Fish, Two Ways

Cozy

 The walk is shoveled!

Hot cocoa has been made! (Complete with now-paid for marshmallows.)

Time to settle in for a cozy, snow-bound evening.

And a very happy first night of Hanukkah!

Full Circle Farm Review

Every Thursday, we eagerly await a box of organic fruits and vegetables from Full Circle Farm.

 

We get the “Garden” size box, which contains 30-40 servings, and is intended to serve a family of 3-5. Since this is our primary source of vegetables and fruits, we opted for a bigger box—and are even considering the “Harvest” box, with 45-55 servings and a greater variety. For now, though, we are able to supplement the box with canned fruits and vegetables, and vegetable-rich foods such as tomato sauce and salsa. 

Organic, but not “Local”

Full Circle is not a traditional CSA, in that it sources from a variety of organic farms in Washington, the West Coast, and Latin America. This allows for a wide variety of items available year-round. Although it would be nice, 100% local eating is obviously not feasible here, especially since there are issues with groundwater contamination.

There has recently been some doubt in the scientific community over the relative advantages of organic produce, but I’m glad that Full Circle is an organic source. Among other things, organic produce just tastes better. Placebo effect? Maybe. But a powerful one.

Selection, Customization, and Add-Ons

One thing I really like about Full Circle is how much control you have over what you get in the box. Obviously, there’s some seasonality, though not as much as you would get with a traditional CSA, given the geographic diversity of Full Circle’s supply network. But every week, there’s a list of substitutions, and you can go through and change out items in your order. Theoretically, you could get a box of just cucumbers or whatever else struck your fancy.

You can also set permanent exemptions, making sure you never receive beets or cabbage or whatever else. Thus far, I’ve not set any, because I customize the box every week, and it’s also good to branch out. For instance, cabbage isn’t something I really would have bought before, but I opted to get a red cabbage and discovered a great recipe for cole slaw. My motto when shopping and ordering is variety is king. No matter what, we’ll have a lot of repetition, but small tweaks can keep things interesting.

In that spirit, I occasionally order add-ons, such as extra fruits and vegetables, eggs, and cheese. Our first order of eggs arrived safe and sound! 

The extras add to the cost, but I think it’s worth it every now and then for variety and nutrition. Speaking of costs…

Stream to Table

On Saturday, we went for a rainy drive to explore a part of the island we hadn’t yet seen. We headed out towards Finger Bay, past the fish plant and the small boat harbor, climbing up until we reached the bluffs above the bay (and the long abandoned cabin that once stood watch over the submarine slips below).

From the cabin, we drove down to the water, stopping to wonder at the sparkling clear jellies and deep blue mussel shells on the stony beach.

Driving further along the stream, we saw movement in the water, and watchful birds along the banks. Salmon! Lacking fishing gear, we turned towards home.

And came back Sunday with waders and a net. The river was thick with Pinks, also known as Humpies for the distinctive hump developed by spawning males.

So thick, in fact, that Ivan got our first within about 30 seconds of wading in. And then we brushed up on our field dressing skills. (More, er, involved pictures after the jump.)

Ivan is the fisherman, but there was blood on my boots too. I took part in the dressing with a surprising amount of bravery, mostly driven by fascination with icthyoid anatomy. However, I will admit to screaming like a little girl and nearly dropping the (very dead, headless) fish when it gave a surprise wiggle while we were cleaning the kidney—which is in very close proximity to the spinal column.

Note the XtraTufs. Requirement for Alaskans?

Bogs are the ladies version.

We took three large male Pinks and cleaned them at the river, bringing them home to fillet.

The salmon considers the fillet knife.

We got a good number of fillets (enough for a dozen dinners) and I will roast the leftover bits and pieces to pick over and use for salmon salad or salmon cakes. We kept one head, which I simmered with an onion to make an unbelievably fragrant fish broth. As soon as we get this week’s CSA box*, which promises potatoes, we will enjoy fish chowder.

We had our first fillets, prepared in our traditional style by Ivan, who is the master of salmon and sourdough in this house. It involves an acid (lemon or lime juice), seasoning, and a seasoned sour cream topping.

The peas may have been from a can, the potatoes from a box… but the salmon was fresh as could be, only separated by a few hours from the cold waters of the Aleutians. 

More pictures after the jump. Warning: some are a bit gory!

*Next post! Fresh Fruit and Vegetables 1200 Miles from Town

45-Minute Apple Crumble (or, What to Make When the Community Potluck is in an Hour)*

*But is later canceled for unknown reasons. More cobbler for us!

Ingredients

For the apples

6-8 large apples

4 tablespoons cinnamon (approximately)

½ cup sugar (ish)

3-4 cups of water

For the crumble topping        

1 cup flour

1 cup oats

1 1/3  cup brown sugar

½ cup butter

1 tbsp cinnamon

Preset the oven to 325. Cored and slice the apples (no need to peel—you’re in a rush here!) Check for stickers and seeds, and toss into a large saucepan. Add sugar and about 4 tablespoons cinnamon and toss to coat. Add water and set heat on high; stir occasionally.  Pluck out errant apple stickers as needed. The kitchen / house / surrounding area should start to smell amazing.

In a medium bowl, combine the dry ingredients and stir well. Cut in the butter—a pastry cutter would be ideal, but in a pinch you can do it with your clean hands. We were in a pinch since our kitchen is very oddly equipped, and is missing things like cutting boards and mixing bowls. Combine until the mixture has a sandy texture, and spread on a cookie sheet. Bake for about 15 minutes at 325, checking for burning and stirring occasionally.

By this point, the apples should be soft and fragrant with cinnamon, and most of the water should have boiled away. Take them off the heat and allow the remaining liquid to set up into a (delicious, sticky-sweet, apple cinnamon) sauce.

Add apples to container and top with crisp. Ideally, serve warm with vanilla ice cream. Non-ideally, drive in the pouring rain to a random community building, carry the dish around for a while looking for the potluck, give up, drive home, and then eat it anyway.