Another soft early morning at the beach. Beach mornings, at least here, arrive very loudly at first with the robins singing. Then when they've got the world up, their job is done and all is peaceful again. Max and I are just back from our walk along the river and the gaper twins have left for another clamming excursion. They decided to go into Newport today and I heard rumors of butter clams. My question is - just how many are enough?
They each came home with their limit of 12 gapers yesterday and my guy is so sore he can hardly move. His right hand is swollen to twice its size and he's going back for more digging? Now, does this make sense to you? Both he and John claim to be in their gathering mode. Wish they'd go gather me some pork butt. Today'd be a great day for a stew!
By the way, my sister Linda had a great idea about using the clam shells. She said to drill a small hole in the centre and string them in your garden to keep the birds out. The wind keeps them in motion and the clatter and movement keeps the birds at bay. I'll be doing one of those to leave here as our gift to the owners of this little spot of heaven. They're just too beautiful to throw out.
Last night GMan grilled some chicken for dinner. This recipe is from Epicurious and you can find it at http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Grilled-Spicy-Citrus-Chicken-Thighs-with-Corn-and-Green-Onions-235597.com It's really a great way to do chicken and corn on the grill, although the big guy was complaining some because he's used to charcoal at home and there's a gas barbecue here, and the skin on the chicken didn't make it off the grill. Hey, it's not good for you anyway! The marinade is a combination of lime juice, orange juice, cilantro, garlic, hot sauce and hot pepper flakes along with some olive oil. The marinade is then divided into two zip gallon bags with chicken thighs in one and shucked corn and green onions in the other. I got it ready earlier in the day and let it all marinate for 6 hours.
While the chicken was moist and flavorful, the real hit of the recipe is the corn. Honestly, if I'd bought a dozen more cobs, we'd have eaten it all. It was that good. The citrus really brings out the sweetness and the marinade made it even more tender. The green onions weren't bad either. This is a real keeper and I think I'll be trying it with some pork tenderloin too, instead of chicken, when we get back to Tucson. The next time I might add some lime and orange zest to the marinade to intensify the flavor even more.
Dessert was a Three Berry Crisp made from the flat of wonderful fresh berries John brought with him. I used Blueberries, Raspberries and Tri Berries, which is a cross between a Blackberry and a Raspberry. This is just a standard crisp recipe Download Three Berry Crisp like any other except that I added some lemon zest and the juice of half an orange left hanging around from the last couple of days. Oh that I could bottle the aroma of this cooking, I'd be rich for sure.
Well, sorry guys, it's short and sweet today, but I'm heading to the sofa for a nap with the dog. I didn't sleep all that great last night - if you can believe it, I freeze all day and roast all night. Our loft bedroom is really hot, without much ventilation. At least that's my story. I refuse to entertain the idea that it might be hormones! Can't they take a vacation too?
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