SPOT PRAWN: Remove heads+shells of live prawns. Serve tail meat w/sauce of sesame oil, soy sauce, minced garlic & water http://is.gd/hFsQUQ
Notes: You can do this with the heads. Buy your prawns fresh and live, and if you prefer them firmer and with a more subtle flavour, eat them right away. I’ve always preferred letting the flesh break down for a day so that they become softer (not mushier) and develop more flavour. Click here to see all my prawn posts.
SPOT PRAWN: Steam live prawns. Pull legs from carapace to open head.Scoop meat+roe+tomalley onto arugula leaf; wrap;eat http://is.gd/RYaPcZ
Notes: This is essentially the same thing as in the last post, except that was about eating the tail meat and this is about eating all the edible stuff in the heads. It is so flavourful that it needs no condiment. As you can see above, there is so much meat in one prawn head that it makes me sad to think about it being tossed out without being eaten or used. Some people also like to suck the juices out of the raw prawn heads, which is really tasty, but there is so much more in the heads than can simply be sucked out. I’d rather get it all out with a utensil—or my fingers!—and not waste any of it, raw or cooked.
SPOT PRAWN: Steam prawns 3 min on rice cooker steaming rack as rice cooks. Serve w/arugula, lemon juice, shaved truffle http://is.gd/1C3EUx
Notes: As I have mentioned before, I prefer eating my spot prawns raw, but I thought I would try some steamed too. They generally only need to be steamed for a minute or two, but I did them a little longer because I figured the heat was lower on the rice cooker I was using than it would have been if I had used the boiler. Steam prawns while still live. Prawns were straight from Organic Oceans’ boat at False Creek fishermans’ wharf. The arugula, from Klipper’s Organics at the Vancouver Farmers’ Market, was very strong and peppery so I ate this less as a salad than as “bites”: wrapped a small leaf around each prawn, with each bite also containing a tiny bit of warm truffle shaving and lemon juice. I used summer truffle in water and salt from a jar, from St. Lawrence Market in Toronto. This added an earthy flavour to the bites. Next post on what to do with the edibles in the prawn heads.
SQUID: Mix sesame oil, soy sauce, water+garlic. Refrigerate 1 day. Sauté squid arms, sliced mushroom+onion in the sauce http://is.gd/87gQBd
Notes: I used cleaned, frozen squid tentacles for this. I had actually made the sauce weeks earlier and been using it for seasoning bit by bit. I may have added a bit of olive oil to the pan too. There was quite a bit of moisture from the mushrooms, onions, and the squid, so it ended up a little like a braise instead of a sauté, perhaps. The onion and mushrooms took on more of the squid flavour the next day, so the leftovers were great, even when cold. The sauce was great and I ate this with steamed white rice.
SANDWICH: Melt butter in pan. Whisk in flour, then milk & grated cheese. Serve on toasted ciabatta w/sautéed mushrooms http://is.gd/OrTvRR
Notes: Do I even need to say this anymore?: Franco made this sandwich. About 1 teaspoon butter, 1 tablespoon flour, a little milk, and then some cooking cheddar and emmental cheese. He suggests using a balloon whisk. Seasoned with freshly ground black pepper. Simple and filling.
SHORTBREAD: Beat 1 cup butter+½cup sugar+ 2½tbsp matcha. Mix w/2 cups flour+pinch of salt. Cut dough into cookies. Bake http://is.gd/TuegyD
Notes: I like plain shortbread, but have often wondered what green tea-flavoured shortbread would taste like, so I decided to throw some ground matcha I had in the pantry into the dough. I followed roughly this recipe from Kirbie’s Cravings. I would use even less flour next time, I think, because the green tea powder and flavour seemed to foreground the dryness of the biscuit. I like to eat them with a cup of tea—Earl Grey.
CHOWDER: Fry diced onion.Add 3cups boiled water+veg stock, 2 tins creamed corn+milk. Mix.Add boiled diced carrot+potato http://is.gd/MfCkfc
Notes: Franco made this. Served with tasty garlic bread, again courtesy of Franco. He also made the printed crow t-shirt he’s wearing, which, along with other designs, is available on our Etsy shop, MITMUNK: http://mitmunk.etsy.com.
HALIBUT: Sprinkle a bit of soy sauce & pinch of white pepper on a halibut fillet. Broil on high 2 mins per side. http://is.gd/so3Zi9
Notes: Halibut from Haida Gwaii, north coast of British Columbia. This was a small piece so very little cook time was needed. Halibut is really firm and flavourful on its own so I only added a tiny bit of soy sauce and white pepper. Served with bok choy sautéed with garlic.
SANDWICH: Top toasted ciabatta halves w/herbed goat cheese, sliced tomato, roasted red pepper, basil+fresh ground pepper http://is.gd/eZfdZl
Notes: Franco made this. He used mini ciabattas.
