liamsaunt

More of the usual today. This is the view of the tidal creek from the back deck of the house we are staying at. We drove out and decided to try and get a parking spot at the Beachcomber for dinner. We lucked out. We not only got a parking space, we got an open table. The menu never changes specials Steamer clams Fried clams (whole bellies, of course) Caesar salad with grilled shrimp Oyster po boy Fish sandwich We were seated next to the raw bar/steamer station and I snapped this picture in a quiet moment. Right after I took it, the guy on the left got 12 tickets. Cahoon Hollow beach. The dune seems to erode more every year Some of us wanted to go for a beach walk after dinner, so we headed over to Duck Harbor It was too cloudy for a sunset, but we had a nice walk until lightning started up in clouds offshore Everyone left the beach rather rapidly after that!

Wednesday my husband and I walked into town to go to the farmers market. I bought a couple jars of local honey to bring home: one early summer honey (lighter and sweeter), and one made from August flowers (darker and more potent) I noticed we have an apple tree growing in the yard. I am not sure what type of apples they are (google image says they are Liberty apples) or if it’s allowed to pick them as a renter, so I am just leaving them there. We spent the afternoon walking around the beach and pier near the house. We ended up having to jog back to the house because severe weather moved in very quickly. We had crazy lightning and even large hail. A beautiful rainbow appeared in the backyard after it was over. My sister and niece showed up and wanted to go to Mac’s Shack (of course). There was a 90 minute wait for a table. Drinks It was very dark by the time we got food, so I only took a few pictures. Oysters Fried cod cheeks Seafood stew with clams, mussels, and scallops in a lobster broth Halibut with lobster mashed potatoes Yesterday my husband and I got up early and did a six mile walk. My niece and I then walked out to the little used bookstore in town. It was pretty depleted since they are closing for the year in a few weeks. My niece found a couple of things to buy, but the only thing I discovered was an entry for my annual “strangest book I spotted on the Cape” contest My sister really wanted to go to dinner at Pepe’s in Provincetown. I am not a huge fan of this place but was overruled. We did go for a long walk at Herring Cove beach before dinner, which was nice. The meal was, as I anticipated, pretty mediocre. Oysters Rockefeller (dry) Grilled vegetables with burrata (I think they forgot to grill the vegetables. they were essentially raw) Clam flatbread (did not try, but was told it was good) Cod dish (lukewarm) Clams with linguica (no comment from my brother, but he finished it so it must have been pretty good) Halibut (overcooked, everything on the plate but the fish was cold) Steak frites (overcooked) Coconut cake. This was good. They charged $7 for the scoop of ice cream that was on the $16 slice of cake. Sigh. Hopefully we can skip this place for the next few years. We barely made it back to the beach in time for sunset Afterglow

They were battered and had a bang bang sauce on them, so not traditional flavors for a taco at all. The shrimp were also very large. The whole thing was messy to eat. I ended up taking it apart and using a knife and fork. The tuna topped oysters were not a hit with my husband or his brother. They both felt that the flavors didn’t really work together, and the texture was weird. They did finish them though! I’ll try and bring this trip food report up to date in the morning, it’s been a busy few days.

Yes, it was. Flat shoes, no noticeable makeup… I think it was probably your niece 😀 My sister and niece are coming to join us tomorrow, so we have been trying to go to the places my brother likes and my niece hates before they arrive. Yesterday that meant the Pearl My husband ordered raw oysters topped with tuna. I am not sure why. I refused to try them. I am a raw oyster purist. Plain, thank you. He shared them with his brother. Drinks. Blueberry sour mocktail, cranberry margarita, watermelon margarita Fried shrimp tacos Fish and chips Grilled swordfish It was low tide when we left. These fisherman had to use a ladder to get into their boat Today my husband and I got up early and went for a six mile walk while our respective brothers snoozed the morning away. We stopped in to a new breakfast spot called Cape to Cape. We both had lattes and my husband got an egg sandwich. He said it was very good. I had already eaten before he woke up, so did not try anything from the food menu. We visited a pond in town (the water was too cold to swim, but it was pretty) and then went to Indian Neck for another walk Later we walked down to Mac’s Shack for some (plain!) oysters and an order of jalepeno yellowtail sashimi We then walked into town to check out Hatch’s fish market. They had bluefin tuna, so we bought some of that and grilled at home tonight.

Yesterday was not much of a food day. I let my brother pick everything we did, and all he wanted was a drink at an outdoor bar in Provincetown called the Aqua Bar, and a burger for dinner. So that’s what we did. But first my husband and I went for a walk around Wellfleet. Some scenic views around town. Uncle Tim’s bridge Here’s the view from the Aqua Bar. My brother got his margarita and was happy. Drinks at the burger restaurant. The orange one was mine. It was basically passion fruit juice. My brother in law’s representative burger. I had a vegetarian burger. It was greasy, but again, my brother was happy. I walked by @weinoo’s relative’s place, the Lady Slipper. It was only around 6pm and it was already packed! There was a lady at the door with a clipboard taking names for later entry. So they are doing well indeed! I was full of mediocre vegetarian burger and wanted to go to the beach to walk it off, so we headed to Herring Cove. We found another shipwreck! Here’s a close up The offshore storms are uncovering all sorts of treasures. Sunset

We are back in Wellfleet. We ended up deciding not to go to Martha’s Vineyard next week. The house we rented is in a very wooded area of Aquinnah, and there has been a lot of recent news coverage of the tick problem over there, with many people getting alpha gal syndrome from tick bites. I already have enough weird medical stuff to deal with and don’t need a dairy allergy to add to it. We may decide to stay the full two weeks in Wellfleet, or we may just go back home after our contract on the house we are currently in runs out a week from Tuesday. We will see. Husband and I drove out and met up with my brother yesterday afternoon. We went for a beach walk on the harbor at low tide. The oyster fishers were working on the flats I like walking at low tide because the sand is nice and packed down We ate at the Bookstore, which is right across the street from the beach. Drinks: martini for husband, watermelon margarita for brother, phony Negroni for me We shared some fried seafood Husband had a lobster grilled cheese I had a big bowl of mussels Brother just got a tuna melt. No picture. After dinner we walked over to Mac’s on the Pier to pick up a seared tuna wrap for my husband’s brother, who was coming in later that evening. Most people were in line for ice cream. The food line was the short one on the left. And then a final stop to pick up some gelato for the house at Gelato Joy.

Is this a sweet pizza meant to be a dessert? It's hard to tell from the picture. Does it have cheese on it? Or tomato sauce? It almost looks like the filling could be something like a sweet egg tart topped with fruit. I hate the type of pizza that is popular where I live. It has an oily crust, and deliberately burnt edges, which is called "laced edges." I believe cheddar cheese is used on it as well. Overall, very unappetizing, at least to me.

Vegetable risotto to try and clear out the crisper drawers in advance of today's CSA delivery. I made a stock from corn cobs, parmesan rinds, and some overly ripe tomatoes to use in the risotto. The risotto had corn and parmesan added at the end, and was topped with roasted zucchini, chopped tomatoes, basil, and a spinach puree.

Glazed tuna with sautéed Napa cabbage, miso broiled eggplant, and rice

Black sea bass with pesto, buttery corn (my CSAgave us 15 ears this week), a little zucchini, and some sliced marinated tomatoes

The fishing charters are very expensive, and the water out where they go is pretty rough, so I have not been tempted to go. I often see people fishing from the shore with pricy gear, but have never seen anyone catch anything 😂. I am happy to patronize the markets instead. I know in the off season you can go down to the fish piers and buy directly from the boats when they come in, but I don’t think that’s offered in the summer. We drove home this morning, but are heading back out on the weekend for a couple more weeks. The first week will be in Wellfleet, and then we are going over to Martha’s Vineyard for a week. Final breakfast at the Inn. I was done with rich food! After we checked out of the hotel, we walked over to the fish pier to go to the market. It was extremely windy. Boats lined up I took a couple pictures of the fish case. We bought tuna for tomorrow night, and had black sea bass this evening (I’ll put that photo on the dinner thread) Thats it for this visit.

I did ask last night and they said it changes each evening. Last night it was squash blossoms, baby zucchini, and shisito peppers. I guess opinions vary, but I don’t actually think they are that similar. The fonts are completely different. The Chatham logo has a wave, etc. I also don’t think “Stars” is a business name that you can copyright, since it’s a common term. Breakfast menu We both got the smoked salmon, and should have just shared a plate. We were not expecting it to be so big. And then it was back to North Beach Island for more exploring. We walked eight miles today looking for interesting stuff. We found a shipwreck! The piece we could see was about 25 feet long. I researched it when we got back to the resort and found news reports of it surfacing in 2010 and 2018. Some of the photos from those times showed a lot more of it. There’s apparently a whole layer of wood under this one that runs crosswise to these planks and everything is held together by wooden pegs. More fish boats bringing in their catch in the afternoon We went to the casual restaurant on property for dinner. Menu Husband had a salted watermelon margarita. I was boring and stuck to club soda We ordered the tuna appetizer to share. This was tasty. Husband also wanted the fried calamari. This was massive! I think we ate about 25% of it. It was tasty, but if we had known it was going to be so large we would not have ordered it. Husband got a lobster roll. He said it was nice, but he really prefers warm lobster rolls to the chilled version I got the Thai cucumber salad with grilled shrimp added. I really liked this. Dessert We split the almond joy sundae. This was a bit of a bust. The ice cream was fairly melted and the tuile was way too sticky. We each had one bite and ditched it. Oh well, we probably did not need all that sugar anyway! Post dinner beach walk views

Yes that was the potato. He said that the inside was extremely creamy. He was worried it might be overcooked when he saw it, but it was actually perfect. The outside was crispy and the inside was tender. The bathroom is very nice. I will say though, that when we renovated our baths at home we put beautiful freestanding deep soaking tubs in both the primary and the guest suite bathrooms. Neither has been used once, and it’s been three years. If I was redoing it (which I am definitely not!) I would opt for an oversized multi person shower with steam jets and a heated floor and heated towel racks in the room instead. Big bathtubs seem like a good idea and look nice, but showers are just more practical. Maybe it’s just my personal preference though.

We are back on the Cape for a few days, this time in Chatham. My husband booked a long weekend at Chatham Bars Inn because he has been wanting to stay here again for years and I have been dragging my feet. I used to have to come here every year for a multi day conference when I was working, and it was not fun. Being here as a tourist is a completely different experience, and much more enjoyable. Our room is in the spa building rather than the main inn. This part of the resort that is child free, so it is very quiet. The rooms are nice. The massive bathroom has a steam shower, a sauna, and a whirlpool tub that fills from the ceiling. There is a pool area just for the spa suites guests outside our room, but we probably won’t get there. Why sit by a pool when you can walk by the ocean? The resort is at peak capacity. My work events were always in early June, so I have never experienced crowds like there are here now. It’s crazy. We are afraid to move our car because we might never get another parking spot 😂. There are multiple weddings here this weekend, and the amount of flowers I have seen trucked in here for them defies belief. Last night we walked into town for dinner at Viera on Main. Drinks. Husband’s dirty martini and my phony negroni We shared some garlic clams and then husband had striped bass and I had a seafood pasta with clams, mussels, cod, and shrimp We skipped dessert at the restaurant in favor of hunting down some ice cream We chose coconut caramel swirl (way too rich, went uneaten) and heath bar peanut butter Friday nights are band concerts on the town green, so we stopped by for a bit. It’s a popular event! This morning we had breakfast on the veranda of the main inn. Scrambled eggs with avocado and asparagus on a smashed croissant and poached eggs with stracciatella cheese, speck, tomato, and greens After breakfast we took the resort boat shuttle over to North Beach Island, directly offshore from CBI. It was fairly uncrowded. Heading away from the CBI beach Lots of lobster and fishing boats doing their thing We ended up walking over six miles just while exploring the part of the island we got to. We are going back tomorrow to explore some more. Dinner was at Stars, the fine dining restaurant at Chatham Bars Inn. Menu Drinks. I had a non alcoholic amarena spritz, and husband had a cocktail with mezcal and strawberries. I forget the name of it. Amuse bouche of duck rillettes with cherries. I don’t like duck but husband said they were tasty. We shared some appetizers. Oysters. They were delicious, but very small! tuna and the peach burrata salad. These were both delicious I had the scallops and husband had the waygu with a lobster tail added Dessert menu I knew I wanted the berries and cream. It was really lovely. Husband got the coffee torte and regretted it after he tasted mine. Torte berries There was a complimentary parting dessert as well, but we had our server box it up for us to take to the room for tomorrow since we were both too full to eat anything else!

Chicken katzu, rice, salad

Vegetarian Singapore style noodles with roasted broccoli and peppers

I had a lot of corn to use up, so I blended some of it in a vitamix with salt and pepper and a splash of milk, then strained it. Then I just cooked some sliced shallots in butter until soft, added in the corn liquid until it was warm, then stirred in some corn kernels, a handful of Parmesan and a handful of shredded basil. Season to taste. Pretty simple.

I made a batch of Ottolenghi's hummus from the Jerusalem cookbook, and topped it with grilled zucchini, summer squash, eggplant, peppers, and red onions. Plus some added feta, tomatoes, cucumbers, and olives. I also made some flatbread to soak up all the juices and extra hummus. Everyone liked it.

Grilled lemon chicken over corn fricassee with sliced tomato from the farm near my house

My freezer was filled with a whole boatload of zucchini from my CSA that I blanched and stored before a recent trip. I had to get rid of it to clear some space. So yesterday I roasted it and then pureed it with some cilantro, lime, and butter and made it into a base for some broiled swordfish with curry butter and curried rice. Everyone liked it. Of course, I still have a fridge full of fresh zucchini and summer squash from this week's CSA to use up...

Sandwich with roasted zucchini and summer squash, fresh mozzarella, sweet tomato and pepper relish on one side of the bread, spicy ground up Calabrian chili peppers on the other side, red onion and arugula.

Ours does not let you choose what you get, but it is delivered to your doorstep, rather than being picked up. They also offer specialty add on shares throughout the year. At this time of year, we also subscribe to their corn and fruit share, and their tomato share. The standard box comes weekly, and their specialty shares come on the weeks you choose (though you must choose and pay for a set number of weeks). This week was just a standard box week. We got two eggplants, two cucumbers, one tomato (I was hoping for more), two heads of lettuce, three yellow summer squash, two regular green zucchini, one massive green zucchini that is going to be annoying to deal with, two sweet onions, and four ears of corn. We opted to subscribe year round and prepay for our CSA for four years, which got us a 20% discount off the standard price.

Well pizza of all types is one of his five core food groups, so I am sure he will be exploring that style while there! He has been driving to his destination, and should get to his apartment by tonight. I would not be surprised if pizza is his dinner. 🙂 Last night we had a green coconut vegetable curry using up some of the CSA bounty: zucchini, eggplant, peppers, cilantro, and onions. I aded some cashews for crunch, and served it with lemongrass rice. Last night

Nephew is moving to Chicago for grad school this week, so I have been letting him pick the dinners in the lead up to his departure. Steak tacos (he grilled chicken for myself and my sister) Burgers another night. He grilled beef ones, and I made shawarma flavored veggie burgers for my sister and me, pictured here. The flavor was good but the texture needs some help. I'll keep working on it. Paneer and cauliflower curries And fish and chips

There were a few days that were very dusty. One day in particular was so dusty that you could see it rolling over the hilltops. We all had itchy eyes and sore throats from it, so spent most of that day indoors reading. That’s the nice thing about going back to the same place regularly…if you miss some days due to weather or whatever it is no big deal. The dust really does help with suppression of tropical weather too. There was a tropical wave coming that had potential to develop into a depression by the time it got to us, but the dust and winds broke it up before it arrived. It rained a bit most late nights which I think helped to clear the air as well.