Irish Scrambled Eggs

Irish Scrambled Eggs

Pretty much the number one question we're asked about the Irish scrambled eggs is what makes them Irish? That would be the emphasis on heavy cream and butter given that was how my Nana used to make them when I was a kid. From there, we diverge. You'll notice there are tomatoes and scallions in the recipe. I don't think my Nana ever met a tomato she liked and she surely never put them in eggs. Sorry, Nana.

A little story and then I'll get on with the recipe. My younger brother was born in January. While my mother was in the hospital 'recuperating' (back then they didn't kick you out in 24 hours!) I stayed with Nana. Other than getting a stinky brother out of the deal, the one thing I remember most was that she hung my school uniform over the stove (remember having a drying rack in the kitchen all you city people?) to warm it up for me before I put it on to go off to school. Thanks, Nana! (And, to my brother- you stopped being stinky a long time ago...love you!)

Without further ado...the recipe:

Makes enough for 2

6 eggs
2+ tbsps of heavy cream
butter for the pan

12 cherry tomatoes (grape tomatoes also work), sliced in half
2 scallions, chopped (save greens for topping)
pinch of thyme
2 tbsps olive oil

shaved parmesan cheese for topping

Add butter to fry pan, enough to cook eggs. Heat, but do not brown butter. While heating, whisk eggs. When fry pan is ready, pour eggs in and let set up slightly. Then, gently fold eggs over and over, scraping bottom of fry pan to cook through. (Like you would usually cook scrambled eggs.) When eggs are just about done, pour in 2 or more tablespoons of heavy cream, turn off heat and fold the cream gently into the eggs. The eggs will immediately get creamy. (Don't add the cream at the beginning, it doesn't come out the same way.)

In a second fry pan, at the same time, heat the olive oil and add the tomatoes, scallions (reserving the green tops) and thyme. What you are doing here is merely warming, not cooking the tomatoes and scallions.

When the eggs are done, plate and immediately top with tomatoes and scallions. Add the green, chopped tops of the scallions and shaved parmesan to the top of the eggs. Serve with your favorite breakfast meat and toast or biscuits. (Or Irish soda bread!)

Printable recipe page. (We've renamed this dish 'Tuscan Scrambled Eggs'.)

White Cedar Inn Bed and Breakfast 178 Main Street Freeport, Maine 04032

Recalculating...

I was talking to a friend the other day about GPS units. She owns a B&B in Rocky Mount, VA (Claiborne House) and she regularly has guests who call saying they are lost. She provides directions right to her parking area and can never figure out why guests are calling from towns miles away.

Well, in conversation it came to us...GPS units are making people stupid. Geographically inept. Yeah, yeah, I know we all said that about calculators and how kids can't do math in their heads anymore (well, they can't, can they?) but how they could do so much more advanced math now that they had calculators.

Give this some time to sink in. Kids who can't do math in their heads but can do advanced calculus because they have calculators. Could you do advanced calculus without a calculator? I bet you could in high school and college. With the calculator, you just plug in the right formula and away you go. Sure, you have to know the right formula but do you 'check your math' to be sure the answer is probable when you use a calculator?

So, if that analogy holds true, it means GPS users can find their way to the North Pole but they won't have a clue how they got there. And, if they totally rely on the GPS, they won't realize they are actually in the wrong location when an Emperor penguin sidles up to the car. Penguins MUST be at the North Pole because that's where the GPS says I am.

I'm an old school map gal myself. (Oh, you guessed that already, didn't you?) I like to see the lay of the land. Like to know my options. If I wander aimlessly off, I want to be able to wander aimlessly back again. It helps that I was born with the 'geographic' gene. The one that allows you to land pretty much anywhere and, with map in hand, find your way to pretty much anywhere else. And, once found, allows you to wander back to point A by a completely different route.

I'm a 'landmarker.' A person who studies landmarks. And not necessarily important ones. I look at houses, mailboxes, trees, garden gnomes, odd signs, shops, restaurants, etc. And I remember them. Sometimes, I even turn around to see what everything looks like from the other direction.

When your GPS unit is telling you, 'You have arrived at your destination,' and you're in the middle of a bridge when you wanted a movie theater, keep in mind that you probably drove right past the movie theater but you weren't paying attention. Because the GPS would get you there.

Construction traffic got a road blocked off and the GPS insists you turn into a crater in the road? Get out a map. Learn how to 'landmark.' You may think the GPS is helping you arrive unfrazzled at your destination, but you're missing the point. The point is to look around, get to know where you are. What's your position in space? If you remember passing a wonderful (fill in the blank) how will you find it again with a GPS if you don't know exactly where/what it is so you can tell the GPS where to take you?

Let's spend more time wandering aimlessly instead of just 'getting there.' We're all going to the same place in the end anyway, it's the journey there that's the adventure.

White Cedar Inn Bed and Breakfast 178 Main St Freeport, Maine 04032

(By the way, a lot of GPS units don't know there is a 'Lower Main St' and a 'Main St' here in town. So, if you find yourself sitting in front of Wilburs Chocolates when you meant to be here, don't say I didn't warn you. OTOH, if meant to find Wilburs and you find us instead, I'll give you a map and directions. And I won't say, 'Recalculating,' when I do so.

Life, The Universe and Everything.

Venus, located in Presque Isle

'Mostly Harmless' is the sole description of Earth given in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. 'Mostly Fun' is what this Earth-bound tour of the Universe is. If you're heading 'up north' this summer (Houlton and beyond on Rt 1) you'll want to keep a lookout for the largest 3 dimensional, scale model depiction of the Universe in, well, the Universe.

You can start with Pluto in Houlton at the Visitor Information Center. Yes, according to the good folks in Maine, Pluto is still a planet! (See our take on Pluto-as-planet.) If you're more of a sun-centric tourist, start at the University of Maine at Presque Isle where the whole project began.

The entire interplanetary tour will take you 40 miles along Rt 1 in Aroostock County. The majority of the planets are visible from the car. The exception being Pluto which is inside the info center in Houlton. (Who knew it was THAT small!) The sun is inside Folsom Hall at the university.

The route passes through several Maine towns and if you stop in Houlton first, you'll be able to get information as to the best places to stop and eat, stay and play. If you were planning to just go through Houlton into Canada, this is an easy, fun side trip even if you only see a couple of the planets! When friends and family ask what you did on vacation, you can casually comment that you had lunch under the rings of Saturn.

For more information on how the solar system model was built, check out the Maine Solar System Model page at the University of Maine at Presque Isle website.

White Cedar Inn Bed and Breakfast 178 Main Street Freeport, Maine 04032

The Ice Cream Truck

Did you grow up in a place that had an ice cream truck that went around your neighborhood? If ever there was a Pied Piper sound, it was the ding-ding of the ice cream truck. To this day, I still turn my head when I hear that sound.

It's not one I'm likely to hear where we live now, but that doesn't stop me from wanting to stand in line and get all excited about picking out my favorite ice cream when summertime hits! You might think that without the ice cream truck coming around, it could be hard to find ice cream in Freeport unless we went to the grocery store. Right there you would be wrong!

Without further ado, I suggest you bring your ice cream taste buds to Freeport and sample our local favorites as well as some national brands. Who really does have the best ice cream on Main Street?

We've got the spot where all the Little Leaguers go after games. The spot where the ice cream cognescenti gather. The spot that comes complete with classic cars. The spot that's so well hidden you might miss it.

Here then, in no particular order, is a mostly walkable list of ice cream highlights in Freeport, Maine where you can indulge your ice cream passion:

• Ben & Jerry's Scoop Shop - in Discovery Park (LL Bean)
• Hershey's Ice Cream- Main St, at Derosier's Market (where the Little Leaguers hang out)
• Gifford Ice Cream- Main St, lower level of the 9 West building (local favorite, well-hidden)
• Classic Custard- Rt 1 South, at Classic Cook Out, next door to Classic Convertibles (Flavor of the Day regularly sells out, so get there early!)
• McDonald's- Main St, near Friendly's
• Gelato Fiasco at Derosier
• Gelato at Fresh Batch

So, you decide...Moose Tracks? New York Super Fudge Chunk? Blueberry? Maine Lobster Trap? We've got them all right here in Freeport!

White Cedar Inn Bed and Breakfast 178 Main Street Freeport, Maine 04032

Mail Call on the Casco Bay

All aboard the mail boat out of Portland for the Casco Bay Islands! The ferry above plies the waters between Portland and Peaks Island. It berths just ahead of the mail boat at the Casco Bay Lines dock at the intersection of Franklin and Commercial Streets.

I've been wanting to head out on the mail boat for quite some time and yesterday was the day. Temps hit 81 (at 7 PM!) in downtown Portland but we were cool as cucumbers out on the bay! We headed out to catch the 2:45 PM mail boat run but had to make a quick detour to pick up some sunscreen (you definitely want this even if you plan to spend the entire 3 hours inside the ferry).

Parking is easy- right in the parking garage where the ferry terminal is housed. Mail Boat tickets are $14.50 for adults and $7.25 for children. (It's the best value for a 3 hour tour of the Casco Bay Islands that you'll find!)

First stop- Little Diamond Island! (At the ticket window you will get a map that shows the route and some history. During the trip out, the crew will let you know what islands you are passing and what islands they are stopping at and a bit of the history of the area.)


Looks like someone was getting a delivery of annuals for their garden! Potting soil and other gardening supplies were also in the mix. The crates are left on the dock, the owners come and claim their items and the empty crates are taken back on the next trip. It seems like a very efficient way to get your things delivered! (Everything is crated up by island at the pier in Portland.)

Chugging along at a nice pace we saw Fort Gorges just off the Portland coast. From the Fort, looking toward South Portland and Cape Elizabeth, you can see Bug Light, Spring Point Ledge Light and Portland Head Light in the distance. (The summer-only Bailey Island Day cruise is almost 6 hours long and gets closer to the lighthouses as well as having time to stop and dine on Bailey Island!)


Lucky Catch Lobster Tours has 1 or 2 trips in the summer out to Fort Gorges for hiking and picnicking.

Because we were still on high osprey alert from our trip to see the alewives this boat really caught our attention! That's an osprey nest at the top of the mast. We did see an osprey in a tree along the shoreline, so I suggest bringing binoculars and a telephoto lens if your camera has one.


I won't show everything we saw so you can have a great time discovering the islands of Casco Bay on your own! We stopped at 5 islands during our trip and at 1 of them again on the return trip. Ask at the ticket counter about leaving the boat and being picked up later on the return trip.

There are no food amenities on the mail boat so be sure to bring along a picnic lunch for the 10 AM run or some snacks for the 2:45 PM run. All that fresh air and sunshine makes you hungry! There is no smoking anywhere on the ferry.

I'll leave you with this last pic of a homesick sailor headed for shore. (And dinner at Becky's Diner!)


If you didn't bring along that picnic lunch or snacks, there are literally hundreds of restaurants just a short walk from the ferry. We can give you a Portland map before you head out. The mail boat is about 20 minutes south of here. There weren't any cruise ships in the harbor when we were there, but it's always a possibility to see one- they're HUGE!

White Cedar Inn Bed and Breakfast 178 Main St Freeport, Maine 04032

Blueberry Lemon French Toast - May Recipe of the Month

This is a sweet-tart breakfast sandwich that has a bit of a 'grown-up' flavor.

Ingredients:

2 slices of Italian bread per sandwich

1-2 tbsp lemon curd per sandwich

1/4 c blueberries per sandwich

butter for frying

maple syrup for serving

French toast egg batter: amounts will depend on number of servings you're making

2 eggs (will make 2 servings)

1/4 c half & half or heavy cream

pinch of cinnamon

dash of sugar

Assemble sandwiches by spreading lemon curd on one slice of bread for each sandwich. Top with blueberries and second slice of bread. Beat batter ingredients together in a shallow baking dish. Dip sandwiches in batter, coating both sides. Fry up on griddle or in pan with butter. Use high heat to crisp bread on both sides, then reduce heat to warm center. Flip sandwiches over again if sides are getting too dark.

Serve with warm maple syrup and peppered bacon!

Printable recipe page.

White Cedar Inn Bed and Breakfast 178 Main St Freeport, Maine 04032

The Alewives Come Back to Damariscotta

The sluice for diverting the fish

I've been hearing about the alewives running for a few years now. Never knowing exactly when this took place, I've kind of blown it off every year. This year, with grandson raring to go, off we went to Damariscotta Mills to find the fish.

A) This has to be one of the easiest places to find! B) Wow! C) I'm ready to go back for the festival (happens in May each year)!

The 'fish ladder' is comprised of many small pools climbing from Salt Bay to Damariscotta Lake. (See below for a link to the Damariscotta Mills alewives website.)

What was so amazing about the day were the birds. Basically, not knowing where to go, we followed the sounds of the gulls shrieking in the distance. There we saw this small grouping guarding one of the weirs. Every once in awhile, a gull would dip its head into the water and come up with an alewife which it promptly wiggled around until it could swallow it whole! We're talking a fish that's about 6-8" long!

Waiting for lunch to swim by

Most people who have been to any beach community are pretty inured to the gulls. They're everywhere...every lobster shack & McDonald's parking lot has them. No beach blanket outing is complete without gulls swooping in to steal whatever is left unguarded.

What was amazing about this location were the osprey. There weren't that many of them, but they are precise fishers. Sitting on the branch of a dead tree, an osprey would wait, wait, wait, and then swoop in and grab an alewife from the waters and take off with it clutched in its talons. It was a beautiful sight to see.

We watched for awhile and then headed across the road to see if we could find anything in the bay. Just standing there looking at the ducks, I was suddenly ducking as a fish flew through the air and landed 5 feet away on the shore! Looking up, wondering where the fish came from, I saw a bald eagle overhead being chased by the gulls. A bald eagle. Wow! Better still, a bald eagle that threw a fish at me!

The eagle circled for a little bit and then alit on a high branch of a white pine. We watched for awhile but it started to rain pretty heavily at that point so we headed for the car.

In one of the resting ponds on the ladder

The above is a shot of one of the pools. All of the darker coloration to the left is the school of fish we saw in that pool! Individual fish are visible if you look closely.

A definite recommendation if you are here in May-June. The Damariscotta Mills Fish Ladder organization keeps the website up to date with sightings and big schools. Check out all the slideshows from previous festivals and the building of the fish ladder. Directions for how to get there are on the home page.

After checking out the fish and the birds, head over to Damariscotta for oysters at King Eiders. Or, one of our favorites The Newcastle Publick House in Newcastle.

The 'people ladder' to walk around the lower pools. (The far walkway is private property.)

Private walkway

Damariscotta Mills is about a 45 minute drive from White Cedar Inn. Straight north on Rt 1 to Newcastle, then Rt 215 to the fish ladder.

White Cedar Inn Bed and Breakfast 178 Main St Freeport, Maine 04032
www.whitecedarinn.com