If you happen to scroll through the comments — along with the daily menu postings – on Forage Market’s Facebook page, I am pretty sure one of two things will happen: Either your stomach will soon be growling or you’ll actually be headed down to its 180 Lisbon St. location for breakfast, lunch or perhaps dinner. If you’d rather, you could wait for Saturday and check out their brunch menu.

Co-owner Cody LaMontagne is one of the most enthusiastic cooks I’ve ever met. While only in her 30s, her retro-style floral aprons help her take on the persona of the quintessential grandmother: kindly nurturing, welcoming one and all, and ultra friendly and amicable.

“My favorite thing to do every day is to wake up and start cooking,” she shared good-naturedly. When I told her she looked like she should be cooking in front of an old-fashioned, wood-burning stove, she laughed and said she actually has three antique cast-iron stoves tucked into what she considers a small home in Sumner.

For our readers, LaMontagne shared recipes for a couple of summer sauces — “for all those herbs you don’t know what to do with!” — along with an easy, fun, grilled feta bruschetta that will also be useful for using up the last of your summer veggies.

Her foray into the world of cooking and catering began seven years ago when she prepared the food for her own wedding. Catering the wedding events for a few friends soon followed. Knowing of LaMontagne’s interest in food and her ever-present love of feeding people, a co-worker suggested she talk with Allen Smith — the owner of the building Forage is in and a former farmer-turned-baker — who was searching for a cooking-inclined partner.

Together, they renovated the space, keeping it light and airy. The two-story shop combines old elements, such as the stairway railing made from recycled elevator parts, and new, like a huge, wood-fired oven built on the basement level that gets fired up to 800 degrees each morning by Smith.

First to come out of the oven each morning are the Forage bagels. Hand-rolled by Smith, they are proofed, boiled and dipped in seeds. Their bagels are well-loved and are considered by some to be the most authentic in Maine. In addition to offering an array of cream cheeses and other toppings, LaMontagne said a popular request is a smoked whitefish salad (a traditional Jewish delicacy that is “a bit salty but not too fishy,” she said) topped with tomatoes and greens.

Once the oven cools down a few hundred degrees, the fresh-baked bagels are followed by loaves of sandwich bread and rolls, which are used during the day for a sandwich menu that changes daily. Recent offerings included a BLT with Wee Bit Farm’s bacon, roasted tomato aioli and local greens and tomatoes, and wood-fired local chicken salad, with an herbed ravigote sauce and locally grown greens. Average sandwiches cost $5.95 to $7.95.

LaMontagne offers a daily vegetarian option, too, noting that a few local vegetarians were happy this past week to have a sietan version of a Reuben sandwich, topped with Swiss cheese, home-made Thousand Island dressing and fried (Maine-made) Morse’s sauerkraut.

“We do all of our spreads from scratch,” she said, many of which are made with duck eggs from her mom’s farm in Sumner. “They add a very distinct flavor.”

The main goal of the market’s owners is to focus on seasonal, locally produced or harvested foods. LaMontagne credits her mom, Linda LaMontagne, (who happens to also be called Mom by one of Maine’s most notable singers, Ray LaMontagne) for supplying Forage with wild edibles such as violets and ramps, along with berries and tomatoes. LaMontagne’s mom also taught her a few uncommon skills, such as how to harvest wild mushrooms and make pickled milkweed pods.

“We’re constantly bringing in fresh produce, so that’s what we cook. It’s what drives our menus every week, and brings creativity into the kitchen. The way we cook minimizes waste, too,” she said, which includes planning ahead for winter months by stocking the freezer with her own chicken and vegetable broths.

Forage Market is reminiscent of European shops LaMontagne came across during college when she studied and travelled in Europe. To stock interesting items you won’t typically find at a grocery store, she sifted through lots of resources and vendors.

In your first visit to Forage Market, you will notice it’s a combination farm market/restaurant/pizza shop/ bagel shop/wine shop/grocery store/coffee shop/delicatessen. Which is one of the best things about Forage Market, in my opinion. In one visit, I picked up two half-gallons of Caldwell Farms milk, quite possibly my new favorite dessert from Portland’s gluten-free Bam-Bam Bakery (a concoction of crispy rice cereal, peanut butter, chocolate and marshmallow), a pound of what LaMontagne considers possibly “the best kielbasa on Earth,” a bag of rice chips, a 16-ounce bottle of extra virgin olive oil (sold in bulk, along with several other supplies, such as professional-grade flours), my favorite flavor of Maple’s Organic gelato and a small wedge of delectably fresh artisan cheese.

Rounding out the services at Forage Market are LaMontagne’s Grab ‘n Go dinners, which are currently available on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. They can range in price from $6.95 to $15.95, depending on the cost of the ingredients, which can sometimes get a little pricey because most of their products are organic or eco-farmed (grown without the use of chemicals or pesticides).

Hours at Forage are Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Saturdays 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. And call them at 333-6840 or email: [email protected] if you need to “forage around” for your next catered meeting or event.

Cody LaMontagne’s ravigote

This spread adds a little something special to a sandwich and pairs well with cold chicken or turkey. It is also great on grilled shrimp and a dip for fresh bread.

5 tablespoons sherry vinegar

1 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 cup minced parsley or tarragon

2 small spring onions, minced

1 mustard pickle, also minced (approximately 8 tablespoons)

6 tablespoons of minced capers (rinsed and patted dry)

Salt and pepper to taste

Whisk a pinch of salt into the sherry vinegar and slowly whisk in half the olive oil. Add herbs, onion, pickle and capers, followed by remaining oil.

Forage’s salsa verde

This sauce is great as a spread on a sandwich, can be used as a dip for bread or dolloped on grilled eggplant, lamb or pork.

3 boquerones (anchovies)

2 cloves garlic, pressed

3 tablespoons capers, rinsed and patted dry

3 cups parsley, finely chopped

2-1/2 cups cilantro, finely chopped

1/2 cup mint, finely chopped

1 cup extra virgin olive oil

Fat pinch of salt

Hot pepper flakes to taste

Use a mortar and pestle to mash your anchovies, hot pepper, garlic and capers into a coarse paste (or your food processor, if preferred). Scrape paste into a bowl and slowly add half your olive oil and whisk to combine. Then add your herbs and remaining oil to complete your sauce. Add salt to taste.

Grilled feta bruschetta

Says Cody LaMontagne: “This recipe is one I got from my good friend Brie, and it has remained one of my favorite simple summer recipes, perfect for this time of year. At Forage, we have taken the elements from this recipe and turned it into a grilled veggie sandwich with whipped, baked feta. Yum!”

Directions:

Take two squares of heavy-duty tinfoil and place them one on top of the other to make them double thickness. Cup to make a boat and pour in 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil. Place a block of feta cheese, approximately 1/4-pound, in the center and top with:

1 medium zucchini or summer squash, sliced into 1/4-inch coins

1 small red onion, sliced thin, or diced spring onions

1 crushed garlic clove

A handful or two of cherry tomatoes

10 castelvetrano olives, pitted and halved

Sprinkle with chopped fresh basil or dill, a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and pepper. Gather sides of foil together and roll seems to make a tight packet. Cook on the grill over medium heat for 10 to 15 minutes on each side to roast veggies and soften feta. Serve in a bowl and spread on a fresh baguette, ciabatta or grilled day-old bread brushed with extra virgin olive oil and rubbed with garlic.

Ramps?

Ramps: Officially known as allium tricoccum. Commonly referred to as a spring onion, wild leek, wood leek or wild garlic. Ramps have a strong garlic-like odor and a pronounced onion flavor, are usually harvested in the spring and are fairly rare in Maine. Cody LaMontagne says they tend to have a slightly stronger flavor than a traditional leek.

What customers are saying

“They have the best bagels in this state.”

“Beautiful restaurant with the best sticky buns I’ve ever eaten.”

“My chicken salad sandwich is amazing! Thank you : )”

“This Swede gives your croissants two thumbs-up! No more disappointments; these take me right back home to Europe! Merci!”

“Finally, a bagel in L/A that is crunchy on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside — just the way it’s supposed to be!”

“The ham and cabbage soup you (made) the other day was the best soup I’ve ever had in my life!”