Gardens We Will Tend To

 

There is a woman in town who owns a successful landscaping business she named after herself. She is claiming that she was fired by Falmouth Road Race after donating plants, time and resources for the work her company did on a beach front garden that is actually on town property and not all the property of Falmouth Road Race. She further claims that she created the garden by request of the "Falmouth Road Race Committee" and that she is owed thousands of dollars in back pay.

The Falmouth Heights Beautification Committee, formed years ago by residents of the area received permission to create the original garden. Photos show citizens of retirement age (and much older) raking and planting the area. They commemorated the place with a brick walkway, some of which are engraved, benches with dedication plaques and a large stone at the entrance that reads, "Falmouth Road Race Garden" as the location is adjacent to the finish line of the over 50 year old race.

Unfortunately, the Falmouth Heights Beautification Committee no longer exists as many of the members are no longer with us. Also unfortunately, everyone who passes by the location is led to believe by the entry marker that the care of this garden belongs to the Falmouth Road Race.

A few years ago, the daughter of the head of the Falmouth Heights Beautification Committee approached the race to become caretakers of the garden as it had become overgrown with weeds and was sadly in need of some t.l.c. Not in the gardening business, Falmouth Road Race approached the aforementioned landscape company owner and commissioned work with a clear contract including agreed upon responsibilities and payment structure.

One can guess by the landscape company owner's ranting in a not so "fabulous" facebook group that things are not currently going as originally planned. Her business has been replaced by another local company whose owner approached the Falmouth Road Race with an offer to donate materials and labor.

The raging on facebook has continued for weeks with many nosy and righteously opinionated Falmouth residents chiming in with their ill-informed narrative of the situation and Falmouth Road Race's perceived role in the one sided battle.

While those involved with the Race know the real story and are incredibly upset about the bad press and abundance of lies and misinformation being spread about the organization, they have decided not to respond. This is clearly the hill that the irate landscape company owner is seeking to die on and not a garden that the "Falmouth Road Race Committee" is willing to tend to.

Gardens I will personally tend to include ingredients for summer cocktails to numb myself from foolish facebook gossips. See below for two refreshing, mind clearing cocktails to make this summer.

Garden Cucumber Martini

(serves 1)

3 oz vodka

3 inches, peeled seeded and diced cucumber

5-6 basil leaves, torn

1/4 oz simple syrup

1/4-1/2 oz pineapple juice

cucumber wheel

Chill a large martini glass.

Add all ingredients to shaker and add ice. Shake it to shit as we are not muddling the cucumber- no one has time for that.

Strain 2x before pouring into chilled glass. Garnish with cucumber wheel. If you are hungry for dinner make the following garnish.

Garnish/snack:

Thinly slice 2 cucumber wheels. Place1 tsp of goat cheese onto one wheel and top with the second wheel to  make a sandwich. Slide a skewer or toothpick through and garnish cocktail.

Tomato Martini

(serves 1)

Sorry but you are going to need to get your head right to make this one correctly- muddling tomatoes is a must here but we are worth it. We are also worth using the best tomatoes in season so don't make this cocktail in the middle of winter.

A handful of cherry tomatoes or any kind of tomoto, cut into 1/4 inch size pieces (You will muddle these)

1/4 oz vermouth

3 oz gin (can sub out vodka)

1/8 oz lemon juice

pinch of salt

basil leaves

cherry tomatoes

Chill a large martini glass.

Add tomatoes for muddling to shaker- smoosh with a muddler or wooden spoon to release as much juice as possible. Add ice, vermouth, gin/vodka, lemon juice, salt and 3-4 torn basil leaves.

Shake the shit out of it until ice crystals make your hands stick to the shaker.

Strain 2x into the chilled glass. Garnish with skewered cherry tomato and basil leaves.

Lemon Chess Pie

Perhaps this pie is really just a vehicle for the crusty bits of pie dough brushed with egg wash and sprinkled with sugar- the best part really of any pie that is made with a butter and flour crust. I love eating a turnover of the leftover scraps filled with jam- baked alongside the show-stopper pie. Little treats to be nibbled out of hand just like the ones Val made to keep us from asking for a slice before she was ready to serve her masterpiece. That's exactly what I had in mind when I cut out the leaf shapes, brushed them with egg and doused them with a ridiculous amount of crunchy turbinado sugar- baked until crisp- so easy to pop into your mouth until there are barely enough left to garnish the pie.

The filling of the pie is not quite a custard and is definitely not a fruit filling but the best of both worlds- a little bit creamy with a hint of lemon and a slight toothsome crunch over the top from the cornmeal.

The best part is that it is also gluten-free- while the dough can be a bit challenging to work with- keep it cold and refrigerate it while working on other parts of the pie and you should have success.

 Lemon Chess Pie

(serves 8)

Ingredients

Gluten Free Pie Crust:

1 1/3 cups King Arthur Gluten Free Measure for Measure Flour, plus extra for rolling out

1/3 cup almond meal (flour)

2 teaspoons sugar

pinch of salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) cold butter, cubed

1/4-1/3 cup cold water

egg wash: 1 egg beaten with 1 teaspoon water.

turbinado sugar (approx 1/4 cup)

Filling:

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature

1 1/4 cups sugar

2 tablespoons yellow cornmeal

3 eggs, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla

zest and juice from 1/2 lemon

Pie Decorations/Toppings (see recipes below):

Candied Lemon Peel

Whipped Cream

To make Pie Crust:

Add flour, almond meal, sugar and salt to the bowl of a food processor. Pulse to combine. Add butter and pulse until mixture looks like small peas. With the motor running, slowly add water until mixture just comes together. Remove dough from processor and pat into 2 flat discs. Wrap each in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before rolling out. Alternatively, refrigerate overnight or freeze until ready to use.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Roll out one disc on a well floured board into approximately 11 inches round. Gently place into a 9 inch pie dish and crimp edges. Place back into refrigerator until filling is ready.

To make Filling:

Cream butter, sugar and cornmeal in a large bowl. Add eggs, vanilla and zest and lemon juice. Beat well. Pour into prepared pie shell. Place pie on a parchment lined baking sheet in the oven. Bake for 15 minutes. Lower heat to 350 degrees and bake for another 20 minutes until center barely jiggles and is just about set. Remove from oven and allow to set for an hour or so before decorating and serving.

While pie is baking, make decorations out of the remaining disc of pie dough:

Remove disc from refrigerator and roll out on a well floured board to approx 1/8 inch thick ness. Using cookie cutters or a knife, cut out shapes and place them on a parchment lined baking sheet. Brush pie dough pieces with egg wash and sprinkle generously with turbinado sugar. Bake in a 425 degree oven for 10-15 minutes until golden along the edges. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely.

Candied Lemon Slices (from Martha Stewart)

1 large lemon

1 cup sugar

Make an ice water bath and set aside. Slice lemon into at least 12 very thin slices. Remove all seeds and discard ends.

Bring a medium sauce pan of water to a boil. Remove from heat and add lemon slices, stir until softened, about 1 minute. Drain and immediately plunge slices into ice water bath. Drain after one minute or so.

In a medium sized skillet, bring sugar and 1 cup water to a boil, swirling to dissolve sugar. When liquid is clear and bubbling, reduce heat to medium low. Add lemon slices arranged in one layer. Simmer (do not boil) until rinds are translucent, about 1 hour.

Transfer lemon slices to a baking sheet lined with parchment. Let stand until ready to serve- garnish pie. Lemon slices can be placed in an airtight container for up to one day.

Whipped Cream

1 cup heavy whipping cream (cold)

2 tablespoons powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

pinch of salt

Add all ingredients to a large mixing bowl. Whip with stand mixer, hand mixer or whisk by hand until soft/slightly stiff peaks form. Scrape into a container with a cover and refrigerate until ready to serve- garnish pie.

To garnish pie:

Dollop eight small scoops of whipped cream along outer edge of pie. Place lemon wheels over whipped cream dollops. Decorate the pie with the pie crust cut-outs. Serve immediately.