No water on the shelves, just water on the floor.

This is a bit of an off-topic post, as it doesn’t have any recipes, or many appetizing photos. I’m in a strange place, somewhat literally, as I’ve been stranded in New Jersey this week. I had to miss a post last week, mostly because I was in the midst of bridesmaid duties, which is what brought me back to NY/NJ. This time, I’ve missed my posting deadline for a different reason, one that is a bit colder and sadder.

After my best friend’s beautiful and fantastically fun wedding, I came back to my childhood home with expectations of flying from Newark to London on Monday. My bag was packed to grab and go, filled with American candy to share with the Londoners… But instead I ended up watching my favorite neighborhoods being torn apart by a hurricane.

Hurricane Sandy hit like a force. It was hard to image just how bad it would be, and even harder to fathom everything that had happened as a result.

We made it out pretty well, all things considered. Just no power or heat, some fixes and clean-up  to be done, and some not-very-exciting food to eat from the fridge before it went off. (I am so tired of scrambled eggs.) At worst, it’s been a matter of camping out somewhere else, with power and heating – two very blissful things right now.

In the dark.

There’s a lot to be grateful for, but also a lot to be sad about. So much has changed here, and it’s hard to know now if any of it will ever be the same.

In a few days I’ll be back on my way to London, where my kitchen counter awaits some exciting new culinary experiments. But right now, it’s hard to imagine being there, when friends and family here today are still trying to leave their homes for the first time all week, or no longer have homes at all.

I’ve been eagerly waiting to bring my gentleman to visit, to see my favorite places in my old neighborhood in Jersey City. I wanted to take him down the shore, where I’ve spent many summer weekends, and to lower Manhattan, where I spent the previously mentioned Thursday, out to dinner with the bride-to-be, and the home of my favorite cocktail bar, cafe and wanderable streets. While it will all be worth visiting again, it probably won’t be the same. It will give me the chance to build memories, and hold the other ones untarnished, but it will be just as new for me as it will be for him.

For now, the last thing on my mind is recipes or cooking, and while I’ll be back in my second home next week, away from the floods, the downed power lines and the ruined houses, my spirit will still be here, where I’ve come from.

The least of the trouble compared to the street lined with cracked and fallen lamp posts.

It’s been a fishy few weeks for the gentleman and I. Lots of fresh fish from great places, and I was compelled to document it. Here’s a bit of the seafood in my life lately. All the pics are taken with an iPhone. Not up to the usual standards, but some eats just need to be documented.

A couple of the fish monger’s wares… including the bass we ate for dinner.

In my gentleman and cooking partner’s neighborhood, there’s a great fishmonger who hangs out in a church yard, every weekend. He sells some great fish, straight from the south coast of England. When we stop by late in the afternoon, it’s pretty much a requirement to pick up the discounted scallops on a half-shell.

The gentleman took over scallop duty and we ended up with this amazing Alton Brown -inspired starter.

The scallops didn’t disappoint, especially when the gentleman popped them in the oven with breadcrumbs, tomatoes and loads of other great things. And those croutons – created from homemade sourdough bread.

And my contribution … Portland Bass stuffed with spinach, garlic and lemon. Tasty!!

Scotland does some pretty delicious fish. I am a bit of a smoked salmon addict, but visiting Edinburgh gave me a chance to have a lot more than just smoky pink fish.

We had dinner at a great place called Fishers in the City, which I’d recommend to any seafood-lover.

One langostine of many, primed for battle. I won, but not without some scars.

These guys were tough to eat – we both ended up with battle wounds – but they were well worth the effort. I kind of wish I had some right now…

Plaice fillets, smoked bacon, macadamia nut stuffing and beurre blanc at Fishes in Edinburgh.

What a combo! I would have never thought of stuffing fish with nuts, and then bacon, too? It worked though. It won’t be long before I have a cabinet full of nut butters.

I’ve decided to try something new! I take so many photos, especially when I travel and visit markets, and a lot of times they sit in folders, unused. I love getting pics of fresh vegetables at a market stand, funky cheeses at local shops and lots and lots of beautiful, fresh-looking meals. Rather than bore my friends on facebook with them all, I’ve decided to post a monthly photo-roll with my favorite munching-related shots. 

In August, I was in Santorini (Thira), Greece, alternating between lounging at the pool and climbing mountains in the heat. In the midst of that, there was plenty of eating and drinking in the sun and among the sea breezes of Greece.

While I’ve been holding on to these for a while, I’ve been quite eager to post them, especially since that’s where I was inspired to make my own souvlaki.

Hotel balcony beer-off! The winner: Fix

In typical fashion, rather than spending our opening hour sitting on the beach, or stealing a poolside seat, we wandered into town to stock up on beer, feta cheese and fresh fruit. After the beer tasting, we stuck to Fix for our hotel room beverage needs, which led to terrible jokes about getting our “fix”.

Local cheese and vegetables for breakfast!

And yogurt with local honey

The hotel breakfasts were actually worth looking forward to, which was a very pleasant surprise. It was even better because it was included, but the food was so fresh and so tasty. We tried all sorts of random samplings of Greek food, though my favorite, the dolmades, only made an appearance once.

Grilled fish of the day and an ocean view is the way to go.

More fish! Hello little guys.

We ate lots and lots of grilled fish. If a restaurant didn’t have a fresh fish to try, it probably wasn’t worth going to for us. It didn’t get much better than sitting by the ocean, lazily flaking our fish and enjoying the moment.

What a view in Thirassia! Shame it closes at 4 pm.

Cheap, tasty local wine. The best kind of wine.

Seriously. So cheap.

It’s easy to get spoiled when light, drinkable summery white wine gets as expensive as 5 euros for a liter in a restaurant. “This is great!” you might think, and wonder why every weekend lunch isn’t accompanied with a glass of refreshing white. And then you get home and notice that a £7 bottle of white is passable and that it’s not hot or sunny… and you’re not walking to restaurants in a bathing suit.