Down at the Shore

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As I stated earlier, my story this week is that it’s too hot to cook, and I’m sticking with it. I took a jaunt down to the shore yesterday to celebrate my fabulous friend Becky’s birthday. Yes, the Shore, home of Snookie and Jwow and all those scary characters. But as many folks know, the Shore is vast and has many lovely areas, and some are even named as such, like the town of Loveladies where I stayed.

Even better than not cooking, I had the good fortune of having others cooking for me. My generous and kind host Doug Gray prepared a great casual lunch today. He manned the grill, steamed the broccoli, prepared the insalata caprese, and all the assorted fixings. Worth mentioning were the hamburgers and the Jersey beefsteak tomatoes, just in season now. And, if nothing else, I hope that making mention of Doug in this post will bring him here to visit.  Cheap, I know.

Last night after an afternoon at the beach, brother-in-law Darren prepared fajitas for the crew, including grilled chicken, ribs, peppers and onions and accoutrements. For dessert, I had a slice of Becky’s decadent, chocolate birthday cake. Very necessary.

Good to see you, friends. And thanks for feeding me and the munchkin.

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.

Breakfast with Friends at the Lindenwood inn

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Had a fantastic visit to catch up with our old friend Fred at the lovely Lindenwood Inn in Southwest Harbor, Maine.

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Welcome to the Lindenwood Inn, Southwest Harbor, Maine

We stopped in to say hello and Fred showed us around and invited us to breakfast the next day. The Lindenwood is one of my favorite places. Let me extol the virtues of the Lindenwood:

  • Beautiful, historic Inn (ok, that’s table stakes for New England B&Bs)
  • Tasteful, casual decor (read: no frilly canopies or curtains, no chintz and no stuffed animals).
  • In ground swimming pool and hot tub and harbor views
  • Well stocked Honor Bar (what’s not to love?)
  • And friendly, warm, and fun Australian owner Jim King and innkeeper Fred

Hubs and I have stayed here numerous times, and have even dragged some friends here, all of whom loved it. Fred and team prepared a yummy breakfast featuring all sorts of blueberry-based home baked goodies like

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Blueberry scones, blueberry and cranberry muffins and my favorite:

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yum!

Blueberry Rum cake. Moist and delicious. Yum. After sampling the baked treats and some fresh fruit salad, the chef prepared a vegetarian version of eggs Benedict for me, with mushrooms and spinach in place of ham, topped with an orange beurre blanc sauce. Delish.

Thank you for breakfast, Fred! We hope to see you soon.

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Ok, one more picture of Sam in the lovely garden next to the hot tub.

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Wild Maine Blueberries ripe for the picking

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Quick post from Southwest Harbor, Maine, in the heart of Mt Desert Island. Beautiful wild blueberries growing out our doorstep. Will share more on the trip later this weekend. We’ll be dining at a favorite local, seasonal restaurant tomorrow night, and a local leader in the movement, called Red Sky

Foraging blueberries at the Claremont Hotel in Southwest Harbor, Maine

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Pilgrimage to Union Square Market

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I was in the neighborhood for a meeting and took the opportunity to make my first pilgrimage of the year to the Union Square Green Market. What can I possibly say that hasn’t already been said about this all things local/seasonal/urban farmers market? It is awesome. And if I wrote about “Things that are great,’ like my good friend Chris Vincent, the Green Market would be at the top of my list. I like it because it is colorful, native, funky, tasty and fun to explore. Even if I don’t need local boysenberry jam, or burp-less cucumbers, it is a great place to spend a few hours.

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So what’s happening at the Market? Very exciting times as we are getting close to peak of summer. We are starting to see some local fruit, like peaches from Southern NJ, plums of every color and local blueberries. Every kind of lettuce, salad mix, deep green veg you can imagine. Garlic and onions of every variety, new potatoes and greenhouse tomatoes (pic below from S&SO Produce Farm’s stand). We still have some time before locally grown, non-greenhouse tomatoes are available in the tri-state area.

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I am posting this pic of dandelion greens for my mother-in-law Kay, who told me a great anecdote about dandelion greens over the weekend. Kay said that when she was growing up in Vermont, her Italian-American father used to pick dandelion greens and prepare them with olive oil and garlic. No one thought this was such a sexy idea at the time. Flash forward ___  years…

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The Remains of the Basket

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It’s Tuesday and I’ve still got a healthy supply of veg left from Saturday’s CSA pick-up. But it’s also 85 degrees, hubs is traveling and I am flying solo for dinner. I don’t feel like cooking, so I’m going to pull together a salad of crunchy veggies from my basket. Here’s what I prepared for dinner for 1:

Salad: combined the greens with some leftover cooked broccoli and chopped up the remaining raw sugar snap peas. The snap peas were starting to soften up and lose their eponymous snap, so in they went. I crumbled some ricotta salata on top, just because I had it in the fridge. Lastly, I mixed up a simple balsamic vinaigrette and tossed it into the salad.

On the side: I peeled and sliced the kohlrabi. Sprinkled some sea salt on top. Wow! Is that good or what. Crunchy, flavorful and so simple. I also had a roll that I picked up a the bakery earlier today to round it out

What’s left: These gorgeous sunflowers were placed on the table for decoration. Might look into planting the seeds, or ask hubs to do so.
New potatoes, well, we didn’t get to them. We’ll come back to those next week as they’ll keep.

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Buyer Beware, or the Politics of Food

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So you thought you were doing good by eating organic? Well, organic has gone mainstream, or rather, the way of agribusiness. So if you selected organic produce or foods for social reasons, buyer beware.

What’s a responsible, socially conscious consumer to do? It is tough when you are pulled in many directions, but it’s hard to feel holy when you realize that most supermarket organic brands like Stonyfield Farm yogurts, Kashi cereals and Naked Juice juices are all owned by big corporations. I have no beef with big companies, it is merely that consumers need to realize that the certified organic seal of approval refers to the methods used to grow or produce the food. It does not refer to the size of the farm, or the type of ownership. Merely because a head of lettuce was grown on an organic farm does not mean that it’s hand-picked from a mom and pop, old time-y farmstead with a big wrap-around porch.  It’s still a good thing for your body, so yes, feel good about that. You are consuming food that is pesticide-free and from a farm that has been regulated as such, but don’t fool yourself into thinking you are supporting the independent farmer. Read the label and inform yourself before making any assumptions, particularly when shopping in the grocery store.

You can read more in this recent article from the NY Times entitled, “Has Organic Been Oversized?”

Lunch Italian-style – CSA Pick up 7/7/12

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With my friend Peggy Carrington, I prepared a summery Italian-style lunch of vegetable antipasti from our CSA pick-up. Peggy and I prepared the following for a relaxed buffet lunch:

  • Broccoli with garlic and chili pepper Sautéed string beans with olive oil and garlic
  • Mints with beets and cumin (see recipe from last week)
  • Sautéed beet greens
  • Mixed green salad
  • Slice avocado (not local, but had it in the fridge)

Maggie Carrington and Brian Gray joined us for lunch, too. I’m still not sold on the beet greens, but they had some fans at the lunch table.

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Bye Bye Birds Eye

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Have I mentioned that my CSA is awesome? Not only do I have the privilege of picking up a basket of thoughtfully grown and selected organic veggies every week, but June and Jim Wolfe also invite you to their house for workshops on preserving, pickling and conserving. Awesome!

June hosted a workshop on freezing fresh peas last night. We ran through the whole arc in about an hour. We started in the field picking peas, moved to the porch to shell the peas, and then on to the conservation part. I dragged my good friend Peggy Carrington with me and we had a great time chit chatting on the porch with other members of the CSA and June’s family. Did you know you can make a potable alcoholic beverage out of pea pods?

Back to freezing peas. Surprisingly easy and no special equipment requires. Here’s what you need to get started:
Fresh peas
Pot of Boiling water
Wire mesh colander
Tongs
Bowl of cold water
Ziplock freezer bags
Measuring cup

Once you have shelled the peas, measure 1 or 2 cups of peas and place in mesh colander (quantity is up to you). Immerse colander in boiling water for 1 minute. Use tongs to remove colander and then place in cold water bath for 1 minute. Remove from water, shake off excess water and place peas in ziplock bag. Remove air from bag and seal. Write date and quantity on exterior of bag and your peas are ready for the freezer. Repeat until all peas are bagged and freezer ready.
Use as you would store-bought frozen peas

Bye bye Birds Eye