THR A new world..there better be coffee

[mainegirl1]

Different trees peak different tines
Sugar Maples now
Red Maples done
Tamaracks in three weeks
Beeches in two

Its a riot of color This from a roadside on my way to the market yesterday

 

[Barbaraj]

Oh, a beautiful vista indeed, @mainegirl1 It seems so beautiful and soothing somehow, and it must have made that drive to the market very pleasant. Hope you're having a good day!

 

[mainegirl1]

We are off to the Lost Kitchen. We snagged sought after reservations by lottery. Supposedly the hardest restaurant in the US to get a table.
Its 90 min from home and we are enjoying the colorful ride
This time next week all the leaves will be down and mop up starts.
We have a new leaf blower and me a new hip and am ready to use it!

 

[Layla]

Ok....so your comment about snagging sought after reservations by lottery peaked my interest. I looked up the Lost Kitchen. Twenty Nineteen is fully booked and it states not to check back until the first day of Spring 2020 to make reservations. Is it not open year round? Was it worth it? Hopefully so.
Would love hear a restaurant review, after all we have to eat to heal, so it's fitting, lol. @mainegirl1

I hope your hip tolerated the 90 min car ride both ways. Mine wouldn't have. I found sitting in the car to be one of the most miserable experiences until I was at least two three months out. I had about 20 to 30 minutes in me and I wanted out. Hopefully you tolerated it well and sitting while dining didn't become too much. Will look forward to an update.
Happy Thursday to you!

 

[mainegirl1]

Lost Kitchen is open six months a year as its all Maine farm to table produce and there is more variety during the summer months
It is in an old mill and this winter they will try to get a waterwheel that fits so they can run off their own hydropower. Which of course could not happen in the winter.
If you want to eat there you must send a snail mail postcard with your contact info during the first two weeks of April . There normally are 25000 hopefuls . Then its the luck of the draw as there are only 3000 spots available
The restaurant seats 40 and the meal is 10 courses and 3.5 hours long
Driving hasn't ever been an issue for me
We went leaf peeping on an 11 hour drive last week and today and tomorrow are doing the same along the New Brunswick border
We make lots of stops to take pictures

The meal was AMAZING
even though we were being filmed for a pilot of a show on Food Channel

 

[ceezee]

I went and ordered the Lost Kitchen cookbook yesterday. Nothing like a new cookbook to keep up my spirits! I’m serious.

And it just arrived....

 

[mainegirl1]

@ceezee I could have had it autographed by Erin French
Quite a friendly gal and watching her orchestrate ten burners or more and several ovens was astounding
Hubby says not to try to mimic her kick the oven door closed. Sheesh I thought it would be great hip exercise.
Here is course 1 of ten
Cheese and veggie plate

 

[leejaa]

It looks yummy. I had read about this restaurant before and always thought it would be great to eat there. Did not realize it is by lottery. What a treat.

 

[ceezee]

Gorgeous plate of cheese and veggies! Did you eat the flowers? I bet they were edible. Interesting to start with a cheese course. Lots of times we have that for dessert. I bet they were all local and delicious.

 

[Layla]

Oh my!
Charcuterie at its finest. Dare we call it that?
No meat...I guess not...

 

[ceezee]

Charcuterie at its finest. Dare we call it that?

Sorry, nope.

Not to be too picky but charcuterie is various, usually cured, meat.

Now I’m hungry.........

 

[Layla]

Do the recipes look yummy?
Would you recommend the cookbook @ceezee

 

[ceezee]

They do! Yesterday it was on sale on amazon for prime customers. But even without that it wasn’t very expensive for a hardback.

Lots and lots of recipes I want to try. Some have difficult to get ingredients but not that many. For example, you could always trade moose out for another meat. And in Minnesota you might know someone who goes moose hunting.
The book is sectioned by seasons which I really like.

It’s a lovely cookbook.

It came in less than 24 hours.

@Layla

 

[mainegirl1]

A new world there better be food
The coffee was good too
Second course oysters mignionette
Third pork sliders with peach slaw.
Fourth was raspberry thyme rosewater sorbet
courses five to eight here on the picture
Also hard to find grapes and homemade cookies

All the herbs were edible
Never would have been able to do this presurgery

 

[ceezee]

What a great meal! Everything looks so interesting and memorable.

Her cookbook has a recipe for parsnip cake that I want to make. There are tons of recipes in it that I’d like to do.

 

[mainegirl1]

@ceezee I got my cookbook too with Amex points. Free! (sorta).
I am now sure what I need to do with PT. The hip is not the problem. the flexor is coning along and I can get up rocks; but my stamina is horrid.
Two mile rough trail hike and I am knackered and sweaty and out of breath.
Don't wait too long all you thinking about joint replacement! Not only will your joint poop out so will the rest of you! The hip is most easily fixed in my experience.. the rest a longer road..
Now to the stationary bike. I got work to do.

 

[mainegirl1]

Charcuterie at its finest. Dare we call it that?

Sorry, nope.

Not to be too picky but charcuterie is various, usually cured, meat.

Now I’m hungry.........

There is a charcuterie nearby
It uses Facebook for business promotion
But the owners themselves don't use FB
It is an Amish charcuterie and smoked cheeses shop.
They have English friends who do the FB promotion
After all they gotta make money and there arent that many Amish around
And they have a huge array of solar panels.

 

[ceezee]

Let me know what you make from the cookbook and how it works out. Some of the recipes are very close to things I already cook, like the puréed parsnips. I like them better than mashed potatoes. Sometimes I make them half and half. The recipes look solid and that they’ll work.

I may have a chance to do something before we leave to Vermont/Québec but I’ll be able to tackle more when I get back.

 

[ceezee]

Wow! I dug out my old recipe cards. I have all of my Mom’s too.

The Frozen Lemon Terrine recipe in the Lost cookbook is exactly the same (except for the pistachio brittle) to what my mother used to make for us....over 60 years ago. Exactly. It is fantastic with just the right combination of sweet and lemony. And it’s super easy to do. I can’t wait to try it with the brittle!

 

[VSlowLife]

@ceezee, @mainegirl1 I so wish I could join you in enjoying new recipes! That is one of the things I most look forward to doing, is baking and cooking on a regular basis, the things I once made before severe OA. Seeing my allergist this week to discuss my antibiotic allergies before my surgery will schedule me.
I have learned to love my digital scale, and “tare” for measurements without getting the scale dirty.