Spring Blog: Things that Rock

Saco Bay Trails is holding its annual meeting at the Dyer Library Meeting Room, this coming Saturday, May 15th at 9:30AM.

The trails committee recently installed a memorial bench to honor Horace Wood, in a mid-trail location that showcases much of the Rachel Carson Nation Wildlife Refuge. The bench will be dedicated at the Annual Meeting.

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The Master Gardeners of the Saco Community Garden will offer a gardening workshop Sunday, May 22nd at the Saco Museum to support SBGC's donations to libraries, gardening education programs and horticultural scholarships. Most plants sell for $4.00 and further information can be obtained at sacobaygardenclub.com or call Cathleen at 286-2711.

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The Saco Museum opens a new show, Making History: Art & Industry in the Saco River Valley, May 29th. Email museum@sacomuseum.org or call Jessica at 283-3861 for details

-Kathryn

Talented, Caring Women

Last week, volunteers from nonprofit corporation Designing Women exhibited work in Freeport. Donations at the door benefited the Coastal Studies for Girls Organization, a science and leadership semester school for 10th grade girls. The artisans and crafters presented an astounding array of gift items for giving to loved ones of gifting yourself.


December 12th, at Woodford's Church in Portland the Designing Women are at it again. The $2.00 donation at the door will benefit Women Unlimited, a nonprofit providing technical training and resources for Maine women, minorities and disadvantaged workers. There will also be a luncheon offer if you work up an appetite shopping. It promises to be a fun "girls day out".


The designing women, as you will see on their website, work in many mediums: soft sculpture, glass, note cards, jewelry, paper, soaps, pottery, wearable art, porcelain and fine art. The wonderful part is that their work is so individual. When you give a gift from Designing Women you know you are giving something original from a Maine Artisan. Not only do you gift with pride, you are also helping the Designing Women give back, with the donations made at the door to very worthy organizations.


Visit the Designing Women show December 12, 2009 from 9am-4pm at Woodfords Church at 202 Woodford Street.


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-Kathryn

Bakery Blog

Sam's Place hosted the Harvestfest's Pie Contest this past Sunday. It was organized by Saco Spirit Board Member Sally Howe. We were lucky to meet some of Saco's enthusiastic bakers, who were willing to share their pie recipes!

Sally Howe with Pie Contest winner Laura Mooney

Blue ribbon winner Laura Mooney won 9 Saco Spirit Christmas Ornaments for her Chocolate-Peanut Butter Cheesecake Pie. Red ribbon winner Dianna Hill won a gift certificate for Women's Terapeutic Massage. White ribbon winner Diane Lamber won a gift certificate to The Candy Garden for her Carmel-Pecan Pumpkin Pie.

Their recipes are as follows:

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Cheesecake Pie

Crust:
1 3/4C Chocolate Wafer Crumbs
6 Tbsp Unsalted Butter, Melted
3 Tbsp Packed Dark Brown Sugar
Dash of Salt

Note: Do not use store bought pre-made crusts as they are too small for the amount of filling in the recipe

Filling:
6 Oz Cream Cheese, Softened
3/4 C Confectioner's Sugar
1/4 Tsp Kosher Salt
1 1/4C Smooth Peanut Butter
1 Tbsp Vanilla Extract
2C Heavy Cream
1 Oz Dark Chocolate, Melted (for decorating top)
2 Tbsp Smooth Peanut Butter, Melted (for decorating top)

1) Make crust: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine wafer crumbs, butter, brown sugar & salt. Press mixture firmly into bottom & upsides of 9" deep dish pie plate. Bake 8-10 mins until set. Let cool completely on rack.

2) Make filling: Beat cream cheese, confectioner's sugar & salt with a mixer on medium. Speed until fluffy. Beat in peanut butter and vanilla.

3) In a seperate bowl, beat heavy cream until soft peaks form. Whisk 1/3 of whipped cream into peanut butter mixture, then gently fold in remaining whipped cream. Spoon into crust. Freeze uncovered at least 4 hours (or overnight covered with plastic wrap).

4) Before serving: Place melted chocolate in resealable sandwich baggie. Snip tip from one corner of bag to make a small hole. Hold about 5" above pie and drizzle over top. Repeat with peanut butter. Let stand 10 minutes before slicing.

Caramel-Pecan Pumpkin Pie

Crust:

1/2 Pkg Ready-made Pie Crust

Filling:

2 Eggs, Lightly Mixed

1 15oz Can Pumpkin Pie

1/4C Light Cream or Half/Half

1 Tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice

1 Tbsp Flour

Topping:

1/2C Chopped Pecans

2 Tbsp Softened Butter

1/2C Brown Sugar

3/4C Sugar

1/2 Vanilla

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Prepare crust and place in 8" or 9" pie plate. Fold, crimp & decorate pie edge. In large bowl, combine eggs, pumpkin, cream, spice, flour, sugar & vanilla until blended. Pour into pie shell. Cover pie edges with foil. Bake 20 minutes. Remove foil and cover pie filling with topping. Bake another 30 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Refrigerate 2 hours after cooling. Best served with ice cream or whipped cream.

Jenna's Picks for Super Fun this Weekend

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Friday, 8/28/09
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Biddeford Art Walk, Biddeford 5p-8p. Visit their site for a map of participating galleries.

• Oh Baby Cafe (140 Main St) will have live, low-key music and new art
• HFS Annex (140 Main St, 107 back alley) has music starting at 8pm after the walk...$6 cover, should be fun. Coco and Gil always are.

Yoko Ono & WBLM Present: Come Together: A Message of Optimism: The Art Work of John Lennon at the Dunaway Center, Ogunquit (23 School Street) 12p-7pF, 11a-7pSa, 11a-6pSu, $2 suggested donation.
This is where I'll be tonight, but if you can't get away this evening the show goes all weekend. I am really excited to see his work...it's the largest collection in the world and it's been travelling for 15 years raising money for various charities.

Alison Violette at Blue, Portland (650A Congress St) 7p-8:20p.
Blue is Portland's most intimate music venue featuring Celtic, Middle Eastern, Blues, Old Time, Jazz, and Folk music. The Maine Arts Commission says: Alison is a Native Maine Singer/Songwriter who began writing songs at the age of 18. In 2001, she released her debut album, ''Melancholy Blue'' (available at Acoustic Coffee, Portland, Maine, and through contacting her) and has since graced venues from coast to coast with her soothing and, sometimes eerie, vocals and steady guitar playing.
She's also one of the nicest and funniest people you'll ever meet, so introduce yourself during a break.

Sol.Illaquists of Sound at Space Gallery, Portland (538 Congress St) 9pm, $10 advance/$12 door.
If you're into hip hop, this show should be awesome. Space says: Backed by a powerful message of self-awareness, the Sol.Illaquists combine rapid-fire lyricism, jazz-tinged vocals, insightful poetry, and innovative live electronic performance.


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Saturday, 08/28/09
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LL Bean Sports Weekend at LL Bean (duh), Freeport (95 Main St, but you cannot miss it) Fri/Sat/Sun.
25% off a lot of stuff at LL Bean this weekend. Check out the schedule of events...there are a ton of workshops and demonstrations going on. My pick? Saturday from 11a-3p Geo-caching: Adventure Treasure Hunt. Yeah, it's a little nerdy, but I love me some gadgets and hidden treasure.

Dominic and the Lucid at Empire Dine and Dance, Portland (575 Congress St) 9pm, $5.
Portland Phoenix says: Lavoie and company have done something difficult in carving out a fairly unique sound that dabbles in everything from ’60s psychedelia to ’70s lounge to contemporary jam and brit-pop.
Anyway, these guys are really fun. Again, introduce yourselves if you get a chance. They're really friendly, down-to-earth dudes. The show should be a good time...music you can dance to. Also, they always know about after-parties.

Greetings from Lesbos, Maine at The St. Lawrence Arts and Community Center, Portland (76 Congress St) 8pmF&Sa $8/$5students.
The world premiere of a play by Maine playwright Carolyn Gage, adaptations of lesbian literary works and a choreographed trapeze act.
The first work is about Natalie Clifford Barney whom I adore. Reading about this woman is like a soap opera...except it's all true. She used to vacation in Bar Harbor and ride her horses bareback! This should be an interesting evening.


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Sunday, 08/30/09
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If you want to relax after a busy weekend, maybe catch a matinee and save a couple bucks. Taking Woodstock comes out Friday and I want see it NOW. Right now! Or maybe Sunday since I'm at work. This film stars Demitri Martin (my favorite comedian ever!) and the ruggedly hansome (ok, hippie looking) Emile Hirsch. This movie isn't a comedy as you might expect from Martin, but it does look like great film about the people, the time and the place around the music festival. Let me know what you think if you see it.

-Jenna