This past weekend I participated in CLASH – A Celebration of Land and Sea Harvest at the Cape. On Friday, the Riverway Lobster House in S. Yarmouth hosted me at a booksigning. It was very gracious of the Siscoe family. The lobster and crab chowder make by Chef Tim McDonough was absolutely delicious.
At the signing I met Craig Williams, a cranberry grower from the area. He was quizzing me about my knowledge of cranberry since I had written a book about the ubiquitous little red berry. Fortunately, I passed the test. He invited me and my guests to visit his bogs after the signing. When we finished we headed north and following the directions Craig gave us we were able to locate the bogs without any problem.
The bogs had a bit of color in them and when asked what it was, I learned that poison ivy and cranberries have a symbiotic relationship. He indicated that the workers grow an immunity to the poison and Craig indicated that one can apply a block to prevent the oil from touching the skin.
Craig jumped into one of the bogs and picked a ariety of cranberries to show us the different coloration in the berries. I learned that 90% of the different was wet harvested and are used for juice, sauces, jams, etc. That means that 10% are sold as fresh berries.
Growers have had a difficult time over the past few years financially due not only to the economy, but also due to increased imports of berries from other countries. In 2009, $299 million dollars worth of berries entered the USA with $132 million coming from Chili, $115 million from Canada and $46 million from Argentina. It is essential that the cranberry industry be preserved here in Massachusetts, so make sure you buy bags that say Massachusetts. A law passed about a year ago says that fruit and vegetables imported must show where they are coming from.
We thanked Craig for taking his valuable time to give us the tour. I only wish I had the time to return for the actual harvest. From we headed to Barnstable Harbor and the Mattakeese Wharf restaurant.
The meal was delicious and the view sensational. If it had not been overcast, the sunset would have been spectacular.
On Saturday, we headed to Chatham for another signing at Where The Sidewalk Ends bookstore. For a Saturday, it was a little quiet. When we left we headed to the lighthouse and that is where we found everyone. It was a beautiful day and everyone headed to the beach. I showed my company the break through in Pleasant Bay and then did a tour of Orleans before we headed home. Before leaving, we stopped at the Deli in Sandwich to pick up sandwiches and went out to the Canal to eat. It was warm but a bit breezy. This was my sister-in-laws first trip to the Cape and she is looking forward to exploring it some more. She and my brother live in Dallas, so it was a nice change.
Below is a delicious recipe for Cranberry-Apple Turkey Salad from my cookbook, a taste of cranberries and some tales too.
¼ cup low-fat vanilla yogurt
2 tablespoons light mayonnaise
2½ cups boneless, skinless turkey breast, diced
½ cup dried cranberries
1 medium celery rib, chopped
¼ cup red onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons pecans, chopped
2 medium apples, sliced
1. In a medium bowl, stir together yogurt and
mayonnaise.
2. Stir in turkey and remaining ingredients, except
apples.
3. Place lettuce on individual salad plates; using ice
cream scoop put one scoop of turkey on top of
lettuce.
4. Garnish with sliced apples.
Serves 4