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We then hauled the kayaks from her house to the water nearby, and checked on the crab trap she submerged in the water the night before. Already, we saw two pretty sizable blue-claw crabs inside. She then picked up a couple large mussels from the water, cracked them on the rocks and added them to the bait compartment to boost our harvest for a feast that night.
Then we went kayaking through a channel to some distant sand bars, passing a serene bird-inhabited island she referred to as the “bird island”. While kayaking, Anita casually cast her fishing line, and before long, we already had a couple of blue fish on board.
After arriving at the sand bar, Anita showed us how to dig for the steamer clams – a soft shell variety that is very common in the Northeast. Immediately, we went digging with large shells and started harvesting some good size clams that were buried about 8 inches or so from the surface. The tell-tale sign of their presence was the breathing holes we could see on the sand.
We then also tried to look for the very tasty hard shelled little neck clams, which were harder to come by (others arriving by yachts also have a fondness for these clams). When we were done collecting the clams, we kayaked back. To our delight, our crab harvest had doubled!
It was hard to express the joy of harvesting our own food. But that was soon topped by having a celebrity chef cook the catch of the day just for us in her own kitchen.
With her basket, she went and cut some fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, chives, mint, and started working on dinner enlisting our daughters to work on the peach crumbles.
It was totally fascinating to watch how she seasoned the fish and the chives, and put them on her outdoor grill. Much attention was paid to creating the sauces – like all great chefs, and the stage was set for the ultimate cooking demo. She made potato salad, a cucumber tomato salad, and a classic NE clam bake, which had fresh local super sweet corn on the cob, crabs and 20+ pounds of steamers.
Our first “course” was simply the raw bar! She pulled out a device to open the little neck, gave it a quick rinse and added a bit of lemon juice before handing to us. I can say it was heavenly. We then enjoyed the grilled fish complete with a delicious sauce. The entrée was an abundance of clams, crabs, and corns, served with drawn butter and a special tomato salsa freshly prepared by her food-expert neighbor.
Great food and great company in an unhurried way – turned out to be one of the most enjoyable meals ever. |
