Please help our local Maine lobstermen

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Originally Posted by ProdigalLobster

Maybe someone should do a Maine dairy cookbook, too? I'd like one of each, please... though, being slightly lactose intolerant, I should probably stick to the lobster cookbook.

I emailed her a couple of independent booksellers in my area, & hope the endeavor is a big success!

My Grandmother grew up in the depression with 6 other sisters and a dad who died when she was 2 months old. They survived by getting the food other people would not eat. Food like beef heart. She has a recipe for baking beef heart in milk. It was her mother's recipe devised out of sheer need. She needed the girls to eat the only food she had and had to cook something they hated in a delightful way.

Incidentally I do not mean to sound overly dramatic. There have been tough times in Maine in the past too. I tell this story only because it shows that creativity comes out of necessity. That generation commands of lot of respect for me.

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Originally Posted by ProdigalLobster

Is anyone else a "Maine snob"? LOL... I don't know a better term for it, though it's not so much out of snobbery as out of pride for my home state. I won't buy Canadian lobster, Idaho or California potatoes, or anything made from wild blueberries that don't clearly say they are from Maine. I also buy Kate's homemade butter from OOB at least 1/2 the time (used to buy it 100% of the time, but it's more expensive & I'm an amateur hobby baker now).

Just thought of a gourmet market here that also markets cookbooks & has a cooking school with lots of guest speakers & instructors... I'll email her a link to that as well.

No you are not the only one. I do likewise.

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Originally Posted by Fort Lauderdale mermaid

I certainly understand your position here. That fact is that many Mainers work very hard laborious jobs in the roughest conditions. More so than in many other states. I strongly admire and respect what you do everyday. I understand that you too have a very time consuming job. The economy has not been easy in your industry either. It's truly sad that the dairy farms have not been able to stay afloat. My grandfather owned a rather substantial dairy farm in Winslow with several hundred acres.

In all honesty however, most of the lobstermen I know will move their gear further out rather than take it in. They can't afford to stop fishing, yet the elements off way shore are all the more harsh. The fishermen I know and there are many up and down the entire coast of Maine will not sit back on their laurels and take the winter off. They work construction - outside. They plow driveways or pick up other types of side work to get them through the winter. Pity is the last thing any true fishermen would want. They just would like to make an honest days pay for an honest days work. They would like to at least be able to cover their overhead.

I'm not asking anyone to do anything other than submit a recipe to a cookbook. Thanks for your candor.

Thanks for not getting upset. My post was not meant to, just to show that there is another side to the equation.

The wife I have now is also from the coast and we probably have 10-15 family members on the water every day, and since they live on Metinicus they have it tougher then some lobstermen. (Not as bad as off-shore lobstermen though).

The lobster in the picture was nabbed off Metinicus Rock incidentally when I fished off Criehaven Island. Pictures of that place can be seen here...

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[Elcarim]

Wow, Criehaven Island is a beautiful place to call home! Those are stunning pics!