In Pursuit Of Maine: April 9, 2014 - Food is Free

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

April 9, 2014 - Food is Free

All year long the industrious little ant works, building his home and stashing away the food he finds. And the bee. The bee gathers the sweet nectar from the flowers. She builds her home and stashes her honey. And the birds. They make their nests and find their worms and bugs to eat, and when the weather becomes too cold, they fly away to the warmth and continue on. The bear eats heartily from the woods and streams, and then he sleeps for a very long time in his den. The deer finds ample vegetation in the summer and fattens up, but even in the winter she finds bits here and there. Everywhere you look, the world eats the world. The creatures dance in perfect harmony, now eating, now being eaten. Here in my front yard as the tide goes out, dinner always waits: snails, clams, mussels, crabs, lobsters, etc. The tide brings them in, and the tide brings them out. Everywhere, there is food.

How odd, then, that humans believe they must toil endlessly for someone else who will give them paper, which they then exchange for meager amounts of food and sometimes nonfood, when all around them there is food. The toiling should be in the gathering, yes. It is a matter of changing one's perception.

"The Plain Maine Cookbook" is my own collection of vintage Maine recipes that will immediately bring you back to a simpler time, a less confused time. These recipes are more than just comfort food. They're family food, traditional food, simple food, plain food. One bite and you'll say, "Ah, yes! I remember my grandmother used to make this. I had forgotten all about it!" Recipes for whoopie pies, funnel cakes, fried fiddleheads, haymaker's switchel, coffee can bread, glogg, and much more are in these pages. There is even a recipe on how to render lard. So open the door and go back to some simple, time-tested foods you can prepare easily. You'll find that you save money and waste less by "making do" with commodity cooking. What's in the pantry or in the garden is what's for dinner.

"So You Want to Move to Maine" is an invaluable little book in helping people to make a permanent move to Maine. It will save you a ton of time because all the initial footwork is done for you, including 100 links on how to find work and living quarters, getting your driver's license, pet requirements, programs for people with disabilities, programs for senior citizens, getting married in Maine, hidden taxes and expenses, hospitals, health insurance, handling a real winter like a pro, etc. Stop being "just a number" or another face in the crowd. Walk away from the rat race. Become boldly individualistic and make your mark in life. You can still do that in Maine, one of the last holdouts of ordinary, old-fashioned, kind, and decent American living.

I’ve chosen 37 unique fairy tales that will be loved by both adults and children as they can be read and interpreted on many levels. But if you are looking for only sweet tales that end in joy and fairness, you may want to pass this book by. Some fairy tales are simply “dark,” and that is because sometimes life is simply dark. Not always, of course, but often enough. Sometimes the hero lives; sometimes he dies. Check out my book, “Fairy Tales of Maine,” in the photo link below. If you are brave, you might just meet yourself in one of these tales.