Mussels on the Grill

As a group of essentially parentless siblings, we had the freedom to play when we wanted, where we wanted, and how we wanted. Since we also needed to eat, we had to find ways to scavenge for food while we were out on our adventures. Living near the beach on Long Island gave us an opportunity to merge the two. While living in St. James in an apartment above a glue factory, we were just over a mile and a half away from Cordwood Beach. On warm mornings my older sisters and I would gather up our younger siblings, along with towels and some toys, and all five of us would meander down to the beach where we would spend the day swimming out to the floating dock, writing in the sand, and playing in an abandoned, storm-ravaged boat house. Towards the end of the day, we would begin gathering our dinner by plucking off mussels in well-hidden mussel beds and using our hands to dig down for clams that were hidden just beneath the surface. Then on our way home, we would pause to pick wild chives.

Once we got back to our kitchen, we would quickly scrub the clams, de-beard the mussels, and put them in a pot of water with the diced chives to eat for supper. Today, living on the North Fork of Long Island, my desire for seafood has never waned, and I always try to find different ways to prepare seafood simply but with a few more ingredients than what we had access to as children. Below is one of my favorites.