Crave: a food and drink blog

Chimichurri and the Portsmouth Spring Restaurant Ritual.  Every year as the seasons change I leave my Northern weekend ski ‘home’ in the White Mountains and return back to the civilization of the Seacoast. Something about Mud Season/Spring and it’s longer, sunnier (but not a heck of a lot warmer) days makes me want to wander the streets of Portsmouth and explore the culinary scene once again. This is especially true after spending short, cold days skiing and gorging on mediocre pub food as far as the eye can see. I want a truffle, a micro green (actually anything green) and preferably not one that’s been deep fried. And so begins my Portsmouth Spring restaurant exploration ritual, where I make the rounds of Portsmouth’s finest, and remember why I love the area.

The Farmer and the Spreadsheet--
One reason I started a new career in farming was to get away from sitting in front of a computer all day in my other career as a software developer.  Little did I know farmers use computers too.  Since I've committed to growing food for 40 families or shares in my CSA program, I need a plan.

 After all, failing to plan is a plan to fail.  A spreadsheet program can be used by farmers to figure out how to plan the growing season.  Start with how much food is in a share, multiply by the number of shares, add 50% for bad weather, pests, etc. 

Rich Collins blogs about wine--I’m in the wine industry, and I listen to people. And I’m not just playing lip service here folks - I really do listen.  And the question I hear the most?

Organic Farming on the Seacoast---Andy Gagnon here, and I'll be writing a blog about being an organic farmer on the Seacoast.  I'm a New Hampshire native, and attended UNH, studying Electrical Engineering.  In pursuing a career in software engineering, I moved to the West Coast, living in California and Oregon for a total of 14 years where I saw the explosion of the organic food movement.  When I moved back to New England, I noticed a distinct lack of available organic produce, and so after 20 years computer work I've decided to have a more balanced life, pursuing a new career in organic farming.  I worked one summer in the gardens at Arrows Restaurant in Ogunquit, ME, and also started growing and selling my own greens at farmers' markets.  I still work as a web site developer in the

Welcome to Crave, Seacoastonline.com's food and drink blog. Each day we'll have exciting updates from Seacoast experts in the food world--the people who grow our food, pour our wine, study the best vintages, and the chefs who create the dishes we dine on in our fine restaurants. You'll meet folks who want to only eat local and learn about their triumphs and trials. We'll find out what it takes to produce local wine or that new seasonal appetizer and take a look at my own blog feature, What's in Your Fridge? It's a candid look in words and pics at what local luminaries have in their refrigerators. Please feel very free to post your comments as we  go along. That's what makes Crave a true local foodie experience.