Okay, back to Fantasy Island

You know, Jack London wrote stories about two of my favourite places. Way up north and the south sea islands. I read a lot of his stories as a kid. There was also Steinbeck and Michener and Melville and Heyerdahl and Stevenson and on and on. I think the movie, The Swiss Family Robinson, which I saw when I was nine, probably started my fascination with island life. 

Little wonder that I entertained all sorts of fantasies as I grew up, of travelling to distant places and experiencing for myself all the wonders that I had read about.  

There were times when I wanted to pit myself against the rigours of an Arctic winter and it's deadly darkness and cold, but more and more as I grew older, the south sea islands with it's uncombed beaches and friendly native peoples, (especially the island girls), appealed to me. 

Well, I finally made it. I am on a sort of fantasy island, but it's real. As I write this, palm trees of three varieties are swaying in the breezes outside my window. Okay, okay. It's actually pouring rain down sideways and the backyard is so sodden I can't set foot in it without sinking to my ankles. It has warmed up to about 45 degrees. I think one palm is frost-bitten.  
These days apparently, fantasy islands are all too much a part of the real world and we have had Way too much of a certain sort of pest here. Oh, uh, I mean mosquitoes of course. Yeah, mosquitoes.  

Anyway, when the mosquitoes aren't tormenting us, life here is very good. Today I was able to indulge in yet another fantasy. I harvested my very own live abalone from a salt-water pool, shucked and cleaned it, and fried it for lunch.  

Well, actually, that's mostly fantasy. In truth, I told the guy at the fish market I wanted a paua out of his tank, he got it for me using a step ladder and a spatula, and I paid for it. 

I did shuck it (the term used for prying the critter out of it's shell by forcing your thumb under it's 'toe,') tenderized it, cut it up and fried it in butter and garlic. It was very good, although not worth the outrageous price they charged for it. 

Here are a few photos of the process.

Here is the real 'salt water pool' from which I 'harvested' my paua. Thank goodness that an American dollar right now is worth about $1.40 Kiwi.

the shell side of an abalone

The edible side. Pauas have only one shell. This is the black foot paua, Haliotis iris. 

To shuck an abalone, you put your thumb under the black fringe and feel for the white 'toe' at it's center that holds the creature to it's shell. You then force your thumb under the toe until suddenly, it releases it's hold on the shell and pops right off into your hand. Here you see me holding all the edible stuff. The shell, with it's 'scar' from where the toe held on and the guts are on the plate. (note the colors on the shell)

The next step is to place the paua inside a towel or cloth and give it a good pounding with a meat mallet to tenderize it. This has also been sliced and is ready for the flour.

Garlic and butter in a fairly hot pan. About two minutes on a side. You don't want to overcook it.

Smells promising. 

I have had paua mince (chopped up pieces of the black fringe part) that they sell frozen for paua fritters and found them to have the consistency of rubber bands. I was never impressed.  This one on the other hand was tender and delicious.

You might have noticed that the inside of the shell is beautiful. The outside is too, but it is covered with all sorts of deposits that hide it. My next project is to clean the outside of the shell and shellac it.  

If it weren't for the Asian markets here that sell so many fantastic products, life here would be a bit more commonplace. Here is one I hadn't noticed before. It is ginseng drink with a piece of genuine ginseng root in it. Beats a worm in Tequilla any day, wouldn't you say? (this drink is non-alcoholic)

It tastes just slightly sweet and if I hadn't known that it was a ginseng root, I might have thought it tasted vagely carrot-like. "Life is endlessly delicious."  This at least, didn't set me back an arm and a leg. $2.99 for the bottle.                           -djf