Tasting in Tongues - What's in Season in Maine

What's in Season in Maine In October?

Fall is here, but that doesn't mean we need to roll over and give in to food from elsewhere. The Maine marketplace is still rich with home-grown opportunities. The lists below aren't meant to be an exhaustive representation of every seasonal item available in Maine. There are many specialty farms and producers who bring unique and diverse entries into the marketplace. Take the time to explore producers in your area to get familiar with what is available near you. You might be very pleasantly surprised, like I was and continue to be! You can start your exploration of the produce below and other food items by visiting the Maine Dept. of Agriculture or MOFGA.

If you have a recipe for any of these items that you would like to share, please send them to me. The "What To Do With Them" column below contains simple and typical ways to use the foods, as well as a few twists.

FRUIT	WHAT TO DO WITH THEM
Apples	Apple pie; apple crisp; apple sauce; apple butter; dried apple rings; stuffing; spinach salad with apples and cheddar; iceberg lettuce salad with chicken, apples and walnuts; baked apples with maple syrup
Cranberries	Cranberry sauce; cranberry mousse; salad with chicken, cranberries and mandarin oranges; cranberry sorbet
Grapes	Salads; roasted and served with lobster and brie; roasted and served with gorgonzola and Sauternes wine (this is such an incredible combination!); winemakers cake; trifle
Pears	Poached pears, on endive with goat cheese and balsamic reduction; salad with pears, chicken, gorgonzola, and honey
Combinations	Apple cranberry butter, braised fennel with cranberries and grapes on saffron rice, fruit salad

VEGETABLES	WHAT TO DO WITH THEM
Arugula	Arugula and parmesan sprinkled with olive oil and lemon juice; pressed focaccia sandwich with arugula, roasted red pepper, Calamata olives and goat cheese
Beans (dried)	Stew with white beans, kale and carrots; black bean cakes with Maine crabmeat and remoulade; a good old-fashioned batch of Boston baked beans; Pistou
Beets	Orange and beet salad; roasted with oil and vinegar; roasted with chevre; on a bed of rice pilaf with toasted pistachios and sprinkled with the juice of half an orange; roasted with olive oil and Maine honey
Broccoli	Beef and broccoli stir-fry; raw broccoli (including the peeled stalks) dipped in hummus; cream of broccoli soup; sautéed with red peppers, parmesan, red pepper, and olive oil; broccoli gratinée
Brussels Sprouts	Steamed with a sprinkle of apple cider vinegar; sautéed with pancetta and chunks of apple; orzo with chopped brussels sprouts and ham
Cabbage	Bok choi and carrot slaw with ginger; cabbage rolls (steam the leaves and use them to make delicious packages of cooked ground meat and and/or veggies); cole slaw; sauerkraut
Carrots	Just plain carrots; carrots in hummus; sausage and lentil stew with carrots, garlic and peppers
Cauliflower	Steamed cauliflower with a sprinkle of apple cider vinegar; curried cauliflower and chick peas; baked chicken breast stuffed with gouda and chopped cauliflower, broccoli and mushrooms; cauliflower gratinée
Garlic	Roasted garlic; garlic bread; pesto; bruschetta; garlic-smashed potatoes; shrimp scampi; garlic-stuffed whole chicken
Kale/Collard Greens	Kale, potato and sausage stew; layered with potato, squash, and turnip in a baking dish, top off with stock, cover and bake until cooked; steamed with olive oil and cider vinegar; cooked Southern-style with ham hocks, hot pepper, onions, and cider vinegar
Leeks	Creamy potato leek soup; Maine crabmeat and leek frittata or quiche; Colcannon (leeks, potatoes, cabbage, corned beef, butter, salt and pepper); potatoes and leek gratinée
Lettuce/Mixed Greens	As the building block of endless numbers of dishes, there are too many ideas to list here even as a "short list". Read this page from my other Tasting in Tongues site that presents some ideas for "saladizing" some non-traditional salad items.
Onions	French onion soup; caramelized onions (great with pizza, omelettes, pasta, salads); onion gratinée
Parsley	Parsley butter; baked potatoes with sour cream and parsley; tabouleh. Do you overlook that parsley garnish on restaurant plates? If you're eating something strong, like garlic or fish, try eating some of it at the very end to freshen your breath. The high chlorophyll content does a great job at deodorizing your breath!
Parsnips	Root vegetable stew; monkfish with chestnut butter on parsnip puree
Potatoes	Shredded potato frittata with goat cheese; baked French fries; potato gratinée (many different variations)
Pumpkins/Winter Squash	Curried squash and peanut soup; baked with maple syrup and cinnamon; potato and squash pancakes
Rutabagas	Maple or molasses pork tenderloin on top of rutabaga puree; grilled lamb with steamed rutabaga
Scallions	Chopped and mixed with cream cheese, then put on bagels or omelettes; nori rolls with rice, scallions, carrots, cooked dogfish and wasabi mayonnaise; scallion pancakes
Spinach	Spanakopita; vegetable frittata with egg whites, cauliflower, broccoli, tomatoes, and cheese; classic spinach salad with mushrooms, red onions, and bacon
Swiss Chard	Steamed with butter and cider vinegar; cooked, chopped, and added to orzo salad with boiled egg, beets, cucumbers, and tomatoes; can also be used to make rolls stuffed with fillings such as meat, rice and vegetables
Tomatoes	When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. When your garden gives you tomatoes, and more tomatoes than you can use right now, make freezer-bound bruschetta and sauce. Cut tomatoes in half, brush with spices and vinaigrette, and bake on a cookie sheet at 250 degrees until they have reduced in sizeand their sweetness has been greatly concentrated. Freeze those "sun-dried" tomatoes individually and store in a freezer bag to be added to soups and sauces during the winter. How about a tomato gratinée with end-of-season basil, parsley, and other veggies?
Turnips	My grandmother was an avid gardener, and one of my many favorite memories of her is sitting in the shade while eating pieces of raw turnip that she cut with her trusty paring knife and sprinkled with salt. Creamed turnips, spinach and ham; turnip puree; raw with salt; turnip gratinée
Combinations	I just made a pureed soup I'll call "Puree of Beta-Carotene". I roasted 2 kinds of winter squash, carrots, golden beets, and fresh corn from the cob. After adding the roasted vegetables (except for the corn) to some stock, I pureed the mixture with a hand blender until smooth and creamy. A little salt...A little pepper...Then I threw in the corn and garnished the soup with some pomegranate arils. You can see it here.