Phoebe's Kitchen

Travels to Tucson

Over Labor Day weekend I headed west to visit family in Tucson, Arizona.  The landscape is so vastly different than that of the Northeast.  It is such a dramatic change to go from lush green to the stark brown of the dessert.  For those tired of mowing lawns and trimming trees, this is the place to live.  It takes a few days to adjust and then you really begin to enjoy the desert and the mountains that surround Tucson.

My first adventure was to travel to El Charro Cafe where the chimichangas was   invented.  I did try the El Charro Carne Seca, the original chimichangas that made the El Charro Cafe famous.  I thought it as a little greasy, but had a lot of flavor.  What we did have as an appetizer that was absolutely delicious was a Cheese Crisp.  It is basically a tortilla with cheese on top baked in the oven.  Consider it a pizza made with a tortilla. 

On Sunday, we headed up Mt. Lemmon in the Coronado National Forest.  It is a 9,167 feet above sea-level.  We drove up the Catalina Highway which starts on the eastern side of Tucson.  The views on the ride up are absolutely spectacular.  Near the top is the town of Summerhaven which was burned out in the Aspen Fire in 2003.  Many of the homes have been re-built.  We had lunch at the Iron Door Restaurant near the top with hummingbirds enjoying the sugar water near out table.  While there the temperature dropped 35 degrees and it rained.  However, go a few hundred feet down the mountain and there was no rain.  At 4,000 feet Saguaro cactus and other desert plants are once again visible.

Know as the "White Dove of the Desert," San Xavier Mission, the oldes European structure in Arizona, was founded as a Catholic mission by Father Eusebio Kino in 1692.  The current church began in 1783 and was completed in 1797.  The interior is filled with marvelous statuary and mural paintings.  In 1783, Franciscan missionary Fr. Juan Bautista Velderrain was able to begin contruction on the present structure using money borrowed from a Sonoran rancher. He hired an architect, Ignacio Gaona, and a large workforce of O'odham, a group of aboriginal Americans who reside primarily in the Sonoran Desert of the southeastern Arizona, to create the present church.

Cheese Crisp

1 (10-inch) tortilla                    

 

 1-1 1/2 cup grated cheese (Cheddar, Monterey, Queso Quesadilla  and Asadero) or your favorite

 

1. Place the tortilla on a large, dark cookie sheet. Spread butter all over the top of the tortilla, making sure to get the butter all the way out to the edges. (The butter is very important! Don't omit.)  Sprinkle top

2.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. and cook for 6 minutes, or until the tortilla begins to visibly brown. Remove from oven, sprinkle cheese over the top and return to oven for another 2-3 minutes.  Be careful not to burn the tortilla. 

 

 

Farmers' Markets of Cape Cod

    For a few days in August I had been asked to do booksignings at some of the Farmers’ Markets at the Cape.  On Tuesday the 17^th, I arrived at the green on Rt. 6A in Sandwich early and had the opportunity to chat with a few vendors before the day began.  At the corner was a mobile pizza vendor called “Pizza Barbone.”  Jason O’Toole is the chef and produces a delicious variety of pizza. I was curious about the brick ovens and he told me that the internal temperature reaches 1000 degrees so he is able to cook the individual pizza in 2-3 minutes. There had been an article in the Sunday Cape Cod Times about Jason and his mobile pizza.  I can truly say people came from near and far to purchase his pizza.  Regretfully, by the time I got over to buy lunch, the Lobster Pizza was gone, actually everything was gone, but I managed to get half mozzarella and sopressata and the other half mozzarella and basil.  Jason does private parties, festivals, farmers’ markets, and even weddings and can be contacted through his website, www.pizzabarbone.com.

 

Also at the Sandwich market, I met the owner of Nantucket Wild Gourmet and Smokehouse in Chatham.  Drew catches all the fish, except the salmon, that he then smokes for nearly 20 hours.  I purchased some Smoked Bluefish to make the Bluefish Paté that J.W. Jackson in Phil Craig’s novel made famous.  This recipe was featured in a previous blog.

 

My friend, Lori Caron, of Salty Lou’s Lobster, hosted me at the Sandwich and Hyannis markets.  Her partner, Rob Martin harvests the lobster with over 500 traps in Cape Cod Bay and out to Stellwagen Bank, where this time of year the whales are on the move, along side his faithful four legged friend Salty Lou.  These products are guaranteed fresh, live and local.  Look forward to Lori's new restaurant, The Farmers Table on Sea Street in Hyannis.  As soon as it it officially open, I will let you all know.

 

LOBSTER WHIP

 

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened

2 tablespoons sour cream

1 small onion minced

sea salt, pepper, celery salt

sprinkle of Worcestershire® sauce

1 pound cooked lobster meat, cut in bite-size pieces

 

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Mix together all of the above ingredients and place in a

1-pint baking dish.

3. Sprinkle with slivered almonds.

4. Spread with lobster.

5. Heat in oven for 15 minutes.

6. Serve on crackers directly from oven dish.

The Taste of Gloucester (1976)

 

 

I love going from table to table checking out the unusual fruits and vegetables that simply aren’t available at local grocery stores.  This year it was chocolate and husked cherry tomatoes and a zucchini/summer squash combination.  The husked cherry tomatoes have a tartness to them and are fun to squeeze from the husk and I thought 

the chocolate cherries from Crow Farms in E. Sandwich were a little sweet, but had no taste of chocolate.

 

 At Osterville, I was the guest of Books by the Sea for a booksigning along with three other authors.  It was here that I came across the husked cherry tomatoes from Allen Farms in Westport, MA.  Next to him was the Great Cape Baking Company.  They were also in Sandwich, but like the pizza man, they had nothing left by the time I got to them.  This time I was determined to try their apple cider donuts.  I almost lost out again.  This was   all they had left within a half hour of their arrival.  

 

On Saturday morning, I stopped by the Orleans Farmers’ Market to buy some of the soap by Summer House Soaps.  After much pondering, I decided on the Hydrangea, Beach Rose and Vineyard Lilac.  Their scents are marvelous and packaging quite lovely.  They would  

make terrific Christma gifts.

 

 

I thoroughly enjoyed my few days at the Cape this year and look forward to next year!

Books On The Cape

Over Memorial Day Weekend, I was the guest of four bookstores from Mashpee to Chatham.  I was there to sign copies of my latest cookbook, the Taste and Tales of Coastal New England.  More about the new book in my next blog.

 

On Saturday morning, Books By the Sea (with stores in Osterville and Yarmouth) at a event sponsored by Cape Cod Life and the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce known as the first annual Cape Cod Summer Entertaining Expo.  It was held at the new Hyannis Youth Community Center.  I must say that it is an absolutely beautiful facility and the residents are fortunate to have access to its many activities.  The Expo highlighted area restaurants, caterers, events of the Cape. 

 

Marie McHugh, General Manager of Books By the Sea, (www.ostervillevillage.com/Books-Osterville.htm) had invited area cookbook authors to do book signings at the event.  I had the opportunity to meet Tom Dunlop who wrote the Morning Glory Farm Cookbook. The farm is on West Tisbury Rd. in Edgartown on Martha’s Vineyard and is well known for its outstanding produce and delicious Zucchini Bread which Tom brought for us all to sample.

(www.morninggloryfarm.com)

 

Morning Glory Zucchini Bread (from the Morning Glory Farm cookbook)

 

2 to 2½ cups shredded zucchini
1 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups sugar
3 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon

 

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray two 9 x 5-inch bread pans with nonstick spray.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine zucchini, oil, eggs, and vanilla. Mix thoroughly.
   Beat sugar into mix until it is thoroughly creamed.
3. Once liquids and sugar are well mixed, add flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Mix until batter is well blended and even in texture. The batter should be smooth, outside the zucchini shreds. If it’s not, add a little juice from the zucchini. Pour batter evenly into pans.  Add 1 cup chocolate chips for variety.
4. Bake for approximately 1 hour, or until bread is brown and springs back when gently pressed in the middle. 

Shirley Prada Craig also attended with her cookbook, Delish.  It includes the recipes of J.W. Jackson, the retired cop in her husband’s, Philip R. Craig, many mystery novels. She had the absolutely most delicious Blue Fish Paté with her which was featured in the book A Shoot On Martha’s Vineyard.  

 

Next, it was on to Market Street Books in Mashpee Commons at the end of Market Street.  Cynthia O’Brien, from my hometown of Springfield, MA, bought the store a year ago and moved it to its new location behind the fountain on Market Street.  This is a much better location with easy parking across the street.  It was terrific seeing so many children and young adults reading books instead of playing computer games. 

 

I spent the evening at the Hampton Inn in Yarmouth and had a delicious dinner with a friend at Seafood Sam’s (www.seafoodsams.com).  They make the best shrimp and scallop broiled casserole. The next morning I had a lovely drive along Route 28 and arrived in Chatham at the bookstore, Where The Sidewalk Ends.  I had heard about the changes in the shop that Joanne made over the winter. The new covered deck looks wonderful and is a great place for authors doing book signings.   To the left is the children’s annex filled with books and games.  Once children can read on their own, they move across the deck to the two-story bookstore (www.booksonthecape.com) .I love coming here, the staff is so helpful and I was able to find a few of Phil Craig’s books to buy.

 

 

 

After I left the bookstore heading to Sandwich, I stopped at the Nantucket Wild Gourmet & Smoke House where I purchased their last package of smoked bluefish so that I could make Bluefish Paté (www.nantucketwildgourmet.com). Since it was hours before I would arrive home, the sales clerk was ever so helpful in providing me with a cold pack and insulated bags. 

 

Smoked Bluefish Paté (from Delish by Shirley Prada Craig)

 

5-6 ounces shredded smoked bluefish

8 ounces whipped cream cheese

½ tablespoon finely diced red onion

1 teaspoon prepared horseradish

1 teaspoon lemon juice

Dash of Worcestershire sauce if desired

 

1. Mix all ingredients together  by hand.
2. Serve on plain crackers, pita wedges, or bagel chips.

 

From here I left for Sandwich and Titcomb’s Bookstore on for an Open House involving 30 local authors.  As you drive down route 6A and you see this gentleman with the tricorn hat on the south side of the road in East Sandiwch, you know you have arrived at Titcomb’s (www.titcombsbookshop.com). I only wish that I could grow giant alliums like those that grace the flower beds in front of the store.  Greeting the artists and customers was Nancy Titcomb who founded the bookstore 61 years ago.

I had an absolutely great time meeting so many wonderful authors.  Richard Ryder, author of Seashore Sentinel: The Old Harbor Lifesaving Station of Cape Cod and I exchanged books.  As a lover of history I am anxious to read about the impact the lifesaving station had on shipwreck survivors.  Ned Handy, another author, told me about a cookbook his mother wrote in 1911. (www.titcombsbookshop.com)

 

After I left the book signing and before I headed home, I stopped again at Seafood Sam’s (this time in Sandwich) and had the most delicious lobster roll.

When is a lobster roll not a lobster roll, when it is a Crabster, a mixture of crab and lobster meat.  It was trés delicious!! I also brought home a bowl of lobster bisque to have later in the week.

 

All in all, it was a great weekend – good food, comfortable bed, and stimulation from meeting many new people.