Saturday Lunches

Saturday lunches are my favorite lunches.  We go to the Ventura Farmer's Market on Saturday mornings, so our lunch is always something fresh and inspired from the market.  Today's lunch was a Cabot Aged Cheddar Cheese Souffle and my motivation was the "Egg Guy".  One of our favorite vendors sells the most delicious eggs I have ever tasted.  In fact, that's all he sells and he is very proud of his eggs.  One week I asked him what he fed his chickens.  He got very excited, went into the cab of his truck and brought out a little cup filled with his chicken feed and described every ingredient.  Next he brought out a notebook showing us pictures of his free-range chickens and how he cared for them.  I'm convinced that his passion and care of his chickens is one of the reasons his eggs are so incredible.  When he first started selling at our market we were drawn to his stall by his face - he has a great face.  Anyone who knows John well, or has traveled with him, knows that he seeks out a "nice face".  This has nothing to do with good looks or superficial beauty, but a certain look that promises an interesting individual and almost always a kind person.  The "nice faces" John has discovered on our vacations have made for some very interesting and memorable trips!

Another favorite vendor is the "Herb Guy".  Last weekend he told us he worked for a farmer, growing herbs, for thirty years.  He retired a few years ago and now has his own small herb garden and sells what he harvests at a couple of local markets.  This is another man who is passionate about what he grows and enjoys sharing his knowledge. He likes it when customers pay him in quarters because he saves them for his visits to the Chumash Casino!  He recently started selling lettuces, so I picked up a bag of his fresh mixed greens for a salad to serve with our souffle.

To make the Cheese Souffles:

Butter six individual souffle dishes and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. This will keep the eggs from sticking to the dish and the cheese gives the eggs something to hold on to while rising up past the top of the dish. Melt 3 tablespoons of butter in a small saucepan and when melted, stir in 3 tablespoons of flour. Stir for a couple of minutes, then whisk in a cup of warm milk. Continue whisking until smooth. Remove the pan from the heat and add 4 egg yolks, one at a time, whisking after each addition. Add 4 ounces of cheese (I used a Cabot aged cheddar, but any cheese would be great), 1/2 teaspoon salt and a pinch of ground nutmeg. Whisk until combined, pour into a large bowl and cool. Meanwhile, beat 5 egg whites until firm, glossy peaks form. Carefully fold 1/3 of the egg whites at a time into the yolk mixture. Pour the eggs into the dishes and bake at 375 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes. Do not peek into the oven for at least 25 minutes! For a dramatic presentation serve the souffles immediately, they begin to deflate within a minute or two after leaving the oven.

My first taste of the souffle brought back a very strong childhood food memory - and a good one!   My mom used to make what she called a puffy omelet, I loved it but hadn't thought about those yummy eggs in forty years.  That bite of airy, cheesy souffle took me back to our kitchen in Sylmar.  I pictured mom taking her Revere Ware skillet, filled with the golden, puffy eggs and melted cheddar cheese, out of the pink oven - yes the house my parents bought in 1962 in the San Fernando Valley had pink kitchen appliances!  This vivid taste memory made me curious about mom's puffy egg recipe and how it compared with a souffle recipe. For years the only cookbook in our house was Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book, so I was pretty sure that's where I would find the recipe.  Turns out my dad still had the cookbook (his source for his famous Salmon Loaf):

And here is the recipe, I knew I would find it in this old classic book:

I don't remember mom making the cheese sauce, it seems to me she grated Tillamook Sharp Cheddar cheese on the omelet before it went in to the oven.  I have accused my mother of never cooking "fancy food" for us when we were growing up and turns out she was cooking "souffle-in-disguise".  If I asked her why, I'm sure she would say, "If I had told you kids I was serving a souffle no one, including your father, would have even tried it.  Puffy Eggs was an easier sell."

A note to my siblings - This morning Dad gave me the red and white checkered cookbook.  So next time you're looking for his famous Salmon Loaf recipe, it's to me you will have to come begging - hah!

A Memorable Memorial Day

We had an unforgettable Memorial Day weekend with Peter & Lynne -- and lots of Humpback whales.  (This is an exceptionally long post, so if you want to skip all my blah-blah-blah and see pictures and video of whales, scroll down to the very end of this post for some very cool pics). Our mini-vacation started on Saturday morning at Yellowbanks Anchorage on Santa Cruz Island.  Several boaters made the channel crossing the day before and reported hellacious winds, gusting to 45 knots and lasting for twelve hours.  The winds and seas had died down by the time we made the crossing and, except for some intermittent fog, we had good weather the whole trip.

Our plan was to take the opportunity of the four of us being together for four days to work on more recipes for the Poseidon Cooks! cookbook. We started off our marathon weekend of eating and drinking with an Italian Tuna Salad for lunch.

I made the salad with Italian tuna packed in olive oil, cannellini beans, red onion, cherry tomatoes and capers dressed with olive oil and red wine vinegar and served on arugula.

This is one of John's favorite salads and it tastes even better anchored off of a beautiful island:

We spent the afternoon being lazy - reading, napping, visiting boat neighbors by dinghy and making bread for tonight's dinner - Clams & Mussels grilled in foil.  Everyone built their own dinner using clams, mussels, cherry tomatoes, garlic, wine, red pepper flakes and parsley:

 We sealed our foil packets and grilled them on the bbq for about 10 minutes until the clams opened. The homemade bread was perfect to sop up all the delicious juices the clams and mussels released.  The weather cooperated and we were able to eat our dinner outside in the cockpit under the stars.

 

On Sunday we decided to be a bit more ambitious and launch the kayaks.  But, by the time the kayaks hit the water the fog rolled in and suddenly the ocean didn't look as inviting, another good excuse to curl up and read a book.

Sunday's lunch - Crab, Mango, Tangerine and Avocado Salad dressed with a spicy citrus vinaigrette and served on butter lettuce:

Once Upon A Tide had challenged Poseidon to a fishing tournament.  Here is our team's lame attempt at catching a fish:

Wish I had some exciting fishing news to report, but there wasn't a single fish caught all weekend.  The fisherman blame it in all the bait, krill and sea lions in the water.

Sunday afternoon we hosted happy hour aboard Poseidon.  We served  Latin-Style Shrimp Cocktails (click for link to recipe) with a bit of a twist.  Our guests were arriving and I realized I hadn't cooked the shrimp yet.  I quickly sauteed the shrimp in garlic and olive oil, let them cool to room temperature and mixed with the remaining ingredients.  The appetizer was even better than the original -- and no one knew it was because I had an "Oh, no I forgot to cook the shrimp!!" moment.

Bill, Larry, John and Peter making plans for the Jack Aubrey (Master in Commander) dinner scheduled for July:

Sunday night's dinner was Seared Sesame Ahi and Sauteed Spinach:

The recipe couldn't be simpler - marinate very fresh, sushi-grade ahi tuna in soy sauce, sesame oil, rice wine vinegar and a touch of honey for a few minutes.  Coat the tuna with sesame seeds, pressing to make sure the seeds stick.  Heat a small amount of olive oil in a skillet and sear quickly on both sides, no more than 1 minute per side.  Slice the tuna, top with small dollops of wasabi paste and drizzle with a mixture of soy sauce and rice wine vinegar.  A side of sticky rice would be a great accompaniment.

About 3:00AM on obnoxious swell started rolling into the anchorage.  By 7:00AM we'd had enough and decided to pull anchor and move to the other side of the island.  We anchored at Prisoner's Harbor for a Memorial Day lunch of hamburgers (wouldn't be a summer holiday without them!) and a portabello burger for Lynne (quite delicious, I must admit, especially with her addition of a drizzle of balsamic vinegar).  While we waited for the holiday weekend boaters in Pelican Harbor to clear out and head for home, we went ashore to hike on the island.

We pulled anchor again and made the short hop over to Pelican Harbor.  The seas were calm so we took off for a dinghy cruise in the neighboring coves.  John giving us an island geology lesson:

Attack of the killer starfish:

Back at the anchorage Lynne did a little bait fishing:

She wasn't quite as excited once she actually hooked one of the little guys:

Monday night's dinner - Grilled flap steak, grilled shrimp, grilled poblanos stuffed with cheese, grilled scallions, fresh pico de gallo salsa and corn & flour tortillas.  The wild fennel on the shrimp was foraged from the island on our hike:

We had fruit for breakfast most mornings, but today John kicked it up a bit and made his father's Macedonia - fresh cut fruit marinated in liqueur.  This morning John used strawberries, bananas, tangerines, apricots and apples drizzled with Grand Marnier - great way to start the day!!

Peter & Lynne braved the chilly 56 degree water and explored the coves and caves in kayaks:

Back onboard Poseidon we had a simple lunch of leftover tuna, leftover flapsteak, boiled eggs, cheeses and watermelon. And for dinner a salad and Mushroom Lasagna (we used dried porcini, shitake, portabello and button mushrooms).

Lynne helping make fresh pasta for tonight's lasagna:

And, in between preparing dinner we went out and played with the whales.  Humpback Whales!! And lots of them.  Wish I had a video or better shot of Lynne kayaking with the whales.  The whales were actually a lot closer to Lynne several times but I was too excited to get a good picture.  At least this is proof of her amazing experience:

Here is a video taken from our dinghy:

I just can't tell you what an incredible experience this was, to be so close to these beautiful (despite their rotten cauliflower breath), giant creatures.  We have gone out looking for whales so many times and felt lucky when we could spot one off in the distance.  Who knew that all we had to do was anchor and they would come to us ....