I'll admit it. When I was young I loved the port wine cheeseball my mother would make for holiday parties. She served it along with Ritz crackers and I couldn't get enough.

I have made several versions in my lifetime and this year the flavors of mascarpone, a creamy Italian cream cheese, and chocolate came together with delicious results that I'm hapy to share here:

I've been hard at work on my latest cookbook and I'm baking desserts like a fiend. After writing down 157 recipes — some of which have been saved for later entries — I came to a fun realization: Having a well-stocked pantry allows you to whip up that birthday cake for a friend, cupcakes for your child's class, biscuits for supper or a special goodie tray for the bake sale — all without heading to the market for ingredients!

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My Sweetheart Sherwood rode in the Tour de Farms a couple of weeks ago. He biked 100 — yes, one hundred — miles! And all this on very little training (we had just reached our 1000 mile mark on our tandem, but only in 10-, 20-, 30- and 40-mile increments!) and we had been swing dancing the night before. Three hours of sleep was all the rest

The companionship of wonderful people was matched only by the brilliance of the vistas on the route for the Tour de Farms bike ride this year. The Morris Farm Trust had their annual fundraising event October 18th in Wiscasset. Folks came from miles around to ride their bikes from farm to farm, enjoying the scenery and the samples of each farm's fare during 8-, 20-, 50- and 100-mile rides through Lincoln County. My husband Sherwood completed his first century in 7 1/2 hours! The 100 mile ride (century

Apples and Pears are ripe and delicious. It's time to go picking. I've had a hankerin' for this pear soup. It's thicker than most bisques with the pulp of the fruit left in the soup. Of course, you could use apples instead of pears if you have apples on hand.

We talked about apples, squash and poultry at the last Aspiring Locavore class at the Morris Farm. A gal from Alna brought some honey crisps and macouns from

Crisp, chilly mornings make it so nice to snuggle down into the blankets but getting out into the sunshine and taking a quick bike around Great Salt Bay make the mornings even better. Some of the trees are starting to turn and the farmer's market is brimming with veggies. Around here, that means it's time to start making soup.

Catch Rob Caldwell and me making this soup together on 207, October 1 at 7 p.m. on WCSH6.

With all of the lovely winter squash that is available, this

I was up to Morse's Sauerkraut last weekend and had lunch with my sweetheart. We shared a reuben and some deep fried kraut balls. The dessert special was pannacotta with a sour cherry sauce. What a delicious treat! We try to get up to their shop whenever we can and fitting a meal into the trip makes it all worthwhile. Their sauerkraut is the best in the world. The folks who work in both the shop and bistro are knowledgeable and friendly. Definitely go when you are hungry. Stop by the cheese counter