liamsaunt

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.

Last installment. None of us were hungry when we woke up, so we spent the day at Cinnamon Bay swimming. Such a pretty beach Wd ended up going for a late lunch/early dinner at Skinny Legs. They basically serve burgers. Setting Drinks. A margarita and a painkiller. Cheeseburger in paradise? Some people think so. They offer veggie burgers too a slice of key lime pie to share. It was frozen and tart, just the way I like it. We then went to Hawksnest beach to eke out the rest of the sun from the day. There was a little sargassum on the beach but the water was clear. And that concludes this visit to St. John. See you on the dinner thread.

Wednesday afternoon we went over to the Lime Out floating taco bar for linner. It’s only reachable by boat. You could easily swim to it from shore, but they only serve people who arrive via boat because they have cocktails, and swimming plus cocktails is usually not a good idea. Years ago there was a boat like this at a different beach that only served drinks, no food, and you had to swim to it. They did have a few issues over there with over served people getting into trouble in the water. That boat was destroyed in the hurricanes and not rebuilt. Lime Out floating taco bar You sit on floating lily pads, and the servers come out in that floating platform to push your food and drinks to you. We went later in the afternoon so it was not busy. Earlier in the day it’s always jammed up here. A couple of the tacos we ordered. Korean tuna, and two rum pork rib Another Korean tuna, a grouper seveche, and a jerked tuna with pineapple radish salsa We ended the day with a swim at Maho beach. That guy with the cooler at the water line is collecting water samples for the National Park. They issue beach water quality reports regularly. Yesterday we headed out with no set plans around noon time. By some small miracle, there was a parking spot at Trunk Bay. We could not let the opportunity pass us by, so we ended up spending the day here. There were a lot of other people, but the end of the beach we like is never crowded. We called an audible and made a last minute reservation for dinner at Extra Virgin Bistro. It’s a three course prix fixe. I am still full today haha. Here’s the menu Drinks. I tried the coco loco mocktail (just ok). Sister had a limin’, husband had a martini, and nephew had a up in smoke First course. Sister and I had the ricotta Nephew was excited that he could have the calamari. I think the chef made him a double portion, because this was huge niece and husband chose the pork belly Second course. Nephew had the sausage gnocchi Niece had the spinach salad with goat cheese and popcorn snd the rest of us had the wild mushroom pappardelle i could have stopped here, but it was time for the third course. Three of us had the tuna niece chose the short rib and nephew had the filet and then niece and nephew wanted dessert! Niece had the apple crisp and nephew had the passionfruit bread puddong Today is our last full day, and I don’t know what we are doing for food, but probably not much after that huge meal!

Monday we had a pretty relaxing day. The weather was raining off and on, so we decided not to snorkel. We visited Hawksnest Bay This mongoose wanted to know if we had any snacks it could steal. They are clever little dudes and will get into your zipped beach bags looking for food. We did not have any, so it left disappointed Panorama of the beach We skipped eating out in favor of pool time at the villa. Nephew made watermelon margaritas for those who wanted one And then grilled sausages, peppers, onions, chicken thighs and garlic bread for dinner. We brought the meats from home. Yesterday we went back to Caneel Bay to do some snorkeling. This lobster was hiding French angelfish, adult phase French angelfish, intermediate phase grouper Stoplight parrotfish We went to town for dinner at Morgan’s Mango. Drinks We shared a couple of appetizers. Tuna tartare and snapper seveche Three of us had the catch of the day, which was corvina Niece opted for coconut crusted grouper Amd husband had a lobster. He had them take it out of the shell in the kitchen because of my nephew’s allergy. I think he missed gnawing on the shell a bit but didn’t say anything. We shared a massive piece of key lime pie for dessert It’s extremely hot today, so we are relaxing at the villa this morning before boating over to a floating taco bar for an early dinner later on.

Saturday was a pretty mellow day. We just spent the day swimming at Francis beach, and then went back to the villa to grill burgers and veggie burgers that I brought from home. I remembered to take a picture of the beach this time. Sunday was another fairly lazy day. My husband lost his snorkel mask on our boat day (the strap snapped when he jumped off the boat. The water was 60’ deep so there was no swimming after it) and we have not gone in to town to replace it yet, so we have just been swimming. Sundays in the summer are the worst day to get parking at the beach because that’s the day many locals have off from work, and the water is actually warm enough that they will swim in it. We ended up driving all the way to the east end to a rocky but calm beach called Haulover. Even here, at the farthest point of the island, there were about 15 other people on the beach. This is one of those spots you would typically have to yourself. After swimming my nephew lobbied very hard for an early dinner at Johnny Lime, which is barbecue. The setting The menu Drinks. Husband’s lita mezcalita, a special passionfruit gin fizz that my sister chose, and my nephew’s danger. Niece and I just had water. Husband got brisket with mac and cheese and a salad with local greens I had a blackened catfish sandwich with slaw and yucca fries. I am not sure when they switched from mahi to catfish on the menu, or why, but it ended up being very tasty. nephew had brisket with rice and beans and yuca fries Niece had a pulled pork sandwich that I did not get a picture of, and sister was sulky because she didn’t want anything on the menu. She didn’t end up ordering anything but a side of the chickpea fritters. After linner we went to Trunk Bay for a late swim And then back to the villa to shower. I had a visitor in my outdoor shower though, so my husband and I ended up going for a pool swim instead and called it getting cleaned up 😂

Yesterday we were all wiped from the boat day, so we spent the day at the villa relaxing. I processed my underwater photos so thought I would share a few. There were a lot of jellies in the water. We all wear long sleeved rash guards and long swim pants when snorkeling in case of stuff like this. I would rather deal with lots of big jellies like the ones we saw than the invisible and incredibly painful sea lice stings. I am fairly certain that all of these jellyfish were moon jellies, which only have a mild sting, but others in my party are adamant that there were multiple types around. Anyway, here are some jellyfish. Their bodies ranged in size from just a few inches to over dinner plate. The tentacles stretched for a few feet. blue tang Black durgeon. We only see these in the BVIs Spanish hogfish One of many caves that you could swim inside at Norman Island. It was creepy and dark in there, though we saw some fish that were not present elsewhere. I think you would have needed a dive light to fully explore it. We did not come prepared for that. We went to La Tapa for dinner Drinks i got a cauliflower bisque to start. After I tasted it I realized I ordered this last time I was here too 😂 Everyone else shared a few orders of tuna tartare, but the photo came out blurry. Husband and I had tuna with polenta cake and mango sauce, the usual sister had hers with wild rice and coconut sauce Niece and nephew had ribeyes with a Greek salad on top and a three potato mash We shared a flan for dessert Except for my niece, who got a bread pudding with saffron ice cream and raspberry sauce No dinner reservations for the next few nights.

Wednesday was pretty relaxing. We went to Francis beach for swimming. We did not snorkel and I did not take any pictures. We were feeling lazy so headed back to the house to swim in the pool while nephew made dinner. We saw a little rainbow (by the time I grabbed my phone it had mostly faded) Nephew grilled some flatbreads. Tomato, bacon (cooked and brought from home, because cooking in the oven indoors here is generally not a good idea), and one with the leftover steak from the other night. We found a big package of basil from the farm on island so covered the flatbreads with it and called it our salad. They looked funky but tasted good. Yesterday was our boat day. I did not take too many above water pictures, and haven’t processed the underwater ones yet, so not many photos to share. My niece and nephew really wanted to visit the British Virgin Islands, and my husband and I have not gone over since 2008, I think. We rented a larger power boat to get us over there quickly. I don’t prefer this kind of trip because you lose time clearing customs. Our boat is the second one in this picture. It was a very smooth ride, and the crew was great. Morning fruit tray on the boat We went to a couple of snorkel spots and then to Norman Island for lunch. There is literally nothing on this island but the beach restaurant. Here it is from the boat dock. A summer camp from a neighboring island was there for swimming lessons and lunch. That’s the big group of little kids you can see in the water with their instructors. Menu We were done snorkeling so the imbibers ordered margaritas We had to get the conch fritters Nephew ordered the mahi seveche. He let me taste and it was really good Niece wanted mozzarella sticks and chicken tenders. She never eats like this at home haha sister and I had fish tacos made with mahi husband got the mahi sandwich and nephew got the chicken roti. He said it was delicious. I should have taken a picture once he cut into it. After lunch nephew really wanted to go to Jost Van Dyke, which is where many of the famous beach bars in the BVI are located. Niece grumbled a bit but perked up when I pointed out they would have smoothies. The captain warned my husband and I that it looked really different since the last time we had been over, as all of the structures here were completely leveled in the hurricanes. There were more bars, and more people, but it was not too different, really. Nephew got his painkiller drink from Soggy Dollar, and niece and I went for a beach walk and found her a smoothie. There are little bars up and down the entire beach. One of them had a huge sign advertising that they sold “magic mushrooms.” I did not know that was legal in the BVI haha. We got home and the power was out on St John, so dinner was cancelled. We just scrounged some bread out of the dark refrigerator and called it a night. Luckily power came back around 9pm, just in time for going to sleep with the AC on.