Processing the Harvest

I have just bought a $40 electric deep fat fryer, holds 4 l oil - I also bought 4l soybean oil for $5 - I like soybean oil because it does not burn easily and is free of unhealthy oils. Totally GM though. We eat so much fish I want fried fish to help disguise that plain, limp, fish quality it so often has otherwise. So any advice for English fish and chips? Here it would be rolled in corn meal to be traditional Southern, and I will give that a go soon.

Also cold enough here last night to kill the young leaves on my Orange tree. The papaya was killed, bananas all browned. But no freezing the rest of the week, the Gulf has re-asserted its self.

 

Beer batter for British fish and chips Colne. Plain flour (no raising agents) salt, egg and beer to produce a "ploppy" sounding batter mix. Dust the fish in flour, dunk in the batter and straight in to a hot oil deep fryer .
And of course, a couple of home pickled spiced baby onions which have been pickled for at least 6 months,
Jenny

 

Not being a beer drinker anymore I need to get a beer and try beer batter for my first time. It sounds oily but delicious.

Many years ago I worked in a high end cafeteria that did a very popular trout almandine. I do make it the classic way with a simple pan fried sea trout fillet topped with sliced almonds toasted in a pan of melted butter + lemon. It is good - but I think of that old restaurant's way: Filet dipped in some beer batter base, then rolled in sliced almonds and bread crumbs and into the deep fat fryer. It was good. They even went so far as to add a couple drops of almond extract into the batter as well. H&D Cafeteria in Dunedin Florida, 1979. I think this is something I need to work on.

Also by my plan to plant a bunch of multiplying onions under the frozen bananas I may end up with tiny onions to pickle - they do bulb up a little, but are really more of a large green onion.

I have a lot of jumbo shrimp I netted - they will really do well in the beer batter.

(picture from net - my fryer still in box)



Then dipping sauces... tarter naturally, but sweet and sour, honey mustard, sweet Thai pepper sauce, my peanut ginger sauce possibly too?

 

What great fun, staying up late here and reading about the Rochester and Strood by election, you go Reckless, well done.

But it was the lesser parties that made me nostalgic.... I have had tea with Screaming Lord Sutch back in the 1970's at his mothers in High Wycombe, or was it South Harrow - one of my friends played guitar with him - and his Monster Raving Loony Party candidate, Hairy Korm, came behind the Lib Dems with 151 votes. What times Sutch had - from pirate radio owner to challenging Thatcher and being backed by the Sex Pistols - delivering a note to 10 Downing st with 20 topless women as an entourage - and now his legacy was challenging the Lib Dems in what must be the most important by-election of the century thus far.

ps, the deep fat fried fish was excellent! The best was the Southern style of rolled in dry cornmeal/corn flour as it is much less oily, but the chip shop style batter was good too - and the onion rings I did with that batter were wonderful. I did shrimp both ways too - and go with the Southern Fried with them as well.

 

Lemons are the thing - my wife was given a box of them, or let pick them. Unfortunately Meyers lemons - a cross between a lemon and orange; hugely popular here because they stand the freezing spells here, and have good lemon flavor. The problem is they tend to have low acid and Lemon Curd requires at least 4.6% acid to be safely shelf stable (because of all the egg in it). I wanted to make some jars of curd, water bath can them to be shelf stable - and these are not good for that unless I buy some citric acid to bump it up - which I think I will. Always best to do these things correctly.

And I want to Zest some peel - pack it into sugar a bit, remove and dry it, and keep for baking.

I am planning to go off and see if I can find some shrimp, the cold has driven them to deep water but possibly a few may be lurking. Then will give trout fishing a shot.

And $16 of markdown plants bought. A bag of 50 small daffs - here only a few daffodils will naturalize because the winters are short so I bought a mixed bag that says are good for that, but then usually still will not here. The greens will come up small, but not flower till finally they just disappear; but one can tell where old houses once were by the naturalized daffodils still coming back. And a bag of 50 ranunculus roots, a big coreopsis plant, and four wall flowers (2 yellow, 1 purple, 1 red - they should be perennial here, hopefully) and 6 gold pansies. I have half a dozen gardens so can always justify perennial plants as capital investments even if it is a spurious argument and I just like shopping for marked down plants.

The little Chihuahuas had dental work - a total of 11 teeth extracted from the two and now their dreadful breath is gone; but $658! Their proper owner is paying and sent $500 down, which is excellent. Dogs!

 

The King is dead, long live The King

 

Oh well, nothing deader than a dead chicken - he never even occurs to me already, even when watching the flock; life, the great wheel - and his sub rooster has blossomed as head chicken.

And I have been to court for the ticket of keeping the 9 1/2 inch speck when the limit is 13 inch. The fine is $225! But then naturally I plead 'Not Guilty'. I can take it when life hands it out; but will always fight till it is over. So Court date is given (mid January) along with this:

On the above date you are to be prepared to go to trial. You have the right to an attorney. You also have the right to both present evidence and to have witnesses present to testify on your behalf. You have the right to subpoena any witness if necessary. The Prosecuting Attorney will be present to prosecute the case for the State of Mississippi.

Proper Court Attire is required. No shorts allowed.

Defendant signature_____________

Deputy Clerk signature_______________

So it goes. The man I fish with could be a witness - he is older, professional demeanor, and was there fishing with me but left before the fish cop showed up. But then he once saw me (on another fishing trip) mistakenly kill an undersized fish - then seeing it stretched out, and having doubts, measured it again, and it was 1/2 inch short! So I had to get rid of it, dead. So he would make a very excellent witness to the fact I have almost a mania about never keeping undersized fish - how I measure everything and throw any near ones back - only then this previous thing hangs over his testimony. Naturally there would never be falsehoods used - so an awkward question would kind of scupper my story of being a life long sportsman and not making mistakes - even though it was also completely unintentional; and I really do never keep undersized - and always measure - and the one I was ticketed for was 9 1/2 inches long when it had to be 13! So could not have been a measuring mistake. Oh, well, life's banana peels.

And I have harvested my sweet potatoes: (pardon the breathing - the microphone is very strong and I was hauling compost before beginning)



And have my Thanksgiving turkey in the oven stuffed, a 16 pound bird, and it is gorgeous - I am excellent at turkeys, doing about 3 a year, and have for 35 years. Tomorrow we are at a Thanksgiving lunch with our serious organic gardening friends - should be around 25 people, should be great food! And Jenny, or Sheal, or anyone.... I have bought 1 kg of Brussels sprouts to take to this, not a very common veg here, and would like to roast them with carrots but do not know how. Any advice? I do not really trust google to find a good recipe.

And the computer is almost stopped so my allotted words are used.

 

Sorry to hear you got busted Colne, hope you don't go down for it

And I hope it doesn't marr you Thanksgiving Dinner too much, a happy Thanksgiving to you and all the rest of the Colonists

 

The fish situation is the luck of the draw unfortunately Colne. You never know when somebody has got their eyes on you whether you have a genuine alibi or not.

I'm sorry, I've never roasted Brussels sprouts so perhaps Jenny can help you.

 

No problem Zigs, just another incident that punctuates life. Without these travails life would just slide away un noticed. Nothing to focus the mind like standing before a Judge and giving your story. I have thought back for a moment and I have been before a Judge over 10 times. I still get nervous when called up, which amazes me, because I am not prone to shyness or stage fright. But that robe, the court clerk, the cop with the gun standing by, you standing at a lectern facing the Judge at his desk behind a little wood fence.. Nothing quite like it.

And thankyou Zigs, we colonists love Thanksgiving. Almost all the people in America have the big meal with the traditional stuff - it is an amazingly successful bit of shared experience - shared by all races, immigrants, and natives here.

 

I'm very shy, hate standing up before the Beak Good luck

 

Hi Colne,
roasted Brussel sprouts???? Never seen those anywhere. I use up the Christmas day left overs as part of a Bubble and squeak mix which is divine with cold meats and home made pickles /chutney. I think they would need to be cooked first - wouldn't think brassicas like that sort of heat on them from raw,
Jenny

 

Pickled the olive crop today!!

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