Are You Ready & Balsamic Roasted Beets / 2-12-2020

      Oh what a beautiful morning oh what a beautiful day, I have funny feeling you must be Cape Cod bound. Ok so the words don't go quite that way, but a day on the Cape is better than most days anyplace else, said anyone who is sitting on a sunny beach in August, and they would be right. Now on a cold winters day, in the middle of February or March (ok during a semi-normal Cape winter, not one like this year, at least right now) I could come up with a couple places I might like to be. But in reality, I moved here for the year round experience, not just a summer gig, not just for the second season. But for the whole lobsta and bucket a-steamas. And I will say even when my son and one of his best friends came up a few Marches ago, and it was wicked cold and we took the drive up to P'town and walked out to the end of McMillan Wharf. There was a fishing boat all tied up at the end of the pier and was caked in ice from bow to stern like I had only seen on TV shows. I would not change that time for anything. But once is enough and as I get older, being in the deep south on a sandy warm beach is mighty inviting. But really as much as some of us complain about the winters, I would not change a thing at this time. So as we are moving through February and March is quickly coming, how is your vacation planning coming? You realize that August is 6 months away, if your work place is similar to mine you can start requesting time just 6 months out, so if August is your month, get on the stick and get your time requested, then get your call or emails made to your hotels, motels or cottage owners. Then you can start singing the song as well, oh what a beautiful morning (it will be) oh what a beautiful day ( it will be) we are going on va-cation over the bridge to Cape Cod. Whoo hoo. That's right, I know why I like it here, why do you, and what are you doing to find your space here, whether for a weekend, a week, a month or you are making the leap to make it your forever home. From sunny summer days, to windy wintery days, the love of this place many of us call home will always be with us. Hope you can come share it with us soon, even for Valentines day, St Patrick's day, or even Memorial day, and then come back for some summer fun. Well, can I say it any more, push it any more, probably, but not this round. just know it's a great place to be from and to go to and we hope you can catch the fever and come join us. Until then, have a great and wonderful and see you soon.   

      Small and local business report. It's been a while since I have noted this place but I love their work, The Glass Studio on Cape Cod, located at 470 Rte. 6A, East Sandwich, MA. They even have a glass blowing studio right there on the premise that you can go down and watch them make the things they sell upstairs in the shop. They also do special projects, and contracted pieces but overall they do everyday useful pieces that can be used in your cottage, house, as a gift and more. Check them out on facebook and watch their times for being open and if you are only here during the high season, make a point to go check them out. 

      Then there is Wellfleet Sea Salt Company, located where else but in Wellfleet. Now they do not have an actual shop, but they do go to the fairs, the markets and are in a ton of shops around the Cape as well as direct form their online store. You can find them at https://wellfleetsaltco.com/. I have been using their flavored salts now for a couple years and love them, they add so much flavor to whatever you are making. So give Wellfleet Sea Salt Company a try and I do not think you will be disappointed. 

      And last but not least, Jason's Tavern, folks if you have not been there lately, If you have not stopped into this family friendly, community restaurant you are missing something. Are they fancy, no not really, are they expensive? Heck no. Are they convenient, you bet, located right in Patriot Square with plenty of parking. They have their main fair, they do early bird specials, they run other specials, and the folks there are just local real down to earth people. Check them out on facebook, check our their website at https://jasonstavern.com/#start, just drop down below all the privacy stuff up front and you will find their menus. Their facebook page gives a lot of info as well. And if you enjoy a cocktail before dinner or just enjoy engaging in good conversation at a bar, they have a very nice, friendly and inviting bar. This is definitely a go to kind of place that you will not be disappointed in.   

      Welcome back my friends to this wonderful wacky world were lights shine in the dark and horns sound through the depths of the fog. Yup and we have both going on strong this week. With weird warm winds blowing across the cooler waters creates conditions conducive to fog. and the low cloud ceiling only helps to make it denser as it has no place to rise to. Fogs enemy are breezes, rain and clear skies and did you know there are really about 8 different kinds of fog. We get about 6 of them around here at one time of the year or another. But not all, we just don't have the landscape for all of them. Anyway, I know I've told you about this before but one of my big duties here at the station is collecting the weather data, as we like to have it both electronically as well as manually. There is nothing like having actual eyes seeing what is actually happening vs what a machine can actually comprehend. And during the summer they are starting to call on us to be an extra set of eyes for shark sightings and reporting. So you see, there are more things to do around here besides sit around and watch the beacon go round and round or on an occasion push the test button on the fog horn. (ok that I get to do more frequently than ya think, especially with what is going on weather wise right now) Also did you know we can use the fog horn, during blizzards, and hurricanes when the element reduce the visibility of the beacon light? Yup.. Betcha all didn't know all that. Oh by the way if you want to learn more about the different kinds of fog you can go to weather.gov/source/zhu/ZHU_Training_Page/fog_stuff/fog_definitions/Fog_definitions.html  and that will give you some additional information on that. So stay warm, stay dry, remember to use your low beams if you have to drive in the fog but regardless of whatever kind of weather it is, I hope you have a great and wonderful, especially if you can do it right here on old Cape Cod.    

      This week is the side dish recipe world is another root vegetable. Root veggies are big during the winter, and most plentiful as they hold up to cooler weather and longer storage. Everything else has to be imported, or has to be hot house grown. So I hope you like your root veggies cause here we go with another round. This month we are going to be playing with Beets. Now remember you can use the whole thing both the bulb as well as the greens, they cook up just about the same as spinach. Stop cringing, fresh spinach and green leafies are good if they are fresh, but please don't give them to me canned or frozen. But we are not using them as here again the greens don't last as long, so we will be using the bulb part. And seriously it does not matter what color beets you use or if you even want to mix colors. But I will tell you this is a darn good yummy recipe, so get it going and let's do this up right; Now on with the show: 

      This week's recipe: Balsamic Roasted Beets 

       1      lb         beets, peeled and cubed

      1      Tbsp    olive oil
   1/2       tsp      salt
                          fresh ground black pepper
      2      cloves  garlic, minced
      1      Tbsp    fresh thyme, minced or 1teaspoon dried thyme

      1      Tbsp    balsamic vinegar ( go get at your local oil shop, the good stuff)

      Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place beets on a baking sheet or if you have some of those caste iron shallow casserole dishes (you know the ones you always wanted and now don't know what to use them for) , toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Roast for about 20 -25 minutes until beets are just about done cooking. Remove pan from oven, add garlic and thyme, stir gently mix. Cook additional 10 minutes until a fork tender and the edges start to caramelize. Remove from heat, and add balsamic vinegar. Stir to coat the beets. Taste and adjust salt if necessary.  

      Remember please I don't credit when I can find nearly the same recipe in over 15 different places. Who is to say who came up with it first, just not me.