A Fishy Story: The Adventurous Spirit
Even though this is a story about fish, it happens to be a true story. And it's also a story about cooking and taking risks. And there's a recipe that's not a recipe at the end. Sounds fishy, doesn't it?
I grew up eating fish that was cooked whole--tail, fins, skin, bones and even head attached at times. It's what we did, it was the norm. In the West, we like things delivered clean and tidy and, often, prepackaged. This makes it difficult to connect all the dots, as in this thought that perhaps you've encountered, "Where did my boneless, skinless chicken breast come from?" Maybe you've been curious about the shape and source of your flounder filet sandwich?
My thoughts have been more in the opposite direction. "Why take the nutritious skin off the salmon?" Or this one, "Why doesn't everyone cook the fish whole? There's more flavor in the bones and the meat stays moist."
I'm not a snob about this whole foods business, but I do wonder, and often I wonder why more people don't cook their own food in that beautifully decorated home space called a kitchen. Now that did sound snobby. Oops! Help is on the way, though, with all of the shopping and home delivery apps; the online meal prep kits, which seem to be bringing people back to their kitchens by cutting out the shopping and providing home cooks with recipes and instruction. Great first step! I love it.
Now we're well into the stay-at-home & move-around-with- caution orders because of the health scare associated with the Coronavirus pandemic. We're more familiar with it now, but people are still anxious about, well, everything. Fortunately, we've become acquainted with our new normal, enough so, that people are becoming a bit adventurous. It's wonderful! Not that everyone's off hunting and fishing and foraging, but people have become a bit more connected to food sources and more comfortable with trying new things like cooking from scratch or taking on recipes that previously may have appeared to be out of the reach of a novice cook. Some younger people are attempting to grow a few vegetables at home. In my little corner of the world, many friends and neighbors are subscribing to a CSA or ordering from local farms online and having fresh-from-the-farm produce delivered to their homes or to a designated pick up location. Heritage pork and beef farms appear to be overwhelmed now that we've been alerted to a potential meat shortage in our future. Some people are attempting a vegan diet in order to increase their well being and chances for a quick recovery from Covid-19. Whatever the prompt, what matters is that we've become a little less afraid and are cooking with a little less trepidation.
Just this week, a neighbor shared her "fish story" and, while she'd never cooked or eaten a fish whole, she was proud of her endeavor and didn't mind sharing all of this with others. Here's Denise Greer's story. Robert is her husband.
So...to make everyone smile--and probably laugh a bit--I will share my cooking adventure from Sunday night and the "dumb thing" I did (or sadly--didn't do).
Robert has been fishing in the lake like crazy--for crappie. They are a very delicate fish--and we typically fry them (gosh they are so good), but we discussed if he caught some sizable ones, that maybe "we" (that means me) could try and cook them whole. Let me pause and define what "whole" means--that the fish would be cleaned and gutted…scaled and no head (and no eyes looking at me while I was cooking it).
Saturday morning Robert had huge success and caught a couple of big boys--about 14 inches which is pretty sizable for these fish. So he cleaned them late yesterday afternoon and I agreed to cook them. I looked up online what I should do to cook them and learned that I should score them crosswise so they would heat-cook evenly. Brush them with oil and spices and be patient when I put them on the grill. Try to flip too early and they stick to the grill and you tear up the meat (that you want to eat). I cooked them on a grill pan I have--I brushed them with olive oil and a different rub for each of us (Robert likes a Thai-rub that I bought and I had a garlic-herb rub). I was patient with them and only flipped them once. I would guess I cooked them about 10 or so minutes. They were definitely done--the meat was nice and white.
They were yummy! Of course, there is a trick to eating them because you have to work around their skeleton, and they were good. But they weren't impossible, and we only ran into some small bones a few times. The skin was crispy and tasty from the spices and the char of the grill. So here's the really funny part--I didn't take a picture?! I kept thinking "what if they don't taste good or this is a huge culinary failure?" Can you say, "DUH Denise?!" Oh, my word.
I am so proud of Denise for going on a culinary adventure! She and Robert tried something new. They had fun. And the result was delicious! Brave people. I can't wait for their next experiment...and a photo. Perhaps I can be there for the tasting. Denise?
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| Robert Greer with two Crappie that he caught fishing Lake Greenwood in South Carolina Photo Credit, Denise Greer |
I grew up eating fish that was cooked whole--tail, fins, skin, bones and even head attached at times. It's what we did, it was the norm. In the West, we like things delivered clean and tidy and, often, prepackaged. This makes it difficult to connect all the dots, as in this thought that perhaps you've encountered, "Where did my boneless, skinless chicken breast come from?" Maybe you've been curious about the shape and source of your flounder filet sandwich?
My thoughts have been more in the opposite direction. "Why take the nutritious skin off the salmon?" Or this one, "Why doesn't everyone cook the fish whole? There's more flavor in the bones and the meat stays moist."
I'm not a snob about this whole foods business, but I do wonder, and often I wonder why more people don't cook their own food in that beautifully decorated home space called a kitchen. Now that did sound snobby. Oops! Help is on the way, though, with all of the shopping and home delivery apps; the online meal prep kits, which seem to be bringing people back to their kitchens by cutting out the shopping and providing home cooks with recipes and instruction. Great first step! I love it.
Now we're well into the stay-at-home & move-around-with- caution orders because of the health scare associated with the Coronavirus pandemic. We're more familiar with it now, but people are still anxious about, well, everything. Fortunately, we've become acquainted with our new normal, enough so, that people are becoming a bit adventurous. It's wonderful! Not that everyone's off hunting and fishing and foraging, but people have become a bit more connected to food sources and more comfortable with trying new things like cooking from scratch or taking on recipes that previously may have appeared to be out of the reach of a novice cook. Some younger people are attempting to grow a few vegetables at home. In my little corner of the world, many friends and neighbors are subscribing to a CSA or ordering from local farms online and having fresh-from-the-farm produce delivered to their homes or to a designated pick up location. Heritage pork and beef farms appear to be overwhelmed now that we've been alerted to a potential meat shortage in our future. Some people are attempting a vegan diet in order to increase their well being and chances for a quick recovery from Covid-19. Whatever the prompt, what matters is that we've become a little less afraid and are cooking with a little less trepidation.
Just this week, a neighbor shared her "fish story" and, while she'd never cooked or eaten a fish whole, she was proud of her endeavor and didn't mind sharing all of this with others. Here's Denise Greer's story. Robert is her husband.
So...to make everyone smile--and probably laugh a bit--I will share my cooking adventure from Sunday night and the "dumb thing" I did (or sadly--didn't do).
Robert has been fishing in the lake like crazy--for crappie. They are a very delicate fish--and we typically fry them (gosh they are so good), but we discussed if he caught some sizable ones, that maybe "we" (that means me) could try and cook them whole. Let me pause and define what "whole" means--that the fish would be cleaned and gutted…scaled and no head (and no eyes looking at me while I was cooking it).
Saturday morning Robert had huge success and caught a couple of big boys--about 14 inches which is pretty sizable for these fish. So he cleaned them late yesterday afternoon and I agreed to cook them. I looked up online what I should do to cook them and learned that I should score them crosswise so they would heat-cook evenly. Brush them with oil and spices and be patient when I put them on the grill. Try to flip too early and they stick to the grill and you tear up the meat (that you want to eat). I cooked them on a grill pan I have--I brushed them with olive oil and a different rub for each of us (Robert likes a Thai-rub that I bought and I had a garlic-herb rub). I was patient with them and only flipped them once. I would guess I cooked them about 10 or so minutes. They were definitely done--the meat was nice and white.
They were yummy! Of course, there is a trick to eating them because you have to work around their skeleton, and they were good. But they weren't impossible, and we only ran into some small bones a few times. The skin was crispy and tasty from the spices and the char of the grill. So here's the really funny part--I didn't take a picture?! I kept thinking "what if they don't taste good or this is a huge culinary failure?" Can you say, "DUH Denise?!" Oh, my word.
I am so proud of Denise for going on a culinary adventure! She and Robert tried something new. They had fun. And the result was delicious! Brave people. I can't wait for their next experiment...and a photo. Perhaps I can be there for the tasting. Denise?
And, yes, the fish is called Crappie. For an interesting explanation of how it came by it's name, click this link.
Now, to connect to fresh produce for your next bold and brave cooking adventure, Golden Forest Farm has an online grocery. You order and pay online by Monday. Greenville area delivery is on Tuesday and Greenwood area on Thursday. They also have a CSA plan. This is how you get locally and organically grown fresh produce delivered to your door AND support a small business AND put healthy food into your hard-working body at the same time. Win, win, win, win!
Today's recipe is a no recipe recipe. Two recipes, actually. It's a traditional Greek Heritage Kitchen meal that I grew up on. It's fried fish and boiled greens, zucchini and potatoes.
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| Baby Rainbow Chard. Sourced from Golden Forest Farm. |
Seasonal greens are served at almost every restaurant or home table throughout the spring and summer, even into the early fall. Always cooked in salted water just until tender and dressed with some of the cooking liquid, fresh lemon juice and plenty of olive oil (a medicinal and healing condiment). I used Lacinato kale, chard, spinach, zucchini and potatoes. I cooked the kale first and fished it out as soon as it was tender. Next, the chard had its turn, and when it was almost ready, I added the spinach, which took almost no time to cook. In a separate pot, and with generously salted water, I cooked the zucchini and potatoes. I cut them in similarly sized pieces so that they'd be ready at the same time.
Fried fish. Grab the freshest fish you can find, possibly some that you've caught yourself. All you need for the fish is salt and pepper, then dredge in all-purpose flour. Heat an inch or two of oil in a large pan. When a pinch of flour dropped into the oil causes small bubbles, gently set the fish in the pan. Be sure to leave room around all of the fish so that they cook rapidly and evenly. When golden-brown on the bottom, turn them over and continue cooking until the other side is done. If the oil seems to be sizzling too rapidly, lower the heat just a bit. Move the fish to a platter and squeeze a generous amount of lemon juice over all pieces. There's no need to drain the fish or blot the oil. The lemon and any residual oil will combine to make a tasty combination into which to dip your bread!
The appropriate and finger-licking protocol for eating fried fish cooked whole is to use your fingers. You may certainly use your fork, but ultimately, you'll need to use your fingers. After all, how can you lick your fingers if they haven't touched the food? Wisdom, right?
Now, to connect to fresh produce for your next bold and brave cooking adventure, Golden Forest Farm has an online grocery. You order and pay online by Monday. Greenville area delivery is on Tuesday and Greenwood area on Thursday. They also have a CSA plan. This is how you get locally and organically grown fresh produce delivered to your door AND support a small business AND put healthy food into your hard-working body at the same time. Win, win, win, win!
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