![]() ![]() It’s framed in a really rustic nautical looking frame – I just love it. The first is a full page ad for Old Bay Seasoning’s 75th Anniversary, that ran in the Baltimore Sun back on Memorial Day weekend of 2014. My favorite finds were two advertising items. I couldn’t help but feel an instant connection. It was an older couple’s family beach house for decades, filled with treasures collected from a lifetime of loving this unique little spot I’m lucky to call home. All my favorite books lined the shelves – Beautiful Swimmers, A Sand County Almanac, A Gift From The Sea, random Eastern Shore history books. Beautiful kitchen equipment, lovely nautical themed linens, vintage Shore Stop drink coolers (growing up, EVERYONE had one to take to the beach). Upon entering I could tell this was my kinda lady. In the spring of 2019 I visited an estate sale here on Chincoteague Island. I’ve also seen them at fancy-pants grocers like Whole Foods or Wegmanns. If you don’t – check out your local farmers markets. If you’re lucky like me, and live close to a clean waterway system with salt marsh – look around. The little salty, crunchy bites lend the perfect little something special to the creamy cheese spread. My favorite and easiest way to use them is in this super simple pimento cheese. Wonderful in salads, stir-fries, sauces – I made a mignonette sauce for oysters a couple years ago that was a big hit. For other things you may want to use them for – you want them when they are green. In that case, the bitterness was welcomed. We’ve brewed beer with it in it’s bitter state with our friends over at Black Narrows. It’s a cycle that’s happened for eons, and I’m thankful I get to see those subtle changes everyday.Īnother change in the fall that’s easier to take note of is the change of pickleweed (salicornia, sea beans, picklewort) from its plump bright green state – when it’s still so salty it’s a little bit sweet, to a vibrant reddish-fushia in the fall before it begins it’s slumber for the colder months – and it gets bitter. From the vibrant green that the summer brings, to the flowering and browning in autumn, the golden hue of the dormant grass in the winter, and finally the vibrant green peeking through the base again in the spring. One of my favorite things about calling this beautiful place home is watching the seasons change in the salt marsh. It keeps it’s pretty color and rich texture, so that’s really the best way to go about storing it. ![]() When I find them I’ll prep a bunch at one time, then portion out the pulp into smaller bags and freeze for use in the winter. If you can’t find them out and about, check your local farmer’s markets. Check it out on Amazon and order yourself a copy! Lots of useful information about varieties and how to go about planting your own trees. All kinds of great recipes and photography are featured in it’s pages. Rosie and her husband Dylan came over, we made homemade pizza and pawpaw margaritas, and did a photo session with them. ![]() My friend Rosie (of Pico Taqueria fame) had wanted to make them and get a photo for a friend who was writing an entire book on pawpaws. I actually took the photos for this a couple years ago. Most folks just eat it as is, but you know me – any chance to margaritaize something, I’m down like a clown. And, a texture that I like to think of as custardy – that’s the best way to describe it. The fruit has a smooth, rich, tropical flavor. The flesh varies from pale to bright yellow, and contains a network of dark seeds like watermelon. And honestly, the inside is pretty reminiscent of them as well. They’re probably hanging around all over during your neighborhood walks, or hiding in a clump of woods as you hurriedly drive by – a ghost of a long lost homestead that’s hanging around long after it’s owners have sold and been gone.įrom the outside they kind of look like mangos. They’re one of America’s few truly native fruits (not to mention they’re the largest fruiting tree in North America) – and folks don’t seem to know much about them. All over the country, as summer is winding down and trees and plants are heavy with the season’s bounty on their branches and vines – pawpaws are ripening. ![]()
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