SKORDO Kitchen

Curry originates in India, and refers to a complex combination of spices & herbs, usually incorporating turmeric, cumin, coriander, ginger, and dried chilies. It’s a beautiful way to capture the essence of each home, as curry can vary so much from one person's interpretation to the next.

If you want to make authentic Asian food, chances are you’ll need to source some specialty ingredients. Lucky for us, there are just over a dozen international markets within the Portland peninsula. Portland Food Map does a great job highlighting the locations of the city's various markets, but specialty shops typically do the best business by word of mouth. I can’t speak for everyone, but I personally feel more confident trying somewhere new if I'm able to do some research to get a feel of what to expect. To help with this, I ventured out to two different Asian markets in Portland: Sun Oriental on Congress Street & Halmuman Meanchey on Forest Ave. These were the most accessible markets for me when considering location, hours, and variety. 

Cherie Scott is a bright spot in Maine’s food scene. Her love of food and passion for home cooking is inspired by her two homes: Mumbai, India and Boothbay, Maine. The result is a culinary blend that manages to be both deeply rooted and expansive. Her blog, Mumbai to Maine highlights family recipes and gives us a glimpse into her home kitchen where she cooks alongside her kids and husband. The blog also features her latest venture: Maine’s Bicentennial Food Podcast. Each podcast episode is an interview with a chef, entrepreneur or scientist telling their Maine food adventure.

This time last year I flipped on Netflix clicked on Ugly Delicious and watched Dave Chang and Chrissy Teigen meander through the markets of Marrakech. Within the month we’d booked flights and scheduled a meet for our own Moroccan adventure. Dad and Penny would fly down from London and we’d meet for four days in Marrakech then Eric and I would head to the coast for a few days of surfing and we’d round out the trip in the Sahara. Turns out the actual schedule was a bit modified due to head colds and belly aches, but we still managed to hit the city, the beach and the desert. Along the way we ate great food and I fell hard for the colors and flavors of Morocco.

It wasn’t until I decided to turn to a vegetarian diet that I discovered all the varieties, tastes, and opportunities that come from properly using mushrooms! When the location and weather allow, I will even forage to find some really tasty options for my mushroom recipes. If you are interested in foraging, you should definitely take a foraging class - never pick and eat something you don’t know what it is. I went with North Spore and have since been able to find chanterelles, chaga, and chicken of the woods right here in greater Portland! 

While everyone shows up ready to root for one team or the other, there is no debate that the food is truly the highlight of every game day. The right snacks will put all rivalries aside - it's all about finding the perfect bite to grab between plays. 

Our latest ingredient, Masala Chai, is based on Cari Karonis’ at home recipe for chai. Cari is a founder of SKORDO and coffee enthusiast. She’s been making a version of this blend for years and the decision to add it to our collection was a long time coming.

Apple picking is a standalone season in Maine. It comes on fast, but you know it’s arrived when social feeds fill up with picking portraits featuring flannels and LL Bean boots. We flock to pick-your-own orchards promising this is the year we’re going to use every single apple!

One Thanksgiving break in college I went to San Miguel de Allende as a nanny.  At home the kiddos were on a very strict diet and I was a college student eating quick simple meals, but on this trip we all indulged. We were away for three weeks and I came home with a changed gut biome.

It turns out, my garden isn’t doing so well this year. The sugar snap pea harvest was great. The herbs are full-on and an entire bed has gone wild with self-seeded sunflowers, cosmos, and cilantro stealing the show. Sounds decent, but my tomatoes never grew beyond seedlings, the squash keeps throwing flowers but no fruit, and both the beets and carrots have given up – they’ve just stopped growing. So how does my garden grow? Let’s call it a work in progress.

I spent a few years living and working on sailboats full time. My job was to cook for the owners, their friends, and occasionally racing crew. Learning how to provision, meal plan and use every little bit of food onboard was a gift and it taught me how to thoughtfully blend fresh and preserved foods. Turns out, that skill comes in handy every time I open my fridge and feel like there’s nothing to eat.

A few nights back I brought home two pounds of mussels and two pounds of tuna steaks for a celebratory dinner. My husband and I had just put a house under contract earlier that morning (fingers crossed!) and our good friends had just listed theirs in anticipation for a move up the coast. We figured a nice seafood spread was the perfect way to round out the day. Baked sweet potato fries, a hearty loaf of bread and a salad topped with citrus complimented the fish and we made sure the white wine was flowing.