During the cold, wet days of the past several months, residents on Swan’s Island stayed indoors to cook. The “Swan’s Island Cooks” have swapped stories with their neighbors over steaming plates of a lentil, rice and caramelized onion dish called mujaddara. They have shucked clams, baked holiday bread, made pickled beets, and learned how to prepare a variety of dishes in this casual cooking series initiated by Island Institute Fellow, Meghan Vigeant.
As Marion Stinson’s May 28 class on corned hake brings the nine-month cooking series to an end, residents hope to relive the experience next fall. They will only need someone to lead the charge.
“I think it would be great if they could continue it,” said Vigeant, who will be completing her two-year fellowship in the fall.
Vigeant said she started the Swan’s Island Cooks to bring people together during long, cold winter days. Island life can be lonely and quiet, she said, and the thought of bringing people together around the subject of food just seemed natural.
“I thought people might enjoy it,” she said, adding that she was inspired by some of the side projects other Island Institute fellows were involved in. She also thought it would be a good way for her to get to know people.
“It was about people coming together, sharing what they know about food and having a good time,” she said.
There was no “local food” agenda, she said, but added, “If that happens, great.” Participating residents have learned a number of recipes and culinary techniques from other parts of the globe as well as from just down the road. George Anderson’s class on the preparation of clams was a hit, according to Vigeant and some others. People learned how to shuck and to steam clams in different ways, as well as how to prepare Clams Casino.
The island cooking series covered a number of topics: how to make pickled beets; elements of a Georgian feast; holiday breads for an Italian/Cuban Christmas; the widely versatile tofu for sandwiches, wraps and curried dishes; a Middle East meal that included how to make pita bread, hummus and the mujaddara; and recipes on everything from Danish aebleskivers to maple syrup cake in a class called “Mostly Maple.” The slots were all filled up for a course on chocolates with Kate Schaffer of Isle au Haut’s Black Dinah Chocolatier, as well as for Stinson’s corned hake class.
Vigeant said she sought out cooking class ideas that focused on local food, but it was not a requirement. Not all of the recipes have necessarily been healthy, either. She said she is looking forward to the class on corned hake, which calls for salting the fish and then serving it with bacon. Vigeant said she has tried corned hake and that it is delicious.
“George Anderson’s clam recipes were absolutely wonderful,” Beverley McAloon said.
She taught her neighbors how to make khachapuri, a bread that is similar to pizza and favored by many people in the Eastern European country of Georgia. She said she did not cook an egg on top of the bread, as do many Georgians, but did use a special kind of cheese called sulaguni.
McAloon could not recall missing a single class and has enjoyed the experience. She was not sure if the course would continue without Vigeant to take the lead. Many of the participants have come to live on the island year-round from other areas of the country. She would have liked to have seen more islanders get involved, but has enjoyed sharing recipes and stories with those who did.
“We’ve all enjoyed it,” McAloon said.
Vigeant created a blog, “Swan’s Island Cooks and the Sumptuous Seaweed,” where the recipes for each class are available. On this site, visitors can read up on all the fun and see numerous pictures. The site also hosts an excellent video on the process of making maple syrup.
John Maguire is a freelance writer living in Whitefield. His mother Anne Marie Maguire is a resident of Swan’s Island.