Mussels in Fresh Tomato Sauce

The inspiration from this recipe came from a restaurant near our house, Park Bruge. They have delicious Belgian beers and best of all, mussels and french fries. Tiffany and my mom hacked at the bay marshes to get these mussels so they tasted extra delicious.

You will need:

1 large heirloom tomato, chopped roughly
1 medium white onion, sliced into thin strips
4 cloves garlic, diced
1 jalapeno, sliced thinly
1 tsp chopped fresh rosemary
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
1/2 tsp fennel seeds
1 heaping cup steamed mussels

Cook the onions over medium heat until softened, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and the jalapeno cook for about 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and cook just until it breaks down, just a couple of minutes. Add the herbs and plenty of pepper. Finally, add the mussels and cook just until warmed up. Serve with some crusty bread and garnish with extra herbs.

Manhattan Clam Chowder

It seems like ages ago that we were at the beach, and now I'm finally posting this recipe. The recipe is loosely based on some others that I found online but it really was formed from the vegetables that we had available. The picture is of my sister Tiffany on the dock by the bay eating some soup.

4-5 strips thickly cut bacon, sliced
1 large white onion
2 shallots
3 stalks celery
1 small bunch or 3 large carrots
3 green peppers, seeded and diced
1 jalapeno, seeded and diced
4 cloves garlic
3 large potatoes, cubed
5 large tomatoes, chopped roughly
1 bunch fresh parsley
1 tbsp fresh thyme
1 tsp chopped fresh rosemary
1 tsp old bay seasoning
3 cups chopped clams
5 cups clam juice

Crisp the bacon in a heavy soup pot over high heat. Remove the meat and set aside. Chop the onion, shallots, celery, and carrots into small pieces. Saute in the bacon drippings over medium heat for about 10-15 minutes until softened and fragrant. Add the hot and sweet peppers and saute for another 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for an additional minute. Add the potatoes, tomatoes, and broth. Bring to a boil and cook for about 20 minutes until the potatoes are tender. Add the old bay and herbs and black pepper. Season to your liking. Turn off the heat and add the chopped clams. Serve with some crusty bread.

Clam Chowder

This is my version of clam chowder made with coconut cream instead of heavy cream. Feel free to substitute if you want in equal proportions. When my family goes to the beach, we spend our time in the bay digging for clams, cutting mussels away from bay grasses, or catching crabs. If my sisters and I are lucky, we'll get a little bit of time on the beach at Assateague Island (wild ponies!). Both my parents love activity! If we're not in the water, we're at the beach house cooking. This soup was a combined effort from all of us. My dad steamed the clams, Tiffany chopped them, and all of us helped to catch them. Well Kelly and I mostly just splashed other people and got in the way...

When we catch the clams, we let them sit in a bucket in they bay for a day to filter out all of the sand before eating them. One of the neighbors recommended pouring a beer on the clams, which apparently makes them spit out all of the sand quickly.

Ingredients:

5 strips thick bacon, sliced
3 cups roughly chopped clams
3 cups small diced potatoes
7 celery stalks, sliced
1 large onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, diced
6 1/2 cups clam juice
1 bunch fresh parsley, leaves chopped
1 can coconut cream
1 tsp old bay seasoning
1/2 tsp ground black pepper

To cook the clams: Steam the clams until they open, pulling them out individually as they just open. Keep the clam juice that's in the shells and the clam juice in the steamer. You should have about 6 cups, but if not just dilute with some water. Once cool enough to handle, chop roughly (I like big chunks of clam).
For the soup: Fry the bacon until crispy over medium high heat in a large soup pot. Take out the bacon and set aside. Keep the bacon grease in the pot, add the onions to cook until translucent. Add the celery and garlic and saute for about 5 minutes.
Add the clam juice and potatoes and bring to a boil. Cook on medium heat until they are tender, about 15-20 minutes. Then add the coconut cream and the spices. Cook until the soup is heated through. Add the chopped parsley, the chopped clams, and the bacon. Season again if needed and serve with some sourdough bread.