The following post was written by my mom, WWW. Thanks, mom!
***
Our time together at The Cape was like a dream in so many ways, but Rebecca has already written about that. There is something very special about all being together away from home. Roles change. Everyone is an equal. Everyone chips in...
...Unexpected treasures are discovered.
One of those
for me was cooking together in the spacious kitchen. We ate like kings but didn’t spend hours at
it, and it was a true vacation for me not to be in charge of the nightly meals thanks
to David, who took over most of the cooking duties and planning (AND, David and
Hal did most of the shopping!)
I think the trick to cooking away from home is making “easy
gourmet” meals. Pizza and macaroni every night would be boring and not very
special, and eating out is expensive and not that fun with babies, but also one
doesn’t want to spend all one’s vacation over the stove. We had brought some stuff from David’s house,
especially since we have our gluten and vegetarian members of the family, but
as soon as we got to The Cape, David, Alyssa, and Hal went shopping and did a
really good job stocking up with enough stuff to get us started.
Also, I think it’s fun to take advantage of special local
foods. David and Alyssa found fiddlehead ferns at the local market. Where have
you been all my life, fiddleheads? We
don’t get them in our neck of the woods so this was a HUGE treat for us. They
cooked us a scrumptious gluten free pasta with arugula pesto, fiddlehead ferns,
and pea tendrils for dinner our first night. Here we were, in the most heavenly
place imaginable, and eating this amazing meal which, literally, took 30
minutes to make (Alyssa had made the pesto at home and brought it with us which
saved time). Fiddlehead ferns are delicious
and a culinary treat, and although this sounds like an unbelievably gourmet
meal (which it was), it also was quick and easy.
Rachel masterminded a vegetable curry using packets she had
bought at Jungle Jims in Cincinnati. Using these as a base, we
worked together to create an easy and delicious curry with enough left over for
a rice curry salad the next day.
Another night, David and I made soft tacos with homemade
refried beans (which also made great lunch leftovers). For the fish eaters, there was local fresh
(and sustainable) fish from the fishmonger to go in them.
Our final meal was a frittata using up all the odds and ends
in the refrigerator. At one point, four of us were chopping away in the kitchen
and I was in heaven. This is such a
great throw-together meal and perfect with a salad for dinner.
I made the refried beans on taco night, but somehow my brain
was on vacation because I forgot how allergic I am to pepper oil. Having no gloves, I roasted and peeled the
poblanos with my bare hands, and by bedtime, my fingers were on fire. I lay in
bed wondering how I would ever go to sleep, my hands throbbing in pain, so I tiptoed
downstairs to one of the kids’ computers to see if I could find a
solution. This had happened to me
several times before (you would think I would have learned by now) and I’d
tried various remedies: yogurt, milk,
aloe, butter, to no avail. So when I, again, saw all of these same remedies
suggested on websites, I kept looking further.
Finally I found a blog touting mustard as the only cure. MUSTARD?
Luckily we have several mustard freaks in the family so there just
happened to be a jar of Gray Poupon in the fridge and I generously lathered it
all over my hands. This is about the
time that Rebecca came downstairs to see who was making all the racket in the
kitchen at midnight.
“What are you doing, Mom,” she asked, looking at me
strangely as I held up my yellow hands.
“I know it sounds odd but…”
By this time the pain was already subsiding and 5 minutes
later, believe it or not, all the pain was gone. COMPLETELY!!!! We laughed as I washed off the mustard and we
both went off to bed. The next day I
told my miraculous story to everyone.
“But MOM,” Rachel implored, “Don’t you remember? I told you about that a year ago. Mustard is a miracle cure for ALL
burns.” (Another confirmation that my
brain was on a holiday.)
I guess she had been cooking with a friend, had burned her
arm, and he had rubbed mustard all over it.
No blister, no redness, no pain. I
have since tried to find out a scientific reason for mustard curing burns, but
can’t find it (although there are lots of sites supporting its abilities). I do know that people have been using mustard for
healing purposes for centuries and that the oil in peppers, capsaicin oil, is
soluble in fat but also needs to be neutralized with an acid, so perhaps it is
the combination of fat and vinegar with mustard seeds’ natural healing
qualities make it a perfect burn remedy.
Anyway, for those of you who aren’t big mustard fans, buy it anyway and
keep it in the refrigerator as a burn remedy. Any type of mustard works.
Here is the recipe for David and Alyssa’s fabulous
pasta. For those of you who don’t live
in a place where you can buy fiddleheads, substitute asparagus chopped into 1-inch
pieces.
***
Pasta With Pea
Tendrils and Fiddlehead Ferns
1 lb fiddlehead ferns (or 1 lb coarsely chopped asparagus)
1 bunch pea tendrils
1 package pasta (fusilli, penne, or other medium sized
pasta)
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Toasted walnuts (optional)
Make pesto, using arugula as your greens. Rinse fiddleheads
well. Bring a large pot of water to boil.
Drop fiddlehead ferns in boiling water and blanche for about 5 minutes,
or until tender.
Take out of water with
slotted spoon and blanche pea tendrils for a minute or so, or until tender. Remove
from water. Cook pasta in the boiling water until al dente. (Or use separate
pot for pasta.) Toss with pesto, pea tendrils, and fiddlehead ferns. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese and
toasted walnuts. Enjoy!
…and may you never have burn pain again!!
Love,
WWW
0 comments:
Post a Comment