One of the things you can do on the East End, is to go clamming for your own clams. Saw someone doing it over this past beautiful sunny hot July weekend. 

When I was a kid, I used to go clamming and/or bluefishing, it seems, almost every summer weekend with my father, grandfather, aunt, and siblings. We'd feel the big clams with our feet in the black mud - like smooth rocks almost, except they were unmistakable with their stripe-textured surface and one sharp edge.

Growing up, my mother made Manhattan-style clam chowder all the time with the big clams we brought home.

Here's a pasta recipe that used fresh cherrystone clams for that "homemade" touch, but, also uses canned white clam sauce from the supermarket.

Ingredients (2 people)

• Thin spaghetti or linguine, about a half box
• 6-12 large cherrystone clams, steamed open and chopped
• Olive oil, a tablespoon or two
• Lots of garlic, minced, chopped or sliced - from a clove or two to half a head
• 16 oz can of white clam sauce
• Splash (1/4 cup) of dry Long Island white wine (optional)
• Fresh oregano leaves (flowers too)

I hate shucking clams. I'm clumsy, don't have the right knife, and am not good at it. My solution is to put 1/4 inch of water in a saucepan and steam the clams open for about 5 minutes. Take the clams out and let cool, the chop the meat into half inch pieces. Reserve the liquid (strain off, leaving behind any sand or dirt).

Start boiling the water for the pasta. As the water is boiling, make the rest of the sauce.

Sautée the garlic pieces in a couple of tablespoons olive oil on a low heat until soft but not overly brown. Add the clam steaming water and the can of white clam sauce.

Meanwhile, the pasta water is probably boiling by now. Add thin spaghetti or linguine. Stir and boil the pasta while you continue with the sauce in the separate pan.

Optional - add a splash, less than 1/4 cup, of Long Island white wine to the sauce. Add the chopped fresh clam pieces near the end - you don't want to overcook them. Throw in the fresh oregano leaves and flowers near the end.

Drain the pasta. What I usually do is put the drained pasta into the sauce for a minute or two, to heat.