Phoebe's Kitchen

From Sun to Snow

Spring arrived 2 weeks ago according to the calendar, but  I guess someone forgot to tell Mother Nature.  Two  weeks ago I was sitting in the sun on Siesta Key beach  in Sarasota, yesterday I was preparing the snow blower to be used.  Is there something wrong with this picture? 

I must say the weather was marvelous for my annual trip.  It was raining as I left Bradley International, but miraculously ended as the plane landed in Tampa.  As I stepped out of the airport the warmth enveloped me.  I headed out in rental car with the windows open and headed to Publix, my favorite grocery store. 

Sarasota has one of the finest Farmer’s Market on Saturday morning.  Always best to get there early in order to get a good parking spot.  The flowers, vegetables, and fruits are straight from the growers.  After the   market we head to the Broken Egg at  Lakewood Ranch.  Their meals are very inventive and don’t besurprised to see Dick Vitale having breakfast or signing books. 

 

As usual a trip to Anna’s Deli on Siesta Key was in order.  Founded in 1971, it is now the oldest
restaurant on Siesta Key.  The reason for this success is the delicious sandwiches, especially the surfer.  It is a combination of ham, turkey, cucumbers (sliced on length very thin), cheese and their special dressing.  Friends kept testing and believe that the dressing is a combination of mustard and mayonnaise. 

One can not leave Florida with out having grouper.  I prefer mine grilled and the Phillippi Creek Village Restaurant and Oyster Bar.  The restaurants sits on the edge of the creek and dining is in the Old Florida tradition.  Phillippi Creek Oyster Bar is actually the converted winter home of the Phillippi family and has changed little since being built in 1604.  His ship the “Philly P” is said to have gone down off Island Park during Hurricane Maria in 1619 and supposedly on moonlit nights a ghostly vision of the ship can be seen sailing up the creek without a paddle.

For my entire trip, the days were warm and sunny and the skies were cloudless and there is nothing quite like the sun setting over the Gulf of Mexico.      

 

                                                         Grilled Grouper

4 (6-ounce) grouper fillets                                                                                     2 teaspoons olive oil         1/2 teaspoon salt                                                                                                                                                                 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper                                                                  lime wedges                                                                                              cooking spray

1.  Rub fish with olive oil, psrinkle with salt and pepper.                                       2.  Heat a large nonstick grill pan over medium high heat; coat pan with cooking spray or heat grill at same temperature and spray grill with cooking oil.                  3.  Add fish, cook 5 minutes on each side or until flakes easily when tested with a     fork.                                                                                                                  4.  Serve with lime wedges.

Serves 4                                                                     Taste and Tales of Florida

Taste and Colors of Fall

I think we would all agree that this past year has been pretty strange weather wise.  Spring came weeks before it should and the trees and flowers were as confused as us.  So far fall has been predictable.  In New England we were figuring the colors would be dull due to the severe lack of rain.  However, in September we received a fair amount of rain and I believe that helped change the course.  I have a large Silver Maple Tree in my yard and prior to the 9 inches of rain we received in September was dropping leaves pretty consistently.  After the rain, the tree held it leaves and is still doing so.  All-in-all it has been a pretty terrific fall and for visitors the trees held forth their annual colorful extravaganza.  Also in my yard is a Gingko and right now it is an absolutely unbelievable color   of yellow gold.  Either tomorrow morning or the next one, I will get up and all the leaves will be off the tree.  The Ginkgo can live for nearly a millennium and it drops all its leaves at once.  So far it has only happened at night so I have never seen it happen.

 

Last weekend I went to Cooperstown to meet the lovely Miss Maggie – my friend's 8 month old baby.  Most of the leaves were past and many of the trees were bare, but the magnificent chrysanthemums trees at the Otesaga Hotel were sensational.  I had never seen anything like them before.  Matt is 6' 4"  (holding Maggie) and as you can see the trees were not that much taller.  There is always so much to see and do in Cooperstown.  As we only had a few hours, Matt’s wife Mary Margaret and I hit a few of the shops while Matt had bonding time with Maggie.

 The first shop visited was Savor NY on W. Main Street.  The emphasis of the store is products made in NY - both food products and specialty items such as children blocks.  The owner is the author of two Cooperstown cookbooks that are excellent.  We then went to one of my favorite places, Fly Creek Cider Mill.  The mill is a few miles outside of  Cooperstown and is a wonderful place to purchase great cheeses such as Palatine Bridge, delicious apples, and unique gifts.  

 

Within a few minutes of my home is a great market, Fresh Acres Market.    It has an open air produce section, outstanding meat department (all without hormones), take home food section and specialty items such as my friend’s cookies and cupcakes.  A few weeks ago they had a harvest food tasting event. Shoppers tasted delicious items such as stuffed scallops, crab cakes, a wonderful Turkey Vegetable Gumbo, and samples of the various entries into the apple cooking contests.  Their philosophy is to buy local as much as they can, corn  from Meadowbrook Farms, apple pies from Lyman Orchards and cookies from Sugar DLs (I highly recommend her Ginger Cookies).

This is the perfect time for soup, chowder. and stews. There is nothing quite like sitting down and having a nice hot bowl of Vegetable Beef Soup or my Belgian Beef Stew (see February 14th blog).  My mother and I made a pot of soup every week and it is one of the things I miss.  We would sit at the table and peel and cut our vegetables.  The ingredients changed based on what was in the house.  Last week I used rutabaga, parsnips, celery, onion, garlic and carrots.  There isn't a real recipe, but I will give you some guidelines.

Vegetable Beef Soup

 

1 center-cut beef shank                                                             

1 (14 ounce) beef stock

2 stalks celery, chopped

½ rutabaga, diced

4 parsnips, diced

3 carrots, diced

1 medium onion, diced

1 tablespoon minced garlic

sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

fresh thyme and oregano

 

1. Fill a stock pot with water and beef stock to within 2-inces of top.  Place beef shank in pot and bring to a boil on medium low.  Skim top of liquid before it gets to a full boil.  Once boiled, turn heat down to simmer.
2. Add vegetables and seasoning.  I use fresh thyme, lemon thyme and oregano all year round.
3. Let cook for 2-3 hours.  When beef is tender and falling off bone, remove and cut in pieces.  When vegetables are tender, serve with salad and hot bread.

 Serves 8

Cook’s Note:  I have a large pansy bowl filled with a variety of herbs.  In late October I bring them in and place them inside in an unheated porch.  I water them about every three weeks and once spring arrives, I put them back outside and simply repot them.  I have been doing this for several years and nothing has died including my rosemary.  I have tried to over winter rosemary inside, but it doesn’t like it, but it doesn’t seem to mind the porch.

 

 

 

 

 

Find Us in Essex, CT

Goods & Curiosities, a retail store of the Griswold Inn located at 47 Main Street in Essex, CT.  The shop  now carries the Taste and Tales of Coastal New

England, A Taste of Lobsters and some tales too... and A Taste of Cranberries and some tales too. 

The Griswold Inn is the oldest continuously operated Inn in the U.S.A.  It originally opened in 1776   Its Hunt Breakfast is served every Sunday at the Inn.  To learn more about it read the tales in the Taste and Tales of Coastal New England.