The Widows' Cooking Club

                                                              Pot Au Feu: a Brisket recipe I am posting a blog entry today because January 2 nd is my wedding anniversary.   This is my third anniversary since my dear Bruce passed away. I can’t believe it’s been that long!   It is one of the harder days for me, because it follows so closely behind Christmas and New Years holidays. It feels like a triple whammy to get through this rough spot, and later this month, on the 21 st , it will be Bruce’s birthday. Thankfully, friends and family are always there for me, supporting me by spending time with me. It has gotten a bit easier as the years go by, and my emotions don’t run away with me quite as much.   A couple of dear friends will meet me for lunch today, and their kindness and laughter will buoy me up. With all the ...

       November Light on the River:                                                                     I love the late fall light, dark gray skies and trees still touched with gold.   I love the crisp air, crisp sounding leaves as I walk and crisp apples from the farm stand.   I also love late fall because of Thanksgiving and this month’s post is about leftover turkey, featuring a recipe for Turkey Croquettes and Turkey Pot Pie.  It takes some time to do these recipes but the process is simple and the results are hearty dishes to warm the soul on a cold and snowy night. Two years ago, I wrote about going on an alpaca trek in November and I did a repeat trip this year.   I have a framed photo of my 2021 alpaca trek and friends have asked about it and commented how much ...

  For the past few years I have participated in a weekly Latin dance exercise class for senior citizens here in Midcoast Maine, with Tony Dancer of Maine as the creator and dance instructor.   His infectious smile and frequent laughter translate into an uplifting experience.   You simply can’t remain sad and lonely after an hour-long dance session with Tony!   This is not ballroom-style Latin dance with partners.   This is more like Zumba but a bit slower and better paced for those of us over seventy. He starts and ends the class with stretching exercises, and punches it up with some Latin dance moves in the middle.     It is a very sociable setting and on the last lesson of each six-week session, we enjoy a pot luck lunch together.   For last week’s pot luck lunch I brought a Crock Pot full of my favorite fall soup, made with butternut squash, apple, apple cider and bourbon.   It made me very happy to have so many requests to sha...

                                                                 Panzanella Salad One blue-sky autumnal morning last week, I drove out to do some errands. My route took me down a lovely country road, and to my joy, a series of Model T cars appeared, jauntily coming toward me.   I counted a total of twelve cars over a mile or so of the winding road. In each car, sat an older couple, men and women dressed for the occasion in vintage gear and perky hats. The sight made me think of how much fun Bruce and I would have had, if we could do that!   That was one of the many visions we shared of what we thought we’d like to do in retirement.   I could just see him sitting next to me in a pork-pie hat, rattling down the road!   I also often think of one of our favorite ways to travel, to choose a destination in No...

  “Her mother walked slowly through the bushes, picking blueberries as she went and putting them in her pail. Little Sal struggled along behind, picking blueberries and eating every single one.” This is a quote from “Blueberries for Sal”, an iconic childrens’ story book based in Maine by author Robert Mc Closkey, who captures the essence of Maine so well!   I’ve picked berries like that many times as a child and passed the tradition on to my daughter and stepson when they were little. By the time we got home from blueberry picking, we were hot and sweaty and itchy from bug bites, and our fingers were stained blue.   But the   reward for the hot, backbreaking work of picking low bush blueberries was worth it when we made a delectable, juicy blueberry pie! This month I am celebrating blueberries!   They are in abundance right now in New England.   There are two kinds of blueberries:   high bush, which grow on high shrubs and are larger and ...

  I skipped a blog entry in May as it was a very busy month for me, getting my little boat ready to launch.   It is sitting at the dock now, and I am waiting for some nice, sunny weather! It has been so cold and rainy for the month of June here in Maine!   It rained for the first nine days of the month and most of this week too!   It is a bit like living on the coast of Scotland where it rains so much that there are six different Scottish words for rain, and they are very descriptive! Spitter – small driving bits of snow and rain Smizzle – soft, gentle rain Bowder – a heavy rainstorm Plype- a sudden dash of rain (that is an example of onomatopeia for sure!) Blashy – rain blowing every which way Dreep – a slow, steady downpour     So I still am making meals that use the oven to warm the kitchen rather than turn the heat on, being a frugal Yankee!   Although I try to provide recipes for the current season, this time you’ll need the oven.   ...

  The “leftovers” I refer to is leftover ham from the typical Easter dinner baked ham.   Using leftovers is the frugal “Yankee way” up here in Maine, and lots of casserole dishes show up at   pot luck dinners which can prove how tasty leftovers can be!   I am sharing two recipes this month.   One is really quick to make, less than fifteen minutes start to finish.   The other requires advance preparation, soaking beans overnight. This recipe features Jacob's cattle beans, a heritage bean from the Passamaquoddy Indians.  My family heritage is from Eastport, Maine and a drive into Eastport goes right through the Passamaquoddy reservation, Sipsyik. The “little things” are all the small things that add meaning and trigger emotions in our lives.   The last weekend of March was Maple Sugar Weekend here in Maine.   A couple who have been friends with us for years, and who have remained steadfast after my husband died, stopped by and picked me up on t...