a clambake
September 15, 2009
…………….
above, a few photos from our annual family clambake, which takes place over labor day weekend each year. i had not been able to attend for a number of years, and so it was great to be there last weekend. my mom makes her famous whoopie pies for dessert every year, and i sure did miss these. they are amazing. i also ate lots of clam chowder, steamers, chicken, corn and potatoes, and washed it down with cold beer. it’s a perfect day of eating … my favorite sort of day.
and i wanted to share this poem with you today, by michael blumenthal. i read this while riding the subway yesterday and it hit me right in the gut. i thought you might enjoy it, too.
have a good day! more food talk tomorrow, i think.
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your family get-togethers would look amazing like this, wouldn’t they?
mind if i join your family, say sometime early september next year? i’m going to badger your mom for that recipe.
ps. brian if you don’t already have a girlfriend, be prepared, you just made the collective female world sigh by admitting to reading poetry on the subway. well played you. :)
your mom’s whoopie pies would be very popular here in maine!
Brian, I think I said this before, but I love the New Englandness of your life. It’s slightly mystical to my Midwestern one.
That poem is beautiful. Thank you, it’s just what I needed today.
I really really really love clams. Your photos are making me hungry, and I just had breakfast!!
“Whoopie pie” always makes me laugh.
Would you believe I’ve never tried a whoopie pie? Will have to remedy that. Blumenthal’s poem hit the spot.
Hannah, I agree. *sigh* :)
whoopie pies + clambake…what a perfect way to transition into fall. (wait. have you officially declared it fall yet?)
Your photos always have such a great east coast feel. I love it. You really capture the culture.
This one stings a little, Brian. The steamers and Harpoon in particular. But it’s a good sting. A delicious sting.
whoopie pies too and i spy some harpoon. you know you can tell by looking on the bottle if it was brewed in vermont or boston. love the poem.
thanks for sharing the poem….it was lovely.
Beautiful poem. I want to sit by this campfire and try whoopie pies for the first time!
What a great way to start the week. I don’t yet have a food tradition for labor day but I may steal this whole thing: good beer, clam bake, miniature whoopie pies, fire. Yes please.
Also, normally I’m not a girl to swoon over poetry, but sometimes it’s so much more powerful than regular prose. This one, for instance, is great. Thanks so much for sharing it.
whoopie pies rock. and so do clam bakes. I loved those as a child.
I just stumbled upon your blog. Beautiful shots. I’ll be coming back to read more ;-D
i’m going to need to know what a whoopie pie is.
and then i’m going to need the recipe, because they look delicious! and sound kind of funny : )
the clams still in their little mesh bags,
the tones of the first photo, the poem.
it’s really good brian.
wow whoopie pies, i had never heard or seen them before but don’t they look so good! your mum should open a woopie pie shop in tokyo!
Thank you for the poem, and the beautiful light in this set of photos.
Wow..that’s really all I can say Brian!
I love the way you shoot food! It is very poetic in itself!
The image of the fire is great.
And those whoopie pies seem delicious. i need one. or two
oh, the woopie pies and the fire. . . those photos are really great. what a great tradition.
I’ve been sneakily going through your archives as I became obsessed with your pictures. They are so inspiring. Then I realized you’re a lawyer, and I got to all the Bar-Bri/law school stuff and was compelled to look through it even though it still brings a pain to my stomach 5 years after taking the bar and spending that awful summer studying. Thank you for the links, the photos, and the inspiration. Good luck!
And the food! I forgot the delicious food!
ditto claire, i don’t think whoopie pies have crossed the atlantic yet. but they look pretty fine.
oh my. would your mother like to share that recipe?
that mesh bag of clams is inspirational!
thank you, brian, for the poem! the one thing i miss about driving since moving to booklyn is my daily dose of calm on npr.
gorgeous photos as well, happy fall :)