Food roundup

Now that I've been back a while, I've figured out what to do about food. Portsmouth had great restaurants, and I could find most ingredients within a 10 minute drive. Here in the Lakes Region things are not so handy, and restaurants are disappointing. It didn't used to be this way. 20 years ago there were really good places to eat within a 15 minute drive. I'm not sure what's happened to the dining experience here. Maybe now that the trend has shifted to owning a second home on the lake instead of staying in a hotel or cottage, people cook at home more often and don't go out.

If you're visiting Moultonborough, the best restaurant in town is Kevin's Cafe. No atmosphere, but the BEST crab cakes north of Maryland. Fish that tastes like it was caught an hour before it hit your plate. On slow nights Kevin will wait on you, cook your dinner and bus your table after you leave.

Canoe in Center Harbor - started out good, but the last meal I had there - braised short ribs (anyone who's read this blog knows I LOVE short ribs and braised anything) that gave me the worst agita in decades. I should have known I was in trouble when the waitress asked me how I wanted the ribs cooked. Yeah, I'll have those medium rare, thanks.

Skelly's market has a wonderful brownie sundae made with their own ice cream; Moose Tracks flavor has giant chunks of chocolate in it. Yum. They don't skimp on the lobster rolls - a good value. The coffee blows.

Groceries are more of a challenge. Heath's in Center Harbor is expensive, but generally they have good meat and the scallop "pieces" are dirt cheap and tasty. In the summer they have local produce from Booty Farm in Sandwich. I like Ledgewood Farm and Moulton's Farm for local produce - both have excellent corn, but I lean toward Ledgewood because they are neighbors of a sort and organic for the most part. I bought strawberries from them yesterday that smelled and tasted so wonderful - not huge bland monsters that need extra sugar; a berry that can stand on it's own and needs no accompaniment.

I shot the photo at my house last week for Keepsake Quilting

Miss Evelyn's Hillbilly Hideaway

Another snowstorm and a new lawn ornament! I got a new fridge, and have yet to take the other old carcass to the dump, so in the tradition of my ancestors, I just tossed it out the door. Perhaps I'll take the doors off so my pet feral cat can get out of the weather.

All good things...

...come to an end. The Victory, a wonderful restaurant in Portsmouth, is closing on February 28th. I had several good meals there and I'll miss it. Read about it here at Seacoast Online. Deb Cram photo, Seacoast Online.

Everything Changes

I haven't wanted to post anything for...years, yes, I'll say it. Too many things have happened since the summer of 2007 and I had to focus on that. And yes, I did manage to eat some very enjoyable meals, and have some eye-opening experiences during that time, but not to share. I'm back, and I'm thinking of doing different things to this blog. That could be a bunch of crap, but at least I've actually thought about writing and photography that isn't necessarily turning a profit.

I live on a lake now instead of an ocean, and I have a very high maintenance, haunted house. It costs a bundle to keep me and the ghosts warm, so in order to watch spending and be environmentally responsible but not boring about it, I have learned the following:

1. Use cloth napkins instead of paper. They're fun and look nice on the table, and feel a lot better than paper when you're on your second rack of ribs.

2. Use cloth wipes instead of paper towels. Yeah, I had to buy a bunch because I'm a walking disaster, but it's one less thing to buy all the time.

3. Make your own coffee or tea, and bring it in a butch thermos like the one illustrated. It may even make you more assertive at work - I have a dent in mine already. What I have saved in Dunkie's runs alone has fueled my home. While you're at it, make your own stinkin' lunch too.

4. Don't run the dishwasher unless it's full. This is an easy rule for me, since my family kept every plate they ever owned or bought at an auction. You may have to stock up on dinner and flatware; speaking of which, buy it second hand or at an auction, a pure form of recycling.

5. Don't run the washer unless you have a full load. This should be easy because of the excessive number of napkins and cloth wipes you will amass. Use detergent that's easy on the environment, especially if you are a hillbilly and your leach field is a pipe that runs out into the woods. I'm not mentioning any names, I'm just sayin'.

6. Eat whole grains - they're inexpensive and they lower your cholesterol. You'll need to after all those ribs.

Potatoes Gratin

Perfect for winter.

Potatoes – peeled and sliced fairly thin (not sure how many – enough to fill a 12 x 8 x 2 pan, maybe 8 medium potatoes. I’ve used Yukon Gold)

One medium onion, cut in half and sliced
2 cups of cheddar cheese, shredded
2 cups milk
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons butter (use the real thing)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Saute the onion in a little butter, over medium heat in a fry pan until soft and golden. Set aside.

To make sauce: Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat and add 2 tablespoons of flour. Stir together 1-2 minutes until combined and cooked a bit. Slowly add 2 cups of milk while stirring. If you want to speed things up, heat the milk in a separate pan first (but don’t let it come to a boil) and then add it to the butter and flour.

This is the boring part: keep stirring until the sauce thickens – 5-10 minutes. It should be creamy, and drip off the spoon slowly. Once it’s thick, reduce the heat to low and stir 1 cup of cheese into the sauce. Once the cheese is melted and the sauce is smooth, turn off the heat.

Add the onion to the sauce.

Layer the potatoes and sauce in the pan, making sure the onion is distributed throughout. Cover the top with the remaining cup of shredded cheese. Bake for about 1 hour or until top is brown and potatoes are soft.