My daughter and her family have been making Sunday visits to Atlantic Offshore Fishery in Point Pleasant, NJ. [On Thursdays, Atlantic Offshore posts on Instagram their retail fish availability.] They pick up lunch and then stop at the fish market to get something for supper. Last weekend they purchased lobster claws for $5.99/lb. and two pounds of wild shrimp (16/20 count) that were cleaned and deveined for $13.99/lb
 
I found a recipe online at the website Lobster from Maine for Maine Lobster Dip. You’ll need 1 cup of lobster meat, 8 ounces of cream cheese, ½ cup of mayonnaise and seasonings. We enjoyed the dip very much, but couldn’t eat much because of the richness. I purchased an additional two whole lobsters and added more lobster meat to the dip. I would suggest reducing all the ingredients by half except for the lobster meat. This will give you a more meaty taste and balance out the richness. 

I had two pounds of carrots in my refrigerator that needed to be used. I went to one of my favorite sources, The New York Times Cooking website/app and found an easy recipe by Martha Rose Shulman for Roasted Carrots with Parsley and Thyme. Lucky for me, I have these two herbs growing in my garden.
 
Besides the carrots and herbs, you’ll need extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper. To make clean up easy, the sheet pan is lined with foil. The carrots are peeled and cut into 2” long planks and then into wide matchsticks. I placed them on the sheet pan, drizzled them with olive oil, seasoned with salt and pepper and the chopped thyme. Using my hands, I mixed all the ingredients and made an even layer on the pan. The carrots roasted for 30 minutes at 400° and then additional 10 to 15 minutes at 375° until tender. Just before serving you adjust the seasoning and add finely chopped parsley over the carrots. 

​This past week I made my eleventh recipe from The NY Times Cooking supplement “One Pot|Pan|Skillet, 24 Recipes for Everyone Who Hates Doing the Dishes.” This time I prepared Salmon with Potatoes and Horseradish-Tarragon Sauce. You could have use halibut or cod instead, but selected Arctic Char which was on special at Whole Foods. The flavor of Arctic Char’s is somewhere between trout and salmon. The recipe was adapted by cookbook writer Joan Nathan from a recipe by the late George Lang, restaurateur.
 
The recipe takes 45 minutes to prepare. You’ll need unsalted butter, approximately one pound of Yukon Gold potatoes, shallots, sour cream or Greek yogurt, prepared horseradish, fresh tarragon and chives, white pepper, boneless, skinless salmon or halibut filet, hot paprika. 

​During our lockdown, I have been going through some old recipes. I came across several that I want to try, all desserts unfortunately. The other day, I made my mother’s recipe for Walnut Cake and Lemon Meltaway Cookies, a recipe from Land O’Lakes Butter that I clipped back in 1999!
 
The Walnut Cake uses pantry items, except for walnuts. You’ll need flour, sugar, unsalted butter, baking soda, vanilla, an egg, walnuts and milk. It’s a one bowl cake with the butter and sugar creamed together then followed by the balance of ingredients. I used a hand held mixer to blend everything together. I baked the cake in a loaf pan, which took just under an hour to bake.