Fun and Fearless Adventures at Stonewall Kitchen

Whenever Bret and I head up to Ogunquit for a day trip, we always pass by Stonewall Kitchen in York, Maine.  Every time, I tell Bret that I want to go but we never seem to have time on our way to or from Ogunquit.  Since we're staying here for a week, I made sure that visiting Stonewall Kitchen was on our agenda!

After spending Tuesday morning sailing, we were finally on our way to Stonewall Kitchen!

I was positively giddy when I saw the sign as we approached.

And I squealed with delight as we saw the quaint looking buildings housing the Stonewall Kitchen headquarters!

We decided to first head into the Company Store to stock up on some goodies. 

Of course, I made a beeline for their awesome mustard selection. I sampled every single mustard they had out!  I already have a few Stonewall Kitchen mustards that I haven't tried yet but that didn't stop me from picking up a few more new ones.  I have a bit of an addiction when it comes to mustard.  I can never resist buying one when I see something new or interesting.

There were lots of other different sections to browse through and so many delightful samples to taste! But with fall around the corner, Stonewall Kitchen knew where to direct me!

Is it any surprise that I found myself in the pumpkin section?

After filling our basket (which Bret thankfully carried) and sampling lots of different sauces, dips and mustards, Bret and I were ready for lunch.  We decided to head to the Stonewall Kitchen cafe, which is adjacent to their company store.

Since it was hot out, we decided to skip the chowder and espresso.  Instead, Bret and I decided to split a sandwich since we were planning on cooking a huge feast for family dinner that night.

We found a table and got ready to dig in.  I love that the each table had a Stonewall Kitchen salt and pepper shaker!

When in Maine, we felt compelled to drink Maine soda. My blueberry soda was delicious!

Bret and I ordered the Pilgrim Sandwich and we chose a side of their potato salad.

The Pilgrim sandwich had sliced roasted Boar's Head peppermill turkey breast, housemade traditional herb stuffing, cranberry sauce, baby iceberg lettuce and cranberry horseradish sauce on multi-grain bread.  This is one serious sandwich and we savored every bite. The potato salad was equally delicious with a definite presence of mustard and very little mayo. 

We of course couldn't resist one of their baked goods and decided to split a toffee bar.  This was so moist and soft.  I was a big fan!

Afterwards, Bret and I ventured over to the viewing gallery to watch the bottling and jarring process in action.  But we first had to stop and take a few photos in the Adirondack chairs! Thankfully we found one in the shade!

I felt awkward taking photos of the employees in the viewing gallery and instead wandered over to the cooking school.  This place was impressive and if I lived closer, I would definitely take a class there!

I had a fantastic time wandering around Stonewall Kitchen and taking lots of photos.  I'm so glad that I made a visit to Stonewall Kitchen a priority during our stay in Ogunquit.  Even though I'm loving vacation, a part of me can't wait to head home to work with some of my new goodies!

Stonewall Kitchen is located at Stonewall Lane in York, Maine.

Ruth Reichl's Peach Cobbler

I was so excited because it seemed that Ruth Reichl and I were on the same wavelength again. But then my sister asked if I thought it might have something do with us both using seasonal ingredients. Way to burst my bubble! I guess that's exactly why we, coincidentally, had four peaches on hand just when Ruth posted a recipe for peach cobbler using four peaches.

I was so pleased with the way Ruth's simple recipe for blueberry muffins turned out that I immediately convinced my mom and sister that we needed to make her peach cobbler for dessert on Sunday evening.

I sliced peaches (but did not peel them as the recipe directed -- no need for that) and stirred them up with some sugar, lemon juice, and cornstarch.

My mom mixed together the cobbler topping. Ruth's recipe says to plop the dough onto the peaches, but our topping was more crumbly than "ploppable." We just went with it.

Then we were supposed to sprinkle sugar on top. I just so happened to have some raspberry cane sugar that my mom had brought me back from her recent trip to California.

I thought the raspberry sugar would pair well with the peaches and sprinkled that right on top.

We baked the cobbler for half an hour, until the peaches were hot and bubbly and the topping was lightly browned.

The cobbler came out as more of a cross between a cobbler and a crisp, but we all loved it with a scoop of ice cream. Even Jeff, who'd rather have apples than peaches in a dish of this sort, gave it a try.

It was warm and comforting and really showcased the ripe peaches. And the topping was both crunchy and soft. It was perfect with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

For the complete recipe, see Ruth Reichl's blog.

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What have you made with peaches recently? What's your favorite peach dish?

Our Escape To The Cape

Friday

I finished my bittersweet last day at Flour, trekked home, showered, packed, and headed down to the Cape with Jeff and Gunner.

We were meeting my mom and sister at the house my mom rented for the off-season in East Falmouth. The house actually belongs to my aunt and uncle who live in it during the summer but then head back down to Florida for the rest of the year.

We usually stay in Eastham for a week or two in the summer and over Columbus Day weekend, so this was an area of the Cape I hadn't spent too much time in yet. We didn't do too much exploring this trip because I was really in the mood for a laidback, low-key trip, but I have plenty of time between now and June to see what else is around. And I'm hoping to take the ferry over to Nantucket one weekend too -- I've never been there before.

We got in late on Friday evening, and my mom and sister had a spread of crackers, cheese, tomatoes, basil, oil, hummus, and bread waiting for us.

Upon seeing the cheeses my mom had set out, I immediately dug into the Double-Cream Cremont from Vermont Butter & Cheese Creamery.

I had been dying to try this cheese for a while and hadn't found it at any of the stores I go to regularly. My mom ended up finding it at Bean and Cod in Falmouth. It reminded me of St. Andre triple cream cheese, one of my favorites. I really hope I can find Cremont around here soon.

After we snacked for a bit, we attempted to throw some lamb chops on the grill. We went out on the dimly lit patio, fiddled with the grill until we got it lit, and soon discovered that it would be hours before our tiny lamb chops would be cooked through. We brought them inside, and my mom broiled them instead. And we decided to figure out what was wrong with the grill the next day when we'd have some light to take a better look.

We enjoyed the lamb chops with roasted red potatoes and broccoli.

We also tried one of the wines I picked up along the way: Seven Daughters, a combination of 7 different wines. It was okay but not one of my favorites. I picked our wines for the weekend based on label design. It may not have been the best idea.

Saturday

The next day began with a whimpering puppy staring out the window at the lake outside, hoping we would realize how badly he wanted to go for a swim and drag ourselves out of bed. It was 6 a.m. That was not happening.

We managed to sleep for about another hour and then caved in.

After breakfast and some Starbucks, we were all looking for a little ocean and made the drive to Marconi Beach in Wellfleet. Jeff and I are kind of antsy beachgoers, so while my mom and sister entertained themselves for hours with a game of Scrabble, we strolled up and down the beach. We even glimpsed a seal swimming around and popping its head up out of the water here and there. A day in the sun was just what I needed.

On the way back home we stopped for some new ceramic briquettes for the grill, what we hoped would solve the problem we encountered the previous night because we had some big plans for grilled veggies and filet mignon.

After visiting Emack & Bolio's in Orleans for a pre-dinner ice cream, we got back home and let Gunner go for another swim.

My mom scooped out the old briquettes and poured in the new ones and tried lighting the grill. Strong heat and flames emanated from the grill. We were good to go!

I was excited to use the new grill basket we got at Williams-Sonoma, so I began chopping veggies and filling the basket. We had red and green peppers, squash, zucchini, and onions. I added a few fresh basil leaves, salt and pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and some olive oil, and shook everything up.

I set the veggies on the grill, and besides shaking them around here and there, cooking them was pretty hands-off.

When they looked close to ready, we added in some tomatoes, and the leftover broccoli from Friday night's dinner.

My mom grilled up the filets, leftover red potatoes (but we also had some Russets baking in the oven), and mushrooms to accompany the steaks.

We tried another new wine called next. I definitely picked this one because of the bottle. When I first looked at it, I thought someone had written notes all over it. Upon further inspection, I realized that was part of the label.

The wine was okay, not much more exciting than a white table wine, but the poem on the back was inspiring.

We all sat down to a perfect grilled dinner together. It was exactly what I wanted and what I rarely get to have... a meal hot of the grill, eaten outside and in good company.

After dinner, we gathered around the campfire my little sister started and made s'mores and shared stories.

Sunday

Sunday was a good day for us to hang out by the lake and take a short trip into Falmouth Center because Jeff had to head back toward home for a 4:30 softball game (is that dedication or what?). The boys went swimming while I sat on the deck and got some sun.

While Jeff was at his game, my mom and sister and I did a little exploring and got pedicures! We also stopped to pick up fish for dinner and corn from a local farm stand.

When we got back, I let Gunner swim again for a little bit (he could seriously spend all day in the water if we let him), and Jeff returned soon after (with a 23-0 victory).

Meanwhile, my sister roasted the corn in the oven. She just put it in there at 350 for 40 minutes and rotated it after 20 minutes. I'd never cooked it this way before but loved how it came out.

With the corn ready my mom prepared the fish, and I gave her our new fish grill pan from Williams-Sonoma (yes, I'm obsessed) to try out. It's pretty fancy with extra-fine mesh to hold and protect the delicate fish.

We had yet another wonderful meal. This time we sat inside though because it was a little too buggy outside.

My mom and I made peach cobbler for dessert, but I'll tell you about it in an upcoming post. I know this one is pretty long already.

Monday

Yesterday was our last day on the Cape, and we decided to try a beach in Dennis called Mayflower Beach. It was absolutely gorgeous.

Jeff and I left the beach a little earlier than my mom and sister and found some ice cream on the way home. Jeff got black raspberry, his favorite, and I got peanut butter chocolate chip with peanut butter sauce. Our afternoon snack hit the spot and held us over until dinner. (Thanks for the recommendation, Brian!)

When we got back to the house, Jeff let Gunner get one last swim in while I packed and cleaned. When my mom and sister got back, we all went into Wood's Hole and had dinner at the Fishmonger.

Jeff had another softball game last night, so we had to rush through dinner a little and hit the road, but I was glad I got to enjoy one last waterside meal before we left.

We were all sad to leave vacationland, but it was time to get back to the real world. Even for this guy.

I still have the rest of today to recharge a bit and do some stuff around the house before it's back to work. At least there are just three days left in the week and then there's a three-day weekend!

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Did you do anything fun this past weekend? Any big plans for Labor Day weekend?