What’s In a Name?

The California scorpionfish.  Sounds quite menacing.. and it should be.  Related to the infamous stonefish, which is deadly to humans, living off our sun drenched coast is its cousin that does indeed pack a doozy of a sting.  I have seen people put their hands down on these well concealed fish, only to scream, or whatever you call it when you exhale massive amounts of bubbles underwater, as the venom surges through their body.  While our scorpionfish is not as worrisome, it is not something I care to experience.  So yesterday while out fishing on the Monte Carlo, I hauled in a few keepers that made their way into my burlap sack.  I have heard wondrful things about the flavor of these fish and was excited to give them a try.

On the boat I had the deckhand filet them for me, except for one that I did myself when I returned home, so the spines were not an issue as I jostled around the kitchen tonight.  Supplies were getting a bit thin on the $5 per day diet, and luckily I had a few things that made this meal just downright lip smacking.  The fish… I kept simple… just some salt and pepper.  But I had a can of white beans and some bacon, so I sort of came up with an idea to serve the fish simply over a bed of white beans, bacon and onion… all things I had in the pantry and fridge.

I fried up the bacon in a cast iron pan and when crispy, put it into another skillet with some of the grease and added half of a diced red onion and sautéed till the onion was turning golden.  I tossed in some garlic and a can of white beans and let that all suck up the bacon grease love!  With the rest of the bacon fat and a bit of butter, I fried the scorpionfish filets till they took on a golden color, which was only a moment in the pan.  The beans needed some tang so I squeezed some lemon juice in and wow.  The fish just popped.

There is something special about catching your own food.  I used to hunt with my father as a boy, and when I lived in Alaska I ate more things from the wild than I did from a feed lot, but as of late I have drifted away from that side of me.  So I had some great satisfaction eating a tasty meal that is as fresh as it gets and caught with my own effort.  Many people shy away from hunting.  Maybe it is because they cant pull ther trigger when bambi is giving them the sad eyes, but a fish is different.  It has a cold stare that never seems to make a personal connection with those people who yank them from the water.  But being a fish biologist I know they are some of the most amazing animals on the planet and they do indeed have a personality that is unique to each and every fish… just in their own cold blooded special way.  So tonight as I reveled in my primeval manliness at being able to provide for my family, food-wise, I paid homage to the last wild food that is commonly plied for our great planet.  Fish!  Thank you ocean!

p.s. as i was baiting up my hook i did kick a burlap sack and sunk two scorpionfish spines into my big toe.  I stood there , semi-freaking out about the explosive pain that was sure to come… sure to come… sure to come.  What?  Nothing but some blood dripping onto the deck.  Well I guess when these guys die they lose their ability to inject poison…or… I am just super tough.  Probably not.

Five Bucks

Five bucks, dollars, clams, whatever…money is money.  I absorb enough news and current events to know that we are not in the roaring 40’s, or reveling in the 80’s boom right now.  I feel that the first thing to get slashed when things get tight is ones food budget.  With the endless aisles of cheap, overly processed crap that swamp the center hole of our supermarkets, many people turn to a cheap, salt and fat laden diet that will eventually give you a heart attack as well as enough natural insulation to brave the arctic sea with a narwhale…in your undies.

Well I have decided to challenge myself, and by default my lovely wife, with the five dollar-a-day food challenge.  For 30 days I will allow myself $35 dollars a week to feed myself.  For you math wizards out there its $70 for the two of us.  Will I end up hating beans?  Will the thought of another tofu dish make me want to puke?  We shall see.  Our food budget is always large and in charge, and is a place where we can either save or splurge (our default is “splurge”)

I am a firm believer that good, tasty, healthy food is not something that has to break the bank.  I mean I can pretty much guarantee that there will not be sushi nights of yellowtail belly, or fine French cheeses crossing these lips for the next 30 days.  But what I am hoping for is some creativity and ingenuity in the kitchen, and the market, for things that are going to fill the belly, but not drain the bank.

While I have a few days before I kick off the challenge ( I am going to Sonoma for a food and wine filled weekend… hey might as well go out with a bang…right?), there are some things I will have to come to grips with.  One, wine and beer are out.  I did think bout the “supermodel diet”, as my wife and sister call it, of just drinking till the hunger goes away.  While that may last a short while, the thought of a 30 day boozefest seems a wee bit counter productive.  Two, meat will be a treat.  I have cut down on the animal as of late, and found some really tasty veggie dishes, but meat is not what the global south sustains itself upon.  It is out (mostly).  Three, this guy is buying some legumes in bulk and going to sort out some new spice combinations… in a hurry.

Beyond that I have a few recipes that will get me through a week or two, but what then??  That is where some learning on my behalf will occur.  I like to try new things and I am always happy to get a new spice into the mix, but 30 days is 30 days. That is 90 meals for a total of $150.  That comes to a solid $1.67 per meal.  Can it be done.  I say YES!  But stay tuned and see what happens.  I may wither away and slip between the floor boards never to be heard of again.  I may have a massive freak out and find myself laying in the refrigerated meat section of the nearest Ralphs going for the osmotic effect, or I may find wonderful and creative dishes that will give me boundless energy and prove that America can eat well, and on the cheap.

I hope for the latter.