Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Going natural for the Portland Press Herald

As a professional scribe, I now have a new gig. I'm working for the Portland Press Herald's features department and one of my assignments is to write a weekly column called Natural Foodie. I began my inaugural column with a reference to my early days on the commune turned organic farm, so I thought I'd share a vintage photo with you.

This was shot in 1975 on Sunshine Farm and I'm standing in front of the newly constructed pig pen. It was the shelter given to a whole series of pigs, including the one I caught in a pig scramble at the Litchfield Country Fair, raised as a friend and later was asked to eat a slice of for dinner. As I said in the column, this is why my mother thinks I became a vegetarian.

While that and a series of other up-close-and-personal food encounters on the farm may have been traumatic at the time, they ultimately proved beneficial in nudging me toward the many delights of plant-based cuisine.

Such as these tasty samosas from Tandoor in the Old Port, which I mention in the column's sidebar that lists my lunches from last week.

My choice to eat plants rather than flesh has also introduced me to a whole bunch of fellow vegetarians, including members of the fast-growing Maine Vegan Meetup. Here we are enjoying lunch at the always packed and super vegan-friendly Silly's in the East End.

So if you're a fan of natural eats, be sure to pick up a copy of the Press Herald every Wednesday. And should you have news to share from Maine's healthful food scene, give me a ring at 791-6297 or drop me an email.

5 comments:

Kate. said...

Congrats on your new column, Avery. I look forward to reading even more food related articles in the PPH.

Chelsea Holden Baker said...

Avery- It sounds like the column suits you- and way to freshen up the PPH pages! I'll be following that sidebar of lunches! Best of luck.

Bianca said...

Congrats on the new gig! That picture of you at Sunshine Farm is plumb-freakin-adorable!

Anonymous said...

We're so very happy to have your column in the PPH now, it was very much needed !

Meg Wolff said...

I now have a reason to read the Food section again.

Silly's is a great place for a veg meet-up.