Here’s a little information on the third course on the tasting menu - the wild nunavut arctic char.

For more than two thousand years, the Inuit of the Nunavut region of arctic Canada have caught wild arctic char to sustain their community. For only the second season, the Inuit fishermen and CleanFish are bringing this extraordinary fresh fish to seafood lovers across North America.

The season for wild arctic char is short - it begins when the ice breaks in July and concludes in early September when winter returns. Caught in intensely cold, pristine waters, this fish is rich in heart healthy omega-3s with a firm texture and elegant flavor. Wild Nunavut Arctic Char is an exceptional fish with a brief, delicious season. To learn more about this great fish visit Clean Fish Sustainable Seafood

Notice the restaurant listings to the left, there are only five restaurants in the Mid-Atlantic that feature fish from the Nunavut region brought to you by CleanFish. Lucky us, we’re one of them.

HKS

We were greeted with a gift from the Polynesian Fertility Gods

And then, the first delicious kiss of the night

I wont tell you what happened next.

HKS

Saturday July 25 is our one year anniversary. Woo Hoo!

Readers, where are you? Are you coming out to celebrate our birthday?

Do you know what we are doing for you?
A whole new 6-course tasting menu in the kitchen. Yup. Here it is. There is the Kitchen Menu and the Market Vegetable option. Can hardly wait.

In honor of our first year anniversary and Maryland’s “Buy Local Challenge” the new 6-course menu for the anniversary week features all local ingredients from area farmers.

Utilizing local farmers, Chef hopes to bring attention to the wonderful farm fresh products produced in Maryland not only this week but for the entire year!

The MD Buy Local Challenge ends on July 26th so if you haven’t participated for the entire week you can come over for the new 6-course on the 25th. Get all of your days in with one sitting. For further information please follow this link to the Statewide Buy Local Challenge

Sign out HKS.

What does $50 buy you at the West Frederick Farmers Market? A whole lot of fresh, local farm produce and meats. Not to mention some gorgeous sunflowers. Well, ok, the sunflowers would have put us over the $50 budget, so I just took a picture of a lady carrying the flowers.

This time, I didn’t have Shannon, our farmer’s market organizer, nearby so I actually took notes as to what was cooking on the stove tops. This is special because I never take notes, especially not on a Sat morning, pre-coffee. But I did it for you dear VOLT blog followers.

Oh BTW, before I continue, there seems to be some confusion as to who is writing these posts. People, there is a signature at the bottom of all of the posts with a name attached to it. Easy to spot.

Also, I have never spent so much time talking about pig male parts. Yes, referring to my Carolina Liar post. Hey Will, that’s what I named your piggy. Looks like many of you out there spent a good amount of time googling pigs and castrations. Thank you for calling me on my cell, stopping me on the street and sending me multiple emails. OK this is the correction to the previous post. The piglet was castrated not circumcised. Now, stop calling me.

Back to the Farmer’s Market this past Saturday. Here is what was on the menu.

Roasted NY Strip over wax beans, squash blossoms, arugula, corn and tomatoes.

Danny Rohrer’s NY Strip

Farmers Vegetables - donated by Chesapeake’s Choice, Summer Creek Farm and Tomatoes, Etc.

Pretty red carrots

Jim’s Squash Blossoms

Sauteed in the pan

Plated up - perfect for a summer time dinner

And for dessert we had Lemon poppy pound cake donated by Stone Hearth Bakery, with blueberry yogurt sorbet and a compote of marinated blueberries, peaches, blackberries and basil.

Liquid Nitro making the sorbet

South Mountain Creamery Blueberry yogurt sorbet

Bounty of summer fruit donated by Glade-Link Farm, Scenic View Orchards and Jubilee Organic Farm

Plated

Out of our budget Pretty sunflowers

Back on the farm today. Saw this little guy get circumcised. This is the before picture.

As humanely done as possible, with much care and sensitivity, I have to admit, this will be my first and last up close and personal on a circumcision.

Trying to think happy thoughts during the procedure, I spent some time wondering why a piglet needs to be circumcised anyway. The two human reasons - for cleanliness and the chicks dig it didn’t make any sense. So I learned something new today - the extra testosterone gives the meat an off taste. Ah ha! Moreover, females have a higher sensitivity to the off taste. Whaaa? I’ll trust the expert word on this one.

More Happy Thoughts

VOLT blog readers don’t forget to click on the VOLT Kitchen Blog for updates from the kitchen.
Chef is on the lookout for the perfect pig!

For all of my local news followers, you’re probably wondering why I’ve stayed mum on one of the hottest topics to hit the local news stations in a while, well ok after the incinerator debate and early city buy-outs. Yes I’m talking about the HPC.

I’ve stayed mum because I can’t believe its gotten so much attention and press. I’ve stayed mum because you’re probably tired of hearing about it. I’ve stayed mum because I always thought it would be flattering to have a bunch of men fight over me but that thought quickly evaporated once I realized there is no Johnny Depp look alike in a pirates outfit participating in the fight.

But allow me to simplify the matter…

Our first year anniversary is fast approaching - July 25 (more on that later) - and I just remembered that I spent our opening night last year at City Hall begging for us to have our name over the door. A full year later and I am right where I started. Lucky me, July 25th this year falls on a Saturday and I know the busy bees at the HPC will not be working on a Saturday night.

Just a simple question - Is it crazy to want an unobstructed view of our name over the door? Apparently, some think yes.

But I decided to have a little gathering. Just to ask some neighbors what they thought. A silly gathering request which I thought no one in their right mind would attend. I even talked my husband into quitting golf early so I wouldn’t be in an empty room.

But more than a few neighbors, business owners and candidates for office showed up. To name a few, candidates running for aldermen, Bill Ashton, Joe Cohen, John Shupe, Michael O’Conner, Kelly Russell, Karen Young (phone calls and emails from John Daniels and Amanda Haddaway). Those running for Mayor Jason Judd, Clint Hoffman and Randy McClement.

The great Frederick institutions, Bert Anderson (who singlehandedly built the historic landmarks and shopping centers Shab Row and Everedy Square), Phil Bowers owner of Brewers Alley, Acacia and Isabellas, WT Mills radio personality and barber to the who’s who of Frederick.

Including Frederick News Post and Frederick Gazette reporters with their photographers in tow.

These figures only to name a few, who left the comfy of their couch on a Monday night to join me, in a discussion about my sign.

At one time during my speech Mr. Anderson even referred to our gathering as a “McCarthy moment” — that moment when when enough people realized that there was something wrong with a government body.

Another simple question posed to McCarthy “Have you no sense of decency, sir?” The question focused the country on McCarthy’s mean-spirited destruction of any person who might disagree with him. I’m sure this simple question has been posed to the HPC on numerous occasions.

Fielding several phone calls from our current aldermen, requests for meetings from merchants and candidates running for office - all of this - over four metal letters, welcoming guests to our restaurant.