Had a nice bit of leftovers from Thanksgiving, so I decided to take the Bun Lai approach to a meal, and turned some into a nice little roll. Really, all it is, as you can see above, is a wrap with goat cheese, Chinese oyster sauce, pickled wild onions (from our yard), turkey, and cucumber slices. Then wrap it tight, much tighter than a burrito. And with a sharp knife cut into sections (see below). With alittle sriracha this was delicious. The following day I tried it with avocado, as well. Eating things this way forces you to take note of the ingredients, and take care with each bite. You eat less and feel fuller afterward. And, dare I say it, you enjoy it more. Try it with your next leftovers, maybe from one of the dishes in A History of Connecticut Food.
The Story of Bridgeport's Revolutionary Corset Factory
I was interviewed as part of a story on the Warner Brothers Factory in Bridgeport last month, and it is now available here on WSHU. What was really cool was that I got to go into the old buildings and have a tour of the crumbling factory. Fantastic.
Make Way For Ducklings
Loved the "Make Way for Ducklings" statue at the Boston Public Gardens. The key to writing beloved childrens' books may be to locate them in a beloved place. That may go for other literature, as well!
With Legendary Publisher Roger Jackson
I had the opportunity to meet legendary Henry Miller publisher Roger Jackson last week. He is a fascinating guy who has lived a fascinating life, a collector, a preservationist, a creator. The amount of energy he has is inspiring, and I will measure my own against his as I begin to navigate middle age.
The Sage of Collinsville
Check out the profile I wrote of fellow Connecticut scribe David K. Leff in this autumn's edition of The Wayfarer.
Jonathan Trumbull House This Saturday
This Saturday I will be giving a presentation at the Jonathan Trumbull house (actually next door in the Wadsworth Stable) in Lebanon on Homegrown Terror: Benedict Arnold and the Burning of New London. The presentation will begin at about 1:30, but I'll be there from 1-4. See you there!
http://www.govtrumbullhousedar.org/pb/wp_3c100a1b/wp_3c100a1b.html
Cap de Rosiers
Ten years ago at the Cap de Rosiers lighthouse, on the tip of the Gaspe peninsula, I realized that I would spend the rest of my life with Amy Nawrocki. Two years after that we were married, and this summer we returned to that first long vacation, and it was even better than the first one.
I look forward to the twenty year anniversary, when we will return to the Gaspe. Knock on wood.
Back from the Gaspe Peninsula
Amy and I are back from our 10th year anniversary trip to the Gaspe Peninsula, an amazing place that most Americans are completely unaware of. We will (fingers crossed) be back again in another 10 years.
Connecticut Authors at Groton Bank
More appearances!
This weekend I will be at the Groton Art on the Bank underneath the Battle of Groton Heights tower, signing books for Bank Square Books of Mystic, on Saturday from about 1-4 pm. On Sunday I will be giving a presentation at the Hempsted Houses at 2 pm on Homegrown Terror: Benedict Arnold and the Burning of New London. Shortly before that you can hear a long interview with me on WXLM in the morning (sometime between 10 and 12).
Upcoming Appearances
Check my appearances page for the new list. This coming week I will be with my wife at the Bethany Public Library on Tuesday at 6:30 discussing Food and Wine, at the Bridgeport Public Library on Thursday at 7 pm discussing Homegrown Terror, and at the museum on Fisher's Island on Sunday at 4 pm discussing Homegrown Terror. It's a busy week, and I hope I see you at one of my events!
Speaking at the Simsbury Land Trust Annual Dinner
I appear at about 18 minutes in. Enjoy!
Nutmeg Chatter with Amy Nawrocki
Check out Nutmeg Chatter in two days (July 1) for an article/interview about my lovely wife, poet Amy Nawrocki, and her new collection, Reconnaissance.
Madison Senior Center
I hope you'll all join my wife and I for a discussion of Connecticut Food and Wine - either Monday at 1 pm at the Madison Senior Center (for those in the southern tier of the state) or at the Enfield Public Library on Tuesday at 7 pm. We will also be in Bethany in July, but more on that later!
We Have Liftoff
Overnight Hike on West Rock
Amy and I hiked from our house all the way south on the Regicides Trail to New Haven.
Some of the way we went on Baldwin Drive because we weren't making good enough time on the trail. But since I'm no longer a purist, I was okay with that.
Saw the Judge's Cave again...
A baseball game at the base of West Rock cliff...
And collapsing on the porch of the Austin Street Inn, where we spent the night.
After a good night's sleep we headed out through the blooming mountain laurel (below).
We saw ravens (!), toads, numerous birds of all sorts, what may have been a coyote, and this little box turtle.
All in all, I would say we hiked 17 miles. These sorts of overnight hikes are possible all over Connecticut, but so few take advantage of our 'small size' to do it.
Essex Shad Bake
Enjoyed a trip to the Essex Shad Festival at the Connecticut River Museum, sponsored by the local Rotary Club.
Watched a demonstration of boning these very bony fish - something I would not want to attempt, despite being comfortable boning or filleting a variety of others.
The fish itself was delicious - a wonderful white freshwater fish, with a little salt pork that was used to nail it to the boards (see below) and a Shad Derby Pale Ale to wash it down.
Removing Snakes
We get a number of nonpoisonous snakes in our yard (black racers, garters, milk snakes), and while we enjoy them keeping the mouse and frog populations down, they unfortunately breed. And the babies are small enough to slip through some weird underneath our porch cracks and occasionally get into the house. Our cat Django takes care of them at that point, or at least alerts me so that I can grab them and carry them out of the house, sometimes in the middle of the night. Those snakes are so small I doubt they could even bite through my skin. However, the ones outside can.
So, because of this issue, I now remove snakes from the yard whenever I see them sunning themselves on a rock. So far I have removed three large snakes, and the smaller one pictured here. One of the large snakes was a fat garter snake that emitted a foul odor when I grabbed him and put him in the bucket. Another was a milk snake that was in the process of killing a baby bird (I let him have it, but removed him and the dead bird). Another was full of three phoebe eggs he had just eaten a couple days earlier (we had been watching the nest). Those snakes were big enough to really hurt me. This guy's bite would probably just hurt a little bit, like a bee sting. But my wife got photos of me removing him properly, so I have posted him here.
The device I am using is a poker/rake that I recently forged in a blacksmithing class out of a piece of rebar. Turns out it is close to the shape of a genuine 'snake stick' and works great, at least for a snake this small. I used a rake for one of the big ones.
I take the snakes about a 1/2 mile up into the woods, where hopefully they will stay. Of course it is possible that they crawl all the way back, across a stream, etc. So, it may be a fool's errand. But since I removed two garters now this spring, I am hoping that this is one year they will miss breeding underneath my porch in the old chipmunk holes. If you try this yourself - be safe!
Miya's Sushi
Back at Miya's Sushi, this time at chef Bun Lai's invitation. He put out a spread for us and a few other friends, who quickly became our friends, too.
Started with invasive Japanese knotweed three ways - sake, quick-pickled on rice, and tempura.
In the foreground is venison, yes venison sushi, with wild ramp sauce, and the wild ramps themselves in the background.
Jonah crab claws and invasive snails that we cracked with real Native American tools and dipped in a honey vinegar ginger sauce.
Tilapia dipped in beets, salted, and served nearly frozen, "Inuit style."
Bun is serving us fermented kelp, which is not ready yet...but still tasted surprisingly good. Salty and seaweedy, like a powerful super-dashi.
This is Bun's "Persian roll" with spices and ingredients from the Middle East.
And this is a sweet potato roll (you can eat all vegetarian at Miya's if you like) with a homemade wasabi.
This is the famous invasive Asian shore crab on a potato roll with a creamy dill dressing that is absolutely one of the best things I've ever tasted.
And this is pressure-cooked and then baked salmon bones (use the whole animal!) and broccoli. None of these really needed to be dipped in soy sauce, by the way. All were perfect as is.
And this is a twist on fried chicken...amaranth peas and soy, with curry dip. We also had his chocolate and ice cream sushi at the end, but I missed getting a photo because we all ate them too quickly. All this was spaced over about four hours, with plenty of firecracker sake, beer, and conversation. A fantastic meal, a fantastic gift. We are proud to call Bun Lai a friend - he is one of the geniuses making food better for the rest of us, and one of Connecticut's true revolutionaries.