Blueberries and Lobster

Yesterday afternoon we moved our cars down by the East End beach, in anticipation of the crazy storm and the inevitable parking ban. This morning at 6AM the early risers from Munjoy Hill trudged down to begin the long, arduous process of chipping 1/2″ of solid ice off of our cars.

It took us over an hour and a half to get both of our cars out, and we didn’t even really have to shovel too much. Of course, some of that time was spent helping other folks with a shovel, a push, or both.

Our downstairs neighbor, poor guy, parked in the driveway. He’s completely plowed in. He’s out there now, hacking at the thick layer of ice-on-snow with a pickaxe. He’ll be out there for a while. I’ll be surprised if he manages to get his car out by noon.

We got eight inches in Portland. Eight inches of powder would not be so bad, but these are eight sleety, icy, frozen inches.

From this morning’s Sunrise Herald:

Wind chill is too generous. It should be called wind freeze today. It is wicked out there, blowing easily at 20 mph with 40 mph gusts. The snow, meanwhile, has moved on, but in its place is the wind, which should be blowing all day.

Highs expected in the 20s, but you won’t know it. Sun comes out, but you won’t feel it. Keep as little skin exposed as possible, and keep the tots bundled when they go sledding. Skin can get frostbitten within minutes in these temps.

[...]

Most schools at 8 a.m. were reporting delays rather than closures. And if your town has a street, there is more than likely a parking ban.

We came in after our morning’s effort and I made us some coffee and a big pot of cheese grits. I’d found them in the bulk aisle at Whole Foods for 99 cents, much cheaper than in a box. (Though if you’re strapped, you can buy them on Amazon.) Grits are an easy savory breakfast — 1 part grits to 4 parts water, a pinch of salt, and five minutes of stirring.

Cheese Grits
Serves 2–4
Bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Whisk in 1/2 c. quick-cooking grits and a pinch of salt. Reduce heat to a simmer, and allow to simmer until thick, about five minutes. Add in about 1/2 c. Monterey Jack cheese. Dish out into bowls and top with butter pats.

Cheese grits are warm, satisfying, and perfect for a post-shoveling breakfast.

I thought I had the recipe for the best cornbread ever. I really did. My favorite cookbook, Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything, rarely steers me wrong.

But then we were headed for dinner at a friend’s house, and a slight wheat allergy meant that I had to get creative. Bittman’s recipe, like many cornbread recipes, calls for flour. So I found another recipe that doesn’t involve any bean flours, or tapioca flours, or anything like that; it just calls for cornmeal.

Lots and lots of cornmeal.

And you know what? I actually liked it better than the flour version. It is rustic, and earthy, and only very slightly sweet. And instead of my standard shelf-stable buttermilk, I used actual, real buttermilk from a local dairy. I’m sure that helped too. And it is so incredibly good the next day for breakfast, toasted, with butter and honey.

And yes, I use bacon grease. If you’re not into bacon for one reason or another, use butter or vegetable oil.

The (New) Best Cornbread Ever
Adapted from an old Moosewood, by way of RecipeLink

2 T. bacon grease
2 c. yellow cornmeal, divided
1/2 c. boiling water
1 T. sugar (scant)
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 egg
1 1/4 c. buttermilk

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

On the stovetop, heat a small (6-8″) cast iron skillet on medium-low. Add the bacon grease to the skillet and let it get nice and hot while you prepare the rest of the batter.

In a medium bowl, stir together 1/2 c. of the cornmeal with the boiling water. Set aside — it will become stiff.

In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients: remaining 1 1/2 c. cornmeal, salt, baking powder, baking soda.

Beat the egg and sugar into the cornmeal mush, until well combined. Add the buttermilk and mix until it forms a thin batter.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, and mix just until the batter is smooth. Pour batter into your prepared skillet. The bacon fat should come up over the edges of the batter. Swirl the skillet so that all edges are covered.

Slide the skillet into your oven for 30-35 minutes, until the cornbread is firm and the edges pull away from the pan. Allow to cool in the skillet for at least 20 minutes before serving. The cornbread should easily pop right out.

I like winter squash. It’s in season, it’s hardy, and it’s often very local. But usually, in my kitchen, it winds up in the same old soup. I like squash soup, but that gets pretty old. So I bought a spaghetti squash, which I’ve never played with before, and threw together a recipe inspired by a recent post on Straight from the Farm, a wonderful blog about supporting urban farming.

This is a great fridge-cleaning recipe, and a good way to re-use leftovers. And the addition of some leftover cooked chicken makes it great as a main dish. You could easily substitute tofu or tempeh, or just leave out the protein altogether.

Out of curiosity, does anyone know why you might roast squash with the cut side down instead of the cut side up? I usually roast cut side up, since I like the way the top caramelizes and the butter pools in the middle. I tried roasting cut-side down this time, and it seemed to work just fine. Maybe it has to do with the structural integrity of the skin?

Stuffed Spaghetti Squash
A variation on Straight from the Farm

1 large spaghetti squash
1 T. regular olive oil
1 T. butter
1 medium yellow onion
1 clove garlic
2 T. fresh dill
1 c. cooked broccoli
1 c. cooked chicken
3/4 c. cranberries
1/2 c. veggie broth
Asiago cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 400 F. Line baking sheet with foil and a quick spray of oil. Cut spaghetti squash in half lengthwise and lay cut-side down on baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool enough to easily handle.

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, add butter and oil and sauté garlic, onions, and dill for 4 to 5 minutes until onions are translucent. Add broccoli and chicken, and heat until warmed. Add cranberries and broth to skillet and cover. Lower heat and simmer about 4-5 minutes, until most of the liquid is gone.

Scoop out the spaghetti squash innards with a spoon, separating strands. Scrape out the shells. Add squash strands to skillet and toss everything together. Return mixture to squash shells. Sprinkle with Asiago cheese, and place under a preheated broiler for 2-3 minutes, until cheese melts and gets toasty.

Serve immediately.

Saw a post over on Slashfood that Dec. 1 marks the official beginning of the Maine shrimp season.

An interesting factoid about Maine shrimp (Pandalus borealis): Apparently, although the species lives across the oceans of the world, the population in the Gulf of Maine does not migrate. Instead, just like the human Mainers, they stay right heah wheah they’ah planted.

I really like Maine shrimp. They are sweet and beautifully tender. A very short boil in the shell, as the Slashfood post author describes, is all that’s necessary. Cocktail sauce is not really needed, since it can overwhelm the delicate flavor of these little bugs, though we did happen to have some on hand.

The cat was interested as well.

I didn’t grow up in Maine. Shocker!

I grew up south of the Mason-Dixon line. Not very far, but far enough that split pea soup was on the rotation at home and I developed an almost unnatural love for good savory cornbread. So although I can’t remember eating anything with long-cooking greens at home, somehow it seeped into my blood that collards and kale are good eatin’.

When Farmer Justin offered me a bag of snow-covered kale earlier this week, I wanted to get creative and make some sort of strata, or kale lasagne, or get fancy with the blender and make kale cookies. But what my soul really hankered for during this snowy week was a big pot of beans and greens. Beans are inexpensive, nutritious, and filling. And they just belong cooked up with salt pork (or bacon) and hearty, long-cooking greens. I think Mainers would approve.

This dish takes a while, but you don’t have to pre-soak the beans, and it keeps for a week in the fridge. You could use all olive oil instead of bacon and easily turn this into a vegan meal, if that’s what you’re into.

Beans and Greens
1/2 T. olive oil
2 strips bacon, chopped up
1/2 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced

8 oz. dry navy beans
about 4 c. long-cooking greens such as kale or collards, chopped

Put first four ingredients in a large pot over low heat. Keep it there for about half an hour, until the bacon has mostly rendered out its fat, and the onions are translucent. Pour off the extra bacon fat if you want.

Add the beans, and about three or four times as much water as beans. Cover, bring to a boil, then drop the heat back to medium and let it simmer for about 45 minutes.

Add the chopped greens to the pot, and cover. You may have to really stuff them in there. After they’ve started to soften a little bit, stir up the pot so that everything gets mixed together, and put the cover back on. Simmer for another 10-15 minutes, until the beans are soft and the greens are tender.

This makes about four servings, maybe more. Eat up, it’s good for you.