If You Caught a Cold After Saturday's Frosty Plunge...

The Express published this great photo of Saturday's HarborFrost highlight, the Frosty Plunge. I hope no one caught a cold. But if you have the sniffles, check out this link from my friend Gayle.

Tomatoes on Toast

I was concerned when I read in the Express this week about the tomato blight plaguing local farmers and gardeners. My new Michael Graves for Target toaster had just arrived, I had a piece of yesterday's baguette, and I had big plans to make a tomato sandwich. So I was overjoyed when I saw these huge and unblemished yellow and red tomatoes at a tiny stand on Ocean Road in Bridgehampton.

Ocean Road Tomato Sandwich
Serves 1

Many people will tell you that you have to use soft, fresh, untoasted white bread slices for a real tomato sandwich, but I like to toast the bread so it is better able to absorb the juices from the tomato. Don't skimp on the mayonnaise here, which makes this sandwich an end of summer luxury.

One 6-inch length of day-old baguette, split and lightly toasted
1 to 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
One medium-size ripe tomato, cored and sliced
Sea salt
Ground black pepper

Spread some mayonnaise on the cut side of each baguette half. Place the tomatoes on the bottom half, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and top with the remaining baguette half. Enjoy with plenty of paper napkins and a chilled glass of Channing Daughters Mudd Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc.

The Sag Harbor Express Celebrates

The Sag Harbor Express threw itself a 15oth anniversary party yesterday. I loved seeing so many of our V.I.P.s, including the Editor-in-Chief, the Mayor, the Chief of Police, and many members of the Ladies Village Improvement Society, under one Main Street roof. I was hoping for cake, but no luck. Maybe I left the party before it was presented. Fudgie the Whale would have been perfect for the occasion. It's still available after all these years at Carvel in Bridgehampton (2033 Montauk Highway; 631-537-2436).

The Power of Advertising

I had never been inside, but today I was drawn to the Sag Harbor Ship's Store (53 Bay Street; 725-3838) by this strangely compelling advertisement, from yesterday's Sag Harbor Express. I didn't find anything for my dad, but I did see a beautiful canvas tool bag and some colorful doormats that I'm considering for myself. The cans of water made me worry. Do I need some of these, too?

Thank You Everyone

It's been almost a month since I started posting here, and I'd just like to take a moment to thank all of my readers for your enthusiasm and encouragement. I've gotten a ton of e-mails and phone calls. I have been stopped at the Farmer's market, at dancing school, and at the IGA by people with ideas and opinions about my posts. Gwen from the Wharf Shop even chased me down the street to let me know that I forgot to include baking soda in the chocolate sprinkle cookie recipe (I've added it. Thanks!).

Many of you have told me that you have wanted to post comments, but were unable to do so because you don't have a Google account. Will I sound like the Google zombie I've become if I encourage you to get one, so your comments can be made public (it takes just seconds and costs nothing)? In any case, keep e-mailing--it took me about 2 hours to figure out how to add the e-mail feature to the front page, so I'm glad people are using it. I've loved every one of your shopping tips and recipes ideas.

Thanks, also, to Annette Hinkle at the Sag Harbor Express for such a nice article. The paper is a local treasure, I never miss an issue, and I was honored to be included this week. The paper's website will soon include a link to Sag Harbor Days, and we've talked about my blog recipes beginning to appear regularly in print. A dream come true!

And thanks to Schiavoni's IGA. When I was shopping there yesterday (lentils, cereal, a loaf of Bread Alone's 7-grain bread) as I do almost every day, I noticed this sign near the checkout for the first time and thought it would be perfect for today's post.

My Visit to the Express, with Muffins

Yesterday, Annette Hinkle from the Sag Harbor Express invited me over to the paper's office on Main Street to talk about my blog. I couldn't go empty-handed, so I brought her these muffins.

Lemon Ginger Corn Muffins
Makes 12

I've never forgotten the Bridge Creek Ginger Muffins in Marion Cunningham's The Breakfast Book, so I went back to her recipe to see what made them so memorable. I think her secret is heating the ginger with some sugar to release its flavor before mixing it into her muffin batter. So I did the same, and added it to my corn muffin batter, with a healthy amount of grated lemon zest for good measure. The IGA always has buttermilk, but you can substitute plain yogurt or 3/4 cup sour cream thinned with 1/4 cup milk if that's more convenient.

1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
3/4 cup yellow corn meal
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup peeled and coarsely chopped fresh ginger
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
1 cup buttermilk

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Coat a 12-cup muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray. Whisk together the flour, corn meal, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.
2. Combine the ginger and 1/4 cup sugar in the work bowl of a food processor or mini chopper and pulse until the ginger is finely ground, scraping down the sides of the bowl once or twice as necessary. Scrape the mixture into a small pot (I use my butter warmer) and heat over medium-low, stirring, until the ginger is fragrant, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. Set aside to cool slightly.
3. Whisk together the butter and remaining 1/2 cup sugar in a large mixing bowl. Whisk in the eggs, lemon zest, and the ginger mixture. Whisk in the buttermilk. Stir in the flour with a wooden spoon.Don't overmix!
5. Divide the batter among the muffin cups and bake until the muffins are golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 18 to 22 minutes. Let the muffins cool in the pan for 5 minutes, invert them onto a wire rack, turn them right side up on the rack, and let them cool completely (or just let them cool for 10 minutes more and eat them warm).

Tasty Art at Pierson

After I voted today, I browsed Pierson's annual art exhibit. I was especially impressed by these vibrant still life paintings. Perhaps there is some truth to the recent claims by readers of the Sag Harbor Express that student artwork influences voters. These vivid depictions of juicy fruit compelled me to run home and devour half a mango and a bunch of grapes.