Dear Sun Spots: Yes, spring will be here eventually. As you are doing your spring cleaning please remember the Edward Little Music Association. We will be holding our annual garage sale the end of April. We are happy to pick up your no-longer-wanted items, in good, re-sale condition. If you have items you need picked up, please call 784-1497, leave a message and I will contact you. As always, we appreciate the communities’ help. – Kathy Talpey, Auburn.

Dear Sun Spots: Why did Matt Zidle move from Channel 13 to Channel 8? – P.L.B.

Answer: Channel 8, WMTW had an opening for a weatherman. Zidle applied and received the appointment.

Dear Sun Spots: I would like to obtain the recipes of two dishes that were featured on the Adelphia Food Channel on March 1 here in the Androscoggin area. They are a seafood jambalaya, and a sausage pie. – Fern Bosse, Poland.

Answer: Sun Spots located the following recipes:

Savannah seafood gumbo ingredients: ¼ cup oil, 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour, 2 cups onion, chopped, 1 cup green bell pepper, chopped, 1 cup celery, diced, 3 large garlic cloves, minced, 4 cups chicken broth, 1 tablespoon chicken base, 3 cups water, 2 bay leaves, 1½ teaspoons dried thyme, 1 teaspoon dried basil, 1/3 cup dried parsley, 1 teaspoon lemon pepper, ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper, 2 teaspoons house seasoning, (recipe follows), 2 tablespoons soy sauce or Worcestershire sauce, 1 (14½-ounce) can diced tomatoes seasoned with garlic, basil, and oregano or 2 cups fresh diced tomatoes, 4 cups sliced Cajun-style fresh link sausage, 4 cups cut okra (fresh or frozen), 2 cups oysters and liquor, ½ pound crabmeat, 1½ pounds fresh peeled shrimp, 3 cups bay scallops, file powder. Method: In a large pot combine oil and flour. Cook over medium heat stirring constantly until the roux has browned to a light chocolate color. Add onion, pepper, celery and garlic. Saute for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Slowly add chicken broth, and chicken base, stirring as you go. Add water, bay leaves, thyme, basil, parsley, lemon pepper, cayenne pepper, house seasoning, soy sauce and tomatoes. Cut sausage into ½-inch pieces. Add to pot along with okra. Cover pot and simmer for 1 to 1½ hours, stirring occasionally. Add oysters, crabmeat, shrimp and scallops. Simmer for an additional 15 minutes. Serve over hot buttered rice. Sprinkle with file powder on top of bowl and stir in.

Tip: Add file powder after putting gumbo into individual serving bowls. Adding file into the pot will make the gumbo too thick as file powder acts as a thickening agent.

House seasoning ingredients and method: 1 cup salt, ¼ cup black pepper, ¼ cup garlic powder. Mix ingredients together and store in an airtight container for up to 6 months. Yields 1 ½ cups.

Sausage pie ingredients: 1 pound ground sausage; 1/3 cup chopped onion; 1 tablespoon butter; ¾ cup milk; 1 (3-ounce) package cream cheese; 3 eggs; 1 cup shredded cheddar; ½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce; ½ teaspoon salt (use less if the sausage is salty); 1/8 teaspoon pepper; 1 (9-inch) deep-dish pie crust, partially baked and cooled. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Method: In a heavy skillet over medium heat, crumble the sausage with a fork. Sauté the sausage until completely cooked. Drain off the fat, remove the sausage, and set aside. Melt the butter in another skillet over medium heat. Saute the onions in the butter until tender. Add the milk and heat until steam rises, but do not boil the milk. Cut the cream cheese into small pieces, add it to the onion mixture, and remove the pan from the heat. In a large bowl, beat the eggs, then add the cheddar, the onion mixture, the Worcestershire, salt, and pepper. Mix thoroughly and pour this into the pie crust. Top with cooked sausage, and bake for 30 minutes, or until set.

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