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Young & HungryIf you can't take the heat, get outta the kitchen! |
| 10 September |
If you don’t like scallops, I don’t like you. I mean not really, but you do lose major cool points in my book of judgment and ridicule. Scallops, although still bottom feeders, are superior to their friends The Oyster and Mr. Muscle. Yes, they consist mostly of an abductor muscle, which is the delicious part you eat, but I was surprised and slightly disgusted to learn that scallops also have eyes to help detect light and motion and can be hermaphrodites, consisting of both sexes at the same time or switching sexes mid-life. Now that sounds like a crisis. Luckily for the scallop, they are notably one of the prettier of the species, having very symmetrical shells that are musical as well as functional when on a daily swim or escaping predators on the prowl.
Outside of the physical realm, scallops are associated with Saint James and fertility. Going forward one might take special consideration of the occasion for which they are making scallops, being the apparent symbol of fruitfulness that they are. Perhaps had I paid more attention to mythology or art in my time abroad I would have remembered that in The Birth of Venus, the Roman Goddess of fertility and love, was in fact on a lovely half-shell or scallop shell. Upon further investigation one learns that the Greek Goddess Aphrodite was also carried to Earth in the shell of a scallop thus earning the scallop its reputation as an aphrodisiac.
| 18 August |
I’m pretty sure I have already written and deleted or misplaced this post. Perhaps I’m suffering from déjà vu and have simply thought of what I wanted to say so many times that I thought I would have written it down by now, somehow I think I’m just getting old and forgetful… What I will never forget, however, is how amazing tuna steaks are seared with a simple rub!
My first taste of Ten Minute Tuna Steak was during a barbeque at our condo in Hawaii. My roommate’s Dad was in town visiting and spent our long workday slaving away to prepare a delectable dinner for us come quitting time. Walking in the door to the delicious smells and busy bodies in our condo is still very clear to me, as is the breezy and cool night air, good company and greener than green surroundings. I am still working on blocking that this was probably also the occasion of our 2nd or 3rd warning from building management who finally took away our party privileges altogether declaring that they didn’t know what kind of hooligans, yes hooligans, we were, but that this was a residency not party central. I blame the rest of our project for any misconduct, but I suppose I’m quite good at setting the scene.
In the case that you also like throwing rather large gatherings and would like to whip this recipe up for your fellow hooligans, I recommend you make the theme BYOT, Bring Your Own Tuna. The good stuff, which is what you want to eat considering you should keep it bright pink in the center, can run around $20 per pound. Sadly enough, you will also find a number of people who are seafood phobic. Let them bring beef. A flank steak or fillet are no tuna, but they work.
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