NRCM Blog

Talkin' Turkey

Gotta love a good story. Hearing, reading or spinning a good yarn. There’s nothing better. I have a few in my repertoire that I tell over and over and over. (My husband still nods politely or gasps on cue even if he isn’t listening to a word of it). Here are my top five favorite subjects:

1. “I shouldn’t have survived that.”
2. “Dangerous encounters with wildlife.”
3. “Getting lost in foreign and domestic lands.”
4. “Weird things my kids do.”
5. “Grossest things I’ve eaten.”

On that note, I’ve got one that falls into category number five that I tell EVERY year right around Thanksgiving. So, you’ve been warned. Reader discretion advised.

It was Thanksgiving 2003. I flew on a snowy evening from Portland, Oregon, to Missoula, Montana, to spend the holiday with my good friends, Bill and Emily.

In preparation, Bill had shot a turkey for the feast. So, we spent an entire day cooking. We made cranberry sauce—the best cranberry sauce I’ve ever tasted, I might add. We made gourmet stuffing with every herb under the sun. We snapped and cooked beans. We peeled and boiled potatoes and carrots. We watched dough rise for rolls. We even baked squash. We made not one pie, but three— two pumpkin and one blueberry.

As an environmentalist, writing on an environmental blog, I have to add that not one scrap of food was wasted. Bill and Emily ate leftovers for weeks, so be assured that we were being just a little gluttonous. Well, the pumpkin pie for breakfast the next morning was a little over-the-top excessive but back to the story…

After all that preparation, we sat down to eat somewhere around 7 o’clock at night. We heaped our plates full and dug in. It was all that we hoped it would be.

I was well into this interesting side dish before I paused to wonder why I couldn’t remember fixing it. It looked to be grains of different varieties, or maybe grasses, with berries mixed in.

I turned to Bill and Emily to ask, “What IS this?”

Bill jumped out of his bean bag chair and exclaimed, “I FORGOT TO CLEAN THE TURKEY’S CROP!”

Not only did we not waste a morsel but we also reused the turkey’s dinner. Now that I think about it—what great environmentalists we were that Thanksgiving in 2003.

- Stacie Haines, NRCM Membership Manager

The Art of Local...Lobsters?

I have a lot of talents. I can take beautiful photographs. I can hula hoop for hours. I can make people laugh. What I cannot do is draw. Or paint. Or sketch. However, as an 11-year-old girl, I wasn’t yet aware of my limitations as an artist. Those limitations were recently pointed out to me, however, by my co-workers at NRCM when I brought in my “Two Lobsters on Ice Skates” drawing, created nearly 30 years ago.

When I was younger, my grandfather worked for Bass Shoe. He told my older sister and me of a Christmas card design contest for relatives of Bass Shoe workers. Since my sister was too old to enter, it was left to me to represent the family and draw something spectacular for the contest. Well…to draw something for the contest. I had won a color-the-weather contest at age six and had had my drawing shown on the Channel 6 news (I believe I also won a free meal from McDonald’s, which was like winning the lottery to a six-year-old). Thirty-plus years later, I still have my congratulatory letter from Paul Cousins. I remember racing in from outside (it was years before VCRs were invented) to watch them show my drawing on the six o’clock news. I was so proud. I wanted that feeling again. So, I asked my sister to show me how to draw a lobster. I promised if she would help me, I would pay her $10 of my winnings.

Back to the lobsters. I thought I had a great idea – Maine’s iconic lobsters drawn into a winter holiday scene…and I knew how to draw trees and water, so clearly, two lobsters on ice skates was THE winning-est idea of them all! I worked hard, and when I finished creating my masterpiece, we lightly sprayed it with hairspray so the Cray-pas wouldn’t smudge, and then sent it off.

Here is my creation: 

You can imagine my surprise (especially now that you have seen the drawing) when weeks later I was notified that I had WON! I remember posing for pictures in front of my grandparents’ Christmas tree, shaking the hand of the woman who came to present me with my $150 savings bonds. I was so excited. I was now a two-time award-winning artist.

So, when NRCM announced that this year’s Art of Local Food event was adding an art sale, I was sure my co-workers in charge of the art sale would come racing down to my office to ask me to create a masterpiece to donate to the sale. I kept working away each day, paying close attention to my work, but also feeling my heart race every time I heard someone’s footsteps nearing my office. THIS is the time that they are going to come ask me to participate. THIS is the moment when I get to share my art with the world!

When no one came, I assumed, of course, that they were too intimidated by my art to approach me. I took matters into my own hands. I walked down the hall and very modestly mentioned that I “am an artist” who “might” be interested in participating in the art sale. When my co-worker’s eyes widened, I was sure it was because she was so stunned that such an acclaimed artist would want to donate her masterpiece to the sale. Apparently, that wasn’t it.

She said the artwork had to be 10x10 in size. Mine didn’t fit those guidelines. When I offered to recreate the drawing in a 10x10 size…the next excuse came. And then the next. And then it became clear that she didn’t “appreciate” my art like my family did. Oh well…I guess she is just lucky that more than 50 other artists have donated their beautiful artwork to this year’s art sale. You can see a slideshow (that doesn’t include my lobsters) on NRCM’s website at www.nrcm.org/artsale.asp.

The bad news: you won’t have an opportunity to purchase my drawing (though please feel free to contact me directly if you are). The good news: the other artwork that was donated will be available for purchase next Sunday, October 30th at our Art of Local Food tasting party and art sale. It’s not too late to get your tickets and invite your friends. I will be there (without my lobster drawing) at the registration table, so be sure to say hello  before you head in to the art sale and tasting party. This is the second year I will attend this event—and I absolutely loved it last year! The food is amazing, the view is spectacular, and the cause is worthwhile. Come feast your eyes on some incredible artwork by Maine artists while you feast on some delicious food from local restaurants, farms, and vendors—all while supporting NRCM’s work to protect Maine’s air, land, water, and wildlife.

Hope to see you at the Natural Resources Council of Maine’s Art of Local Food event next Sunday in Northport. Buy your tickets today at www.nrcm.org/artoflocalfood.asp.

Beth Dimond
NRCM Public Affairs Coordinator

Peanut Butter and Jelly...and Paris

Peanut butter and jelly. That was the food that made up my childhood. Sometimes peanut butter and apple jelly. Other times, I would walk on the wild side and have peanut butter and grape jelly. “Beth is a picky eater,” was a phrase I heard more than once from my parents, my sister, and my friends. As I got older, I ventured out and tried foods that I was sure I didn’t like. Things like baked beans. Chinese food. Asparagus.

But, still as a nearly-40-year-old adult, I wasn’t what I would call a “foodie.” I liked what I liked and saw no need to venture past the few extra vegetables I have grown to like over the past few years.

And then, I went to Paris.

While in Paris last fall with my mother and sister, I decided that whatever my older sister ordered, I would sample. And if something was put on my plate and I was sure I wouldn’t like it, I tried it anyway. The most amusing thing to my sister and mom was that I never enjoyed tomatoes, but in Paris, they came with every croque monsieur sandwich that I ordered, so I ate my tomatoes. And occasionally, I ate theirs. I now LOVE tomatoes – of all shapes and sizes. And since Paris, I now also eat mushrooms, haddock, scallops, eggplant, and other foods that I swore would never end up on my plate, on my fork, or in my mouth.

And that is why I am SO excited that I am able to attend NRCM’s Art of Local Food event later this month. I am excited to sample local dishes from fantastic restaurants and farms – foods that even a year ago at our first event, I never would have tried. This year, I am going to try them all! This is a great event, in a great location, for a great cause – to support the Natural Resources Council of Maine and our work to protect Maine’s environment.

So, won’t you join me for a night of fabulous food, live music, friends, and a full moon rising over Penobscot Bay? Who knows…maybe they will even have peanut butter and jelly sandwiches!

- Beth Dimond, NRCM Public Affairs Coordinator

MOO(Milk) Needs YOU!

Seems like we hear it everyday: “Buy local.” “Go green.” “Buy organic.” “Support family farms.”

When a group of Maine farmers worked together to create MOOMilk, they probably were taking all that consumer buzz to heart. Their product fits all the criteria: MOOMilk is organic milk that is produced by Maine farmers. The kind of product we’re looking for so we can “walk the talk,” right?

Hmm. Maybe not.

As the Bangor Daily News is reporting MOOMilk is in danger of closing up shop, taking with it a great example of Maine’s entrepreneurial spirit in action – and the kind of product the public has been giving lip service to.

Fortunately, it’s not too late, and you can help by simply buying the product. It’s tasty and healthy, and it gives you the chance to put into action all those bumper stickers and t-shirt slogans about saving the planet – in this case, one farm at a time.

Actually, SIX farms—three in Aroostook County, three in Washington County.

And how about this for additional inspiration: in the wake of the MOOMilk’s struggles, the Aroostook County farmers could have begun shipping to another market but knew that if they did, service to the Washington County farms would stop, as they are too far out of the conventional trucking route for hauling their milk to be profitable. Instead, the Aroostook farmers have continued to band together with the farmers in Washington County.
If these farmers, whose very livelihood is on the line, can choose to stick together for the sake of a quality product like MOOMilk, can’t we stick with them, too?

MOOMilk is available at Hannafords (which recently lowered the price so that MOOMilk can more fairly compete with national, out-of-state brands). It’s also available at IGA, Shurfine, and elsewhere.

For more information about MOOMilk, please visit http://moomilkco.com/.

Allison Wells
Senior Director, Public Affairs
Natural Resources Council of Maine
(and Mom to a MOOMilk-drinking Family!)