by Chris Chase
Coastal Journal staff

Although I don’t eat red meat all that often, every once in awhile I have an incredible urge for a piece of steak. And just a piece of steak. No frills, no sauce, no veggies, just a big hunk of meat. But, living in a small apartment with no patio and no real access to a grill, cooking a steak became a dilemma for me. I knew I could cook a steak in a pan, but most people I’ve talked to see that as some sort of terrible crime. Well the truth is, it’s anything but, and if you give this cooking method a try, you’ll see why. 

Now this method was not invented by me. There are a number of chefs that are much more accomplished than my “putting other stuff in ramen makes it fancy, right?” self who have made this recipe possible. The best advice I’ve found comes from Heston Blumenthal, who has a fantastic video online outlining this method with more detail than I can give. If you’re sick of reading my ramblings, I urge you to look it up. 

by Diana von Hallett
Coastal Journal contributor

WEST BATH — The Women’s Alliance of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Brunswick (UUCB) is putting on an Empty Bowl Supper to benefit The Gathering Place and Meals on Wheels May 11, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at West Bath Fire Department Hall, 192 State Rd. (Old Route One) in West Bath. 

Empty Bowl suppers were started by The Imagine Render Group and are held all over the country to fight hunger and homelessness. After the meal, diners take the bowls home with them to keep as a reminder of all the empty bowls in the world.

At the UUCB dinner, diners will choose and purchase a handmade bowl for $15, then fill it from an array of soups, chowders, chilies, breads, and salads – all included in the price of the bowl. Children under 5 can eat free of charge in their own bowl brought from home, or one of a few bowls in the West Bath Fire Department kitchen. Diners can refill their bowl as many times as they like at no extra charge. After the meal, the bowls will be washed, and diners get to keep their bowls.

by Pam Wischkaemper
Coastal Journal contributor

As a grandparent of a teenager and twin pre-teens, gifts for special occasions are often a problem. Desperately trying to think of something fun to do to celebrate their spring birthdays, food came to mind. All three are avid watchers of “DC Cupcakes” and “Cupcake  Wars” on the food channel. Cupcakes seemed the ideal choice, but not in the usual sense that we would bake them. We were going on a cupcake crawl of New York City. But before you blurt out, “Are you kidding me?”, cupcake crawls can take place anywhere you want them to. Portland is a perfect local choice; if you want something a bit more exotic, try Boston. Here’s how it works:

For your list of possibilities, head to Google. Find a list of the top six or seven cupcake shops in the area you have chosen for your crawl. Once you have the names and locations, print a map. My suggestion is you keep the crawl walkable; remember all those calories. 

With the list and directions in hand, set some ground rules. We were five people visiting six shops. By birth order, oldest picked the cupcakes in the first shop and it moved down the order. In the end, each girl got to pick the cupcakes in two shops. We carried napkins and plastic knives to make the division of the cupcakes into five tasting pieces easier. After tasting the cupcakes, hold a discussion about what you like or dislike.