It happens every year. The summer comes to an end, and I have to say goodbye to all of the wonderful foods I wait almost 9 months for. (I just ended a sentence with a preposition, and I totally don't care right now.) The colors, textures, odors, and flavors of summer make me so happy. Bright reds and yellows, vibrant purples and greens, even little white eggplants. They smell like summer. They are fresh and crunchy. Raw, steamed, grilled...let me at those summer vegetables!
Being that my parents live on the Chesapeake Bay, there are also some other treats to savor. Like those Callinectus Sapidus-the wonderful Maryland Blue Crab. They are truly the beautiful swimmers of the bay. I had the pleasure of not just one-but TWO-crabfeasts this summer. Steamed spicy hardshells, local corn and tomatoes, and good beer. I wish I could share that experience with all of you that have never had it. Maybe the next blog site will have a "scratch and sniff" setting. Look at that beautiful thing!
I also got to make softshell crabs for dinner one night. For those of you who have no idea about what I speak (there, proper sentence structure), a crab has to molt-shed his or her shell-to be able to grow. It's really cool to see happen. Go google "molting crab" to see how they do it. Anyway, when they shed the shell, they are entirely edible. As they grow the shell back, it becomes harder to eat. This is a stage called "papery". They are still alive when you get them, and unless you are buying them prepared in a market, you have to commit their little souls to heaven and kill them yourself. I have prepared so many softshell crabs in my lifetime, but I have apologized to each and every one and said a little prayer for them. When I owned a restaurant, back in the '90's, I would serve softies every weekend of the summer season, prepared differently each time. I had customers who would call and reserve them so I wouldn't run out before they got there. It was a rare treat if there were any left at the end of the weekend. If there were, I would cook them up and we (the staff) would get to enjoy them. Softies are easy to cook. I prefer them sautéed, as opposed to deep-fried, although a fried softshell po'boy is a beautiful thing. You have to be careful when you cook them, though. They are basically balls of water being held together by a tiny bit of "skin". Know what happens when water starts to boil in oil? KABOOM. It's like flying shrapnel sometimes, so be aware if you are making them at home. Unless you like scars.
Here are my beautiful softshells:
Fresh tomato slices on the bottom, basil-shallot beurre blanc on the top. Ermigard...
I guess it's time to start thinking about cooler weather foods, although the tomatoes and basil will keep coming for a few more weeks. The weather has finally started to cool off here, so I can turn my thoughts to chili, soup, and root vegetables. The Jewish holidays are upon us, so braised brisket and chicken soup beckon. Maybe this year I won't be as sad to see summer go. As soon as the winter solstice hits, I can start counting down to my long, sunny days and warm, starlit nights.
On that note, I think it's time for me to sign off and go make one more arugula salad with local tomatoes, cucumbers and fresh mozzarella, with dressing made from herbs in the garden. Sounds like dinner to me!
Eat well, and I'll see you soon.
