Down by the sea...

"The sea will reclaim all if you let it." So warned my cousin Pati to my two kids - then ages 5 and 7 on the occasion of their first trip to the Atlantic Ocean. Not that my children were scared. But I sure was. What is it about Italians that we feel the need to scare ourselves into worry? On that day, my kids fell in love with the ocean. And my son still has plans to live near one - only the Pacific not the Atlantic.
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I don't terribly miss the undertow. Or the fact that you never got "used" to the water at Jones Beach. (Rather you went numb and then the cold didn't bother you at all.) I have a wrinkle on my forehead from a sunburn I got there at age 16. I wish I still had the shells.
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I miss the sound. After a day at Jones Beach, I slept soundly with the sounds of the waves continuing to echo in my ear. And I miss the seafood.

Particularly shellfish. Particularly shrimp. A very smart company - Fabian Shrimp Company - figured out there was a market for fresh - never frozen (unlike the signs you see here: Fresh Frozen Shrimp) shrimp in Minnesota. They come up from the Gulf once a month and sell, sell, sell. And I buy. Oh how I wish there was lobster from the Gulf!

It is no accident that I make my home in White Bear Lake. When we were looking to buy a house, I was enchanted with being able to walk two blocks to a body of water. Never mind that the home was a wreck. It was two blocks from the lake. The home is no longer a wreck. And I have never tired of the lake.

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With respect to my love of shellfish and my Italian heritage, we feasted on Spaghetti di Mare. It couldn't be easier and substitutions are encouraged.
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SPAGHETTI DI MARE (think of this as a suggestion rather than a recipe)
You need: (Feeds 4-6 depending on how much your family eats!)
1 to 1-1/2 pound of shrimp (shelled and de-veined)
1 to 1-1/2 pound bay scallops (smaller is better for this dish)
1 pound spaghetti or linguine or vermicelli
2 pounds tomatoes (cherry, plum, beefsteak) chopped or 2 cans diced tomatoes (I like fire-roasted)
2-4 gloves of garlic
olive oil - about 2-3 T
about 1/2 cup wine and 1/2 cup fish stock or clam juice
1/2 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
Cook pasta according to directions. You know the drill.
Heat oil in large skillet. Add garlic and saute briefly. Add tomatoes - juices and all. And cook for a few minutes. Add wine and fish stock (or clam juice). Bring to a boil. Simmer about two minutes. Add shrimp and scallops. Simmer about four minutes - till done. Combine pasta with skillet sauce. Top with Italian parsley. Serve. Enjoy a glass of Pinot Grigio. Crusty bread. Sing Finniculi-Finnicula. And enjoy being down by the sea. Without any worries.
And to my foodie friends: There's a glitch somewhere and having trouble commenting (IE keeps "aborting" the blogs.) Most disconcerting - but I shall persevere until it is fixed!