Charity Robey

Animal-themed fun at the Blessing of the Pets

The grassy hollow in front of Our Lady of the Isle looked like a cross between the Westminster Kennel Club and Noah’s Ark, on Saturday morning, July 5, as the annual Blessing of the Pets got under way.

 Father Peter DeSanctis blessed 26 dogs, 2 cats and a lop-eared rabbit. He spoke of Saint Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals and the environment, and the man whose name Pope Francis chose for his papal name. Father Peter also noted that a wagging tail says something good about a household—if the pet is happy the human beings must be getting along nicely.

 Seventeen volunteers, along with Town Supervisor Jim Dougherty and Town Board member, Chris Lewis joined Father Peter and the rest of the human participants in a celebration of the love and devotion between Islanders and their animal companions. In addition to the parade of participants through the Heights, “Guess the Goldfish” (there were 1033) and “Guess the Dog Bones,” (there were 296) added to the animal-themed fun.

 Every creature was a winner, with prizes and certificates for all, including the “Prettiest Eyes” to Daisy, a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, “Most Colorful” to Lola, a 3 yr old miniature Australian Shepherd with a brown and white coat and blue and grey eyes, and “Grande Dame” to Zorra, a 13 yr old Lab mix.  Even Nelson, the rabbit went home with the title, “Harelegger.” 

Shelter Island Reporter, July 17, 2014

Coaching the boys of a Shelter Island Summer

John Karcich in rare relaxation mode from a hectic but fulfilling schedule managing the Shelter Island Bucks

via shelterislandreporter.timesreview.com

Like Silver Queen corn, the Shelter Island Bucks are a sweet and fleeting part of a Shelter Island summer. For a couple of months, we get to enjoy baseball at its finest: crisp and accomplished, played by collegiate athletes.

 Of the 45,000 or so guys playing baseball at the college level, only a handful go on to play professional baseball.  Shelter Island Bucks head coach, Jon Karcich, was one of the chosen few when in 2009, the L.A. Angels drafted him.

 A talented shortstop with a family tradition of baseball, Jon was drafted after his junior year at Santa Clara University by the L.A. Angels organization. He spent four heady years playing professional baseball, making it all the way to AAA before an injury slowed him down. It was he says, “ a good ride.”

 Now Jon has brought that rare experience to Hamptons Collegiate League as the Coach of the Shelter Island Bucks, where many players aspire to the major leagues. “I know what it takes to get there, so that grabs their attention.“

 Last summer, Jon coached the Matsu Miners in the Alaskan Baseball Summer League in Palmer Alaska, about an hour north of Anchorage.  When he arrived there in May to start the season, “there was still snow halfway up in the mountains.”

 Since the fall of 2013, Jon has been Assistant Coach of the Chandler-Gilbert Community College Coyotes in Chandler, Arizona, the school that produced N.Y. Mets outfielder Eric Young Jr. It was around this time that he heard from a former coach at Santa Clara, Shawn Epidendio, who had been coaching the North Fork Ospreys, and loving it. When it turned out the Bucks were looking for a coach, Epidendio put Jon in touch with the league and "It worked out, fortunately. It's been great so far."

 What sets Shelter Island apart for him is the welcoming community, especially his host family, Robert and Sonya Neis. “I have a beautiful host family. They are great people, friendly and supportive of the Bucks. “

 Jon also credits Dave Gurney for being an outstanding General Manager. “I go over to the field and it’s a good set-up…Dave Gurney handles things very well. “

 The Bucks two-month schedule is short and sweet, with very little time for practice.  Jon tries to maximize the opportunity he has to help his players by showing up for “early work” around noon each day before a game.  “I put it in pretty blunt form, I say ‘I ‘m there for you but ultimately it’s your career. ‘”

 In the first few weeks of the season, Jon tried to give game-time to all as he sized up his players. “It’s about finding the team’s identity, so I get a good grasp of who belongs where.  There’s a core group of guys who will play more than others. Usually if the players improve, the team ends up winning.

 Jon believes in getting players out of their “comfort zone“ to try new things.  He may suggest that a player try a new batting stance or change their grip on the ball. “On the field, I like to be aggressive in our actions, whether it is an aggressive mistake or we are successful.”

 The generosity of the host families, and local restaurants who feed and house the team, as well as the enthusiastic turnout for home games is the foundation of a good season in Jon’s opinion. ”The community is unbelievable.”

 As he sees it, part of his job is to make sure the team gives back a measure of the support they enjoy. On July 2^nd and 3^rd, the Bucks held two free kids camp clinics, open to all kids ages 7 and up. “30 kids each day showed up-- a great turnout.”

 Jon Karcich’s results with the Bucks are good. The season has been solid, with the team at .500 and about two games out of first place.  “We are right there…in a good position. The team that’s playing the best when the playoffs start at the end of July; that’s usually the team that takes off and makes a run at it. “

 Jon also has a long term goal of his own:  to manage a Division I college team. In the meantime, with discipline, talent, and a strong feeling for the community, he has helped make the Bucks a sweet part of this too-short Shelter Island summer.

Shelter Island Reporter, July 17, 2014

Melissa Mundy A young woman whose aim is true

Melissa Mundy splits  her time these days between a shared house on Shelter Island and an apartment in New York City, as she puts it "on the other side of the ferry."

In a family with a lot to be proud of, Melissa Mundy is holding up her end of things. Just 26 years old, she’s already done more volunteer work, master-minded more charity events and raised more support for worthy causes than most of us will in a lifetime.

 Melissa comes from a family with a strong tradition of military service. Her brother Michael 'Zack' Mundy like her father, is a Marine, and returned in the summer of 2012 from Afghanistan. Her brother Nathan is also a Marine, and will leave for boot camp on August 3^rd, the day after his 18th birthday.

 Melissa’s tight-knit Shelter Island family is so large that when they have a family party, a hundred people show up. She grew up in a home with four younger siblings, her parents, and her Dad’s Mom, “definitely my mom rules the roost…. A fair and benevolent ruler…I hope one day I get to be the matriarch of a group like this.”

 Born in Jacksonville N.C., while her Dad was stationed at Camp Lejuene, Melissa was raised on Shelter Island and went to the Shelter Island School for all thirteen years, an education that gave her the chance to try doing any and everything.

 “I’m Jack of all Trades, Master of None, so it was great for me. I got to be in the band… be in the chorus, be in the plays, play a sport all seasons, yearbook, I interned at the Reporter. I did not have to choose one thing, I could do anything I wanted to do.”

 One of the things Melissa wanted to do, along with the rest of her family, was help others. As youngsters, Melissa and her siblings stuffed envelopes to help her Dad with the Cool Cash Raffle at the Annual Chicken Barbeque. Melissa’s mother, Rebecca is Philanthropy Manager at Mashomack Preserve, where she organizes Mashomack’s primary fund-raiser, the dinner-dance that takes place this year on July 27.  Growing up, Melissa pitched in for the dinner-dance, as well as the 10K, the Gift of Life, and countless other fund-raising events.

 Melissa saw how stepping up to help is not just going to parties and writing checks, but is part of the soul of Shelter Island. “Any time certain families have been going through a hard time, people silently just step in and make things better without making a big production of it.”

 Graduating from the Shelter Island School in 2006 along with 8 kids she’d been in school with since kindergarten, Melissa credits those relationships with teaching her how to interact with people “on the other side of the Ferry.” 

 “I try to be a friend to people, and not just a colleague. “

 During her four years at Emerson College in Boston, Melissa continued to pursue her passion for service, with a two-year internship with American Diabetes Association, and organizing a fundraiser with her sorority four years in a row to benefit the Susan G. Komen Foundation.

 After graduating from Emerson in 2010, Melissa came back to Shelter Island for the summer, planning to waitress until she decided what to do next. But in June, the death of her childhood friend, Joseph Theinert, while serving in Afghanistan, gave her renewed focus.

 “When Joe passed I was definitely in a little bit of a funk... my Mom said, ‘come down to Mashomack and we’ll get you out of the house, we’ll get you in front of a computer… and I became hyper- involved in her silent auction at the annual dinner- dance. And now I come back every summer for the event, I even take off vacation days for it.”

 Soon, the work Melissa loved to do became her career. In 2010, she had interned at the DS Consulting Group in New York City, but after her lead role in organizing the first Farm-to-Table benefit at Sylvester Manor, she was invited back to DS as an account executive in 2013. Her clients include organizations such as Big Brothers Big Sisters of New York City, the New York Jets Foundation, and the Prostate Cancer Foundation.

 With her employer’s blessing and support, her “passion project” continues to be her work with the Joseph J. Theinert Memorial Fund. “The community when Joe died was amazing and continues to be.”

 Her work with the Theinert Fund includes a partnership she made with The Telling Project, an organization that tells the stories of veterans by developing monolog-style scripted performances that allow veterans to talk to their communities in a way that dignifies their service. The Telling Project is a highly-respected national non-profit that has performed for Michelle Obama and will present three performances; Nov. 14,15 and 16 on the North and South Forks and Shelter Island.

 These days Melissa shares an apartment in New York City with Shelter Island friend, Brittany Olinkiewicz and a house on Shelter Island with friends Jimbo Theinert and Mary Larsen.

 There have been many changes on Shelter Island since Melissa was a child, but they don’t faze her. “I don’t really get caught up in saying, ‘ Oh, Sunset Beach, Oh, so many people…’ The things that are important to me are the things that are the same. I can imagine what some peoples’ answer to that question might be, but it’s not my answer.  The things that are important are still here.”

Shelter Island Reporter, July 10, 2014

Shelter Island Profile: Artist Gavin Zeigler | Shelter Island Reporter

CHARITY ROBEY PHOTO |Artist Gavin Zeigler outside his studio on North Ferry Road.

Born and raised in Franklin, Tennessee, far from islands and oceans, Gavin Zeigler’s first experience of Shelter Island was in the mid-80s riding a motorcycle through the Island on his way to somewhere else.

At the time, he was an art student and bartender. Later when he was a prospering artist and married man based in Manhattan, he bought a house in Sag Harbor. Looking for a quiet place to work, he remembered Shelter Island. He found a building on Route 114 in the Center that had seen better days and came with its share of Island history. It was built in 1917 as a Socony gas station and later became Johnny Rock’s Auto Body.

Gavin said, “Johnny Rock was apparently quite a character. I heard the Shelter Island Police told him that he was not to return to Shelter Island as they put him on the North Ferry one night. Several days later he wanted to visit someone on Shelter so he dressed as a woman and took the North Ferry back across. He was apprehended.”

The garage was in a rough state and needed everything repaired or replaced. Gavin set out to restore, rather than gut the place, out of respect for its history. Its former life as a garage made it perfect for his studio, since his artistic process, like auto repair, involves spray painting and use of high-pressure tools. “I had not intended to live here,” he said.

Divorce changed his plans, and he found himself living in his studio.

Gavin does mixed media paintings — a type of collage that uses objects such as stock certificates, Indian head pennies and keys. “I love the fact that the stock certificate paper is like money and I like the random marks and signatures. Each one is unique … I like the history. “

To create many of his pieces, he uses a bag press — a device that uses atmospheric pressure to flatten the surface of the piece and integrates the various components with the acrylic paint, epoxy and other media he uses. The resulting works appear to be paintings, but on closer inspection they reveal texture. “There is an act of discovery involved,” he said. “I like taking something that people are used to seeing and presenting it to them in a way they haven’t thought of.”

Gavin was born to be an artist. As a child, he worked with Magic Markers when he was too young for paint. An indifferent student, he was fascinated with undersea exploration and the Apollo moon landing, which inspired his early drawings of fanciful fish and vehicles that existed only in his imagination.

His parents met Bunn Gray, a well-known and respected artist who happened to live in Franklin. Gray agreed to take Gavin on as a student, teaching him technique and how to manipulate a variety of materials. Within a year, Gavin had been offered a scholarship to Savannah College of Art and Design.

In 1984 a childhood friend from Franklin who was living in New York City encouraged Gavin to move, too. “I scoffed, but ended up trading him a painting for a month on his couch.”

He found work in the city as a bartender, while soaking up the art at galleries and museums. Several artists became his friends and mentors during this period, including painter William Scharf and artist, teacher and critic Richard Kalina, who became a strong influence on his work.

“I was headed in one direction, and he kind of picked me up and pointed me in another direction,” Gavin said. “It was with his guidance that my work became more cohesive and mature.”

In 1995, Gavin won first prize in a juried exhibition at the Chuck Levitan Gallery in New York City, entitling him to a solo show. It was this solo show that really launched his career.

The landscape and the seasons on the East End influence Gavin’s work. When crocuses pushed up through a spring snow in 2003, it inspired his piece, “April Snow” a work of acrylic paint, pennies, mixed media and wood. “I’m very into color,” he said. “I don’t have a message of doom and gloom or making a political statement.”

One of Gavin’s recent works, “The Mysterious Ways of a New Sensation,” is being shown with his friend and mentor William Scharf’s work entitled, “Flesh Jail” in the exhibit, “Under the Influence,” an exploration of nine contemporary artists and artists who have inspired them. The show, at the Sag Harbor Whaling Museum, opened June 20 and runs through July 8. He also has work in a group show at the Gerald Peters Gallery in New York City, opening July 22, called “Hamptons Artist Then and Now.”

Nowadays, Gavin lives in Sag Harbor with long-time girlfriend, Jodi, her 12-year-old son, Chase and his constant canine companions, Lola (17), Olive Oyl (14) and Samson (7). Gavin and the dogs commute every day to Shelter Island to work.

“I like the quiet. I try to be here by eight and I work ‘til six,” he said. “How many people get to take a boat twice a day? It’s like traveling to another time. As the crow files it’s only about 7 miles, but I might as well be in another country.”

Gavin loves the fact that on Shelter Island, no matter how long he lives here, his studio will always be Johnny Rock’s Auto Body. Referring to another tale of Johnny Rock’s legendary antics, Gavin said, “I figure I’ll have to lie down to work out in front of the building with my legs stretched out onto 114 before people will call it Gavin’s place.”

Gavin Zeigler’s website, with examples of his work including “April Snow,” can be found at gavinzeigler.com.

 

via shelterislandreporter.timesreview.com

Two-Wheels to Seven Wineries in Two North Fork Tours

 I like wine, and I like visiting farms. But I've never made a tour of the North Fork wine country; even though I’ve admired the landscape and the wines for years. So I decided to explore both the farmland and the wines this spring--by bicycle.

 I mapped two routes with scenery and serenity in mind.  Each one amounts to about an hour of easy pedaling and is dead flat.  Cyclocross this was not.  No carbon frames, spandex shorts or aerodynamic accessories. Both routes take in small, low-key wineries situated in the earthy, farm paradise called the North Fork.

 Bikes are allowed on the Long Island Rail Road with a $5 permit (check the LIRR site for rules) so each route begins and ends near a train station. A morning train from Penn Station in New York City arrives in Mattituck around noon, and Southold 15 minutes later--perfect timing for an afternoon wine tour.

 Dan’s Bike Rental in Greenport (212-380-1119, greenportbikerental.com) will deliver a rental bike to train station and Hampton Jitney stops in Mattituck and Southold.

 The Mattituck/Oregon Rd. Loop Oregon Rd. may be the most beautiful country road anywhere, and this 8.5 mile route makes the most of it. Starting at the train station, I pedal through town on Pike and Wickham, and cross Rt. 48, with the stoplight coming in very handy. Next is a lovely stretch of Wickham Ave. and Mill Rd. with beautiful old homes and tiny Wolf Pit Lake. A right onto Oregon Rd. puts me in the heart of prime North Fork farmland.  Acres of fields and farmhouses spread out around me as I arrive at Shinn Estate Vineyards.

 

Shinn Estate Vineyards 2000 Oregon Rd. Mattituck Shinn is a vineyard, country inn and wine-tasting room with a comfy, homespun feeling that goes with my low-key approach to wine country. It is a weekday, so I avail myself of the self-guided tour. For $10 I get a wine tasting and a booklet to guide me around the vineyard. On weekends, the tours are in small groups, at 1:30 and 2:30.

On the tour, I learn that Shinn is a biodynamic grower. The kitchen garden, chickens and honeybees are every bit as essential to the wines as the rows and rows of cabernet franc, merlot, and sauvignon blanc grapes.  In the tasting room, I put my $10 tour fee toward a bottle of Pear Cider, wedge it into my saddlebag, and roll back onto Oregon Rd., toward Lieb Cellars.

 

Lieb Cellars, 13050 Oregon Rd., Cutchogue Lieb Cellars has three tasting locations on the East End, but the small, Oregon Rd. tasting room, set on the edge of their 62 acre vineyard suits me best. An outdoor patio with fire-pits and tables looks out on farmland and has the laid-back vibe I like.  After some tasting, swirling and expectorating, I heave my leg over my steed of steel, and head for some more farmland-appreciation.

Alvah’s Lane runs north/south with views of such green fertility that I think I can hear things growing. Approaching Rt. 48, I see Castello di Borghese across the way.

Castello di Borghese 
Vineyard & Winery
17150 County Rte 48, is the home of several award-winning wines, including a 2010 Cabernet Franc and  2010 Riesling. My timing is off--tours and tastings at Borghese are on Thursdays and Sundays at 1pm July through October, and
Saturday at 1pm November through June--so I continue west on Rt 48 to Elijah’s Lane to check out Sherwood House Vineyard’s roadside tasting room.

 

Sherwood House Vineyard, Corner of Elijah Lane and (2600) Oregon Rd., Mattituck Stopping at Sherwood’s Oregon Rd. tasting barn is like pulling into a small farmstand.  Except instead of corn and peas, you find Cabernet Franc and Chardonnay. Closed for the last two summers, the tasting barn is set to open on weekends again in late June, “as soon as school is out” says tasting-room manager, Kristen Hand.

I’m working up an appetite with all this tasting and pedaling, so it’s back into Mattituck. 

 Love Lane in Mattituck is a one-block downtown lined on both sides with interesting shops and excellent food options.  One of the best is Love Lane Kitchen, (240 Love Lane, Mattituck), where they make a great burger from organic grass-fed beef.  If I’m feeling fancy, their Duck Tagine is a fragrant and flavorful Moroccan version of roasted duck made with a bird that was raised a few miles away.  The Village Cheese Shop, 105 Love Lane has a casual café with a wine-friendly menu of fondue, cheese platters and charcuterie. Behind their big, glass cheese-case is an impressive and fragrant assortment of cheeses and meats, and they also make sandwiches. Or you can just get a loaf of good bread and a few select cheeses--the ideal to-go lunch for wine country.

 The Southold Town and Country Loop 

My second route is around 12 miles; begins and ends at the Southold train station, and features three small vineyards, each with a distinct personality.  The ride is an easy and beautiful loop that takes in the charm of Southold village as well as the farms and waterways that lace the area.

From the station, I head east on Traveler St. and turn south to cross Main St. at the light. Passing Town Creek and into Calves Neck, the road turns and winds along the water.  I cross Jockey Creek with more winding and turning until I see the rows of grapevines that indicate my goal is nigh, Croteaux Vineyards.

 Croteaux Vineyards, 1450 South Harbor Rd., Southold Croteaux feels like a private country mansion that is somehow open to the public. The tasting area is a lovely garden of flowering plants and trees with tables and Adirondack chairs between a barn and the vineyard. Croteaux makes rosé, so I sample six kinds (with lots of sniffing, swirling and spitting, because this is my first stop of the day.)

 Leaving Croteaux, I pedal past farms and sheep, then down Main St. in Southold through town, and two miles to The Old Field Vineyards on the right.

 The Old Field Vineyards, 59600 Main Rd. Southold Walking up the gravel driveway, I see the shimmering waters of Southold Bay at the far end of the vineyard.  The Old Field Vineyards feels like a real farm. The tasting room appears to be a former chicken coop, complete with antique nesting boxes. The current chicken coop is just outside, and its residents mingle with wine-tasters on the outdoor deck and picnic tables. The birds provide local color as well as inspiration for wine-names. I like the red table wine they call “Rooster Tail.”

 Back on the Main Rd, I cross to the north side and head west for a half a mile to The North Fork Table and Inn, 57225 Main Rd. (631-765-0177), one of the finest, and best-loved restaurants on the East End. I’m not ready for the kind of meal that is served at a table, but I can still enjoy the food of chefs Hayden and Fleming at The Lunch Truck, parked next to the Inn, and serving from 11:30-3:30 on most summer days. Very partial to the beef and black-bean chili; I can also vouch for the excellence of the lobster roll. After a fine lunch, I rolled through the farmland north of Southold on Old North Rd. to One Woman Wines and Vineyard.

 One Woman Wines and Vineyard, 5195 Old North Rd., Southold In keeping with the stripped-down nature of this adventure, One Woman is a vineyard and winery conceived and created (not to mention planted) by one woman, Claudia Purita.  One Woman is known primarily for one grape- Gruner Veltliner—and is the one place Gruner is grown on the North Fork.  And taste it I did, sitting on the sunny deck in the middle of farmland with the grapevines everywhere I looked.

 Leaving One Woman, I pass a sign directing me to Horton Point, a worthy side-trip to a tiny and charming lighthouse. I pass more farms with the patina of age and weather and then roll back to the Southold train station, and the end of another North Fork wine-tasting, loam-smelling, bike-touring adventure.

 Turn-by-turn route instructions

 
The Mattituck/Oregon Rd. Loop -Begins and ends at the Mattituck train station on Pike St.

East on Pike St. and left on Wickham Ave.

Cross Rt. 48 at the stoplight and continue on Wickham Ave., as it veers right.

Left on Mill Lane to Oregon Rd. 

Right on Oregon Rd. to Shinn Estate Vineyards 2000 Oregon Rd. on the right.

From Shinn, continue east on Oregon Rd., 2 miles to Lieb Cellars, 13050 Oregon Rd., on the right.

From Lieb, head left (west) on Oregon Rd.

Left on Alvah’s Lane, 1 mile to Rt. 48. (Castello di Borghese 
Vineyard & Winery
17150 County Rte 48 is on the South side of Rt. 48 at Alvah’s Lane)

Right (west) on Rt. 48 1.3 miles to Elijah’s Lane. 

Right on Elijah’s Lane, 1 mile to Oregon Rd.

Sherwood House Vineyard tasting barn at the Corner of Elijah’s Lane and Oregon Rd.

From Sherwood, head left (west) on Oregon Rd. to East Mill Rd.

Left on Grand Ave. which becomes Wickham Ave.

Cross Rt. 48 at the light.

Turn right on Pike St. to train station, or left on Love Lane to Love Lane Kitchen and The Village Cheese Shop.

 

The Southold Town and Country Loop-Begins and ends at the Southold train station on Traveler St.

East on Traveler St.

Right on Youngs Ave.

Cross Main St. (Rt. 25) at the light and continue past Town Creek.

Stay left as Youngs Ave. becomes Calves Neck Rd.

Calves Neck becomes Hill Rd. in ½ mile, then becomes Hill Rd. West for another ½ mile.

Left on Wells Ave. for ½ mile.

Left on Oaklawn Ave. across Jockey Creek.

Right on Clearview Ave. for ½ mile to a left/fast right to Clearview Ave.West.

Left on Main Bayview Rd.

Right on Baywater Ave.

Right on South Harbor Rd. to Croteaux Vineyards, 1450 South Harbor Rd.

on the left.

From Croteaux, left on South Harbor Rd.

Right on the Main Rd. (Rt. 25) for ¼ mile.

Right on Corwin (aka “Peanut Alley”).

At the end of the alley, cross Main Bayview Rd. to right on Pine Neck Rd.

Left on Oaklawn Ave.

Right on Main St. Southold for two miles to The Old Field Vineyards, 59600 Main Rd. on the right.

From The Old Field Vineyard, cross to the north side of Rt. 25 and head west for ½ mile to The North Fork Table and Inn, 57225 Main Rd.

From The North Fork Table and Inn, head right (west) on Rt. 25 for 1 mile.

Right on Boisseau Ave. ½ mile.

Left on Hummel.

Right on Youngs Ave.

Cross Rt. 48 at the light and continue on Youngs Ave.

Right on Old North Rd.

One Woman Wines and Vineyard, 5195 Old North Rd. is ½ mile ahead on the left.

From One Woman, head right (west) on Old North Rd. past sign for Horton Point Lighthouse at Lighthouse Rd.

Left on Horton Lane.

Cross Rt. 48 at the light, for ½ mile across train tracks. 

Left on Traveler St. to the train station on the left.

A strawberry shortcake for Ruby | Shelter Island Reporter

A strawberry shortcake that Ruby Robey might approve of.

Ruby Robey was my paternal grandmother and she taught me to make strawberry shortcake. She lived her entire life in Simpson County, Kentucky. I think there was something about being a tobacco farmer’s wife or maybe it was her Methodist upbringing that made her stern with people who defined strawberry shortcake too loosely. In her view, moral decline would start with strawberries served over sponge cake and end with the County coming to take the children.

True shortcake is crumbly and flaky, not elastic and definitely not spongy. It should have the taste and consistency of a slightly sweetened biscuit.

 It is possible to find Strawberry Shortcake recipes dating back as far as the 16^th century, but the dish in this country really became popular after the Civil War when strawberries were a fleeting treat and people had shortcake parties to celebrate (and consume) while they could.

 On the East End, the tiny, sweet berries that are deep red all the way through (the ones that are best for shortcake) are in season for a few weeks, and then give way to mid and late-summer varieties.  Some local growers raise six or seven varieties of strawberries, (KK The Farm in Southold) including some that bear fruit through September.

 Once you put the sugar on the berries, they start to create a syrup.  This syrup is another key to a good shortcake.  It should be allowed to soak into the cake, flavoring it.  The whipped cream should go on at the last minute—just before the cake is served.  Make sure to save a few strawberries to decorate the top.

 Of course, you can purchase round spongy cakes that look like cat bowls, fill them with strawberries and enjoy it. Strawberries served over sponge cake with whipped cream makes a perfectly delightful dessert, but if you call it shortcake, you may hear Ruby whispering, “Oh mercy sakes!” as you serve it.

 Ruby Robey’s Strawberry Shortcake

Serves 8, either as one cake, or as 8 individual cakes

 Berries:

1 quart fresh strawberries, about 3 cups when hulled and sliced

¼ cup sugar

 Cake:

2 cups all purpose flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

¼ cup sugar

½ teaspoon salt

½ cup shortening

1 egg

1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon milk

2 tablespoons butter

 Whipped cream:

½ pint cold heavy cream

1 tablespoon sugar

 Put the hulled and sliced strawberries in a bowl, reserving one nice berry to garnish each serving. Add ¼ cup of the sugar (or more if the berries are tart) and mix to coat the berries.  Set them aside for at least an hour while you prepare the cake.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Prepare your pan; either grease an 8 inch cake pan, or two cookie pans if you are making individual servings.

Mix the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in a medium mixing bowl. Cut in the shortening with two knives or a pastry blender until the mixture feels like coarse sand.

In a small bowl, mix the egg with a fork and add the milk. Add the milk mixture to the flour mixture and stir just until the dough forms a rough ball. It’s fine if there are crumbs falling off, or if the dough does not form a neat ball. Don’t overmix it.

Gently press the dough into an 8 inch lightly-greased cake pan, or if you are making individual cakes, divide the dough into 8 parts and gently press each into a circle about 2 inches high and 4 inches across on your prepared cookie pan, leaving at least two inches between each cake.

Bake at 425 degrees for 8-10 minutes for the individual cakes or 15-20 for one 8 inch cake. They are done when they are very light brown. Cool for 15 minutes on a wire rack, split horizontally while still warm, and butter each cut side. Spoon half of the strawberries and their syrup onto the bottom half replace the top and spoon the rest of the strawberry mixture onto the top.

Whip the cream with a hand mixer until it starts to thicken, add a tablespoon of sugar and continue to whip until soft peaks form.  Spoon the cream on top of the cake(s) and garnish with the reserved strawberries.

via shelterislandreporter.timesreview.com

Historian and volunteers discover the past in letters | Shelter Island Reporter

A letter from Thomas Dering of Shelter Island to Captain Vails written on   September 28, 1767

I’m holding a letter in my hands that is older than the Declaration of Independence. 

The paper is surprisingly substantial and the writing clear, but I’m really glad my hands are clean.  I’m one of the volunteers helping local historian, Patricia Shillingburg catalog and transcribe a treasure trove of letters that describe a distant past on Shelter Island; a time when the American Revolution was brewing, and when a letter to a sister or brother often contained casual references to enslaved household servants.

 The letters, 762 of them, were given to the Shelter Island Public Library in 1917, where they were preserved, but largely unexamined for decades.  In 1976, the Library gave the letters to the Shelter Island Historical Society, where they were removed from scrapbooks and remounted in large binders to protect them. Historical Society archivist, Phyllis Wallace then turned Patricia Shillingburg, asking her to take on the job of transcribing and cataloging. Shillingburg recruited a team of readers, including volunteers Emily Hallman, Olivia Land (age 15), Joanne Sherman, Pat Yourdon and alternates Dianne Bailey and Christina Cunningham.

 Most of the letters were sent to, or written by Thomas Dering between the 1740’s and the 1820’s.  Thomas Dering and his wife, Mary Sylvester lived at Sylvester Manor for much of this time, and had three children, Sylvester, Nathan and Henry Packer.

 Although this was a tumultuous period in American history particularly on Long Island, which was occupied by the British in 1775, the letters are full of everyday life--courtship and marriage, sickness and death, and children.

 In a letter from Nehemiah Barker of Mattituck, schoolmaster, to Mary and Thomas Dering on August 12, 1767, Barker shared his observations about nine year old Sylvester Dering on his first days away from home, “He soon began to shed tears and said no more or less of his grievances but that he was tired. We soon dismissed him with Samuel Paine to the bed where he slept away his sorrows, rose with a countenance which became quite cheerful by school time when he had more companions. “

 The letters also give rare glimpses into how early Americans saw themselves in comparison to Europeans. Charles Storer, who had recently graduated from Harvard, wrote to Thomas Dering on December 31, 1782 from Paris. “I am at length arrived in the kingdom of France, the region of diversions and pleasure, where all the gay world resorts… a jumble of idleness, folly and extravagances rolling in feathers, lace and gilded carriages – – a curious sight but best viewed at a distance.”

 Patricia Shillingburg predicts that she and her team will complete the cataloging and transcription of the letters by early fall.  “I am so blessed by the fine people who came to read the letters” she said. Blessed also are the readers, to hold these letters in their hands, as they must have been held and read over 200 years ago. 

Patricia Shillingburg works every day of the week with a rotating team of volunteers to document and transcribe 762 Colonial and Revolutionary War era letters.

 via shelterislandreporter.timesreview.com

Off the Fork: Blowfish-Fingerfood of the Daring

Fried blowfish with gremolata- parsley, garlic and lemon

 Published in the Shelter Island Reporter on August 28, 2014

Eating fish can be complicated, and no fish is more daunting than the blowfish.  Is it sustainable?  Aren’t parts of it poisonous? Why does it look nothing like a fish?  Is it even edible? To those who hesitate to eat a creature that looks like a spiny piñata, I say, you eat pineapple, right? Cast aside doubt, tuck a napkin into your collar, pick a blowfish up by the tail and start eating.

 When they are cleaned and ready to cook, a blowfish looks like the drumstick on a chicken. They are meaty and delicious, but like a drumstick there’s a bone (actually cartilage) down the middle of the fish to nibble around.

 The poisonous blowfish (called fugu) is a delicacy that must be cleaned by specially trained and certified fish cutters in the city of Shimonoseki, Japan. The blowfish caught in the mid-Atlantic coastal waters of the United States are safe, since they do not feed on the creatures that create toxins in Japanese blowfish. The toxic blowfish are 6739 miles from here--another excellent reason to buy local.

 For a decade or so, blowfish were scarce, but they have been making a comeback, and are now available at fish stores throughout the area. They are most plentiful in May and September, and this year they’ve been floating into fish stores all summer.

 Like many who grew up on the East End, Isabella Clark, recalls catching blowfish with her hands in shallow water when she was a child. Nowadays, you can buy blowfish from her at Southold Fish Market, (Sound Ave. in Southold), or at Bob’s Fish Market (Rt 114) or Clarks (3 North Ferry Rd. and Saturdays at the Shelter Island Farmers Market) for about half the price per pound of swordfish, tuna or flounder.

 When you see blowfish on the menu at East End restaurants, it’s generally deep-fried, with a batter or panko coating. Here are two ways to cook blowfish at home, without benefit of a deep fryer. Both involve garlic, which is a natural partner to this spiny, antisocial, and delicious fish.

 

Fried Blowfish with Gremolata

Serves 4 as a main dish, 6 as an appetizer.

 

½ cup flat leaf parsley leaves finely chopped

Zest of 1 lemon

1 large clove of garlic, peeled and finely diced

1 tablespoon olive oil

 2 lbs of cleaned blowfish, about 24 fish

3 cups of cooking oil, e.g. shortening, canola oil, peanut oil or a mixture of all three.

 1 cup all purpose flour

¼ cup coarse ground corn meal

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground pepper

½ teaspoon red pepper

 Make the gremolata by stirring the parsley, lemon zest, garlic and olive oil together in a small bowl.  Scrape the gremolata into the middle of an ovenproof platter and let it heat in a 350 degree oven about 15 minutes, or until the garlic is fragrant.  Leave the platter in the oven and lower the heat to 200 degrees.

Rinse and dry the blowfish with paper towels. Heat the oils in a 12-14 inch heavy frying pan (cast iron is ideal) with sides at least 3-4 inches high, to 350 degrees. Mix the flour, cornmeal, salt, pepper and hot pepper together in a shallow bowl. Dredge the blowfish in the flour/cornmeal mixture and cook each one for about 3 minutes per side, until each side is lightly browned. Transfer the blowfish to the heated platter as they finish cooking and sprinkle the gremolata over the blowfish to serve.

 

Sautéed Blowfish with a Tarragon/Wine Reduction

Serves 4 as a main dish

 2 lbs blowfish, about 24 fish

1 cup all-purpose flour

3-4 tablespoons of olive oil

4 garlic cloves crushed and diced

½ cup white wine

1 tablespoon fresh tarragon finely chopped

Salt to taste

 Rinse and dry the blowfish with paper towels and dredge them in the flour. Heat a 14 inch skillet over a medium flame; add 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and sauté the garlic until it is fragrant, but not browned. Remove the garlic from the oil and set aside. Add 2 more tablespoons of the oil, and place several floured blowfish in the skillet, being careful not to crowd the pan. They should sizzle as they touch the pan. Cook each one for about 3 minutes per side, until lightly browned. Remove blowfish to a serving plate. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the oil, add the wine, reserved garlic and tarragon and cook stirring over high heat until the wine reduces and you have a syrupy sauce.  Pour this over the blowfish and serve.