious use with Gina’s recipe for to-die-for pesto

In last week’s Soup to Nuts column, I mentioned a pesto recipe that I got from a former colleague, Gina Brisgone, and noted that it’s the best pesto I’ve ever had. As I might have predicted, several readers (and friends) asked me for the recipe. I contacted Gina and got her permission to share it […]

Farmers’ market revisited: Story touched lots of nerves

I knew last week’s Soup to Nuts column on the Saturday farmers’ market at Deering Oaks would get a reaction, but I was unprepared for the empathetic outpouring from readers who agreed with me. My e-mail and voice mail boxes quickly filled up with messages like this one from Jeff Wilson of South Portland: “FINALLY […]

Local chefs compete for lobster title

Two chefs from Portland and another from Freeport were named finalists Thursday in the Maine Lobster Chef of the Year contest.

Bill Clifford, the new executive chef at the Portland Harbor Hotel, will compete for the title against Clifford Pickett, who is a banquet chef at DiMillo’s Floating Restaurant, and Kelly Patrick Farrin, who works at Azure Cafe in Freeport.

The three chefs will cook their lobster dishes next month in front of 200 people during the Harvest on the Harbor food and wine festival.

Finalists named for Maine Lobster Chef of the Year

The three chefs will cook their lobster dishes live Oct. 22, in front of a crowd of 200 people during the Harvest on the Harbor food and wine festival.

‘Any Day Now!’ dawns for Rosemont Market’s move

The handmade signs in the windows at the new Rosemont Market and Bakery have been promising “Any Day Now!”

That day finally came Wednesday, when the market’s employees began moving the store from 559 Brighton Ave. across the street to a much larger space at 580 Brighton, the former Rosemont Pharmacy building.

John Naylor, one of the owners, said he hoped for a soft opening today, but a lot depended on permits, paperwork and just how fast the new space can be filled with extra virgin olive oil, cheeses, breads, house-made pies, Maine maple syrup, wines and the local produce that Rosemont’s customers have come to expect.

Cookbook Corner: ‘The Pot and How to Use It: The Mystery and Romance of the Rice Cooker’

In “The Pot and How to Use It: The Mystery and Romance of the Rice Cooker” (Andrews McMeel, $14.00), movie critic Roger Ebert brags about how he took his rice cooker to movie festivals, goes on rants about salt, and says he doesn’t need a cookbook to make something that tastes good. That’s about it. […]

Soup to Nuts: At Deering Oaks farmers’ market, it’s a mob scene

Hey lady!

Yeah, you in the J.Crew outfit, blocking the farmers’ market foot traffic flow with your $1,000 stroller and/or dog the size of Marmaduke.

I’m talkin’ to you.

I don’t care if you haven’t seen your BFF in a whole week. I really don’t want to hear you yammer on about how junior just had his first real poop. Take it elsewhere. It’s a big park, so find a tree to stand under and let the rest of us shop for vegetables in peace.

At Deering Oaks farmers’ market: Those prices!

The high price of basil might just mean no pesto this year.

Light show

Open Lighthouse Day offers a rare chance to peek inside the towers and keepers’ houses at 25 of Maine’s ocean, river and island lighthouses.