Cape Cod Rock Hopper

Flashback Memory & Fall Tomato-Cucumber Salad

            As I was sitting on the Sea St breach a few days ago I sat up and was looking across the glistening Sound as the sun danced off the gentle afternoon September waters. The air was pleasant and the water was,, well refreshing, and there was a light breeze in the air. As I looked west down the coast I counted no less then 10 Sunfish sails out in the water enjoying an afternoon of sailing, the last of the season I am sure for many of them. How many summers had I spent doing the same thing the last days of August, squeezing in every last opportunity I could get to be out on that boat enjoying any thought of a wisp of a breeze I could muster into that the sail of that boat. I stood up and just watched for several minutes lamenting those times that were so care free and easy. Little did I realize that those where really the good old days when all I had to worry about was another year of high school or a first or second year of college while still living at home. Sailing was such a release for me, I learned it quickly and enjoyed every minute of it, ok well just about every minute of it. Sailing was so much of my summers from my early teens on that I would not have a thought about coming to the Cape without being able to sail. 

But alas, that was yesterday and today is another issue, as I stand watching. Dad did by a Sunfish for the lake he lives on in Michigan and I have been able to enjoy it very much. I have been very thankful for what he has enabled me to continue to do on a smaller scale, but as I watch my heart so longs to be out there on the Sound in my Sunfish, gliding across those glistening ripples and gentle waves. Memories are wonderful things sometimes, yet very painful in others, when you are left holding empty dreams that you had hoped would continue well into the future. The moral to this memory is this, grab hold of your dreams and never let them go. If you let it go, let it be because you wanted to let it go, not because you lost it. So.....

Until that day, someone keep the lamp in the light house lit for me,, (by the way I do not believe that the light on has anything to do with the sharks either.) Have a wonderful day on the Cape,

This weeks recipe is a nice light side dish that combines an old favorite with a slight twist.  

Fall Tomato-Cucumber Salad

•                2-3    medium   Tomatoes - seeded and chopped
•                2-3    medium   Cucumbers - seeded and chopped
•                1       medium   bunch of Radishes, halved and sliced
•                2       tsp.         salt
•                2       tsp.         sugar
•                1/2    cup          vinegar, cidar or red wine.
•                1       tsp.         basil
•                1       tsp          oregano
•                                       ground pepper to taste

       In a small bow, whisk salt and sugar in vinegar till desolved together, add basil and oregano mix and set aside.

       Cut Tomatoes in half, remove seeds and chip into medium size pieces, (larger then if making a salsa relish, but still bite size)

       Cut Cucumber length wise, remove seeds and chop into medium pieces

       Cut Radishes in half and slices into thin pieces.

       In larger bowl pour vinegar mixture over chopped vegetables and add pepper to taste. Place in refrigerator and allow to site for at least 1/2 - 1 hour before     serving. You could also add chopped garlic if you wanted to kick this recipe up little. Hope you all enjoy this twist on an old classic.