Life in Maine

Ever wonder what people do that live in Maine?  Well, other than a slower and more peaceful existence we do all the same things everyone else in the country does.  Just get on with life!

My husband (DH) and I are residents from "away" having lived in Penobscot County, ME for 20 years now.  We will never be considered "Mainers" no matter how long we live here though!  I've heard a saying that even if you lived until you were 100 and been in Maine for 99 of those years they will say about you at your funeral "she almost made it but not quite!"  That's okay because we love the state, the beauty and the peace.  We have been retired now for more than 10 years and live on 52 acres - that's a little different than other folks living in the more populated parts of the country for sure.  Most of our acreage is forest but we do have a house sitting on 12 cleared acres with views towards Bangor, ME and Mt. Katadin.

Mt. Katadin, ME

Bangor, ME

We grow a large garden every summer that I put up by canning, dehydrating or freezing.  My DH loves to work with wood so he spends winters in his workshop madly creating an array of items from my "wish list" after a summer full of garden work.  I spend my time painting, rug hooking, knitting, cooking and on occasion doing a little weaving and oh I almost forgot - that dreadful house cleaning.  We have two lovely English Springer Spaniels - 3 year old Bizy Bea and 14 year old Andi which we adore.

  Bizy Bea

                                                                          Andi

I will post activities from our daily lives when I think there is something that might be interesting and/or useful.  So check back in from time to time or sign up for my postings and stay in touch with "Life in Maine - What Life Should Be."


My first post is about BASIL!

Since gardens are fading fast, nights are getting colder, autumn is in the air and winter is coming it's now time to bring in as fast as possible what remains.  Here is my tip for storing basil for use throughout the winter.

I pull the basil up with roots and all, stick it in a large container/bucket of water where it will keep for several days.  I pick all the good leaves into a large s/s bowl.  I dump the whole bowl in a large sink full of icy cold water from our well and rinse.  I repeat this process at least 2 times or more if the leaves are really dirty.  I spin  batches of the leaves in a salad spinner and add to the same s/s bowl lined with a big towel.  Repeat the process until all leaves are washed and in the bowl.  Let them rest for a half hour or so and then load into a jumbo zip lock bag.  Stuff the bag good and tight.  Roll like a sausage to press all the air out,  zip closed..  Place in the freezer.  It's that simple and you can use this basil throughout the winter in almost everything you love basil in.  It's a little wimpy if you want to put in a salad but otherwise it works for almost everything where you want that special basil taste!  Enjoy!

That's it for today -come back soon!