HUNGRY GERALD

HG is not fond of elaborate food or dishes that require numerous ingredients and hours of hovering around the range and oven. “Please keep it simple,” is HG’s counsel. HG has posted often about great simple dishes HG enjoyed at long-closed New York restaurants like Christ Cella and Gage & Tollner. (New York strip steak; sauteed clam bellies; shad and shad roe; mutton chops). BSK keeps things simple with tasty food like spatchcocked chicken; lamp kefta; Adobo dusted pork chops; racks of lamb laced with garlic; pan-broiled cheeseburgers. Since HG/BSK eat very little meat, meals are usually based on fish (fried; steamed in the Japanese style; Rhode Island-style chowders; Provencal style cod, with onions, garlic, and tomatoes baked in the oven). Lots of pasta with vegetable sauces (broccoli, zucchini, eggplant, cauliflower). HG’s fave is very simple: Spaghetti with olive oil and loads of gently browned slices of garlic. Take that, Count Dracula !! BSK served a simple and perfect dinner last night. Gently browned Digby Bay sea scallops. Sauteed cherry tomatoes from the HG garden. Tiny potatoes from the Charlottetown Farmers Market (parboiled and then pan-fried with garlic chips). A simple but perfect dinner. Achieved by BSK’s exquisite culinary timing. Cooking simple, alas, is not so simple. Takes BSK skill.

When BSK roasts a spatchcocked chicken for dinner, there’s always leftover chicken breast. Cut into thin slices by HG, this goes into BSK’s innovative pho for an ensuing meal. No, this isn’t the classic pho HG enjoys in Vietnamese restaurants but it’s hearty, fragrant, delicious. BSK adds lots of lime juice, cilantro, shavings of carrots, thinly sliced onions, spinach, bonito flakes and bok choy to a boiling pot of pho broth (Campbell’s does a nice, low sodium version). The chicken goes in last so it doesn’t get mushy. Usually, dry rice noodles (boiled and rinsed) are added. But, this time BSK used thick and springy udon noodles andpoached two eggs (one for her and one for HG) in the steaming broth. Very good idea. HG gave the HG bowl sprinkles of sesame oil and chili oil. This was preceded by pork potstickers which were dipped in vinegar and soy sauce. A savory Vietnamese/Chinese/Japanese/BSK meal.

Mornings at HG/BSK’s Prince Edward Island oceanfront home follow a distinct pattern. BSK arises much earlier than snoozing HG. Lets Toby, The Wonder Dog, out for his morning ablutions and brief exercise. After about twenty minutes, BSK opens the door for Toby so the little fellow can enjoy breakfast. But, not this morning. Toby was busy chasing a squirrel around the outside deck and rose bushes. As always, the squirrel proved elusive. Then, Toby did something extraordinary. The Wonder Dog pushed his way into the dense foliage bordering the HG/BSK acreage. There were sounds of Toby’s journey (he had never ventured into these thorny greens before). This was followed by silence. Distraught BSK (all of this was happening before BSK’s morning wake up coffee) tried to coax Toby out. No success. More than a half-hour of silence. BSK donned appropriate protective clothing and ventured into the bushes in the belief that Toby’s collar was snared. No sign of Toby. Sad BSK gave up. Was there a coyote lurking who had lured and then killed Toby? Finally, BSK heard sounds of Toby’s collar and its metal tags. A piece of chicken brought Toby out of his hideaway. Joy and relief. And, where was HG during this adventure? Snug under the covers and peacefully sleeping.

Autumn on Prince Edward Island. Leaves are beginning to turn. Whitecaps dot the sea in front of the HG/BSK home (40 feet of windows provide startling visuals of the sea, birds, clouds, sunsets). Warm weather will return for a spell as it usually does in PEI September. In the meantime, BSK concentrates on cooking that warms the body and spirits. A BSK specialty is soup (HG has written about this skill before. Sept. 4, 2019). Today, BSK harvested the tomatoes, red and green, that made a comeback in BSK’s vegetable garden after Hurricane Dorian. This was supplemented by tomatoes purchased at the Charlottetown Famers Market from a man identified solely as “The Cherry Tomato Man.” This gentleman told BSK that BSK’s brother in law, Yossi M., is “the coolest guy on PEI.” HG agrees. Back to the soup. BSK placed quartered tomatoes on a cookie sheet. Olive oil. Salt and pepper. Roasted in the oven. Red peppers were roasted over open flames on the range (these would give the soup a tantalizing hint of smoke). BSK removed the blackened skins of the peppers and cut them into strips. Onions, garlic (abundant), chopped celery and carrots plus the peppers went into a pot for softening. The roasted tomatoes were added. Chicken stock poured into the pot with sprinkles of cumin and aleppo pepper. After cooking, BSK used an immersion blender to bring the soup to the proper level of smoothness. Winds were blowing as HG lunched on a bowl of the steaming, multi-flavored soup. Superlatives cannot do it justice. Bravo, BSK!!

Yes, HG consumes scores of oysters each year with gusto and expertise. HG never adds anything to a raw oyster. No mignonette, no hot sauce, no lemon juice. HG wants to enjoy the sea taste, subtle variations in texture, levels of brine without any interference. In HG’s opinion, cloaking the flavor of a raw oyster (or clam) with sauce is akin to ordering a steak “well done” or lavishing ketchup on all manner of food. HG has eaten oysters in many places. Florida (oysters are tasteless). New Orleans (dangerous because of pollution). Baltimore (pretty good). Barcelona (fair). Madrid (poor). A superior restaurant in New York, Grand Central Oyster Bar, offers splendid oysters from Long Island, Rhode Island and Maine (and their cooked oyster dish, Oyster Pan Roast, is mind-altering). However, the best oysters are found outside of the United States. Rodney’s Oyster Bar in Vancouver, B.C., serves a big variety of oysters, perfectly shucked and chilled. (An innovation is a freshly grated horseradish used by HG as a palate cleanser between oysters). Nothing compares to the elegance and ambiance of eating oysters in a good French brasserie (Le Stella or Astair) or bistro. On a side trip to Reims in Champagne country, HG had lovely oysters (much cheaper than Paris). HG believes the best oysters in the world can be found a few miles from HG/BSK’s oceanfront home on Prince Edward Island. At Island Shellfish in the Town of Morell, HG buys large and lush Red Head Selects and Malpeque Superiors. (BSK’s favorites are the green-tinged Coleville Bay oysters from The Lobster Shack in the Town of Souris. Smaller than HG’s lusty choices). Hurricane Dorian diminished temporarily the variety of oysters at Island Shellfish. Savage Harbor oysters were available yesterday. HG bought two dozen. Modestly sized but extraordinary in flavor. Savage Harbor has a new fan.

Wisps of sun seemed determined to break through the clouds on a breezy Saturday in Prince Edward Island. HG/BSK went off to the Charlottetown Famers Market. HG picked up a bag of tiny (really tiny) potatoes, one of the riches of PEI’s red soil, plus a pound of fresh haddock. These products (plus spinach and cherry tomatoes) would be the elements of the night’s dinner. BSK concentrated shopping on greens, onions, etc., plus a big bone for Toby, The Wonder Dog (he gnawed it happily later in the day). After completing banking and other errands, HG suggested lunch at King’s, a much-touted Chinese restaurant. Prescient BSK was not enthusiastic but agreed. King’s was very disappointing. Chinese families and couples occupied the other tables in the restaurant and seemed to be dining with pleasure. Did HG/BSK order the wrong dishes? Is King’s worth another visit? Only good Chinese food HG/BSK ever ate on PEI was at Summer Kitchen in Charlottetown. It lasted about one year before closing. There are a number of Chinese (and Japanese) groceries on PEI and a growing Asian population. So, why no good Chinese restaurants?