“There is a difference betweent dining and eating. Dining is an art. When you eat to get most out your meal, to please the palate, just as well as to satiate the appetite, that, my friend, is dining.” yuan mei
I have to give a shout to our amazing, knowledgeable, and friendly server, Victoria. She was awesome. She knew the menu well.
Meeting friends in Ocean View, Delaware, at Northeast Seafood Kitchen was my destination. It was half price entrees. They have daily specials.
Northeast Seafood Kitchen is located at 29 Atlantic Avenue in Ocean View, DE. Ocean View is a few miles west of Bethany Beach. Just in case you did not know.
It was very busy. A lot of restaurants in the area are closed on Tuesdays. No big deal, we waited at the bar. It is not the end of the world.
We ordered 2 salads for sharing.
The first one was a traditional Caesar Salad. Loved those boquerones (white anchovies) on top. Pecorino cheese, house made croutons, Caesar dressing. Simple.
The Baby Spinach was a suggestion from Victoria….tomatoes, sweet shallots, Gorgonzola cheese, roasted pistachos, and a wild berry vinaigrette. Just perfect.
Before I share the rest of the photos I will have to say that the four of us had a very good dinner. Everything was cooked and seasoned just the way it should be. Nothing was overpowering.
The Chef’s Fish Board is where we chose the Catfish and Tuna. Those 2 entrees came with a butternut puree, mushrooms, potatoes, zucchini, squash, cabbage, and a lemon butter sauce.
The Tuna OC Maryland was spiced encrusted and my friend said she had not had a meal like that in months.
Two of us had the Crab Imperial Catfish Chesapeake Bay. It was pan seared and super delicious.
The Farm Style Seafood Stew was also a winner. It had fish, shellfish, calamari, bay leaf, celery, corn on the cob, and a white wine tomato broth.
And did we even have room for dessert. Just one please. So we ordered the upside down blueberry cake. It was pretty good too. Ice cream, nuts…shareable indeed.
I always say that you can review a restaurant all you want, but sharing a meal with old friends is what makes it priceless.
Remember to check my FB page of AboutMyBeaches.
I know it is feels like summer but we are already in the first few days of fall.
Relax, you are At The Beach.
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My late mother in law, Louise, was a great cook. Many years ago she made a cookbook just for the girls and boys in the family. Every Christmas we would get an insert. She called this cookbook: Recipes, Begged, Borrowed, & Stolen. The Ratatouille is from her cookbook and it is prepared skillet style.
This is one of those dishes that you can prepare year round. But, in the summer vegetables are so beautiful and delicious that it is probably the best time of the year to make it. Those bright colors shine in this recipe.
Some people consider it a stew. Olive oil, garlic and herbs add so much flavor to the Ratatouille.
Following is the recipe. Hope you like it.
RATATOUILLE
1eggplant, peeled and cut into cubes. (I did not peel mine)
3 medium squash – zucchini, sliced
2 large onions – chopped
1 clove garlic – minced
1 large can tomatoes – or several fresh ones ( I used the fresh ones)
1 green pepper – chopped
1 small jar of pimiento, juice included
1/3 cup olive oil
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. marjoram
1/2 tsp. dill seeds
In olive oil saute onions for a minute or so, and add rest of the vegetables and spices. Stir well and simmer vegetable mixture for as long as you wish, stirring occasionally.
It is good to cook it for a long time to get those veggies to soften, but do not let them stick.
You can eat the Ratatouille as a side dish, main dish, over pasta, over polenta like I did, as an appetizer with crackers. Add a dash of hot sauce for some kick. In other words, make this recipe your own.
You can double the recipe. Enjoy!!
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A few months ago I needed a mover. As it is usually the case a friend gave me the name of Mary Nicholson who is the owner of Mary’s Touch. Her company, Mary’s Touch Moving & Packing, LLC specializes in new homes, storage and retirement homes. Tel. 302-745-1272.
Word of mouth is the best advertising you can get. You are happy with the work, you will definitely, pass the word around. I have been meaning to write a post on Mary because they were true professionals. At some point or another everyone needs a mover that will pack and move your treasures to either another home or to a storage unit.
Totally recommend this company. Please give Mary a call.
Remember to check AboutMyBeaches FaceBook Page!!
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I got into not eating meat on Monday. Following the Meatless Monday campaign if you want to know. This is an international campaign nonetheless. It is just a way of not eating meat one day of the week to improve your health. This organization was founded in 2003. There is also a Facebook Page called Meatless Monday. To know more about it, please visit http://www.meatlessmonday.com.
A few years ago I was visiting my cousins on the island of Culebra. Gorgeous beaches, beautiful scenery. On the photo a look at Luis Pena from their balconies. One of the recipes they prepared was a Spinach Pie. Not only was it good, but it was so easy with 5 ingredients. The chopped frozen spinach I was buying for this recipe had a lot of water but I found a few months ago a spinach that is steamable and to tell you the truth it is so much better. You can get it in all supermarkets.
I have shared this recipe on my website before so I decided to do it again as I remembered that this summer, here in Rehoboth Beach, Sharon, Amantha, Debbie and I would have impromptu dinners on the beach. This is one of the recipes I took. You can eat it hot, warm, room temperature or even cold.
Recipe – Spinach Pie
1 package or bag of spinach – 10 ounces
1 block cream cheese. You can use the less fat one or regular one.
1 onion (Cut in chunks.)
4 eggs
1 cup Parmesan cheese
Pre heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease lightly a pie dish. I use a glass one. Let spinach defrost and squeeze it to get all the water out. Take the cream cheese out of the refrigerator and let it soften a bit.
In a blender put eggs, spinach, onion, and cream cheese. Add salt and pepper to taste. I usually add just pepper since the cheese has plenty of salt. Blend. Pour into a pie dish.
Place in the oven for about 10 to 12 minutes. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top to cover. The cheese will make a crust and will add taste to the pie. Don’t be shy and sprinkle on.
It will take another half hour or so to be ready. Test it with a knife and if comes out clean then it is ready. It should have a nice rich crust.
You can really use this spinach pie for breakfast, lunch or dinner. And even for an appetizer. I would cut in squares instead of wedges if that is the case.
When I joined my friends this summer for our Rehoboth Beach dinners, I think they loved it. Don’t you think? They are smiling!
Remember that these recipes are begged, borrowed, and stolen…..please make them your own.
Until next time!
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When we share a meal with friends, it is so much more than food (really?)…and, when we share it with girlfriends, and for purposes of this post, like the Swirl Girls, then it is really priceless. Some of us have known each other for years while others, are getting to know each other very fast. Here we were trying to figure out which table would be the best one. Right after Memorial week-end we had the place to ourselves since we arrived early. We did not want a big table. We like to be cozy in order to get that conversation going. The group had just gone to watch the Book Club, if you get my drift.
The majority of us had not yet dined at Our Harvest. This restaurant located at 1106 Coastal Hwy., Fenwick Island, DE 19944, opened last year. Every day, at 5:00 p.m., you can come in and experience a way of eating that has become so popular in the U. S. Telephone is 302-581-0377. No reservations are accepted. The website is http://www.ourharvestde.com.
As the season progresses please have in mind when you would like to eat. You have to have a plan because it gets crowded at the Delaware Beaches. If you arrive and there is a wait, you could have cocktails, relaxing in their bar or in any of the very comfortable leather sofas.
There is an open concept kitchen. You really can see how the kitchen is running. I have to tell you that I probably should have come to try Our Harvest last year. I love their sister restaurant, Liquid Assets, in Ocean City, MD, and I did not want to like this one more. Guess what? They are completely different.
The menu was presented and our server knew the menu well. She explained the concept of eating small plates and shareables. At that moment all we wanted was some wine. Having watched the Book Club, wine was very much consumed by the characters. It was time to relax. The wine that you see at the table was from South Africa. A full bodied Merlot called Immortal Hero.
At first you are a bit overwhelmed because you, actually, do not know how much to order for the table. And, we all have our likes and dislikes. We managed to do a good job and we were all very pleased with how the evening was progressing. Could not believe Jane Fonda looks that good at 81… I know, I know.
We all decided to have a small plate to start our dining experience. Every time I see the offering of a Grilled Caesar Salad, I order it. Years ago I had it at a restaurant in Hagerstown, Maryland. Since then, a few have gotten close at how good that one tasted so I wanted to see how this one would be, more so because it had Boquerones which are white anchovies. They are very mild and usually they are marinated in vinegar. It gives the salad a kick. I will have to say that this Caesar was excellent.
Others ordered the Salt Roasted Beets & Two Cheeses. Served on a wooden plank it had whipped ricotta, Stracciatella, local greens, black pepper and beet vinaigrette. Stracciatella cheese is produced from Italian buffalo milk in the southern Italian region of Apulia. They use a stretching and shredding technique. This particular small plate could have been shared by two people.
We ordered the Spring Harvest Flatbread. A crispy crust filled with local peas, ramps, morel mushrooms, local asparagus, ricotta, gruyere mornay, green garlic pesto and crispy capers. Ramps are a special type of wild onion, found in eastern Canada and U.S. And a Gruyere mornay is a bechamel sauce that has Gruyere cheese added to it. It was delicious but to tell you the truth we probably ordered too much. Not that we did not eat it, by the way.
“Friendship is a delicious meal to be shared off one large plate.” So, we decided to order our large plates. This particular dish I truly loved. It was called the Vegan Feast. It was a whole wood fire roasted head of cauliflower, benne cashew crumb, and a lemon garlic vegan aioli. At first we thought it was cheese but it was the benne cashew crumb. Cashews are lower in fat than other nuts. You can find online a lot of recipes for this vegan seed.
A very popular dish at Our Harvest is a whole Amish air chilled chicken…Arnold Palmer brine, (sweet tea and lemonade brine chicken, I believe), wood fired with lemon and rosemary. Liquid Assets has an amazing chicken, as well. Both chickens are completely different and delicious in more ways than one. We ordered TWO.
Needless to say, no need for dessert. We decided that definitely we would be back. Thanks to our server and also to the hostess that so graciously explained to me how the restaurant worked.
And so I end my post with this quote from John Lanchester….”Hospitality is central to the restaurant business, yet it’s a hard idea to define precisely. Most, it involves being nice to people and making them feel welcome. You notice it when it’s there, and you particularly notice it when it isn’t. A single significant lapse in this area can be your dominant impression of an entire meal.”
Until next time….
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I have been on a roll….purging my closets, getting organized. Why do we accummulate so much stuff? It is true, that if you have not worn it or used it for a couple of years, then donate it to someone that can enjoy it. With that thought in mind and with the other thought that “someone’s trash is another person’s treasure”, I kept packing bag after bag. The Thrift Shop at Midway Shopping Center on Coastal Highway was not taking anymore clothing; only shoes, bags and other items. There is another one on the Forgotten Mile run by the Episcopal Church. Since then I have found out that there are plenty of other shops in the area. People have the same thoughts at this time of the year.
A few friends suggested I take some of my things to a consignment shop. That they do and enjoy getting that extra cash in their pockets. I started thinking about it and that is how I ended up calling Christine’s Consignments. This cute little shop is located at 200-A Rehoboth Ave., in Downtown Rehoboth Beach, DE. Tel. 302-226-1126. If you decide you would like to take some of your treasures that you no longer need to Christine’s, please give them a call so that you can make an appointment. At the time of the appointment you can bring your goodies so they can go through them. And please don’t take it personal if they don’t choose everything you brought that you thought was the best. Seasonal things is what they want and they want them to be in good shape and worthy of resale. If you keep that in mind you will do great.
Just like in any shop the clothing is divided in sections. There are new arrivals and also designer clothing racks.
This weekend in Downtown Rehoboth Beach are the much awaited and very well attended Sidewalk Sales. Hope you can make it. All weekend long, you will be able to get tremendous discounts, and find fabulous accessories. These sales start today, Friday, May 18th and continue through Sunday, May 20th, from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. but some store hours may vary. Please check that out. It is going to be a rainy weekend but do not worry those sales are here to stay. Tax free shopping in Delaware!!
Christine’s Consignments has another location at 42 Atlantic Ave., in Ocean View, near Bethany Beach. That telephone is 302-829-1425.
If you are bringing some of your treasures to Christine’s Consignments once they have gone through the items you will be given a number. And you will also sign a very simple contract. You should give them time to sell your items. And, you can discuss with them what you would like to do if items are not sold. They do donate to the local charities things that are not sold.
Like any other shop, items come and go quickly. The inventory is always changing. So probably is not one of those shops that you would likely say “I have been there already”. Always something new at very good prices. You are spending time at the beach and let’s say you forgot your accessories, Christine’s Consignments would be perfect to grab that item that will finish your look.
I hope you have a great weekend. Good luck finding your treasures!! Give them a chance second time around!
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It has been a while since I have posted a recipe for Meatless Monday. This is a “global movement, created in 2003 by Sid Lerner in association with Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health”. It is a way to eat just one day a week free of meat….go vegetarian for just that one day will help in our overall health. For more information, and recipes, as well, please visit http://www.meatlessmonday.com.
I had a couple of good size eggplants and decided that today, being Monday, I would use them to make Eggplant Parm. I have made this dish so many times, and every time I either add something or delete something. I always make recipes my own. So should you, it is fun to experiment.
2 medium to large eggplants
3 eggs
Oil for frying
Italian Breadcrumbs (If manking it gluten free, please make sure you buy some of the many available breadcrumbs that are gluten free.)
Spaghetti Sauce (I tried Mia’s Kitchen Bistro Marinara from Safeway and it is all natural and gluten free, made in Sonoma, California.)
Mozzarella Cheese (I used the already shredded cheese, but you can shred your own if you are eating gluten free. Make sure to read the labels.
1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese. I grated it myself, which is great if you are eating gluten free. The packaged cheeses already grated might have an additive that contains gluten.
Basil
Pre heat oven to 350 degrees
Slightly grease a 9 x 13 baking dish.
Put about a cup of the spaghetti sauce and spread.
Cut the eggplant in round slices. I do not peel the eggplant. I think the skin looks great and it is where your vitamins are, as well.
In a shallow bowl cracked the eggs and mix. In a plate put the Italian breadcrumbs.
In a large frying pan put enough vegetable oil in order to fry the eggplant. It does not have to be too deep.
Dip the eggplants in the eggs and then dip in the Italian breadcrumbs.
Fry them until lightly brown. I usually get them out and let them sit on paper towels, but you can just transfer them directly to the prepared baking dish, as well.
Arrange them on the baking dish as you wish. You will be making two layers.
Spread spaghetti sauce on them and also half of the mozzarella. Repeat the process and at this point you will also sprinkle the Parmesan cheese on top. Sprinkle some Basil for color too. Then to the oven.
Bake for about 45 minutes or so until they look like this…….
This dish has so much color….it should also be the center of attention on your plate. A green salad or green veggie is all you need.
For dessert, well, it is that time of the year when you just have to think that summer is around the corner but if you feel like living dangerously, well, go ahead and maybe go visit Edie Bees on Second Street in Lewes, Delaware, and grab something sweet and sinfully delish.
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I big shout to Doggies at The Beach for taking such good care of my little Diva, Miss Addy. Doggies at the beach is a 3,500 square foot indoor, cage free doggie day care. It is Miss Addy’s home away from home. While visiting Doggies at the Beach she met Santa. I know what her expression is telling me, but I am glad she went along with the program. Doggies at The Beach is located at 18806 J. Williams Hwy. in Rehoboth Beach. Tel. 302-644-8200. They have 24 hour human supervision and even web cams so that you can follow your precious pooch. Grooming is also available. They are on Facebook, as well. Check them out because they are always hosting events and very much involved in the community. Jim and his staff are very caring and obviously they love dogs!! Please visit http://www.doggiesatthebeach.com.
This would be a great stocking stuffer for your dog. Your pooch will love these Tail Bangers made with whole wheat flour, rolled oats, eggs, canola oil, fresh ground peanuts, honey, cinnamon, with a vanilla yogurt coating. Tail Bangers are made in Millsboro, Delaware, about 1/2 hour from Rehoboth Beach. The company has gone big, a success story. I have not visited but can’t wait to do so. You can find Tail Bangers at Doggies at The Beach, Candy Kitchen, Pet Stores in the area and even the UPS store at the Safeway Shopping Center. I took them as a gift to my friend’s dog, Dale, in Bluffton, South Carolina and they were a big hit. So, I decided to try them myself. They smell so good. I took a bite and they were not bad at all. After all they are made with all natural ingredients. Tail Bangers is located at 24546 Betts Pond Rd., Millsboro, DE 19956 You can find them on Facebook and Twitter. Website? www.tailbangers.com.
Another great stocking stuffer for those that love to cook and for your favorite foodies are these Sea Salts made right here on the coast by SoDel Concepts. There is the Bay Spice, the Summer Lemon Zest, and the Black Pepper Fennel. You can get these salts at any of SoDel Concepts Restaurants from Lewes to Fenwick Island. For the locations of the restaurants, please visit http://www.sodelconcepts.com.
Another perfect gift….a book, the perfect companion. Truddi Chase was from Maryland. Her story was made into a movie years ago, base on her first book When Rabbit Howls. The movie was called Voices Within: The Lives of Truddi Chase. It was an autobiography about her experiences after being diagnosed with dissociative identity disorder. Truddi was interviewed by Oprah. Her story is a fascinating one of survival after been sexually abuse from age two. She coped by developing 92 personalities. She never integrated them so she lived with them all of her life until she died in 2010. Her second book has just come out thanks to her daughter, Kari, who lives in Lewes. This second book is more whimsical. All art work is by Truddi and the different personalities. The name of the book is The Creature of Habit. You can get it at http://www.truddichase.com
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