Photo of the day: Lobstahs for Dinnah

Favorite sign on Lobster pool tank, George’s Fish Market, Harwich MA.
Makes me smile every time I see it.

Saturdays = Orleans Farmers’ Market

I love the locavore lifestyle here. You can find Farmers’ Markets and roadside farm stands every day of the week all over the Cape. The Orleans Farmers’ Market is a must on Saturdays. I have favorite stalls that I visit week after week. I wish I could say that I was up early to get the best of the crop, but my sleeping habits often find me wishing I was an early riser. Don’t miss the fresh ginger stevia lemonade from The Optimal Kitchen. I always sip a cold glass while I shop. If I’m lucky enough to get there before they sell out, I always look for the micro greens and hyrdroponic greens from  E&T Farms. They make THE best salads ever. I buy my lobsters wholesale from Salty Lou’s @ $2 a lb cheaper than any fish market. That alone is worth the trip! And The Cape Cod Organic Farm always has he best arugula, corn, berries, eggplants, baby kale and chard.

For a full schedule of Cape Cod Farmers’ Markets from Falmouth to P-town, read here.

Wild Beach Plum Jelly

Green brush filled with bright red-orange berries and vivid pink and white flowers form a mosaic of color along the perimeter of beaches and bogs. The native beach plums are larger than a grape and smaller than a plum and grow wild all over the Cape. Gardeners believe they grow best left untouched with the salt air and sandy soil. The locals make jelly out of its sweet/tart fruit. I often buy the spread as hostess gifts or to bring back to friends outside the area.

My favorite places for this favorite local jelly and other homemade jams: Chatham Jam and Jelly and Briar Lane Jams and Jellies in Wellfleet.

Harwich Mudpie and other favorites

I have touted my Cape Cod Diet as light and clean, but there are just days that call for homemade ice cream at one of the many award winning stands. I have favorite flavors at different spots. Harwich Mudpie at Schoolhouse Ice Cream is a front runner. (above)

My top 5 flavors in no particular order:

1. Vanilla with homemade hot fudge at Four Seas in Centerville. (Any flavor is delicious at Seas– it’s really all about the fudge. The fudge could be on a rice cake and it wouldn’t matter.)

2. Harwich Mudpie (coffee with chocolate covered almonds, chocolate cake crunch and fudge ripple) at Schoolhouse Ice Cream in Harwich

3. Grapenuts (sweet cream w/Grapenuts cereal) at Sundae School in Harwichport, Orleans and Dennisport

4. Purple Cow (black raspberry with dark and white chocolate chunks) at Daisy’s in Chatham, which closed recently and I’m trying to find someone else who has it! TBC.

5. Lemon Gelato (creamy lemon with lemon zest) at Cape Cod Creamery in Yarmouthport. This is a special flavor and not always there. They need to make this a regular flavor if anyone out at the Creamery is listening.

Hello, Summer picnic!

Does it really get any better than this?! Crossing the bridge around suppertime, we weigh our options. We decide to stop for lobster rolls and a side of fried scallops from George’s Fish Market in Harwich and head to the corner gas station for ice cold summer brews, (classy, I know ; -) Denise and I b-line for Bank Street beach and have the most perfect summer picnic as the bright sun starts to lower over the Nantucket Sound. What I love about George’s lob rolls is how meaty and decadent they are– very light on the mayo with TONS of super fresh chilled lobster and served on a buttery croissant. Yes, croissant. As if lobster could get more indulgent. SO good!

Roadside Farm Stands

I break for farm stands and farmers’ markets. Cape Cod is one of the best places for fresh, local, slow food. Fresh tomatoes, corn, squash, cucumbers, berries and wild flowers in the summer; apples, pumpkins and cranberries in the fall. Keep your eyes out off Route 6, 6A and 28 for signs off the road. Favorite stands include: Rich’s Farm Stand in Wellfleet, Log Cabin stand in Orleans, Hemeon’s Farm in Harwich, and Cape Cod Organic Farm in Barnstable. View a complete list of stands.

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.  ; -(

Provincetown Portuguese Bakery

I do not readily admit consuming fried food on a regular basis, however I will shout from mountain tops to share the glory of Malassada or fried dough at the P-town Portuguese Bakery. This is not your ordinary state fair fried dough – this is light-as-air, lick-your-fingers sugary, warm out of the frying vat goodness. I cannot remember a summer where my mother did not take us for this annual treat. She shares the story of when my grandparents introduced her to the bakery as part of her first welcome tour of Cape Cod.  It should be everyone’s welcome, honestly.

It’s all about the Lobstahs

I could eat them at least 2-3 times a week without tiring. Easily. You can’t visit Cape Cod without devouring a whole steamed lobster or at least have a roll. It is impossible, sacrilegious even. I prefer a lobster dinner at home instead of in a restaurant, although there are plenty of shacks at every corner. I’d rather consume the crustaceans with a cold beer in the privacy of my back porch, where no one bears witness to the messy carnage. I suck the poor things dry without a scrap left, not even in the head! The fish markets sell them steamed and cracked at no charge, but they run on Cape time and close at 6 or 7. (Hard for this NYC girl to eat at that early…) I prefer cooking them yourself in a big steamer, allowing for a late, grazing dinner after a long day at the beach.

Favorite markets for the freshest fish and lobster include: George’s, Chatham Fish and Lobster, Nauset Fish and Lobster Pool and Salty Lou’s, who sells wholesale at all the farmers’ markets.

George’s Fish Market

George’s is a Harwich institution. Fresh fish = George’s. They have everything from made-to-order lobster rolls and fish fry, to clambakes and oysters. I visit daily and gaze in the cases to imagine what is for the night’s dinner. I can tell what was just brought in on the line by the glisten and shine of the moisture, and color of the blood vein.  The selection is never easy to make. They also have the sweetest staff, including a boy who has been waiting on me for years and almost certainly breaks labor laws being so young working day in and day out. He knows more about fish than anyone. And it is really good.