Delicious Ink

PL here -

How could any writer resist writing about ink - especially the delicious kind that comes from the squid (aka calamari), and can infused into all manner of pasta?   I can't resist, hence -

I first had tagliatelle with squid ink - pictured here - at Puttanesca's on 9th Avenue in New York City a few years ago.  It was smooth, mouth-watering, like nothing else I'd ever tasted.  Hard to precisely describe a taste like nothing else, but squid ink is mildly sassy, low-key salty, and very satisfying.  I now order it any time it's on the menu.

The sauce, of course, can be made more zesty by the addition of other ingredients.  I prefer it as natural as possible.   Squid ink not only has a soft taste of the sea, but it has health benefits.  At least one study found that it has anti-carcinogenic properties.

All kinds of pasta can be made with squid ink.  The black ink can take a few days to work through your system, so not to worry.   But, trust me, if you're a lover of sea food, you'll order this any time it can be had.  Captain Nemo would approve.

Buddy Holly and Sir Cricket's

PL  here -

Ok, this is a food not a music blog, though good food and music go hand-in-hand, but, just to be clear, this is a not a post about Buddy Holly.   I just couldn't resist using his name in a post about Sir Cricket's on the Cape (Cod, Route 6, Orleans, MA).   On the other hand, you will feel like rock 'n' rolling after having the fried clams, fresh tuna sandwich, just about anything that Sir Cricket's dishes out.

Tina and I have been going up to the Cape every summer - sometimes all summer, sometimes just a month or less - since 1982.  Our kids - now adults - still think of it as a second home, and now come up with their spouses.  We've loved the food in Cooke's, Captain Elmer's, Cobie's, and other choice Cape fish houses aka joints, and somehow didn't get around to trying Sir Cricket's until last summer (2011).

How did we like it?  We ate there - at one of the postage-stamp sized handful of tables, or take-out and back to our cottage on the bay - at least half the time we were there.   Clams are my favorite kind of seafood anywhere.   The steamers at Captain Elmer's are fabulous, but the fried clams - I like 'em with bellies - at Sir Cricket's are even better.  Sweet as can be, with a breading that's perfectly slightly crisp and light.

The tuna sandwich is stand-out, too.  If you never tasted a sandwich made with fresh as opposed to canned tuna, you don't know what you're missing.   Sir Cricket's comes on delicious bun - same as the clam roll, and all the other mouth-watering rolls in the place - and is the smoothest, most satisfying little tuna sandwich you'll ever eat.

Prices are fine, too.  The tuna sandwich goes for an amazingly low seven bucks, and the seafood rolls about thirteen-fourteen dollars.   Worth every penny!

Ancient Pu-Ehr Tea

PL here -

Thought I'd get this blog and the New Year fired up again with this brief post about this great tea Tina and I have been drinking since, I guess, this past summer or so ...  I'd promise to post my frequently, but there is something aobout good food and drink that brings out the lazy in me ...

Anyway ...  Pu-Ehr is a black tea, unlike any other, which TeeVoz and I have in the past few months taken to drinking. It almost tastes like some kind of coffee or wine, and it has a smooth, deep, earthy flavor. I drink all black teas with milk - organic, as well as the tea - and milk goes very well with Pu-Ehr, unlike most black ties from China. Honey also complements the flavor nicely, and I'd say it has less caffeine than other black teas, but more than greens and whites. This is not based on chemical analysis, but on how close to going to sleep at night I can drink the tea, and still easily fall asleep. I usually have one cup late in the afternoon or early in the evening - in contrast to other black teas which I drink during the day and rarely after 6pm, and green or white teas, which I usually drink after 6pm. It takes boiling water, like all black teas. Pu-Ehr is said to go back to Ancient China. It is certainly a delicious, calming, clarifying tea for the 21st century.