the arugula files

Baked Shrimp with Feta and Tomatoes

Barton Seaver, the Chef at the helm of Blue Ridge restaurant, says "if you can turn on your stove, you can cook fish." He's right.  Cooking fish is easy.  And, more importantly, it's TASTY.  I would happily give up meat if I could eat fresh, sustainable fish every night for dinner.  The problem is that fish is expensive and most varieties you find in the supermarket are unsustainable and usually not that fresh.  Further, I want to know the origin of the shrimp. I don't want to eat farmed shrimp from China because I've read the news articles.  I don't want to get into that here, because this blog is about arousing people's appetites, but let's just say that imported farmed shrimp is definitely bad for the environment and it's probably bad for you.  That is why I'm eagerly anticipating the opening of Seaver's new fresh fish market, which will feature sustainable fish choices.  

Enough about that.  Let's talk about this dish.  It's basic, easy, and packs HUGE flavor from the onions, thyme, and garlic. Cooking the shrimp in the tomato broth produces a juicy, tender shrimp, and the feta brings the salt.  All you need to add is crusty bread to sop all the goodness up from the pan.  

Peach and Blackberry Picking at Great Country Farm

Just a 90-minute drive from DC, a little bit past the Target and Leesburg Outlets, you will find Great Country Farms, a 200-acre farm that sits at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Bluemont, VA.  Marcus and I made the drive so we could pick peaches and blackberries. 

Lobstahs, Steamahs, and Scallops. Oh My!

I pulled my kah into the pah-king lot at Mah-key's Lobstah Pool at 11:45.  There wasn't a soul in sight.  It was Tuesday in Seabrook, New Hampshire, and most people were either lying on the beach a few miles down the road or at work.  Not me, I was on the hunt for some lobstah.  As a kid growing up in Boston, I wanted nothing to do with those red bugs.  Not anymore. There's nothing better than pulling hunks of lobster meat out of a giant claw, letting it steep in butter, and then savoring each sweet morsel.

Sweet Green: I Like Your Style

Sweet Green is a welcome change in a city crowded with unimaginative, tasteless salad bars that serve low-quality ingredients, like iceberg lettuce and gluey lo mein, both serious detours to healthy eating.  You know exactly what I'm talking about because those "salad /hot food bar" places are ubiquitous in DC.

Sweet Green offers a number of signature salads that will make your stomach do the Safety Dance.  My favorite combination, however, is my own creation: arugula and romaine with edamame, carrots, gorgonzola, craisins, and walnuts with white balsamic orange zest dressing. This salad not only makes you want to eat a salad; it makes you crave salad.  

Clear Spring Creamery

I used to be afraid of milk.  I kinda still am.  I don't drink it ever.  I don't really like the taste, and plus it leaves my throat tight.  Weird, I know.  I did, however, start putting milk in my oatmeal.  This week I tried some earth friendly milk from Clear Spring Creamery, which I picked up at the Dupont Farmer's Market.  I'm not sure if the milk from Clear Spring tastes better than regular supermarket milk (becuase I hardly ever buy it or drink it), but I'm happy to know that the cows that produce it are treated properly, making this milk guilt-free.  Clear Spring Creamery is a family business.  You can read more about the farm, which is located "on the foothills of Fairview Mountain in Washington County, Maryland." Doesn't that sound lovely?  The best thing about buying this milk was that I  sampled a bunch of cream cheese varieties while waiting in line (my favorite was dill and garlic).  I definitely like cream cheese. 

Blog for the Bay: Where to Eat Maryland Blue Crabs

I'm re-posting "Where to Eat Maryland Blue Crabs" in honor of blogging for the bay, co-hosted by Foodietots and Arugulafiles. The population of blue crabs in the bay is threatened by overfishing and pollution. With the help of smart and disciplined fishery management, they are coming back. We must continue these efforts. Sign the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s petition urging the EPA to quit delaying action to help save our Bay.

If you have ever set crab traps, you know that live blue crabs are aggressive and will charge at you when approached.  I learned this after my first and only attempt at crabbing.  I was staying at a summer house in Virginia appointed with some crab traps and a small dock.  Fascinated by the whole catch-my-own dinner experience, I cut up a few chicken breasts, placed the bait in the trap, and waited.  The next day I found one lonely crab in the trap. He was mad as hell.  When I tried to take him out, he snapped, charging at me with the confidence of a Spanish bull.

I've heard that blue crabs hurt when they bite, sort of like a long, mean pinch from your older brother, so I got a set of kitchen tongs.  The crab saw the tongs as his opponent in the ring, so to say, snapping at them every time I reached into the trap.  With help from Marcus, I finally got him out, setting him in a pail while I decided how to prepare him.  Then it hit me, I didn't want to kill this crab.  I couldn't do it.  He was a fighter.  I know it sounds absurd, but he wanted to live too badly.  So I brought him down to the river, turned the pail over, watched him run off the end of the dock, and plop into the water like a fat kid performing the last canon ball of the summer.

Clearly, I have no career in the fishery arts.  Now if I want crabs, I rely on someone else to catch 'em and cook 'em. And for that there is no better place than Cantler's Riverside Inn, in Annapolis, on a lazy Saturday afternoon. Cantler's is a Maryland institution.  For about 35 years, crab men have docked their boats and sold their catch to the restaurant.  Cantler's steams the crabs for about 12 minutes in old kegs converted to steamers.  I wonder what a live crab thinks when they are placed in a steamer and all of a sudden it's raining Old Bay? Don't think about it.

Try to get a seat outside by the river.  Order some steamed crabs and shrimp, and a few beers.  Settle in. Forget about the rest, "like time is not a thing for you to lose." 

More Blog for the Bay:

• Arugula Files research sustainability of Maryland Blue Crabs.
  
• Captial Spice tells of a favorite market vendor, Chris' Marketplace.
  
• The Green Phone Booth's Jess Trev reminisces about roof deck parties and a soft shell sandwich to mark Bill Clinton's inauguration.
  
• Foodie Tots got married on the Bay.  Read more about what it means to her family.
  
• Capital Cooking Show's Lauren was recently introduced to blue crabs after moving here from the Midwest.
  
• Metrocurean used "pretty please with crabcakes on top" to beg favors from her father, and shares her grandmother's crabcake recipe.
• Plight of the Pumpernickel offers tips on how to eat Maryland Blue Crab.
• DCist offers their favorite summertime activity: a trip to the Maine Avenue Fish Wharf for crabs, followed by a picnic in East Potomac Park.
• Endless Simmer sees ulterior motives in our campaign. (Hey, we’re not denying our self-interest. Crabs are yummy!)
• Internet Food Association is stung by old bay and scary magic cards.
• Inspired by Etsy highlights her fave shore related crafts.

Add your blog to the list and encourage people to sign the petition.

Blog for the Bay!

Photo by flickr user zoopmon

Can you imagine DC cuisine without soft shells, crab cakes and crab pickin’? Neither can we!

Calling all District foodies!  FoodieTots and The Arugula Files will be co-hosting “Blog for the Bay” this Wednesday, April 22. Please join local food advocates on Earth Day and help rally District foodies to support clean water in the Chesapeake Bay. To participate, simply post about the Chesapeake Bay (a favorite memory, favorite place to eat crabs, best crab cake recipe, anything!) and include a link to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s petition urging the EPA to quit delaying action to help save our Bay. Please mention “Blog for the Bay” in your post and link to hosts FoodieTots.com and ArugulaFiles.com.

See the Facebook event page or contact foodietots@gmail.com for more details. Links will also be posted in round-ups on FoodieTots.com and ArugulaFiles.com, and will be updated throughout the day. Please help us spread the word and check back on Wednesday for the “Blog for the Bay” round-up!

They're Back!

photo by flickr user bob.fornal

The blue crab population in the Chesapeake Bay is increasing.  Yes, you heard that right, increasing.  According to the Washington Post, the blue crab population increased by 43 percent.  Scientists attribute some of the increase to fishery management, including cutting back on catching females and banning "dredge" fishery methods.   They warned that while the news is encouraging, "blue crabs are a species prone to explosive swings in population, so there is no guarantee that the growth will continue."  In other words: don't crack open the champagne just yet.  The restrictions need to continue, and once we have an upward trend over a longer periods, we can feel better about the future of blue crabs.