Atlantic Balm

The weather here in LA is truly clement. I left for Florida's Atlantic coast two weeks ago to celebrate my father's 80th birthday and feared that when I returned this unusually moderate weather would have disappeared. I realized when I first set foot on the beach there that the two minute walk from my parent's house across A1A made all the difference, even though as usual you could cut the air with a knife. A couple of visits daily shoreside with my excellent youngest brother Matthew, to bathe and take in the sea air, watch the pelicans drop dive for fish and spot dolphins rolling along very close to shore, was something I needed a lot, not least because of his company and it became a daily ritual. Here, in SoCal, I rarely visit the Blue Pacific as it involves decanting myself into a car and making upwards of a 30 minute drive to travel a few miles, if traffic is good, trundling around for another half hour looking for parking, and then fighting the usual dense crowds, before finally bracing myself for the icy Pacific waters. By the time I get home all beneficial effects have usually worn off. There is also the frightening toll taken at the gas pump. It's much more pleasant to have access to a swimming pool and I'm pretty sure this is why they are abundant here. 

Each morning Daytona's brilliant skies were full with scudding clouds, and by early afternoon they were pregnant with rain, bolts of lightning and accompanying thunder. By early evening it it had cleared and one could return to walk at dusk on the rain embossed sand, paddle in the warm gulf stream flotsam and jetsom, and breathe in the thick, moist, clean air (see pic above).

I did most of the cooking whilst there, and for my mother's birthday baked some mostaciolli bolognese style, thick with a mushroom béchamel with added sausage by request of brother Matthew. That day brother David and his wife Theresa had had an enormous rich black chocolate cake made to celebrate both the birthdays complete with elegant piping and congratulatory text. For my father's special event I roasted a large leg of lamb for the family, with anchovy sauce, all brothers and their families in attendance to decimate it very quickly. Profiteroles for dessert - I cheated and bought 36 frozen Belgian cream puffs. I did make the bittersweet chocolate sauce from scratch but confess that I didn't harvest the cacao beans myself.  Another day we shucked the best part of a half  bushel of oysters from Hull's. It was a lovely trip, and while I am always sad to leave my family, for the first time I can honestly say I rather miss Florida.