1 Jul 2024 - Happy Canada Day! Lunch at Greg, Dianne and her sister Georgette

 

Our last day in Aroostook County.  Dianne and Greg invited us down for our last lunch together on this trip and some traditional Maine / Acadian treats!  Dianne had the rotisserie going with a chicken roasting and ribs cooking.  She prepared a delicious shredded potato-cheese bake topped with bacon.  On the stove we had some fiddleheads cooking and Dianne's sister Georgette prepared some ployes!  

Chef Dianne at the rotisserie!

Gordon Ramsey would serve this in his restaurants!!

Fiddleheads are the coiled tips of young ostrich ferns that grow near Maine lakes and streams in the Apr-May timeframe depending on when the snow melts. Because they must be picked before they unfurl into the large fronds of the fern, their fiddlehead-picking season is just four to six weeks long.  Fiddlehead harvesting is a Maine tradition.  Many Mainers can recall the time-honored family tradition of fiddleheadin’ with their parents and grandparents, and it has become a cherished springtime ritual. 

Today we got to sample this Maine delicacy.  Fiddleheadin' reminds me of  mushroomin' back in Iowa.  No one will tell you where they go to get them! It's a closely guarded secret! Unlike our morel mushroom, fiddleheads must be cleaned and recleaned, then they are usually par-boiled, quickly cooled and frozen for future use.  They are delicious, with a woodsy taste like asparagus, spinach and mushrooms combined. They are high in vitamins A and C, rich with assorted minerals and low in calories.  I was brought up eating asparagus, spinach and mushrooms, so I really enjoyed the fiddleheads!

  

Ployes:  I described ployes a couple days ago when our campground owner brought over a couple for us to try.  Today Dianne's sister Georgette joined us for lunch and she is a master of the ployes! They are a French-Acadian flatbread that originated in Nova Scotia and are popular in Maine and New Brunswick. They are made from a batter of buckwheat flour, whole-wheat flour, baking powder, and water, and are often compared to pancakes or crepes, but are different from both.  A premix is sold in all the stores up here, but it is the extra ingredients, the consistency of the batter and how they are cooked that makes the difference.  

Georgette showed us how she prepares her batter, with a mix of water and evaporated milk.  She said it is to be mixed until the sound it makes is like "ploye, ploye, ploye"!

  

Once the batter is ready, a cast iron skillet or flat iron is prepared with a little Crisco and it has to be hot.  Our campground owner said 400F degrees.  The ployes batter is ladled onto the skillet and it will be very thin, unlike a pancake.  It will bubble and will brown on the bottom.  Some people don't flip them over, but Georgette does.  

She applies butter, then rolls them up to eat. 

Some people use cinnamon sugar, some use maple syrup, and some use molasses.  

Her ployes were wonderful!  We each had a couple of them.  Greg says he likes them with a beef roast and he will dip them into the au jus.  Thank you, Georgette, for preparing them today and for your company!  It was great to see you again!

Words cannot describe how thankful we are to have had the opportunity to reconnect with Greg and Dianne Noskowiak.  We've had a fantastic time here seeing our dear friends and reminiscing about the old times in Maine and later in Wisconsin.  Greg and Dianne are like family to us - we love them so much. It is sad to leave them knowing we have so many miles separating us, but we will have to rely on phone calls and social media to stay in touch until we meet again! 

Tomorrow morning we pull chocks, departing "The County" and head down Route 1 to the "Downeast" area of Maine and the Hilltop Campground near Robbinston, just south of Calais.  Another Air Force buddy Chuck "Chick" McCoubrey and his spouse Joanne live a short distance from there in Meddybemps Maine.  They have invited us on a road trip on Wednesday to explore the coast!