Many of us remember learning that the Indians taught the Pilgrims how to grow corn, by burying fish to fertilize it, and planting seeds over the fish. We were also taught that this was a big part of why those first settlers were able to make it through their early winters. It’s likely when the first 40 families landed on Founders Landing in Southold, not much corn was being grown on the North Fork at that time, but it was readily available through trade with New England. The local Indians kept large stores of this traded corn.
So the North Fork settlers more than likely came with the knowledge of how to grow corn, but the local Indians are said to have shown them a way to process it, creating a more palatable corn product: samp.
In olden times, Samp was often pounded in a primitive and picturesque Indian mortar made of a hollowed block of wood or a stump of a tree, which had been cut off about three feet from the ground. The pestle was a heavy block of wood shaped like the inside of the mortar and fitted with a handle attached to one side. This block was fastened to the top of a young and slender tree, a growing sapling, which was bent over and thus gave a sort of spring that pulled the pestle up after being pounded down on the corn. This was called a sweep and mortar mill. As samp is a dried food, it can be stored indefinitely, providing a staple winter food for early residents. Samp cooked alone is called samp. It is called samp porridge when it is cooked as a main dish with meat and vegetable. Early colonists would keep a stew of samp cooking for several days on the fire since refrigeration wasn’t an option, and the heat would keep any meat in the stew from spoiling. In time, the samp porridge would develop a crust around the pot that would taste like popped corn. This crust would be broken off and given to children as a treat.
For the purpose of this article I cooked a samp porridge. My family’s custom was to have ham on New Year’s day, which meant there was always a hambone in the dead of winter to use for samp. I didn’t have a ham bone, so I used what was on hand, a ham steak. On this cold November night, my recipe for Samp Porridge looked like this:
• 1 cup of dried samp (soaked overnight)
• 1 large sweet potato
• 2 medium potatoes
• 1 medium turnip
• 2 Rutabagas
• 1 onion
• 5 medium carrots
• 1 large parsnip
• 2 Knorrs ham bullion cubes
• Ground pepper to taste
• fresh parsley
• 1 teaspoon Bell seasoning
• 2 ham steaks
• 8 cups of water
Dice onions and sautee in the bottom of a soup pan until translucent or caramelized. Cut up all root vegetables. (although I cut mine smaller, most people cut them up the size they would for stew.) Add water, root vegetable and all other ingredients to pan. Simmer for at least an hour. Broth will become thick and glossy, as if you had added cornstarch.
Meanwhile on the North Fork...........
Posted: Sun Nov 20, 2022 12:54 pm
by Volkonski
Meanwhile on the North Fork...........
Posted: Sun Nov 27, 2022 11:19 am
by Volkonski
This place opened sometime this fall but we did not notice it before we left Jamesport to return to Texoma. The storefront it is in used to be a real estate office.
Meanwhile on the North Fork...........
Posted: Thu Dec 01, 2022 12:54 pm
by Volkonski
Displaced on the North Fork: Housing crisis leaves longtime residents scrambling for a place to live
It’s no secret that the North Fork has a housing crisis. But besides a shortage of housing stock, locals have been facing increased pressure from landlords who want to sell their properties or raise rents, forcing many to leave.
The North Fork Housing Alliance said the number of displaced people coming to the organization has increased seven percent over the last year, and the number who need financial assistance has grown 10%.
“We’re seeing a lot of people that landlords sold the houses, or they’re not renewing leases, or they’re raising the rent, and we see people more often, especially folks that have been part of a community for a long time and don’t want to leave the community, oftentimes they’re living in their cars or they’re trying to scrape by living in motel rooms or they’re couch surfing. And we’re seeing that number increase as well,” said Daniel O’Shea, executive director of Maureen’s Haven in Riverhead.
In 2021, the organization offered 6,400 beds through its emergency winter shelter program across the East End.
“I think a lot of people don’t fully realize the extent of homelessness on the East End,” he added. “There’s a lot of misconceptions and misperceptions about what homeless people look like and who they are … The reality of it all is a lot of folks are our neighbors, they are people that have been in the community for a long time.”
This is part of the reason why most North Fork businesses have Help Wanted signs on their front doors.
Meanwhile on the North Fork...........
Posted: Sun Dec 11, 2022 8:47 am
by Volkonski
Meanwhile on the North Fork...........
Posted: Tue Dec 27, 2022 3:29 pm
by Volkonski
National Grid says system now operating well, asks customers to continue to conserve during peak hours through Wednesday
National Grid is asking its natural gas customers on Long Island, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island to cut back on gas usage this holiday weekend due supply problems amidst heavy demand, as the Northeast copes with cold weather and impacts of a powerful winter storm.
National Grid sent alerts to their customers late on Christmas Eve asking for their help to prevent a potential gas outage in the region.
The utility cited interstate pipeline equipment problems caused by the combination of frigid weather and heavy demand, which is challenging the pipelines’ “ability to provide adequate amounts of gas throughout the Northeast,” according to a press release issued Saturday night.
The company also called on its commercially contracted customers who participate in the demand response program to switch to alternative fuels.
Meanwhile on the North Fork...........
Posted: Tue Dec 27, 2022 3:31 pm
by Volkonski
COVID community transmission level ‘high’ in Suffolk, masks in indoor public places recommended: CDC
The community transmission level of COVID-19 in Suffolk County is currently high, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The case rate per 100,000 population is 314.98 in Suffolk County, according to data published by the CDC on its COVID data tracker website. COVID-19 hospital admissions in Suffolk are currently 31.4 per 100,000.
People in Suffolk County should wear a high-quality mask or respirator in public places and on public transportation, the CDC says.
Community levels are high in other downstate counties, including Nassau, Westchester, Rockland and Orange counties and the five boroughs of New York City. Community levels in most of Upstate New York remain low or medium.
Meanwhile on the North Fork...........
Posted: Mon Jan 02, 2023 1:23 pm
by Volkonski
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Posted: Mon Jan 02, 2023 1:28 pm
by Volkonski
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Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2023 12:41 pm
by Volkonski
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Posted: Fri Jan 20, 2023 2:30 pm
by Volkonski
Peconic Bay scallops are the best scallops in the world. Larger than the bay scallops you will find in a supermarket with a delicate flavor and firm texture. They are nicknamed "Pearls of the Peconic". Our hamlet on the North Fork was once the center of the scallop fishery. Dozens, even hundreds, of baymen from November to March would harvest the scallops and take them to the scallop houses where they were shelled and barreled and put on LIRR trains to be taken to markets in New York City. Mrs. V's parents used to tell us that when they were young the piles of scallop shells next to the scallop house would be taller than the houses.
Now the scallop houses have been converted into expensive bay front summer homes. The baymen's docks are now marinas for yachts.
Lobsters, soft shell steamer clams and PB scallops have all but disappeared from LI waters. I remember when they were abundant and cheap.
Peconic Bay Scallop Die-Off Due To Global Warming, Heat Waves: Study
A new study indicates what many have long feared: The die-off of the beloved Peconic Bay scallops in local waters is likely caused by warming waters and heat waves.
The study, commenced by Stony Brook University researchers and published in Global Change Biology, indicated that global warming has contributed to the loss of bay scallops.
As climate change intensifies, heat waves are becoming more and more common across the globe. In the face of such repeated events, animals will acclimate, migrate, or perish, experts said.
Since 2019, consecutive summer mass die-offs of bay scallops in the Peconic Estuary on Long Island have led to the collapse of the bay scallop fishery in New York and the declaration of a federal fishery disaster, with landings down more than 99 percent, Stony Brook University researchers said.
Meanwhile on the North Fork...........
Posted: Tue Jan 31, 2023 4:07 pm
by Volkonski
Riverhead named to Forbes’ top 50 travel destinations in 2023
Riverhead is one of 11 U.S. destinations named to the Forbes top 50 destinations list this year. The U.S. destinations named to the list, which is presented in by Forbes in alphabetical order:
Athens, Georgia
Chattanooga, Tennessee
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Encinatas, California
Hocking Hills, Ohio
Kanab, Utah
Marathon, Florida
Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, Georgia
Page, Arizona
Riverhead, New York
St. Albans, West Virginia
Foreign destinations include places on most other continents, from the Mediterranean island of Corsica, France to Tasmania, Australia.
The top 50 list, published earlier this month on the Forbes website, is a feature of Forbes Advisor and is compiled by Forbes Advisor staff and contributors.
Here’s how Forbes Advisor journalist Robin Saks Frankel describes Riverhead: “an historic town on the North Shore of Long Island with plenty of ways to while away the day.” She highlights the Long Island Aquarium, Jamesport Farm Brewery, autumn apple-picking at local orchards and the Big Duck. The write-up notes that “no trip to Riverhead is complete without a picture with the famous Big Duck.”
The Big Duck is not in Riverhead. It is on the South Fork in the Hamlet of Flanders in the Town of Southampton.
Meanwhile on the North Fork...........
Posted: Thu Feb 02, 2023 4:06 pm
by Volkonski
Wind Chill Could Reach 15 Below Zero As Arctic Air Blasts Long Island
A blast of icy arctic air is expected to blanket Long Island this weekend, forecasters said Thursday.
According to the National Weather Service, the arctic cold front approaches Thursday and will deliver an "extremely cold" air mass into the area for Friday into Saturday.
John Cristantello, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in Upton, said the arctic cold front will first hit the area late Thursday. By 7 a.m. Friday, temperatures are expected to be in the mid-20s. By noon, temps are slated to drop to the lower 20s and by sunset, into the lower teens. Temperatures are expected to range from about 0 to five degrees Friday night.
Good time to be in Texoma.
Meanwhile on the North Fork...........
Posted: Thu Feb 09, 2023 6:43 pm
by Volkonski
New Plan In Place To Save Peconic Bay Scallop Population
The Robins Island Foundation is supporting Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk’s marine program work to boost the survivial rate of Peconic Bay scallops by experimenting with a shift in its hatchery spawning from summer to fall.
The plan comes after four years in a row of mass die-offs, CCE said.
Bay scallops typically spawn once in the summer during their second year of life. In past years, the CCE team, working in conjunction with Suffolk County, has succeeded in producing large numbers of summer-spawned bay scallops. The current CCE research focuses on the less common uncommon fall spawning.
In October and November of 2022, CCE’s production hatchery in Southold conducted two successful spawns, resulting in about 30,000 young scallops currently in the hatchery. This spring, the restoration team will undertake a range of field experiments to evaluate the hardiness of these fall-spawned scallops. The team will aim to investigate survival rates, reproduction, and infection rates of the fall scallops and compare the results with that of scallops spawned in summer. If fall-spawned bay scallops survive better than those produced in summer, such findings could prove highly useful in future restoration efforts, CCE said.
Meanwhile on the North Fork...........
Posted: Thu Mar 16, 2023 3:28 pm
by Volkonski
The letter mentioned was Einstein's letter (actually written for him by physicist Leó Szilárd) to President Roosevelt warning about the possibility of atomic bombs).
North Fork of Long Island, NY.
Raphael Badagliacca ·
1d
·
Happy Birthday (yesterday) to Albert Einstein who said that he spent the three most pleasant summers of his life on the North Fork and put his signature while there to one of the world's most famous letters in 1939. Yesterday also celebrates International Genius Day designated on his birthday in his honor.
Meanwhile on the North Fork...........
Posted: Tue Apr 04, 2023 9:58 am
by Volkonski
South Fork.
'Swatting' Incident Reported At East Hampton Schools: Police
Police responded to a "swatting" incident at East Hampton schools Tuesday, officials said.
East Hampton Town police said many East End school districts received a threatening email overnight, similar in wording to what other school districts across New York State received over the past week.
"Swatting" means a caller falsely states that there is an active shooter in a school, officials have said.
Law enforcement intelligence deemed the threat to be non-credible and part of a robocall scheme, police said. But, out of an "abundance of caution," East Hampton town police deployed teams of officers to each school to thoroughly search and clear each building, authorities said. Uniformed officers have been deployed to the schools and police are monitoring the situation, officials said.
Meanwhile on the North Fork...........
Posted: Sun Apr 09, 2023 6:56 am
by Volkonski
Our favorite NoFo beach-
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Posted: Sun Apr 09, 2023 6:59 am
by Volkonski
Chocolate bunny time. Happy Easter-
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Posted: Sun Apr 09, 2023 7:01 am
by Volkonski
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Posted: Sun Apr 09, 2023 7:02 am
by Volkonski
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Posted: Sun Apr 09, 2023 7:04 am
by Volkonski
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Posted: Sun Apr 09, 2023 7:06 am
by Volkonski
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Posted: Sun Apr 30, 2023 6:27 pm
by Volkonski
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Posted: Wed May 10, 2023 3:08 pm
by Volkonski
Opening on Wed, May 17th!
We look forward to seeing you as we enter our 73rd year! Since 1950, we've provided locals and visitors alike, great home cooking on the North Fork. See you next week!!
Meanwhile on the North Fork...........
Posted: Wed May 10, 2023 4:52 pm
by RTH10260
Will the Northfork circle of the V family clan be open in time?