welcome to Whidbey Island

This past weekend, my husband and I had the good fortune to join our friends’ at their parents’ house on Whidbey Island. Each morning, we had fruit and coffee outside by the water, and then took out the boats to set the crab traps. By mid-afternoon, we’d take our haul–30 in all–back to the house, and prepare a feast.

Teddy and John’s house, right by the water

imagine having a beach as a part of your backyard!

After brunch at a local diner, we’d settle in with magazines, Manhattans, and while away the sunny afternoon. I took a large bucket down to the beach and harvested pounds of mussels one afternoon, and then we enjoyed them for dinner along with the crab. All in all, utter relaxation.

Teddy’s crab salad with homemade cocktail sauce

Aaron’s dilled crab salad with celery and red onion

mussels I harvested off the beach, steamed in a light curry broth

panko-crusted crab cakes

Santa Maria BBQ ribs (there’s tri-tip underneath that pile of meat, too!)

butter and herb roasted heirloom carrots

steamed crabs in Old Bay seasoning

The cooking often started quite late into the evening, after we cleaned the crabs, steamed them, and picked the meat for crab salads and crab cakes. Nothing we cooked that weekend was particularly fussy or complicated, but it was all tasty, clean, and fresh. Sometimes, that’s all you need.

angel food cake, local strawberries with whipped cream

S’more fixin’s for the campfire

A weekend getaway wouldn’t be complete with s’mores. We did these with a thick smear of peanut butter for a bit of extra decadance.

Thanks so much to Teddy, John, Charlotte and Aaron for a memorable weekend.