Back home

We drove hard Saturday and Sunday (well, Greg did) and passed on the original plan to spend the night in Bennington, VT, puttering around. By then I was at the end of the two week chemo cycle and feeling pretty ragged around the edges. Well, that's putting it mildly. This is a week earlier than we usually make the Maine trip, and since we came home the more southerly route through Massachusetts, there was almost no leaf color.

The week in Maine went by quickly, but we didn't fill the days with activities or road trips like we usually do. I found that my limit was about two hours on my feet, and one day we went north up the coast to Camden and Belfast, stopping at a few stores along the way. Another day we went into Portland, where I really, really thought I was going to be up for a walking tour. We had taken a self-guided architecture tour when we were there in 2005, and really wanted to do another one of the three tours. Last year we went, but I had a bum knee and wasn't up for the walking. We did walk a little bit, and did a little shopping. Portland is a city that just oozes hipness. I'd love to go and spend a week there poking around all the old buildings that now have funky businesses. Cobblestone streets, and many of the streets look right down on the harbor.

The highlight of the trip was lunch at Benkay sushi restaurant. It would have been worth the drive just for the lunch, so that assuaged my guilt at wimping out on the walking.

Greg had told me when we were planning the trip, and I was dubious about my condition and whether it was worth it, that he would do everything, and boy, he did! He was Mr. Step 'n' Fetch It! No ,matter how many times I asked him to do something, or to get something for me, he was sweet and kind, and never complained. He cooked a couple of pretty good meals, too, in addition to the nights we just boiled lobster and pan fried potatoes. It was a house that was really close to the water, but not so accessible because of the huge rocks along the shore, and every day while I rested Greg went out walking - who knows where. It's a very rural area, so the road is lightly travelled and a good place to wander. I'm sure that he uses this time to clear his head and destress from the trials of caring for me. He makes me feel blessed.


Here's the fish chowder he made. Haddock was locally fresh, cod would be good, too.

Chop up a couple of slices of bacon and an onion, and start these in a pot at a low to medium heat, with the lid on. We had an electric stove there, and it was so hard to manage quick changes of temperature. In the meantime, dice or chunk two or three potatoes and a couple of stalks of celery. When the onions are soft and the bacon has rendered some of its fat, remove the lid to let the steam escape, turn up the heat, and let the onion brown slightly in the bacon fat. Doing this as a separate step adds an extra layer of flavor to the finished soup that you wouldn't get if you just dumped it all in together.

Next, add the potatoes and some liquid to just cover the potatoes. Water will do, clam broth is nice, chicken stock would be ok too. It will only take about a cup and a half, put the lid back on and simmer the potatoes in the liquid until they are mostly cooked, and then add the celery. I like the celery to still have some crunch because it adds texture to counterpoint the creaminess of the potatoes and milk.

Now, add the milk, depending on whether you like it light or rich. Use about 12 - 16 ounces , depending on how much broth is left from cooking the potatoes. It's a pretty inexact science. You can use half and half, but I find that regular whole milk is about right. Heat the milk slowly, you can't bring it to a simmer or it will curdle.

Now the fish, which I forgot to mention you have cut into chunks about an inch. About a pound and a half of fish will do nicely, and put it in the milk as it warms up, so the fish doesn't overcook and the milk doesn't curdle. When it's nice and hot the fish will be cooked. Add salt and pepper to taste (lots of pepper) and float a chunk of butter on top. This will make four servings, more or less. If you have some parsley garnish the top of the soup.

Be careful if you have leftovers that you don't heat it too fast or too hot, or the milk will curdle.