Awesome Brunch Recipe: Poached Eggs, Potato Hash and Kimchi

It sometimes feels like cheating when I write a post that’s essentially a mashup of a bunch of previous posts.  But then something like this happens:

This mornings brunch was awesome!

Here’s the components:

• Perfect Poached Eggs without Vinegar
• Carrot and Cabbage Kimchi
• Hash made from leftover potato leek pancakes

This was super easy – and so good that I had to share!

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How to Cook Scallops

I grew up, partially, on a diet of scallops.  My Mother is Acadian (from Cape Breton, Nova Scotia) and summer vacations would often end with a cooler of frozen scallops (packed like this) jammed into the trunk of the car and brought back to Ontario to eat through the winter.  Scallops travel well.

My Father has always had a knack for pan frying things and scallops were no exception.  He was never afraid of heat, let the pan come to temperature before adding oil and then let oil come to temperature before adding whatever he was frying.  He never crowds the pan and generally flips things once.

Despite all of that, I still struggled with scallops.  They either failed to brown or they became golden and chewy.

Not anymore.

There’s one or two in the picture above that are a bit overdone to my liking but even they were moist and soft on the inside.  These look darker than many cook them to and that’s a bit of their magic – the exterior is almost a crust which gives way to the moist inside and is not at all chewy.

Beyond my Father’s advice, I employ a trick learned from a few Chef friends: I brine them in salt water.  It seems odd to think that soaking them in salt water will help dry them but it’s exactly true.  You can actually see the difference from before and after brining.  This allows the outsides to get really crisp really fast (and reduces the amount the pan’s temperature drops) and results in an awesome final product.

How to Make Pan Fried Scallops

1. Start with any amount of scallops that you want.  Drain them and place into a large pan (as close to a single layer as you can).
2. Scatter coarse salt on the scallops.  Be liberal – you’ll be rinsing them later.  For a pound of scallops I would use about a tablespoon.
3. Toss the scallops lightly to allow the salt to distribute.
4. Wait 2 minutes.
5. Cover the scallops with water.  Stir 2-3 times to incorporate.
6. After 10-12 minutes, drain and rinse the scallops well.  Pat dry with a towel.  They can be store in the fridge for an hour at this point (perhaps longer but I offer no promises).
7. Heat a heavy pan, such as a cast iron frying pan an medium-high (closer to high).
8. Add the cooking oil of your choice (coconut oil is a great option here because of its health benefits, high heat threshold and flavour)
9. Just before the oil starts to smoke, add the scallops.  Leave lots of room between them and don’t be afraid to cook 2-3 batches.
10. Season with salt and pepper.
11. Do not tear them from the pan to flip them. Gently touch them after a few minutes – when they release themselves from the pan (i.e. flip easily), it’s time to flip them.  Scallops tell you when they’re ready (this is often longer than most are willing to wait).
12. Once the second side releases, they are done.  Set them aside (pat off any excess oil; there shouldn’t be a lot at this point).
13. Serve as is or season again (i.e. chili flakes, fresh lime and avocado make a great addition now as does a touch of melted butter, garlic and chives).

What are your tricks to cooking scallops?

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Is it Worth it to Buy a Pasta Roller (Machine)?

Yes.

I was really tempted to end the post there (it would have set a new record for our shortest post ever which still stands at 5 words).  Alas, this evening was not destined for such greatness.

The long answer isn’t a lot longer: it really is worth the investment (and storage space) to buy a pasta roller and cutter.  Here’s why:

• Pasta rolled by hand is difficult to precisely control for thickness.  An even thickness is critical for even cooking time.
• Cutting pasta into noodles is also inconsistently wide (see problem 1) and cutting by hand can easily double or triple the amount of time it takes to make pasta by hand.
• The units are affordable – ours was about $25.
• There’s a remarkable amount available in thrift stores or by asking friends and family – not a lot of people are willing to spend the few times it takes to learn to make it.
• You can dry the pasta for later use.
• It takes me 20-25 minutes of active prep (and about an hour total) to transform eggs and flour into cooked noodles.  Although the hands-on time is longer the much shorter cooking time means the total time is almost identical.

We have very limited storage space but I can’t believe how much we’ve ended up using our hand-me-down hand-crank pasta roller and cutter.

If you make your own pasta, how do you cut/ roll it?

edit: April11, 2012.  This article was originally published as a page instead of a post and was updated as a post today.

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Home Ec #3 (Recap): Food On Sticks

Monday night was our third Food on Sticks – it was a great night with lots to eat and some great people to share an evening with.

Our friend Margaret Mulligan went above and beyond twice – first by taking photos (she’s a professional photographer) and second by bringing crickets on a stick!  She had some that were plain, some dipped in chocolate and others that were on pretzels with caramel and chocolate.  Check out the post she wrote on the process – it was an epic journey and we’re so thankful for the work she put in!  They were an absolute hit.

There were a lot of sweets this time.  Here’s a partial list of the food people brought (the items I remember):

• Stick S’mores
• Beet Quicjles
• Cake Pops
• Watermelon and tomato salad
• Pickled garlic and cheese
• Chocolate nutty heaven with some form of soft caramel that was amazing
• Cheese puffs (3 different types)
• Dairy free triple chocolate brownies with candied ginger (I’m really enjoying dairy free baked goods that people make and may need to learn some more about them…)
• Chocolate, peanut and bacon wrapped bananas

And there was more.  We hope you’ll come and meet some friendly people; the next event is April 30th.  We have the theme picked but we’ll announce it closer to the date (if you can’t wait, drop us a line in the comments and we’ll give you advanced warning!)

Here are Margaret’s great shots (make sure to check out her epic cricket post):

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The Lobster Series (Part 4) – Making Lobster Stock and Lobster Paste

Lobster doesn’t have to be expensive when you use the whole animal.. 

At our most recent dinner party, most of the adults were stuffed with one 1.5 pound lobster.  Since we’re out of season, the price was a little high at $9 per pound.  If you purchased 1 lobster for each of the 8 people who attended, you would need 12 pounds of lobster ($108); or $13.50 per person which isn’t exactly cheap but is comparable to a some fast food dinners.

However, shells from 12 pounds of lobster will easily make an additional 3 liters of hearty lobster stock (even if you served 1.3 cups of broth each, you’d have an additional 9 servings).  That lowers the cost in half ($6.75 per person).  We also make a lobster paste which you can cook with or use over fresh pasta (or add to chowder) and easily stretch it to another 6 or so servings. 

That’s 23 servings (albeit with sides) for $108 or about $4.70 per serving.  Maybe that’s not a frequent meal but it’s certainly a lot more affordable than many perceive (especially if they only eat the tail and claws and need 2 lobsters to fill them).  It’s often stretched even further as my stock is often diluted with 0.5-1 parts water as it’s so strong (in the best of ways).

We’ve explored how to buy, cook and eat lobster so far.  Let’s move on to making stock and paste with the leftover (non-chewed) shells.

A few quick notes:

• The final stock is very full-flavoured and can often be watered down by an additional 50%.  So don’t worry if you don’t have 8 lobster shells or the right amount of carrots or whichever – the heavy flavour comes from your shells and I’ve made this with as few as 3 or 4 lobster shells.
• I owe this comment to my family who considers a shortcut I take to be careless: there’s a sack behind the eyes (inside the shell) which we mentioned yesterday.  If it bursts, it will supposedly ruin the flavour of the lobster and/or stock.  My family will tell you that you absolutely must remove this for stock.  I live on the wild side and leave it in tact; but I’m from the city.
• Lobster paste is a by-product of the stock.  I used to throw it out; I now save it and use it like super-reduced tomato/ seafood base.  Lightly coat noodles with it or sparingly add it to rice or fresh pasta.  It’s awesome.
• Do not add salt to your stock – there’s plenty from the shells (you can always adjust at the end)
• This is very easy and will store well in the fridge or freezer.
• We’ll share recipe ideas for cooking with the stock later this week.
• I love that this uses parts of the lobster that would otherwise be discarded.  This really exudes the nose-to-tail virtue that we are such fans of in our house.

Lobster Stock (and Lobster Paste) Ingredients

• Lobster shells
• A bunch of garlic (I add 5-6 cloves)
• 1 liter of vegetable or chicken stock
• water
• 0.25-0.5 cups of brandy or sherry
• large onion, cut in quarters (you can add more if you’d like)
• roughly chopped celery (I use about half a head)
• roughly chopped carrots
• bay leaves (3-5, I like lots)
• olive oil
• 1 large tin of crushed tomatoes (if you preserve your own, blitz them in the food processor first

Directions

1. Pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees.
2. Spread shells out on a cookie sheet (remove the sacs per above if you want to heed the advice of my family).
3. Scatter olive oil on the shells and toss them around to lightly coat the shells.
4. Place shells in the oven until they start to appear dry/ almost brittle.  It will take 20-40 minutes and there’s no real magic ‘finishing’ point as long as you don’t burn them.  You can also roast your veggies at the same time if you’d like (we often do)
5. Dump shells into a large pot (I use large tongs).
6. Using a tenderizer or kitchen mallet, crush the shells so they take less room in the pot.
7. If you are comfortable with fire and lighting booze on fire, light the brandy and flambe the shells.  If not, you can add it without lighting it.
8. Add all other ingredients except for the water.
9. Stir to incorporate.
10. Top your pot with water to just cover the shells.  I generally use at least as much water as stock and tomato combined.
11. Simmer on a gentle roll for about 2 hours.  The broth level will drop and that’s ok as long as it doesn’t run out entirely (which it shouldn’t; you’ll have a lot of liquid).
12. I now strain the contents 3 times:
    1. For the first pass, I strain the shells out using a colander for pasta.  I want to remove any shell bits and use the holiest colander I can get my hands on.
    2. For the second pass I use a rice strainer (this removes solids; mostly tomato and lobster ‘bits’).  DO NOT DISCARD.
    3. For the last pass I use a fine strainer which removes the paste from the tomatoes and finer lobster bits.  DO NOT DISCARD.
    4. Pick through the contents of process 2 and 3 above to look for any bone chunks (there likely won’t be any).  Mix them together and you have your lobster paste.
13. What’s left in the pot is your broth.  If you used A LOT of olive oil for roasting, there may be a layer of oil on the surface.  If this happens, simple refrigerate and you’ll be able to skim it off the top.

This is what the final paste looks like (note the small flecks of white are tiny pieces of meat that add lots of flavour to this):

What do/ would you make with lobster stock and paste?

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The Lobster Series (Part 3) – How to Eat a Lobster

So far you’ve bought yourself some fresh lobster, risked certain injury (or not) removing their bands and cooked them.  Now what?  Now’s the fun part.

Before we begin, let’s get into a quick explanation of why I don’t eat them in restaurants and why the idea drives me a little mad. 

The first reason is purely tactical: lobster is messy.  A proper down home lobster dinner will end up with diners squealing as, inevitably, someone will get squirted by someone else’s dinner.  It’s just the way it is.

The second reason is ethical: many restaurants and/or diners waste a lot of the lobster.  There’s a lot of tasty morsels in the lesser eaten parts such as the small legs, tail fan and even the body that many diners discard.  While people covet the claws and tail I actually find the other meat is generally more tender and often more tasty.  We try to make the most of the animal and we do so by:

• Consuming every part we can.
• Making stock from many of the shells that were discarded from the lobster (directions on Wednesday)
• Making lobster paste from the discards of the stock (directions on Wednesday)

Let’s start with some of the basics on how to eat a lobster:

• Let’s not overcomplicate things: you’re removing the meat from the shell.  Although you can use all sorts of special tools, the main tools are your hands.  After that a fork is really all you need (though a nut craker can also help).  As long as you get it out, you’re eating it right.  Remember: this is a right-of-passage in the Maritimes and if you can’t do this independently by 4 or 5 you’ll be eating cold lobster.
• It’s typically served with simple sides: macaroni and potato salad are common.  They are generally eaten AFTER the lobster so they can soak up any salty goodness left on your plate.
• You eat different parts of the lobster different ways: for the parts with hard shells you remove the meat (poke it with the end of your spoon or pinky) and for the softer shelled parts you chew them (biting like you would bubble gum) which releases the meat.  You want at least two different bowls for shells – the ones that you chew vs. the ones you don’t (we make stock with the ones you don’t).
• Dips are optional.  Garlic butter (often with herbs) is common for many although vinegar and/or miracle whip are also common dips (these items were imported and often seen as luxuries to make the lobster ‘fancy’ in many fishing villages).  You can also eat the lobster as is – it’s very rich.
• We eat a lobster from the extremities-in.  You start with the tail fan, then the little legs, then the knuckles and claws, the tail and then the body.  Doing this helps a lobster stay warm.
• You can eat them cold the next day; my Mother prefers them this way.
• If you’re plate gets too full of water (at certain times of year lobster have a very high water content), drain it into the bucket with the chewed shells.
• Don’t keep uneaten lobster in the salt water you cooked them as they will become overly salty.  Place them in a large bowl and cover.
• A lobster can be taken apart in minutes (or less) though it’s much more fun to take your time.
• Don’t use a tablecloth it will get stinky.  If you need to protect your table, use newspaper.
• Shells should be kept in your freezer until turned into stock or discarded.  They smell like the ocean (nice at first, a little much after a while)

Here’s the step-by-step (we’ll post all of these directions below without photos so that you can have a cheat-sheet if you need). 

How to Eat a Lobster (with Photos)

1. The chef/ cook has the first task.  As they pull the lobsters from the cooking liquid, place them on a cutting board and make an initial cut of the two claws with the back of a cleaver or using a large butchers knife.  The purpose of this step is to allow a person to break the claw in two with their hands.  You don’t want to cut all the way through (but it happens and is ok if it does).  From here it goes on the plate.

   

2. Remove the ‘tail fan’ piece by piece.  These are the little pieces at the bottom of the tail.  Remove them by tearing across the tail and eat like you would an artichoke – place the ‘open’ end in your mouth, place the piece between your front teeth and pull out of your mouth.  This is kind of like removing the last bit of toothpaste from the tube.  Make sure you remove all the pieces of the fan – this will help the tail meat release later.

   

3. Place the lobster on it’s back.  Remove the small legs by twisting each one.  I break them in half and insert them into the side of my mouth and bite down to release the meat.  There’s a surprisingly large amount of meat in these legs and it’s some of the best.

   

4. Now it’s time for the claws and arms (each arm has about 3 pieces which we call knuckles). 
   1. Remove the entire arm by holding it in your hand and twisting at the point it  to the body.
   2. Separate the knuckles from the claw (this should be easy if the chef did step 1)
   3. Separate the knuckles from each other.  This can be the most difficult part.  You may be able to break them easily with your hands – if you can’t, you have two options (or both):
   4. Poke the soft tissue that holds the shells together with a fork. This will make it easier to break.
   5. Use the nut cracker to apply pressure to the hinge between the knuckles.  This will also make it easier to break
   6. Remove the meat from the knuckles using your pinky or the back of your fork (the tongs will shred it).  Consume as you go
   7. To eat the claw, break the two pieces apart.  The meat from the large piece can often be removed with your fork – the smaller part can be a bit hesitant (although sometimes it comes out with the larger piece).  We release it from the shell with our fork (this will often be enough) and then do the following:
   8. Place the small part of the claw in your dominant hand (I’m right-handed so this means my right hand).  Hold it towards your plate, with the opening pointed down (I hold it between my thumb and a few fingers).
   9. Make a fist with your other hand.  Hold this fist over your plate.
   10. Hit your fist with your dominant hand – a few whacks is usually enough to dislodge the meat (if it’s not, you need to release the edges from the shell with your fork better)
   11. Repeat with the other claw.

       

5. Now you want to separate the tail from the body.  Hold the lobster in front of you with the body in one hand and the tail in the other (it should be facing to the left or right).  Twist like you’re giving somebody a rope burn.  Place the body on your plate.  You may notice ‘green stuff’ (tamale) or red stuff (eggs for the female); yes you can eat all of that and it’s lovely.

   

6. Now we want to remove and consume the tail meat:
   1. Lay the tail (with the smooth part of the shell) in both of your hands.  Stretch it out so that it’s straight.  Squeeze your hands together.  This starts the process of breaking the smooth shell.

      

   2. Turn the tail in two directions.  By this, I mean to turn it 90 degrees (if the lobster was whole it would be staring at or away from you) as well as flipping it so that the smooth part of the shell faces your plate.  Break the shell in half by folding it upwards (the shell should break almost in two equal pieces which will be the length of the tail).  The meat is now free.

      

   3. You now want to devien the lobster.  You should almost see a flap at the top of the tail meat – pull this down (the flap is edible) and you’ll see a single vein running the length of the tail (it will be clear or dark depending if it has contents).  Remove the vein and discard in the chewed shell pile.

      

      

   4. Consume all meat.
7. Now we’re onto the body.  It’s slim pickings but it can be the absolute best meat.  To access this meat:
   1. You need to separate the top shell from the belly (where the legs were).  To do so is simple; you’ll simply pull the lobster apart like it was connected with a hinge only at the front.  Place one thumb slightly in the body right where the belly is and another where the top of the back is.  It will easily give way and open as a hinge.
   2. There will be a sack behind the eyes that is hard.  Do not puncture this as it will make the rest of your meal very bitter.  But don’t be overly concerned – it’s next to impossible to do by accident.
   3. Examine the top part of the shell – there is often soft pieces of flesh that you can eat here.
   4. The body is the equivalent of ribs at this point: break it apart by all means necessary and push out the little pieces of meat you’ll find.  It’s a lot of work but the occasional nugget will reveal the best part of the meal.

      

      

Other than having a second lobster or making stock, that’s all there is to it.  It must seem like a lot if you’ve never done it before but it’s truly no big deal once you’ve done it a few times.

If you try it, we’d love your input on these instructions and how it worked for you!

Here’s the steps without photos:

How to Eat a Lobster (without Photos)

1. The chef/ cook has the first task.  As they pull the lobsters from the cooking liquid, place them on a cutting board and make an initial cut of the two claws with the back of a cleaver or using a large butchers knife.  The purpose of this step is to allow a person to break the claw in two with their hands.  You don’t want to cut all the way through (but it happens and is ok if it does).  From here it goes on the plate.
2. Remove the ‘tail fan’ piece by piece.  These are the little pieces at the bottom of the tail.  Remove them by tearing across the tail and eat like you would an artichoke – place the ‘open’ end in your mouth, place the piece between your front teeth and pull out of your mouth.  This is kind of like removing the last bit of toothpaste from the tube.  Make sure you remove all the pieces of the fan – this will help the tail meat release later.
3. Place the lobster on it’s back.  Remove the small legs by twisting each one.  I break them in half and insert them into the side of my mouth and bite down to release the meat.  There’s a surprisingly large amount of meat in these legs and it’s some of the best.
4. Now it’s time for the claws and arms (each arm has about 3 pieces which we call knuckles). 
   1. Remove the entire arm by holding it in your hand and twisting at the point it attaches to the body
   2. Separate the knuckles from the claw (this should be easy if the chef did step 1)
   3. Separate the knuckles from each other.  This can be the most difficult part.  You may be able to break them easily with your hands – if you can’t, you have two options (or both):
   4. Poke the soft tissue that holds the shells together with a fork. This will make it easier to break.
   5. Use the nut cracker to apply pressure to the hinge between the knuckles.  This will also make it easier to break.
   6. Remove the meat from the knuckles using your pinky or the back of your fork (the tongs will shred it).  Consume as you go.
   7. To eat the claw, break the two pieces apart.  The meat from the large piece can often be removed with your fork – the smaller part can be a bit hesitant (although sometimes it comes out with the larger piece).  We release it from the shell with our fork (this will often be enough) and then do the following:
   8. Place the small part of the claw in your dominant hand (I’m right-handed so this means my right hand).  Hold it towards your plate, with the opening pointed down (I hold it between my thumb and a few fingers).
   9. Make a fist with your other hand.  Hold this fist over your plate.
   10. Hit your fist with your dominant hand – a few whacks is usually enough to dislodge the meat (if it’s not, you need to release the edges from the shell with your fork better).
   11. Repeat with the other claw.
5. Now you want to separate the tail from the body.  Hold the lobster in front of you with the body in one hand and the tail in the other (it should be facing to the left or right).  Twist like you’re giving somebody a rope burn.  Place the body on your plate.  You may notice ‘green stuff’ (tamale) or red stuff (eggs for the female); yes you can eat all of that and it’s lovely.
6. Now we want to remove and consume the tail meat:
   1. Lay the tail (with the smooth part of the shell) in both of your hands.  Stretch it out so that it’s straight.  Squeeze your hands together.  This starts the process of breaking the smooth shell.
   2. Turn the tail in two directions.  By this, I mean to turn it 90 degrees (if the lobster was whole it would be staring at or away from you) as well as flipping it so that the smooth part of the shell faces your plate.  Break the shell in half by folding it upwards (the shell should break almost in two equal pieces which will be the length of the tail).  The meat is now free.
   3. You now want to devien the lobster.  You should almost see a flap at the top of the tail meat – pull this down (the flap is edible) and you’ll see a single vein running the length of the tail (it will be clear or dark depending if it has contents).  Remove the vein and discard in the chewed shell pile.
   4. Consume all meat
7. Now we’re onto the body.  It’s slim pickings but it can be the absolute best meat.  To access this meat:
   1. You need to separate the top shell from the belly (where the legs were).  To do so is simple; you’ll simply pull the lobster apart like it was connected with a hinge only at the front.  Place one thumb slightly in the body right where the belly is and another where the top of the back is.  It will easily give way and open as a hinge.
   2. There will be a sack behind the eyes that is hard.  Do not puncture this as it will make the rest of your meal very bitter.  But don’t be overly concerned – it’s next to impossible to do by accident.
   3. Examine the top part of the shell – there is often soft pieces of flesh that you can eat here.
   4. The body is the equivalent of ribs at this point: break it apart by all means necessary and push out the little pieces of meat you’ll find.  It’s a lot of work but the occasional nugget will reveal the best part of the meal.

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The Lobster Series (Part 2): How to Cook a Lobster

This is part of a series on how to buy, cook, eat and make stock from lobster.  Yesterday’s piece focused on how to purchase lobster and how to tell the gender; today we talk about the simple task of cooking it.  This article assumes knowledge from the previous (the most important part being that we cook 1.25-1.5 pound lobsters with an absolute ceiling of 1.75 pounds) – the timing is based on the assumption that the previous page has been followed.

If there is one thing that you need to know about how to cook a lobster it’s that it’s simple.  If there’s a second thing to know, it’s that each region, town and family has their own way that, according to them, is the ONLY way to cook a lobster.  My family is no different.  Here’s our rules in a nutshell:

• You must remove the rubber bands before cooking them.
• You must steam them.
• The water should be heavily salted (the risk of under-salting is more threatening than under or over-cooking).
• A lobster takes 2-beers to cook (meaning that in the time our family drink 2 beer, the lobster is done).

Traditions from other families dispute some of the above; many boil them, some leave the rubber bands on, others don’t salt the water and we cook ours longer than many.  According to my Grandfather, they are all perilously wrong.

We steam lobster in heavily salted water (including ocean water if we’re in Nova Scotia).  It’s important that you add enough water that it can boil for 30 minutes (or less) without running out.  We don’t measure but use a few inches (under 3) in a large pot.  The lobsters at the bottom will become more salty if you’re not careful so we often use a few pots which leave enough room to rotate the ones on the bottom to the top about half way through cooking.

As for salt, we add two considerable handfuls (I am 6 feet tall with average-large hands) like these:

Now, before we share the step-by-step process, let’s talk about handling lobster:

• They are not slimy and you can, and should hold them firm.  They can, at times, wiggle aggressive as they try to escape your grasp.  As long as you are holding them reasonably securely, they won’t leave your hand.  I hold them over the sink in the event that happens and use great care (especially once the elastic bands are off).
• Pick up a lobster by the back of the body.  You’ll see that they can’t reach behind them.  Practice for a few minutes before taking the band off so you can see their range of movement.
• Only remove the elastic bands at the last moment and handle with extreme care and minimal distraction.  Lobster can draw a crowd and you’re dealing with boiling water and an animal that could cause significant pain including broken fingers.  If you don’t believe this, allow a lobster to grab the tip of a butter knife and you’ll see the trouble you have removing it (wiggle side to side to do so).  Lobsters have 2 claws: one is used to crush and the other is used to cut.  I don’t know what I’d do if I ever got pinched (and don’t have tested advice for this) but I’d either cut the claw off or try to toss it away.  Instinct would take over and while your life would likely not be endangered, you really don’t want to test this one out.
• The only real threat to you is those two big claws, don’t be worried about the other ‘arms.’

How to cook a lobster (I do 4-5 per pot so I can rotate them)

1. Pour 1.5-3 inches of water into a large pot.
2. Add two handfuls of salt.
3. Cover and bring to a boil.
4. Remove the elastic bands from the lobster (use care; I use scissors to make this easy) and drop the lobster into the boiling pot as soon as possible.
5. Cover pot.
6. After 15 minutes, rotate the lobster from the bottom to the top and vice versa.  They will already have turned fairly red.
7. After another 10 minutes check to see if they’re done.  Do this by gently lifting a lobster by its antennae (1).  Gently jerk upwards and stop – the lobster should travel 1-2 inches ‘up’ before falling back towards the pot.  If the antennae releases, the lobster is done.

Here’s a video of us testing that this lobster was cooked that shows step 7 in detail:

video a video by Well Preserved on Flickr.

We’ll share how to eat tomorrow.

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The Lobster Series (Part 1): How to Buy Fresh Lobster

Today kicks off a series I’ve been meaning to share since we started writing: how to buy, cook, eat and make stock (and bisque) from lobster.  Lobster is one of the most sustainable seafood, it’s fantastically flavorful, easy to cook and, when eaten correctly (including using the whole animal), can be rather affordable.  A lobster dinner can cost $10-$25 per person but if you make a stock you’ll cut the cost per meal to $3-$8.

My Mother is from Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.  Knowing how to eat a lobster without assistance was a key to survival in our house: if you couldn’t break your own lobster apart you would have to wait until others had eater theirs hot.  I’ve been shelling lobster, without assistance, since I was 5 years old.  When my Mother was growing up, lobster is what the ‘poor people ate’ as many were fishermen living off the land.  The ‘rich’ kids had luxuries like SPAM that was imported from elsewhere.

As an odd bit of trivia: I’ve never eaten a cooked lobster in a restaurant (I did have some raw as ceviche but that’s another story).  Lobster has never been seen as a fancy meal in our house; it’s actually the opposite.  Tables get lined with newspapers, everyone puts on short-sleeved shirts (or rolls up their cuffs) and shells start flying across the kitchen.  It’s a messy meal and one that’s very hands-on.  This isn’t exactly a meal that the shy want to share with strangers.

Buying lobster is an easy task.  There’s only a few ‘rules’:

• They must be alive.  Don’t buy or cook a dead lobster.
• The should be lively; you may have to pick them up to see that but a limp lobster is one that you want to avoid.
• Like all other things, they are best in season.  In Canada this means later spring through summer.
• They can be stored in your fridge or in a cooler – but be careful with ice.  If ice melts it turns into fresh water – if you’re lobster are submerged in fresh water, they will die.  Blocked ice that is covered in a few layers of newspaper is best.  The traditional way to store them is in the vegetable crisper in your fridge.  They’ll easily last a day in these conditions (we try to use them the same day we buy them).
• Do not store them in plastic bags.

Now onto the more subjective rules.  These vary from region-to-region and family-to-family but each of us will swear by our own:

• Size matters; but not in the way most think.  A big lobster is an old lobster and an old lobster is a tough lobster (the largest cow is the toughest meat whereby traditional field-raised veal is far more tender).  1.25-1.5 pounds is the sweet spot my family swears by; 1.75 pounds would be an absolute ceiling that you would not want to cross.  Smaller lobsters are also less expensive by the pound (meaning two 1.5 pound lobsters will be cheaper in most cases than a 3 pounder).
• If a store won’t let you choose which lobster that you’re taking home with you, walk away.
• It’s all about gender: know how to identify a female vs. a male.  The females have roe (eggs, similar to what is eaten on the top of sushi although the texture is different as they’re cooked) and some believe they have more tail meat).  There’s two ways to tell a female from a male:
  • Many females have hips.  They get wider at the top of the tail near the body of the shell.  This isn’t foolproof but it generally gives a good indication.
  • The 100% way to tell the gender is to check the underside of the tail (we’ll talk about how to handle them tomorrow; for now it’s good enough to know that if they have elastic bands on their claws, they’re safe to handle).  Gently flip the lobster over and examine the swimmerets (they’re the ‘fuzzy things’) under the tail.  The first pair (nearest the body) will either be soft and almost velvety or they will be hard and almost forged of plastic – there’s NO in between.  The soft ones are female.

Here’s a male (it’s easier to feel than see):

And a female:

Other than the eggs, there’s no significant difference between the two – we try to buy females as they offer another flavor that the males just don’t have.

That’s all there is to buying fresh lobster.  Tomorrow we’ll share how to cook it!

 

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Unpleasant Pleasures Like a Mouth Full of Coffee Grounds

It’s been an intense week; time has accelerated past like it’s competing in some sort of drag race and I’m a spectator wearing cement shoes and am trying to catch up.  My odds of success aren’t so great. 

It’s times like these that, instead of trying to speed up to catch the impossible, that slowing down further for a few minutes can bring great sanity.  When the days fly by too fast I try to carve out a few moments here and there where I can just be in the moment, pause and collect myself.  I recently had such a moment, sipping a morning cup of coffee and contemplating them moment when ‘it’ happened: a swig of coffee turned into a moment of uncertainty as my mouth was consumed with an unexpected texture.  This gave way to the certainty of the moment – I had a mouth full of coffee grounds.

The offending vessel:

It’s funny that one can enjoy chocolate covered coffee beans or even cook with coffee grounds (like these smoky, salty, spicy coffee flavoured roasted nuts) but the experience in other formats is less than pleasurable.  The experience got me thinking about the foods which bring us great pleasure in one format as opposed to another.  I tried to think of a few other things that we rely on transforming before eating, here’s what I came up with:

• Tea is another such example although it’s pretty linear to coffee.
• Few of us eat raw onions or garlic by themselves.  Cook them a little or mix them with other things and we suddenly have great pleasure from these things.
• Honey *can* be eaten by the spoonful but I suspect that most of us eat it in combination with other things and not great quantities by the spoonful (although I, like others, have).  I suppose this is true of most sweeteners.
• Watermelon rinds.  I can’t imagine eating them without pickling them first.
• Salt, herbs, hot peppers and pepper.  All *can* be eaten independently but often rely on combinations with other things as opposed to consumed whole.
• Grains, pasta, rice are generally infused with liquid (or grains can be baked as in a loaf of bread) before consuming (although you could argue the same for meat and fish there are plenty of exceptions for each which do not rely on cooking).
• Some veggies are better ‘pure’ but others just need cooking to transform themselves into something edible (imagine eating a lot of yam, potato or eggplant raw?)
• Raw olives would be a close parallel – they are processed in order to be eaten (although I’m told that you can eat ripe ones off the tree, I’ve never had the fortune).

I don’t know why I’ve found this so fascinating but I suppose that’s the pleasure of living in the moment – even if it is with a mouth full of coffee grounds.

What else would you add to the list?

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The Risks of An Early Spring on Farming

I’m a classically trained project manager which means I view ‘risk’ as being potentially harmful as equally as I view it’s possible benefits.  Many people think of risk as only being a bad thing – yet we buy a lottery ticket and risk a small amount of money hoping for the potential benefit that far outweighs the almost certain loss of the money expended.

Like much of North America, we’ve had an abnormally mild winter (I’ve seen snow twice) and an extra warm March (there were shots of people in their bathing suits on the beach in the news yesterday).  It’s still early to tell if this is truly the start of spring or a pause of the inevitable but most are convinced that the worst is over.  One farmer I spoke with on the weekend told me they are almost 60 days ahead of schedule and are hoping for a record year.

Time will tell if we’re in the throes of spring or just being teased but there are risks for farmers either way.  Here’s a few of them:

• The most obvious is the positive possibility of an early growing season which means harvest could be ready sooner.  This means possible early cash flow for farmers as well as a potential longer selling season.
• There is also reports of increased yields based on early planting (such as these indications from Manitoba last year)
• A less-than-obvious side-effect from the unseasonably warm winter is that some plants (i.e. Kale) were hearty enough to survive the winter enough that the sun and some water is enough to bring them back to life; enough to bring to market in the next week-to-two.

 

Once we’re past the optimism, there’s a considerable list of concerns:

• Warmth is not the only thing a seed needs to grow – an early spring (or weather that’s a false indication of such) can lead to moisture problems.
• If frost or a freeze hits and destroys the seed, federal crop insurance (this is in the US, not sure what is in place in Canada), will not cover for the loss of that seed.
• An early spring brings the threat of different types of plant viruses (such as these discovered in peanuts planted in early spring).
• An early heat wave can cause fruit trees to bud which is good unless there’s a subsequent freeze which can kill the delicate buds.  This link claims almost every fruit was lost in Tennessee in 2007 after as an Easter frost followed a warm March.
• The warmth helps other things – like pests and insects who get an early start as well.  The lack of frozen ground allows them to return to activity early in the year which can threaten the yield of a farmer – or result in crops which are sprayed with more chemical than normal for the concerned consumer.  Here’s another article which shares more of the same.
• Statistics show that when March is warm, April and May are often colder than normal.

 

So let’s get out and enjoy the weather and the moment that’s here now – but also be cautious and hopeful when it comes to planting and for those who depend on the sun to bring us our sustenance!

Do you think it will be a warm, cold or moderate summer?

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