An old friend of mine from high school came by yesterday on her way from Northeast Harbor to Philadelphia (they don't call NEHarbor Philadelphia on the rocks for nothing!) She arrived with her three year old son and ex-husband in tow. Her ex doesn't speak English very well, so he was pretty silent, interjecting a bit of Spanish here and there.

I made a great soup for lunch: Leek, buttercup squash and apple soup with fresh parmesan. It has some pretty complex flavors, but they all work together very well.

Two large leeks, cut up (just the whites)
one buttercup squash, peeled and cut into chunks
1 red delicous apple cut up, skin on (its all I had, a gala, macintosh or granny smith might be better)
fresh chicken broth
salt and pepper to taste
a dash of curry powder
couple of cloves of garlic

in a soup pot, sautee the leeks in oil and then add the buttercup squash and apples, add diced garlic and sautee a bit more. Add chicken broth until vegetables are covered and simmer until squash is soft. add salt and pepper and curry. Stir and set aside to cool.
Working in batches, transfer soup to blender and liquify. Soup should be pretty thick...add more broth if you want it less thick. Add parmesan and stir to melt. Serve with crusty bread.

I made a loaf of Irish Soda Bread from a Bob's Red Mill mix that I got at Ocean State Job Lots. It was really good.
Served both with a spinach salad and some curried chicken salad with grapes.

We had a wonderful time, it was great to see my friend and her son, whom I had not met.

Enjoy,
Seth

We had a glorious boat ride to Castine on Saturday. The bay was dead calm on the way there and on the way back. Not too many boats on the water this time of year, but there was a lot of activity in Castine harbor. We tied up to the public dock and went to Dennetts Wharf for lunch. Dennetts has been a fixture on the Castine waterfront for 20 years. We've been over there at least three times this summer. The food is great, the atmosphere is second to none as you can sit and watch the sailboat races in the harbor and the Merchant Marine ship docked up the way. They have inside seating and a long bar for nighttime gathering. I'm sure it gets a bit rowdy at night as there are hundreds of dollar and five dollar bills stapled to the cathedral ceiling...there has to be some history there that I don't know. The seating outside is under an awning or out of the deck in picnic tables with umbrellas. Saturday I had the grilled chicken ceasar salad and Greg had a burger with curly fries. The fries were nice and crispy and well seasoned and the salad had beautiful fresh parmesan cheese and a nice tangy dressing. We seem to always have the same blonde server and she is perfect for the place. Always a wonderful smile, and a bit chatty about the weather and all. She flirted with my dad when we took my parents there....he loved that. Dennetts also has a great bar and one can get tall vodka lemonades and then sleep in the cutty cabin on the way back home! (Not that I did this, of course, but one could!)

Of course the most enjoyable part of going to Dennetts is the trip over in the boat. They are closed for the season now...sigh...its getting darker here too....a sign of the season changing.

Enjoy,
Seth