February 26, 2010

The Perfect Brownie

I love brownies. Seriously what's not to like about a chewy, chocolatety bit of heaven? Jamison was never a fan before Celiacs reared it ugly head (I know, I know...My culinary talents are lost on that boy! ;oP) so I didn't make them that often, but when I saw this recipe at I Am Baker and the resulting pictures I was immediately drawn to the brownie goodness!

As you'll see I didn't make them exactly the same, but trust me these are really, really amazing, really, really awesome brownies! If you're a fan of brownies then you really have found the perfect brownie. They are chocolatey, chewy and just perfect! What's not to like about that?

What You'll Need:
2/3 cup of butter
1 cup of bittersweet chocolate chips
1 3/4 cups of organic cane sugar
1 tablespoon of vanilla
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon of sea salt
1 cup unbleached all purpose flour

In a medium sized sauce pan melt butter and chocolate chips stirring often until completely smooth. Set aside and let cool.

Place oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 F.

Mix together sugar, vanilla, eggs and sea salt and beat on high for 5 minutes. Slowly add cooled chocolate mixture to the egg mixture and stir until mixed. Add flour a little at a time and mix until just incorporated.

Pour batter into an 8 X 12 inch baking dish that has been sprayed with non-stick spray. Bake for 45 minutes until brownies are slightly crackly on top. Let cool and cut and serve.

Notes: You could add chocolate chips to the batter or nuts, but really they are just perfect as they are!

Posted by Dianne at 9:43 AM | Comments (5) | TrackBack

February 24, 2010

Not Your Mama's Tuna Salad

I'm a big fan of tuna. I don't eat it that often due to mercury concerns, and really I'm not going to get into bio-magnification or anything, no need to make you eyes glaze over on a food blog, but tuna is not something I'm going to eat everyday. When I do eat it though I like to shake things up a bit.

One of my favorite things to do with tuna is simply bake of pan fry a tuna steak, but I'm not adverse to tuna in the pouch either. Sure there is always a more traditional tuna salad, but why not take that to a whole new level! Who says you can't wow them with something really simple?

What You'll Need:
1 small cucumber, cut in half and sliced
1 cup of cherry tomatoes, cut in half
3/4 cup of green olives, sliced
1 bell pepper, chopped (Note: I used a red bell pepper this go around, but any color will work.)
1 small red onion, chopped
1 large pouch of tuna
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Extra virgin olive oil
Brown rice vinegar

In a large bowl toss together cucumbers, tomatoes, green olives, bell pepper and red onion until incorporated. Add tuna and stir to mix.

Sprinkle the top of the salad generously with sea salt and black pepper and then drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and brown rice vinegar. Toss to coat.

Serve immediately.

Notes: This is really an eat it immediately sort of salad. The vinegar will start to break things down if you let it sit. Left overs aren't really that great. This really isn't a sandwich type of tuna salad either. It's better eaten as is.

Posted by Dianne at 12:33 PM | Comments (8) | TrackBack

February 22, 2010

It's Never Too Soon To Dream About Summer!

I'm posting over at the Greenists today. I talk about winter blahs and how dreaming about my summer garden helps me through all this snow! I also give some tips on containers for planting and a natural pest spray! So stop by and check it out!

Posted by Dianne at 2:15 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

February 18, 2010

Spicy Baked Chard

We're melting! We're melting! Oh wait...I got sucked in to Wizard of Oz for a moment...Where was I?

After a couple of days just above freezing temperatures, despite the fact that Mother Nature scoffed at me and let it snow yesterday, we're actually seeing some melting! If I could dance, and rest assured I can not without looking like a chicken with seizures, I'd be dancing my happy little self around in a circle!

Today we're supposed to hit around 40, 40 I tell you! I mean let's break out the flip flops! And are supposed to continue to do so for the next two days. We're finally going to be able to reschedule our dinner with friends that was supposed to happen the night the first storm hit.

Keep in mind there is a slight chance of snow Saturday night that I am hoping will just go away and the extended forecast says we might have some snow on Monday, though details of that are too far out to know for sure. So fingers crossed that goes away, but still. We are making some progress in the melting department and that makes me a very, very happy spring yearning person!

Now on to chard.

I love chard. The past few months I had been actually craving it, but some reason I couldn't find it at my local store. I finally made it over to MOM and they had rainbow chard and I was a very happy girl. I promptly bought it and then put in the fridge and forgot it for a week or so. Luckily it didn't go bad and the other night I decided to see what would happen if it was baked, and you know what it worked!

The chard ended up a bit crispy (which I like), yet tender at the same time. This is the perfect, quick, easy and healthy side dish to spice up your dinner. This is the perfect side dish for a busy night when you need to get dinner on the table fast!

What You'll Need:
Chard, chopped
Extra virgin olive oil
Coarse sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Red pepper flakes

Preheat oven to 400 F.

Chop chard in place in a baking dish. Sprinkle with sea salt, freshly ground black pepper and red pepper flakes. (Note: More if you like it spicy, less if you don't.) Drizzle with olive oil.

Bake for 15-20 minutes until chard is slightly crispy around the edges and soft in the middle.

Serve immediately.

Notes: This works on any leafy green.

Posted by Dianne at 12:05 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

February 17, 2010

My Favorite Mushroom Soup

I eat a lot of mushrooms. I've always liked them, even as a child. One of my favorite things to do with mushrooms is to make soup. A lot of people think of a creamy soup when they think of mushrooms, but my favorite is not only creamless, it's actually vegan as well.

Mushrooms are really quite versatile and I've made variations of this soup over time, but I have to say this is my favorite version. When steeped in water mushrooms give you a very "beefy" broth without the cholesterol. What's not to like about that?

This soup is easy, quick and delicious. In no time you have a steaming pot of soup that is not only healthy, but is also hearty and satisfying. Who says the two have to be mutually exclusive?

What You'll Need:
Extra virgin olive oil
1 small onion, cut into strips (Note: Sometimes I use red onions, sometimes I use white or yellow. This time around I used yellow.)
1 leek, chopped
2 tablespoons of fresh rosemary, chopped fine (Note: If you don't have fresh, you can use 1 teaspoon of dried, but the fresh really is best with this soup.)
A generous pinch of sea sat
Finely ground black pepper
2 cups of button mushroom slices
2 cups of crimini or baby bella mushroom slices
4 cups of water
2 cups of spinach leaves, chopped roughly

In a large to medium pot saute onions and leeks with sea salt, black pepper and rosemary in a little extra virgin olive oil, stirring often until slightly caramelized:

This is the only place that you are adding seasonings so be generous. You want roughly a teaspoon of sea salt and up to a teaspoon of black pepper depending on how "spicy" you like things.

Add mushrooms and stir to mix:

Don't worry about cooking the mushrooms before the next step. They are going to cook in the water and form the broth of the soup, just like you are making mushroom broth.

Add water and again stir to mix:

Cook mushrooms at a simmer until broth darkens and mushrooms are tender. This usually takes about 20 to 25 minutes.

Next add spinach leaves:

Cook and additional 2 to 3 minutes until spinach wilts:

Serve immediately.

Notes: Sometimes I add in fresh thyme too, but for the most part I prefer this with the rosemary alone.

Posted by Dianne at 10:03 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

February 16, 2010

Sweet Potato Chips

Want to hear some fabulous news? I mean really just stellar?

Do you?

Are you ready?

We only got an inch of snow last night! An inch! Today the sun is shining and more importantly it's going to be above freezing mind you! And the most important part of my happiness today, and the part that might just save my sanity, is that as of the time that I'm writing this, there is no foreseeable snow accumulation in the 5 day forecast!

None!

Zip!

Nada!

Zilch!

And did I mention none? And did I mention the sun is shining? And did I mention the part about it being above freezing?? (This could change, but I'm going to be Pollyanna and looks for the joy instead! ;oP)

Seriously this makes me more than happy. Who ever thought that I, the Snow Queen, would be actively seeking no more snow! It just goes to show that too much of anything is not a good thing! A variation of The Law of Diminishing Return if you will. But the point is, no snow! (Let's hope Mother Nature doesn't curse me for that statement! ;oP)

(Update: 1:34 PM: Well that didn't last long. Now they are saying we might get snow tomorrow, but "less than a half inch possible". *sigh* It could be worse I suppose! ;oP)

So now that that is out of the way, let's talk some sweet potato chips!

I have a soft spot for sweet potatoes. I just love them! For a while now I've want to make an actual sweet potato chip. I'm not a fan of potato chips in general, but occasionally I do like a sweet potato chip. I've made baked vegetable chips before, which are divine by the way, but I've never made chips the "old fashioned way" until yesterday.

This is another one of those things I assumed was hard. You'd think after all the things I've assumed were hard, yet found out to be anything but I'd get past that, but well I'm stubborn. Yes I'm stubborn. There I said it. Most of us are, but isn't admitting it the first step?

So all of that to say I've thought about making sweet potato chips for a long time, yet I hadn't made them. Boy was I sorry I had not! They are even better homemade than any I've every tried out in the wide blue yonder!

So I'd say these were a huge success. Next time I'm going to play around with sea salt and vinegar chips, but I'm not going to wait as long! ;oP

What You'll Need:
Oil for frying (Note: Safflower, vegetable, olive oil, etc. You choose. I do not recommend using canola oil, for this or anything really.)
Sweet potato(es)
A big bowl of water
Sea salt

Heat your oil to 375 F. I use a fryer.

While your oil is heating set up your ingredients and the things you will need for your frying process:

You'll need a big bowl of water, a sweet potato (or more if you want to make a big batch of chips), a potato peeler, a baking sheet lined with paper towels, a tool to remove the chips from the hot oil and sea salt.

You might also want to grab a cutting board and a very sharp knife if your sweet potato is big in diameter. We'll get to that in a few minutes.

Peel your sweet potato:

Look for a long skinny potato. Also look for one that is relatively unblemished and with few "eyes".

Next you want to make your potato "chips":

I like my chips to have a bit of a thickness to them, but you don't want them too thick or you'll end up with fried sweet potato chunks and not sweet potato chips.

You can use a mandolin if you have one (which I do, but I've never gotten it to work properly) or you can use a potato peeler (which I did).

Place "chips" in a bowl of water:

This prevents the potatoes from turning brown while the oil heats and you're slicing the rest of the chips.

If your potato gets to be too cumbersome in the middle to make chips, cut the sweet potato in half:

Continue slicing with the potato halves.

It also helps as you're cutting your chips to rotate the potato on each slice so that you don't end up with a slanted edge and you keep your cutting surface relatively flat.

Once your oil is heated take a handful of chips out of the water and drain on a paper towel to remove excess moisture:

Place chips in a thin layer into the heated oil, stirring with a metal strainer occasionally until the chips begin to curl:

Once the chips start to curl, continue to fry for another minute or two until they are slightly golden and continue to curl.

Remove chips from oil and place on a baking sheet that has been lined with paper towels. Add a generous sprinkle of sea salt immediately:

Repeat process until you run out of potatoes.

Serve immediately, or let cool completely and store in an airtight container.

Notes: I always like to use organic ingredients when possible. This is especially true with potatoes who tend to store pesticides in them readily! Find a really good organic sweet potato or yam. You'll be glad you did!

Posted by Dianne at 12:53 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

February 15, 2010

Gluten Free Parmesan Cornbread

So yes we still have snow:

We still have A LOT of snow!

It has melted a little, but not much. I'd say we might have had 1 or 2 inches of melting at most.

The roads are relatively clear, though in some places it's more like a lane and a half instead of two lanes:

But hey that works!

And you're going to drive by a lot of really big piles of snow!

We're supposed to get up to 7 more inches today in to tonight and then possibly a bit more on Wednesday. While 7 inches does make me want to cry hysterically, I'm still not thrilled about it. BUT at least 7 inches of snow can be driven over easily. The path to the backdoor will have to be cleared again, but clearing 7 inches of snow, versus 27, well I'll take 7!

Now let's talk some cornbread!

This isn't a cornbread that Jamison would eat, but I've found that I really like the addition of the corn flour to cornbread in place of regular flour. It really just helps the over all corn flavor, so I've started making all of my cornbreads this way. The Parmesan gives the bread a nice savory punch and this is just perfect with a big bowl of soup or chili.

Sounds perfect for this kind of weather don't you think?

What You'll Need:
2 cups of stone ground yellow cornmeal (Note: Look for a variety that is certified gluten free.)
1 cup of corn flour (Note: Corn Flour is NOT corn starch. Again look for a variety that is certified gluten free.)
1 tablespoon of baking powder
1 teaspoon of sea salt
1 cup of finely shredded Parmesan cheese (Note: You want to shred or chop this yourself. The stuff that comes in a bottle won't work. I like to use my food processor to do this.)
2 cups of buttermilk
2 eggs

Preheat oven to 425 F.

In a large glass bowl stir together corn meal, corn flour, baking powder, sea salt and Parmesan until incorporated:

Add milk and eggs:

Stir until batter forms and all the ingredients are well mixed:

Place batter in a 9 X 9 inch baking dish that has been sprayed with non-stick spray:

Bake for 25-35 minutes until golden brown:

Let sit for 5 minutes and then cut and serve. Store leftovers in an airtight container.

Notes: You could add in a cup of corn kernels too if you liked.

Posted by Dianne at 10:51 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

February 11, 2010

Creamy Potato Soup

First let's talk about this snow! *sigh*

It's no secret that I love snow, but I've come to discover over the past week I do not like snow of this magnitude! Give me 4-8 inches and I'm happy, I don't even mind shoveling that much snow! But add in more than that, and then two big storms back to back for a total of 53 inches of snow since Friday (28 the first storm, 25 the second) and well, no I don't love it! I don't even like it!

Now there is buzz about more heavy snowfall on Sunday night in to Monday and an ice storm in 10 days! That makes me want to go to Hawaii, now, only the county has closed all of our roads and I couldn't get down to the main road right now if I wanted to, not that it is clear to begin with. I've got serious cabin fever right now people!

So no, I'm not loving this snow and I'm not loving the thought of more. At. All! If anyone has any ideas on how to become independently wealthy by tomorrow so I can hop a plane out of here, you let me know! ;oP

But the sun is shining today! Oh how I missed you Mr. Sun! And we're supposed to hit a balmy 33! Let's break out the flip flops! ;oP

Now let's talk soup!

Cold snowy weather makes me think of soup and bread. Yesterday I decided to be decadent and make a really creamy potato soup. It was fabulous! There is just nothing like a creamy bowl of warm soup on a cold winter day!

Oh and if anyone wants some snow, I'd be happy to send you some. Really! There are piles out there taller than me (I'm five foot nine and half inches tall!) so we've got plenty to spare. ;oP

What You'll Need:
2 tablespoons of butter
1 small red onion, chopped
Finely ground black pepper
Sea salt
1 large potato, cut into cubes (Note: No need to remove the skin.)
1 quart of broth (Note: I used turkey broth that I had made and put in the freezer. Chicken broth will work too.)
2 baked potatoes, mashed (Note: If you don't want to take the time to bake them in the oven. Pop them in the microwave instead. I recommend baking them in the oven though.)
2 cup of heavy cream
1/4 cup of potato flour (Note: If you don't have potato flour on hand you can use regular flour, but the potato flour gives it a nice punch.)

Melt butter in a medium to large sized pot. Saute onions until tender:

Add cubed potatoes, a generous pinch of sea salt and some finely ground pepper to onions. Cook until potatoes are slightly browned stirring often:

Add broth and stir to mix:

Bring to a quick boil.

While you are waiting for the broth to boil, mash your potatoes. I like to do this in my food processor.

Slice your potato into rounds and place in the bowl of your food processor:

No need to remove the skins. Just leave them on there!

Process until smooth:

Once the broth has come to boil, reduce heat to a simmer and add the mashed potatoes to the pot of broth:

Stir in the potatoes:

It doesn't have to be smooth. It's just bit of potatoes.

Let the mixture cook for about 30 minutes.

Add cream and stir to mix:

Cook for about 3 or 4 minutes so that the cream warms and then add the potato flour:

Whisk the flour into the soup and then cook for another 5 minutes or until slightly thickened.

Serve immediately.

Oh and the leftovers are fabulous!

Notes: You can eat this as is or top it with cheddar, scallions and/or bacon. The broth that I made had hints of thyme and rosemary in it so that carried over into the soup in a very subtle way.

Posted by Dianne at 12:36 PM | Comments (11) | TrackBack

February 9, 2010

Forget Bread and Milk....10 Essentials for Making it Through Another Major Snow Storm

10 Essentials for Making it Through Another Major Snow Storm:

1. A couple of bottles of wine (at least) and some lemon vodka.

2. Nutella. (Why had I never tried this stuff before last week?)

3. Bacon

4. Strawberry Häagen-Dazs

5. Gala apples

6. Lands End snow boots

7. Plenty of green tea

8. The Wii to keep the tea cup occupied since she can't play in snow that is almost taller than she is!

9. Netflix Movies, not to mention their Watch on Demand option!

10. And a bag full of new books!

That should keep me tied over for possibly 20 more inches of snow on top of the 28.25 inches we already have on the ground. Right? Right? But they are saying more snow on Monday? Really? Surely that can't be right. I'll just sit here in denial until I actually see more snow fall from the sky! ;oP

So what would be on your list?

Cross posted at Daffodil Lane.

Posted by Dianne at 11:07 AM | Comments (8) | TrackBack

February 8, 2010

Cheddar and Dill Cornmeal Cookies

OK first before we talk about these savory cookies, I would be remiss if I didn't mention the snOMG, or the Snowpocalyse, or whatever cutesy name they are calling this monstrous blizzard that blew through here over the weekend! Cute names aside this was quite frankly one bitch of a storm! We ended up with 28.25 inches of snow and that my friends is a lot of snow!

We did a lot of shoveling and our neighbor thankfully plowed the rest of our long driveway for us. Best $20 I ever spent I'm telling you! (Other than perhaps the money I spent for my epidural when I had Alexis. That was fabulous and definitely money well spent!! ;oP)

The forecast is calling for anywhere from 8 to 16 additional inches of snow fall tomorrow into Wednesay. I guess this means there is more shoveling in my future. Oh well it's good exercise and I'm more than willing to give neighbor dude another $20 to plow the drive again!

Also on an unrelated note the camera fairy came to visit me and I am now back in the DSLR family! I got a Canon 7D and let me tell you this camera is awesome! I'm still figuring out the bells and whistles, but it's really nice to have that instant picture capability again. The no lag time is fabulous. I had forgotten how sweet it is! The snow picture above was taken with my new camera. I'm very pleased! I'm still figuring out the logistics for food photography, but that's to be expected.

Now let's talk some savory cookies!

For a while now I've been thinking about making a cookie, yet a savory bite, not a sweet cookie. I wanted something you could use with Hors d'oeuvres or something of that nature that was corn meal based. I was discussing on FaceBook baking something when the snow started and after a little conversation I decided that there was no time like the present to jump right in!

These cookies are crisp and surprising. The cheddar and dill go together perfectly and the cornmeal gives it an overall crispness that is very satisfying. As I mentioned above they are just perfect with Hors d'oeuvres or how about a savory soup? The possibilities are endless.

What You'll Need:
1 stick of butter (Note: You don't need to soften it, just use it right out of the fridge.)
2 teaspoons of dried dill
1 teaspoon of sea salt
2 eggs
2 cups of corn meal
2 cups of shredded cheddar (Note: You want to use cheese your shred yourself. Pre-shredded cheeses have weird stabilizers in them and I can't vouch for whether they would work with this or not.)

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Add butter, dill and salt to the bowl of your food processor and process until mixed:

Add eggs to the food processor and pulse until mixed:

Scrape egg/butter mixture into a large glass bowl and then stir in cornmeal and cheese:

The mixture will be crumbly.

Press dough into a ball:

Sprinkle a little cornmeal onto your counter and cut dough into four quarters:

Roll out each quarter out on the cornmealed counter and cut into 2 inch cookies. Place on a baking sheet that has been lined with a silicone baking sheet or parchment paper:

The dough will be crumbly as you roll it out so don't be surprised if you have to sort of push it back together from time to time.

Repeat process until you've used all your dough.

Bake cookies for 12-16 minutes or until golden brown:

Let cool and then serve.

Store in an airtight container.

Makes about 40 cookies.

Notes: I had intended to use rosemary and/or thyme, but I couldn't find my rosemary so I used dill instead. You could use a different cheese if you liked as well.

Posted by Dianne at 2:26 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

February 4, 2010

Quick and Easy Hot Chocolate

Snow makes me think of hot chocolate. You got out and play in the snow, then come in, get warm and enjoy a big cup of steaming hot chocolate! The thought takes me back to my childhood. It was just the way we did things.

There are many ways to make hot chocolate, and yes there is always instant, but really it's so much better when you make it yourself! With a few simple ingredients, you have a really fabulous hot chocolate in no time that really hits the spot on those cold winter days!

What You'll Need:
4 cups of milk (Note: I used skim, but you can use whatever variety you like, you could even use half and half or heavy cream if you just wanted to go all out.)
1 cup of organic cane sugar
1 cup of unsweetened cocoa, sifted

In a medium sized pan add milk, sugar and sifted cocoa and whip to mix. (Note: This is one of the few times you'll see me sift anything, but you really want your cocoa powder to be fine and not in lumps!)

Bring mixture to a simmer and then pour into cups.

Top with marshmallows or whipped cream and you've got the perfect cup of hot chocolate!

See how easy that was?

Notes: You can store leftovers in the fridge for several days and reheat when wanted. To make an adult version add a shot of whiskey or Irish Cream.

Posted by Dianne at 8:21 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack

February 3, 2010

Snowy Day Chili

It started snowing last night again and we ended up getting four more inches of snow on top of what we already had on the ground. We may get more snow this weekend too, I've heard everything form a dusting, to perhaps up to ten inches!

Snow makes me think of soups and stews and yesterday I really had a taste for chili! I had soaked beans on Monday and planned to make pinto beans for dinner last night so that's what Alexis and I had, but no one says you can't take the left overs and make a little chili! ;oP

This morning I put together a pot and Alexis and I had chili for lunch. There is just nothing like a hearty bowl of chili on a cold winter day!

What You'll Need:
Extra virgin olive oil
1 red onions, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
4-6 cloves of garlic, minced
2 cups of cherry tomatoes (Note: I used some I had frozen this summer. Just throw them in whole.)
1 pound of ground beef
1 teaspoon of sea salt
2 teaspoons of black pepper
1 teaspoon of onion powder
1 teaspoon of garlic powder
1 tablespoon of paprika
2 tablespoons of chili powder
1/2 tablespoon of ground chipolte chili powder
1/4 to 1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper (Note: Again more if you like it spicy, less if you don't.)
2-3 cups of pinto beans (Note: More if you like beans, less if you don't.)
1 quart of diced tomatoes (Note: I used some I canned this summer. You can use a large can from the store instead.)
1-2 cups of water (Note: Just to thin things out a bit, but you don't want it too thin.)

Add some olive oil to a large stock pot and saute onions, peppers and garlic until just tender. Add cherry tomatoes, ground beef and seasonings:

Cook for 3-5 minutes until meat is mostly browned and the add beans:

Next add diced tomatoes and water:

Bring to a boil and then lower heat to a simmer. Simmer covered for at least 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Make sure the cherry tomatoes have cooked through:

Serve plain, or with cheese and sour cream. Chives or scallions are good too!

Notes: This is one of the rare time I actually used ground beef in my chili. Most of the time I make a vegetarian version, or my recent foray into ground chicken. I really just had a taste for a more "traditional" chili today.

Posted by Dianne at 12:43 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

February 2, 2010

The Lobster Barn, York, Maine

Today I'm going to finally share with you the restaurant we ate at when we did our Maine day trip in October. You probably thought I had forgotten all about that didn't you? ;oP I'll hopefully have some new recipes for you soon. I'm kind of in a cooking repeat stuff mode right now and haven't really done anything new. Soon though!

For now though, let's talk some lobster!

When you think of Maine you often think of lobsters! Kind of like you think of crabs and/or oysters if you think of Maryland. And one of the signature dishes that comes to mind when Maine enters your thoughts are lobster rolls, so I knew I wanted to try an authentic Maine lobster roll!

When we ventured in to Maine I wanted to go see the Cape Neddick Lighthouse. I had done a painting of the lighthouse years ago (A very bad painting at that!) and I wanted to see it in person. In case you didn't know I have a thing for lighthouses. My favorite being a tie between the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse and the Currituck Lighthouse both located out on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Normally if there is a lighthouse to be seen I'll find it. I even plan to see a few when I finally make it to Ireland, but that is neither here nor there for the moment.

Back to the story at hand....

So the first place we headed in Maine was to the lighthouse. It's gorgeous! The coast line around it is beautiful too, so rocky and rustic! Alexis and I spent about a half hour just standing next to the ocean, taking in the view. It was heavenly! My first glimpse of ocean in over 2 years. That's way too long between ocean views!

After we finished up at the lighthouse we headed back toward New Hampshire, but before we left Maine I wanted to eat lunch. We came across The Lobster Barn and we were set!

The food was fabulous! Jamison's order came with a cup of clam chowder, and of course that isn't anything he would ever eat so I got to enjoy that too! It was delicious! Rich and creamy and the clams were just right.

For the main course I obviously got the lobster roll and it was great too! Their homecut fries were also fabulous and if I'm not mistaken there was a hint of dill in their coleslaw, which was unexpected, but I found that I really liked the overall flavor!

The staff was really great and our waitress was just fabulous! We ended up having a conversation about foods indicative of our states, or in other words lobster rolls and crab cakes! It was a very nice lunch and when we go back to Maine (And believe me I plan on going back!) I definitely will stop in at The Lobster Barn again!

Posted by Dianne at 1:13 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack