My Address is a Valentine

All You Need is Love

From Karyl’s Cook & Tell Newsletter (February, 1997)

Love’s Cove, where we live, is not a make-believe address we invented because we love it here, although we do. People named Love lived on this cove a long time ago. I love to say their first names: Gilbert, George, Octavia, Merton, Wesley, and Woodbury. Woodbury Love, First Selectman of Southport Island for many years and beloved of his fellow townsfolk, lived in our house.

The house is across the road from the head of the cove, just before you have to take a wicked swing to the right, driving south, in order to stay on the road as it copies the curve of the cove. Tourists often stop their cars and take pictures when the view suddenly opens up on Love’s Cove. This is nothing like suburbia, nothing like anywhere else. Which, I suppose, might be said for many a locale in rural Maine. But nowhere else I know of has a cove called Love’s, and if there is another one somewhere, I don’t need to know about it.

Bob says he can’t understand why anyone would want to live in, say, the woods, without a view. I try to explain that the woods is their view, that to each there is a special place, and it isn’t necessarily Love’s Cove.

For us, it is. Imagine a little girl standing in the fresh salt air, the waters of the cove sparkling in the early morning sun behind her. She is waiting for the school bus to take her to the three-room island school a mile away. I am her mother, watching at the dining room window, enchanted by the way the cove and the child, framed by one of the window’s panes and flattened by the distance, seem to embrace each other.

Now picture the present owner of Woodbury Love’s old place walking his aluminum canoe across the road one day last summer. It’s an ocean over there, not a creek; most of the boats on Love’s Cove have masts or outboard motors. This man’s boat recalls bygone days of fishing and exploration. Who would deny him a paddle every now and then on the convenient and available body of water out front?

The tide is high, the water calm. This brave man in Madras shorts and tee shirt adjusts his sweatband, slides his craft into the salt water, and says, “Well, I’m going to take a trip.” I am his wife, seeing him off. I ask if he’ll be coming home. After all, this is his first excursion in three years. Who knows what might occur to him as he skims the surface of that vast, shimmering sea?

For all the adventure that takes place here at the curve of a country road on a small Maine island, this cove called Love’s is a place of tranquility and contentment. Living up to our address is a daily delight.

Love’s Cove, captured by my iPhone August 2023

Amie’s Headnotes

Love’s Cove has wrapped me in its embrace for more than half a century now, from those early childhood mornings at the bus stop to my daily summer dives off its rocky ledges. My choice of watercraft is paddleboard and kayak; like my parents and stepdad, only ghostly memories of the old aluminum canoe remain.

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from Karyl’s sketchbook

For Valentine’s Day, I’ve sifted through the recipe archives at the house on Love’s Cove to bring you this sweetheart of a menu. The scallops and potatoes are quick and easy; the souffles are a bit more involved but believe me, they’re worth it. And if you haven’t yet tried Valhrona Cocoa Powder—yes, I know, like everything else it costs a million dollars—it’s worth it, too.

FIVE-MINUTE SCALLOPS

Makes 2-3 servings

• ½ pound scallops (I use the big, “dry” sea scallops. I think they’re best)

• 1 small onion, chopped fine

• ½ stick (4 T.) butter

• ½ t. paprika

If the scallops are large, cut them in half. Sauté the onion in the butter and paprika in a skillet. Add the scallops, separating and rolling them to get them buttery all over. Cook only 4-5 minutes, turning once.

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SKINNY SCALLOPED POTATOES

Makes 6 servings

• 1 ½ lb. baking potatoes, peeled and sliced 1/8” thick

• Salt & pepper

• ¼ t. thyme

• ¾ c. chicken broth

Arrange half of the potatoes, overlapped, in an 8x8” microwave-and-oven-safe glass baking dish. Sprinkle with S & P and thyme. Pour chicken broth over. Zap, covered, on high for 10 minutes or till tender when pierced with a knife. Preheat the broiler. Remove the cover and broil till the top is golden, 2 to 3 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

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LITTLE CHOCOLATE SOUFFLÉS

Makes 6 servings

• 4 eggs

• ½ c. sugar

• 1/3 c. unsweetened cocoa powder (+ more for dusting soufflé dishes)

• ¼ c. flour

• 1 c. heavy (whipping) cream

• 2 T. butter (+ more for buttering soufflé dishes)

• ½ t. vanilla

• ½ t. cream of tartar

• Confectioners’ sugar for garnish

Preheat the oven to 350◦ F. Butter and dust six 4-oz soufflé dishes or 6-oz. custard cups. Separate the eggs: whites in a large bowl, yolks in a small bowl. In a medium pan, combine ¼ c. of the sugar and all of the cocoa and flour. Sir in the cream and cook over medium, stirring till smooth and it starts to boil. Remove from heat; stir in butter and vanilla and set aside.

Beat the whites and cream of tartar on medium speed till foamy. Add the remaining ¼ c. sugar one tablespoon at a time till the whites are stiff and won’t slip when the bowl is tilted. Blend the yolks thoroughly into the chocolate sauce. Stir in a large spoonful of whites to lighten. Gently fold the sauce into the rest of the whites.

Turn into baking dishes and bake on middle rack for 20 minutes or until they have high peaks. Don’t open the oven until done! Dust with confectioners’ sugar and serve at once.

Need help decoding our recipe shorthand? The official Cook & Tell Owner’s Manual is here to help!

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Sharing the Love 💕

Valentine’s Day came early to Cook & Tell as readers sent in their favorite recipe card stories for our virtual recipe card swap. I’ll be sharing these in future issues.

There’s always a story behind a favorite recipe—I’d love to hear yours!

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What readers are saying about Cook & Tell

“I feel your mother alive in these words and drawings and recipes. What a beautiful celebration you create each week, Amie. It matters keeping them alive!”

—Elizabeth M

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Thank you, readers, for helping keep the legacy alive.

Your Pantry Pals,

Amie & Karyl

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