Hand pies or Pasties are one of my favorite things — Quite easy to make, delicious fresh, but also freeze well. One is great as a snack, two is great for lunch. I often have a number of different kinds in the freezer, but these potato leek and cheddar ones are pretty close to being my favorite. Make sure to seal them well, otherwise the filling goes everywhere but staying inside.
Sometimes when I am in Maine, I can be found in the woods, foraging for things, be it blackberries or mushrooms. I have been foraging for chanterelle mushrooms since I was a young child, so please don’t follow my lead on doing this activity unless you know what you are doing. Then again, making these turnovers is highly recommended. They are delicious with all sorts of mushrooms, including ones that you find at the shops or farmers markets. I made them with the intent to be appetizers, but they’d also be great as lunch, a light dinner, or even a breakfast or brunch item. They are buttery and savory and a little bit bacony — all good things for me!
I’ve been in Maine these last few days and decided to do a “from scratch” project: Corn Bacon and Lobster Chowder (recipe: ). By “from scratch”, I mean we bought the lobsters “off the boat” in Winter Harbor, then cooked the sea bugs ourselves and then made the lobster stock, then dealt with the corn and finally made the chowder. It was a bit of an “all day affair” but I have to say that the chowder was pretty spectacular. Perfectly seasoned, full of fresh corn, potatoes, bacon and lobster and super creamy. Normally I am not all that impressed with my own cooking, but this was great. Very pleased.
This is one of my main-stay. go-to dishes. Super-versatile with the veggies and the protein, you can make this curry almost anyway you choose, at the spiciness level that you want, and it’s all ready in about the time that it take my rice cooker to make the rice (which is to say, 20-30 minutes). Also, it makes great leftovers for lunch the next day. And besides, who doesn’t love to eat all the colors of the rainbow!
I bought myself a new baking pan — what’s called a french slab, made of ceramic (from Made In Cookware) — and of course I had to try it out. Designed to make shallow pies, bars or, in my case, focaccia. I am super happy with how my bread turned out. It’s almost got this friend result on the bottom. It’s going to be great for snacking, but I think I’ll also try to make a nice Italian-style sandwich from it. Really light and airy.