You can’t repeat
the past, I learned from my favorite novel.
I’ve been reliving the memories of a great girls' weekend last year, when
my two friends visited me to kick off my first year living in Maine. We cooked, kayaked, hiked, biked,
cooked some more, read, talked each other’s ears off. All three of us ended the long weekend
feeling refreshed, healthy, and inspired.
We’ve rehashed memories and recipes from that trip for an entire year
while we looked forward to this year’s trip.
All three of us
secretly thought, “It can’t be as good this time; things are never the
same…” But guess what? It was even
better!
What I am telling
you is, the restorative power of a good kickin’ girls weekend cannot be
underestimated. These two women amaze me
with their interests, their humor, their energy… And damn, do we love to cook. And hike and kayak and walk and other
exertions which are not only healthy and fun, but also totally JUSTIFY our
cooking and eating. Yes, a girl’s
weekend never disappoints.
Day 1 – My friends hustled for 10 hours through 7 states and clogged highways to arrive for a sunset
welcome dinner at the beach. My friend
Carol brought her popular Mango Salsa, which we applied to as many
foods as we possibly could all weekend, and we sipped Rosemary Lemonade Vodka Fizzes. One of my go-to Maine dishes from Linda
Greenlaw’s cookbook is Crab meat Quiche – quick to prepare ahead, made with Maine crab meat which is
unique for my near-to-Chesapeake-crab-meat visitors, and easy to pack for
transport. But this time, I made a
killer substitution: caramelized onions instead of minced raw onion. Duh.
Why had I never thought of this before?
I put the sweet and melty onions on the top of the other filling ingredients,
so they crisped up on the top for a prominent hit of flavor on first bite.
Those ladies had only been in town for 10
minutes before we were getting our chat on and enjoying good food. Like a year had never passed. We ate and sipped and talked the sun into sparkling and shining as it dipped into the bay beyond us. Welcome to Maine, dear friends!
(Dear Reader, I’m
blogging about this trip in 4 separate posts as I have pity on your eyes and
attention span. If you are reading this,
you are probably my friend or family member who just wants to be nice and
support my blogging dreams. So I will
pace myself, and not over stay my welcome on your computer screen. Thank you for reading.)
RECIPES FROM THIS
POST:
Carol’s Mango Salsa
– Carol serves this on a rice bowl with black beans, or aside grilled chicken
and fish.
Combine in a bowl:
2 mangos, pitted, peeled and diced
1/3 cup diced red bell pepper
¼ cup finely chopped red onion
1 tbsp. minced fresh cilantro
Juice of one lime
Pinch of coarse salt
(I like a little
more spice than she does, so I might add a minced jalapeno.)
Rosemary Lemon Vodka Fizz
I adapted/simplified this from a Gourmet Magazine recipe, May 2009.
1 cup frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed (put the rest in your iced tea!)
2 8” rosemary sprigs
½ c. vodka (I just use Smirnoff's for mixed drinks.)
Cold seltzer (plain or lemon)
rosemary sprigs for garnish
Warm the lemonade concentrate and the rosemary in a small saucepan on low. Let it get worm, but do not boil. Turn off the heat and let it sit for about 1 hour, to infuse with the rosemary. When it is completely cool, refrigerate it in a travel-worthy container like a bell jar. Discard rosemary sprigs before you use it.
Fill 8 (8-ounces)
glasses halfway with ice. Divide syrup (about 2 tablespoons each) among glasses
and add vodka (1 tablespoon each). Top off with seltzer. Garnish with fresh rosemary sprig or a lemon slice.
Crab meat Quiche
I seriously do make
this recipe all the time. In fact, it is
the in the last blog I posted 4 years ago.
(I really am going to stick with it this time.) Scroll down for the recipe. The only thing I did differently this time
was to slice thinly one large Vidalia onion and saute it slowly to
caramelize. I use 3 tablespoons of olive
oil, heat that to medium/medium-low, add the onions and sprinkle with about 1
tsp. Kosher salt. After it all sizzles a
bit and acquires the least bit of color, I turn down the heat and cook them for
at least 20 minutes, stirring frequently to keep an even color. They are done when they are darker than
honey, but lighter than peanut butter in color.