We spent the last weekend in March enjoying wonderful local food and the company of our friend Susan in lovely
North Kingstown, Rhode Island. This puts us in mine of a line from The Boss, in a song that is really about Baltimore: "Here I am, down in Kingstown again."
Susan lives in a delightfully tiny house, but the kitchen is well equipped and big enough for three people to work in at the same time. James and I helped to prepare the dinner that Susan planned for us which included all local, organic food from her local winter farmer's market. Susan did some prep work with chicken thighs and legs before we arrived, marinating them in fresh lemon juice, olive oil, sage, fennel, and some additional fresh herbs. She also included the lemon rinds. I cut onion into chunks and some very orange carrots lengthwise (without peeling) and placed them on a baking sheet, to which the well marinated chicken was added. It was all baked together until the carrots and onions caramelized. The chicken fat infused with the veggies and lemon rinds making them taste sweet. It was almost like eating candy. We also had fresh steamed broccoli of very vibrant green.
And that's not all...there's more besides...
Breakfast on Sunday was another feast of local food starting with a Rhode Island tradition - johnnycakes! These hold a special place in my (Pam's) psyche because my elementary school, and junior high school in Baltimore County were called Johnnycake (really!). Susan used corn meal mix that came from a local farm, and we were horrified to discover that most of the breakfast johnnycakes served in restaurants in the area come from corn that is grown on a farm in the Midwest. Indeed. In addition to the crispy cakes, we were treated to cheese and herb omelets made from local eggs.
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