Photographer Cindy Wilson captures Block Island's charm. See more of her photographs - www.cindywilsonphoto.com

Julia was born on Block Island in 1904.

Jan’s great grandfather Matthew Stillman Barber owned the Shore Diner, a restaurant on Block Island from 1900 to 1916.  Imagine a whole meal for 50 cents and that included the watermelon for dessert!

Another family member was a cook on a cargo schooner, in the late 1890 to 1900. He also worked as a chef in Florida in the winter and in Rhode Island in the summer.

The Barber family also owned an ice cream parlor in the 1900’s. They manufactured vanilla and bottled it under the Barber name.

The stuffed shrimp recipe is just one of many foods made by Jan’s grandma Julia such as clam cakes, johnny cakes (fried white cornmeal cakes), dough bats (fried bread dough served with syrup), clam chowder and quahog pie

Jan says, “My grandma was a total foody. She would be talking about the next meal and we hadn’t even finished the one we were eating. At Thanksgiving, right after dinner she would come around with a tray of ground turkey and mayonnaise sandwiches, with the crust cut off and cut into fours diagonally. After breakfast I would smell her starting to cook her american goulash, the onions, the beef, etc. Each morning I would smell the bacon coming up to meet me as I came down the stairs.”

This Block Island Stuffed shrimp recipe is easy and simple yet packed with flavor. The stuffing can also be used on Lobster or other types of fish…it’s yummy!

Block Island Stuffed Shrimp Recipe

1 Sleeve Saltines - Crushed
1 1/2 sticks Butter
2 tsp. Coleman’s Dry Mustard

Spray a foiled pan. Place shrimp together tail to tail (looks like a yin-yang shape)
Put buttered crumbs on top of the shrimp
Sprinkle with Paprika

Bake at 400 degrees for 8-10 minutes (or more depending on the size of the shrimp)
As Jan mentioned, this stuffing is good on Lobster as well. Of course, anything on lobster is good!

We have to promo the next recipe and story that we’ll hopefully post on the Unsavory Tales page  before the next millennium (please stay with us, we’re just getting going) as being extremely funny and unique.  It’s an original recipe that a couple of friends developed all on their own.  When you see it, you might question whether they had too much time on their hands one day but that’s what makes it so much fun!  Keep a look out for the Spog!

Of course, on our home page we will continue to bring  fabulous stories and recipes that should be passed on for generations to come!

Katherine Zikakis’ Stuffed Tomatoes Recipe:

Invite lots of friends and family over when making this recipe.

18 firm red tomatoes

3.5 pounds of ground chuck

4 large cooking onions

2 cups of uncooked rice

salt and pepper to taste

½ t. of butter for each tomato

½ cup of olive oil

½ cup breadcrumbs

Directions

Put the meat in a heavy frying pan and start to brown on medium heat.

Chop the onions in ¼ dice and add to the meat after it has browned for 6-8 minutes.

Continue to cook.

Prepare the tomatoes by cutting a 2” circle on the stem end of the tomato.

Save the tops of the tomatoes

Very carefully remove the pulp and seeds from the tomato. Be careful not to

Pierce the skin.

Drain the hollow tomatoes while preparing the rest of then meat mixture.

Add some of the pulp from the tomatoes into the meat mixture.

Add the 2 cups of uncooked rice and continue to cook for another 10 minutes or so.

Turn the tomatoes up right and place in an ovenproof dish.

Add ½ t. of butter to each hollowed tomato.

Add salt and pepper and a pinch of sugar

Fill the hollowed tomatoes with the rice and meat mixture.

Do not pack too tight because the rice will expand. Put the tops back on the tomatoes.

Drizzle the stuffed tomatoes with olive oil and breadcrumbs.

Put the tomatoes in the lower shelf of a 350 oven. Bake for 45 to 60 minutes.

Enjoy!

Here is a photo of  Katherine’s mother when she went back to Greece to visit her country.