Snow?!

The scene out my window right now

Like I said the other day, we are not having normal weather for central North Carolina at all.  In the 30 years I've lived here I don't ever remember it snowing in early December and even snow in late December is quite unusual.  I doubt it will stick, but the temperature has dropped to 38 from 42 since it started.  The light in David's studio window looks so warm doesn't it?  I hope he is, I know he's got his little woodstove burning away.

The oyster stew was a big hit last night- so yummy I'm going to share the recipe right now.

Start with a half pint of oysters, strain the oysters and catch the juice,  check the oysters for any bits of shell. Then:

• 1 T butter
• 1 leek, sliced and washed (I slice and soak in water to make sure to get all the dirt out, then lift into strainer to drain)
• 1 stalk celery sliced thin
• 2 large shitake mushrooms sliced (you could use white or cremini mushrooms here)
• 1-2 large oyster mushrooms sliced (same as above but don't recommend portobello)

Saute above in the butter in a saucepan with some salt and pepper

when the veggies are soft add:

• 2t of flour and stir for a minute

Add:

• liquid from half a pint of oysters
• 1 cup cream (could use milk but then would need more flour I think)

Simmer for 5-10 minutes, adjust seasoning with a pinch of white and cayenne peppers, more salt as needed

Add:

• half pint of oysters
• 1T each chopped fresh parsley and dill

Cook just till oysters begin to firm 2-3 minutes.  Serve in warm bowls with toasted bread or crackers.

Makes 2 servings.

Yum.

As I've been writing the snow is actually sticking and piling up a bit, it's still coming down very hard....

Community Supported Fishery

We recently joined a Community Supported Fishery (CSF). You’ve probably heard of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) where you buy a share from a farmer in exchange for weekly deliveries of fresh produce and other farm raised items. Well a CSF works similarly. For the very reasonable price of $18.75 per week we receive two pounds of two kinds of fish or shellfish every Thursday. So far our share has included shrimp, flounder, jumping red mullet, and crab and last week we got 24 beautiful clams and 5 fillets of Spanish mackerel. The group organizing this in our area is called Core Sound Seafood and they are bringing fish up every week from the sound of North Carolina. It’s a great opportunity to try out different kinds of fish we might not normally buy and everything has been incredibly fresh and delicious. Furthermore, the money goes straight to the fisherman with no middleman so they get a good price to help support them staying in the fishing business. We never know what we are getting until about a day before and it’s a surprise and a treat. The group sends an e-mail announcing the sea foods of the week and we learn about exactly where it came from and who the fisher people were that caught it for us.

For the mackerel we made a rub of chile powder, cumin, oregano and thyme to put on the fish and then grilled it to juicy perfection. We then topped tostada shells with guacamole, fish, grilled squash and onions, cabbage and fresh made pico de gallo-chopped tomatoes, white onions and Serrano peppers. I didn’t have cilantro so I used Italian parsley, muy delicioso! Finished off with a squeeze of lime and washed down with a cold beer, we were very satisfied indeed.

There are still shares available so if you are in the Carrboro area, check them out!

Our drought and heat wave continue and we are spending multiple hours standing behind the hose so the garden carries on. Made my first batch of tomato sauce last week and the eggplants are starting to come in. The blueberries are really starting to ripen up too. Every day I pray for rain, we were fortunate to get a half an inch in a thunderstorm the other night, but we need much more. Here’s hoping, as everything is burning up, including me.

Beach Bliss

Bodie Island Lighthouse, Outer Banks, NC

I'm just back from a short trip to Cape Hatteras with my brother. He went on a couple of pelagic trips- out to sea searching for birds that never come to land-only for the most hard core of bird watchers. I've gone on a couple of these boat trips before, powering far out into the ocean in search of deep water, the gulf stream and hope that the birds fly past close enough for you to see them. I opted out to spend the days on the beach, swimming in the silky ocean, watching the waves roll in and taking in the activity of all the other beach goers.

I love nothing more than sitting under my umbrella and watching other people enjoying the beach around me, everyone is wrapped in a beach bliss blanket, happy to be right where they are. Little ones play in the sand and surf, adults dive into books, teens dive into the ocean. I got a little too much sun and wind on my face but other than that, I managed to get back unscathed.

We ate tons of seafood; shrimp, clams and softshell crabs. I feel justified eating almost anything I want after schlepping my stuff out to the beach, swimming about 6 times and taking a couple of walks up and down the beach, I think I've earned a good dinner and an ice cream too thank you very much. We even played a little putt putt golf. It was pretty much a perfect trip to the beach and I'm psyched to know that I have another brief jaunt coming up in another week.

Must be summer.