Month: January 2014

Chicken Stir Fry

Posted on by Sista Felicia

Print

IMG_0738

The men in the family requested chicken stir fry for dinner a few days ago. When ever I think of Chicken Stir Fry I think of cooking with my roommates during my college years at Merrimack.  Chicken Stir Fry is  an affordable meal that can easily be stretched to feed a small army of people. It was a meal we prepared at least once per week for everyone in our apartment building!

Chicken Stir Fry

Rice Ingredients

3 cups water

3 tablespoon salted butter

3 cups white rice (brown rice may be substituted and cooked to your liking)

IMG_0694

Chicken Stir Fry Ingredients

8-10 chicken tenders

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 heaping tablespoons cornstarch

1/4 cup warm water

6 tablespoons chili oil

3 tablespoons pure sesame oil

1 red pepper; cut into bite-size pieces

1 orange pepper; cut into bite-size pieces

6 scallions; White parts diced; green parts reserve

2 cloves garlic; thinly sliced

1/2  teaspoon freshly ground pepper

3 cups fresh snow peas

1 large can pineapple  rings with juices; cut into pieces

Sauce Ingredients

3 tablespoons fish sauce

2 heaping tablespoons ketchup

1/2 cup water

1 teaspoon chili paste

1 tablespoon rice vinegar

3 heaping tablespoons dark brown sugar

3 garlic cloves; roughly chopped

1 tablespoon ground Ginger

reserved chicken marinade

Step-by-Step

1 bring 3 cups water and 3 tablespoons unsalted butter to rolling boil; add dried white rice; stir; cover pan tightly with lid and turn off heat

2 Combine soy sauce and cornstarch in Ziploc bag; shake and mix well until light brown marinade mixture comes together; add chicken tender pieces to bag; seal bag; refrigerate at least one hour

IMG_0687

3 combine 3 tablespoons chili oil and sesame oil in large fry pan; heat over high setting

IMG_0693

4 add chicken tenders; cook 3 minutes; (reserve marinade in a Ziploc bag) turn chicken tender pieces; cook additional 3 minutes; remove chicken from pan; cut into bite-size pieces

IMG_0717

5 in small mini chopper combine all sauce ingredients; add reserved leftover marinade from Ziploc bag; Blend well; reserve

IMG_0715

5 add 3 tablespoons chili oil; peppers, white scallion pieces, garlic slices and freshly ground pepper to fry pan sauté four minutes

IMG_0720

6 add reserved sauce to pan; mix well; cook four minutes; scrape ingredients from bottom of pan with metal spatula if necessary

IMG_0723

7 add snow peas, pineapple and pineapple juices to pan; mix well; continue to scrape bottom of pan loosening any ingredients; cook four minutes over high heat

IMG_0725

IMG_0727

8 arrange cooked rice in large serving bowl; top with stir fry mixture

IMG_0728

9 roughly chop reserved green parts of scallions and sprinkle over top of stir fry; serve

IMG_0734

Cape Pond, circa 1900

Posted on by Fredrik Bodin
Iceboating was, and still is popular on Cape Ann. I've seen it on Niles Pond. All these boats are home made, and my favorite was Mark Sheldon's. Cape Pond is now a public water supply for Rockport.
Iceboating was, and still is popular on Cape Ann. I’ve seen it on Niles Pond. All these boats are home made, and my favorite was Mark Sheldon’s. Cape Pond is now a public water supply for Rockport.

Kirsti H Kettunen-Belle Captures The Snowy Owl Times Two

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

Hi Joey,
I went to Stage Fort Park the other day in search of the snowy owl I heard was there. I was rewarded by two of them. First picture is of the one I saw first, second one I almost missed and third one is of both of them.
Kirsti H Kettunen-Belle

photo 1photo 2photo 3

Love gardening? Eager to get involved in community work?

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

Love gardening? Eager to get involved in community work?
Join Backyard Growers for the 2014 growing season as a volunteer Garden Mentor! Garden Mentors are an essential part of our program to ensure our participants are getting the support they need to become successful vegetable gardeners! Intermediate gardening experience required; low time commitment; big community impact! Mentor training provided on February 22. For more information and to apply visit http://capeannfarmersmarket.org/backyard-growers and click on “Become a Mentor” or call Anna at 610.220.9823. Deadline to apply is Feb 1st.

Please let me know if you have any questions. Thank you so much for your help! 

Best,

Anna

In The Battle For Most Picturesque Photo Location Who You Got Between The Burnham House In Essex and Motif No 1 and The Paint Factory

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

So Anthony Marks Photo This Morning Of The Burnham House Got Me To Thinking…

In The Battle For More Picturesque Photo Location Who You Got Between The Burnham House In Essex and Motif No 1 in Rockport and The Paint Factory in Gloucester.

At One Time I might have said the Paint Factory but it’s such a mess now you’d have to put it out of the running.   The Burnham House In Essex has the Natural surroundings thing going for it.  Rockport’s Motif No 1 is nice in it’s own right and probably has the most world wide cache.

image

Here’s a shot of Motif No 1 from Matthew Green-

aaaand The Paint Factory from Manny Simoes-

IMG_3609

Let’s run a couple different polls-



Sista Felica’s Extends an Invitation To All SJP Students Tomorrow

Posted on by Sista Felicia

Print

opendoorBy now everyone has heard the media reports about the bomb threat made earlier this week at St. John’s Preparatory School in Danvers Ma, for tomorrow’s school day.  School administration has worked closely with authorities all week and has successfully implemented precautionary guidelines for the school community to follow.  The decision to send our sons to school tomorrow has been the topic of discussion all week. We were notified today that tomorrow classes remain as scheduled, but they will be allowing an excused absence to any student not attending tomorrow’s classes.

Tonight every SJP Parent needs to make a decision that they feel comfortable with. This is not a time to cast stones and make judgment on others and their decisions. But I thought I ‘d extend an open invitation to those who have decided not to attend classes tomorrow.

This afternoon, I reached out to The Open-Door Food Pantry to make arrangements for an afternoon of service for any St. John’s Preparatory student who has decided to not attend classes tomorrow.

All are Welcome to participate.  Please help me spread the word to SJP students who may be interested in helping others tomorrow

Details:

PLEASE IN BOX ME YOUR SONS NAME IF PLANNING TO ATTEND~ the open door can accommodate small and large groups, I just need to provide a head count before noon time tomorrow.

Details:

The boys are scheduled to begin at 12:00 pm tomorrow (I will Chaperone)

Dress: in comfortable work clothes

Address:

The Open-Door Food Pantry

28 Emerson Avenue

Gloucester Massachusetts 01930

The Scarf, With Pockets!

Posted on by Kimsmithdesigns

Scarf with Pockets ©Kim Smith 2014. JPG -3 copy The ideal scarf for photographers ~ a scarf-with-pockets!

If you are anything like me, when out photographing or filming, your coat pockets are so over-stuffed that there is no room for frozen fingers. Typically, my pockets contain second and third alternate lenses, car keys, lens cap, lens wiping cloth, and gloves. The gloves are off so that I can work the cameras, which invariably leads to numb hands and fingers. Meet the scarf-with-pockets. In between shots, you can tuck your hands into the convenient scarf pockets. For added warmth, I worked this in the brioche stitch, which creates a luxuriously textured and lofty pattern.

My favorite yarn currently is Frog Trees’s gorgeous Chunky Alpaca. Alpaca is warm and cozy, with a similarly soft feel to that of cashmere, and is NOT ITCHY!

You can purchase Frog Tree’s Chunky Alpaca from Robert at Coveted Yarn. Frog Tree yarns are fair trade; profits from the sale of yarns goes to the artisan.

Frog Tree chunky Alpaca ©Kim Smith 2014 copyChunky Alpaca comes in a beautiful array of colors. If Robert doesn’t have the color you are looking for in stock, ask, and he will custom order it for you.

4 Skeins Frog Tree Chunky Alpaca

#6 needles (or size to suit your knitting style; I knit very loosely)

Cast on, very loosely 24 sitiches. Work basic brioche stitch for approximately 52 inches. Bind off loosely. Scarf measurement before pockets: 52″ in length, 6″ wide.

For each pocket ( work both simultaneously on the same needles so they come out the same length), loosely cast on 48 stitches. Work knit one pearl one ribbing for one inch. Switch to brioche stitch and work until total length of pockets equals the same width of scarf (in this case, 6 inches). Bind off very loosely. Slightly stretch and block ribbing to equal width of the pocket. Stitch pockets to scarf.

Scarf with Pockets ©Kim Smith 2014. JPGPocket Detail

End Notes ~ The brioche stitch is a little tricky. Heidi, who works at Coveted Yarn, recommended online youtube tutorials, which I did, and found it was a terrific way to learn a new pattern. This is the perfect winter for an extra thick and lofty scarf and I’ll be busy on a second scarf-with-pockets because daughter Liv has claimed the red one in the photo.

I have recently noticed scarves with pockets in shops and the pocket openings were acclimated horizontally rather than vertically, as are the pockets in this pattern. That’s a great idea, because the pockets can then be used to also hold items however, the openings would be less conveniently placed for warming hands.

Frog Tree chunky Alpaca Coveted yarn ©Kim Smith 2014

Join Chef Matt Beach at the Chef’s Table Sunday, January 12th at 6pm: 4 Openings

Posted on by Kimsmithdesigns

There are four openings for Chef Matt Beach’s Open Chef’s Table. The menu and accompanying wines look absolutely beautiful and, after having sampled Chef Matt’s Warm Apple Tarte Tartin, I can honestly say I would go just for the tarte alone!

Treat a date or guest to a lovely evening of warm and wonderful hospitality, and an equally as wonderful dining experience!
Open Chef’s Table – Sunday, January 12
6:00 p.m.
$75.00 per person
Great time to use that beach gourmet
gift certificate!
beachfood
Open Chef’s Table – Sunday, January 12
6:00 p.m.
(Most tables sell out within 24 hours)!
Greetings!
Please join us for beach gourmet’s
 Open Chef’s Table
(You can sign up for one place or all 12)
MENU

Hors d’oeuvres

Wine: Adami Vignetto Giardino single vineyard, premier cru Prosecco

The Veneto, Italy

Salad

 

 Mesclun greens, oranges, pistachio, and goat cheese with champagne vinaigrette

Wine: Cellar de Roure Cullerot Bianco

Valencia, Spain

 

 

Entrée

 

Spiced Duck breast with Port-cherry sauce, crispy potato, and roasted green beans

Wine: Domaine de Cristia 2010 Chateuaneuf-du-Pape

Southern Rhone, France

Dessert
 

Warm Apple Tart Tatin

Wine: Mas Amiel Muscat de Rivesaltes

Languedoc-Rousillon, France
 
The Open Community Chef’s Table

Here is how it works. There are twelve seats available at the table.  You can reserve as many seats as you like.

Take one or take all twelve seats and invite your friends to join you. Your personal dining experience begins at 6:00 p.m. when you arrive at Savour Wine and Cheese for hors d’oeuvres and wine tasting at the wine machines.

Dinner begins at 6:00 p.m. when you join your dining companions (whomever has bought the other 11 seats) for a four-course meal, each course paired with tasting-portion wines chosen by our in-house expert, Kathleen Erickson Morgan.

Call today to reserve your seat.  You can use a credit card to reserve your place and we will  not charge it until the day of the event.  If you choose to pay by check, make it out to Beach Gourmet.  

 

Checks will be held until the evening of the event.  (As this is such a small gathering, we must charge for no-shows, or cancellations within the 24 hours prior to the event.  Just call and let us know).

Price per seat is $75.00  Wine is served in tasting portions, and is complimentary.  (MA Meals Tax and gratuity not included).  As always, if you have a food allergy, please inform your server.  We look forward to sharing this great event with you!

Sincerely,
Chef Matt Beach and
Kathleen Erickson Morgan
(Co-owner of Savour Wine and Cheese)
beach gourmet – 978 282-1414
Savour – 978 282-1455

Alchemy Temporarily Closing March 3rd

Posted on by Vickie & Peter

A message from Alchemy:

Thank you for a great 10 years, it’s been a wonderful first chapter. We will be temporarily closing on March 3rd. Wait till you see chapter two….

A Cooks Dream!

Posted on by Sista Felicia

Print

pan 2

Ruffoni Hammered Stainless Steel 7-qt. Braiser……I am in love!

It’s a new year and I am especially looking forward to two big milestone celebrations in 2014! In a few days I will kick off the year by celebrating my 45 Birthday, six months later, my  husband and I will be celebrating our 20th wedding anniversary, and a month after that our twins celebrate their Sweet 16 th Birthday! Time truly flies by when you’re having fun!!

I have joked for years with friends and family that every woman needs to be given a bridal shower every 10-15 years to replace and/or update broken or worn out kitchen gadgets and appliances. How many times have you secretly wished for this? It amazes me that marketing companies haven’t presented this idea to the thousands of companies out there that provide kitchen items.

There seems to be a tunnel-vision focus on targeting newlywed brides. Married women (who actually have kitchen experience) and 10 or more years of kitchen experience under their belts have been pushed aside and placed on the back burner. It doesn’t seem possible that I could be the only one who would love to have another bridal shower! There must be others with this same dream?

Hundreds of thousands of women/ men/ cooks would be thrilled to be the recipients of a 10-15 year bridal shower party, don’t you think? If only one person stepped up to the plate and pitched this idea to the world, everyone would team up and follow with the same game plan. It would be a home run for everyone. Cooking equipment sales would increase  and American kitchens would be updated with the newest cutting edge culinary technology!

Most of the time over the past three years was spent writing my first cookbook “Gifts of Gold and a Sicilian Kitchen with Sister Felicia, Harvest”.   Last year was spent in full-blown production mode, meeting deadlines to get  the cookbook to print.  In the process of production my kitchen gadgets and appliances have taken a beating.  Many are either broken or on their last leg!

I’ve loved every moment of the journey.  From compiling, writing, editing, creating, photographing, re-photographing, and actually making the recipes to the marketing and  shipping of the book it was all an exhilarating experience and I am so grateful to my family and team for their integral roles in making this dream a reality!

WITH ALL THAT SAID….

I recently took a stroll through one of my favorite stores, Williams-Sonoma and spotted the most gorgeous pan I have seen. I was there to return my broken pepper mill. Just another casualty left behind in the wake of making that cookbook dream a reality. If you have never been to a Williams-Sonoma store before and you enjoy cooking, you simply must find a location near you and make a special visit. This stores wide range of products, will trigger all your senses!

pan1

 pan3

 There are amusement park destinations for children…and there are William-Sonoma stores for cooks!

What is important in my kitchen might not be important to you in yours. But Williams-Sonoma is a place every cook (good, bad, experienced or not) can dream.  On this particular visit I spotted dozens of items I dream of buying some day.  Some items that need replacing and other items that in creating a dish warrant a specific new tool.

Every time I visit William-Sonoma I think about that “10 year married woman bridal shower concept” for long time married brides that I have been joking about with my friends and family for years.

Fishing Boat’s Enemy ~ Ice

Posted on by Fredrik Bodin
It appears that we'll be out of the arctic's grip in a few days. In this circa 1950 photo, the fishing boat is iced up and cannot go out. Ice can destabilize a vessel to the point of capsizing if not removed. It needs to be removed with sledge hammers and shoveled overboard. The crew, already tired from fishing around the clock, becomes exhausted from ice removal.
It appears that we’ll be out of the arctic’s grip in a few days. In this circa 1950 photo, the fishing boat is iced up and cannot go out. Ice can destabilize a vessel to the point of capsizing if not removed. It needs to be removed with sledge hammers and shoveled overboard. The crew, already tired from fishing around the clock, becomes exhausted from ice removal.

Winter Gardening With David Calvo

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

Joey,
this is for the blog if you want to put it in.
For those who might be interested: EVEN WITH ALL THIS BITTER COLD AND SNOW there is still winter gardening with low hoops.
warm regards,
David Calvo
image004

Barry Hallett Stylin’ In Anticipation of The Frozen Rush

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

Hey Joe,
Sub zero temps are no match for the GMG 1/4 zip shell.
And if you want to see a cool event this week, this is going on up on the hill.

http://www.redbull.com/us/en/motorsports/offroad/stories/1331618550073/2014-frozen-rush-race-teaser

My First Article is Up for the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism!

Posted on by Kimsmithdesigns

View of Downtown Cultural District from Smith's Cove ©Kim Smith 2013 copyMy first article for the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism  was posted today. The article is part one (highlighting fall and winter) of a two part series about our Harbortown Cultural District. Part two showcases events that take place during the spring and summer, for example, the Feast of St. Joseph, St. Peter’s Fiesta, and the Schooner Festival, and will appear early this spring.

MOTT Article
Gloucester HarborTown Cultural District
Part One
By Kim Smith

I stand on a rooftop facing east toward Gloucester Harbor. Brisk autumn breezes and fresh salty scents lend color to the air of the moment. I can see far out to the Dog Bar Breakwater and Eastern Point Lighthouse, and still further beyond to the white diamond-studded sparkling sea. I see a single seagull arcing through the sky followed by hungry bevies chasing vessels. But it is the view of the harbor’s inner beauty that causes me to standstill and absorb all that I see. The beauty is in the mix of large fishing ships and smaller lobster boats powering through the water—coming and going—in and out to sea; the beauty is in the mix of flat-topped boxy ice buildings, the old Paint Factory, hipped-roof homes, and fish shed peaks; the beauty is in the mix of ships’ masts and riggings, hulls painted shiny red, ochre, and marine blue, new wooden docks and weathered wharf pilings, and everything playing to a soundtrack of gull cries and ships’ engines.

Surrounding the harbor is a blanket of golden hills, made rugged from granite outcroppings formed of earth’s crusty movement long ago, glowing golden from the angled sun’s light and brilliant fall foliage. Saffron tree ribbon circling the harbor runs into silhouettes of neighborhoods with bright sandy beaches that meet ultramarine water. I turn to the west, and looking north and south are the densely packed rooftops of nineteenth- and twentieth-century gables, pitched in shapes and sizes manifold, their architecture mirroring the many cultures and centuries that have shaped this city’s skyline.

This is my adopted city, Gloucester. Like many New England cities and towns Gloucester has riches thought unique to their community, but unlike many hometowns Gloucester’s richly varied and thriving cultural community is grounded from the inside by a framework created from families long associated with her working waterfront. Abounding in maritime heritage, Gloucester is the oldest seaport in America; Gloucester is home, too, to Rocky Neck, the nation’s oldest art colony. For over four hundred years her beauty and bounty have attracted fishermen and artists alike. Along with Rocky Neck, Gloucester’s Harbortown Downtown district is a designated Massachusetts Cultural District; Gloucester is the only city in Massachusetts to boast two such cultural districts! Throughout the four seasons visitors from near and far travel to Gloucester to enjoy her beautiful shores, take part in her fiestas and festivals, dine on fresh seafood, meet her friendly people, and explore her arts, architecture, and entertainment.

Read More HereGloucester Harbor Olive Kitteriedge Film Trucks ©Kim Smith 2013 copy

Savour Wine and Cheese Shares Their Fabulous Tuscan Vegetable Soup!

Posted on by Kimsmithdesigns

Kathleen Erickson Shares Her Out-of-this-World Delicious Tuscan Vegetable Soup! Thank you Kathleen.  I know what I am making for dinner tonight!

Ribollita. Italian Vegetable Soup

Photo Courtesy Kathleen Erickson, via Sally Cameron, from the blog “A Food Centric Life”

Vegetarian or vegan, only 150 calories per serving.

Ingredients

4 T. olive oil

1 1/4 cup eggplant, peeled and cubed (small Italian or Japanese)

1 can diced fire-roasted tomatoes, undrained (14 1/2-ounce) (I like Muir Glen organic)

2 T. concentrated sun-dried tomato paste (in the tube)

1 cup fresh baby portabella mushrooms, sliced

1 c. onions, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 small summer (yellow) squash, coarsely chopped

1 small zucchini squash, coarsely chopped

1/2 tsp Italian seasoning, dried

1 tsp. Himalayan pink salt (or to taste)

1/8 tsp pepper

2 cups vegetable stock (homemade or Emeril’s)

1 cup dry red wine

1 14 oz. can Cannelli beans

2 T. fresh basil chiffonade

8 tbsp Raw Pecorino Toscano Senesi cheese, freshly grated

Cooking Directions

I like to do this in two pans.  In one pan, drizzle 2 T. olive oil, sauté mushrooms and remove.  Add chopped eggplant and drizzle a little more oil if needed.  Sauté until cooked through.  In the other pan, drizzle 2 T. olive oil and sauté onions, garlic, summer squash, and zucchini until partially cooked.  Add the cup of wine and cooked eggplant.  Simmer until most of the wine is evaporated.  Add vegetable stock, diced tomatoes with liquid, all the seasonings and the beans.  Simmer on stove top for 20 minutes.  Add the mushrooms and the fresh basil.  Ladle into soup bowls and top with Pecorino cheese and crostini if desired.

*   *   *

Don’t forget about our VB6 presentation and taco night with Dr. Marcus Marlow who is flying here from Chicago just to meet with us and help us understand the power of a whole foods, plant-based diet in achieving optimum health.  For those who expressed interest, I sent out all the main details of Savour and beach gourmet’s VB6 program.  Here is a link to the document, in case you want to pass it along or are simply interested in what we are doing this winter.

We meet on Thursday, January 9 at 7 p.m. for a discussion of the program and a sample of the food – tacos with homemade tortillas and all the “good-for-you” fillings.  Be sure to confirm with me if you want to come Thursday night.

Sincerely,

Kathleen Erickson Morgan
Savour Wine and Cheese