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Q:
Ok, do we call you the mushroom marauder? Dave (David
Aurora) gave that guy “wut fer”. Re: rabbits, can’t really get behind
killing anything but how different is it from an article in the Herald a
couple of years ago where a 4-h’er won at the fair with her lamb which
she offered to butcher? That still haunts me. To the point: You had a
thing about processing olives recently. The only way I can get them
edible is to soak in salt for a week or two and then do the aging thing
(lemon, oregano garlic, bay leaf, etc.) Did I miss something in that
response?
Thanks, Ani.
A:
Ani, check my website for past
olive recipes. Here’s a new one I saw in Croatia. They cut a small slit
in each olive, place them in a plastic net bag and throw it off of the
wharf. They make sure and tie it to something
so they can retrieve it later, otherwise they
might be cited for littering. I can see it now, getting a citation for
throwing a bag
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of green olives off of
the wharf and trying to talk your way out of it. The high salt content
of the ocean is perfect for curing olives and I’ll bet you a million
olives that this is how man ate his first olives, retrieving it from the
ocean after it had cured for a while. The salt leaches the bitter acid
from the fruit and makes it palatable. It takes about two weeks. The
beauty of this is that the water is constantly changing itself. Almost
anything can be edible; cultures differ; laws restrict.
Q: Ok
John, so far you and I agree. A federally protected animal should not be
eaten. But, how can you go “yucko” about one animal and eat others?
Curious,
Nancy Iversen
A:
Well Nancy, I think it’s because seagulls eat anything
and I mean anything. Most of the time it is something that has been dead
for a while, sort of like vultures. I don’t think I would try them
either, would you?
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Readers:
Boy did I get a treat the other day. An
old boyhood friend (kindergarten) Peter Dentice, a commercial fisherman,
expert bocce player, and fisherman advocate, walks into my office and
says, “Here is something for the guy who has everything.” He then hands
me a brown square about the size of a brick in a plastic baggy. What the
heck is this? As I get closer I see that it is a piece of a giant blue
tuna egg that has been formed and salted. Folks, if you love salted
anchovies, not just regular anchovies, but the ones with the finest,
sweetest, most fragrant and savory exotic smell in the world, this is
something for you. In Italy it is called “Botargo” and is eaten sliced
paper thin and drizzled with olive oil with a squirt of lemon, some
Italian bread and a cocktail, or a glass of wine. Watch out, it is
incredible. In Sicily they grate it over hot pasta with olive oil and
hot peppers. Peter D, you’re the greatest! By the way, I checked with
Phil at Ital Foods and they sell it by the gram and it comes with recipe
ideas. You can reach Phil at 901-9149.
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