Cleaning Fish- Gird Your Loins!

Okay, we're going to walk through cleaning fish on the deck, but look out! It's a little messy.

After you let the fish bleed out, cut around the gills and pull them out.

 

Cut down the belly to the anus.

Open the belly and pull out the entrails.

If there's an egg sac, try to keep it intact.

Scrape out the excess intestines and rinse well before storing in the fish box or on ice. And make sure to cut open the stomach to see what the fish last ate- it makes nice dinner conversation when your guests want to know everything about the critter they're eating.

 

We had a female and tried some of the eggs. They were ... eggy. And not the greatest texture. I guess it needs a little treatment with brine or chilling down over right out of the ocean. I'll let the sushi chefs keep in charge of that.

 

 

Here's a little video showing some of the internal plumbing mysteries of a fish. And vegetarians out there (the real kind that don't eat fish), I respect that you eat only what you're willing to harvest. It's a great reminder of why I would venture out in search of my own food than go to the fishmonger.

 

Piggies!

Trout brought home these little piggies to raise for home cured bacon, tenderloin and other porky morsels this winter. I got to meet them on their drive home and wanted to introduce you. There will be more visits with them to come!

I peeked in on last year's pigs as they matured, but missed the slaughter. I think this is a crucial part of the cycle to witness as a meat eater (I suggest reading The Girl Hunter and Cleaving if it strikes an ethical cord for you). I caught the end of butchering that year and am fascinated with the efficiency of raising meat. My hat goes off to my empowered friends for putting in the hard work themselves- it makes a far more conscientious carnivore. 

I never dreamed piglets could be even stinkier than adult pigs, but I still have lots to learn if the masters' patience allows.

This essay by Thomas Keller completely changed my thinking about how we eat and cook meat, and reinforced my deep respect for the labor that goes into each ingredient we consume. Please read before you picket!

Fantastic Forage

Oh, the things we found during my foraging workshop this weekend! If you read yesterday's post, you'll have learned a little bit more about the farm hosting the event. Now you get to learn what's out there.

Our teacher, and author of the blog and book Fat of the Land, Langdon Cook, came in holding a basket of fiddlehead ferns on his arm that he found on the drive in. I pictured him spotting them from his moving car and skidding to a stop in a dramatic stunt move, a la Dukes of Hazzard.

We passed the plate around as we made introductions. I sampled one, but whoops, there's time for that later. These little beauties are best when cooked! But enough of that- it was time to head out and get down to business to make sure we had lunch.

Our first edible find was oxalis, or sour grass, part of the clover family. This is great as a garnish to salad, with a lemony kick. It can be overpowering, so a small dose is fine.

Kevin Feinstein also joined us, author of The Bay Area Forager and the blog Feral Kevin. He and Langdon were a wealth of wisdom and complimented each other well with their information. Kevin's expertise on foraging in the area made him an indispensable addition to our group.

Here, he points out nasturtium flowers and wild radish seed pods that crunch like pickled green beans when you pick the right one. Is it bad that I wanted to deep fry them in beer batter? I kept that suggestion under wraps. I was with a pretty healthy bunch.

Here is a weed with small yellow flowers used to make a tea similar to chamomile. Can anyone identify it? As usual, I forgot the name. We weren't going to use it in our cooking, but I grabbed some to take home.

A couple things before I get too much farther. As I mentioned in my previous post, foraging should only be done on pristine land, that is, not by the side of the road, near telephone lines, near a building that has had lead paint at any time, or at farms using pesticides and fertilizers.

In this case, we went to a farm that has been organic for 40 years and most of the picking was on upslopes to avoid runoff. The nature of the soil is the important thing, not how clean the plant is.

It's also important to be aware of how you are foraging, so try to keep it sustainable by properly collecting plants so they will keep growing back. I needed to hear this, since I overzealously jumped in and started ripping things out by the roots. Luckily, it was early on before I could cause too much damage. Okay, let's keep going.

Through the poison oak and brush lies our lunch. We were mainly after nettles and miner's lettuce. The nettle is the bright green leaf poking out.

Careful, these really hurt, and I wasn't brave enough to go without gloves. Cut down at least a few layers of leaves on the stalk, and only cut the young ones that haven't gone to seed. If you cut them down like so, they will keep growing back. These are packed with nutrition and I was told they "make kale look like junk food." Just don't touch, or your skin will bug you for the rest of the day.

Langdon pointed out the thistle berries starting to pop up. They won't be ready until the summer, but we were advised they are the greatest thing in the world (and get huge at volcano bases in the Northwest where Langdon is from!).

Forget-me-nots, a gentle reminder of my grandmother as her favorite flower.

Kevin taught all of us about the undervalued thistle, which has a delicious celery quality at the root when allowed to grow large enough. Sadly, they are usually attacked by weed fanatics immediately upon sight and don't have the chance to mature to their ideal edible state. The leaves can also be plucked from the stem to eat.

The soil was soft enough to grab two of these babies for lunch. Can you believe that weeds are

Kevin explained the nettle look alike that often grows next to it. Look out for the brown stem, it should be green all the way through or it's not nettle.

This is tough to see, but that middle weed between the cultivated rows (weeds are a great sign of a dignified organic farm) is mallow, the original marshmallow maker.

Are you hungry enough now? Let's head to the kitchen.

But before I forget, if you have any interest in foraging without an expert, it's important to learn the poisonous plants first, especially when it comes to mushrooms. (I'll stick with my buddies to identify for a while!)

The best field guides are Pojar and Mackinnon's Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast and David Aurora's All That the Rain Promises and More, which also has my vote for the best book cover.

Let's cook!

Just for Me

I finally went to the doctor yesterday. I probably should have gone sooner, I know, but honestly I felt like I was doing so great for having an arm in a sling. The pain was tolerable, and I've figured out a way to do just about everything I need to one-handed, if a bit slow and sluggish. It's an elbow, for crying out loud. Doesn't it only have one way to heal? 

I went to the clinic at my parents' insistence and figured I could get a time frame on when I can get back on the wall, if nothing else. I assumed the doctor would be dazzled by the progress I've made in a couple weeks, and encourage me to give it time and rest more but not have much more insight. 

I passed every test, until she asked me to straighten my arm. It wasn't happening. "You need to get x-rays," she said.

So today I got my first x-rays ever, for my worst injury to date (which is saying a lot since there isn't even a fracture that I'm aware of). It was a quick visit, but not as fun as going out for ice cream. While I wait for the results, I'm trying not to envision a permanently damaged elbow or rare bone disease that could lead to surgery or amputation. Or worry that I really blew it by not going to the doctor in the first place.

I took advantage of the drive into town to check out the junior college and figure out where I'm supposed to go for a class I signed up for. It starts next week and I don't know anything about the campus or where to find the class, where to even park for that matter. I ended up driving around aimlessly for a while, feeling overwhelmed and old and wondering why the whole thing is intimidating the heck out of me when I've already been to school.

Then I thought about having a break down last night and feeling self conscious walking around with a bum arm, and throwing another pity party for myself because I've had half a dozen conversations about my "limited range of motion" in the last 24 hours and really miss climbing.

And then I got this.

I almost never buy random things for myself except candy and beer. Today, a week and a half into physical recovery, I knew I needed a little boost. An orchid was a weird choice, since I manage to kill nearly every plant I come in contact with. I don't know, it's exotic and beautiful and decadent, and I've always wanted one, just because. It will be a good challenge for me to try to keep it alive for a few months. Or weeks.

But if I don't, I'm not going to beat myself up over it.

Jackie London?

About 10 minutes ago my patient uncle helped me reach another personal achievement.  Splitting wood!  It's amazing what can be accomplished with a great teacher.