Category: Farming

Bountiful Mushrooms Farm

| Posted in Farming

The Forecaster has published an article about Portland-based Bountiful Mushrooms Farm.

On the outskirts of downtown, wedged between a billiards bar and a busy stretch of train tracks, lies a graffiti-marked cinder-block garage. Deep within, a delicate beauty grows under heavenly white light.

Welcome to Bountiful Mushrooms Farm. Here, alongside heavy traffic and light industry, three urban farmers toil to bring fresh oyster mushrooms to life and deliver them to 20 local restaurants.

You can keep up to date on the farm by visiting them on Facebook.

Miyake/Wolfe Neck Farm Collaboration

| Posted in Under Construction, Farming

The Root is reporting on a new collaboration between Masa Miyake and Wolfe Neck Farm and a Q&A about Miyake Diner.

SK: How will the new restaurant differ from the two existing ones? How is the food different from the food at the other restaurants?
WG: Miyake Diner will differ from the existing restaurants in a couple of ways. First the menu. We will be serving items that could be considered Japanese comfort food in many ways. This will consist of curry, doria, pork cutlet, udon, shabu-shabu, okonomiyake etc. Though seemingly simple dishes we will strive to have a menu that is concise yet dynamic in a manner that we will be offering authentic Japanese fare that Portland residents have not had the opportunity to sample in not only our current restaurants but also in Maine.

MOFGA Director Interview & Open Creamery Day

| Posted in Farming

Today’s Press Herald has published an interview with Ted Quaday, the new executive director of MOFGA,

Q: …What about MOFGA stood out to you and made you want to be a part of it?
A: The Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association is the oldest and largest state organic organization in the country that is dedicated to building the organic food movement. It is an organization supported by strong membership and a tremendous commitment to volunteerism that sustains its work in every way. Its dedication to collaboration among all those associated with the organization has enabled it to become a highly innovative and influential national leader in the organic movement…

and an article about Open Creamery Day and a listof participating cheesemakers.

“We did (Open Creamery Day) last year, and it was great,” [Sarah Wiederkehr]said. “My husband and I kind of tag-team tours, so as people trickle in we gather groups of five to 10 people and take them on a tour of the farm, then walk them through the milking parlor, the milk house and then through the creamery. Then we bring them out to the pasture to meet the herd.”

Open Creamery Day takes place on October 13, 2013.

2013 Apple Season

| Posted in Farming

The Food & Dining section in today’s Press Herald includes an article about the 2013 apple season and the paper’s annual guide to apple picking in Maine that dozens of varieties from Baldwin to Wolf River.

“Last year we not only had a freeze, but we had hail in June, so this year is 100 percent better than last year,” said Ellen McAdam of McDougal Orchards in Springvale. “But even if we had had a good crop last year, this year is looking beautiful. The size is great, the color is great, the apples taste really good. It’s a wonderful year.”

Apples/John Bunker/Apple CSA

| Posted in People, Farming

The Portland Phoenix has published an article about this year’s apple season, the apple CSA and John Bunker,

For five years now, Bunker and his wife, Cammy, and crew have run an “Out on a Limb” heritage apple CSA, with two drop-off locations in Portland. I just joined and can’t wait for this week’s first pickup of the 10 to 12 pounds of apples. Last year, the CSA distributed dozens of rare and beloved Maine varieties, including deep purple (plum-like) Black Oxfords and dense Blue Pearmains, aromatic Garden Royals and Idareds, Cox’s Orange Pippins and Northern Spys. Willow Pond Farm in Sabattus is known for these late season Northern Spys, crisp yet juicy, and equally good eaten fresh or baked into pie.

For more on the apple CSA see this post from The Blueberry Files about the first week’s distribution.

Mainers Feeding Mainers & Recreating Little Lad’s

| Posted in Cooking, Farming

The Food & Dining section in today’s Press Herald includes an article by Joe Yonan about his addiction to and attempts to deconstruct the formula for Little Lad’s herbal popcorn,

Then we slowed down and concentrated as we tasted, thinking instead of shoveling. Okay, dill is definitely among the herbs. And the nutty, kinda cheesy flavor had to be that staple of vegans everywhere: nutritional yeast. A closer look at the contents of the transparent bag and the telltale golden flakes inside confirmed it. But is that really all that goes into it?

and an article about Mainers Feeding Mainers, a program run by the Good Shepherd Food Bank that hires Maine farmers to raise produce for them at wholesale prices.

It’s an innovative initiative that aims to provide fresh, locally-grown fruits and vegetables to Mainers grappling with hunger. What makes the program stand out is rather than just seeking donations from farms, the program works with farmers to pay them a fair price for their crops.

Miyake Farm

| Posted in Farming

WCSH has aired a report about Miyake’s farm in Freeport which supplies produce and meat products to Miyake and Pai Men Miyake.

Chef Masa Miyake has been cooking in restaurants since he was 16, now he is realizing another dream of his, raising many breeds of animals he cannot find for his restaurants in his own backyard farm.

“Farming is more work. More difficult,” he admits, but says there is a certain type of satisfaction that comes from growing your own produce and nuturing livestock that is served at your table.