Seagulls and Seashells

Got a chance to visit the beach recently. Ah, those sea breezes! Thank you seagulls for flying into the camera frame just as I was snapping the picture.

And, these guys, hanging out on the beach...probably waiting for a snack even though it's "off-season."

We sent packages out to Minka in Kennebunkport, ME, Treats in Wiscasset, ME, The Well Tempered Kitchen in Waldoboro, ME, as well as Close Buy last week. Things are starting to pick up for the holiday season!

Don't forget the Maine Harvest Festival in Bangor, ME is coming up the third weekend in November (16th and 17th). We're looking forward to seeing everyone there!

We've got a few other things in the works, but those announcements will have to wait for a little longer!

In the meantime, you can also find us on Etsy or facebook. We'd love to hear from you!

Hope your week's a good one!

Nice Day for a Hike

It's always a great day when we can escape for a few hours and enjoy Acadia National Park. I didn't actually go on this particular hike, but considering I totally spaced off "Madder Root Monday" yesterday, I thought I'd share some of BF's photos of a recent hike of Pemetic.

We've been super busy (in a good way). We got out tea towels, napkins, and produce bags last week to Lisa Marie's Made in Maine in Bath and Portland, ME, Conklin's Maine Mercantile in Belfast, ME, and Minka in Kennebunkport, ME. If you're in those areas, please stop by and say hello for us!

As August comes to a close, we're getting excited for the Common Ground Fair. It's September 20-22, 2013, so save the date and keep your fingers crossed for glorious fall weather! We've got a new chickadee tea towel design that will be ready to go by then.

Anyway, off to find some coffee and get the day started. If you'd like to leave a comment below, we'd love to hear from you. We're also on facebook and can be found at our Etsy shop.

Hope your week's a good one!

A Beet Convert.

I felt compelled to pick up some beets at the farmers' market. Look at these in their richly colored glory! How could anyone possibly pass by the booth without getting some? Thing is, up until this weekend, I had never met a beet I liked.

I thought, maybe I would grill them. Everything tastes better on the grill, right? But, just about dinner time, the skies opened up with rain, lightening, and thunder. Very dramatic, but not very good for cooking beets outside on the grill. So I improvised.

I grated one beet to leave raw and cut the rest up thin. These I tossed in a skillet with some olive oil, shallots, orange zest, juice from said orange, some scallions, poppy seeds, and some white balsamic vinegar. I pan fried these just for a few minutes, then put the skillet in the oven to roast the veggies. The recipe I used is based loosely on this one.

Roasting the veggies in the oven reduced the liquids into a lovely sauce, sweetened the beets, and turned everything red. Some mozzarella sprinkled over the top and a side salad of greens and cucumbers with a mustard dressing rounded out the dish.

Definitely a beet fan, now that I know how to cook them right. Even BF said he'd have them again.

Anyway, last week was another busy one for Madder Root. We sent out tea towels, napkins, and produce bags to Archipelago in Rockland, ME, Conklin's Maine Mercantile in Belfast, ME, Rocky Acres Farm Stand in York, ME, Minka in Kennebunkport, ME, and Lisa Marie's Made in Maine, in Bath and Portland, ME, plus all our lovely Etsy customers. We do appreciate your support!

We've got our sights on August 17 and 18, 2013 when we'll be at the Gilsland Farm Art and Fine Craft Show in Falmouth, ME. Hope you'll stop by and say hi.

Want to share your favorite beet recipe? Just leave a comment below, check out our facebook page, or convo us through our Etsy shop.

Hope your week's a good one!

Maine Women's Fund Luncheon

Last Thursday, I had the opportunity to speak at the Maine Women's Fund Leadership Luncheon in Portland, ME.

Though I generally consider myself to be a behind-the-scenes kind of a person, I was honored to be asked to represent Women, Work, and Community for the event and to speak about our (Madder Root's) experience in receiving a mini-grant through the Maine Women's Fund.

Plus, it was a chance to get dressed up - a rare occurrence these days!

Here I am with Jane Searles, my friend and mentor. She's the regional manager for the Bangor Region of WWC.

Janyce and Jane Searles of WWC

Here are some of the women from WWC at our table. Jane won the table prize, which was a coaster from the artist Ann Taintor. Darn! I missed it by one seat!

Front: Karen, Jane, Janyce, Gigi; Back: Alyra, Gilda, Jenn, Cyndi

The mini-grant we received helped us purchase advertising space in the MOF&G, the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association's newspaper to let people know we were going to be at the Common Ground Fair. We blogged about it, briefly, here.

I'm learning about how to make an MP3, so if that turns out well, I'll record my speech and post it.

In the meantime, I'd like to thank Jane Searles and Eloise Vitelli of Women, Work and Community for asking me to speak and Sonya Tomlinson of Maine Women's Fund and Peter Munro for helping me with my speech and supporting me through the process.

This post doesn't even touch upon how inspiring the event was. I'll save that for next time. I will say, though, I was honored to share the stage with many powerful, courageous, and creative women.

We also sent out packages to our friends at Minka in Kennebunkport, ME, Treats, in Wiscasset, ME, and Under The Dogwood Tree in Southwest Harbor, ME this past week. We hope, if you're in any of these areas, you'll stop by and say hello for us!

You can also follow us on our facebook page or contact us through our Etsy shop.

Hope your week's a great one!