Richard’s Almanac: The pleasures of the clam

It was a great front page picture in the April 16 Reporter of a magnolia blossom. Good to see that life is going on around us. I only wish that I could participate in all that nature has to offer.

I did go off the property early Easter Sunday to take advantage of the extreme low tides and go clamming. I wasn’t sure that I could get any when I offered to make some to add to my daughter’s Easter dinner. Everyone in her family loves baked stuffed clams.

And I can deliver them to her adjacent property while they are piping hot.

My tide clock indicated that dead low was at 8:45 am. I dug the rake and the clam basket out of the shed the night before as I prepared for my task. I went to one of my favorite clamming spots where I have a mooring. An extreme low tide there exposes plenty of mud. I don’t have hip boots so I didn’t want to go in the water. All my raking would be done at the water’s edge.

I wore waterproofed leather boots that enabled me to go through the mud without any problem.

My first scrapings in the sand were unsuccessful. I was getting discouraged, but at least I was able to see the nesting ospreys. They were very busy. Then I got the first clam. A very nice cherrystone. This encouraged me.

When one drops the rake into the sand just a few inches and then pulls it, I find it amazing how you can feel a clam when the teeth hit it. Just keep pulling and the bivalve plops into the basket. Very satisfying. I did this for about a half hour and got some two dozen very nice healthy cherrystones.

I brought them home and cleaned all the sand and mud off the shells. I usually do this outside with the garden hose but I haven’t turned it on yet.

Usually, when I’m not under pressure, I leave the clams overnight in water with some cornmeal and they’ll clean themselves.

But I didn’t have time for that. These had to be on the table at 1:30 p.m. as appetizers. I also didn’t have time to chill them before opening so I steamed them open. I watched them carefully and turned off the heat just as they started to open. Then I let them cool so I could handle them.

There are many variations of recipes for baked stuffed clams. And they are usually all very good. One mistake to watch out for is using too many bread crumbs or crushed crackers to stretch the mix.

So I scoop out the clam “meat” and chop it up. Then mix it with chopped onions, bacon and celery that has been sautéed.

To this I add some breadcrumbs, a splash of milk, a dash of Old Bay seasoning and some of the clam juice.

I get the juice from the pan I used to steam open the clams. But I filter it with a coffee filter first to get rid of the inevitable sand.

I then take the half shells and place them on a cookie sheet and place a lump of my mixture in each one.

I bake them for about 20 minutes to a half hour at 350 degrees.

There you have it. They were on the table at 1:30 just before the ham came out of the oven.

I do believe that fresh air and physical activity helps at this time. Just stay away from other people.

Meanwhile, this is the time to work outside on our grounds. Get that seed planted, freshen up those flowerbeds and enjoy those blossoms that are imminent.