Marjorie Standish

Holiday Treats

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Time for holiday treats!  I’m not a baker by any means, so when I thought about posting a recipe for cookies or bars I wanted to find something with few ingredients and limited instructions.  Bingo ! Marjorie Standish saves the day again.  Here is her recipe for Quick Party Bars which is featured in her book Cooking Down East.  Enjoy. Quick Party Bars 1 stick margarine ½ cup light brown sugar 1 egg 1 teaspoon vanilla ½ cup flour ½ cup oatmeal 1 cup chocolate bits Nuts Cream shortening.  Add light brown sugar.  Add vanilla, egg and beat until light …

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Apple Crisp

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Fall is in the air and apple crisp should be in your oven on its way to the table.  Want a simple recipe from the best Maine cook book?  Here is the Marjorie Standish recipe from Cooking Down East. APPLE CRISP Place in buttered baking dish: 4 cups sliced apples Sprinkle with: 1 tsp cinnamon 1 tsp salt ¼ cup water Combine ¾ cup sifted all-purpose flour 1 cup sugar 1/3 cup butter Use pastry blender for mixing flour, sugar and butter. Turn mixture over apple slices.  Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.  Serve warm with cream, ice cream …

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Thanksgiving and Marjorie Standish

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Thanksgiving and Marjorie Standish.  While the two are not necessarily tied to each other, I do associate both of them with good comfort food.  So as Thanksgiving approaches, I will share with you Marjorie’s recipe for Baked Acorn Squash.  It’s about as simple and delicious as you can get.  It is also featured in the new book, Cooking Maine Style which is edited by Sandra Oliver and features classic recipes of Marjorie Standish.  You can check it out at the Gardiner Public Library. BAKED ACORN SQUASH Wash the squash, cut in half lengthwise, remove seeds using a spoon.  Wash once …

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Happy Birthday, Marjorie Standish!

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Did you know that a Gardiner kitchen was once every Maine kitchen?  From Biddeford to Boothbay, Waterville to Washington County, I’ve never known a Maine home that didn’t contain one or both (or multiple copies of each) of Marjorie Standish’s classic cookbooks, Cooking Down East and Keep Cooking – The Maine Way.   It may be old news to many, but it came as quite a wonderful surprise to me (and to many of those with whom I’ve recently shared my enlightenment) that Marjorie Standish lived, cooked, and wrote most of her famous cooking columns and recipes right here in …

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Salad Time!

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 Summer time is salad time . . . . and nothing beats the comfort foods of Maine like those featured in the cookbooks of Marjorie Standish.  Cooking Down East was published in 1969; Keep Cooking – The Maine Way was published in 1973.  Both books are available at the Gardiner Public Library.  Try the recipe that follows for macaroni salad or check out one of the titles to look for other down home comfort foods from Maine. MACARONI SALAD 2 cups elbow macaroni ½ cup mayo 1 tbl lemon juice 1 tsp salt 1 tsp sugar ¼ tsp diced pimiento …

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Summer ! Being outside ! Cook-outs !

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 And all hail to Marjorie Standish and her down-home Maine recipes.  Marjorie was a local resident who was the longtime food columnist for the Maine Sunday Telegram.  Her two books of collected recipes – Cooking Down East and Keep Cooking – The Maine Way – are both available to borrow from the Gardiner Public Library. Check out her delicious and classic recipes for:                 Melt-in-your-mouth blueberry cake                 Baked beans                 Barbecued chicken                 Dilled string beans                 Dump bars                 Baked stuffed lobster Now those would make a great cookout meal !