Saturday, August 18, 2007
We flew to Nancy's [Airfield Cafe] for dinner, and one of tonight's specials was Nancy's lobster roll, so Dean told me I had to order it for the sake of my Lobster Roll Competition mission. I supposed he was right, so I forwent the Baaa Burger, and here's my report.
Posted at 11:11:00 PM by Laura W. Petix.
Nancy's lobster salad is made from Maine lobster, but the lobster is NOT caught by Don, and I almost got a nose tweaking from him for asking! (He recently told us how he often flies Nancy to Maine on weekends.) The roll is also not a New England style roll (alas), nor is it warmed or toasted, but it's a very nice, doughy roll. In fact, by the soft texture and sweet taste, I'm pretty certain it's a Martin's brand potato roll. More on this later. In the bottom of the roll is shredded green lettuce (not iceburg) and tomato cubes. The lobster is moist & tasty, with very good flavor, inconspicuous mayonnaise and a fine amount of diced celery mixed in. It would be a truly excellent lobster roll if only it had a proper NE-style roll. The sweet, pillowy Martin's bun really calls too much attention to itself and detracts from the lobster, I'm sorry to say. So, points for trying to use a nice bun, but it's a misstep. Sorry, Nancy.
While we were eating, Don came over to our table a couple of times to chat, and as I was coming back from washing my hands before we left, I ran into him near the fish tank (newly containing freakishly bizarre albino African Clawed Frogs!) and asked, "What are your feelings on New England style hot dog rolls?" He didn't know the term at first, but when I explained how there's the normal bun type, like Nancy's, with smooth browned edges, and there's the kind that's all stuck together in a row, with flat exposed bready sides when you separate them, his eyes lit up and he said eagerly, "I like those better, because you can butter and toast them!" Bingo. I acknowledged that Nancy's lobster roll is exceptionally good other than lacking the New England style roll, and he said, "I can live with that." I like Don. :-)
P.S. All the sudden, it feels like September! Don't leave me yet, summer!!
!!! Susie just sent me this article! "A mangosteen craze has swept New York City..." Ha! Once again, I am so ahead of these trends. :-)
Posted at 12:40:00 PM by Laura W. Petix.
Friday, August 17, 2007
Must get more grogurt. The Lyman's peaches are ready (ready?? they're perfect), and grogurt + cut up Lyman's peaches is swoonfully good. What an amazing combination.
Posted at 11:49:00 AM by Laura W. Petix.
Speaking of swooning, I very, very nearly fainted last night, and I'm not exaggerating. I can't remember the last time I've been so suddenly and intensely dizzy (if ever). If I hadn't layed down on the bath rug right away, I would've passed out, and, even then, I was weak and shaky, my vision was all hazy and my ears were wooshing and ringing super-loudly for at least 10 minutes. I could barely get back up off the floor to stagger over and put the new band-aid on. I don't know if it was the little black stitches or what, but yikes. I guess it's not only other people's injuries that mess me up.
Thursday, August 16, 2007
It's very fun eating the monstera a little at a time as it ripens along, and also feeding it to Dean. The monstera is definitely far exceeding expectations! I wanted one just because of how they look, but the monstera's appeal goes way way beyond its lizardy looks.
Posted at 11:49:00 PM by Laura W. Petix.
Meanwhile, I had an appointment in Glastonbury today, so afterwards I went to 1) Draghi Farm Market (tiny version), 2) Draghi Farm Market (big version), and 3) Rose's Berry Farm (actual farm version). Rose's also has a farm stand on Hebron Avenue, which I did not go to yet.
The reason I went to both Draghis is that the tiny version was closer to Glastonbury (so I got there first), but I also wanted to see how close the two were and where they are both located relative to one another, so I continued along and drove home via the Portland bridge. They are both on the same road, but the big version is closer to Portland/Middletown (that's the one I went to with Susie) and the little one is closer to Glastonbury. They both have best-ever Rusczyk blueberries, so it doesn't matter which one you choose!
I went to Rose's because there was a sign for it when I was driving to Draghi #2 (there were also signs for tons of other local produce sources in that area!), so I couldn't resist following the arrows. It was a real farm out in the middle of the country, with pick-your-own blueberries, etc. I did not, however, pick my own. But I did buy a container for Dean so I can see if the ones straight from the farm are fresher than the ones they sell at Whole Foods. Also went to Suder's on the way home for more tomatoes. Very farm stand-y day!
I felt very relaxed all day and really enjoyed driving around So. Glastonbury. Not sure if pretty, green, farmy Connecticut produced the mellowness or was just exhanced by it, but it was nice. I love my GPS.
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Posted at 7:11:00 PM by Laura W. Petix.
Well, my lobster roll couldn't hold a candle to Kimball Farm's. Kimball Farm is magic.
I used: 1) fresh lobster meat from Stew's (maybe if I'd steamed it myself from a live lobster it would've been better (?), but that would be way too much work), 2) cubed cucumber (instead of celery), 3) a tiny tiny bit of mayonnaise (actually I used Miracle Whip because I didn't have any strict mayonnaise-mayonnaise), 4) a little bit of freshly ground sea salt and freshly ground pepper, 5) crunchy romaine lettuce, and 6) New England-style hot dog buns, buttered and grilled in an iron skillet on the stovetop (grilled cheese sandwich style).
In addition, I added some thin slices of ripe Suder tomato on the first one and some lemon squeezings on the second one. (I left off the tomato on the second one because it was so good that it overwhelmed everything else! Plus, the Kimball recipe does not include tomato so I don't think that's as authentic.) (Not that it includes lemon, either.) Anyway, they were both good, but the first one reminded me of a really succulent bacon-lettuce-and-tomato sandwich (flashbacks to eating outside on Grandmother Whaples' lawn), and the second one made me long for shad milt.
I love Stew's, but they really dropped the ball in the bread department. No New England-style hot dog rolls!!
Posted at 6:23:00 PM by Laura W. Petix.
Fortunately, Stupid has a plethora. Dean has a dinner thing tonight, so I'm going to try to make a homemade lobster roll for myself. Obviously, the N.E. roll is key.
Posted at 1:24:00 PM by Laura W. Petix.
Wow. The monstera is actually really, really good! I am surprised and impressed. It's worthy eating material completely beyond its weird-food status. I'm pretty sure it's the best-tasting tropical fruit I have ever eaten in a non-tropical land.
It tastes like very good pineapple with a hint of banana, and is more creamy and less juicy than pineapple. There's nothing iffy about it... it's not just "interesting"... the flavor is pronounced, sweet, and delicious. It's also really fun scraping/popping off the little corn-like kernels and eating them a few at a time. They come off much more easily than corn kernels; you can get them out intact to the root with very little effort, and they're much softer more tender than pineapple.
I did try a couple of kernels that were under hexagons that hadn't fallen off on their own yet, and they were bland, not sweet at all yet. It's weird and cool knowing exactly when a fruit is at optimum ripeness because it tells you so!
My hands smell really nice now. Monstera would make a great bath gel scent.
Here are the photos: 1) the monstera, ready to start being eaten, 2) a few extracted kernels in my hand, 3) closeup of the monstera with some kernels eaten and some intact. It looks kind of like grilled corn!
I wish my left arm would quit feeling so electrocuted. My fingers aren't tingly this time, but it's messed up, hanging there feeling wrong all the time and zapping me with pain every time I move it (or my neck) certain ways. I have no idea what it thinks it's up to.
Posted at 1:14:00 AM by Laura W. Petix.
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Connecticut is such a pretty state. More driving all over, thanks to my new Guy. I love it when it sends me on these gorgeous rolling farm-y backroads instead of the highway. On the way back from Madison (got more matcha Vosges), I did not want to go on that confusing roundabout that it suggested last time (the reason I ended up on Roast Meat Hill Road, since I messed up which spoke I was supposed to take), so I got a detour and was driving along through Durham. I started thinking, "Hey, Lyman's is near Durham..." so I looked up Lyman's and saw that, indeed, it was getting closer and closer. So I told it to take me there, and I stopped and got peaches. As I was driving, I was thinking, "I have no idea where I am, but it doesn't matter!" So cool.
Posted at 6:19:00 PM by Laura W. Petix.
In Madison, there weren't any empty parking spaces in front of Given, so I pulled into a spot a little farther down the road, and it was right in front of Willoughby's Coffee & Tea, so I walked in. Someone immediately exclaimed, "Laura?!" It was Patrick, aka The Dry Guy!!! He works there now! (I have never been to Willoughby's before in my life; this was a total coincidence.) He even remembered that I drink cappuccinos. He was on duty as cashier, though, so I didn't get any Dry Guy foam. :-( But, wow. It was great to see him.
Further adventures of the monstera: now it's really opening up! Last night a couple of hexagons had popped off, and this morning it looks like this. I like that one single row of scales that's clinging together while the parts around it divide off in either direction. The inside doesn't really look especially tasty, does it?
Posted at 12:37:00 PM by Laura W. Petix.
[Edit: This looks like an excellent site! It has instuctions on how to eat exotic fruits, including monstera. Monstera gets its own page!]
Monday, August 13, 2007
Wet sheep!! I like the smell of a wet sheep! The Maaaaa! was really pal-ish today. I petted her and petted her (or, really, sort of put my hand in/on her fur and moved it back and forth) for ever. And I wasn't even bribing her with grass during the petting, or anything. She just liked it. The fleece on her neck is so deep, I sunk my fingers all the way in and didn't even reach the actual neck part! My hand still smells like a wet sheep. It reminds me of the smell of a drawer in an old wooden chest.
Posted at 9:02:00 PM by Laura W. Petix.
Cat Report from hounding to Cooneymus (via town) on Saturday:
Trip distance = 12.13 miles
Average speed = 9.3 mph
Max speed = 30.3 mph
Trip time = 1:17'50
Cat Stats from Cheshire/Hamden trail today:
Trip distance = 8.13 miles
Avg speed = 10.2 mph
Max speed = 15.2 mph
Trip time = 47'35
P.S. The hexagons are starting to pop off now!
My monstera is starting to transform!! The end near the stem is fatter now... it's opening up and the little hexagonal scales are dividing, to reveal the creamy white interior. None of them have actually popped off yet, though. Based on what I've read, it sounds like you're supposed to eat it inch by inch as the scales slowly fall off over time. Bizarre.
Posted at 5:22:00 PM by Laura W. Petix.
Sunday, August 12, 2007
Aaah! I put on the eyes, and he's so cute. How are we going to smash him?? (Used Velcro to secure the eyes. Genius!)
Posted at 11:52:00 PM by Laura W. Petix.
It's beautiful out today, and so was yesterday. Yesterday we Block Island-ed, and rode our hounds to Cooneymus Beach. It was a nice hound ride. Perfect temperture, beautiful views. I love Cooney, and there was no one else there. We brought the hounds right down with us on the sand. Cooney does smell exactly like that seaweed salad they have at ION (or rather, ION's seaweed salad does smell exactly like Cooney). I added Cooneymus Beach to my GUY. :-) I love LOVE my new sunglasses. They are the best purchase of the year, along with my Guy.
Posted at 4:51:00 PM by Laura W. Petix.
To further the Lobster Roll Competition, I got one at Water Street Cafe, above the harbor. It took forever for them to prepare it, because a big family ordered a billion items right before I did. As for the lob. roll itself, it was similar to Del's except it didn't come with a lemon wedge, and the iceburg lettuce was shredded. I also think it has less mayonnaise. The lobster salad itself was very juicy and tasty, and the lobster and tomato combo was good, but the bun (N.E. style) would've been a lot better toasted. It seems really slacky not to toast them. It was also poorly constructed (they didn't open the bun far enough before they stuffed it) and the innards fell out, making for a terrible photo, although it didn't really effect the taste. It was pretty good (although no Kimball's, of course).
I had to get new computer speakers today because one of my old ones blew up and wouldn't stop making an extremely loud and scary noise. (It was pretty old; I didn't replace them when I got my new computer, because I really liked them. It had also had Dean-surgery before.) My new ones are pretty darn nice. They match my keyboard and phone. Silver and black. I have to de-mess my desk now, though. I don't know where I'm going to put all my Golden Guides.
Oh, and the paint scheme idea finally clicked!! Yesterday, with Tango at the airport. I drew up some drafts this afternoon.
