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Like many families living on the Jersey Shore, we vacationed up and down the East Cost. In the winter months, we’d drive down to Key West, Florida, and stayed at the Southern Most Inn. (As it’s name says, it’s the southern most motel in the Continental U.S.) In the summer months, we’d head as far north as New Hampshire, with occasional jaunts into Canada, including a memorable trip to Montreal and Quebec, too. But for some reason, we never vacationed in Maine. The scary thing is - in more ways than one - that what I know about Maine comes from Stephen King novels. Ah ya.

My husband Paul is attending a chemistry conference in New Hampshire soon and is flirting with the idea of going up to Maine. So now I have Maine on the brain. Luckily I had a copy of The United States Cookbook : Fabulous Foods and Fascinating Facts From All 50 States by Joan D’Amico. For ages 9-12, the book is a mixture of kid friendly recipes, food trivia, and facts about US state history.

Did you know that Maine is the country’s number one supplier of blueberries and lobster? That at one time lobster wasn’t considered a delicacy but a "junk fish"? And that this month there’s a Clam Festival in Yarmouth, where they serve at least 5,000 gallons of fried clams, 13,500 Lime Rickey’s, 6,000 lobster rolls, 2,200 pancake breakfasts and 1,500 shore dinners? Geez, when’s the next flight out?

But you don’t have to go to Maine to enjoy great seafood. In fact, we had a wonderful clams and mussels steamed in wine, and a shrimp and lobster boil at Paul’s 40th birthday a couple of weeks ago. The amazing thing was that the meal was cooked up while we were RV camping up in the mountains. Here are some photos:

The clams and mussels

The boil

The final product (I forgot the onions)

Happy campers (Nathan, Lucie, Sadie and Jenny)

The kids were so hyper after the meal (they mostly ate the corn, potatoes and a few shrimp) it took awhile to get them to go to sleep. Luckily I had brought along some Little Bear books to read. However, I wish I brought this book instead, Grace for an Island Meal. One morning in Maine, a little girl and her family travel to a small island. They gather wild berries and mussels for the evening meal. Family and friends come together to eat, giving thanks for the simple pleasures in a day outside.

We were in the Colorado mountains, and not in Maine, but families and friends coming together to enjoy a fantastic seafood meal and each other’s company rang true.

The clams were steamed in wine in a large pot over an open flame in the fire bit. The shrimp and lobster boil was done on a propane burner.

Shrimp & Lobster Boil With Corn and Potatoes
(Adapted from Martha Stewart Living, July 2006)

Serves 5 adults and 4 picky children who don’t eat seafood
Prep time: 10 minutes
Total time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:

1. 4 lemons, halved
2. 6 bay leaves
3. 1/2 cup plus 2 Tablespoon Old Bay seasoning
4. 2 lage garlic heads, halved horizontally
5. 6 medium onions, peeled and quartered
6. 2 dried chile
7. Coarse salt
8. 16 springs fresh thyme, tied together with kitchen twine
9. 2 pounds of new red potatoes, unpeeled, halved if large
10. 8 ears fresh corn, shucked and broken in half
11. 2 pounds uncooked tail on shrimp (frozen is o.k.)
12. 1 lobster tail each for the adults (frozen is o.k.)
13. Butter, hot sauce and French bread for serving

Directions:

1. Fill a large stockpot with 4 quarts of water. Squeeze lemons into water and add rinds.
2. Add bay leaves, seasoning, garlic, onions, chile, 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt, and thyme.
3. Bring to boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes.
4. Add potatoes adn simmer 12 minutes.
5. Add corn and simmer 5 minutes.
6. Add shrimp and lobster, cover, adn simmer until opaque, 3 to 5 minutes.
7. Pour off liquid and serve out of the pot.
8. Serve with melted butter and/or hot sauce.
9. Squeeze and spread the cooked garlic on French bread.
10. Serve the corn and potatoes with butter and salt and pepper.

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