Seaweed on the Mind

I have many fond memories—many sparked by the sea—which bring an internal smile: the smell of the ocean, a cool breeze, sea foam, sandy beaches. With these visions pulsing through my mind, seaweed is as close to the ocean as I can get. It is external influences like the weather and internal influences like childhood memories which seem to directly influence our cuisine. Today several factors came into play, and they all tied into my days near the beach. I looked to the nori for the smells and tastes of the sea, and I also remembered eating ripe cantaloupe on the porch while on Fire Island, so that became incorporated in a cantaloupe confiture. My favorite meal, eaten any time of day, is breakfast. Scrambled eggs with country ham is pretty tasty, and since I was traveling memory lane, I looked to our pantry for ham—in this case, duck ham. The dish became complete with a few balancing flavors like leeks marinated in a kimchi vinaigrette and a cherry miso which captures summer. I can still smell the sea breeze, distant in nature, close in the mind.