Jami is the Communications Manager for the Maine Dairy & Nutrition Council and Maine Dairy Promotion Board, based in Augusta. When she is not at her desk she is out visiting some of the 304 dairy farms in the state, talking to farmers and taking pictures of dairy cows. Rough life, right? She also has a small farm of her own, on which she raises sheep and a few other critters, and has been involved in agriculture on one form or another all her life. So, when she had the opportunity to go to work for Maine dairy farmers, you bet she jumped on it!

Jami loves to cook and bake, especially when she can use Maine ingredients. She hardly ever follow a recipe but uses them as inspiration and rarely makes the exact same thing twice – unless it’s baked apples with homemade caramel sauce (those are just too good not to have as often as possible). Dairy is one of those staples that she throws into almost everything she cooks, whether in the form of milk, cream, butter, butter milk, yogurt, cheese, cream cheese, or even just a scoop of ice cream or cinnamon yogurt on top of those baked apples (we’ll get to that recipe someday). Dairy is one of the easiest ingredients to find locally, it’s always in season, and it goes with everything. She’s gotta say— she does so appreciate those cows.

As she travels around the state, she hopes to bring the stories of Maine’s dairy farm families to you and share a few of their favorite dishes, or come up with some of her own that she will painstakingly attempt to measure out the ingredients for and write down every step. She asks that you bear with her. She prefers to use the dite, dab and dobby method rather than teaspoons, tablespoons, cups, etc., and will leave much up to personal preference.