Shellfish Food Fests

This past weekend the town of Bourne celebrated with its annual Scallop Fest. If anyone went, please let me know how it was. I’m counting down to the Wellfleet Oyster Fest. Oct 17 cannot come soon enough! I’m planning on getting hauled out of the state in a  shellfish overdose induced coma.

Goodbye, summer

My brother and I were trying to figure out the other day if we loved Cape Cod because it is what we know as a haven for 30+ years, or if we love Cape Cod because we love the place itself. The thing is, the two cannot be separated. My grandparents started vacationing there in the 60’s along with their Armenian neighbors. It became their escape from life in Brooklyn and eventually their retirement home. My grandfather loved to bird watch and whittled and painted wooden birds of all shapes and sizes. My grandmother spent her days knitting, hooking rugs and cooking all her favorite recipes for her friends and family. My father introduced my mother to their home when they became engaged. She shares stories of how special that introduction was and how in love she was with my dad and her new family. We spent every summer there as children and lived for our days on the water and with our grandparents. They may not be alive now, but their spirits are still in the house and in the trees and in the wind. My baby nephew is now experiencing the Cape as a 4th generation. I hope he grows to love it as much as we do.

Goodbye, summer. Until next year.

Portuguese Fish Stew

The Impudent Oyster in Chatham is one of my favorite restaurants on the Cape for dining. It has been around for over 30 years and their Portuguese Mussels are one of my favorite dishes on the menu. They are simmered in a tomato sauce with onions, peppers and chorizo and are simply delicious. The dish inspired me to create my own version with the best seafood blend on Cape Cod.

Start by soaking and scrubbing a dozen cherrystone clams, 1 lb mussels, 1/2 lb of halibut, 6 sea scallops and a dozen shrimp. Set aside in a cool place. In a large dutch oven saute 2 cloves slivered garlic, 1/2 onion chopped and a pinch of hot pepper flakes in olive oil until soft. Add 1 chorizo link and 1/2 red bell pepper, chopped and saute for 2 minutes. Add 10 oz. can of chopped plum tomatoes. Stir in 1/2 cup of dry red wine and simmer for 1/2 hour until the sauce has reduced in half. Raise the heat to a high simmer and gently place the clams and mussels at the bottom of the pot and cover. Steam for 7 minutes and add the halibut. Cover and steam for another 7 minutes. When all the clams and mussels are open, nestle the scallops and shrimp in the simmering sauce for the final 3 minutes and lower heat. Serve stew in a deep bowl with crusty bread for dipping. Serves 3-4 seafood lovers.

Truro Center for the Arts

I have always said that a restful mind is a creative mind. The cape helps me find balance against my fast city life in NYC. Every summer I try and take a new class at the Truro Center for the Arts at Castle Hill to get me off the computer and create with my hands. I’ve taken watercolor painting, printmaking and a raku pottery classes. I enjoy it immensely and the Center is one of many places for the large art community on Cape Cod to gather. They tailor their summer programs for vacationers and you can search for classes by the week or by art medium.

I’m especially inspired seeing older artists still working and creating. My watercolor instructor was still painting in her mid 80’s. I also met an 82-year-old potter in my class, Zeb, who was still a practicing psychotherapist in NYC. As we waited for the pottery to dry and fire, she shared stories of her life on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. She described the many “lovers” she shared her apartment with over the years and said they often visit her in the spirit form to “check on her” now that they have passed. Zeb tops my groovy women encounters and I hope I’m still as sassy and creative as she is at her age.

Thirty-somethings turn 12.

Every year my good friends Matt, Heather and Fred come down for a weekend visit from Boston. We spend the day at the beach playing like children, eating candy and fudge at the Candy Manor in Chatham, devouring gelato at the Cape Cod Creamery and then soaking ourselves silly on bumper boats with squirt guns at Grand Slam. Fred brings gourmet treats from his Italian import store, Panzano in Boston and we gorge on good cheese and wine, spending all night drinking and laughing on my back porch. This year hurricane threats from Bill ruined our weekend plans and I have to say, summer was just NOT the same without them.  ; -(

Beach Bonfire nights

All you need is a beach fire permit and you are set for a night with friends gathered around an amber fire, listening to the sound of waves. Perfect summer night in the sand, especially on a full moon evening. There are only a limited number of permits per day, so get yours early and enjoy.

Cape Cod-Cod Cakes

Unless I’m eating “Fryday” Night Fish Fry, Cod is not my fish of choice. However, my recipe for light and airy Cod Cakes will convert even the most stringent non-fish eaters, like my one year old nephew and brother-in-law. These cakes were gone in the blink of an eye! Start with one and a half pounds of fresh cod, bake at 325 degrees for 20 minutes with salt and pepper, cool. Mince 1 shallot, 1/2 onion, 1/2 jalapeno pepper, 3 T red bell pepper, 3 T fresh parsley, 1 T fresh dill. Mix with 1/2 cup bread crumbs, a dash of Worcestershire sauce and hot sauce, juice from 1/2 lemon, zest from 1/2 lemon, 3T mayo and 1 T dijon mustard. Form into small barrel shaped cakes and pan fry in olive oil. Serve warm with a lemon wedge and Srichacha mayo. Makes a dozen mini cakes.

Jazz at the Wequassett

Live music every Tuesday and Wednesday throughout the summer at the Wequassett Jazz Festival is perfect for a night of cocktails and star gazing out on Pleasant Bay. The crowd is definitely 40+ but it is very romantic, even with your sister and brother-in-law ; -)  The Wequasett is one of the finest resorts in Cape Cod along with Chatham Bars Inn and Ocean Edge. Definitely worth a night out for dinner or day at the spa to splurge in a luxury setting.

August Hydrangea season

Abundantly lining the grey shingled homes and gardens all over Cape Cod, hydrangeas are prized for their blue and violet blossoms throughout the month of August. So much so that there was a blossom thief several years ago cutting all the bushes barren and leaving gardeners and local police on a wild goose chase to catch the hydrangea robbers! Who would steal flowers?! Well, you can thank Martha Stewert and her hydrangea infatuation for driving the prices of these ordinary, moppy blossoms into high-gear. Now people can’t get enough of them and they are in big demand. I do love them though, especially at the end of the season when they start to turn antiqued sage and violet at the ends of each petal. Thankfully, we have our own blooming bushes and don’t have to steal them.

Whale Watching in P-town

LOOK, 2:00 HUMPBACK! (everyone on the boat rushes to lean over starboard side.) AND ANOTHER at 11:00!! (and the rest of the boat dashes to port side with their cameras.) I’ve just described the bulk of a 3-hour tour on a P-town whale watch and saved you some time. You will definitely see whales and it is great for kids to experiences, but unless you go with a whole bunch of friends and make your own party, I’ve saved you an afternoon of rocking seas led by a frustrated marine biologist dropout with a microphone making do with a disappointing summer job. I may be the only one who feels like this, but I’m being honest. I do remember loving them as a 12-year old though…