Protothaca staminea

ITWOP has recently remarked that he has never seen me not order clams at a restaurant that was offering them on the menu. He is quite correct- with few exceptions having to do with cost or dubious nature of clams (cans usually), I will order clams, preferably steamed, preferably with drawn butter, preferably with saltines in a place that smells like low tide at the dock.
So why clams?
Well, first of all, let's get specific-the clams must be little necks. These clams have a naturally sweet flavor, which matches perfectly with slightly salty butter (unsalted, add a few clicks of salt) and Saltine crackers. Another great pairing- garlic, finely chopped Vidalia (Val-la-di-ya) onions, and bacon over pasta (but this combo rarely knocks the butter-saltine menu off). Top necks or Rhode Islands or whatever they call the bigger clams haven't got the sweetness; they also have a tendency to run a bit rubbery. Maine steamers? Ever since my dad taught me about "pissers" I haven't been able to even really give them a glance. I don't much like the raw ones either- give me oysters, hot sauce, and acidic lemon.
Other favorites? Cockles- really small, really salty/briny clams that I have had mainly in Italian cooking. Great with olive oil and garlic, but I recently had them with a light, garlickly tomato sauce that was a nice complement. Razor clams - no complaints, but no plaudits either.
So, flavor is good. But what else about this bivalve makes me keep coming back?
1. Family.
My family are clam people. It started with my grandparents in Wilkes-Barre, PA (a land locked place- I have clear memories of a panic as a child asking Auntie and Uncle Stash to take me to the ocean one day and the response that PA had no ocean)- my grandpa could knock back quite a few clams (and more than a few beers) in his day. Vickmar's, a place whose sign needs some memorializing if it still stands, was a favorite place to go on a Friday (no meat, thanks very much, in the Russian Orthodox tradition)- 25 clams for four and a quarter. You got them on an orange lunch room tray, with a small cup of butter and generic Saltines, and most of the family drank beer (pitchers with tiny glasses- a tradition in W-B, PA). I think my record was around 200 clams in a sitting. While we have moved to the less colorful and time conscious Dominic's now (only a paltry dozen for four fifty), we as a family can chow on clams. It brings back a myriad of remembrances now.
2. The smell of a dock at low tide.
I love the water- when I'm near water, I can't much complain about anything in life. We could have a digression here on the biological and anthropological need of hominids to connect with a aquatic source for its vital benefits, but it is quite simple- I love the water. I love the sea in particular. I love the word brackish more than I love the words Dardanelles and Bosporus (please look at this picture of it here), which I love without caveats.
3. They take some time to eat.
I hate to eat quickly- you would hate to have dinner with me and I hate the modern world's pace. Dining slowly (and I mean not by this that one needs to eat hoity-toity style cuisine, or even utilize the word "cuisine" in daily life) is a pleasure and clams offer this- if you have quite a few to consume, you need some time.
4. Lastly, the frivolous reason- you get to eat them with a candle.
Yes- I love the
So, if I order clams, remember- I am thinking of the people I love the most (familia mea), the smell of the end of the island in Emerald Isle, the wine-dark sea (okay- it is more grey-tan here on the East Coast, and I love the ty-d-bol blue of the Mediterranean), the pleasure of time, and the joy of a simple flame.
And the butter never hurts.

CS Lewis never disappoints..

"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron’s cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience. They may be more likely to go to Heaven yet at the same time likelier to make a Hell of earth. Their very kindness stings with intolerable insult. To be ‘cured’ against one’s will and cured of states which we may not regard as disease is to be put on a level of those who have not yet reached the age of reason or those who never will; to be classed with infants, imbeciles, and domestic animals."
—C. S. Lewis, God in the Dock

Crabby Weekend

So, we finally got to drive out with our friends to the Eastern Shore of Maryland to git us some crabs! Well, only one of our party had Maryland crabs (the others had snow crabs, clams, and veg options), but the day's adventure was enjoyed by all.

We meet up, sans bikes, at a halfway point, and then drove to Annapolis to walk around for a little bit before heading out to eat. After finding parking (in a 2 hour zone, where we were promptly noticed by what was probably the local parking Nazi resident), we headed down to the harbor in the center of town, where we were amazed at the size of the boats that were looking to dock in the public slips. Then, we walked over to the Naval Academy (which you can get onto- you just need an ID), where we saw a wedding at the chapel (complete with swords and bride getting smacked in the ass with sword) and the crypt of John Paul Jones, which is both eerie and refreshing (on a hot day, it is lovely cold!). After gazing at the quad, we headed back into town for some drinks at Phillip's seafood restaurant- okay place, but the view over the harbor on the outdoor seating was the best.

Then, we headed off over the 50 Bay Bridge to the Kent Island Narrows- where we were to engage some sea arachnids (aka, crabs) :

in battle with wooden mallets and paper covered table-tops. We went to the Jetty Dock Bar- if the screen pops up with a chick in a bikini, they are advertising for some event next weekend, and you will get the feel of the place. It is on a dock (as you can see, our food was right next to the water!) with picnic tables along the edges, and a Tiki Bar, covered, in the center. They also have a "beach" area- sand with tables and chairs, as well as a small indoors. If you happen to be on the Chesapeake Bay for the day on your boat, well, they even have places to dock your boat so you can come and eat!

The clientele was mainly local- I could see the place being a biker bar at times, but it was just a lot of tattooed workers, young people, and older women (not all of whom were wearing underwear, as some of us had to see) who were chasing very young men. Interesting to say the least!
The food was good- nothing stellar, but good seafood. We stayed for quite a well, enjoying the sun and the water, until a big breeze started blowing in. Then, we ended our evening by heading back to Annapolis for a beer (or ice cream- whichever you were hungering after) at a pub, discussing tattoos of Euclidean geometry with a St. John's student. The only bad thing- we asked for Boddingtons, and were given something that was either not Boddingtons, or something that was flat Boddingtons. I don't know which is worse.

A good day!

The Cabbage Patch

So, I got this lovely savoy cabbage at the farmer's market this weekend:

As the girl who sold it to me said, "Looks like there should be a Cabbage Patch Kid coming out of there!"

No, there were no dolls bursting out, but it did make a tasty pasta with a bit of bacon, garlic, onion, and parmesan cheese.

Pork Stir-fry

Made this one up, using food from the market, a yakitori sauce I love, and the pork tenderloin in the freezer.

Sauce: Yakitori (a Japanese sauce, mainly used for street vendor snack food- chicken and scallions on kebabs, grilled with this sauce)
You can make a larger batch depending on the size of your stir-fry- I doubled, but I had lots of stuff in there.
1/4 c soy sauce
1/4 c sherry (or sake if you have it- I don't)
garlic- minced, 1 or 2- I didn't use it in this recipe, because of the garlic scapes below. But, if you have no garlic scapes, add the garlic to this sauce.
ginger- a use jar ginger, pre mashed- a teaspoon or so
red pepper flakes- adjust the heat as you like it

Put all ingredients in a pan- bring to a boil, boil for a few minutes, and it is done. You can reduce it until it is thick, if you are using it for the kebabs, but for this dish, I let it stay thin.

Pork Stir-Fry

Ingredients:
Pork tenderloin (or just pork)- sliced thinly
Corn starch
Yakitori sauce
Oil- whatever type you like best for stir-fry- not olive oil
Onions- I like bigger chunks, but chopped is fine
Carrots- slices, about 3
Celery sliced, about 2
Garlic scapes- about 3, sliced like you would scallions
Green beans- cut in half and blanched
Rice- if you like; we used brown basmati

After you cut up the pork, coat it with some corn starch, as you would with flour. This will make the pork brown better, as well as thicken the sauce later.
Heat up the oil- add the pork, and cooked until nicely browned. During cooking, add a scoop of the Yakitori sauce, just to add some flavor to the pork. When it is browned enough (not necessarily cooked through), remove the pork to a plate.
Reheat pan- add more oil if needed. Add onion, carrot, and celery- fry up a few minutes. I like the crispy and brown, so I do this over high heat. When they get a little cooked, add the garlic scapes. Spoon in a bit of the Yakitori sauce. Cook a few more minutes, then add the pork back in, mix it up, and then, add the green beans. Mix it up; finally, add the rest of the Yakitori sauce- cook for a few minutes, while it thickens.
Voila! Done- enjoy with the rice, or alone.

Somewhat Sticky Lemon Chicken

Here is a recipe from Gordon Ramsay's "Fast Food"- I adapted it a bit to my tastes, but great recipe! It has nice sweet and salty tastes all mangled up together.

Ingredients:
Chicken (I used boneless, skinless thighs- that's what I had. Use what you like. The recipe calls for a cut-up chicken)
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper
Lots of garlic, smashed up (I used about 10 cloves- the recipe calls for a head of garlic)
Thyme sprigs- don't bother to take the leaves off. Leave them whole.
Sherry- one splash
White wine vinegar - a longer splash (real recipe calls for sherry vinegar- don't have it)
2-3 tbsp soy sauce- to taste
3 tbsp honey- just drizzle it when needed, don't measure
1 lemon, thinnly sliced, pits removed. Yes- keep the peel on.

Heat up the olive oil in a pan- add your chicken in, salt and pepper it (both sides when you turn it), throw in the smashed garlic, and the thyme sprigs. Cook- browning the chicken nicely. I used highish heat throughout cooking and it worked fine. When the chicken is browned, add the vinegar and let it cook for a few minutes. Then, add the soy sauce and honey- mix everything up so all pieces get a good coating. Add the lemon to the pan, cook a few minutes, then taste. Add more honey, soy, or vinegar, depending on your tastes. Leave cooking for about 10 minutes, or until you know the chicken is done and the sauce is reduced and "sticky"- or just thick.
Enjoy! We had potatoes and squash casserole (my family knows this one- squash/zucchini, cheese, breadcrumbs, milk- baked) to round out the meal.

Saturday Market- a Buckeye family tradition!

BrutusBuckeye and I enjoyed our Saturday morning ritual (when we are in town!)- we headed to the Reston Farmer's Market, which is about a ten minute walk from our home, through some wooded paths, along a lake (read: large pond).

The market is held on the Lake Anne Plaza- Lake Anne is a older (1960s), planned community, with a lot of condos surrounding the lake front, and shops and restaurants on the bottom floors. It is a neat place- I think it is meant to resemble a Mediterranean town center, but since it was built with 1960s materials of concrete and brick, it doesn't quite make you feel like you are in Italy, but it has a great vibe anyway.

There is a craft fair along the lake front every morning (some neat stuff- the coolest place has hand woven- on a loom!- towels and dishrags) and the Farmer's Market is held in the parking lot of the town center (better for the produce trucks to pull up to!).

We love going here- first, we get all local food, at prices that are cheaper than the grocery store (we already got everything we need for the week, except some milk, today), and second, the market is so vibrant and full of people, that it reminds me of all the markets we went to in France.

So, we usually walk over around 9am (we need to get there earlier now- the place is packed and some produce was already sold out!), and do our veggie shopping first. This week, the buzz word was berries! We got strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, and cherries, all of much better quality than the crap from California (the strawberries actually have a taste- not just the weak sugar water flavor of Driscolls). There will only be a few more weeks for the berries, so we will gorge on them (Brutus is in the kitchen making a strawberry lemon tart as we speak).

We also picked up new potatoes, fresh peas, zucchini, squash, radishes, onions, green beans, and garlic scapes. What? Garlic scapes? Well- these are the sprouts for garlic plants, that usually come out for about 3 weeks, before they flower. Here is a good site about what they are, a picture, and recipes. I think I will make a pork dish with some of them, then make pesto with the rest. They are the green curly things next to the peas, in the picture.

We also picked up quite a bit of meat- there are many local animal farms that sell at the market as well. They come with big coolers of vacuumed-packed, frozen meats. Today, we shopped at a vendor called Cibola Farms, from Culpepper, VA. They seem to specialize, right now, in buffalo and pork. So, we picked up a buffalo flank steak, some pork cutlets, pork sausage, and bratwurst. At another vendor, Valentine's Meats, from Orange, VA, we got some oxtail- I have always wanted to try this! So, we are set for the week- and the prices were the same or less than grocery stores.

We ended our shopping trip in our favorite way- breakfast on the plaza! We go to the Lake Anne Pharmacy, which has a lunch counter. For about $14.00, we have a full breakfast with coffee. The place also has Ecuadorian specialties, so we want to try some of those next time- the Huevos Rancheros look good, and they have some sort of pork dish, the spelling of which I will not attempt here.

We sit outside, and enjoy the bustling town- there is a fountain right next to the pharmacy that children swarm with their parents- it is a walk-in fountain, so it is fine that they are all over it. It just looks dirty to me!

And yes, we did have our meat with us during breakfast. And no, we did not have a cooler. But, it remained frozen- I just wanted to gross out my dear sister (who will insist on refrigeration for transporting meat, even if a store were next to her house- love you!). And yes, if you visit, we will have a cooler.

Now, we are washing and prepping veggies- some will need to be cooked soon, even if we eat them later this week.

Gosh, I love Saturday mornings!