The Gentleman Farmer in Maine

The Gentleman Farmer in Maine Country life is perfect for Jonathan and Stacy as they enjoy a gentleman’s farm in Maine Come play with us!

Country life is right up Jonathan's alley as he finds adventures in creative engineering projects, gardening, grape vines, baking, landscaping, & puttering about the farm.

The tomatoes are just fabulous this year - presumably as a result of all the hot sunny weather we’ve had. It’s been a ch...
09/07/2026

The tomatoes are just fabulous this year - presumably as a result of all the hot sunny weather we’ve had. It’s been a challenge to make sure they’ve had enough moisture to stay healthy, without watering so much that we split the fruit. A fine line, as it were.

I’ve probably mentioned it before, but there has been speculation here that my middle initial (C) stands for Caprese, as it’s apt to show up on the table several times a week this time of year. We’ve been alternating mozzarella fresca with burrata, and of course, having several varieties of tomatoes keeps it from getting too predictable.

More good things from the vegetable garden: beautiful borlotti beans (also known in some parts as cranberry beans). With...
09/04/2026

More good things from the vegetable garden: beautiful borlotti beans (also known in some parts as cranberry beans). With the lack of rain and hot sunshine, this was a good season to let some of them dry in their pods. They are particularly good in Pasta e Fagioli and I’ve added a bit of fennel sausage to this one - ostensibly because we’ve had several discussions lately about protein intake, but primarily because I love the richness it imparts.

Somehow, we’ve managed to grow the most glorious eggplants this year. This one ended up in a batch of Sicilian caponata ...
09/03/2026

Somehow, we’ve managed to grow the most glorious eggplants this year. This one ended up in a batch of Sicilian caponata - made using a recipe given to rachel by her Sicilian mother-in-law. Caponata is one of those all-purpose foods that is delicious eaten warm or cold, on its own, or on crusty bread, pasta, fish, or chicken.

For us, I think the key to growing decent eggplants (and, frankly, tomatoes, and peppers) has involved the use of large pots. With our long cold winters, it takes ages for the soil in the garden to warm up in the spring, and the soil in the pots warms up much faster. And what plant wouldn’t be happy in home of gorgeous Italian terracotta?

Making rosehip jelly today. It always feels like a bit of a homage to my mother, as she would make it most years - gathe...
08/31/2026

Making rosehip jelly today. It always feels like a bit of a homage to my mother, as she would make it most years - gathering rosehips along the shore at Ocean Point just as I do now. The hips seem unusually large this year and, if I had to guess, I’d say they’ve ripened a couple of weeks earlier than the norm. I typically use a few pounds of apples in the jelly to give it a bit more body, and, because they’re still a bit green, I suspect they provide a bit of natural pectin as well. As you can see, the jelly’s got a glorious color, and I imagine it will look pretty cheerful on my toast in a few months as the winter sun streams in to the diningroom.

Spending a few days at the cottage, blending dog walks along the shore and reading on the porch with the somewhat tediou...
08/29/2026

Spending a few days at the cottage, blending dog walks along the shore and reading on the porch with the somewhat tedious task of reglazing a dozen 148-year-old windows. We’ve tried pretty hard to maintain the historic fabric of the structure, and the old wavy glass in the windows always seems to add measurably to the character of the place. Working in these surroundings, though, really makes it feel like it’s not that much of a chore…

We travelled to Liguria last night, at least in spirit, with a batch of homemade pasta with basil pesto, as well as tend...
08/27/2026

We travelled to Liguria last night, at least in spirit, with a batch of homemade pasta with basil pesto, as well as tender beans and small potatoes, fresh from the garden. The pasta was a new one for me - Sugeli - found via that font of information Pasta Grannies and quite possibly the easiest to form into shape of any I’ve encountered. I’m a big fan of making pesto the old-fashioned way - with a mortar and pestle - but there’s still an ongoing debate here as to whether it actually tastes better that way or it’s just my luddite tendencies showing through.

A few snapshots of life here at Mossy Ledge Farm as we head into this last week of August. The sun is setting earlier, t...
08/25/2026

A few snapshots of life here at Mossy Ledge Farm as we head into this last week of August. The sun is setting earlier, the nights are cooler, and we’ve been eating from the garden almost every night lately (tomatoes, beans, zucchini, etc.). I expect aubergines and perhaps borlotti beans will be on the menu by the weekend. The hydrangeas are magnificent this year, and go so nicely in a vase with the black-eyed susans, coneflowers, phlox and liatris.

The peaches have been literally raining off the trees. Pie yesterday, jam this morning, and many more opportunities to c...
08/20/2026

The peaches have been literally raining off the trees. Pie yesterday, jam this morning, and many more opportunities to come. So many of you have been extremely generous in sharing ideas in the past - we’d love to hear your favorite way to use this lovely bounty.

When life gives you plums… it turns out you have quite a number of options. I opted for jam.
08/17/2026

When life gives you plums… it turns out you have quite a number of options. I opted for jam.

Well, here we are at mid-August. You can tell by the sounds of the insects and the birds, and the angle of the sun as it...
08/15/2026

Well, here we are at mid-August. You can tell by the sounds of the insects and the birds, and the angle of the sun as it makes its daily round. The dog and the cats have been living their best lives - lots of napping in the shade and occasional rambles around the lawn.

It feels a bit like it’s snuck up on me (although I have to confess that it feels like that almost every summer). There are never quite enough weekends this time of year - I think that two per week would be a better arrangement, if someone can look into that for me.

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197 Lewis Hill Road
Bowdoin Center, ME
04287

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+12077510674

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