LOBSTERS

well, we did it. we ate the most summery meal on the most wonderfully summery weekend. it started with a trip to the green city market, where i picked up rolls from bennison's, fresh chives, teardrop and grape heirloom tomatoes, fresh corn, some cheese... and, oh, gosh, i don't even know what else. this was all in preparation for LOBSTER ROLLS. next we went to dirk's fish market, where we spent about twenty minutes debating the strength, meatiness, and size of each lobster. we decided on these two. both are fairly average in size, but if you'll notice, one has GIGANTIC CLAWS!



after dirk's, we had to stop at harvestime for some final items, and for a gigantic stock pot. this 24 quart fellow is actually a tamale steamer:



we then had to wait nearly one hour for the roughly 22 quarts of water to come to a boil. with the water sufficiently salted ("make it taste like the ocean," i read over and over), in went the lobsters. after about 15 minutes, we pulled them out, cooled them off, and extracted all the meat. for this part of the process, we did not use kitchen shears, OR lobster crackers. this was done entirely by hand!!



our lobster roll filling consisted of:
meat of two lobsters, diced
3 celery stalks, very small dice
3 T parsley, chopped
3 T chives, chopped

mayonaisse, salt, and pepper to taste



i made a garlic compound butter which i spread on the toasted buns... et voila!

quick pickles

i have been really into pickles lately. the best part about these is that, although they obviously get better with age, they are pretty darn good right away. no waiting required! last night as i was putting them in the jar, i realized they weren't all going to fit... so i ate two! after 2 hours sitting in the brine (i usually do that step in a big bowl), they already tasted more than decent. this was adapted from a recipe from epicurious, which recommends letting the pickles sit in the brine for 10 days before eating. this is maybe my sixth time making these, and i have yet to make it that long!

6 pickling cucumers, quartered
1 c water
1 scant c white vinegar
1/4 c fresh dill
1/4 c sugar
4 smashed/chopped garlic cloves
1 T coarse salt
1 T pickling spice
1 T dill seeds

combine all ingredients, and let stand two hours. put pickles in jar, and pour brine over. mmm!

zucchini soup

this is so delicious, easy, and simple!! so simple, in fact, that i almost didn't trust the recipe. creamy? impossible! cheesy? but how!? you guys, please try this. i won't go on and on about it, but just trust me!!

2 1/2 lb zucchini
1 large spanish onion
2 cloves garlic
1/4 c packed basil leaves

saute onion in 2 T olive oil until almost translucent. add garlic, salt and pepper, and continue to saute until fragrant. meanwhile, cut the zucchini into large chunks-- mine were around 1 inch. add the zucchini to the onion and garlic, and saute until softened. season with salt again. add enough water to cover the zucchini, bring to boil, then let simmer until tender. add basil, then puree. season to taste with salt and pepper if necessary. (i also added a splash of cider vinegar at the end.)