We went to dinner with my husband’s niece and her fellow last week. She’s finally starting to get over her mothers death and that called for a drink… or 12… so we took them to my favorite cocktail destination The Blind Pig.
.
.
I started with a pear Mojito and the most delicious mushroom Arancini I’ve ever had.
A few cocktails in, niece’s significant other got curious about what appeared to be breakfast in a glass.
.
.
The girls were disgusted, the bartender was surprised and kept asking, “Are you sure?”….but the husband egged him on (I’m groaning at that one myself) and said he’d pay for it … so a bacon and eggs was ordered.
.
.
Blech.
🤢
.
.
The women refused to try it but the guys polished it off… though I can’t say they enjoyed it.
I love to cook, but I also like quick and easy sometimes.
.
.
And this recipe certainly fit the bill.
.
.
Since it’s autumn, I chose spice cake mix and apple filling.
.
.
The batter worried me as it was thick and chunky…
.
.
But the cake baked well, even if the finished product was a bit ugly.
I made a quick glaze from powdered sugar and milk to make it look slightly more appealing…
.
.
The cake was moist and flavorful, though a bit heavy for my taste. But the husband liked it and if I make this particular combination again I think I’ll chop the apples into smaller pieces for more even distribution.
Here’s a drone shot of a section of our farming neighbor’s property. It was so pretty I thought I’d share.
.
.
I’m in awe of all those perfectly aligned weeded garden beds.
.
.
In case you ever wondered what type of finish you should be using.
.
.
A local Maine man who did well for himself and ended up owning half his town’s businesses just implemented this program. Free food for school age children. Proof positive there are still good people in this world.
.
.
As you know, once we install new living room floors I’ll be shopping for new furniture. And while the husband is fine with replacing the couches, armchairs and coffee tables he started mumbling that we really didn’t need to update the dining room table and chairs we’ve had for almost 40 years.
.
.
I beg to differ.
🤣
.
.
A new medical study has revealed women who have frequent and long lasting hot flashes… read, me… are at a greater risk for heart disease and stroke. Women who have frequent night sweats… read, me… are at a greater risk for dementia.
After our visit to the fair, we tried a place I’d been hearing good things about for dinner….the Old Mill Pub in Skowhegan.
.
.
It didn’t look like much and since the inside dining room was packed, we headed outside.
.
.
Where the view from our table wasn’t half bad.
.
.
Things started well with a fabulous blueberry mule.
.
.
And an amazing French Onion soup for the husband.
.
.
This is his go to appetizer so when you’ve tried hundreds, you always appreciate when it’s done right.
.
.
Dinner for me was yummy maple bourbon glazed steak tips with garlic mashed red potatoes and sautéed broccoli (not pictured) …. and a light and lovely lemon butter haddock and mashed for the spouse.
We’re not often in this part of Maine, but I’m putting the Old Mill Pub on my list of places to revisit if we are.
Maine has a lot of agricultural fairs every autumn and over the years we’ve visited quite a few. Farmington was one we’d never hit so last week we drove west.
.
.
This county’s fair is relatively small and focuses heavily on community involvement. Prize winning pumpkins and homemade jams were in the forefront.
As were school children’s projects.
.
.
You have to admit this one made a valid point.
There was an entire upper floor devoted to quilt, knitting, photography and art contests. There was also a large sign stating fair volunteers did not judge or pick the winners. I though that was odd until I saw some of the winners…
.
.
I wouldn’t want to be blamed for that either.
As we stepped out of the expo building, food.
.
.
I was disappointed not to order a fresh lemonade from the giant lemon concession stand, but alas it was closed.
I did score my favorite go to the fair treat though.
.
.
Fried dough with cinnamon and powdered sugar. You only eat these things at the fair and you really can’t explain why… but damn. It was good.
.
.
Inexplicably there were multiple fried pickle stands, all boasting to be the biggest and most famous. Bypassing those we wandered around until we found something that wasn’t battered and deep fried and settled on a picnic table with our wraps to enjoy the show.
.
.
Not being twang loving blue grass fans, we ate our lunch and left our seats to those more in tune with the genre.
I just bought the two ingredients and will report back if it’s truly magical.
Have you ever laughed at your spouse/significant other for being horticulturally challenged? I did the other day when we visited a friend and my husband asked if I had any of these bushy plants in our garden.
.
.
Uh, no… but it is legal here now.
🤣
.
.
Remember the photos I posted of that fantastic sunset we had before the recent hurricane? Take note of the giant ice cream cone trash can on the left and read the town’s FB page the day after the storm
Though my husband isn’t crazy about their food, I finally wore him down enough for another evening at one of my favorite cocktail bars, The Blind Pig.
.
.
Located in downtown Gardiner…
.
.
In a lovely old brick building…
.
.
With a terraced outdoor seating section…
.
.
We made straight for the bar… because that’s where the magic happens. The Pig’s cocktail list is epic and changes with the seasons. I started with a pear mojito because it’s my go to there and never disappoints.
.
.
Luckily the salmon baked in parchment paper with roasted fingerlings and asparagus tickled my spouse’s tastebuds so much he agreed to rethink his previous Blind Pig ban.
.
.
I had a yummy lamb bolognese, and because we were sitting under a pig wearing a pink cowboy hat…
.
.
A blackberry lavender margarita as well.
.
.
Dessert was homemade lemon blueberry cake…
.
.
Which the husband didn’t like and I was forced to finish by myself.
Oh. The hardships I endure for love…
😉
.
Where there's only one step from the sublime to the ridiculous.
River's world..... 