Farewell to the Sardines

The last sardine packing plant in the United States is closing. Too bad...

In Maine, Last Sardine Cannery in the U.S. Is Clattering Out - NY Times

"They all worked fast, as the job demands, but Mr. Colson, the manager, said with some amazement, as he looked over the daily report, that two of the women, Lulu Orozco and Alma Rodriguez had packed 5,228 cans in 195 minutes, a dizzying rate. It was an extraordinary display of dexterity and focus, if not a little sardine showmanship at the end of the line."

Fish farming - the ecological model

Watch this great talk by chef Dan Barber.

From ted.com:

"Chef Dan Barber squares off with a dilemma facing many chefs today: how to keep fish on the menu. With impeccable research and deadpan humor, he chronicles his pursuit of a sustainable fish he could love, and the foodie's honeymoon he's enjoyed since discovering an outrageously delicious fish raised using a revolutionary farming method in Spain."



(thanks M2)

Salmon Pasta Improvisation

We had a visitor recently from Finland and she brought loads of whole smoked salmon/rainbow trout. Our refrigerator and freezer are bursting at the seams, so I decided to do something about it by improvising with the last bits of veg from the previous Saturday's market run. The result was delicious and so easy a child could do it (though I wouldn't want them wielding the big knife to slice the salmon. A nice, refreshing summer dinner.

Salmon Pasta with Tomatoes, Leek and Parsley
Feeds 4
Time: 30 minutes, max
200-300g smoked salmon or rainbow trout, thinly sliced and loosely broken into bite-sized pieces
3 fresh, chopped tomatoes with most of the juice and seeds squeezed out
A handful of parsley
1 leek, finely sliced
400g pasta
salt, pepper
olive oil

Chop the salmon, tomatoes, leek and parsley. Sauté the leek until cooked through and soft using a non-stick pan. Take off heat when cooked. Cook the pasta to al dente. Drain and put back in pot with olive oil, add all of the ingredients, a pinch of salt and generous amounts of pepper. Toss together until evenly distributed. Eat without cheese.

More Fish and Chips?!

Okay, I'll admit it. Only four days after the London to Brighton cycle, I ate more greasy fish and chips. But this time it was also necessary because I was in Aldeburgh, Suffolk where they have a famous fish and chips shop and they just happened to be frying that day... I was in Aldeburgh for work - the group I work for was playing at the famous music festival in nearby Snape Maltings. We made a bit of a road trip out of it and visited Benjamin Britten's grave next to a beautiful flint church, walked on the stony (mostly flint) beach, and visited the famous Tudor, wood-framed Moot Hall, which features in Britten's opera Peter Grimes. It's a beautiful little town and the fish and chips were pretty amazing. Apparently it's supposed to be the best place on the east coast to get fish and chips - I got haddock and chips - and you must put salt and vinegar on or they will look at you strangely. We ate it on the beach, in the drizzle and wind.

Top 10 chip shops - an article from the Guardian (2002) and it lists the Aldeburgh chip shop as number 1!

London to Brighton - A fast food special

In honor of Bike Week in the UK, we've got a cycling, fast food special. Two of us, and an additional, honorary Carew Pig completed the wonderful London to Brighton charity ride benefitting the British Heart Foundation. Well, us and 30,000 other cyclists! The weather was superb and we all made it to the top of the famous Ditchlings Beacon at the top of the South Downs without stopping. From there it was just five more miles to Brighton where we crossed the finish line and headed straight for the beach. We arrived at lunch time and definitely deserved fish and chips from a local stall along the beach. Never did fish and chips taste so good. We're normally not huge advocates of fast food, but this was irresistible. Brighton was great and I hope to go back soon and get some more of those delightfully greasy fish and chips.

Now get on your bikes and cycle! The more you cycle, the more you can eat. Any excuse, right?
London Cycling Campaign
London to Brighton

Sacrilege

I will admit that in general I don't like cheese with fish and that as a holder of an Italian passport, I feel I need to be more firm in this stance. It's a pretty well known fact that Italians are usually against cheese with fish because it lessens the enjoyment of fishiness in a dish. Or just because everyone else said that it's against the rules. I happen to like cheese with tuna, mostly because of the great American tuna melt. But you can't get me to put parmesan on a spaghetti with clam sauce. It's got so much flavor already!

The following article is a good argument FOR fish and cheese to be united in culinary bliss. I still don't buy it and will continue to cook fish in interesting ways that celebrate its fishiness, but do read on:

Just Grate - NY Times, by Robert Trachtenberg, 30.Mar.08

An alternative to cheese to enhance the flavor of a fish dish, you ask? GRATED/GROUND PISTACHIO. They do it in Sicily all the time and it looks beautiful and tastes divine.