Category Archives: Musings

Take me to your Raw Bar

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If there’s one thing I love, it’s a good Raw Bar. And a Raw Bar at a cocktail party with breathtaking water views…now we are talking.

Boys in Seersucker, Harbor Views and Cocktails

Hubs and I had the good fortune to attend a beautiful wedding last weekend in South Dartmouth, Massachusetts. Friends Liz Creelman and Rob Patterson celebrated their wedding in classic New England style with a tented outdoor reception, gorgeous harbor views, tons of seersucker and seafood galore. I could go on about the beautiful bride and the handsome groom, the thoughtfully-selected reading selections at the ceremony, the happy families, blah blah blah. And it’s all true. But I’ll focus on one specific detail: the Raw Bar.

Raw Bar in a Row Boat

The Raw Bar was awesome. During the cocktail hour, and in addition to very tasty passed hors d’oeuvres, there were 3 pros shucking Wellfleet oysters, Littleneck clams and another local oyster from Chatham [somebody help me here] all beautifully displayed in a wooden row boat. Hot sauce and classic mignonette on the side. Step right up and help yourself. What a great “of the place” addition to the event – what could be more local at a New England seaside village? The boat photographed above should be laden with oysters, but I may have been single-handedly responsible for keeping the Wellfleet supply low. So briny, juicy, fresh and scrumptious. Is there nothing better?

Thanks again, Liz and Rob. It was a fantastic event and we were delighted to be included.

Next stop: ITALY!!

Sharing is Caring – Double Trouble Tomato Bruschetta

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At least that’s what Barney says. Those of you with small kids will get a smile out of that. Those of you without will likely scorn me and unleash the unbabyme app on my web presence.  Ah well, can’t please everyone.

This afternoon’s post is about sharing. I am fortunate to have awesome readers who frequently send me recipes.  Going forward, I will periodically invite readers to post to this blog as well. I love sharing recipes and  collaborating to improve a meal.  And, clearly love talking about cooking with all of you.

I will be out of town the next few Saturdays, so will sadly miss my beloved CSA Pick-ups at Wolfe Spring Farm. In my place, I have drafted friend, neighbor and fellow foodie Dan Doern to wax poetic on summer’s finest. I am also sad to miss this period because it is really peak season now in the NE. Readers may remember Dan Doern from pickled haricot verts fame. No pressure, Dan, but don’t let us down.

In reality, I fear Dan will handily out-foodie me. Bring it, Dan.

And, also in the spirit of sharing, I wanted to pass along a recipe sent to me this morning by  long-time friend, social media superstar and part-time vegan, Nicolette Barber. Everyone’s trying to figure out what to do with this year’s tomato bounty. Nico shares a timely recipe for Double Tomato Bruschetta that looks scrumptious. Take your basic bruschetta recipe, add sun-dried tomatoes to increase depth of flavor and melt some mozz on top. Kick it up a notch, why dontcha?

All Recipes: Double Tomato Bruschetta

Haven’t tried the recipe, but want to. Readers, please keep sharing!

It’s PYO Time

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Everything you need to know about how, where and when to pick your own fruits and veggies can be found at http://www.pickyourown.org.  What a great resource for seekers of local, farm-fresh foods and farmers. The site also has a lot of valuable tips on what I call the “lost arts” of home canning, preserving and freezing, as well as a Harvest Calendar for each state so you’ll know what’s in season where you live.  The site itself has a homegrown feel, too. And if you know of a farm that’s not listed, just submit it.  In Western MA, we’ve got blueberries, raspberries, blackberries and peaches in season right now. And I am already looking forward to fall apple picking.

I learned about this website from Red Rabbit Foods, a great organization that makes healthy lunches for school children in the NY area.

What are you picking now?

Restaurant Sub-cultures – Terms of Service by Ben Schott

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I found this article by Ben Schott in today’s NY Times absolutely fascinating. The articles’s entitled “Terms of Service” and lists insiders’ lingo at some of New York City’s top restaurants. Ever wonder what they say behind closed kitchen doors? Or when that snooty reservationist puts the receiver down?

Some abbreviations are downright funny, some offensive, some clever. Interesting also how the -phrases used represent the establishment’s culture and vibe. I did find a few surprises, too. Who ever thought the clientele at Daniel, Daniel Boulud’s formal restaurant on the Upper East Side, would be referred to as Original Gangstas?

Happy reading and let me know what you think…

Vegetables and Trickery

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I had absolutely no plans for Friday night dinner. I vaguely thought we’d pick up something ready to go for dinner and relished the absolute lack of planning. While in the car, we made a pit stop at the Farmer’s Market in Sheffield, MA, in search of inspiration for our meal. I was conscious not to be tempted by the wares on display and splurge the night before our CSA Pick-up, and focus only on the meal at hand. I also knew what we had in the house

  • 1 v large zucchini
  • 1/4 head of cabbage
  • Potatoes galore
  • Eggs

Pretty limited selection, I know. We picked up a few ears of corn from a trusted farmer and had hopes that it would be tastier than last week’s. Hubs and I talked over a tomato salad and looked around for some, but only “paste tomatoes” were on display.  Still early in the season, said Dominic and his crew from Moon in the Pond Farm. A vague idea started forming in my mind about zucchini fritters or some kind of veg pancake. I suggested it to Hubs and he looked nonplussed.

I hit the books when we got home and offered a few suggestions based on an old copy of Bon Appetit and my handy How to Cook Everything Vegetarian cookbok by, you guessed it, my food idol Mark Bittman. I suggested this recipe for Shaved Zucchini with Parmesan and Pine Nuts to Hubs. He scoffed – too obvious a use of zucchini, a verboten vegetable. I then suggested some fritter recipes and we settled on Korean Style Crispy Vegetable Pancakes. The fact that the recipe name contained the words “pancake” and “crispy” helped sell it.

Vegetable Trickery: Korean Style Crispy Vegetable Pancake

I followed the recipe with the exception of using rice flour, which I didn’t have on a hand. I halved the recipe and it made 2 large pancakes. My first pancake did not turn out as crispy and I considered it my “tester” pancake, a phrase coined by Hubs. The second pancake is pictured above. I used about a cup of shredded zucchini, a healthy handful of thinly shredded cabbage, as well as a carrot, scallions and chives from the garden.

So that’s where the trickery comes in. You couldn’t individually identify the zucchini or cabbage, but they were in there. On their own, these ingredients would never fly in our house, but mixed into a dish with the word “pancake” in it, I could get away with it. There are a bunch of food writers out there proposing recipes like this all the time, especially for kids.  Things like stashing sweet potatoes in muffins, not to name names [Jessica Seinfeld], but I’m generally not a proponent of this method. I want ingredients to shine and for the people I’m cooking for to know what they are eating. But I mention it here because you could put almost any veg in this dish, serve it with dipping sauce and it would be roundly praised.

Scallion Ginger dipping sauce

Final word from Hubs: “Pretty good for an impromptu meal.” I would definitely make the Crispy Pancakes again, using rice flour as Bittman recommends. We also had corn on the cob and some mixed greens. The corn was sweet and succulent, with even rows of ears. As it should be.

It’s Thursday and do you know what’s Left in your CSA Basket?

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Our CSA Pick-up day is Saturday and I’m usually out of food, ideas and energy for creative home cooking by Thursday night. Quick review of this week’s recipes:

But I’ve still got a few usable and useful items left, so it’s back to work tonight. I have the following left:

  • 1/3 quart cherry tomatoes – dinner tonight
  • Shallots and Garlic- dinner tonight,and these will last, so no hurry
  • Zucchini – have plans for zucchini bread this weekend, so sit tight
  • 1/2 head of cabbage – I’m out of ideas for you, cabbage head
  • 1 ear of early drought corn – Sam was going to eat for dinner, but the crazy rows look uninviting

Krazy Korn from CSA Pick-up 7/28/12

Krazy Korn is going in the compost bin.

We’ll have Salmon en Papillote and a green salad for dinner tonight. As I wrote in an earlier post, fish en Papillote is a simple to prepare dish for the kitchen weary. I’ll use the cherry tomatoes and shallots from my CSA pick-up, and then we’re ready again for Saturday’s stash.

Go USA! Sunday Night Dinner featuring Red, White and Blue

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Hubs and I had a simple summer dinner tonight featuring our locally sourced goodies.

  • Early Corn Chowder served cold to start  the meal (left over from last night’s dinner). Tastes even better on day 2T
  • Arugula salad with Shaved Parmiggiano and Cherry Tomatoes, dressed in balsamic vinaigrette. The arugula was a treat from our friend Steve’s farm, Berkshire Bounty Farm, tomatoes from yesterday’s CSA pick-up
  • Finished off with Macerated Strawberries and Blueberries, pictured below. The strawberries were grown in our friend Nash’s greenhouse and the blueberries were local, though not certified organic. Add a scoop of vanilla ice cream and it’s heaven

  • Red, White and Blue: strawberries, blueberries and vanilla ice cream

    GO USA!!!

More on Growing Blueberries – Hopefully NOT for the Birds

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This is my favorite time of year for fruit. Blueberries are just coming into season and local peaches and various stone fruit are all in abundance in the northeast. Yes, we can purchase these year-round, but the local peaches, plums, nectarines all taste so much better than the ones that come out of cold storage. And blueberries can be downright watery at other times of the year, too. So, knowing they are local and seasonal makes me feel better on a morale level and smug on an intellectual level. But let’s be honest, I just prefer the taste.

Local Peaches Purchased July 26, 2012

I visited a greenmarket this morning and the farm stand had plums in every color under the sun – from varying shades of the traditional purple, to yellow to red to pink.  These 2 lonely fellows are all that remain from 2 pounds of mixed plums and peaches purchased this morning,. Here they are in all their glory – small, uneven in shape and even a little bruised. As you can see, they look nothing like the perfect specimens (in appearance only!) available year-round at the market, and thankfully don’t resemble them in taste either. Yum!

So, let’s talk about growing blueberries. Hubs and I have made 4 attempts so far in 4 years to grow blueberries on our own. And 4 failures. Kinda sad for a bush and fruit that are native to our region, don’t you think?  We were lulled into thinking they didn’t need much sun because they’re natives (wrong), we were careless in the soil we planted them in, and most recently, we had signs of success, but then failed to protect. Back in May we had little green berries growing beautifully on our 2 humble bushes. But they proved to be irresistible for the bird population and were gone before they had a chance to turn from green to red to pink to blue. Foiled again. But now we’ve got a 3 step plan and gosh darnit, 2013 will be our year for backyard blueberries. I hope…

I snapped this picture at the 2012 New Marlborough Garden tour last weekend. The Gays live in New Marlborough and have a beautiful property in the foothills of East Mountain State Forest, which they kindly opened up to neighbors during the tour. They’ve created a delightful garden in a wooded setting featuring shade-loving plants, a stone pond loaded with Koi goldfish and many stone sculptures crafted from stones on their property. I loved exploring their veggie patch and came across a creative way to protect blueberries pictured below. You must put up netting to keep away the birds, and this can often be unsightly. Here they’ve created tents using skinny tree branches and it looks almost natural. Ingenious and aesthetically pleasing. So, Hubs will be trying this next year (step 3 of Project Blueberry). I’ll write about steps 1 & 2 later. Non-linear, I know.

Blueberry bushes under netting at the Gays’ garden in New Marlborough, MA

 

Back on the Chain Gang

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I am getting geared up for my CSA pick up tomorrow morning. I’ve been missing me some Wolfe Spring Farm. And to hit the pots and pans again. Fortunately the weather is cooperating and the heat has lifted, too. I missed last week’s pick up due to our Maine excursion, but I am getting psyched for tomorrow. When I am not in town to pick up at Wolfe Spring, we give the pick up to our neighbor, Dan Doern. Through the grapevine, I heard that we missed out on:

  • Mini eggplants
  • Squash
  • Salad greens
  • Awesome garlic
  • Yellow shallots (which I’ve never seen before)
  • String beans
  • 1 tomato
  • And a repeat offender: Beautiful sunflowers

[Dan sent me an update today,7/22/12, adding on the original list. He said that he also picked up new red potatoes, broccoli, zucchini. Dan said he,

took the whole potatoes, sliced zucchini, the whole mini-eggplants and pieces of broccoli, tossed them with some olive oil, salt, pepper, lots of fresh oregano from our garden, lemon and orange slices, dumped them in a roasting pan and slow cooked them.    They were delicious!]

Also in time for the weekend, there was an article after my own heart in Wednesday’s Dining section of the NY Times. Entitled “Raw Panic,” Julia Moskin writes about the home cook’s anxiety at mid-summer when you’ve brought home more fresh fruits and veg from the market than you know what to do with. I want to try this recipe for veggie fritters tomorrow, using beets and leeks:

Stay tuned for tomorrow’s pick up. And tell me about your vegetable anxiety. Or tell me that I’m crazy for having vegetable anxiety.

Reminiscing at Red Sky and Happy Anniversary

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It’s far too hot this week to cook, so I’ll take a few minutes to write about a favorite restaurant we recently visited in Southwest Harbor, Maine, called Red Sky. The intimate dining room is open year-round for dinner (a rarity in these parts) and has a wonderful menu focused on fresh, local seafood, local organic produce and home-baked breads and sweets. During the summer, Elizabeth and James works round the clock, front of house and back, to bring delicious, elegant and thoughtfully prepared meals to the table 7 nights a week.  They stand out in a sea of tourism in the area, and rise far above basic, traditional dining like the classic Maine lobster pound.

Red Sky Restaurant in Southwest Harbor, Maine

 

As we dined on house-cured salmon, sweet Maine shrimp, fresh sole, and 100% crab meat crab cakes (I don’t think they use any binding agents, kinda ridiculous), and scrumptious, crunchy, sauteed snow peas (not even mentioned on the menu), we reminisced about past visits to Red Sky. Our first meal here was 9 years ago, and at the time, farm-to-table dining was simply what James and Elizabeth did. They were not following a food trend, merely supporting their community and preparing great food. They are leaders in the drive to source locally, particularly in a geography like Maine which has a relatively short growing season.  But what is grown is so flavorful and delicious that it makes it worth the effort.

So, back to reminiscing.  Hubs and I have had some wonderful meals here, including the weekend of our wedding 5 years ago. And, our trip this summer was to celebrate our 5 year anniversary. Coincidentally, we learned from Elizabeth that they are proudly celebrating Red Sky’s 10th anniversary this year. Happy Anniversary to Elizabeth and James, and many more! We look forward to our next visit.