Tidbits

Visit the farms

Think you’re out of luck when it comes to getting fresh Maine meats and cheese now that the farmers market season is long over? Think again – Appleton Creamery and Terra Optima will host the 7th annual two-day holiday sale of their delicious products from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 6 and 7, at 980 Gurney Town Road in Appleton. The two neighboring farms make fine goat and sheep cheeses and raise grass-fed pork and beef, respectively. In addition to meats and cheese, the farm sale will offer chutneys and crackers from Half Moon Farm of Montville, Apo Chromata fiber products from Appleton, Sisters Soap goat-milk soaps, Guinea Ridge Farm lamb products, and, new this year, chocolates from Black Dinah Chocolatiers in Isle au Haut and breads and sweets from Fire Fly Farm in St. Albans. For more info, call Terra Optima at 785-3118.

Celebrate repeal

This Friday, Dec. 5, marks the 75th anniversary of the repeal of the amendment that outlawed alcohol in the United States. Prohibition, the ban on booze that lasted from 1919 until 1933, was responsible for much of the pop mythology that has sprung up around the consumption of alcohol – from speak-easies and bathtub gin, to favorite old-school drinks like the Manhattan, the Sidecar and the ever-popular martini. During the 1920s, Maine was a haven for rum-runners, who found the nooks and crannies of the state’s rocky coast perfect for hiding as they ferried illegal alcohol around New England. Prohibition was responsible for much of the warring voices regarding alcohol consumption in this country, as well as the still-confusing laws about the shipping of alcohol across state lines. This weekend, wine connoisseurs, beer lovers and cocktail fans can once again celebrate the repeal, which, as President Franklin D. Roosevelt said at the time, constituted a “return of individual freedom.” For more information, go to www.repealday.org, or visit the Repeal Day site sponsored by Dewar’s Scotch, www.dewarsrepealday.com.

Oh, deer meat

The regular firearm hunting season in Maine is over, and you either walked away with enough venison to fill your freezer and then some, or you probably know someone who did. Either way, we want to know your favorite recipes for cooking deer meat. Got a special kind of venison burger? A mean spice rub for venison steaks? Venison chili? The possibilities are endless. Send an e-mail to eburnham@bangordailynews.net, and we’ll run a few of your suggestions at a later date. And if you’re one of those hunters who sadly did not bag a deer this year, well then, we’re sorry – better luck next year.