liamsaunt

Yesterday we went over to Coral Bay to snorkel at one of the lesser known spots. Snorkeling is our main reason for coming to St. John. The beach Highlight of the snorkel, a pair of spotted eagle rays! There are a lot of turtles here too We went to lunch at Aqua Bistro, which overlooks Coral Harbour Drinks Conch fritters with jerked aioli Local hot sauce We split an order of fish tacos since we were going to dinner Back at the house, I took photos of some of the fruit trees on the property. Papaya Banana. There was a bunch of ripe bananas on this tree that we were eating from every morning for breakfast, but the gardener came yesterday while we were at the beach and cut them down for himself. Oh well, it was nice while it lasted! We had dinner at the Terrace in town. Here's the view That big ship in the background is the mini cruise ship Sea Dream. It only holds 112 passengers. There are no cruise docks on St. John but sometimes small ships anchor offshore and tender their passengers in. Cocktails Bread service with carmelized shallot butter A special appetizer of fish chowder made with lobster and mahi mahi Sea scallops with shiitake mushrooms, truffled sweet corn puree and thyme Pan roasted wahoo with butter braised peas and edamame, garlic-herb angel hair, smoked bacon and truffle cream, with an add-on lobster tail Crab stuffed prawns with leek and sweet corn risotto and shellfish emulsion Too full for dessert! In fact we took home leftovers that I will probably reheat for dinner tonight.

Yes, that is right. The sand is white. Here's a picture of the ferry dock. There are no airports on St. John, you fly into St. Thomas and then take the ferry over. The building up on the hill is where we spent our first night on island, where I posted the glass of wine with the sunset from. To the left of that building is what was housing for the National Park workers. Most of the buildings are badly damaged, but we noticed that two were repaired and had people staying in them. This is the Wharfside complex in town. Before the storms this building housed about six restaurants and bars. There were apartments on the upper level and shops on the street side. It's being rebuilt but it's taking a long time because of the complexity of the repairs. Last night we had dinner at the Longboard in town. Cocktails. Tuna and crab tower with quail egg Shrimp sushi wrapped in rice paper. I thought I took a photo of the inside of the roll, but I can't find it. It had tempura shrimp and avocado. Mahi mahi sliders with grilled pineapple Spicy shrimp tostones. This was my favorite thing, I could have eaten them all by myself but husband made me share 🙂

We drove around the entire island yesterday. There is still a lot of damage but a lot of progress has been made too. The island is very dry right now, which makes things look worse than they are. Here are some before and after shots, to give you an idea. Trunk Bay, before the storms Trunk Bay today Maho Bay before the storms Maho Bay today This one is the worst. Caneel Bay before the storms Caneel Bay today 😞 We had lunch at a little dive, Skinny Legs They are famous for their burgers. Here's their basic cheeseburger We skipped dinner last night. Hopefully I will do a better job on food reporting going forward!

Here is a photo of the kitchen in the house the house use also has a well stocked bar. Runs (too bad we don’t drink rum haha) various other choices. All free for the taking. Rum is sometimes cheaper than water down here. Too bad I like wine, which is expensive. And the entire island is out of Sancerre right now! Yesterday I poked my head into what used to be the Beach Bar. They have a ways to go before reopening. They’ll get there eventually. Let’s offset that depressing photo photo with one of last night’s sunset.

So far we are not having issues with bugs. There are lots of ceiling fans which are helping to keep them away, I think. We are wearing insect repellant as a precautionary measure. Last night I took a picture from the kitchen island looking out to the view to give you a better idea Friday night we had dinner in town at Maorgan's Mango. Bread service and my cocktail. I ordered a drink made with gin and lime, but this actually tasted like coconut. I have no idea what they actually gave me haha Snapper seveche with plantain chips Tuna tartare Mahi mahi with a rum mango sauce, rice and beans Coconut crusted grouper with yucca mash Too full for dessert. Yesterday we had lunch at Banana Deck. Crab and shrimp spring rolls Blackened mahi sandwich Blackened shrimp caesar

Cheers

Alison Roman's roasted salmon with brown-butter harissa sauce and dilly salad from the New York Times cooking section. I also made salt-roasted new potatoes with roasted garlic aioli.

The house has a roof but does not generally have solid walls. The front of it is completely open to the elements, and the sides are open but gated. This is a picture I snagged from the management company's website to give you an idea. This is the living room. In front of it there are steps down to a swimming pool and there's a cliff beyond that. The kitchen and dining rooms are to the right of the living room and are also open to the elements just like this room. The bedrooms are behind these other rooms and do have walls and locking doors. I'm not cooking because with the open air setup I am expecting lots of little island visitors based on prior experience. Certainly various bugs and lizards, probably iguanas, definitely birds, and maybe some island cats. Hopefully no rats but you never know! :-)

Crispy cod cake with basil aioli and a celery arugula salad

On Friday I will be returning to St. John. A month after we left in 2017, the island was hit by back to back category 5 hurricanes. The damage was devastating. Many of the restaurants I showed pictures from were completely destroyed and not rebuilt (Zozos, Shipwreck Landing, Waterfront Bistro, Beach Bar--though that one is coming back someday--Jakes...and many others. Caneel Bay was destroyed and rebuilding has not started yet (complicated story). Cinnamon Bay was also destroyed and has not been rebuilt. Power has been restored island wide but about half the island still has no phone or internet. The people that live on St. John have been working hard to restore the island and they have made a lot of progress. I am grateful for the chance to return. The house we rented does have power and internet, so I'm planning on updating this thread with our dining adventures as I am able (connectivity and power depending). I'm not planning on cooking at all, as the house we rented is open air, so the restaurants will be getting our dining dollars. I'm looking forward to some warm sun and good food.

Spice crusted cod tacos

Wednesday we had crispy chicken with a warm radicchio-arugula-fennel-cherry tomato salad Last night I made ricotta gnocchi with a garlicky cherry tomato sauce and baby spinach Both recipes are from the cookbook Dinner Illustrated. I find it a very helpful cookbook for busy work nights.

@Ann_T I hope all goes well for Moe, and you find some decent food. Hospital food is the worst. Last night, noodle bowl with mushrooms and spinach, topped with slow cooked salmon

I'm not Dave the Cook but I know the answer: carbon monoxide poisoning. You need to install an make up air damper with a powerful vent hood so that the oxygen levels remain correct in your house. Mine is integrated into the hood so it opens automatically whenever the exhaust fan is turned on.

i just renovated both of my kitchens within the past six months. Things I have in my main kitchen now that I did not before and am so very grateful to have: A powerful six burner gas range. A powerful hood that vents to the outside. Additional outlets and more dedicated circuits. Cabinets with drawers that roll out for easy access to stored items. A huge refrigerator. A large window over the sink. Undercabinet lighting. I also like my microwave drawer. I was not going to get one but my designer talked me into it. It's nice to have the microwave off the counter.

Ii made polenta last night. Topped with wine braised short ribs for the beef eaters Mushrooms for the non-beef eaters

Tuesday we had cod in a coconut broth with ginger, garlic and lemongrass, and some cilantro rice Last night was pomegranate molasses glazed salmon with a black-eyed pea, walnut and pomegranate salad Both recipes are from America's Test Kitchen.

We got 17 inches of snow yesterday. Chicken noodle soup and popovers for dinner

One of my favorite restaurants on Cape Cod used to make a deep fried tempura avocado stuffed with spicy tuna. It was soooo good. I've been meaning to try and make it at home, so am printing out the instructions above. Here is a picture of it. My family was very sad when it came off the menu!

Pepperoni pizzas baked in a cast iron skillet for my nephew. I prefer thin crust pizza but he likes the thick kind.

pan bagnat

Spaghetti and meatballs

Last night I made a coconut curry salmon stew with cilantro rice. The stew recipe was from the NY Times Cooking app. I added some fish sauce and Thai basil, and fresno chiles. The rice was made last week and reheated from frozen It was quick and tasty.

Is that a pizza slice shaped plate? I've never seen anything like that before. Your pizza looks amazing, as always! 🙂 I made crispy fish sandwiches last night

Tonight we had Martha's Vineyard bay scallop pasta with garlic, lemon, white wine and parsley. I'm breaking in my new camera and am starting to think I am going to keep my old one for food photos and use the new one for everything else. I just really like my old camera. Old camera sits on a tripod all the time. Maybe if I moved the new one to the tripod I would be happier with the results. Old camera: New camera: It was delicious either way 🙂