On our drive up north over Thanksgiving, Jane and I stopped about 10 times on our little road trip! I am not kidding! First we bought incredible Eastern Shore oysters shucked and snug as a bug packed deep in jars. As I write this, I am craving those oysters like nothing else, so need to drive over there very soon to buy some more! If I get "unlazy", I will venture to my car to read the shop where we bought them. Tomorrow!
At another stop, we bought Virginia peanuts to share with my family, because we have the best peanuts in the world. Once you taste real nuts, you will not want to buy that famous name brand again. Ours are larger and so crunchy and filled with flavour!
Along the way, we stopped at numerous roadside farm stands to buy fresh crates of collard greens, kale, watercress, squash and Haymen (sp.)sweet potatoes. We left Norfolk with a relatively empty car and slowly but surely, we started looking like the Clampett's on their drive out west! One farm stand in Maryland that we particularly enjoyed was on the side of the road (photos attached) and owned by Kevin, the farmer. I have never seen watercress like we bought from him. It was larger and fresher than anything available anywhere! It had such a peppery bite to it and the aroma in the car made us want to stop to make a salad with shaved Parmessano cheese and drizzled with extra-virgin olive oil and freshly squeezed lemon juice! Kevin was so proud of his stand and we could not get enough of his fresh veggies. We promised to return on our drive home and I was literally heartbroken when we got stuck on the NJ Turnpike for hours so could not reach him by sunset.
Our drive up was such an adventure and it was so much fun taking our good ole time to drive down country lanes and not really have a time line to arrive at my sister and brother-in-law's home. However, once we did arrive, they looked at our packed car and wondered whether we were planning a move to their beautiful home! That night, we had our first taste of Eastern Shore oysters with a yummy home made cocktail sauce.
Cocktail Sauce
3 tablespoons freshly grated horseradish
3 tablespoons organic tomato ketchup
juice of 1 lime
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon cracked black pepper
Don't bother buying cocktail sauce - make your own! And, don't buy the horseradish cream, as it will not taste like the above. Making your own condiments and sauces is so easy to do and the taste will speak for itself! Don't waste your money on preservative-filled jars bought in the store.
Anyway....as I was saying, the first night, we dug into the oysters. We ate them raw before dinner with cocktail sauce. Yum is not the word.
The next night, my other sister, Jennifer, and brother-in-law, Chas arrived from New Brunswick, Canada. They had stopped on the drive down to buy a new cider press. Chas has beautiful apple orchards and makes the best cider, bar none, I have ever tasted in my life. He is a purist! He and Jennifer allow hundreds of locals to drive onto their gorgeous farm in the fall to collect apples for free. His apples are crisp and great for apple sauce, apple crisp, apple butter and I could go on and on, but won't. I get side tracked. So, once they arrived, we decided to fry some of the oysters in Maris's baby fry master, or something like that.
I don't believe in fried foods, but this was a once-in-a-blue-moon treat for us all and I didn't fry the oysters into oblivion. We were 9 people at this point, including Carson, Laurel and Hayden and there were still enough oysters to go around. They pack those jars up like nobody's business!
I think I am fortunate to have a family of sisters who all cook magically, even if I do say so myself. We absolutely love good food and it is a delight to cook together and apart for all of us. My nieces and nephews also cook beautifully, as well as my two daughters, Brooke and Bree.
I get so sad when I see mums and dads in the grocery store filling their carts with solid junk! They shop on the inside aisles of the grocery store and think by feeding their kids "boxes", that they will thrive, grow and develop into wonderful adults. Instead, they develop behavioural problems and become obese. I know I repeat myself often on this subject, but it absolutely kills me. I just want adults to change their ways and dance around the outside aisles or all the way to the farms!
Well, the trip to Greenwich is always a blast and a wonderful gourmet feeding frenzy. On our way home this time, we stopped in Soho to have a wonderful brunch in Soho. The food was outstanding and I don't say that often. It was fresh, well-seasoned and they used organic produce and eggs. What a delight! The ambiance was equally as pleasing and it was a fun deter from living in Virginia. The place was packed with trendy Sunday eaters. Had we known that we would be stuck for 4 hours due to a double barrel garbage truck that caught on fire, I could have stayed there all day - eating and drinking! Luckily, we did buy bagels, which we ate along the way. Man! There is nothing quite like a N.Y. bagel! Now, I am craving one of those.
Family time is such a delight, and to share it in the kitchen and dining room is what makes it special. When we are together, we are constantly in the kitchen. Maris happens to have a beautiful one but gets fed up with us all not relaxing in other equally beautiful rooms with roaring fires and great views. People always gravitate to the room in the house where it should all happen, and I don't mean to microwave frozen or prepackaged foods, either.
There is no microwave in this house and never has been. I actually don't know how to use one and never wish to learn. Microwaving food changes the molecular structure of food and is dangerous. Keep away! Beware! What happened to double boilers????
Well, it is almost dinner time in this house and our little road trip was on my mind as it is that time of year when one eats lots of leafy greens, brussel sprouts, cabbage, squash of every variety and all of the exotic winter veggies! If you learn to eat in season, you actually look forward to each season so you can savour what it has to offer wherever you live. I went to the lovely Fresh Market last night to buy pancetta and other delights not available near me and was saddened to see all sorts of berries, that are totally out of season and probably taste awful - not to mention the carbon footprint used to get them here!
At this time of year, I happen to be addicted to butternut, spaghetti and every squash and have been since I was a kid. The way I love it is simple - steam the flesh and puree it with lots of organic unsalted butter, sea salt and black pepper. Or, cut the butternut squash in half and bake in the oven. Five minutes before cooked, drizzle pure maple syrup and butter in the shell and go ga-ga as the odour of caramalization hits your nose. Curried butternut squash or pumpkin soup is also a favourite in this family!
Tonight's dinner will be unusual for me as I rarely eat pasta. But, it is winter and why not splurge on calories? Crisply-cooked pancetta; toasted pine nuts and panko bread crumbs; steamed organic escarole and good-quality spaghetti; sauteed jalapeno pepper and organic heavy cream with lots of cracked black pepper. Mix all together and served with a green leafy salad with lemon vinaigrette. Okay, I have to go cook now.
As always, choose your food wisely. Cook with love for yourself and for your loved ones - your body is your temple.
Bon appetit!
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