Song of the Week: Lemon Yoghourt

Song of the Week: Lemon Tree

Maine Lobstah

Who goes to Maine on her spring break? This girl, that’s who. While other people might choose to sun themselves on warm beaches and drink tropical cocktails, I headed north to Portland, Maine, to spend a week off from school with my Maine family.

The first night that I arrived in Maine lobster was on the menu. I enjoy lobster, but I haven’t really engaged in the whole steaming a live lobster. Being in Maine, however, basically requires that lobster be eaten, so it was a necessary endeavor.

We started out with live lobsters. They are such strange creatures—like giant sea bugs that just happen to taste amazing if you can only crack through their tough exterior.

Maddy was very intrigued by the lobsters…

 

Cooking lobsters, of course, means killing lobsters. It’s rare in this day and age to have a close experience with the food that you are about to eat. So much of our food is preprocessed and packaged—it passes through multiple hands before it actually gets to your table, which seriously deteriorates any direct connection with your food. But with lobsters it’s different. Even though it’s unlikely that you would be out on the boat actually catching the lobster, you do get to interact with it before it becomes food. And by interact I mean take away its life.

It’s not so bad really—just grab the crustaceans and throw them in a pot with a little water to steam them. I didn’t feel particularly guilty, but it was weird to lift up the lid and see the lobsters, which so recently moved around their little claws and bodies suddenly be so still. And so red. It reminds me of when Bebe in Kill Bill 2 explains how she killed her fish, Emilio—one moment he was flapping on the carpet and then after she stepped on him he wasn’t. “Is that not the perfect visual image of death?” asks Bill, “a fish flapping on the carpet, and a fish not flapping on the carpet.” The same might be said for the lobster—a lobster waving its claws, and a lobster not waving its claws.

 

After we were done steaming our lobsters it was time to eat, but unfortunately there were no lobster crackers in sight. So what do the men do? Bust out tools of course—all of a sudden there emerged hammers, pliers, screwdrivers…you name it. So while they bashed away at their lobsters with the tools my sister artfully and skillfully helped me cut open the lobster tail with a pair of kitchen scissors. Aren’t the social constructions of gender simply fascinating?
 
The lobster meat itself was delicious. I started off with the tail but soon discovered that my favorite parts of the lobster were the joints and claws. There is something about the claw and joint meat that just seems to capture the essence of the ocean a little bit better. I love the taste of the sea concentrated into food—it’s like a taste of the infinite possibilities of that mysterious, watery realm.

If you find yourself in Maine, eating lobster is a must. You definitely don’t want to miss out on devouring one of this strange yet delicious sea creatures...just don't forget the lobster crackers.

Liz Lemon

One of my favorite shows to watch when I want to unwind is 30 Rock, and it's not hard to see the connection between this show and food. Liz Lemon, played by the magnificently hilarious Tina Fey, absolutely loves food. There's about a million instances where she is seen eating or referencing food, ("I'm a star, I'm on top, Somebody bring me some haamm!!") and it just so happens that some fellow fan out there has posted a video on YouTube that brings together some of Liz Lemon's best food moments. Enjoy!

Sometimes Life Hands You Lemons...

Sometimes life hands you lemons. This annoying phenomena is a just a part of living on this chaotic earth in this crazy universe.


But sometimes life hands you Meyer lemons and you squeeze them into a marinade composed of olive oil, champagne vinegar, sea salt, fresh-ground pepper, herbs de Provence, ground Dalmation sage, bay leaf, and other assorted herbs. So instead of crying over sour lemons you marinate some chicken and cook dinner in what might be the nicest kitchen you’ve ever utilized.


You also roast some fingerling potatoes with fresh rosemary and garlic and top them off with some fresh chives. In a pan on the stove you cook up some baby broccoli—a hybrid of broccoli and kale—with luscious olive oil and chicken broth.


You also throw together a little oyster mushroom creation where you brown oyster mushrooms in olive oil and butter and let them simmer in a little chicken broth. It just happens to be the perfect accompaniment to the crispy potatoes.


A salad created by your hostess combines the best of all fresh produce: farmer’s market mixed greens, avocados, and tomatoes, lightly tossed in olive oil and vinegar. It’s the perfect complement to your other creations.

Then you share that dinner with caring people who have welcomed you into their home in Portland, Maine.


Such is life when it hands you Meyer lemons. And by “you,” of course, I mean “me.” This is my life. And I love it. I have to say that my life is pretty damn good. I’m blessed that right now everything is falling into an eerie balance. I don’t want to disturb it, just appreciate it, and yet there is that element of treading lightly. Do I dare disturb the universe? Do I dare to eat a peach?

Yes, I do dare. Happiness is there for the taking and our lives our own making.

Sometimes life does hand you lemons, but sometimes it hands you good friends, loving family, decadent dark chocolate, ripe strawberries, luscious wine, briny and buttery oysters, melt-in-your-mouth foie gras, sexy olives, crispy chicken, and a beautiful world. What can we do but accept when our plate is overflowing that we’ve got it made? We don’t know when the universe could snatch it all away from us, so we might as well appreciate what we’ve got. And when that heavenly buffet does close to me, you know I’ll be holding on tight…knife and fork in hand, ready to bite in to whatever the universe has got waiting for me.