johnnyd

Maine makes illegal the harvesting of lobster over a certain size. I think the prevailing theory is that if it got that big, it's going to be good at expanding the species, so keep it alive. As you have pointed out, they are a pain to cook as well. I don't get excited when I hear of people cooking 3 or 4 pound lobsters. Good luck chewing. We will explore this device in the near future. I have also booked a trip out on the bay tomorrow. The weather is supposed to be "a bit snotty" as they say he-ah, so I'm sure it will be interesting.

Stopped on the bridge over the Fore river a few minutes ago to see what was happening The harbor is quite when it's the middle of the work week and cloudy. It is quite muggy however. Here are a couple shots from the cottage on Sunday, a chance for Ms johnnyd and I to chill out and eat . That's from a few days ago. We hit the farmer's market hard. My mom's papaya is nestled in the front basket. I finally finished it the other day. I recommend eating the peppery seeds instead of buying papaya enzyme supplements, by the way. Nothing beats going natural in my book. Note the citrus fruit at the back, that is a lime measuring five inches girth, picked off my mom's tree in Florida. Our play pen... This is Sunday's brunch, scrambled eggs with local tomato and basil, havarti and slab bacon from Pat's Market. As you can see, we needed sustenance for the very serious work at hand...

It is an example of good building from a past era. There is a lot of granite and wood in Maine and a century of brickwork as well. Once again, one uses what is available. There is also a very healthy renovation movement. Grand homes from the 19th century have come back to life.

Actually, they say blue lobsters turn the usual red when cooked. I see some scallop coral (roe) attached to your scallops. Someone was looking for a picture of that when I did the Scallop Divers thread a while back. This part of the animal is illegal in the USA owing to it's high perishability.

Thanks for the suggestions . Any suggestions for less popular pork products? Tails, bellies, etc? ← I was at Pat's Meat Market this weekend and those guys were busy. They also gave me the impression they would find whatever it was you were looking for. Smoked Hamhocks were not in the case, for example, so into the freezer he went and came out with three.

I need little if any encouragement to talk about urchins, believe me! I will have a little something later on in the blog that addresses the sea urchin and it's presence in the Gulf of Maine.

The blue highlights are startling. Once in a blue moon (sorry!) a lobsterman here in maine catches a pure blue lobster in their traps. Apparently the odds are one in 2million of getting a blue one. They build an aquarium for it when they find one. Here is a picture of one.

Ogunquit is a bit too far to go for dinner for us. I have heard great things about Arrows and not so great things about Arrows. The fact that it gets the attention of many merits a visit. I would, however, happily suffer the hour and half drive NORTH to Primo outside Rockland. I hear it's amazing.

Right back at'cha Lucy! I'd stick to Rum for punch but the thought is intriguing. I guess I'm stuck on the ritual of a single serving of cachaca with lime and sugar. But if you were to empty a couple bottles of Pinga into a bowl with tropical fruit, I wouldn't walk away! By the way: from what I remember, a "Caipira" is a poor person so a "Caipirinha" is a cocktail/drink for a poor person. Cachaca [kah-shah-ssa] is also called Pinga. "Caipirinha" -> [kai-pee-reen-yah] "Cachaca" is also track #4 on the new SouLive CD "Break Out" that was just handed to me here at the radio station. It's pretty good! We are a non-profit, community station that covers a radius of 15 miles around Portland. We broadcast 90% music that doesn't get aired elsewhere, like jazz, blues, reggae, world beat, bluegrass, rai, bossa nova... and a million other under-served genres. The 10% goes to public affairs talk shows and satelite feeds like "Democracy Now" and "Free Speech Radio News". As we swerve back on topic, I'd like to mention that, no matter where you are, supporting community radio is a very good thing indeed.

Do not be fooled! I can tell you first-hand that lobsters are nasty, loathsome creatures with no regard for anything. They eat everybody, even young lobsters, and will do battle with anything in their way. Nasty! Nasty! NASTY! The apparent endearment to these low-lifes is a constant source of amusment in these parts, especially to urchin divers who have to shoo them away while they hunt for urchins, themselves a pest to lobstermen up until about five years ago. I'm gathering a few pics and facts about our most famous crustacean which I will post in due time. From now on, do not shed a tear over the lobster. Here's a tip: try thinking of those fabulous old sci-fi movies with bizarro spiders and multi-clawed aliens as they bear down on the poor, defenseless, japanese villagers... ... there now, see?!

[cue retro lawrence welk-type music] This week's foodblog photos were taken with a Canon powershot A85. I was smitten with Bleudauvergne's blog over a year ago and she used an A30 for her photos. I tracked the digital camera milieu for over six months and kept an eye on the Shutter Bug Club thread and finally got the A85 for my birthday in Feb. I immediately got to work (see My trip to the Portland Fish Exchange and the Fresh Maine Shrimp threads). As you can see, it takes a bit of practice but I'm on to this A85 now! I got it because the automatic functions can be disabled for manual settings and because it has macro capability. The Lobster in this post was about 3 inches away. We now return you to the Coast of Maine... [/cue retro lawrence welk-type music]

Thanks everyone for your kind posts! I'm having a blast doing this week's foodblog and I recommend everybody try it at some point. It can get tricky, time-wise, but so far it hasn't been as bad as I thought. My philosophy on life (and certainly food) is deal with what you have on hand as best as you can. Take the available ingredients, treat them with the respect they deserve, add a bit of whimsy if time allows, and serve! Notes on Feijoada A La Johnnyd: - This dish usually has nice fresh links of chorizo, cooked whole or in rings, fifteen or so minutes before serving. I completely forgot to get those this time, but it was still tasty. - Slices of Valencia Orange provide an acid balance for all the fat in the dish. I frequently combine those into the heart-of-palm salad. Forgot those too. - Overall, total cooking time was 18 hours, if you count standing overnight to meld. - There are easier versions of this and recipes that are more complex. Don't let anyone tell you there is only one way to make it (or of anything in my view!).

That, my dear Abra, is a criminal offense. I expect to see a tall one on your sun porch by the end of my blog.

Key limes are the best for caipirinhas. We started getting "little suzies" key limes, about a dozen in a small green net bag last year and their flavor is superior. There are a million seeds but it's worth it. Demerara takes too long to dissolve for me. Domino's "organic" sugar goes well, however. eGullet member Cachaca Dave tells me that the paperwork and haggling have held up the importation of the stuff. Some small importers seem to be getting some through, probably at an enormous fee level, which explains why liquor that costs three bucks a bottle in Brasil will cost about fifty here. Behemoth, are your in-laws brazilian? If not they should become honorary ones with the way they go through those bottles! I'll be over for christmas, dude!

This morning dawned muggier than usual. Local TV says we are getting hot and cloudy in advance of whatever Katrina has left for us after she floods the South. I am aprehensive. Having been a fisherman (not that I could ever claim that I was really any good at it), I know first hand that ocean storms are not to be underestimated. Our Cabin sits on a small bluff of ledge about twelve foot above sea-level. There area a couple newer houses below us, on land that has been in a trust since the early 1700's. This cool, old GE fridge is more recent than that, however: The aluminum swinging shelves kill me! This is the view from (very) near our townhouse in South Portland. Our view of the City of Portland is compromised by a couple of huge oil tanks but it's not too bad in between them and the price is right. I need to get a couple bunches of herbs from my overgrown herb garden for today. I have a mass of Tarragon in the back, decent basil, Greek Oregano and thyme. Somewhere under Harry the Horseradish from Hell is my struggling Thai basil. The bumble bees have taken over my oregano. If I get near it they gang up on me.

I happened to have a small bottle of Suco de Caju, or Cashew Fruit Juice. Click Here, then hit "Our Products", then "Cashew" for the best photo I could find at the moment of a Cashew Fruit. I had never made a Cashew Caipirinha, and after I made one I understood why it's... well, not all the rage right now! It was definitely interesting, it has a woody flavor with a touch of... pineapple, maybe? Hard to pin down, but I made something I never had before, and to me that's a good day. For dessert, we had goiabada com dulce de leite. That's guava paste with that fabulous caramelley stuff, famous in latin countries. Instant Coffee Bustelo matched it nicely. It comes as a layered bar which I'd never seen before. Had it laid out sliced for a pic but my trusty Canon's batteries were pooched.

The neighbors are having a party with a decent jazz band, a nice backdrop for our brazilian feast. The dish is topped with the smoked pork. The bean dish has gloppy pieces of smoked hamhock fat and the occasional bone, nice and authentic! In the back is a bone bowl for when we find 'em in our plate. Farofa is nice and golden, right in the middle. The little yellow pot back by the candle holds a simple combo of lemon juice, EVOO, salt and pepper and a little honey for the salad. What's missing is our greens which I totally forgot about, but hey, you can't get it right all the time.

I made a salad for our feifoada using heart-of-palm, local red onion, local red and yellow tomatoes, local cilantro and Boston lettuce. Here, I am toasting farofa (ground manioc). Usually, feijoada is pretty soupy, so adding a spoonful of farofa bulks it up a bit. It's quite delicious. This is my "Molho Pimento", a classic lime juice-based hot sauce that I made last week so it's about ready to use. It has: - the juice of 4 limes - three cloves local garlic, minced - six thai hot peppers, minced The right pepper is malagueta but we don't have that around he-ah.

Now that the feijoada is basically ready and the rice is started, it's time for a caipirinha! Caipirinhas are essentially, limes, sugar, ice and cachaça - a powerful, brew made from sugar-cane juice. How does it differ from Rum? Rum is made from molasses. See more about that distinction (and more!) at the venerable Fine Spirits and Cocktails thread. First, we have decided to use a meyer lemon rather than limes today. They are juicier and have an orangey hint that I felt might make an interesting difference. Whatever you use, add a healthy spoonful of sugar and muddle with the appropriate tool: It is important to let the mixture sit for a bit before you do anything else. This is why some of you don't get it when you order these in busy bars: caipirinhas, like mojitos, need time for the flavors to meld and busy bars don't have time, do they? .... .... ..okay that's enough waiting! We add ice, now then cachaçal... Welcome to the Cafe Atlantico in Cape Elizabeth, Maine

Forgot to mention that we hit Two Lights Lobster Shack for a snack. Our cabin for the month of August is only a half-mile away. The above is neither our cabin (!) or the Lobster Shack but one of the two lighthouses that sit on the point here. This particular lighthouse was granted to a private citizen a few years ago by the US Coast Guard and is one of the few privately-owned lighthouses in the world. Today's prices and a reflection of the crowd at the Shack. I covered a visit here back on Memorial Day for the Best Fried Clams thread (pix!)over on the New England board. Today we poked around the knick-kanckery on the walls and found to my utter surprise an old lobster buoy with my last name on it! It was a bit spooky.

So back to our feijoada a la johnnyd! The beans and meats have been simmering all day and the stew beef is beginning to fall apart, the hamhocks have disintegrated into wonderfully gelatinous goo and the smoked chop is in there somewhere! About two hours before serving, I added some herbs from my garden: rosemary, thyme, and oregano. Also some chipotle in adobo... I saute a couple onions and a couple tomatos in olive oil 'til almost saucey then add liquid from the bean pot. A few more ladles to insure a good blend and back into the main pot it goes. At this point I head out to Jordan's farm stand to get some collard greens, a traditional accompaniment to feijoada. Jordan's is a classic. There is a box where people put there money, which they count up themselves, even make their own change. No collards. "Ain't much call for it up he-ah," said our garlic cleaning friend. So I bought some nice-looking beet greens instead.

Good question and one that has been on the minds of waterfront managers for years. Usually, scraps are used for something. My fish market puts tuna skeletons and cooked lobster bodies up for sale at about $0.29/lb. They say it's all gone by noon, purchased mostly by our growing asian population. When urchins were processed (extracted and put in small 100gram containers for japanese supermarkets), the shells were put on a big old wooden lobsterboat called "Eeyore", and dumped out at sea. That was a smelly boat, man... I also had a friend who was working diligently on sea-scrap conversion to fertilizer a few years ago. Since then I have seen bags of "sea-stuff" for sale to use in the garden. I would expect it would become a nutrient additive at some level of the process. This week, when I made my lobster stock, I dumped the debris on the beach and let the seagulls have at it.

The steaming liquid becomes very oceany, salty and takes on a vague vegetable flavor. The best thing is that it provides a proper bed for the beasts to steam upon. Seems to work very well. Using rockweed is a traditional trick for lobster "bakes". Lobster bakes occur when a bunch of people dig a trench about four feet long on a beach somewhere, start a roaring fire on which they heap a few rocks. After a few hours the rocks are scorching hot and ready to cook just about anything you have. In New England, that would be potatoes, lobster, corn and steamer clams. In between the layers of food, people put armfuls of plump rockweed which steams up the trench with moisture. The trench is covered with a tarp and you and your friends set about drinking a lot of beer until it's ready, about four to six hours. As you can imagine, you don't do this without a couple days to kill, and plenty of supplies, especially if you are doing this on an island.

I lived in Switzerland for four years and gained an appreciation for cuisine there and for Northern Italian. I haven't had a good Knockwurst since. I saw bundefleisch at Portland Green Grocer and nearly fainted. I haven't been anywhere east of Venice but I love japanese cuisine, so far as to continue the struggle to make even reasonably good sushi rice. helenjp's blog about pickling caused me to have a few from our asian grocer handy at all times. Soon I'll have to try and make some. I feel like I've only scratched the surface of Indian, Chinese and other neighboring cuisines, thanks primarily to eGullet, so I am looking forward to discovering more interesting flavors, which seem to be everywhere, but at the same time invisible here in the USA. I am very interested in new and different things to eat... enough to make significant detours from other responsibilities to achieve that goal. Is that so wrong?

On a quick trip into town for supplies now. The feijoada is bubbling gently away back at the "cabin" (thank you Mr. GRider!). Last night I added some meats to the beans that had cooked for two hours. This is my all purpose utility knife that does the dirty work I wouldn't let near my Wusthof 10" Chef's blade. It cost $3.99. When I worked Back Of the House a while back, the line crew sharpened their knives with a zen-like passion, so I picked it up too. I just can't afford a proper stone right now. So for $3.50 I picked up this CRYSTALON tool at a yard sale! Here are the smoked chops (I thought the end piece would flavor the beans nicely) A few more hours now... Farofa is definitely on the menu, which I toast for a few minutes and then add butter to brown slightly. I'm in town to track down choriço from Maurice and Mark, the sausage guys I met upthread but traffic downtown is pretty mad on a beautiful Saturday like today.