Basil From My Garden

Started from seed and now ready to harvest, another ingredient from my first ever garden that I get to sample.

I believe this was the freshest and most wonderful basil I have ever tasted.

Along with the pizza dough and Cabot cheese, some other store bought ingredients that I used were extra virgin olive oil, red pepper flakes, sea salt, garlic and cherry tomatoes.

Baked on a pizza stone for 15 minutes in a 450 degree oven, it filled my kitchen with the most wonderful fragrance.

It was SO good.

Really good. Yet the next time I make it, I think I will add a lot more basil and tomatoes, and perhaps a touch more garlic. And if I'm real lucky, they will be the cherry tomatoes from my garden!

Picnic in Bar Harbor

We packed a picnic lunch and headed to Bar Harbor to celebrate the first day of Spring. For lunch we had a grilled shrimp salad, fruit, Ritz crackers, Cabot pepper jack cheese, and for dessert, we had brownies with walnuts.

We found a spot at the town pier and to our surprise we were not the only

ones with the same idea,

Well, this little fellow already had his spot.

And all the others were lined up too. Who would have thought

this would be such a popular place to park and eat on March 20?

After we ate, we took a walk along the 100 year old Shore Path.

Coming back through town we stopped at the park overlooking the harbor, before we headed back to the truck.





And of course we saved a few Ritz and cheese for our friend.

It was good to beat the crowds of summer. They don't know what they're missing.

LOBSTER FOR BREAKFAST?

Breakfast January 3, 2009

We hold a recreational lobster license and this was from our last catch of the 2008 season. I had previously steamed it, picked it, and froze it in milk. The milk helps to retain the moistness and flavor. We had planned to have it as an appetizer to ring in the New Year but completely forgot all about it.

Lobster Frittata. (my version)

2 brown egss
1/2 cup egg beaters
1 large clove of garlic (minced)
2 T. extra virgin olive oil
1 ounce Cabot pepper jack cheese (grated)
cooked meat from a small lobster (cut up in bite size pieces)
1/2 tomato (diced)
1 T. of milk
sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Heat olive oil in a medium sized iron skillet on burner. Add garlic and saute until lightly browned, toss in tomatoes. Combine eggs, eggbeaters, milk, whip up with fork and add to mixture in pan. Sprinkle lobster and cheese over mixture. Top with sea salt and cook on medium-low heat for 2-3 min. without stirring.

Put pan in preheated 400 degree oven for 7-9 min. or until set. Remove from oven, add freshly ground pepper over top. Let set for 5 min. before serving.

I served the frittata with a side of fruit consisting of clementines, bananas and previously frozen blackberries from our patch out back. Just a splash of white chocolate/raspberry creamer in our morning coffee and we were bon appetit (ing) our way through to lunchtime.