A Special Day in Bar Harbor, Maine

Adam and I arrived in Bar Harbor on Friday, May 7. After we checked in to the adorable Eyebrow Suite at the Castlemaine Inn, we decided to walk around the town. We walked along the Shore Path - a path about a mile long along the water and the edge of front yards of beautiful private homes who have shared their property with the public. There were not many people around - tourist season doesn't start until June - so it was very quiet. The weather was sunny and a bit chilly but we were comfortable and relaxed. I wanted to venture off the path and down onto the rocks right by the water. Below you will see the photo of us taken by the self timer on my camera. Notice the bulging left pocket of Adam's jacket....


After this photo, I run back to the camera, turn around again and he has a small box in his hand. He drops to his knee and asks me to spend the rest of my life with him. I say yes, of course, and he slips this beauty on my finger:

We're overwhelmed with joy and so happy - and are still on the high -we climb back up on the path and arm-in-arm, aimlessly continue along... The best day of my life so far!!!!

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After we finished the walk on the Shore Path and contacted our family and friends to tell the news, we found a restaurant for dinner. Adam continued his tradition of drinking the local beers. He enjoyed this one, named after a mountain we will visit the next day.

Our celebratory dinner included clam chowder, lobster, clams, rice, fiddleheads...

... and blueberry pie and a mudslide for dessert! It was a wonderfully fresh, seafoody meal!

The next day week spent the morning trekking through Acadia National Park.

Sand Beach:

Adam atop Cadalliac Mountain. Don't let his bare legs fool you - it was 40 degrees and very windy on the mountain!

And if you're wondering, wedding plans are in the works for Summer 2011!

Barnacle Billy's in Ogunquit, Maine

Last Thursday Adam and I left for our Maine adventure. It was a wonderful trip! Not only because of the beautiful scenery and seafood but because Adam proposed to me!! We are both very happy and excited for the wedding planning and our future together!!

But before I tell the proposal story, let me go through the meals of our trips, starting with Thursday night (don't worry... he proposed Friday so the next post will be that story!).

Thursday night we went to Barnacle Billy's for dinner. Our table had a beautiful view of Perkins Cove.

Adam, on the hunt to try every local brew available (there are a lot in Maine), had Belfast Bay Lobster Ale.

My wonderful clam chowder... The first of 3 bowls during our trip. This one was the best because it was more soupy and not like a thick pudding. Very good. And the clams were huge!

Adam's dinner: Lobster Saute - lobster chunks sauteed in a mayo and butter sauce

I had the stuffed shrimp - butterflied and stuffed with light, spicy bread crumbs

Northbound

Adam and I are in Maine until Monday!

We're having a great time - seeing the sites, eating lobster.

AND the engagement chicken worked! More details/pictures later...
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Poached Egg with Salmon on Pumpernickel Toast

Recently I learned to poached an egg. It wasn't really hard. I was nervous about the water being the right temperature before I put the egg in but it all turned out well. I don't really like eggs but knew Adam would and he did!

Easy poached eggs from Everyday Food, March 2010:

In a 12-inch straight sided skillet, heat 2 inches water over medium heat until bubbles cover the bottom and side of the pan. Crack each large egg into a seperate small bowl (do not use eggs with broken yolks). When a few bubbles have broken the surface of the water, gently pour each egg into the pan, leaving room between them.

Cook eggs, undisturbed, while the white is just set and yolk is still runny, 3 to 4 minutes. Use a rubber spatula to gently release eggs from the bottom of pan, if necessary.

Using a slotted spoon, remove eggs from water, blot the bottom of the spoon on a paper towel to remove excess water before serving.



Adam ate his poached egg on top of toasted pumpernickel bread with cream cheese and smoked Nova Scotia salmon (I think thinly sliced Norweigan smoked salmon would have been better but it was not available at the store - it has a less harsh fishy taste and is lighter in color). You can also add a few capers with this combo too.

You can also eat a poached egg on an english muffin with hollandaise sauce as eggs Benedict or on top of a salad or on top of toast with cream cheese and a tomato slice.

Salmon in Parchment Packets

This is the last thing I have to share with you from the Everyday Food Jan/Feb 2010 edition!


Adam has come to be a big fan of salmon. He loved the pan fried salmon I made a few weeks ago and wanted to make it again. But I just had to try something different.

4 skinless salmon fillets, about 6 oz. each (I left the skin on because after baking it's a nice treat for the pups and Adam)
3/4 pounds green beans and/or asparagus, trimmed
lemon zest from 1 lemon
4 teaspoons capers, rinsed and drained
salt and pepper
4 teaspoons olive oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place salmon fillets in center of four 16-inch-long pieces of parchment paper. Top with green beans and/or asparagus, lemon zest and capers. Season with salt and pepper and drizzle each with 1 teaspoon oil. Fold parchment into an envelope - bring long ends of paper together and fold down 3 times to make a seam. Tuck ends underneath to secure.

Place packets on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until packets are puffed up and salmon is cooked through - about 15-20 minutes but this all depends on the thickness of the salmon.

Waiting to be wrapped up...

All enveloped up...

And done!

Chickpea Curry over Rice

I was cooking from the Everyday Food magazines a lot this weekend! I asked Adam to go through an edition and look for what he'd like and he chose was Chickpea Curry.
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This can be a main course but we ate it as a side dish, which worked out nicely because I had some leftover to bring to work for lunch.

Use a plastic spoon if you can because the curry slightly stained my wooden spoon :(

Like yesterday's post, this is also from Everyday Food Jan/Feb 2010
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1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large yellow onion, diced small
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 cinnamon stick (3 inches) - mine were short so I used 2
ground cloves - I omitted because I didn't have any
2 cans (15 oz. each) no-salt-added chickpeas, rinsed and drained
3 tablespoons ketchup
salt and pepper
chopped cilantro & lemon wedges for serving
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In a large straight-sided skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until brown around the edges, about 4 minutes. Add garlic, curry, cinnamon and pinch of cloves and cook, stirring until fragrant, 30 seconds. Add chickpeas, ketchup, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper and 2 cups water. Bring to a boil; reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook 20 minutes.
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Uncover and increase heat to medium-high; cook until sauce is slightly reduced, 5 minutes.
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Serve over a bed of rice and top with chopped cilantro and lemon juice.

Stir-Fried Turkey in Lettuce Wraps

A very quick and good lunch. And no carbs!!

From the Jan/Feb 2010 Everyday Foods magazine

1/4 cup soy sauce

4 teaspoons fish sauce (I didn't have any so I substituted it with more soy sauce)

4 teaspoons sugar

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 large shallot finely chopped

2 tablespoons peeled fresh ginger, minced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 small jalapeno, finely chopped

NOTE - to save time, I put the shallot, ginger, garlic and jalapeno all in a food chopper until finely chopped.

1 pound ground turkey

2 large heads Bibb, Boston or iceberg lettuce leaves - I used butter lettuce that I bought at the Lancaster Farmers Market

shaved carrot for serving

lime wedges for serving

In a smal bowl, combine soy sauce, fish sauce and sugar, and stir until sugar dissolves. Set sauce aside.

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Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil and swirl to coat skillet. Add shallot, ginger, garlic and jalapeno and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add turkey and cook, breaking up meat with a wooden spoon until almost cooked through, 5 minutes. Add half the sauce, stir and let simmer about 2 minutes until meat is totally done. Serve in lettuce leaves with remaining sauce, shredded carrots and limes.

Lots of napkins are needed because these are very messy once rolled up and bitten into!

Key Lime Pie

Yesterday I made a key lime pie for our new Pastor's Installation reception. Why key lime pie? Well because I came across a bag of key limes for 99 cents at the Green Dragon market and I just had to buy them and then figure out what to make. So it came down to the pie or Lime Macadamia Cookies. The cookies will be made later - maybe not with key limes - but definitely will be made. Plus I had never made a key lime pie before.

This was the first time I worked with key limes. And I emphasize work. It took quite a lot of time and squeezing energy to juice these little guys. But I think the effort paid off with a sweet and tangy pie.


Recipe from Emril Lagasse, with my moderations.


1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup granulated sugar
5 tablespoons butter, melted
2 14-ounce cans sweetened condensed milk
1 cup key lime or regular lime juice - I used 3/4 key lime juice and 1/4 cup regular juice from a bottle
2 whole eggs
1 cup sour cream
4 tablespoons powdered sugar
Lime zest


Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a bowl, mix the graham cracker crumbs, sugar and butter with your hands. Press the mixture firmly into a 9-inch pie plate, and bake until brown, about 15-20 minutes. If you have a pie curst shield, use for baking the crust. Remove crust from oven and allow to cool to room temp before filling.

Lower oven temperature to 325 degrees.

In a seperate bowl, combine the condensed milk, lime juice and eggs. Whisk until well blended and place the filling in the cooled pie shell. Bake, using the pie sheild again, for 15 minutes and allow to chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.

Once pie is thoroughly chilled, in a small bowl, combine the sour cream and powdered sugar and spread over the top of the pie using a spatula. Sprinkle the lime zest as a garnish on top of the sour cream and serve chilled.

Before the reception:

After the reception:

It was goood!

I was nervous about the sour cream topping not being sweet enough but it was a nice mix with the tangy filling and sweet crust!

Visiting D.C.

Over the weekend Adam and I ventured to Washington, D.C. to visit my dear friends Susie, Jeff and baby Alex. I hadn't seen Alex since she was a wee baby so I was so anxious to spend time with her. She was such a happy baby!

I have my boots on, Uncle Adam! Let's head to the big city!

The Van Leuvens

The new World War II monument

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After a long day of metro rides, visiting a few memorials, a brief visit to the very crowded Natural History Museum, a walk down the Mall and lunch, we headed home where Alex enjoyed her swing in the great spring weather!

Look that those teeth!

Saturday night for dinner we went to Bethesda. After dinner, we had gelato from Dolcezza. I enjoyed Mango Campari & Orange Honey Cardamon (a bit spicy!) and Susie had chocolate and lime. What a great treat! I have had gelato in Italy and Susie has several times... this is just like the real thing!

We had a great weekend catching up!

Girls got to have girl talk; guys got to have German beer and schnapps.

All were happy!
See you the next time we come to visit, Alex!

Adam made a new friend!

New Table & Chairs

Look at our new table and chairs! My mom found this for us from Pier 1. The base of the table and chairs is a light green and the top a nice golden honey - a very rustic look that goes perfect in the "barn".

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I just picked up the 4th chair (it was on back order) so you don't see it in this picture. The table needed to be assembled but it was very easy - I don't know if I can say that because I was enjoying a beer and playing with Baxter while Adam was putting it together - but it looked like it was an easy task. It's a very sturdy table and chairs.

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Now we just have to stay home long enough to have a meal at the table. Maybe in two weekends (we're going to D.C. this weekend).