In Pursuit Of Maine: September 20, 2017 - Oh, Honey!

Wednesday, September 20, 2017

September 20, 2017 - Oh, Honey!

The bounty continues . . . for now. Sometimes dinner pops up unexpectedly. These honey mushrooms weren’t here yesterday, and I know that for a fact because I stood on this very spot. And yet here they are today. How does something grow so quickly? It’s a mystery to me. The growth is far greater than that of a plant or an animal, but then we are not talking about a plant or an animal. We are talking about a mushroom—a whole different kingdom altogether.

Honey Mushroom.

There’s a dark side, of course. The honey mushroom is a tree killer. It grows on wood of either dead trees or trees that are having a hard go of it and will soon be dead, thanks to a little push. The honey mushroom is one of the many creatures that helps a tree to become an “un-tree.” If there are honey mushrooms around, there are dead trees around. You can be sure of that. Really, it’s just their job.

This patch is destined for other things, though. You win some; you lose some. Today the honey mushrooms lost, and the tree becomes a part of me. Tomorrow, it may be me who loses. No one said the world was a safe place.

"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.