Tag: Maine farms

Maine Farms and Businesses from Erin French’s The Lost Kitchen: A List By Episode

~ Crystal Sands ~ 1 Comment
A photo of the mill from my visit to The Lost Kitchen last December

“If you don’t have good ingredients, you can’t make good food.”
~Erin French

Erin French has inspired me so much as a home cook. I have always subscribed to the philosophy that, if you have really good ingredients, you need to let them speak for themselves when you cook. Erin French takes this to a whole other level, to an art form, and her work has inspired many meals and treats on our little homestead in Maine.

And, because I feel it’s so important right now to support our Maine farmers, I spent a few weeks over the winter watching every episode of The Lost Kitchen in order to have a list of the farms Erin uses to create her amazing dishes. Then, I realized I should share this list with readers.

If you are in Maine or visiting Maine, please check out this list. I have included links to every farm and shop mentioned in her episodes. In some cases, farms did not have a website but did have a social media page, so I have linked to that instead. I did my very best to make this list comprehensive.

If you are not in Maine or visiting Maine, I encourage you to find farms in your state and support them as much as you can. Buying direct from farmers at their stands, at farmer’s markets, or from their online stores makes a huge difference to farmers.

Season 1, Episode 1

Oysters
Johns River Oysters, South Bristol, Maine

Celery
Calyx Farms, Morrill, Maine

Season 1, Episode

Butter (I have used this better. It’s very good!)
Crooked Face Creamery, Skowhegan, Maine

Coffee (Their hot cocoa is also amazing!)
44 North Coffee, Deer Isle, Maine

Steaks
Caldwell Farms, Turner, Maine

Season 1, Episode 3

This was one of my favorite scenes in the hallway outside of The Shop at the Mill in Freedom.

Lobster
Young’s Lobster Pound, Belfast, Maine

Peaches
Locust Grove Peach Orchard, Albion, Maine

Season 1, Episode 4

Herbs and Produce
Village Side Farm, Freedom, Maine

Wood-Fired Bread
Tinder Hearth Bread, Brooksville, Maine

Season 1, Episode 5

Pork Chops
David’s Folly Farm, Brooksville, Maine
*Event venue as well

Season 1, Episode 6
*apples in every dish episode

Apples
The Buckle Farm, Unity, Maine

Moodytown Gardens, Palmyra, Maine

Season 2, Episode 1

Rhubarb and Garlic
Wild Miller Farm. Palermo, Maine

Custom Pottery and Plates
Campfire Pottery, Portland, Maine

Season 2, Episode 2 

Strawberries
*No location given, but Erin picks fresh strawberries. U-pick is a summer tradition in Maine. Check out Real Maine for a list of U-Pick locations for strawberries.

Season 2, Episode 3

Raspberries 
Pottery Farm, Thordike, Maine
*Also focuses on wood-fired pottery

*For more information on where to pick fresh raspberries throughout Maine, see this list from pickyourown.org.

Organic Beef (grass-fed and finished on apples)
Apple Bottom Beef, Jackson, Maine

The famous Airstream!

Season 2, Episode 4

Rope-Grown Mussels
Marshall Cove Mussels, Isleboro, Maine

Carrots and Baby Red Potatoes
Moodytown Gardens, Palmyra, Maine

Season 2, Episode 5

Squash Blossoms
The Buckle Farm, Unity, Maine

Microgreens
Graze Farm, Northport, Maine

Season 2, Episode 6

Blueberries
Erin picks blueberries on a small farm. Picking blueberries is a big Maine tradition. You can find a farm with high bush blueberries at Real Maine.

Shallots
South Paw Farm, Freedom, Maine

Season 2, Episode 7

Maine-Grown Scallops
Vertical Bay, Belfast, Maine

Quilts
Smith’s General, Yarmouth, Maine

Season 2, Episode 8

Fennel
New Beat Farm, Knox, Maine
*Their site has a search for recipes by ingredients tool, which is just priceless!

Season 3, Episode 1

Chocolate
Bixby Chocolates, Rockland, Maine

Beer
Oxbow Brewing Company, Newcastle, Maine

Season 3, Episode 2

Maple Syrup
Sweet Freedom Maple Syrup, Palermo, Maine

Tulips
Seek No Further Farmstead, Monroe, Maine (growing tulips in the middle of winter)

Candles
Danica Candles, West Rockport, Maine

Season 3, Episode 3

Artisanal Goat Cheese
Frederickson Farm, China, Maine

Season 3, Episode 4

Meat, Dairy, and Eggs
Misty Brook Farm, Albion, Maine

Season 3, Episode 5

Ricotta Cheese
Crooked Face Creamery, Skowhegan, Maine

Organic Vegetables
South Paw Farm, Freedom, Maine

Season 3, Episode 6

Peaches
Locust Grove Peach Orchard, Albion, Maine

The Shop at the Mill
*Erin introduces her shop in Freedom, Maine.

Inside The Shop at the Mill. The pictures cannot do it justice!

Season 3, Episode 7

Potatoes
The Buckle Farm, Unity, Maine

Season 3, Episode 8

Kitchen Tools and Equipment
The Good Table, Belfast, Maine

Season 3, Episode 9

Melons
Moodytown Gardens, Palmyra, Maine

Boxes for Tables
Heide Martin Design Studio, Rockland, Maine

Season 3, Episode 10

Fall Crops
Wild Miller Farm. Palermo, Maine

Season 3, Episode 11

Apples
*No location given, but Erin picks apples at an apple orchard. Real Maine offers a searchable site for apple orchards in Maine.

Coffee
44 North Coffee, Deer Isle, Maine

Season 3, Episode 12

Fall Crops
The Buckle Farm, Unity, Maine

Maine Maple Sunday

~ Crystal Sands ~ Leave a comment

Day 321 of 365

A few years ago, I won a teaching award. My gift was a fancy pen, which I never use, and an Amazon gift card for $500! I was so excited about this, and I used every bit of that gift card buying all of the equipment for tapping trees and making maple syrup. Every year, I say, “This is the year! I’m gonna tap some of our Maple trees.”

I never do it. I’m scared of it, and I hate this about myself. I felt this way about canning for the longest time before I finally tried it and was like, “Oh, that wasn’t that hard at all!”

I am always so afraid of messing up such precious resources, but I have to remember that you just get it figured out as you go. I mean, people have been doing this a long time. I can do it, right?

That’s the pep talk I give myself. Maybe writing it will do the trick. Maybe next year, I will mark the trees in the fall and tap them in February or March, but I didn’t do it this year, which means all of my tapping gear collects dust. That’s okay though. I went to a local farm and got to see a giant sugar house! It was amazing!. My son went with me, and we had the best time.

I love that Maine does this. Every March, Maine has a Maine Maple Sunday, and it’s a great time for people to visit local farms and buy from farmers directly. Plus, the farms will do demonstrations, and I got to see a giant evaporator in action today. Oh, it was cool!

Of course, we bought a giant bottle of maple syrup, and my mission this year is to quit buying grocery store maple syrup and only buy direct from the farmer. We tasted it when we got home, and it was so delicious. Plus, it was cheaper buying direct from the farmer. I am thankful this farm is so close to where we live. For those in Maine who follow the blog, it is Williams Family Farm in Clifton, Maine.

Maybe next. year I will finally be brave and tap our trees, but in the meantime, I am grateful to live in Maine where there are so many wonderful farms that make it so easy to buy directly from them and get really fresh, really good food. It was a good day!

photo credit: Nadine Primeau, Unsplash