In My Kitchen and Other Kitchens, August

While we were out of town in the first half of August, our neighbors took good care of our potted herbs, which we have used in cooking in our kitchen since our return. I’m sharing my month’s kitchen stories with other bloggers at Sherry’s In My Kitchen blog event.

We started the month in Iceland on the National Geographic Explorer. We never really saw the ship kitchen, as they are being very protective against any possible contamination. However, I took a photo from outside the kitchen, through the door from which the wonderful food emerged.

Our trip to Iceland ended August 3, and after flying back to Dulles Airport from Reykjavik, we spent a few more days at Evelyn’s in Fairfax, VA. We of course cooked in her kitchen. Peaches were in season there, so we made this peach crumble — my job was peeling and slicing the peaches. I've written quite a bit about the food we ate while we were on the ship, so I’ll move on to our next trip: Maine. And home to Ann Arbor.

The memory of these trips remains on my refrigerator. I have new magnets from the two big trips:

Maine lighthouses and puffins, Icelandic puffins, and some of the Great Lakes.

We had no kitchen in Maine — but lots of lobster!

From Fairfax, we drove to Bar Harbor, Maine.
A lobster roll is the Maine icon.

Every lobster pound has its own way of boiling the lobsters — always at the last minute for peak flavor!

Our lobsters: fresh from being boiled (Alice's photo).

Fried clams: another great Maine classic.

Lobster added to a pear and walnut salad.

A very plain lobster salad.

  

Local oysters are yet one more Maine delicacy.

Lobster mac & cheese — wow, this is a great dish. The lobster is freshly boiled and picked.

Lobster quesadillas.

Lots of Maine breakfasts, too. Here: stuffed French Toast.
Background: Blueberry Pancakes.

Now: Home in My Own Kitchen

In my own kitchen: lots of vegetables being prepped. Here, starting a soup.

Gazpacho from fresh ripe local tomatoes and peppers.

Also from local tomatoes: shakshouka.

More farmers-market food: fresh basil for pesto.

Ratatouille vegetables — everything fresh and local (except the onion).

  

Ratatouille in the pot for final cooking. Each item is separately sautéed.

Fresh corn on the grill: another Farmers Market treat.

Grilled corn and ratatouille ready to eat.

  

Ingredients for peach crisp or crumble (same thing, see this post).

Peach crisp with vanilla ice cream. New this year: maple syrup in the topping.

A Michigan Peach. Summer’s best!

Blog post and photos © 2021 mae sander for mae food dot blogspot dot com.