getting ready for company

Too many dishes and not enough table space much less storage space! There are so many wonderful blogs out there and lots of them have gorgeous table settings. The photography is outstanding. The use of light and props is creative and I want to run to the store and find all the little decorative items they use.

The linens are crisp. Many are antique with beautiful lace. I have a lot of Gram Potter's back in Florida. Here at the cabin I only have the retro tablecloths and no ironing board!

We will have a houseful next week when my sister arrives from Atlanta. Our friends from South Portland will be here as well. Hopefully my boys will be here as well as the grandchildren. I am thinking about the menu......and the weather which has been a real issue this summer.

I like things that can be made ahead. We will make Larry's beans and Don will make a cake. I will do my potato salad. Jeff said something about lobster rolls.

I have been craving pickled beets. I made them years ago. They need to be water bathed and I don't have the canning kettle or the inclination to go through all that. While looking for something else on Food Network, I saw this recipe courtesy of Alton Brown. So today I made it! They look wonderful! I had to roast my beets longer than the 40 minutes suggested in the recipe but that could be because they had been stored in the refrigerator and I doubled the amount of the pickling liquid. I will use what is left on fresh cucumbers for dinner. Two quarts is the right amount for this cottage because not everyone likes them as much as I do.

Pickled Beets

6 medium beets, cleaned with 1-inch stem remaining
2 large shallots, peeled
2 sprigs rosemary
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 large purple onion, Frenched
1 cup tarragon vinegar
1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
½ cup sugar
1 cup water

Preheat the oven to 400°. Toss the beets with the olive oil, shallots, rosemary and olive oil. Place in a foil pouch and roast in the oven for about 40 minutes or until a knife easily pierces the beets.
Remove the skin from the beets and slice thinly. Layer beets and onion in quart jar. Boil the vinegar, salt, sugar and water and pour over the beets. Seal and let stand in refrigerator for 3 to 7 days. Makes 2 quarts.

I prepared them above and this is what I have now!

Speaking of company, we had some last week.




Jack counted 29! Lovely to look at but the mess on the beach!

"happy - when skies are blue"

I love the signs for camps in Maine. We call them camps but they can be exquisite properties, log cabins, modular, or little cottages. Most have a deck or a porch especially if they are on the lake. Our camp is a little one but we have the view that all of our neighbors have and that peaceful feeling that comes just being on the lake and looking at it. In the morning there is usually mist on the lake and the surface is like glass. The currents start to move and by 5 o'clock we can have white caps. Tuesday night there is a sail boat regatta which we watch from the shore. On weekends there is more boat traffic so we like it better during the week!



We have had some sun. I feel like I should whisper so it doesn't change. The song "You are my sunshine" keeps running through my head. When my sister and I were kids, my parents would pack up the car and drive from New Jersey to Cape Cod for my dad's two week vacation. My mother's sister June had a small house in West Yarmouth. We would spend some time with them. She was full of life and laughter. She played the guitar and we would all sing. "You are my sunshine" was a favorite and good for harmonizing.

I always loved the Cape. We spent our vacations there for years. Even after I was married, had children, and moved to Maine. Then we realized how gorgeous Maine was and I have not been back for many years.





The basil is coming along in the window box but for a while I was afraid that wet soil would pry the box right off the wall. I will make pesto very soon. I use the recipe from Joy of Cooking and it is perfect every time. I use the pesto with pasta, on pizza, with steamed mussels and in paninis just to name a few. I freeze it in small containers so that each one has a special use and there is rarely a spoonful left.

This weekend we will get ready for my sister's visit. I am making pickled beets and will try to finish a quilt. The garden needs spiffing up and hopefully we will have a cookout.

I'm still figuring out some of the technicalities of this blogging. I have appreciated your comments and suggestions,

lazy day

Yesterday was a good day at the cabin. We decided to go out to lunch at the Black Horse Tavern. A couple of weeks ago (probably during my birthday festival), we went for lunch and they had an amazing special - Seared Scallops on Panko Potato Pancakes with Mornay Sauce. So last night I tried to duplicate it - not exact but quite good. The picture does not do the dish justice and you have to pretend that I found the Panko bread crumbs instead of just making a patty out of the mashed potatoes. We ran out of food shopping time before I could make another stop at another market. Next time for sure.

I roasted 2 huge baking potatoes and scooped out the inside. I added butter and milk, salt and pepper and mixed it all together. Jack formed this into pancake shapes. Next time I will dip them in beaten egg and the bread crumbs and saute until lightly browned. I will try not to use too much olive oil and butter.

I made the Mornay sauce and set aside over very low heat. I used 1 shallot minced very fine as an addition. Start with 2 tablespoons butter in a sauce pan. Melt and saute shallot. Add 2 tablespoons flour and cook together. Then add 2 cups hot milk (I used the microwave) and stir until blended. Add 1/2 cup grated Gruyere cheese and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Stir until cheeses melt. Taste for salt and pepper. Keep warm.

Melt butter in a saute pan and add scallops seasoned with salt and pepper. Cook on medium high about 4 minutes per side. This is tricky because you want them to sear not burn.

Then put a pancake on a plate, top with scallops and spoon sauce all over! Very much a "white" dish but I will liven it up next time with greens and paprika.

Then we went to one of our favorite antique stores. Deb's Flowerbed Farm Antiques is just a collection of everything. I am, of course, thinking tablescape. We cannot get out of there without a purchase!

I bought the little turquoise majolica type pitcher there last year and my Sascha Brastoff dishes this year. Most of the dishes and "stuff" for the cabin come from there. This week Jack has bought an old platform rocker and a framed tapestry. I bought a hammered aluminum ice bucket. We both did a little damage last week as well.

This glassware is exquisite.

I might need that pitcher!

I will be taking a couple of days off from the blog. I need to finish that quilt! See you on Tuesday!

a brown bird sang in an apple tree....

I have so much to do and no inclination to do it. The sun is out today and I just want to look at the lake. I mentioned Tasha Tudor and Mary Mason Campbell in a previous post. In one of the Butt'ry books by these two women there was a poem by Richard LeGalliene which about sums up my feelings for today.

I meant to do my work today
But a brown bird sang in an apple tree,
And a butterfly flitted across the field,
And all the leaves were calling me.

And the wind went sighing over the land,
Tossing the grasses to and fro,
And a rainbow held out its shining hand
So what could I do but laugh and go?

I loved this poem so much that I had the first verse painted around a gathering basket. I still have that basket and it is a wonderful storage and display for fat quarters.

Company starts to arrive next week! I cannot wait for my sister to get here. She wants "to live the blog!" We will have lot of fun. We might even make Gram Potter's Rocks just to see if they are still good. My sister makes a gelatin salad that is like one that Gram used to serve for Easter dinner. I not a big fan of these salads but I could eat this one right out the mold. She serves it with a lemony mayonnaise. She and I will share it but it would normally serve 8.

Perfection Salad

2 envelopes Knox unflavored gelatin
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 can (12 oz.) apple juice
1/2 cup lemon juice
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1/4 cup cold water
1 cup shredded carrot
1 cup sliced celery
1 cup finely shredded cabbage
1/2 chopped green pepper

In small saucepan, mix gelatin, sugar and salt well. Add 1 cup water. Heat over low heat, stirring constantly, until sugar and gelatin are dissolved. Remove from heat. Stir in apple juice, lemon juice, vinegar and ¼ cup cold water. Pour into medium bowl. Refrigerate about 1 hour, or until mixture is consistency of unbeaten egg whites. Add carrot, celery, cabbage and green pepper; stir until well mixed. Turn into a 9 x 5 x 3 inch glass loaf pan. Refrigerate 4 hours, or until firm. To unmold: Run a sharp knife around edge of pan. Invert over serving plate. Place a hot, damp tea towel over pan; shake gently to release. Lift off pan. Fit lettuce leaves gently under the molded salad. Serve with mayonnaise.

Shopping Thursday

We went to North Conway for a food shop and lunch at the Scarecrow Pub. We had a good time. And the sun made an appearance so I could get some pictures. Everything I see now is a picture but I can't stop the car every 50 feet.

Across from Sherman Farms I saw these bee hives and couldn't resist a picture. There is lots of clover in that field. We stopped at the farm stand. I really need to live close to a market because I want to buy some of everything!

I wanted to make pickles but resisted the urge for this month because there is too much I have to do.
I did buy some "real tomatoes" and made Insalata Caprese or my version of it.

Slice 2 big tomatoes into 1/2 inch thick slices. Slice1 fresh mozzarella ball into slices (about 4 - I ate the small end). Layer the tomatoes and cheese. Season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Drizzle with good olive oil and garnish with fresh basil. When time to serve you can add some Balsamic vinegar but that is optional. I make this mid-afternoon so that the tomatoes have time to react to the cheese and the olive oil.

On the way back to the cabin, in a lovely little cove up the street, there was a loon! Just looking at me and daring me to take his picture. They are magnificent. I will try to enlarge his image with my new PhotoShop software and book that is supposed to show you how to do everything!