FOREWORD: WE BE THE FREAKS   “There’s a sucker born every minute” –P.T. Barnum   Generally speaking, chickens are a dull topic.  I know this, first hand.  I spent weeks researching facts about chickens on the internet, preparatory to writing a few recipes and essays.  The only information worthy of retaining would amount to about […]

PART ONE: The From Away Getaway     Mainers use the expression “from away” to describe people like me.  It is a mildly derisive colloquialism, applied to those who bear the misfortune of being born somewhere other than Maine.  There are implied tendencies of this misfortune, such as interloping or carpet bagging–not to mention a […]

FISH SAUCE (Nam Plah)   Fish sauce is probably the most commonly used ingredient in Thai cuisine.  It’s also used in Cambodian, Laotian and Vietnamese cuisine, in much the same way soy sauce is used in other Asian cultures.  Soy sauce may be used as a substitute in Thai cooking, but its flavor has a […]

INGREDIENTS   You can use any vegetables you like in this recipe.  I shoot for either a nice color combination or, in order to clean out the fridge, I’ll use just what I have on hand. I have written “more or less” on some of the ingredients.  This is to allow for personal preferences with […]

After a week of undertaking exhaustive research of the poultry industry of Thailand, I have arrived at two conclusions.  First, there are a lot of chickens and eggs in Thailand.  Second, I would rather cook and eat chicken and eggs than read about them.   I had already surmised my first conclusion more than twenty […]

  The automobile has always been a symbol of progress, status and prosperity.  That is usually the way it is with anything that is rare and expensive.  It’s difficult to believe, however, that chickens were once held in a similar lofty esteem—at least as a food source.  Equally astounding is that both cars and chickens […]

There ain’t nobody here but us chickens There ain’t nobody here at all You’re stompin’ around And shakin’ the ground, You’re kickin’ up an awful dust –Alex Kramer & Joan Whitney   I live in Waterville, Maine, a small town of about 15,000 people located on the west bank of the Kennebec River.  It is […]

As a child, I hated spinach.  My mother tried every tactic of persuasion to get me to eat it—to no avail.  Yes, I knew it was good for me—just like every food that seemed disgusting was “good” for me.  No, I didn’t want to be like Popeye—who would want to be a one-eyed, muttering and […]

The good don’t always win And might makes right The Sword of Damocles is hanging above your head –Lou Reed Ever since my restaurant went out of business back in April, I follow the same fruitless routine every morning.  While drinking multiple cups of coffee, I search on-line for employment opportunities.   “Dad”, my younger […]

Not everyone has a supply of any kind of fresh broth or stock hanging around in his or her refrigerator—not even professional chefs.  I simplify many of my recipes for the home chef by recommending either prepared broths or stocks or, preferably, using concentrated flavor bases.  What they lack in flavor and authenticity they make […]