Comfort Foods and Indulgences

I love the sunrises in Edgartown. Our bedroom faces East on the Harbor, and the sunrises are breathtaking - quite powerful. (Red in the Morning; Sailor’s Warning)

But, as a Californian, I am truly addicted to the Golden Light of Sunset, or as some say, Magic Light. The Sun at that short but delicious time of day rests on the horizon line, offering a perfect warm, golden light. Portraits and landscapes become truly magical, but I also love that light as it fades to darkness… It becomes poetic and a bit sad.

I got the End of Summer Blues.

People in Edgartown are always friendly and polite - ditto the dogs, So Bill and I (and our dog Charlie) awaken with the pleasant thought of our walk to town. Our neighbor, Lucy, across the street has two labs (The Black Dogs of Martha’s Vineyard) and we visit on occasion. Today was one of those days. The usual chatter about the lack of rain and the end of summer. I asked our neighbor where her home was off-season and she replied Los Angeles. Where? I demanded! Hancock Park she replied. I went to school in Hancock Park I responded happily. I used to live there... bla bla bla. It finally got down to who do you know and a name - Amy Ephron – came up. Yes I know Amy … I sometime write articles for her E-zine OneForTheTable. (Wait… are you ready for this) So do I she said. So, for the lovely Lucy Dahl, I dedicate my end of summer Vineyard Recipe.

I have a serious problem with this dish. I am embarrassed to say that I ate 25% of it before dinner was served last night. I am scared to put on my jeans. Instead of walking my usual 2.5 miles today, I am going to have to double that! What was I thinking?

The real problem here is that these are so utterly good, that one cannot just take a small portion. With that said,, eating 25% of the pan, isn’t all that unreasonable. Is it? In the past, I have always made Patricia Well’s recipe, Gratin Dauphinois from her book At Home in Provence. I adore her books and have made many of her recipes, but her particular dish requires one to cook the potatoes in the cream and milk mixture, on the stove, before layering the pan, etc. An unnecessary step. Dorie Greespan’s recipe from Around My French Table beats out any other potato dish of this kind and this is my new “go-to” dish for those nights when I just don’t have time to mess in the kitchen.

Potatoes au Gratin or “scalloped potatoes” as my dad endearingly referred to them as, was one of my dad’s favorite dishes. He loved his food. And he loved his restaurants. He was a carbs kind of guy. Happily I admit, I am as well.

A few weeks ago, I discovered the simple beauty of a homemade treat: milk oolong, honey & rose water tapioca. There was something so very satisfying about spending an hour in the kitchen sipping tea and handcrafting a simple sweet delight.

Craving the comforting sip of a matcha latte one evening, I decided to remix my first tea tapioca with a bit of the vibrant green Japanese powdered tea. While the first try at tea tapioca was subtly enhanced by the buttery milk oolong tea, this matcha infusion added its pronounced grassy and gently bitter flavor (similar to really wonderful dark chocolate) that balances the rich sweetness of the local honey and floral notes of the orange blossom water. And you can’t resist the rich green color that reminds you of freshly cut grass in the spring.

The trick to avoiding a grainy matcha tapioca is to take a few tablespoons of milk and add them to a bowl along with the 5 teaspoons of matcha. Stir in into a smooth paste to whisk into the heated milk. Just keep stirring throughout the hour and you’ll end up with a smooth, green spoonful.

Growing up, we spent the month of August at a tennis resort near La Jolla, California. For me, it was like going to camp each year. The same families came back year after year and our days were filled with lots of tennis, stealing golf carts, movie night, and lunch at the “club house”. As a young child, sitting in the club house with my friends, drinking my “Tab” with lemon and ordering my own lunch was a huge treat.

I always ordered the same thing; grilled ham and swiss cheese on pumpernickel bread with a side of cabbage salad. It was grilled perfectly and all year long I would crave this sandwich. I did attempt to make it at home and although it was good, there was nothing better than eating it on the deck of the club house, looking down on center court – watching all the greats play.