Summer has finally arrived!

Welcome back Summer, you have been really missed!! The Kitchen is once again open for business and if last year taught me anything, it is that life is never exactly what we expect. Right now I have so many ideas and thoughts racing through my head that it is a little difficult to figure out where a good starting point might be.

These are my giant Roma Tomato Plants!
I began growing these back in late May and never
truly thought this garden would work.
I am now a believer in my own skills!

I turned the light switch off on the my dining room desk last fall because it was time for me to concentrate on the most important job in my life, that would be me being a dad. Many people don't know this about me but I am a full time stay-at-home father of three great children!! I used to try and hide that fact or kind of pass over the things I did at home. It hasn't been very easy for me to go from being in charge of full kitchens, preparing meals for hundreds, launching big parties...to diaper duty and homework. Three children and a whole house to look after was never something I learned in school and the 'family' support network is not an option for me to turn towards when I need advice. It is also not easy to watch as my better half works some long hours and brings home our only real paycheck. She is amazing and I probably don't say "Thanks" nearly enough, especially for all she does for the kids and myself.

Paraphrasing just a bit here..."but a funny thing happened on the way to the market"...Realizing that I have strengths that go along with my weaknesses was and still is hard for me to come to terms with. I have learned that not only was I pretty damn good at being a Chef, it just so happens that I am even better at being the man of the house!! Certainly was a shock to me...apparently however, not to most people around me. One of these days I will stop doubting myself and listen more.

Right about now, you may be asking yourself what any of this has to do with food, recipes or even being healthy. I am getting back to that sort of thing in a minute. Before I do though, it is important for me to let people know that writing, cooking and coming up with new recipes is really fun for me and is also therapeutic in many ways. I also have a bit of green thumb and spent somewhere around 6-8 weeks working on my yard, making a huge vegetable garden and generally feeling good about what I wanted in life.

So the book got placed on the shelf until I had free time to bring her back to the table. I dusted off the notebook which was covered in my daughters artwork, grabbed out my recipe files and started to get back into working on book creation 2.0

Sweet Onions are growing and coming along great!

I have missed writing and creating these past months and am looking forward to a fun filled summer of exploring different Farmers Markets, coming up with new ideas, playing in the
kitchen and making dreams come true. I may have even convinced the before mentioned other half that we need to invite people over to see my new garden oasis and to also try some of these recipes. Sangria anyone?

I plan on doing things different this summer as well. Recipes are important and they go along with all the stories which come from the people and farms that are such an inspiration when I am creating things in the kitchen or writing. I am going to cut out the marathon recipe weekends and concentrate on quality over quantity. This summer is also going to be about taking a stand and being much more vocal about the food community and culture around all of us.

This brings me to the reason why I felt the urge to get things rolling again and why I am going to be an advocate for doing things the right way when it comes to food.

The other day I was at our local supermarket and needed strawberries, so I grabbed a container and for some reason never really looked at the package. In my head it was berry season and naturally anything in the produce area would be fresh, local and packed with flavor. The strawberries weren't exactly bad but they were far from what I expected. These little guys were picked somewhere down in Georgia, then trucked to some shipping facility, then transported to another facility where they were divided up and shipped to us here in MA...now that they are here though, they get loaded into yet another truck for drop off at the supermarket, where they are then placed in a cooler until they make it out onto into the produce area. They have been handled by countless pairs of hands, sprayed with who knows what, washed, left to dry, brought in and out of a cooler, washed again and then finally they get put out on display for everyone to grab at.

These are the strawberries I mentioned.
They were gigantic and packed with flavor!

Or....as I did this morning...you can go the local farmers market and buy your strawberries that were picked a few hours ago (while most of us were sleeping). You can pay the same person who picked them and drive home with the entire car smelling of fresh picked goodness. In a nutshell, you get better quality produce, a cheaper price, you help out the local economy and you have the feeling of doing something better when it comes to the food in your life.

These markets are literally everywhere!! I have taken the whole family to different markets, some close to home and others further away. Each one of them has something different, a new vendor or an interesting way of presenting themselves. Live music, activities for the kids, gardening resources, fantastic local south coast wines and so much more.

Did you know that many markets will match dollar for dollar what you receive in the way of SNAP benefits as well! Seriously, there is no excuse when it comes to the food we eat!

Here is a great way to see where you can find a local market here on the South Shore of MA.

Edible South Shore and South Coast is a member of Edible Communities and has some great ideas when it comes to food, farms and living the good life. Clicking the name will bring you to the main website and by clicking on this one, you will be taken directly to the page where they list all of the current farmers markets in the area.

Squash is growing well in the garden. Next season it is
time to flex the muscles a bit more and try
for some more variety

I also want to give a special shout out to both the Hingham Farmers Market and the Weymouth Farmers Markets today. I visited both and had a great time with the family. The people were fantastic and the markets were hopping. My heart holds a special place for the market in Hingham after doing some food demos late last summer. The people I met made a very lasting impression and I owe them a huge thank you for all the support!!

I'll see everyone here on the blog page and over on Facebook during the weeks to come. Feels great to back doing what I love surrounded by the people, friends and family who support my efforts. I love all of you!


-Sean

Grabbing a Slice of The Pie...Some Cookbook Perspective

In the last week I have had the chance to visit a BUNCH of different markets here in MA and I have had the pleasure to see some amazing farms as well as meeting bunches of great people who prepare some of the finest foods around. Whether it is real maple syrup, fresh made organic spices, just picked peaches or garden fresh green beans...I have seen more than I ever could have hoped!! Now with summer hitting somewhat of a halfway point I am branching out with my thinking in terms of my books structure and development.

My focus was originally on the menus and recipes that I have had floating around my head for well over 20 years. When you decide to choose being a Chef as a career, it isn't something that just happens. Food is something that everyone eats and for a few of us...food is part of our very existence, we live and breathe every aspect of it!! I remember how it felt growing up and discovering my love of all that is food. My grandmother would take me to lunch every chance she got and sometimes I would end up 'sick', not being able go to off to school. I would then end up healthy and active twenty minutes later, which was timed perfectly to when she would show up at the house. On these days we would head out and visit any number of different restaurants. I learned about what tastes could be paired together and what good service was all about. I made my first menu by the time I was finished with the 6th grade!

My years at college only made me appreciate food even more. I was exposed to all sorts of things that before I only dreamed of. I would write recipes down on index cards for classes and sometimes would draw little pictures on them because I had this goal of creating a special book with all these cards for quick and easy access. Now that I am all grown up, my vision for a cookbook was straight forward and direct. It would have recipes, fully tested and ready to go...which would have made a pretty boring book!!

So here we are with pieces of my dream falling into place and a cookbook that seems to have a life all its own. This is the part I love the most, not only are the foods and recipes designed around real food and real people...but now the book is following its own path of creative fun. The outline is still straight forward and I will make sure that all of those recipes I learned sitting beside my grandmother are included. The book will also include stories of farms and farmers, wine, micro breweries, photos
and I am sure by the time I finish even more!!

Here is what I see as a narration of my vision broken down into a more manageable form. I will often times talk about what I see inside my head and that vision doesn't always translate well from the brain to the mouth. Perhaps typing it out will allow me to better explain where I am at.

How We Grow It, Cook It, Eat It

By

Sean Pike

18 Seperate Menus- Each menu featuring flavors and ingredients that are tied into the New England seasons. These will be grouped together and each selection will also be searchable through a recipe index as well.

4 Additional Menus- Based on holidays and special/party events.

Wine and Food Pairings-  Based on each of the 22 menus, each one is paired with a wine. This will feature an extensive list with several pairings geared towards area wineries. This will also feature complete winery profiles for readers.

Kitchen Terms-  A section of terms and definitions along with measurement conversions for easy access

Table Extras-  A collection of recipes designed to be part of a meal, but not a centerpiece of the plate. This will include breads. rolls, oils, special beverages and other items that can be added to a menu

Photos-  One picture can speak a thousand words...then what does a collection of more say? The middle of the book will contain photos of the food, farms, people and ideas that helped to shape and inspire the book. Each photo will have a caption and will only be used in this unique section.

Stories-  Each visit to a Farmers Market and each person I meet has a story that makes them unique and special. I have made some great friends during this and rather then giving someone just a few lines inside of the recipes, I have decided that I want to tell a more complete story...from the beginning and share that experience with everyone.

That's what I see inside of my head....recipes combined with stories and photos. A book which can show someone how to cook and show them how we are as a community. REAL Food and REAL People!!

Thanks for stopping by and I'll see you around The Kitchen!!

Makes sure to stop by the Facebook Page to check out more great book ideas and even some of the tempting recipes that are part of my dream!!

Want to help out with making the book more than just a dream? I have a Kickstarter Project that is being used to help raise money for the book. People can pledge as little or as much as they want and then I only receive the funds if the project reaches its full goal. If we don't hit the goal, then nobody has to actually pay!! So please click that link above and check it out.

-Chef Sean Pike