Oyster Season

What's one of our favorite things about staying at Good Haven House? 

Getting to eat lots of fresh oysters! Celebrate oyster season with 

Garden and Gun's Southern Oyster Guide. 

Check it out at http://gardenandgun.com/oysters

Lemons, Lemons, Lemons!

Our lemon tree is heavy with ripe fruit right now. 

Here's a great idea to preserve some of that lemony goodness, make limoncello. 

Limoncello is an Italian liqueur, traditionally served chilled after dinner.

It's delicious and easy to make.

 Limoncello

Yeilds about 1 1/2 quarts

  10     lemons, organic or pesticide free 

750     ml bottle of pure grain alchol (Everclear 151) or high proof vodka

    3     cups water

1 1/2  to 2 cups sugar

1. Wash and dry lemons. Zest with a microplane zester or peel and remove pith (white part) as it will make your Limoncello bitter.

2. In a large glass jar, mix the lemon peels with the alcohol.

3. Seal jar and put in a cool, dry place to steep for anywhere from 2 weeks to 3 months.

4. Unseal and bring water and sugar to a boil for 5 minutes. Let cool completely. 

5. Mix sugar syrup with alcohol and lemon peels.

6. Return jar to the cool, dry place for another 2 weeks.

7. Strain the mixture through a coffee filter. You can strain several times for a clear Limoncello or leave it cloudy. Either way it's great!

8. Store the Limoncello in the freezer and serve chilled.

Cin Cin !

from Sweet Paul Magazine - Winter 2012

She Eats Seashells by the Seashore

 

Edible Chocolate Seashells from andiespecialitysweets on Etsy.

I'd like to find these in my Easter Basket!

Sea Glass Hard Candy

White Chocolate Candy Starfish 

 

Edible Pacific Thorny Oysters 

Seahorse Lollipops

What an amazing candy maker

Check out the shop when you get a chance

andiespecialtysweets on Etsy

All Things Oyster

Garden and Gun Magazine has all things oyster covered this month! 

Follow the link to immerse yourself:

OYSTERS

Enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Icebox Cake

NEED NOW!

For the 8 dozen cookies make 1 recipe of toll house cookies from the back of the bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips.
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I would leave the whiskey out (or give 2 or 3 servings of this to your kids just before nap time  :)  
just kidding, really)

from Martha Stewart Living July 2011

Best Salsa Ever

Making a big batch of the 'best salsa ever' is a great way to use up all of the tomatoes coming out of the garden right now.

cast of characters

tomatoes, quartered

 1/2 green pepper in strips

cilantro, coarsely chopped

 Juice from 1 lime (this one was kind of dry)

 

 put all ingredients into the bowl a large food processor

 dig in!

Good Haven House's Best Salsa Ever

time: 15 minutes

total time: 1 hour, 15 minutes

makes: 4-5 cups

6-8 medium tomatoes

1/2 of a medium onion, coarsely chopped

1 clove garlic, quartered

1/2 green pepper, quartered OR 1/2 red pepper, quartered

1 jalapeno pepper, quartered, leave some seeds and spine depending on how hot you like it!

2 pinches of sugar

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin (or more to taste)

1/2 - 1 cup coarsely chopped, packed cilantro (to taste)

juice from 1/2 a lime (or one if small or dry)

1. Put all ingredients in a large food processor and pulse 15 times or more (depends on how course you like your salsa chopped) Taste test on a tortilla chip and adjust to your taste. ( I rarely add more salt as the chips are usually pretty salty)

2. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour (if you can stand to wait!) to let flavors mingle.

3. Serve with tortilla chips or if you're really feeling ambitious, nachos. Delicious! 

Note 1: This is a very free form recipe, feel free to experiment and add or subtract ingredients to your own taste and the texture you prefer.

Note 2: This makes A LOT of salsa. You can cut the recipe in half if you don't have a big crowd.

Note 3: You can chop the ingredients by hand if you don't have a food processor. It will have a different texture but will still taste great!

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This will keep a few days in the frig. We love this stuff at Good Haven House and it usually doesn't last that long!

Mmmmm Corny!

It's at it's peak right now so here's a few different ways to serve our favorite, corn-on-the-cob.

Each topping recipe makes enough for 8 ears.

Basil-Mint Pesto

Puree 2 cloves garlic and 3/4 cup olive oil in a blender. With the machine running add 1 cup packed fresh mint leaves and 1/4 cup packed fresh basil leaves, puree for 1 minute. Brush corn with pesto and season with coarse salt.

Southwest Spice

Combine 2 teaspoons chili powder, 1 teaspoon each ground toasted cumin and coriander seeds, and a 1/2 teaspoon course salt. Brush corn with olive oil and sprinkle with spices.

Black Pepper and Thyme

Brush corn with olive oil. Sprinkle with 1 Tablespoon fresh thyme: season with course salt and fresh ground pepper.

Lime Zest

Combine 1 Tablespoon freshly grated lime zest (from 2 limes) and 2 teaspoons course salt. Brush corn with olive oil and sprinkle with zest mixture.

You can substitute butter for olive oil in any of these.

from Martha Stewart Magazine July 2010

Buttermilk Ice Cream? Count Me In!

What's more deliciously southern than cold, real churned buttermilk?

Maybe buttermilk ice cream!

Available on-line from Cruze Farm Girl in Knoxville, Tennesse

OR if you're feeling really energetic you can make your own.

(Bring your own ice cream maker, we don't have one at the house)

Lemon-Buttermilk Ice Cream

active time: 15 minutes

total time: approx 2 hours 15 minutes

makes: 16 1/2 cup servings

1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup fresh lemon juice (about 10 lemons) 
2 cups half-and-half
2 cups whole milk
2 cups fat-free buttermilk

1. Combine sugar and juice in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk until sugar dissolves. Add half-and-half, whole milk, and buttermilk.
2. Pour mixture into the freezer can of an ice-cream freezer; freeze according to manufacturer's instructions.
3. Spoon ice cream into a freezer-safe container. Cover and freeze 1 hour or until firm.

 This recipe makes enough for two batches with the standard Cuisinart ice cream maker.

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Want to go over the top? But OF COURSE you say!! Add grilled peach halves, drizzled with honey and sprinkled with fresh basil. My eyes just rolled back in my head.

Summertime Tuna Salad

In these hottest, humid days of summer I like to serve what's called in the South, a cold supper. 

(Supper being the evening meal Southerners are having while Yankees are having dinner :) )

Quick and easy, you can make it before you go to the beach and it's flavors have had a few hours to sit and mingle by the time you come home.

basil - the secret ingredient

chop the celery stalk

chop the red onion

 and the green onion
 

stack and tightly roll the basil leaves for the chiffonade

slice the basil into a chiffonade

the vegetable ingredients

 add the tuna and flake with a fork

mix to combine

 add the mayo and stir

Mmmm Mmmm!

Summertime Tuna Salad

active time: 15 minutes

total time: 1 hour 15 minutes 
makes: 5 servings

1 large can (12oz) solid white tuna in water OR

3 small cans (5 ½ oz) tuna in water (solid, chunk light or both) drained (not too dry)

1 stalk celery chopped fine

1 green onion chopped fine

1/6 medium red onion chopped fine

8 – 10 leaves fresh basil, cut into a chiffonade

juice from ½ a lemon

5 twists fresh ground pepper

6 tablespoons mayonnaise

enough bread for 5 sandwiches OR 5 large, ripe tomatoes

1. Empty tuna into a large bowl and flake with a fork. Add the next 6 ingredients and mix together. Add mayo and mix well. Add more mayo if needed.

2. If you can wait! cover and refrigerate for an hour or so to let flavors blend.

3. Mound tuna salad onto bread of your choice with tomato and lettuce OR hollow out a large ripe tomato and stuff with the salad. Serve with dill pickle spears if you like.

Good Haven House Shrimp Salad

Beautiful, tasty gulf shrimp are abundant here in Pensacola so we're always trying to come up with something new to do with them. This is a wonderful recipe to use up any leftover shrimp you may have or get some just for this dish (it's that good). Stuff the salad in some red, ripe, homegrown tomatoes or serve on toasted bread or with a lovely rosemary olive oil loaf!

Good Haven House Shrimp Salad 

(Sandwich or Not?)

active time: 15 minutes

total time: 20 minutes

makes: 4 - 5 servings

1    pound cooked shrimp, peeled and de-veined
3    hard-boiled eggs, finely chopped
3    celery stalks, minced
1/2 cup mayonnaise

      approx. juice of half a lemon
      dash onion powder
      salt and pepper
      dash seasoning salt or celery salt if desired

8    slices your choice bread, if making sandwiches
      lettuce and tomato, optional 

1. Place shrimp in a food processor and pulse until finely minced (or chop finely with a knife). 

2. Transfer shrimp to a bowl and add eggs, celery, and mayonnaise; mix well. Add lemon juice and seasonings, to taste, and stir to combine. 

3. Heap shrimp salad onto bread and then cut sandwiches in half. Serve with lettuce and tomato, if desired. Or heap salad into hollowed out, large, ripe tomatoes.

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For a delicious, lite lunch or a cold supper. How would you serve it?

Aunt Evelyn's Southern Slaw

Our family's favorite coleslaw. Buttermilk is the secret ingredient!

Aunt Evelyn's Southern Slaw

active time: 5 minutes

total time: 2 hours

makes: 8-10 servings

2       (10 ounce) bags shredded cabbage

1       carrot shredded

1/2    cup sugar

1/2    teaspoon salt

1/4    teaspoon pepper

1/2    cup mayonnaise

1/2    cup buttermilk

2 1/2 Tablespoons lemon juice

1 1/2 Tablespoons white or apple cider vinegar

1. Combine cabbage and carrot in a large bowl.

2. Whisk together sugar and the next 6 ingredients and toss with the cabbage and carrot. 

3. Cover and chill at least 2 hours.

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The word coleslaw is derived from the Dutch words for cabbage ("kool") and salad ("sla") 

Photo via www.marthastewart.com

Summer Flavors - Dilly Beans

Just like my Grama used to make.

Crazy good in Bloody Mary's!

Dilly Snap Beans

active time: 15 minutes

total time: 20 minutes plus chilling

makes: 6 pints

12   small chile peppers

12   sprigs fresh dill

12   garlic cloves, smashed

12   whole cloves

1/4  cup dill seeds

1/4  cup mustard seeds

1/4  cup kosher salt

3     pounds green beans, ends trimmed to leave 1/2 inch head space in jars

5     cups apple cider vinegar

1. In each of 6 sterilized pint-size canning jars, add 2 chile peppers, 2 dill sprigs, 2 garlic cloves, 2 whole cloves, 2 teaspoons dill seeds, 2 teaspoons mustard seeds and 2 teaspoons salt. Tightly pack beans in jars.

2. In a large saucepan over high heat, bring vinegar and 5 cups water to a boil. Pour hot liquid over beans, seal jars tightly, and refrigerate for 2 weeks to allow flavors to develop. Beans will keep, refrigerated, for up to 1 month. 

from Sara Foster's Southern Kitchen Cookbook

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A little folklore:
I don't mean to be indelicate but my southern Grama swore by these at a gal's
"that time of the month".
Maybe it was just the Bloody Mary's?!

Good Things to do with Watermelon (and Oysters)

My love of oysters has been well documented (the oyster shucker at the Shrimp Basket starts to whimper when he sees me walk through the front door).
Here's a little different preparation for them using some simple, classic southern ingredients.

Oysters on the Half Shell with Watermelon Granita

active time: 20 minutes

total time: 3 hours 20 minutes

makes: 1 dozen 

Mixed with lemon juice and pepper, the frozen watermelon puree is a delicious riff on a classic mignonette.

8   ounces watermelon (about 1/2 small) cut off the rind and into cubes

3   tablespoons fresh lemon juice (from 2 lemons)

     course salt and freshly ground pepper

12 fresh oysters

     crushed ice to serve on 

     thin strips of lemon zest for garnish

1. Puree watermelon in a blender until smoth. Strain mixture through a fine sieve into a 5 x 9"             non-reactive loaf pan: discard solids. Stir in lemon juice, 1/8 teaspoon salt , and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.   Cover with plastic wrap; freeze until firm, about 3 hours.

2. Scrape granita with a fork until fluffy. Freeze again while shucking the oysters.

3. Shuck oysters and arrange on a bed of crushed ice. Garnish ice with lemon zest. Top each oyster with 1 to 2 teaspoons granita toward the narrow end of the oyster shell. 

4. Serve immediately.

Granita can be made up to 1 week ahead and kept frozen. Rescrape before using.

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And something to do with the leftover watermelon.

Haven't tried this yet but it looks delicious and refreshing!

Watermelon Juice with Ginger and Lemongrass

active time: 5 minutes 

total time: 25 minutes

makes: 6 cups

Thanks to watermelons natural sweetness, this drink doesn't call for sugar.

4       pounds watermelon, cut off the rind and into cubes

1       tablespoon plus 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

2 1/2 teaspoons finely grated lemongrass

1 1/2 teaspoons finely grated fresh ginger

        coarse salt

        ice cubes

1. Puree watermelon in a blender until smooth. Strain mixture through a fine sieve into a pitcher. Stir in lemon juice, lemon grass, ginger and 1/8 teaspoon salt. Refrigerate until chilled, about 20 minutes. 

2. Divide juice among 6 ice-filled glasses. Yum!

(I think you could leave out the lemongrass and it would be just as good)

Enjoy!

from Martha Stewart Living July 2011, page 132.

An Oyster Tutorial

OR Wish I Could Shuck 'em As Fast As I Can Eat 'em!

“If you don't love life you can't enjoy an oyster; there is a shock of freshness to it and intimations of the ages of man, some piercing intuition of the sea and all its weeds and breezes. They shiver you for a split second.” —Eleanor Clark

  About 180 miles or 4 hours east on US 98 from Good Haven House is Apalachicola Bay, thirty miles of shallow oyster paradise on the Florida panhandle. This bay produces 90 percent of Florida’s oysters. 

 

 Apalachicola Bay is the last place in the United States where wild oysters are still harvested from small boats using tongs.

Fortunately for us, the Gulf Oil Spill did not affect the Apalachicola Bay oyster beds. Chances are, if you’re eating an oyster anywhere around Pensacola, you’re eating an Apalachicola oyster.

Wine lovers may be familiar with the concept of “terroir.” Like wines, oysters are sought not only for their species (as in kind of grape), but also for the flavor imparted by where they grew. Salinity, minerals and available food all affect the flavor of an oyster.

"The oysters from Apalachicola are among the best in the nation." Says noted food writer John T. Edge.  "They are fat, abundant, rich, and lusty. The oysters are both sweet and salty, and it's the interplay of the freshwater of the river and the salt water from the Gulf, forming an estuary, that makes the difference and sustains these vibrant oysters. It's about the confluence of that river and the Gulf of Mexico. The uniqueness of that combination, along with the timeless appeal of the fishing village of Apalachicola, is hard to match anywhere in the country.

Explore an interactive map of oyster regions across the country.



Oysters are heavy drinkers! Oysters are filter feeders. An adult oyster can filter 25 gallons or more of water per day in search of food. In doing so, they remove things like toxins, algae and extra nutrients that flow off the land into nearby saltwater.

Besides the essential job of filtering water, oysters provide habitat for lots of other species.
See why oyster reefs matter.

  And now for the most important part, the eating of the oyster! Barring a 4 hour drive east,
you can get you some of this oystery goodness a little closer to home at:

The Original Point Restaurant
The Oyster Bar
Atlas Oyster House
The Shrimp Basket (call ahead 850 492 1970 and ask when 25 cent oyster night is)

Save some for me!
Susan

Our Lemon Tree

I get phone calls and emails every year when the tree in the front yard starts to fruit.
Guests (depending on what time of the year they're here) want to know if the fruit are limes, lemons, oranges or sometimes grapefruits! They also want to know if they if they can pick them and eat them.

It's a lemon tree and yes you are welcome to pick and eat them and take a few home with you as well!
However, the lemons are not ready to eat until after the first few really cold nights, usually sometime in late October/ early November. When they're ready they have an orangey color to them and they are huge!

Please don't pick them until then as its just a waste.

Some things we like to do with them :)

Make Lemonade

the lemons are almost sweet and very juicy

you need to experiment with how much water and sugar to use for your taste

preserved lemons

 Make Moroccan Inspired Preserved Lemons

Make Lemon Meringue Pie

         Ingredients

• 1  (15-ounce) package refrigerated piecrusts

• Filling Ingredients

  • 1  cup  sugar
  • 1/4  cup  cornstarch
  • 1/8  teaspoon  salt
  • 4  large egg yolks
  • 2  cups  milk
  • 1/3  cup  fresh lemon juice
  • 3  tablespoons  butter or margarine
  • 1  teaspoon  grated lemon rind
  • 1/2  teaspoon  vanilla extract
  
  

  Meringue Ingredients
  
  
• 6  egg whites
• 1/2  teaspoon  vanilla extract
• 6  tablespoons  sugar

Preparation

Unfold and stack piecrusts on a lightly floured surface. Roll into 1 (12-inch) circle. Fit piecrust into a 9-inch pieplate (about 1 inch deep); fold edges under, and crimp. Prick bottom and sides of piecrust with a fork. Freeze 10 minutes.
Line piecrust with parchment paper; fill with pie weights or dried beans.
Bake at 425° for 10 minutes. Remove weights and parchment paper; bake 12 to 15 more minutes or until crust is lightly browned. (Shield edges with aluminum foil if they brown too quickly.)
   
Pie Filling Preparation

Whisk together first 3 ingredients in a heavy, nonaluminum, medium saucepan. Whisk together egg yolks, milk, and lemon juice in a bowl; whisk into sugar mixture in pan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, and boil, whisking constantly, 1 minute. Remove pan from heat; stir in butter, lemon rind, and vanilla extract until smooth.

Prepare Lemon Meringue Pie Filling; pour into piecrust. Cover with plastic wrap, placing directly on filling. (Proceed immediately with next step to ensure that the meringue is spread over the pie filling while it is still warm.)
Beat egg whites and vanilla extract at high speed with an electric mixer until foamy. Add sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, and beat 2 to 4 minutes or until stiff peaks form and sugar dissolves.
Remove plastic wrap from pie, and spread meringue evenly over warm Lemon Meringue Pie Filling, sealing edges.
Bake at 325° for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool pie completely on a wire rack. Store leftovers in the refrigerator.

            from Southern Living, APRIL 2004

I'd love to know what your favorite lemon recipes are! 

Leave them in the comments section below

YUM!!