Peter the eater

If you really want to get depressed about the state of the world's oceans and its fish get a copy of National Geographic Magazine from April 2007. Here is a link to their online magazine.

Yes, you are absolutely right to point out bile is a product of the liver. In most mammals (including sheep) the pancreatic duct (from the pancreas) and the bile duct (from the liver) come together at a common orifice that empties into the intestine. My butcher has shown me the yellow-green bile that can accompany an excised pancreas, not something I want to taste.

Those look fantastic! Did you take a picture of the finished product cooked up and ready to go into someone's mouth?

OK, I draw the line at dried mash potato flakes. Life is too short for eating instant mashed potatoes. They will always remind me of raising fruit flies in high school biology for a genetics experiment.

This reminds me of the "instant coffee vs fresh brewed coffee" argument but with potatoes. Some might say "life is too short for frozen french fries" but I tend to disagree. My home made chips are better and I'll bet so are yours. The guy with the truck or whatever who soaks the hand cut potatoes just the right way and uses the right combo of oils at the ideal temperature for those perfect potato fries may be even better. I bought a 1 kg bag of McCain shoestring fries for $1.59 CND. One aisle over, the same weight of raw potatoes from PEI (Prince Edward Island) was $1.99 CND. My point is that some processed foods may not be as good homemade or home brewed but are often a better price and just a different experience. Taste is relative . . . I wouldn't enjoy a fancy Pinot from Oregon as much if I didn't fill the gaps with local plonk.

How spontaneous and exciting . . . spare no delicious details! No teasers, no problem but I'm still going to guess. Are you near Carcassonne?

When you say "sweet breads" I think of breads that are sweet such as massa or the popular ones from the Caribbean. Since you are soaking them in milk I assume you mean the savory "sweetbreads". I buy lamb pancreas and thymus every once in a while at a reduced price (because they need to be cooked or frozen within a day or so) and stick them in the freezer as is for up to a couple of months. I've had no problems, although they are a bit better when fresh. I have never tried the milk soak prior to freezing, sounds like a good idea if you have the time. Seems to me that removing the off-flavors ASAP is a good idea, particularly with the pancreas since it is the site of bitter bile production. If they are fully cooked and you want to freeze them, I say go for it. They'll probably suffer a little bit texture-wise, just as prawncrackers has said.

I have two drawers for knives, one is for everyday and the other needs to be cleaned and sharpened and purged of woodworking and drywall tools one of these days.

Periwinkle bacon cream sauce on bronze cut casarecce (snails and noodles): Notes: I have never prepared winkles until yesterday. They are cheap and delicious (like me ) and I'm going back for more sometime soon. I gave them a quick scrub and a soak in cold water, all the winkles reacted by withdrawing into their shells indicating life. I boiled them for 3 minutes exactly fearing that any over-cooking would make them hard to get out. I used a bamboo skewer and it was a breeze. Each winkle has a hard little trapdoor at the opening that is not palatable and was easily removed if it hadn't already fallen off. In retrospect, a "palm of bacon" was too much - although I may have invented a useful new unit! As you can see from the sheen of the sauce, this is not exactly health food. A few garlic cloves and an onion were in there as well. The winkles have a delicate taste that is somewhere between escargot and mussels. Picking the coiled bodies from the shell is a primeval experience, something coastal hunter-gatherers have probably been doing for thousands of years. Me happy.

Well, they may not be too good at the beach. But they serve well as depositories for Ivory Soap to be hung from your fruit trees to keep the starlings away ← Starlings! I think I need a recipe for starlings, maybe a variation on blackbird pie (as in four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie . . . I assume its a UK thing). If I recall correctly from my bird book, somebody released a dozen or so European starlings in Central Park, NY in the mid 1800's. Now they number in the bazillions across North America. If the pie thing doesn't happen I'll give the soap tree a try.

This is an interesting discussion. I love oysters. If memory serves, I have only ever had them 3 ways: smoked and from a can, Rockefeller and raw. The latter is my hands down favorite, with a little bit of acid and salt, twitching on its way down. I know that oyster stuffing is well-known and well-liked but I have often wondered if the oyster flavor gets lost in such a thing. Doesn't the "oysterness" become diminished?

Thanks for that, Hiroyuki. Your shrimp from the Sea of Japan definitely look like long lost cousins of the North Atlantic variety. The natural red colour is remarkable, I'll have to ask the fishermen here what they look like alive. Your Japanese shrimp appear to have longer antennae and darker roe. I was told that my shrimp were caught, cooked and frozen into blocks while at sea. The sales guy also said that there was no comparison to be made with the warm water Asian shrimp, that the Atlantic variety was inferior. I couldn't disagree more, but I suppose that helps to keep the price down. I think this is a case of an under developed market as johhnyd has said. I'm glad the Ecology Action Center here in Halifax has an initiative on the go to promote the local shrimp - I didn't know they did that kind of thing.

Looks like there's a market here! I have been looking closely at various electric crock pots that are out in time for the holidays. Big, small, digital, analog, expensive, affordable, shiny, colourful, etc. but none that I have seen include any kind of precision temperature control. One model even has a digital display that says HI, MED or LOW. The Auber Plug-n-Play Temp Controller looks like a winner to me - the 800 Watt model is only $60. I had wondered about home aquarium equipment and I see they make one of those too.

I have been inspired by your pictures, johnnyd. Turns out we can get local cold water shrimp. Its called "prawns" at the fish store and they have been cooked then frozen, but they are whole and not very expensive. They are also very sweet and loaded with shrimpy-good flavour! Every one of them had a clutch of eggs underneath, which I felt compelled to separate and place on top for some reason. Dark rye bread and a "pearl" of mayo underneath. Haven't got to the winkles yet, they are not very attractive to say the least. I guess beauty is in the eye . . .

Fergus Henderson says it is perfectly ok to use your chopped onions with skin on in your stock. Ever since i read that, I've started doing the same. Saves a bit of work and I've never noticed any off flavours. Maybe I have to try the onion peel broth... ← I generally don't put anything in a stockpot that I wouldn't want in my mouth. Shells and bones are OK but I'll pass on the onion skins and soiled potato skin. Unless I'm really in a rush.

Haley of "Haley's Handy Hints" fame says to save those net-like bags you get with 5 or 10 pound bags of onions because . . . they make a great tote bag for the beach. I think I would avoid anyone wandering around the beach with an empty onion bag.

Like many foods that I disliked as a kid I now really, really love the Brussels sprouts. I would like to try cooking them on the stalk. Has anybody seen or done this?

I think you're thinking of this thread. Peter, did you end up saving any of the unhatched eggs, or is this for next time? ← Interesting thread, can't believe I missed it. Wasn't me, it was Ktepi. I admired the proto-eggs only. Next year it will be different!

Are you seeing any of this stuff fresh or uncooked? The biggest problem I've had with Atlantic shrimp is that I found it nearly impossible to find them in any other form than steamed and shelled. edited to add that that's what makes johnnyd's threads se valuable ← As far as I can tell, If I go to Atlantic SuperStore (Loblaws) or Sobeys all I'm going to find is shrimp from Asia. When I go the Clearwater Store in Bedford or at the airport I still see Asian shrimp, ever the lose ones behind the glass! According to the Clearwater website they do harvest and sell Atlantic shrimp, maybe its just a seasonal issue and depends when you check the store. OK, I did some digging. According to the NS government's Commercial Fisheries: Invertebrate Sector, January 2006 the shrimp haul is 150,000 tonnes per year, mostly landed in Nfld & Lab. I'm not clear where the lion's share of that catch goes . . . more digging required! So to answer the question, no I'm not seeing any local stuff.

Those shrimp look great, thanks for the report. Are those Gulf of Maine shrimp know by any other names? Up here Clearwater Seafood offers North Atlantic Shrimp and Canadian Coldwater shrimp, both of which appear to be harvested way up north past Newfoundland up to Baffin Island. The vast majority of shrimp that I see at the grocery store is from China or Vietnam. I am now compelled to dig a little for some more local product.

That is exactly what I was hoping to learn. It would seem unthinkable to pass up those little yellow orbs especially in times when food was scarce. Does that word also exist in Hebrew? I get nothing for ayerlach using the common search engines. Would your Baba stir them into the soup so they break up, or do the yolks stay whole?

I beleive you are refering to post #16 on this thread. I opted not to take pictures this time, it was one of those scenarios where close up photography would be questionable. Like when someone's having a baby or something, I suppose some artful black & whites could work. Ovary soup might not sound like it would fly off the menu, but I'd try it. I regret not doing something with the 48 chicken feet plus 8 turkey feet. Now I'm beginning to feel I really let my flock down . . . oh well. Again, it was cold and I was bleeding.

I forgot to mention the combs or crests! My birds were small year-old egg-layers and had very minimal combs and wattles. Although they were an inviting red colour, I figured it would be a lot of effort, and it was snowing and my finger was still hurting. What would one do to with a coxcomb and wattle? Was HB watching an Italian chef prepare cibreo?

I recently butchered two dozen live chickens, still a relatively new and rewarding experience for me. As I drained, plucked and eviscerated these creatures I started to think about the quality of their life and how they fit into the big picture . . . and then I nicked my finger and said to myself "Ouch! Focus you MORON". In the spirit of more fully utilizing a creature that has been whacked to feed me and my family, I wondered about all the bits people (around here) usually overlook. How can I be a better "beak to tail feather" kinda guy? From eG and elsewhere, I have found good ideas for the feet, the gizzard, the heart and the liver. What I have really been wondering about are those eggs that are still in the oviduct at the time of slaughter. Some of the birds had several "proto-eggs" coming down the pipe and I must say they looked very appealing. Some were on the verge of being laid complete with a soft shell while upstream they looked like plump golden yolks without any albumen. Are there any established culinary traditions for these freshest of eggs? And while we're at it, are there any other gems inside? Lungs? Pancreas? Head? edited for spellling

Sad news indeed. I met him just once at a book signing in Toronto ten years ago. A gracious man who leaves behind a substantial body of work - he'll be missed.