Oysters for always.

Last winter I read M.F.K. Fisher's seductive description of her first oyster at her all girl's boarding school Christmas party. I wished that I was excited by oysters so that I could appreciate the passage better.

Next it was oysters at Neptune for KH's birthday in March. Of course I couldn't meet her until after the oysters eaten and I missed the chance. I didn't think of anything of it then, having never had an oyster.

In June, we went to the third Franklin and at KH's urging I got an oyster with her and SEM, not wanting to be outdone or boring. My first oyster was exciting and fresh and unusual and perfect as I was dying for the weather to be hot enough to go body surfing in some Atlantic waves.

By mid July SEM and I had orchestrated a culinary camping trip (all the money was for the food) to Portland, Maine with JP and TM. The point was Fore Street (hopefully I will go again this winter and I will write about it - especially because it may have been the best meal of the season). Our reservations were for very late. We needed something to do in the mean time. JB had ordered oysters before I even realized it. Another mollusk down the hatch. I loved it but still didn't understand it.

Late in July GMA and I found ourselves on a beach in Wellfleet, Massachusetts, listening to a novel being read aloud by SEM whose protagonist was the best oyster shucker in her family's Whistable Oyster house. We were completely clueless to the fact that we were in WELLFLEET reading about the famous WHISTABLE oysters! In our fog about it all we didn't look for any. We just enjoyed the seals and whales we swam with.

In August SEM ate oysters in Oslo!



Later in my favorite month I had friends in from out of town and they wanted a good food treat on a Monday night. Perfect! We went back to Rialto and had a beautiful plate of 12 oysters on the half shell with four different and refreshing toppings. This was the first time I had more than one in a row. Each one a little rush.

October brought SEM to New Orleans, another town famous for the oyster, but had no time to squeeze a taste of them in. Ah, the good and bad of a business trip...She did find this postcard. At least this time she knew where she was in relation to a good oyster.

Last weekend an impromptu dinner at Rendezvous in central square with GMA and SEM led me to my most recent oysters. They were the highlight of the meal and from Wellfleet. This renewed my newly established longing for them.

I want to know what I missed at Neptune last spring. I want to experience B&G Oysters. I want more oysters. I want the thrill of each one.


Norway and Franklin oyster were photographed by sem.

Brooklyn Baby! (Part 2: Brunch and then some!)

IAM knew where she was taking us for brunch on the drizzly and windy morning we had before us: Tom's Restaurant.

After a few block walk from her apartment we reached our corner destination in Prospect Heights covered in real and faux fauna and florals. There were plastic chairs lined up in case there was a wait but luckily we went right in.

Immediately we were greeted by the owner handing out pumps of hand sanitizer and toast dripping with cinnamon butter and honey. Next a friendly man behind the kitchen counter made sure we had coffee if we wanted it.

When the owner realized that we weren't just your usual three sisters out to brunch - we were three sisters with the youngest's Spanish lover - he spoke the few words he knew of Spanish and then took the lover over to see a picture on the wall depicting the King of Spain skiing with the former owner of the restaurant in Colorado! It was that kind of place.

The menu was huge (as you can see) I was torn between sweet potato pancakes and pumpkin waffles. I bargained with my tablemates to finagle both. More toast was brought over. Then, while we were looking at the menu an old fashioned Egg Cream arrived at our table with four straws because of our Spanish friend.

We enjoyed our abundant breakfast. The potatoes were really salty and substantially delicious and familiar. My waffle was great, crispy and still fluffy and served with three different types of flavored butter! As we ate we were brought orange wedges and cookies. I have never seen this kind of service but I certainly didn't mind it at all.

The atmosphere was 30's mixed with 80's country home. The crowd was really a mix from the neighborhood. We sat next to someone my sister knew! They actually had me in their eyesight and started to talk about how that woman (me) looked just like their friend, IAM.

Every staff member said goodbye to us and wished us a good day as they do everyone. This was one of the warmest, quirkiest, most generous brunches I have ever had!

Brooklyn Baby (Part 1: Ice cream baby!)

JRD and I traveled down to New York City last weekend for my older sister's (IAM's) birthday scavenger hunt extravaganza! After a long day of running around Manhattan taking crazy pictures of ourselves with strangers and blue vampire teeth we ventured back to Brooklyn and were needing something to eat. Walking back to her apartment from the subway we came across Blue Marble. Of course, IAM had been there before, in fact just earlier that morning when she had taken my little sister there for breakfast!

Blue Marble is an ice cream shop with two stores in Brooklyn. What really got me was the toppings. Balsamic vinegar, honey, and fleur de sel were among the options for your ice cream! Unfortunately, when I asked what they recommend for the balsamic the girl working said, "It is wonderful on the strawberry ice cream, but...we don't have it right now." So then I asked what she recommend for the fleur de sel not seeing any caramel flavors. Her response, "We love to put it on the Dulce de Leche that we usually have but...we don't have it right now."
Have no fear! I ordered a rich scoop of this luscious dark chocolate ice cream on a sugar cone with fleur de sel sprinkled on top.

JRD had the pumpkin ice cream - sweeter than I expected and so good. A cold thing that could make you feel warm and cozy. perfect.

They have coffee and baked goods too (thus the breakfast...). Nothing is made in or by the shop but they are proud to tell you where it all comes from - always a great sign. Their way of bringing everything together makes for a great feel. With a tall wooden fence lining the wall, light blue and whit-ish paints that make the place feel open and bright, beautiful chalkboard menu and lovely staff (at least the one and only girl there when we went) Blue Marble feels as good as the treat you are getting!

In it!

Today I was putting my misfitted topping over a peach cobbler that I was making because I had to, because I had all these peaches that would spoil if I didn't make a cobbler immediately and meanwhile, this achingly sweet version of an Edna St. Vincent Poem sung by Deb Talan came over the internet radio and life altogether just made me swoon.

Here is ESVM's poem. Cobbler is above.

(but you should really hear it through Deb Talan).

I was overcome with the feeling that sometimes you really are just in the middle of it and you are the gladdest thing.

Have some!

Here are two takeaway products from my trip abroad.

1)I used to think that Icelandic yogurt was just another fancy food store gimmick to make people feel good. I had Skyr (yogurt) in iceland and it was so thick and smooth. I'll say it. It was better than the yogurt I usually eat.

So many yogurts in the U.S. are made lowfat, rendering them less creamy and a little chalky. Skyr is naturally fat free and doesn't leave me wondering what it would taste like with a little milk fat in it. I'd recommend Skyr to you no matter what the back of the container said, but I can't help noting when there is a good nutrition facts-good taste anomaly. Skyr is expensive at the Whole Foods, I can't get around it. But, it is a real treat and what a yogurt should be. (Not to mention all the nostalgia it fills me with!)


2)Norwegians eat chocolate bars to keep themselves going. I admire this about them. In addition, most of the time it is milk chocolate. Really good milk chocolate (not always an easy thing to find). I haven't found Norwegian chocolate here, but luckily I brought some back and luckily my parents are in Norway and I put in a request for a small supply.

Living off the Norwegian Land (Part 2: Fisk!)

One of the most invigorating parts of my vacation was when I went fishing. I strapped a knife to my belt, put on a life vest and headed to the boat. SEM knew what she was doing and GA and I were ready to learn. We put the oars in the water and once we had a good pace we put in the otter trawler.

The otter is this little plank of wood with a long fishing line with 10 hooks and flies coming off of it. The line is connected to a piece of metal that pivots backs and forth so that it can change directions. As long as someone keeps rowing it looks like there are 10 flies dancing across the water. Irresistible. We made loops between the two island in the lake hoping something would bite. Sure enough, one did.

GA was holding the line and it started to pull. I was rowing at the time and to keep the fish on the line it didn't matter where I took us as long as I kept moving and avoided running ashore. SEM winded it slowly back in, being sure not to slice her hand with one of the other hooks. GA scooped it up with a net and brought into the boat. Finally, we had it! SEM took it off the hook, squeezed hard and clubbed it with an old wooden mallet designed just for this (sorry, there is no other way to describe what happened).

The otter went back in, GA guided it, I rowed and SEM pulled in the fish. After two more catches I was ready to change roles. I pulled in a fish of my own, unhooked it and then killed it.

We caught a total of 6 trout that day. After we anchored our little row boat and tied it to the dock I learned how to clean them too. Sem carefully and craftily showed me how to gut the fish. I slid the knife on my belt out of its sheath, cut the fish open and emptied it out.

I wasn't sure how I would feel about this whole excursion. I felt a little squeamish and bad at the though of deceiving and killing something. But, the more I thought about it, I felt that I needed to do it. I needed to be a part of the whole (mild water) hunting process and know how it feels.

It took three of us to catch one fish. We were tired and had worked hard and for hours. I felt truly powerful. I had to use the power of my arms, stomach and legs to keep us going in the rowboat. I almost squeezed a fish to death because I didn't want to screw up when I clubbed it. I slit the fish open and made it ready to eat. I helped feed my friends. We didn't need any middle men. It was SEM, GA and I that took care of it on this day.

(To be historically accurate I should note that we had a second excursion that day to catch our 6th and final fish. JB helped to bring this one in.)


Below are a few very short clips of demonstrations the start of cleaning a fish and taking the skin of in order to eat it (please note KH having her way with the fish behind SEM's slow speed demo.)

Eating off the Norwegian Land: (Part 1: the Berry Edition)

These days eating directly from the earth usually means visiting a farm with a "pick-your-own" crop; shopping at the farmers market or growing a few vegetables as experiments in the backyard, or on the deck in pots or a little patch of well fertilized dirt. This is a glorious and satisfying way to get my food, but, never before have I just been able to feel like the casual roaming reindeer eating what the land provided for me!

One of the most magical parts of the second half of my vacation was the time that I spent in a cabin in rural Norway. Just up from a glacial fed lake that provided the drinking, washing, and swimming water, the cabin was our cozy home for 6 days.

There were two things that covered the ground: Blueberry bushes and reindeer moss. Luckily we were there at the height of the blueberry season. (Reindeer moss is actually a slow growing lichen that has a misty green hue that makes everything look enchanted.)

We had blueberries for breakfast. We put blueberries in our cocktails. We made blueberry galettes and blueberry crumble. We ate blueberries on the way to the lake. We ate blue berries on the way to the outhouse. And never did I feel like I had too many!

On our last day we took a long, dramatic and beautiful hike. Like good Norwegians we had chocolate bars with us for energy and morale. However, there was nothing better to keep me going than the occasional mountain raspberry that we found along the way. It is hard to tell, but here GA is picking one.

Bright pink-red berries peeked out of bushes on the sides of mountain cliffs. They may be the sweetest, softest berries I have eaten.

Oh, Norway, I’ll eat your berries anytime!

Hot diggity dog!

There is a little place to stop in between the United States and the rest of Europe called, Iceland. The landscape is stark; the blue lagoon is hot; the population is small; the capital is small; the puffins are small.

I had two days and I was focused on two things: baby puffins and hot dogs. In my pre-trip research I learned that while we were arriving a week after pride in the only country with an openly gay head of state that at least we were in time for watching puffins!
I also learned that among various forms of putrefied shark meat this little country was known for a delicious hot dog. This information proved to be the anchors of our loose agenda.

Hot dogs in Europe are different. They are crunchier and spicier and well topped. In Iceland the absolute best place for one of these deluxe dogs is Bæjarins Beztu, a metal stand down by the water. The classic is served up with a dark & sweet mustard, ketchup, fried onions and raw onions on a bun. In 48 hours, more than one trip was made here. What tasty and satisfying food which proved to be the cheapest meal on my vacation!

It was only upon going through customs on the way home that we learned Icelandic hot dogs are one of the few meat products the discerning U.S. of A. will not confiscate.
I really blew that opportunity. If anyone is going…pick me up a pack?






(don’t worry, I also went on a puffin watch and got the best view of the city while watching the struggle that is the flight of the odd little puffin. Two members of our group even enthusiastically ate puffin at a local restaurant. I understand that it was very smoked.)

Danish! Birthdays! Break out the flags...

If you know anything about me, you know that I love all things birthday and Scandinavian (particularly Danish things).

This week JRD combined both for me. We left early in the morning to make a long confusing drive to Medford for a surprise trip to The Danish Pastry House!


For a few years I have been reading about this cafe marked by a sign with the signature golden crowned pretzel as marks every bakery in Denmark. The atmosphere was warm but not exactly great. It was bright and modern but more like a new cafeteria than danish design. None of that mattered though once we got to the pastry case.




In a long row we saw many pastries we recognized from Denmark- real "danishes" called Vienebrød, filled with cream centers, not cheese. We also saw pastry dough swirled with cinnamon and chocolate which reminded us of onsdag snegle (Wednesday Snails, that is. Most bakeries would feature a pastry on a specific day of the week.

JRD and I almost lost it when we saw flødeboller. These are lighter than marshmallow confections that are piled on a little crisp waffley disk and then all of it coated in chocolate.
The mother of the family that I lived with in Denmark brought these home when she was wanting a treat.

We shared some with our roommate, JML.




We tried nougat things and sandwhiches and other things that didn't seem typical to what we see at other bakeries. They even had little marzipan Kaj like in most pastry houses in Denmark ! Kaj is a little green frog and the most beloved kids tv show character in Denmark.


My mom and I have tried almost every marshmallow chocolate thing for the past few years hoping to find something similar to flødeboller. But, now that I have found it I might be in trouble (as you can see...) knowing that there is a place to get authentic flødeboller right here in the commonwealth!

Hey Puddin'.

I don't have much to say on this except, I love pudding. Puddings and custards and creams.

Oh, the sweet, rich glory of them!

Recently most dessert recipes that I think of making are some sort of custard. Custard is on my brain and just won't slip slide off. Of course, I don't really mind.

The following recipe from Alice Medrich's Pure Desserts was so delicious and sophisticated while still being pudding that the ease of it is going to be shared with you.

Alice Medrich has written a few well respected cookbooks and been a consultant on many others.

Pure Dessert is organized by featured flavor components. These Recipes often begin with well written anecdotal and/or explanatory notes and then go on to be straight forward and simple enough in concept (often also in skill.) Each picture is bright, crisp, uncomplicated and severely desirable.

I added a little more sugar (as AM suggests adjusting to your taste knowing that her recipe is very intense and bittersweet). Here it is as she writes it. Notice the detail she gives; she includes where your bowl should be so that when the crucial time hits you aren't in a panic! I whipped up some heavy cream adding a tiny teaspoon of sugar just to add a little dimension, but keeping it nearly pure so that it compliments and cuts through the richness of the pudding.

My (Medrich's) Chocolate Pudding:

2 large eggs
1/3 cup of sugar
1/3 cup (1.1. ounces) unsweetened cocoa powder (AM prefers natural)
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
2 pinches of salt
2 cups of whole milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate (AM likes to use a 70% bittersweet) chopped medium-fine

equipment:
six 4-ounce custard cups or ramekins or 8 smaller cups.

Set the food processor near the stove. Have a whisk, a heatproof (silicone) spatula, and a ladle on hand.

In a medium bowl (preferably glass or crockery, because it is heavy and will stay put when you whisk in the hot pudding), Whisk the eggs thorough. Set the whisk and bowl near the stove.

In a medium heavy saucepan, mix the sugar, cocoa, cornstarch, and salt. Pour about 1/3 cup of the milk into the pan and whisk to make a smooth paste. Whisk in the remaining milk. Heat the milk mixture over medium heat, stirring with the heat-proof spatula, until it begins to bubble around the edges. Adjust the heat to maintain a steady low boil and stir constantly for 2 minutes, sweeping the bottom and sides of the pan constantly to avoid scorching. Remove from the heat.

Ladle about 1 cup of the hot mixture gradually over the eggs, whisking constantly to prevent scrambling. Scrape the egg mixture back into the pan and whisk vigorously to blend. Set the pan over l0w-medium heat and whisk for just 30 seconds, without simmering or boiling, to be sure the eggs are hot enough. Off the heat, add the vanilla and chocolate and whisk until the chocolate is melted.

Scrape the pudding into the processor and process for 10 seconds. Divide the pudding among the cups or ramekins. Let cool and serve, or chill before serving.


Enjoy! and always Share! (...with me...)


thanks Ms. Medrich for the recipe, KK for the book, SEM for the darling cups, JRD, as always for beautiful pictures.

Sofra (its been a long time coming)

What do you do the day after you run a half marathon?
Take a lazy, sunny trip to Sofra with friends, of course, of course

What do you do after an afternoon of particularly high stress babysitting?
Stop by Sofra on the way home, of course, of course.

What do you do the morning after a lovely late night with a friend?
Continue the conversation over breakfast at Sofra, of course, of course.


I will tell you about the post half marathon trip with LZA, JRD, and SSS.

Sofra sits on the edge of Watertown and Cambridge off of Mt. Auburn. The cafe is a product of the continued collaboration of Ana Sortun and Maura Kilpatrick. Much like their restaurant, Oleana, the flavors are primarily inspired from Turkish and Eastern Mediterranian cuisines.

The four of us sat outside in the beating sun on the sleek patio they recently finished building secretly hoping the sun would color our cheeks a little. The atmosphere is a combination of contemporary chic and an old Turkey I have never seen.

We ordered a mezze platter where we got to pick 5 different spreads to eat with their housemade pita and fingerling bread.
-Lentils and carmelized onions.
-Beet Tzatziki (my fave)
-Whipped Feta with sweet and hot red peppers (JRD's fave from Oleana).
-Whipped Celery root with almonds garlic
-Smokey Eggplants with pine nuts (I didn't love it, but I don't usually like smoked things).

They have this egg sandwhich with cheese, optional bacon and a cooked to order egg on a rich, soft brioche with a spiced top. This is one of the best egg sandwiches I have had.

We also had poached eggs swimming in a tomato curry with toasted pita crumbs, a tasty and welcomed new take (for me) on usual breakfast fare.

The Turkish breakfast was an array of fresh flavors. This was a soft boiled egg with cucumbers, olives, thick yogurt, a sweet jellied fruit, fig and phyllo noodle shreds.


We ordered a sampling of treats.
-The Bee Sting - Honey, almonds, brioche. This sounded better than it was.
Persian Donut - Oof! Not too sweet, delicately fried!
Strawberry Rhubarb tart - a delicious classic.

Good coffee was had, a Rhubarb mint drink (very sweet - we added some seltzer when we got home!) Orange Blossom Lemonade - MK told me to get this a long time ago and I thank her for that. Their iced housemade chai is a little different than you might expect, very very sweet (undrinkable way too sweet for some), but very good (to me!).

We took so much home too so that the experience could last the entire length of a day!

An absolute must are the incredible fluffy clouds of not quite pita that you can buy by the bag full. We did.

Plus Milk Jam. Milk jam is essentially carmelized milk and sweetened condensed milk and is good on most things, including your pinky!

-Earthquake cookies are beautiful, and chocolatey, with a very thin crunchy layer and a chewy inside.
-Molasses cookies have a sweet spice, crunchy outside, soft inside.
-Chocoloate Hazelnut Baklava is a more complex, less sweet version of the traditional.
-Almond Rose cake has a light crumb with a strong almond but gentle rose flavoring.
-Kunefe is shredded phyllo with a sweet cheese inside which makes for such an interesting texture in your mouth and the flavor is simple and deep.

Sometimes the floral flavors are too heavy handed for my taste especially when I am not warned. I have ordered some things and sure enough there is the rosewater, there is the orange blossom and I just didn't want it there. In the lemonade it is clean and delicious but I don't need it everywhere!

I could go on and on about all of the different things I have had over the past 8 months here and I haven't even talked about the flatbreads and schwarma. Look at the menu on their website to learn about all the other options. More importantly, go! They are a cafe with some limited options but they have something everyone whether it be, vegetable tarts, flatbreads, soups, dips, or sweets sweet sweets.

These picture by JRD and SSS are pretty self explanatory and may cause extreme cravings. In that case stop what you are doing, pick up your phone, give me a call, I will pick you up, we will go. Trust me.