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Meeting the New England Food Vision- sourcing 50% of all food locally in the region by 2050- is not possible without fish. Lucky for us, New England’s coasts harbor some of the most productive fish habitat on Earth. A focus on healthy habitat is needed to support local fisheries in the long-term, and there are several steps you can take to advance that objective.
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Photo Credit: Tyler Murgo
Hi Everyone,
In the face of this global health crisis we hope that everyone is staying safe and healthy. COVID-19 is impacting everyone and every business in a multitude of ways. Our hearts go out to those who are feeling the impacts the strongest such as our friends in the restaurant industry and small businesses. We also want to thank the health care workers who are putting themselves at risk to take care of others.
Some people have asked what will this mean for the seafood industry. The answer is the situation is unprecedented and so we don’t have all the answers. Fishermen already practice social distancing; they spend quite a bit of time in small groups on boats out at sea, away from most people. However, without stable markets to sell their catch to, they too are vulnerable and so are the seafood supply chain businesses whom they rely on. So far, we’ve seen seafood businesses taking a variety of approaches to best adapt to the current situation and its changing daily. Some businesses are temporarily closing, hoping to protect their staff and customers while limiting daily operating costs. Fishermen too are making the choice of whether it is worth it or not to go fishing. With many restaurants closed or reduced to only offering takeout, seafood businesses that sell to restaurants are also feeling the effects with some coming up with alternative ways to sell their products including selling direct to consumers and even offering home delivery. With foreign markets impacted, domestic and local sales as well as the ability to freeze products are becoming increasingly important to sustaining businesses. We’ve also seen local fishermen (with the appropriate permitting to do so) offering to sell their catch direct to their friends, families, and communities.
At Eating with the Ecosystem, our fifth anchor is Community. We often refer to it as “knowing your fisherman.” Community-based fisheries enhance the social, ecological, and cultural fabric of our coastal communities. While so much is unknown and unpredictable at the moment, one thing seems clear: we need to support each other. This means committing to social distancing, staying at home as much as possible, washing your hands, and listening to the CDC and health professionals. It also means helping out your neighbors, family, or friends who maybe can’t go out and buy food or are facing financial difficulties during this pandemic. But we also all still must eat and local seafood is a great way to support your community while enjoying a healthy diet. There are many seafood markets who are staying open at this time and employing extra safety measures including curb side delivery and pre orders and so don’t forget about them when thinking of places to buy food. Further, there are also companies and fishermen who are offering direct sales or delivery options within their communities so please take advantage of this chance to buy some incredibly fresh local fish or shellfish. Lastly, there are also many restaurants who are offering takeout menus or delivery, providing a good option as well.
At Eating with the Ecosystem, we had been planning some fun local seafood events for you this spring including bringing back some of our local seafood cooking classes however, in light of the current situation these activities have been postponed. However, while hunkered down at home many of us have more free time to cook meals and learn new skills. If you need reading material or inspiration, we suggest Simmering the Sea, our local seafood cookbook! It not only includes delicious recipes for many of our favorite less well-known local seafood species but also includes beautiful illustrations and fun profiles written from the perspective of the fish, shellfish, or seaweed so that you also learn about them and their role in the ecosystem. In the meantime, Eating with the Ecosystem will be working to share recipes with you via New England Seafoodies and our other social media channels and we will make ourselves available to answer your local seafood questions.
Stay safe everyone and support each other!
Margot Wilsterman is a graduate student at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth School for Marine Science and Technology who is studying fisheries oceanography. Margot is also a seafood lover and for one of her classes she produced a podcast titled, “How and Why to Eat Local Seafood”. We love Margot’s podcast and are excited to share it with you here. Click below to listen.
I team up with my classmates at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth School for Marine Science and Technology to talk about how consumers buy seafood. I also chat with Kate Masury at Eating With the Ecosystem to discuss seafood purchasing, and how we can use our power as consumers to eat more fish more sustainably.
Description: I team up with my classmates at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth School for Marine Science and Technology to talk about how consumers buy seafood. I also chat with Kate Masury at Eating With the Ecosystem to discuss seafood purchasing, and how we can use our power as consumers to eat more fish more sustainably.
Hayley volunteering at one of Eating with the Ecosystem’s Scales & Tales Food Boat events this fall.
On November 29, 2018 I had the pleasure of listening to two graduate students talk about their studies at the University of Rhode Island’s Graduate School of Oceanography. Both women helped fill a complete picture of what is going on in the Narragansett Bay in regards to the food chain and climate change.
Nicole Flecchia delivered the first presentation. Her studies focus on small-scale food webs. She looks directly at the primary producers (organisms such as phytoplankton that make their own food) and consumers. Her presentation concentrated on the chain of nutrients to phytoplankton and then to zooplankton. Flecchia started her presentation talking about the amount of nitrogen in the bay, a key nutrient needed to feed phytoplankton. Phytoplankton, like their terrestrial plant relatives, require nutrients such as nitrogen to grow. The phytoplankton are then consumed by zooplankton (the animal constituent of plankton, which consists mainly of small crustaceans and fish larvae). This is a key step in the food chain, as zooplankton are an important food source for many Narragansett Bay fish. Additionally, many of the zooplankton that are not eaten then grow up to become some of our favorite seafood species. Flecchia noted that while nutrients such as nitrogen in the bay are important, when there are too many nutrients in the bay it can lead to fish kills like the one from 2003. To understand the chain in a simple way, more nutrients leads to larger phytoplankton blooms. When the phytoplankton die they begin to decompose, a process that uses oxygen. When the bloom is big enough, it can use too much oxygen, killing the fish left in the oxygen depleted waters.
The second presenter was Kristin Huizenga and her presentation was focused on fish, lobster, and climate change. Many of us love lobster but did you know Rhode Island used to have a much larger fishery for lobsters? Huizenga talked about how the water in Narragansett Bay has become warmer, causing Rhode Island’s lobster populations to continuously decline. Lobsters prefer colder water temperatures. A normal lobster nursery is well below 20°C. In the last 50 years the Narragansett Bay has warmed by about 1.5°C lobster populations have been moving north towards Maine and Canada. By 2050 the bay is predicted to be too warm for lobsters to even survive. Warmer water temperatures are not only making the bay too warm for lobsters but are also bringing increased predators. Fish such as scup and black sea bass eat juvenile lobsters and actually prefer these warmer water temperatures. As the bay has warmed, we have seen an increase in both of these lobster predator species.
So you must be thinking this is a lot of information. What do I do with it? What does this mean for the seafood we love? Well, I’ll tell you. Try to regulate what nutrients aka fertilizers you use on your lawns. This can limit the nutrients going into the bay, helping to maintain healthy water quality and save ecosystems. If you love lobster and other local seafood species that prefer colder water temperatures, such as winter flounder, you can also try really hard to lower your carbon footprint. And one of my favorite ways that you can try to save lobster populations in Narragansett Bay is to eat some of the predator species such as scup and black sea bass. These fish are abundant and tasty! If you as a consumer go into your local fish market or grocery store and ask for scup and black sea bass it will help to create more markets for these fish and hopefully give young lobsters a better chance to reach maturity, therefore hopefully helping the lobster population!
Chef Rizwan Ahmed is a decorated chef who can be found most days imparting wisdom in his teaching kitchen at Johnston & Wales University or serving up creative local fare from his food truck, Rhode Rage.
Eating with the Ecosystem has known Chef Riz since his days as chef-proprietor of the Hourglass Brasserie in Bristol, RI. We still remember with awe the time he served skate cartilage chips (died with squid ink) at an Eating with the Ecosystem dinner at the Hourglass. Most recently, we have been honored to collaborate with Riz (and several of his JWU students) on the creation of a new cookbook, Simmering the Sea: Diversifying Cookery to Sustain Our Fisheries.
Riz brought to this project not only his keen sense of flavor and texture as a chef, but a multifaceted appreciation for marine life that he gained through an earlier career path as a marine biologist. You can enjoy these recipes for yourself by ordering Simmering the Sea HERE.
We hope you enjoy these snippets of an interview that we did with Chef Riz several years ago while preparing for a dinner in his former restaurant:
What made you want to become a Marine Biologist initially?
Being brought up in a third world country for the first eighteen years of my life, one comes to realize that the environment is put on the back burner. My early interest in the environment was when my family built their house close to a beautiful beach outside the main city of Karachi, Pakistan. We had a view of the mudflats right outside our doorstep. These mudflats had a large diversity of marine species as well as birds. But that didn’t last for long. Within a few years, without any laws or protection, the mudflats deteriorated leaving a wasteland that was replaced with commercial buildings and homes. This was only one example of what was happening around to the suburbs of Karachi and I knew something needed to be done.
I had made up my mind and when I finished school I applied to colleges in the States that had some sort of environmental degree with a concentration in Marine Ecosystems. I was accepted to the University of Maine, Machias. While attending college I would visit the coastal waters of Karachi in the summer and take back samples of species to identify and record. This helped establish a chart of what the Arabian Seas coastline had to offer.
When I finished college I moved down to Florida to work in the Marine Fisheries industry including Mote Marine Laboratories in Sarasota, Florida. Finally laws were put into place to prevent cities and industries from polluting the Arabian Sea. And now the beaches across the coastline of Pakistan are seeing a slow comeback in marine life and biodiversity. This gave me hope that if a third world country can come to the realization and save their marine ecosystem then we as a world can do far greater things.
What made you decide to switch paths and become a chef?
I’ve been passionate about food as long as I can remember. Coming from a very close knit family my favorite and most fond memories were gathering around the dinner table for a meal cooked by my Mother. Each dish was a celebration of flavor and this is probably what fueled my passion for becoming a chef.
I decided to pursue a degree in Culinary Arts in 2002 and would then decide between the two degrees. I moved to London, England to attend the Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Institute. Upon graduating with honors, I wanted to work with the best in the industry and sort after some of the most respected names in the field. I managed to get some extensive experience as a chef in many fine-dining establishments. I apprenticed at the prestigious Lanesborough Hotel in London, under Executive Chef Paul Gayler. I also worked at several famous Michelin starred restaurants including the Orrery, under Andre Garret and Le Gavroche, under Michel Roux in London. I then moved to Bermuda to work with the Fairmont Hotels & Resorts at the Newport Room, one of only hundred and fifty AAA five diamond restaurants in North America.
I met my beautiful wife in Bermuda while she was working there as a nurse. We fell in love and came to Rhode Island to see the in-laws. When I saw Bristol, Rhode Island, where my wife had lived for many years, I knew this would be the place for us to start our lives together.
What special insight do you bring as a chef that came from your knowledge of Marine Biology? How do you bring your Marine Science experience to bear in your work as a chef?
After being disappointed with the quality of food produced by some of the restaurants I had been to and the lack of understanding ones product and where it came from and to appreciate and respect the abundance and variety that our oceans have to offer I decided to open up my own restaurant.
There is an abundant diversity of marine life that can be used and prepared for by chefs to put on their menu. But nine out of ten restaurants have species like cod. This puts a heavy load on the cod population. People have now become so accustomed to a limited choice of seafood that they are not willing or are not aware of other species that taste just as good if not better. To me it is the duty of the chef not just to provide an excellent meal but to educate the guest on what they are eating when it comes to seafood, to have an understanding of “eating with the ecosystem” and to work with it. Not to put a heavy load on a few selected species but to utilize a wide range as to not negatively affect the ecosystem as a whole.
But my biggest respect goes to the French chef, who tries to utilize as much as possible from a product with the least amount of waste. This to me shows that with a little insight one can do wonders and provide a guest with a memorable and educated dining experience.
For many Rhode Islanders, eating seafood is a celebration of what it means to live in the ocean state. But, due in large part to climate change, the waters around Rhode Island are changing. Fish that once thrived in the Narragansett Bay are becoming scarcer and an increasing population of fisheries once found in warmer climates means that many consumers must redefine what it means to be a sustainable consumer of seafood.
Rhode Island Gillnetter Aaron Gewirtz
Eating With the Ecosystem, a local seafood project dedicated to helping Rhode Islanders make sustainable choices while supporting local fishermen, hosted a Scales and Tales Dinner at Easy Entertaining on October 23. The program charged chef Ashely Vanasse with the task of incorporating fisheries with a low environmental impact on the Rhode Island waters into an upscale dinner. Also in attendance was gillnetter Aaron Gewirtz, whose nets had pulled in both the bonito and bluefish on the table.
Arriving guests sipped sparkling wine and dined on fried bluefish and sand crab. The taste of bluefish, Gewirtz explained, has a reputation for tasting oily and is often described as fishy. Yet properly prepared the bluefish, especially served fried and simply garnished, has a complex, surprisingly fresh taste. Paired with the more familiar tender white meat of sand crabs, the bluefish were hugely popular. Gewirtz reminded attendees at the dinner that consumer demand can make an enormous difference on the success of sustainable fisheries. By ordering bluefish both when dining out and when making choices at the supermarket, Rhode Island foodies can be certain that their choices support both local industries and the ecosystems they rely on.
Chef Vanasse served Bonito crudo as the first course. The simple dish spotlighted the delicate flavor of the bonito fish, a taste not dissimilar to tuna. The second course featured Slipper Limpet, served as a sauce over homemade linguini. While hugely populous in Narragansett waters and simple to prepare, the slipper limpet is in low demand by Rhode Island consumers and often considered by fishermen to be a byproduct of other fisheries. The slipper limpet, a snail native to the Atlantic, has a rich, hearty meat making it a perfect pairing to savory comfort dishes like pasta.
Jonah crab dish in butter corn broth
Jonah crab (top) & Sand crab (bottom)
The sweet, tender meat of Jonah Crab made up the penultimate course of the meal, paired with local potatoes in a sweet onion and butter corn broth. Buttery and indulgent, the crab meat practically melted in attendee’s mouths as Eating with the Ecosystem’s Kate Masury gave an animated, hands-on demonstration on how to tell the difference between a Jonah crab and a Sand Crab. Demanding a large range of seafood from a number of local fisheries allows fishermen to capitalize on changing populations in the Narragansett waters. Masury encouraged attendees at the dinner to try to incorporate each of the new kinds of fish they’d tried that night into their menus at home.
The Scales and Tales dinners hosted by Eating with the Ecosystem aren’t the only opportunities for Rhode Islanders to broaden their horizons when it comes to seafood. Consumers can communicate their interest in sustainable, local catches wherever fresh seafood is sold. Serving fish like bluefish or Jonah Crab at one’s table, Masury explained, isn’t just good for the environment – a diverse menu can surprise dinner guests and create unexpected conversations. By purchasing, preparing, and serving local and sustainable catches, hosts can spark interest in eating with the ecosystem in their own dinner guests, creating a cycle of sustainability that could ensure the continued success of the Rhode Island fishing industry and allow us to adapt to a changing climate.
As the weeks in our Eat Like a Fish Citizen Science Research project went on, I got bogged down with other work and never had the chance to post the experiences of our amazing citizen scientists, so I am doing it now. Here are some of our favorites from weeks 17-26 and stay tuned for a final wrap up post!
Everything Bagel Crusted Swordfish
Julia Mennone from Rhode Island (Week 17)
“I was hoping to find swordfish! There were two types of tuna but the seafood counter staff couldn't confirm where either was landed. The swordfish was confirmed to have landed in Rhode Island (can't get more local than that). We had prepared swordfish like this in the past- with this everything bagel spice from Trader Joe’s (got this idea from a restaurant in West Hartford years ago). We coated the fish in a layer of black sesame seeds and then we added the everything bagel spice which created a crunchy crust when seared… yummy! Added some steamed sugar snap peas and ginger rice to round out the dinner.”
David Ford from Rhode Island (Week 18)
Seared sea scallops with creamed corn
“The Local Catch had scallops from George's Bank and I was lucky that it was one of my choices for the week. I seared the scallops in a cast iron pan at very high heat and served on a bed of creamed corn that I had charred on the grill. Yum!”
Crab stuffed haddock with roasted cauliflower and corn
Paul Anderson from Maine (Week 18)
“Plenty of options for cooking Haddock. I made baked stuffed haddock. Of course, the fun part is coming up with an interesting stuffing, so I found some fresh crab meat. Mixed in minced Shallots, minced celery, a little bit of panko bread brumbs, egg, Dijon, sour cream, salt and pepper. It came out perfect. You only need a little bit of the mustard and sour cream blended with the egg to get some binding and a mild flavor on top of the crab and haddock. I cooked it hot at 400 for about 20 minutes and it stayed moist and flaky.”
Deborah Mager from Connecticut (Week 19)
Smooth Dogfish a keeper!
“I called my “go to” guy early this week and asked if he could find for me in order of preference: (1) Sea Robin; (2) Smooth dogfish; (3) Pollock; or (4) Summer Flounder (fluke). I was so disappointed but not surprised that he could not find Sea Robin for me, but my disappointment was not long lived because Robert found Smooth dogfish for me What the heck is it? Can’t cook it until I consult the Fish List Species (an invaluable tool throughout this project). Neat! It’s a small shark and highly abundant. I found some information that said it is used as a substitute for cod and is interchangeable in recipes. Smooth versus Spiny? They look different in the pictures on the Fish List Species site, and other information I found was that Smooth dogfish is often sold at a higher price point and that the majority of dogfish seen in markets labeled “dogfish” is spiny dogfish not smooth dogfish. I would have to trust my “go to” guy that I was getting the Smooth dogfish because my husband had gone to purchase it and I wasn’t going to get to see it whole. OMG! This species is a keeper! Firm, very mild tasting, no bones, helps the ecosystem, and extremely inexpensive. I would even serve it for company. Just make sure you take the skin off first before serving it to your guests. Another bonus was finding a cookbook that I purchased while I was looking for recipes. It has 200 simple, authentic Italian home cooking recipes for preparing local, sustainable fish and produce. Dogfish is the next best thing since sliced bread!”
Kate Aubin from Rhode Island (Week 19)
Seared sea scallops with fried sage and a brown butter sauce over angel hair pasta
“This was an interesting week for me. My list included Tilefish, Spiny Dogfish, Summer Flounder, and Sea Scallop. I was immediately interested in Spiny Dogfish and Tilefish because I had never heard of them before, but assumed they would be difficult to find. I've already had Summer Flounder during this project and liked it a lot, but I wanted to try something new if possible. That left Sea Scallops, though scallops are not entirely new to me. I had them once before, many years ago, and absolutely HATED them. I found them to be very fishy tasting and chewy, which is not an appealing combo to me. I decided that despite my negative experience, I should try them again. I have a three strike rule that I try to live by -- if I can't be convinced after trying something three times, then it probably isn't for me. This rule prevents me from giving up on a dish that may have been poorly executed or was prepared in a way that I just don't like. Anyway, I found the locally caught Sea Scallops at an area supermarket and almost fainted when I saw the price: $24.99/lb. But I was determined to try them again, so I bought three scallops. I brought them home and did a quick internet search on how to prepare them and was happy to discover that all they required was a quick sear on each side. I made a brown butter sage sauce to accompany the Sea Scallops and some angel hair pasta. The end result was quite good! The scallops tasted nothing like I remembered. In fact, I found them to be not fishy at all, buttery in taste, and not chewy. I love that this project allows me to try different seafoods that I would never have done on my own.”
Bell Pepper stuffed with Bluefish and Quinoa
Rachel Hutchinson from Massachusetts (Week 19)
”I like bluefish more than I expected, but I'm not sure how often I'll seek it out. I make a bluefish stuffed pepper, not my favorite but good. I think it was the first week I cooked the fish into something and didn't just eat it as a filet.”
Devon Mulligan from Maine (Week 20)
Julek Chawarksi (citizen scientist) in the kitchen with scup!
Andrea McCarthy from Connecticut (Week 20)
Thai green curry with a medley of vegetables and monkfish
“This week I was looking for scup, herring, monkfish, and cod. I had been looking forward to trying to find monkfish because I had read that it has a different texture from most other fish and can be cooked in a variety of ways. I was able to find it at one of my regular fish markets. This week my partner made a Thai green curry with carrots, red peppers, bok choy and monkfish. It was an unseasonably hot weekend, and I was really sweating it out with this delicious curry. The monkfish was meaty, juicy, and went really well with the dish”
Jacon Matz from Massachusetts (Week 21)
Steamed skate wing with scallions and kimchi
“I steamed the skate wing with kimchi. It was very tasty. Seasoned with garlic and ginger. Great experience and first time steaming fish!”
Anne Ewert from New Hampshire (Week 21)
Bobby Flay’s lobster tacos
“So excited to FINALLY get lobster on my list this week. I was starting to think it would never happen, but I am so glad it did! I decided that I didn't want to do the basic steamed lobster with butter and corn etc because I have done that a million times. I looked at a few recipes online, and found a recipe for lobster tacos by Bobby Flay that looked amazing. I couldn't grill the lobster like he did for the recipe since I don't have a grill, so I just steamed them with salt, pepper, and a large garlic clove in the water. Afterwards I picked the bodies and followed the recipe. Let me tell you, this recipe is AMAZING! I loved everything about it (I did double the amount of chipotle in the salsa, which made the flavor stronger, but not much spicier). Also, just the lobster alone from Sanders was so sweet. I haven't had lobster that good in a long time. Overall, definitely a success!! Hooray lobster week!”
Paul Anderson from Maine (Week 21)
Halibut!
“I have a cast iron griddle pan which is a great alternative to grilling. In this case, I put the pan in a 450 degree oven until it gets really hot. Then set the oven to broil. Drizzle olive oil on both sides of the halibut steak, salt and pepper and put it on the hot griddle. Immediately put it under the broiler and it cooks from both sides. The steak was about 1 1/4 inch thick and was done perfectly in about 3 minutes. Spritz with lemon. I served it with a tomato-Zuchini-goat cheese tort and a garden salad.”
David Ford from Rhode Island (Week 22)
Quahogs!
“I found fresh shucked quahogs at Tony's Seafood in Seekonk, MA. I made quahog chowder and used root vegetables (celeriac, turnip, rutabaga) instead of potatoes.”
Lisa Jarosik from Connecticut (Week 23)
Tuna!
“It was such a wonderful piece of sushi grade tuna that I made some raw and some lightly grilled with a coating of mustard, cracked pepper and parmesan cheese. With a little bit of wasabi on the side. It was tremendous!”
David Ford from Rhode Island (Week 24)
Lobster stuffed Jalapeños!
“I bought a live lobster from Stop & Shop in Bristol, RI and had them steam it at the fish counter. Since there was a Patriot's football game Sunday evening (Go Pats!), I choose to make a fun appetizer for the game - Lobster Stuffed Jalapenos Wrapped in Bacon. I sautéed the cooked lobster in butter with chives, then put the mixture in the fridge to harden. This made it easier to spoon into each split jalapeno and then wrap tightly with a half piece of bacon. I then baked them in the oven at 450 for about 1/2 hour. All my fellow Pats fans loved this dish. A keeper!”
Andrea McCarthy from Connecticut (Week 25)
Striped Bass!
“My fish list this week included striped bass, winter flounder (aka blackback flounder), sea urchin, Acadian redfish (aka ocean perch). I was only able to find striped bass. I had this fish earlier in the project and I felt that the way I prepared it last time did not let the fish shine, so this was a great opportunity to highlight this fish. The fish was sautéed and salted. We roasted some brussel sprouts. The meal was delicious. The fish was rich and meaty.”
Rachel Fecteau from Maine (Week 26)
Herring!
“Boy it is hit or miss with my list. I have been watching beautiful Quahogs in the store but both times they came up on my list, they were no where to be found. The only squid I found was frozen and not local. I’ve learned to read the fine print because the packaging and brand name made it seem like it was a New England product. It was from Spain. I bought ready to eat herring in wine sauce. Tasted great, looked like gray pieces of bait swimming in a briny juice. Couldn’t convince family to try. I think it is because we use herring as bait in the boat. It is hard to make the transition in ones mind. I have learned a lot with this project and definitely know more about fish seasons, availability, and the fact that almost anything from the ocean can taste absolutely delicious!”
Jacob Matz from Massachusetts (Week 26)
Mahogany Clams!
“I steamed the Mahogany clams in a biryani spice mix with lime, garlic, and white wine. It was served alongside of local honey nut squash and chickpea curry with rice. It was really delicious and a good change of pace from the other ways I’ve cooked clams. I learned a lot about cooking seafood throughout this study and the opportunity to experiment was definitely a privilege.”
Lisa Jarosik from Connecticut (Week 26)
John Dory!
“I was so excited to finally get Lobster on my list this week! But when the local market called and let me know that they had caught some John Dory, I could not resist trying it. I can have lobster any time! So I looked up ways to cook it and decided on pan searing. Just 30 seconds a side and then add some white wine, garlic and pine nuts. It took all of 5 minutes to cook and prepare and the flavor was so fresh and delicious. May be my new favorite fish to eat! Just wish I could find it more regularly.”
Guest Blog by Samantha La Manna
Most Americans throughout the country grow up learning that Thanksgiving is the, “turkey and mashed potato” holiday. Four-year-olds spend the month of November making hand traced turkeys or preparing costumes for the sacred Thanksgiving play.
However, America’s “beloved” harvest holiday isn’t actually based off of the first feast between the English and Wampanoag Indians.Today’s traditional Thanksgiving menu is actually about 200 years younger than the one presented at Plymouth Plantation in 1621. It wasn’t until Abraham Lincoln’s proclamation in 1863 that Thanksgiving was to be acknowledged as a national holiday.
Edward Winslow, a Mayflower passenger and an attendee at the first meal, left behind one of the only remaining documentations of what was really eaten at the first table. None of the things we know and love, sweet-potato casserole, pumpkin pie, cranberry sauce, gravy, rolls, or stuffing, existed at the table. Instead, the meal was mainly made up of waterfowl, like geese and duck, deer, dried berries, acorns, walnuts, chestnuts, squash, beans, Indian corn, herbs and lots of seafood!
An excerpt from part of Winslow’s writing describes the abundance of seafood at Plymouth:
“Our bay is full of lobsters all the summer and affordeth variety of other fish; in September we can take a hogshead of eels in a night with small labor, and can dig them out of their beds all the winter. We have mussels... at our doors. Oysters we have none near, but we can have them brought by the Indians when we will”
Massachusetts is known for being highly abundant in bass, clams, mussels, oysters and lobsters. Therefore, it’s no surprise that the Pilgrims and Native Americans took advantage of such plentiful resources in order to feed their people over the 3 day long feast. Some historians believe bivalves made up the majority of seafood consumed because they were easily accessible.
Although Winslow’s writing didn’t go in depth about food preparation there was some indication that seafood was served either dried, smoked or stuffed with herbs and onions. The “seethed” mussel dish here, is a regenerated dish based of the original recipe from Thomas Dawson’s The Second Part of the Good Huswives, 1597. This dish is something the pilgrims would have eaten as soon as they landed on Cape Cod.
At today's modern Thanksgiving feasts most families would never think to include seafood. This is a missed opportunity, seeing as how November is when we start to notice a transition into winter fish. This transition period is one of the most delicious times for seafood as they prepare for colder months and tend to be a little more meaty and succulent. Oysters for instance are fuller bodied because they’re finished reproducing for the season and are fattening up for the long winter ahead. Shellfish in general tend to be higher quality in the colder periods.
Shellfish such as oysters or clams are easy to include at the Thanksgiving table. There are so many different ways to enjoy them: fried, stuffed with bacon and herbs, plain with lemon slices or as Bloody Mary shooters (even the oyster hater is sure to love them).
Crustaceans such as lobster and crab are also delicious sea creatures to add to the table. Whether you decide to course out your dinner with lobster/crab bisque or want to make a sweet-savory corn pudding with lobster chunks or crab meat and scallions on top. Lobster and crab can make any basic side or main dish special.
If you’re not a shellfish lover (or allergic) try adding many of our delicious local fish into your meal by cooking a whole fish in the oven or fryer such as Blackfish (tautog) or Arcadian Red. The pilgrims also were known to stuff whole fish and roast them over open fire, which would also make a wonderful addition to the modern table.
Monkfish is another local popular fish to add to your Thanksgiving Feast. To some, Monkfish is comparable to lobster in flavor so it can be used as a substitute for those allergic to shellfish. It is an extremely versatile fish and can be cooked just about anyway. If it’s your first time working with Monkfish I would suggest getting it pre-filleted. Monk can come across a little intimidating at first, because of its huge head and slimy skin but what it lacks in beauty it makes up for with delicousnes.
Our local waters are full of amazing seafood, why not incorporate it into our modern day Thanksgiving feast?
GUEST BLOG by Dawn Kotowicz of the Coastal Resources Center/ Rhode Island Sea Grant at The University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography.
On October 3, the Coastal Resources Center (CRC) hosted a workshop at the Graduate School of Oceanography campus of the University of Rhode Island about scup to share findings of a recent Rhode Island Sea Grant-funded project to better understand markets for scup in Rhode Island, specifically, how the fish move through local markets, and of the demand and current supply of seafood among local diverse urban populations. Attendees were treated to a lunch of scup with salsa, rice and veggies, and asked to contribute throughout the workshop.
Fisheries management has dictated how data surrounding fish catches and landings are collected. This means that data are collected with respect to how the species contribute to their marine ecosystem and the value of them to fishermen and as a commodity. However, recent attention to sourcing more food from local ecosystems for a variety of reasons has drawn attention to how fish contribute to local food systems, for which there is almost no regularly collected data. Therefore, with scup as an example species, my collaborators and I were funded to find out where fish currently go after they are landed in Rhode Island, and to understand how and why decisions are made about which market channels these fish follow. Specifically, we wanted to learn where scup is currently being sold locally, which it is currently being consumed or bought by consumers, and where there may be demand that is not being met. Through interviews with members representing different parts of the market chains through which scup travels, along with observation at various wholesale and retail outlets, we described the system as a whole, and significant factors that determined decisions throughout.
The second aspect of this work was to survey customers at the Armory Park Farmers Market in Providence which serves a diverse urban population, including many recent immigrants to the U.S. Surveys were designed to learn about their seafood consumption and purchasing habits, and to understand if currently, their access to seafood meets their needs. Specifically, we wanted to understand if there was demand for a type of fish, like scup, that was underutilized, caught locally, and inexpensive. Most survey respondents reported that they like to eat seafood and would purchase seafood at a farmers market if it were available, though there is currently no seafood vendor at the Armory Farmers Market. Additionally, of those surveyed who had not been born in the U. S., all of them preferred whole fish over fileted. Since scup is a small fish, that is easily eaten whole and somewhat cumbersome to filet, these findings suggest that a fish like scup could be a good product to offer at farmers markets where immigrant populations buy their food.
Our workshop brought together fishermen, representatives from the fishing community, potential buyers of underutilized species, and leaders from diverse urban communities to contribute their knowledge to our findings. Many of the attendees had been involved with their own research on scup and they were encouraged to provide input from the research they had conducted. Most importantly, we hoped to identify ways in which we could begin to connect local supply of an underutilized species like scup with an unmet demand for local seafood. There was significant interest from all attendees in allowing direct sales from fishermen to consumers, and to address the regulatory barriers that currently prevent it. Attendees pointed to farmers, whose regulations on selling directly to consumers are less burdensome, as a way for regulatory agencies to move toward allowing fishermen to sell directly. Our next steps are to put together the comments from the workshop and attempt to move forward with some of the suggestions on how to get more local seafood to more local consumers, throughout New England.
New England fisheries are at a crossroads. This heritage industry, which has provided livelihoods for so many for so long in our region, now finds itself challenged by a changing and unpredictable natural environment, an increasingly cutthroat global marketplace, shifts in demographics and public attitudes, and above all, a bulging regulatory burden that often reacts to one problem at a time and limits the adaptive space available to fishermen as they strive for resilience.
For the past year, Eating with the Ecosystem has been participating in the Food Solutions New England network. Food Solutions New England is a regional, collaborative network organized to support the emergence and continued viability of a New England food system that is a resilient driver of healthy food for all, racial equity, sustainable farming and fishing, and thriving communities.
A food system is defined as “all those activities involving the production, processing, transport and consumption of food, [including] the governance and economics of food production, its sustainability, the degree to which we waste food, and how food production affects the natural environment [1].”
Eating with the Ecosystem is participating in Food Solutions New England because we believe that a food systems approach has tremendous value for New England fisheries. Here are five reasons why:
1. Governance, not just government
Compared to other parts of our food system, the wellbeing of fisheries is disproportionately affected by formal government regulatory processes. Fisheries management mechanisms such as licensing, open and closed seasons, legal sizes, individual and group quotas, and others determine who can fish, when and where they can fish, what gear they can use, and how much they can catch. Because of its overarching influence, formal fisheries management has long been the primary lever that fishermen, their allies, and adversaries try to pull in order to influence their future. But this emphasis on formal government decision-making – as opposed to the broader concept of governance - misses a large part of the potential field of action available to these actors as they try to shape a future for New England fisheries.
"Governance is the sum of the many ways individuals and institutions, public and private, influence their common affairs. It is a continuing process through which conflicting or diverse interests may be accommodated and co-operative action may be taken. It includes formal institutions and regimes empowered to enforce compliance, as well as informal arrangements that people and institutions either have agreed to or perceive to be in their interest [2]."
In fisheries, governance can include consumers, wholesalers, retailers, fish workers, educators, chefs, and policy makers outside of the fisheries management process. Each of these actors can provide skills, connections, and spaces for interaction that can support regional fisheries in new ways that complement the role of government management. Food systems work innately includes the full governance spectrum; by enhancing the integration of fisheries into food systems work and vice-versa, fisheries can benefit from these forms of thinking and acting.
2. Defining societal goals and values
The public tends to be distanced from the decisions that shape fisheries. Fisheries are isolated by their geographic marginalization (i.e., their activities take place on the land’s margins and at sea, not interspersed with human settlements like farms) and the arcane nature of fisheries science and management. Ironically, the public tends to feel much closer to farming – an activity that takes place on private land – than it does to fishing – an activity that takes place in public waters and harvests publicly owned and managed resources.
A coherent regional public vision for fisheries would strengthen the values basis for decisions about the future of our ports and working waterfronts, regulations on harvest and sale of seafood, and many others. It would help guide fisheries management, especially as it moves from narrow piecemeal approaches that manage individual species to a more holistic, ecosystem-based framework called Ecosystem Based Fisheries Management (EBFM) that manages the whole ecological system – a process that is currently underway but that lacks a north star.
Additionally, food can give the public a more meaningful role in decision-making and can help overcome historical tensions between the fishing community and the environmental community in New England fisheries. It can help members of the public view themselves as stakeholders and ultimately bring greater transparency and democratic participation to fisheries management decisions.
3. A vision for the Anthropocene
Marine ecosystems are highly dynamic and adaptive, responding on a continuous basis to food web fluxes, natural climate cycles, fishing activity, and increasingly, manmade climate change. But many in the sustainability movement have applied a preservationist lens to fisheries, attempting to sustain a static ecosystem configuration free of human influence. This objective is misapplied for two reasons: first, marine ecosystems are not static, and second, they are not free from human influence. What, then, should be the benchmark by which we evaluate fisheries? This is an open question that will become increasingly important in the coming years. But one concept – the “Anthropocene” – may provide a roadmap.
In After Nature: A Politics for the Anthropocene, Jedediah Purdy singled out the food movement as the best example of an Anthropocene social movement. In “The New Nature”, he writes:
If we embrace not just the Anthropocene condition but also the insight—if we accept that there is no boundary between nature and human action and that nature therefore cannot provide a boundary around contestation—we may have the basis of a democratic future…
The food movement provides a possible model of the next politics of nature. If the old vision of nature was one of wilderness and the pristine, which assumes the separateness of humans and nature, the new one might be agriculture, which emphasizes how the constant, inescapable metabolism between humans and the rest of the world shapes both…[3]
4. Replacing end-of-pipeline approaches with positive feedback loops
Until now, both government- and consumer-led efforts to promote sustainability of marine ecosystems and their resources have focused almost entirely on controlling the actions of end users: the fishermen who harvest seafood. This end-of-the-pipeline focus misses many other things that affect the production of wild seafood, perhaps most notably the habitat base that provides refuge, sustenance, and other services to the animals that inhabit our rivers, coasts, and oceans – and that eventually become our seafood. Government fisheries management is ill equipped to deal with upstream factors affecting seafood because, by law,[4] its purview is limited to regulating seafood harvests. While some aspects of fisheries habitat do come under government decision making, this is largely through other (non-fisheries) processes such as land use and waterway planning, water quality management, energy planning, mining permits, etc. – in other words, decision processes that are not linked to the production of wild seafood as a social goal.
A food systems approach can help by engineering positive feedback loops between the enjoyment of wild seafood and participation in seafood habitat advocacy. Crafting these feedback loops requires education and democratic activation of seafood consumers, as well as the charting of pathways to support seafood habitat through local land use planning processes, water quality work, marine spatial planning, and other arenas outside fisheries management. A food systems approach can lay the bedrock for these pathways.
The same logic applies to the socio-economic underpinnings of fisheries. In a region where seafood consumers far outnumber seafood producers, it is important to strengthen connections between the public and fisheries practitioners and to give consumers the education and tools they need to become fisheries constituents. In this vision, the flow of food through the food system is accompanied by a flow of information and political will that feed back into the goal of sustaining regional fisheries for the public good. Priming and activating these linkages can bring greater transparency to the seafood system and greater social support for fisheries and the people who practice them.
5. Achieving business-level viability
Until the 1990s, the emphasis in fisheries management and economics was on building up fleets to harvest greater quantities of seafood. Since the 1990s, the emphasis in many fisheries has been on downsizing fleets and reducing harvests, often through means that reduce the viability of individual businesses and the resilience of the fisheries system. There is a need now for a third approach that focuses on enhancing viability and resilience within a steady-state resource economy by diversifying incomes and opportunities, providing social support through waterfront and fisheries access, and reducing regulatory red tape and inefficiencies that hamper business-level adaptation.
The food system is a set of nested systems where viability of the components (i.e., individual businesses) contributes to the performance of the whole. The farm viability approach employed by food systems practitioners to understand and support farms within the New England region and beyond is a valuable model that should be applied in greater measure to fisheries. Viability of individual businesses is affected by systemic issues. Critical issues such as obstacles to new entry, low levels of participation by young people, issues and costs of waterfront access, global and local market forces, and the increasing costs of regulatory compliance (e.g., at-sea monitors, permits, etc.) are areas that can benefit from a viability approach.
Learn more
Head over to Food Solutions New England's website to learn more about this network and its goal to obtain 50% of the total regional food supply by 2060 from the region’s own coasts and fields.
[1] http://www.futureoffood.ox.ac.uk/what-food-system
[2] Commission on Global Governance. 1995. Our Global Neighborhood. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
[3] Purdy, J. 2016. “The New Nature.” Boston Review. Online at: http://bostonreview.net/forum/jedediah-purdy-new-nature
[4] The primary federal law setting the stage for fisheries management is the Magnuson Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Law.
Chris Dodge from Connecticut
Lobster Benedict on sweet potato hash. Everything from scratch
This week's list had a gimme, so I knew I wouldn't have to search very hard. Was able to easily pick up some lobster that was from Maine. I realized all of my meals have been either lunches or dinners, so to mix things up I wanted to get a breakfast meal involved. I knew I wanted to make a Lobster Benedict. I'm gluten-free so it was done on top of a sweet potato hash. It was also my first time poaching an egg and making hollandaise sauce. Everything was from scratch and amazing!
Julek Chawarski from Maine
Devon, enjoying razor clams after an Old Crow concert on the Portland waterfront. What a night!
I was very happy to see these were available at the market. They came from Biddeford pool, just a few miles south of Portland. I used to walk around and forage in the marsh when I lived in the area, and never found razor clams. I'm glad to see there is a market for this local delicacy. I sauteed them with some Casco Bay Butter, garlic, red pepper, and a touch of white wine. They were quick and delicious as a late night snack with a glass of wine.
Carolyn St Jean Gogan from Rhode Island
Jonah Crab feast!
Jonah Crab was the only species on my list that was found. And I had never bought live Jonah Crabs before. They are very easy to cook because I just steamed them for 20 mins. However, you really must work for the meat. Most is in the claws and a little in the legs. A lot of cracking is necessary and it can get messy! This is a fine crab to buy if you are having an outdoor cookout or at the beach and don't want to spend too much money.
Rachel Hutchinson from Massachusetts
This weekend we harvested honey from our bee hive for the first time ever. As a result we located a recipe in our bee manual for honey glazed sea scallops that we were excited to try. I felt guilty about going with sea scallops again instead of the quahogs, which I hadn't had on my list all summer, until I sat down to eat my honey glazed scallops.
Catherine Schmitt from Maine
Southeast Asian fish stew with halibut and savoy cabbage
I usually only buy halibut during the Maine (inshore) fishery, which happens in May-June. But halibut from the groundfish fishery seems to be more available lately, especially beyond the coast- so I was pleased to find it in Bangor.
Andrea McCarthy from Connecticut
Steamed scup with scallions
This week I was looking for scup, peekytoe crab, periwinkle, and black sea bass. Whenever I am assigned a species I am not too familiar with, I do some research about it. This week while looking into it more I found current data from the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC). According to the ASMFC, “the 2017 benchmark stock assessment found black sea bass not overfished nor experiencing overfishing.” After finding this data I was open to trying black sea bass. This week I found scup and black sea bass. I was planning on buying the black sea bass, but after looking at the two fish, the scup looked fresher, so I ended up buying it. I cooked it differently then the last time I had it, and it did not disappoint. I seasoned it with salt and pepper, steamed it whole with ginger slices and served with scallions. Very tasty.
Maria Vasta from Massachusetts
Someone else was also very interested in the lobster!
After boiling the lobsters, I picked them clean and then sautéed the meat very quickly in butter, just to coat it. Delicious!
Kate Aubin from Rhode Island
Baked Pollock with garden pesto, steamed garden green beans, and farmer's market corn
This week I had to choose between smoked mackerel and pollock fillet. I'm never really been a huge fan of "smoked" flavoring, so I ultimately chose the pollock. I also think (but am not sure if this is true) that mackerel is an oily, "fishy" tasting fish, which does not appeal to me (I should give it a try if it comes up again and see if I am correct in that assumption). Since there's been a lot to harvest lately in the garden, I thought it would be nice to have an "all locally grown/caught meal". I steamed green beans from my garden, smothered the pollock in pesto (made from basil in my garden) and baked it, put cherry tomatoes from the garden on top of the fish, and boiled corn on the cob from gC Farms. The pollock was delicious! The fillet was much thicker than I had anticipated, but it was incredibly easy to work with and I would definitely buy it again after this experiment. It's a great bang for your buck fish.
Lisa Jarosik from Connecticut
Yummy Grilled Swordfish!
This was a great piece of swordfish, very thick and cooked so very well. A little bit of seafood seasoning and rosemary grilled in aluminium foil. It was amazing!
Rachel Fecteau from Massachusetts
"I was disappointed I couldn't find my selection at the market I visited. I stopped at the supermarket to pick up a rotisserie chicken and thought I would check the seafood dept. I was surprised they had WILD Gulf of Maine mussels. Most of the fish markets I visit only carry farmed mussels. They were inexpensive, sweet and on the smaller side."
Rebecca Stevens from Massachusetts
This was my first time cooking a "meatier" fish. Aside from the fact that my house smelled of fish afterward, I really enjoyed the swordfish. I pan seared it and finished with a lemon-basil butter. Next time I would opt for cooking it on the grill...outside!
Christopher Coccaro from Connecticut
Salsa Cod
My family was in Martha's Vineyard for the week and seeing the difference in what local species are available in locations closer to fishing ports vs. what is available in New England was eye opening. Much of the fish where we live (in Southeast CT) is bought from the New York fish market and can be coming from anywhere in the world. However on the island the stores we went to (Edgartown Seafood, Oak Bluffs Fish Market, Menemsha Fish Market) all had prominently labeled locally caught species like cod, tuna, lobster, swordfish, bluefish, and striped bass. In CT many of these fish cannot be found locally caught in fish markets, if at all. It was refreshing to see how many more options were available in the shops supporting their local fishers. However to expand this to where we live will probably take some many improvements to the fish distribution and supply chain. I baked the cod in a mild salsa and then after placed some cilantro and avocado. it was very delicious.
Brian Haggerty from Rhode Island
Calamari
I bought some squid from the local catch tent at the farmers market down the steet. It was already cleaned and I had a choice of just the hoods or the hoods and the tentacles. I choose just the hoods for no reason. I did a simple buttermilk and breadcrumbs mix and fried them up. I also made a sort of sauce from mayonnaise a dill marinade banana pepper basil and some red hot peppers.
David Ford from Rhode Island
“Early in the week I provided my fish list for the week to The Local Catch. They replied that there was the possibility of scup or monkfish to come in later in the week. They did find monkfish and I purchased it at the Aquidneck Grower's Market in Middletown on Saturday. However, their newsletter for weekend farmer's markets, which comes out Thursday, did not list monkfish as an available fish at the markets. So, I'm unclear as to whether my choice should be treated as a special order or not. Regardless, I prepared the monkfish by roasting it on a bed of fresh rosemary and thyme with lemons and olives. The meatiness of the monkfish stands up well to the ingredients more commonly used to roast meat. I served an olive tapenade on the side. The result was outstanding.”
Zach Miller Hope from Maine
“Halibut is one of those fish that you assume you've eaten before but after purchasing and cooking, I am not sure that I have. I'm assuming it is because it is pricey and looks as though it would be a white flakey fish similar to Cod and Haddock...but its meat is a lot different. I was quite surprised at how meaty it was and am still surprised that I have not eaten it before.”
Andrea McCarthy from Connecticut
“This week I was looking for black sea bass, John dory, quahogs, and silver hake (whiting). The first store I contacted had everything but the one fish that I wanted to try, the John Dory….It was partly a toss up between silver hake and quahogs. I ended up with the silver hake. It is a very affordable fish. I got whole fish and cut fillets and prepared them simply. Sautéed them and ate on top of homemade bread with some vegetables. It was a very good meal.”
Jennifer L McCaffrey from Rhode Island
“I was pressed for time so I only made it to one market. Swordfish is my husband's favorite so I chose that. I tend to grill the same way all the time which is the way I first learned. You brush mayo on the fish (supposedly it retains moisture) and then just salt, pepper and lemon. I googled Swordfish and immediately found the lemon butter basil sauce. It was simple and I had basil growing in my garden. The fish came out wonderful.”
Deborah Mager from Connecticut
“I called in a request to my favorite seafood store for one of my species this week (in order of preference, i.e. Tautog (aka Blackfish), John Dory, Dab (aka American Plaice), and halibut) and I was not disappointed. I was so glad to have the opportunity to speak to Robert Uberti when I arrived to purchase my Tautog. Robert informed me that he was making his purchasing choices for his customers based upon his concern of high PCB levels in the Long Island Sound waters. He also told me that he did find John Dory (aka St. Peter's fish) but that he chose not to get that for me since it didn't look as fresh as the Tautog. Apparently John Dory is a "bear" to fillet if it is even a day old due to the skin becoming tough. The Tautog was so easy to prepare. I baked it with an herbed butter which included lemon juice, fresh chives, dill, a dash of cayenne pepper, and a sprinkle of smoked paprika. The fish tasted so fresh - Mmm Mmm good! Perfect as a company dish served with Pineapple Mojitos!”
Jacob Matz from Massachusetts
“I have eaten canned herring many times. It's always great in a spread with lots of other snacks. We are the herring on crackers alongside of pickled string beans, pickled cabbage, cheeses, and pesto.”
Sherri Darocha from Massachusetts
“I decided to give making clear chowder a whirl. It was my first time. In addition to the fish, I added other bits of seafood, cut into tiny pieces - littleneck clams and shrimp. The combination was delicious! I'm looking forward to experimenting with more types of seafood stews and soups in the future, they make a great meal that can be hearty or light, depending on the ingredients. The clear chowder was very underwhelming from a photo perspective. A beige liquid with little bits of darker beige and white, so I ended up skipping the photo. The flavor did not translate visually!”
Anne Ewert from New Hampshire
“This week I had smooth dogfish, sea scallops, wild mussels, and Mahi Mahi on my fish list. I couldn't find smooth dogfish at all, and I couldn't find local mahi mahi, but I did find both scallops and mussels. I chose to cook the scallops because they are so delicious, but they are pretty pricey so I don't usually buy them. Mussels are good, but I thought this was a good excuse to buy scallops :). I seared the scallops in a mixture of olive oil and butter with garlic, only a few minutes on each side. The trick with scallops is not to cook them too much. It kills the flavor and makes them all tough. I put the scallops on top of a salad with butter lettuce, spinach, and a fresh mango salsa that I made myself. Scallops are so delicious with mango. It came out pretty well, but I was not overwhelmed with the quality of the scallops I bought from Shaws. I recommend going to a real fish market for scallops, since they taste so much better when they are really really fresh.”
Christina Rodriquez from Rhode Island
“The sea robin was purchased whole (otherwise gutted and beheaded), at about 1/2 lbs each. We bought 2 and fed 4 people, though 1 whole fish per person would've been more filling. We roasted the fish with olive oil salt, pepper, and paprika. Our guests loved it and said it was quite tasty.”
Kate Aubin from Rhode Island
“This week the only option at the farmer's market was the Acadian Redfish, which I've never had before. I did a quick recipe search online and saw a blackened cajun redfish recipe which sounded amazing, so I was pretty excited to get cooking. Once I got home I looked at the recipe more closely and it sounded a bit difficult. At this point I was really hungry so definitely didn't want to mess around with a tricky recipe. I found another recipe that was much easier (wrapping the redfish in parchment paper with cherry tomatoes, basil, olive oil, salt and pepper and then baking for 10 minutes) so I went with that (also nice to be able to utilize produce from the garden). Had a few bones to pull out of the fish and mangled the fillets a bit (I need to learn how to pull the bones out), but the preparation was super easy otherwise and it was delicious! I will definitely be eating redfish again.”
Heather Fox from Rhode Island
“Love shopping at the local catch at the Hope Street farmers market. The variety is incredible, you can always get information from the fisherman regarding any fish he has available that day or any other fish for that matter. The selection of smoked fish this week was amazing and I purchased a beautiful piece of smoked bluefish There were two types of smoked bluefish available this week smoked and pepper smoked I chose the regular smoked”
Kim Gainey from Massacusetts
“My husband and I are on a staycation in N. Truro camping and spending our days at RacePoint, life is good and it's been great to find local connections at this end of the Cape . We are looking forward to the new fish list and Truro farmers market for some camp fire meals✌️Local cod an easy choice!”
Terry Hahn from Rhode Island
“Was steeling myself to cook a live conch-a little squeamish about it. Of the 4 things on my list this wk, I didn't think I'd find 2 of them, was pretty sure I would find haddock, but knew a local place had conch, cooked and live, a few wks ago and was going to step up to the experience of cooking a live one if they had it. But the 2nd place I looked for seafood surprised me by having headed and gutted sea robin. Didn't know if I would find it again and had never cooked it, so I bought that. well....thank goodness for the internet. None of my cookbooks had recipes, or the Local Catch (who I bought it from) site. Online I found out that it's a "bait-stealer"-often caught when fishing for something else and not used much for food. Although in france it's called something else and used in bouillabaisse and a US restaurant is making a ceviche course from it. It often is used for stock. Read instructions for skinning it and filleting-instructions not that specific but I did a decent enough job of it. Skin is thick and it can be a bony fish. Pan sauteed to a firm consistency-mild, tasty. Saved the 2nd fillet for making soup and the bones for stock. Would enjoy eating it again but only if I could find it already filleted!”
Maria Vasta from Massachusetts
“We have steamers and lobster every year for my mom's birthday, so cooking these was a breeze! Steamed and dipped in butter, they're perfect!”
Jean Dao from Massachusetts
“Golden tilefish is so colorful! My partner purchased two pounds (!!!) of it from a Farmer's Market and we cooked one pound a night for two nights in a row in a cast iron pan on the stove. On the first night, we tried to make the skin extra crispy by taking a blowtorch to it after cooking, but it didn't hold, so we opted to just sear it longer the next night. Perfect. The tilefish reminded us a lot of monkfish in its texture both raw and cooked -- tender but makes you chew a little, a very clean and almost nonexistent flavor on its own (but would be fabulous in a curry or saucy concoction!), and made our teeth squeak against each other a little when chewing. Weird! Would buy and eat tilefish again in a heartbeat.”
Kirstien Davidson from New Hampshire
Beer and Clams
“My husband was visiting one of his friends in RI this weekend so I asked him to pick-up the clams this week. Being a native Rhodie, I was hopeful he could handle the fish project this week and he pulled through! I also left preparation of the clams up to him and he decided to steam them in beer. He used Sam Adam's lager, which made the house smell like a brewery but also made the quahogs very tasty! We enjoyed them out on the porch with a bottle of beer while our little one napped. It was a perfect summer lunch!”
Pamela Corcoran from Maine
“I was happy to see halibut on my fish list this week. I thought I could find it at my co-op (Belfast ME) and it would likely be sourced from another co-op, Port Clyde Fresh Catch. This is a great way to Eat with the Ecosystem: support my neighbors, keep my dollars in the local economy, and enjoy the freshest of fish from the Gulf of Maine. A triple win!”
Brian Haggerty from Rhode Island
Midweek “eat like a fish” meal
“We had two good size cod fillets, we hit em with lil flour and then drizzled lemon butter on both sides and finished them off with wheat ritz crackers on top. Served with steamed broccoli and brown rice”
Rachel Hutchinson from Massachusetts
Mussels in Beer
“Chatham Mussels are being caught wild in our waters every day. I was happy to find local Chatham mussels as I could have just as easily walked into the water and picked them up myself. What I was surprised about was the when I walked into the fish market there were no mussels on display. I had to ask if they had any mussels, "oh yes they are out back". And thinking about it, I have been to Chatham Fish and Lobster almost every week and I don't think I have ever seen mussels on display. They were easy, and they were delicious. I'm not sure why they wouldn't be out on the counter. I would prefer to eat them over a steamer.”
Michelle Nelson from Connecticut
Fried Haddock with onion rings and fresh tartar sauce
“This was the second time I had haddock on my list. My father-in- law can catch me a striped bass so I bought the haddock. I prepared it by coating and then frying. We topped it with homemade tartar sauce and onion rings. Alongside there was orzo salad, marinated green beans and caprese stacks. Of course there was a cocktail, raspberry and lemon sorbet floating in prosecco!”
Deborah Mager from Connecticut
Fish & Family
“I thought I was going to strike out this week from finding my species, but low and behold the last store I went to had mussels and mackerel. I had overnight family guests visiting this weekend and I had already had a dinner menu in mind which did not include mussels. I had searched for mussels two other times before and could only find ones that came from P.E.I. so I couldn't count on them. I was very surprised to find the mackerel, both fresh whole and packaged smoked filets. I chose the smoked filets because I could make an easy appetizer with them. I would serve the smoked fish with Tuscan crackers and herbed goat cheese. It sounded good in theory since I have had mackerel before and knew it had a stronger fish flavor and thought the herbed goat cheese would offset the flavor along with some wine. I will definitely look up some recipes before I purchase mackerel and try it again, and I would try the fresh whole rather than the smoked filet.”
Mary Tanzer from New Hampshire
tuna steaks pan searing
“I love tuna - seared, sushi, tuna salad, tuna casserole - any and every way! It was a treat to have it on the list and get to make a simple pan seared steak (in sesame oil). I served it with brown butter sautéed green and yellow beans from a local farm. So easy! So good! I was planning on making some stuffed clams because I knew I'd find steamers. But at $5.99/lb for the clams....no way. The price for the actual edible clam was probably more than lobster meat! So we enjoyed our tuna instead.”
Carolyn St Jean Gogan from Rhode Island
Steamed lobster with melted butter
“I tried to find Mahi Mahi but was told by two venders that the price is too expensive right now and they won't buy it. They both said they didn't understand why it was so costly. In the 14 weeks we have been doing this project I have never seen Sea Urchin. So, I bought lobster. I have loved lobster since I was knee high to a grasshopper. It is my favorite food and if I have the good fortune of picking my last meal, it will be lobster! I like to prepare it very simply. Just steam it and have a small bowl of melted butter to dip it in. You can't get any better than that!”
Pamela Corcoran from Maine
“I was happy to see halibut on my fish list this week. I thought I could find it at my co-op (Belfast ME) and it would likely be sourced from another co-op, Port Clyde Fresh Catch. This is a great way to Eat with the Ecosystem: support my neighbors, keep my dollars in the local economy, and enjoy the freshest of fish from the Gulf of Maine. A triple win!”
Peter Gauthier from New Hampshire
Baked flounder with garlic and herbs
“I hope what I purchased was "winter" flounder. I saw flounder was available, I like it alot, and forgot that my list specified winter flounder. Anyway, my guy at Beef and Seafood told me the fish was from the waters off Gloucester. And, he told me unlike some wholesalers of flounder, his seller did not dip the fillets in tri-sodium phosphate to help preserve freshness. I didn't expect fish from the docks to get treated with chemicals!”
Daryl Popper from Massachusetts
Chatham Hake with basil, onions and basmati rice
""There is nothing more authenticate in New England than eating native fish." The engaging fish monger at Boston Public Market's Red's Best said this to me while diving deep into the importance and value of seeking out local, wild fish. He was spot on. Every experience during this project with the team at Red's Best, whether at Boston Public Market or finding them out at a local farmer's market, has been so meaningful. I really value their genuine passion for what they do and how willing they are to share their experience (and tasty recipes too!) at the counter. I was able to purchase a lovely piece of hake for this week's assignment. It was fresh off fisherman Bob Eldridge's boat named Unicorn out of Chatham and the price was right. At $11.00 per pound, I have found my new favorite, local fish! I prepared the hake at home on a gas stovetop, first pan searing in olive oil with onions for approximately five minutes on medium heat. I then added small heirloom tomatoes to the pan and transferred all to a pre-heated over to broil for an additional five minutes. I topped the fish with fresh basil and served with Indian style basmati rice.”
Paul Anderson from Maine
Patty Pan Seafood Pie
“Only Herring and Sea Scallops were available from my list, and the herring was smoked. That didn't interest me, so even though I had already done Sea Scallops earlier for this project, I decided to go with them again. Only this time, I selected sea scallops as one of several local seafood species for a Seafood Pie. I made up this recipe a few years ago for a visiting colleague from Hawaii and he still swears it was the best seafood dish he's ever eaten. The seafood in the pie filling is scallops (cut in pieces), shrimp (cut in pieces...from the Port Clyde group), and minced clams (from a can). I sauté minced shallots, celery and the raw seafood just enough to barely cook it in butter/olive oil, salt, pepper, tarragon, sherry. Add to this beaten egg, panko bread crumbs, a little bit of sour cream, and clam juice. I made two versions of the pies: one with regular pie crust in mini pie plates, and another using a large patty pan squash from my garden (hollowed out and filled). In both cases, I added a little grated fresh Parmesan on top before baking for about an hour at 425. I would usually add some whole cream or half-and-half to the mix, but was trying to keep the dairy down. The patty pan (pictured) came out really nice and the stuffing stayed moist. The pastry pies were a bit dry, so next time I'd go ahead with a little cream in the filling.”
Kat Champigny from Maine
Caramelized Vietnamese-Style bluefish
Aaron Whitman from Maine
“I bought this fish whole at harbor fish market where they cleaned and filleted the fish for me. Took it home and cooked it that night with some oil and lemon pepper seasoning. It was very easy to work with and was a flakey white fish that tasted absolutely delicious!” - Acadian Redfish
Sherri Darocha from Rhode Island
Indonesian Fish Curry
“For lucky Week 13 I spent a little time looking back on at all of the fish recipes that I've prepared so far, the new-to-me species that I've been lucky enough to find and all of the great little seafood shops I've been introduced to as my search region has expanded. And an account of all the fun people I've met standing in line at seafood shops could fill a blog of its own. At the inception of Eating with the Ecosystem, I had no doubt that I would find, prepare and marvel at my brilliance with new, exotic, local species of seafood each week! It would be a great excuse to seek out specific ingredients and expand my culinary horizons. I never dreamed that most weeks it would be so challenging to find even one fish on my list. After thirteen weeks, I've got lots of pent up fish envy that will only be soothed by finding species that have eluded me like cunner and red hake (and dozens of others). I have no doubt that I will continue the quest even after the study has concluded. On the other hand, I've greatly expanded my fish recipe repertoire for species that are more commonly found in my neck of New England. This week I was thrilled that haddock was on my list because I knew that if I struck out on the others, at least I would be able to find it! But how to prepare it? In the past few months, I've baked, stuffed, grilled, steamed, shredded, chowdered, you name it. I wanted to do something new, something geographically adventurous. As a fan of super spicy food, I looked to Southeast Asia and decided on an Indonesian fish curry. With many, many ingredients, the chopping and dicing and measuring and planning and cooking took more than two hours. It was so worth it! The curry turned out spicy and smooth and creamy (did I mention spicy?) and was the perfect poaching broth for the haddock filets, which were cut into 3 oz. pieces and laid into the curry broth for the last few minutes of cooking. We enjoyed the poached filets atop the dal-like curry finished off with a little basmati rice, crispy stir-fried okra and cilantro. Hopefully, the preparation and timing of the spice paste cooking process will seem a little less daunting next time. In the meantime, there are delicious leftovers for lunch tomorrow!”
Deborah Mager from Connecticut
All dressed up for the grill.
“This week I was searching for Black Sea Bass, Winter Flounder, Conch, or Scup (aka Porgy). I was feeling adventurous so I wanted to find either Conch or Porgies. I have seen Porgies at a supermarket every week that I have shopped there and was excited that they were whole with head and guts still intact. Something different. Porgies have the reputation of being called a trash fish and being bony. A woman standing next to me when I asked for the fish gave me a look that made me feel like I was buying "trash fish", and I have to admit I felt a tinge of embarrassment for purchasing it. The last time I had Porgies was when I was a child and my parents had caught them while fishing. I remember liking the taste of the fish and that they had a lot of bones. I have to tell you, this is a "trash fish" that you should be eating right now! Porgy meat is white, meaty, mild and very similar to flounder meat and tastes great. My "knight in shining armor" husband cleaned and scaled the Porgies for us. His comment was "Feels like fishing without the fun of it. Never again." I definitely will eat Porgies again but we are more apt to go fishing ourselves for them than buying them, unless I can purchase them at the store already cleaned and scaled. Grilled Porgy 1 whole porgy, 1 1/2 to 2 pounds, scaled and gutted 2 Lemons, washed, halved and cut into half moons Lemon juice from half a lemon 8 to 10 sprigs of oregano, about 3 to 4 inches long 1/3 cup olive oil 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon pepper With a sharp knife, score the porgy on either side, down to the bone, from the head to the tail. Mix together olive oil, oregano and lemon juice. Stuff the cuts with the sprigs of oregano and a few pieces of lemon. Stuff the stomach cavity with mor eoregano and lemon slices. Put the fish in a shallow bowl and pour the marinade over it. Turn the fish over and make sure it is completely covered by the marinade. Marinade for 45 minutes under refrigeration. Grill, cooking about 10 minutes a side. Use a knife to check whether the flesh is cooked through down to the bone.”
Michelle Nelson from Connecticut
“I marinated it in Italian dressing and grilled it. I made yellow zucchini salsa to top it. Really colorful summer dinner.”
Pamela Corcoran from Maine
“Summer time and the living is easy. Sear cod with corn, tomato, lambs quarters and red onion salad. Sea and garden bounty. Lemonade, too. Perfection.”
Kate Aubin from Rhode Island
Black Sea Bass baked with garlic and white wine vinegar
Barbara Rotger from Massachusetts
Seared “scallop pieces” with lemon butter wine sauce, served with pasta and steamed broccoli
“I was very happy to purchase again from a vendor at our local farmers market. These scallops were sold as "scallop pieces" and the vendor explained that they were the ones that had been broken while shucking. This made the price, $13/pound, more reasonable. I did not mind having scallop pieces as they were fine for the recipe I used. We pan seared them and served them over pasta with lemon/butter/wine sauce.”
Saturday night bluefish
Rebecca Stevens from Massachusetts
“I really like this species and never would have tried it on my own. I like that participating in this study has made me more aware how much better fresh, local fish tastes, so much so that taking a chance on an unfamiliar species is worth it. Also, it's summer, and anything I can make in under a half hour with easy clean up is a bonus!”
Jayne Martin from Massachusetts
Friday Fish Taco with Acadian Redfish (Ocean Perch)
“The Acadian Redfish(Ocean Perch) is great priced, really reliable tasting, and versatile fish. This time we had it in a fish taco form. Easy to prepare as I chose to broil instead of fry. Perfect fun Friday night dinner. You just can't beat the price.”
Anne Ewert from New Hampshire
NH Local Pollock Hooray!
“This week I had a mixed bag of items on my fish list. I was pretty sure I wouldn't find smooth dogfish or scup anywhere, but I was hopeful to find the rock crab and/or the pollock. Pollock and rock crab have been on my list before, but I was unsuccessful in finding them, so I was generally on a look out for these items in case they come up again. I had seen pollock at the grocery stores before, but they never had the info on where it was caught or landed, so it didn't count for the project, and I had not seen any rock crabs at any of the stores so far this summer. Lucky for me I found both items at Sanders Fish Market in Portsmouth. These guys are turning into my go-to fish shop because they have such good quality fish, they know where it comes from, and the local stuff is all at good prices. Lucky for me I found beautiful fillets of pollock that were fresh and local from NH, and I also found containers of pre-picked rock crab out of Maine. It was nice to actually find a fish on my list for once, and finding two was a super awesome bonus! I bought the pollock and the crab, but am featuring the pollock as my fish this week for my diary. The pollock was super easy to prepare since it was already nicely filleted. I simply dipped it in an egg wash, sprinkled it liberally with Old Bay seasoning, then covered it with panko bread crumbs and fried it up in a pan with some oil. It held up to the heat of frying really well. It was easy to cook in the pan, it didn't fall apart or get mushy on me. Once on the plate it was nice and flaky, and had a nice soft-moderate texture to it. It wasn't mushy, but it also wasn't chewy. I would absolutely make this again, especially if I have the time for taco fixin's. I bet this would make great fish tacos. It was nice with my side of roasted fingerling potatoes too.”
Charleen Thorburn from New Hampshire
“This is my second time with Hake and I have Hake on my next week's list -- so I will eat hake 3 times in a row. That's OK, because it's easy to cook and tasty. :) I just put "nuts over fish" coating on the cut up fillets and TA-DAAA. easy-peasy.”
Garlic Butter Poached Pollock
Paul Anderson from Maine
“My garden is putting out a lot right now, so kept the fish part of my meal simple. I have just harvested my garlic, so I minced several cloves (they "pop" when you cut them because they're so fresh!). Saute the garlic with some Old Bay Seasoning in butter then lay in the fish, cooking on both sides for about 4 minutes each. Served with grilled zuchinni, snow peas and corn on the cob with a fresh green salad. Lots of micro-nutrients!”
Chris Dodge from Connecticut
“Cooking the mussels was fun and delicious. The biggest thing about cooking the mussels is, unlike other shellfish (oysters, clams, etc) to not be off-put if some of them are open. The will cook up fine, not tasted bad, and not make you sick. I prepared a broth by sauteeing chorizo in pan with garlic, deglaze with white wine and hard cider, add butter and olive oil, lemon juice, and finish with some chopped scallions. Delicious!”
David Ford from Rhode Island
“Tony's Seafood in Seekonk, MA initially told me they did not have surf calms. One of the more experienced staff said they did have some in the back in frozen blocks. The product looked like any other chopped clams. I made one of my all time favorites - linguine with white clam sauce. I used Explore Cuisine's Edamame and Mung Bean Fettuccini.”
Summer is the perfect time to enjoy the bounty of local seafood produced in our New England waters. Take a note from our citizen scientists and enjoy local seafood at home and with friends!
Julek Chawarski from Maine
Friday night crew enjoying steamers out on the porch
“I got the crew over for a Friday afternoon seafood feast! Round one started with steamers dipped in lemon-cilantro butter. Round two was grilled halibut and monkfish with grilled zucchini, broccolini, and corn. I paired it with whiskey cocktails, white wine, and a killer sunset. I offset my luxurious spending by eating kippers for lunch for a couple days, which were also caught in Gulf of Maine.”
Craig Gogan from Rhode Island
Enjoying the summer weather with a meal outside
“We knew swordfish would be easy to find, we just weren't sure how easy it would be to find local sword. Thankfully we found local sword at our first stop. We just salt and peppered it and threw it on the grill. Very easy to cook and always super tasty.”
Brian Haggerty from Rhode Island
Clams and linguine with sausage
“A New England staple, linguine and clams is full of flavor and can feed a lot of people. Being sure to save some clam juice from the cooking process to finish the dish is imperative.”
Elizabeth LaDuca from Massachusetts
“Scallops are one of my favorite seafood items, so I was excited to have it this week! I pan seared them in a very hot pan with a little butter and olive oil, and served it over the first zucchini harvested from our garden. They were delicious!”
Mary Tanzer from New Hampshire
Happy girl eating lobster salad
“I've been waiting for lobster to be on the list! I was hoping there would be local squid at the supermarket since I've never made fried calamari. No such luck but I can't complain. I was lazy and had the fish monger steam the lobsters for me. So easy to just have to extract the meat when I got home. I highly recommend this - I will be buying lobster more frequently since usually I've had to bring them home, heat up the kitchen with the lobster pot, steam and humidity. This was like cheating but I'll do it again. I couldn't decide - lobster salad? lobster pie? lobster mac and cheese? Something else? At the last minute, I went simple with lobster salad- -- served it with slices of avocado on toast points. So decadent and so yummy!”
Deborah Mager from Connecticut
Razor clams
“This week’s fish list included Butterfish, grey sole, razor clam, and weakfish. I thought I would be a little adventurous and look for Butterfish, but first I wanted to do a little research. I was a little concerned when I read information about Butterfish versus Escolar. I figured if I did find Butterfish I would ask a bunch of questions of my fishmonger and make sure it is exactly that, Butterfish. I was somewhat relieved when I did not find Butterfish at two places I stopped. Well, one possible problem averted but I was presented with another. I found Razor Clams at my second stop. Although grey sole was also available I thought I would give Razor Clams another try. My husband and I had eaten Razor Clams once in a restaurant last year and vowed we would never eat them again. I surfed the Web for recipes. I found out that there are two types of Razor Clams (Pacific and East-coast). I needed a recipe for my East-coast clams. Thank goodness I ran across how to prepare the species before cooking them. Razor Clams are very sandy (as my husband and I found out when we tried them at the restaurant as we crunched on sand) and need to be soaked in salted water for a couple of hours. Prep time! Razor Clams are beautiful to look at (before soaking) and are an amazing species. I was prepared from my research that these guys are really alive and I shouldn’t be surprised if I see them spitting, but I was not prepared for when I put them in salted water and watched them emerge from their shells! I am no “shrinking violet” when it comes to cooking seafood or killing insects but when the species exceed certain parameters of size, for some reason, my conscience kicks in and I have reservations of “doing the deed”. Thankfully, the Clams stopped getting bigger after some minutes. I prepared them by using a basic recipe for fried clams with tartar sauce and a wedge of lemon. They were tasty but not my favorite. I think I’ll pass on razor clams next time.”
Maggie Heinichen from Massachusetts
“When I was at Cautamet fish, they said they did carry black sea bass but it is for wholesale, not the public. They also carried wild mussels from Canada. The fluke was excellent. I liked that the fillets were small so I could get the perfect amount for just me. I cooked it with lemon and herbs and paired with cauliflower and mushrooms. It felt like a very healthy meal and I'm proud of that. It was also something I was able to put together in less than 10 minutes which was awesome. If I was craving fish, this would be a species I would go for again.”
Michelle Nelson from Connecticut
Broiled monkfish plated with zucchini lasagna, confetti salad and garlic bread
“Monkfish has a texture similar to lobster tail. I broiled it with butter and lemon. We had 10 for dinner and everyone enjoyed it. It was a first experience for a few people and they were pleasantly surprised.”
Rachel Hutchinson from Massachusetts
Just Chilling
“When I got my list I saw that lobster was on it and I didn't really look any further. It was actually the only fish I found this week from my list. I wanted to try the whole live lobster and taking care of all of it myself, the last time I bought lobster I had the store kill it and steam it for me. Since it is the summer I wanted to try and grill lobster, I had to search if this was possible and read about killing the lobster prior to grilling it. The lobster still moving on the grill after I believe I killed it was a little disconcerting. The lobster was good, but its hard to eat since you have to pick through the whole animal, I would rather just sit down and eat my dinner then pull each piece of meat out one by one.”
Pamela Corcoran from Maine
“I made this into an omelette filling with green garlic and yellow cherry tomatoes from the garden. Happily surprised how much a small amount of crab add so much to the flavor profile. I was able to serve four folks for less than the cost of bacon. Delicious, affordable and easy. I am so grateful that our local co-op is committed to supporting our local fishery and another co-op (Port Clyde Fresh Catch)”
Kim Gainey from Massachusetts
Sea Scallop
“So quick and easy to make and what an amazing flavor very rich you don't need many!”
David Ford from Rhode Island
Grilled cod with red wine and miso butter
“Since I had not grilled cod in some time, I decided I should give it another try. I won't try this again anytime soon. I found it impossible to prevent the cod from breaking apart on the grill. I made a glaze of red wine, red miso, butter, soy and shallots. I coated the filet with the glaze before grilling and spooned additional glaze on the filet before serving. I served the cod atop a bed of wilted spinach that I flashed sauteed in olive oil. The miso-butter-red wine-soy sauce married perfectly with the sweetness of the cod. I plan on using miso more often in fish recipes.”
Rachel Fecteau from Maine
Grilled Swordfish
“Swordfish, weakfish, conch, yellowtail flounder. I was hoping to find conch since I have seen whelks for sale in Maine before. I had eaten a lot of conch when I lived in the Caribbean. I was excited to try some recipes with New England whelks. No conch in the market. The fishmonger hadn't seen weakfish or yellow tail flounder in the store so swordfish it was. I marinated the swordfish in a citrus marinade for about 30 minutes and cooked it on a hot grill. Totally delicious. I forgot how much I love swordfish.”
Taylor Feuti from Maine
“Fish is a big part of my diet and my life. As an avid fisherman ( use to be commercial fisherman) I enjoy all things that come with consuming fish. One thing I am surprised by is the actual lack of knowledge of some of the shop workers I buy the fish from. None of them knew what tautog was (which I find is common north of cape cod) or Conch, which is one of my favorites and another one I have trouble finding.”
Sarah Bjorklund from Massachusetts
Baked Pollock with Seafood stuffing
“We found a fish on our list! Hanafords had Pollock from the coast of Maine! "
Meggan Dwyer from Maine
Sausage stuffed squid (and a rogue scallop)
“The only thing available on my fish list this week was squid so we got down to business stuffing a pound of squid with sausage and panfrying it and then finishing it in the oven. The result was like eating sausage but with a thicker casing. I think next time we stick with plain old fried calamari as I don't think squid tastes like much and might as well be fried.”
Elizabeth LaDuca from Massachusetts
“I was pleasantly surprised to find frozen, wild caught squid at Donelan's from Rhode Island. Their fish selection was quite limited, and even their cod was from Iceland, so it was nice to find something on the list! I'd never prepared squid before, and only eaten it out at restaurants (my family won't eat it) so I thought it would be a fun item to try. The squid was gutted and the tops and tentacles were cut apart, so I sliced up the top parts into rings, patted them dry and then floured them. I fried them quickly in a shallow pan with a little vegetable oil. We ate them on our standard "sushi bowl" which consists of a bed of brown sushi rice, a quick sauté of sliced green beans and baby bok choy from our CSA and then the squid on top with a little chili sauce. It was delicious! I would definitely try it again!”
Andrea McCarthy from Connecticut
Pan Searing Sea Scallops
“This week I was looking for herring, sea scallops, Jonah crab, and wild-caught mussels. The herring at the store was from Canada, so that was out. Wild caught mussels were hard to find. The stores had farmed mussels. There was picked Jonah crab meat from Maine or sea scallops from New Bedford, MA. I had been to Maryland the previous weekend and had crab cakes there, so I opted to go for the sea scallops. They are mighty expensive, but so very easy to handle (as long as you are ready for the short cooking time), tasty, and filling. Scientists from NOAA’s Northeast Fisheries Science Center have been surveying the Atlantic sea scallops population off the northeastern U.S. coast between North Carolina and Massachusetts every year since 1979. They tow a dredge to randomly sample and document the marine life in these zones. They recently started using a new undersea camera called the Habitat Mapping Camera System, shortened to HabCam, in scallop surveys to supplant dredge data. Images from the HabCam supply absolute densities of scallops and other species, are less labor intensive in terms of crew, and provide much more information about the bottom habitat, all in near-real time.”
Peter Gauthier from New Hampshire
Haddock Meuniere with caprese salad on the deck
“First, I really wish I could find some of the less popular fish. My best outlet, Beef and Seafood, just doesn't have the space and/ or customer demand to carry sea urchin, cunner or sea robin, except thru special order. I was very surprised haddock was not more readily available in all three stores I shopped. As commented in the survey, the haddock I purchased just didn't look that appealing. I only bought it because I had to. The fishmonger at Beef and Seafood said they didn't have haddock bc their fish seller said the catch was small and not so good....the fishmonger said he listens to his seller! Anyway. ...on to next week!”
Barbara Rotger from Massachusetts
“I have been frustrated by the inability of our local grocery stores to tell me anything beyond country of origin for the fish that they sell. Much of it may be from New England, but they are unable, or unwilling to share this information. I was very happy to buy fish from The Fish Lady (that is her business name) who comes to several local farmers markets, and who gets her fish from Red's Best. The fish is packaged in half pound or pound packages, and is labeled with the name of the fisherman, name of the boat, harbor where it was landed, and fishing method. My halibut was landed in Plymouth, MA and was caught by a trawler.”
Lisa Richards from New Hampshire
Preparing swordfish in our small cottage kitchen on monhegan island Maine.
“We are on vacation on a very small island off Maine and I was excited to find two varieties of my fish list!”
David Ford from Rhode Island
Sand Crab with Garlic Shallot Dipping sauce
“I loved the taste of the sand crab. Maybe the best crab I've ever had. But it is way too much work for the small amount of meat you get. I bet one could starve to death if all you had to eat was sand crab, since you would pass away before you got your essential nutrients!”
Rachel Hutchinson from Massachusetts
Dogfish display that the Brewster Farmers Market highlighting Pier to Plate
“This is not so much a story about the Sea Scallops that I did find and buy, but of the Monkfish and Dogfish that I didn't find. I fully expected that this week I would have to make a decision as to what fish to purchase for the first time in a long time. Cape Cod Fisherman's Alliance has put a huge push on this summer in a program called "Pier to Plate". Pier to plate is encouraging people to eat local underutilized species of fish, specifically Dogfish and Skate. Chatham Fish and Lobster was one of the original sponsors of Pier to Plate and in early June did a big kick off and dogfish tasting at the fish market. When I asked about Monkfish and Dogfish at the market I was told they didn't have either of them; they usually have Monkfish but were out, and they don't carry dogfish at the fish counter since "it comes off the boat frozen and they use it next door for fried fish". On Sunday at the Brewster farmers market the Fishermen's Alliance had a booth set up highlighting Skate and Dogfish as the underutilized species. Unfortunately they have noticed that a lot of the fish markets that originally signed on to highlight dogfish and skate are starting to not carry it anymore. A lot of the restaurants are not serving them either. The markets found that they were too hard to skin and the fish had a bad smell so people were not buying it. It was interesting to talk to the alliance about their project to highlight underutilized fish, but that they didn't seem to be having that much success with it.”
Julia Mennone from Rhode Island
Swordfish in Marinade
“I love swordfish but hadn't made it in such a long time! The guy at the fish counter (who might be my new best friend) said it was landed in Boston harbor. I guess I never knew where it was from, and sometimes it's probably not from the east coast. But, I like eating local and will continue to ask these types of questions. I marinated it in some lime juice with diced up garlic scapes (local favorite, tis the season) and grilled it up. My husband was surprised at the texture, I don't think he's had a ton of swordfish and he really loved it so we can add it in as another fish dinner staple :)”
Kate Aubin from Rhode Island
Coating the haddock in flour so the batter will stick to the fish
“I was pleased to discover that the Local Catch had everything on my list in stock this week. This left me with a decision to make. I've had scallops in the past and really didn't like the flavor or texture. Because it was so long ago though, I think I'd be willing to give them a try if they show up on my list again. It's possible that my tastes have changed or that they weren't prepared well the time I had them. I've also had tuna in the past and have found the flavor to be a bit too strong for my liking, but again, I may be willing to try it if it appears on my list again. Like I said earlier in this survey, I didn't choose the summer flounder because I've had flounder twice before in this project (though I've discovered that I really enjoy it). So haddock it was. I love fish and chips but rarely order it at restaurants anymore because it tends to be too greasy and it upsets my stomach. I've never fried fish before though, and it has been a while since I've had fish and chips, so I thought I would give it a try. Ultimately it was quite easy to prepare, though I think I made my batter a little too thick. The end result was tasty, but a little too greasy, so I found myself pulling the batter off of half of the fish. But for my first time frying fish I'd say overall it was a success.”
Caitlin Peterson from New Hampshire
“I love seafood, but preparing shellfish at home is something new to me! For example, until now I actually had no idea that clams were still alive when you bought them. I did a lot of googling and decided to go with a super simple, classic recipe. I boiled the steamers in beer and served them with butter for dipping and a side of crusty bread and bruschetta, and peach/blueberry cobbler for dessert - almost every ingredient was from either a local farm or a New England fishery, which felt great!”
Jayne Martin from Connecticut
Secret Life of A Lobster Lover!
“I was prepared to purchase my lobsters at our local fish truck because I knew they usually had them. To my surprise, they did not have any. They told me they are not stocking lobsters now because the price has gone up too much. Their reasoning was that McDonalds is purchasing so many lobsters for their new lobster roll, that the prices have become too high for them. Hmmmmmm. Not sure about that fact, but that's what they said. So, off to Big Y to purchase my 2 1 1/4 lb lobsters. Steamed for 13 minutes, served with fresh greens from the garden and of course topped off the meal with great tasting/refreshing Mankin's English Ale from the Barrington Brewery in Great Barrington, MA. Life is Lobster Good!”
Zachary Miller-Hope from Maine
“I chose halibut after a couple weeks of not being able to find fish. I understand this whole process is supposed to inform YOU, but it is really quite remarkable that the only way for me to get locally caught seafood that is something other than a white flaky fish or shellfish (possibly Tuna), is to be able to get to ONE local fish market in the middle of the day. I live within a 5 minute drive of the coast and work on the Saco River, it is disappointing that I have so few options available to me when I live and work within minutes of the Gulf of Maine.”
Sarah Bjorklund from Massachusetts
Summertime cod chowder
“We found another fish on our list! We decided to turn the cod into chowder. Using as many local ingredients as we could this is our recipe. INGREDIENTS:
1/2lb Jowl Bacon (from our Pasture Raised Hogs), 1 Leek thinly sliced (locally grown, 1 Small Onion finely Chopped, 2 medium Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut in small cubes , 2 cups Heavy Cream, 1 cup whole milk , 2 1/2 cups reserved liquid from boiling the potatoes, 2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh Dill (from my herb garden), 3/4 teaspoon pink Himalayan salt, 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, 3/4 pound cod, skin removed, chopped 2 .5 cups cups local sweet corn, 2 tsp bay seasoning. Directions PREPARATION In a large saucepan, cook Jowl bacon over medium heat until crisp. Transfer to a cutting board and cut into small pieces (bacon bits). In the same pan, sauté onion for 2 minutes. Stir in potatoes with water, milk, salt, pepper and bay seasoning; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer 10 minutes. Stir in fish, corn and 2/3 bacon; simmer 5 minutes. Stir in Cream and 3/4 leeks; simmer 2 minutes. Ladle into bowls and enjoy!”
Lisa Jarosik from Connecticut
Grilled Goosefish (Monkfish)
“Stew Leonard's also had Monkfish this week but could not tell me where it came from. I was so disappointed! But Whole Foods did have it and let me know it was sourced from Maine. When I went to cut into the fish to marinate it, I was taken by surprise. This fish is different from every fish I have tried so far. It wasn't flakey like a white fish or "steaky" like tuna or swordfish. It cut like a chicken breast. I have never seen that texture before! Needless to say, it was delicious and I would definitely have it again!”
Jacob Matz from Massachusetts
Soft shell clam with summer squash, string beans, and kohlrabi
“This was my first time with steamers. I steamed them with squash, butter, fill, onion, and garlic scapes. They were tasty but a bit chewy. Not my favorite mollusk, but still quite good.”
Christopher Coccaro from Connecticut
Black Sea Bass Tacos
“Easy and simple meal of fish tacos from black sea bass. The fillets are not very large and can be pulled apart easily. The one thing to look out for are the bones.”
Andrea McCarthy from Connecticut
“For my fish research this week I had Peekytoe crab, mackerel, weakfish, and Jonah crab. I was not able to find Peekytoe crab, and the stores that I contacted said they hadn’t been able to get Jonah crab from Maine. Weakfish seems to be a hit or miss fish. It is not a fish that is targeted but if caught can be sold. I was able to find whole mackerel from Long Island. I find Atlantic mackerel such a pretty fish. The very bright iridescent blue to green backs with the black zaggy stripes on a very streamlined body is so striking. Mackerel is an oily fish making them a good source of omega-3 fatty acids. Researching information about mackerel population size came up with no real determination. According to fishwatch.gov, the two most recent stock assessments for Atlantic mackerel have failed to provide adequate information to make overfishing and overfished status determinations.”
Christina Rodriguez from Rhode Island
Pasta Nautika
“We've been waiting for weeks to get lobster on our Fish List and when it finally happened we were so excited. We bought 2 live lobsters from the Newport Lobster Shack. Prices seem to have gone up since we purchased from there last year, but it's fine since this was FOR SCIENCE! My husband made Pasta Nautika using this recipe from the Providence Journal: http://www.providencejournal.com/entertainmentlife/20170711/small-bites-pasta-nautika-elegant-way-to-combine-lobster-pasta. It was pretty involved, he's prepared live lobster several times before so he's definitely experienced, but this still took him almost 4 HOURS to make from scratch and he used seemingly every pot and dish we own (clean-up was my job and it was intense). It was well worth it and the dish makes quite a lovely presentation, though I would recommend it to experienced chefs and lobster enthusiasts only. A good tip for anyone preparing live lobster: put the lobster in the freezer for 20 minutes or so, until they go dormant/fall asleep, and then dispatch with a sharp knife behind the eyes just before steaming. This is the compassionate method to minimize their suffering. Don't worry about them "freezing all the way through" in the freezer and then "exploding" when you put them in the steamer -- this isn't like the end of Alien 3!”
Pamela Corcoran from Maine
Belfast Coop Fish Case with Port Clyde Fresh Catch
“Love supporting our local fishing folk and purchasing from our local coop. Eating with the Ecosystem means recognizing the way our food dollars can support our neighbors and our businesses that are part of the ecosystem, too.”
Jonah Crab Boiled
Aubrey Church from Massachussetts
“This week is #JonahCrab! The American Lobster and Jonah Crab fisheries are two of the most valuable fisheries in New England, producing over $575 million in revenue annually! The Jonah Crab fishery in particular has developed in response to a perceived increase in abundance, opening markets, and a need for fishermen to diversify. Across the east coast, the Jonah crab fishery is worth over $12 million with landings rising rapidly since the early 2000’s. Jonah Crabs are landed year round by both inshore and offshore lobster boats. Jonah crab meat is flaky and sweet. How do you like to eat Jonah Crabs? Recently I have had Jonah Crab Cakes, Jonah Crab and Artichoke Dip, and Jonah Crab Claws from @FishermensView and it was incredible! Highly recommend! Tonight I enjoy boiled Jonah Crab’s whole! #EatLikeAFish #EatingWithTheEcosystem #JonahCrab #Eatcrabs #eatseafood #newenglandseafood #knowyourseafood #knowyourfishermen”
Kate Aubin from Rhode Island
Baked and Broiled Yellowtail Flounder with Lemon, Butter, Garlic and Dill
“Like I've said before, I really prefer to buy from The Local Catch because I know I'm supporting local fisher(wo)men and I'm also supporting the farmer's market. Because of my work schedule, they are often the first place I visit on Saturdays at the Pawtuxet Village Farmer's Market (where I also work a table for the market). If they have something on my list, I often buy it there (even if I've had the fish before) because I don't want risk trying another seafood market afterwards and then striking out (which has happened). So that's how I ended up with Yellowtail Flounder (for the second time). I was hoping to get the cod, but Dave (the vendor) ran out of that quickly, I know he never has steamers with him and I don't like squid very much (except as calamari and that seemed like a lot of work to feed one person), so Yellowtail Flounder it was. I was actually quite happy to see it again, because when I had it a few weeks ago, I really enjoyed it and it was incredibly easy to prepare. Last time I pan seared it, so this time I tried baking and broiling the fish with lemon juice, garlic, dill, and butter. It was once again delicious and easy to prepare. This is a fish I would recommend to anyone who is nervous about cooking fish at home (because it's so easy) or is reluctant to try new things (because the flavor is so mild). I forgot to take a picture of me handling the fish, but I will remember next time.”
Devon Mulligan from Maine
Devon enjoying her dinner of local skate! (in foil packet)
Sarah Bjorklund from Massachusetts
“It doesn't get much easier than cooking Haddock. We made it the way we usually do. We covered the fish with cracker crumbs, butter, dill, garlic,onion, salt and pepper. This is one of my sons favorite fish dishes. Very kid friendly and not so fishy! We were all very excited to actually have fish on the list!”
Kirstein Davidson from New Hampshire
Summer cider with Halibut!
“I finally made time this week to get to my local fish market and was able to find halibut. I asked about my other species and my fish monger told me wild caught mussels are cheaper than farm-raised but they usually only have the farm-raised. They do have razor clams and have sold them a couple times, but sea bass is illegal to sell in New Hampshire, so I will not be able to find that. I purchased a half-pound filet and cooked it a couple days later. Tonight, I used a whole wheat bread crumbs and egg bath. Heating up the olive oil in my cast iron pan caused my sensitive fire alarms to go off, so my plan b was to bake the fish. It turned out pretty well, but it was a little dry. I would definitely get this again, because it was easy to cook with. My toddler was less than enthusiastic about the fish, but only because she's teething little tonight.”
Jayne Martin from Connecticut
“This scallop was just so tasty. We would definitely look for and purchase this one again.”
Appetizers on the deck
Rindy Sicard from Rhode Island
“I had tuna in a restaurant only once. I wanted to try something different with this, so since I was having some friends over who happen to like sushi, I thought I would give it a try. Tuna Tartare and seared tuna with a mustard aioli. Enjoyed by all!”
Craig Gogan from Rhode Island
About to go in the pot
“Jonah Crab was fairly easy to find, we have seen it on previous weeks, it just has not been on our list. It is cheap, $2.50/lbs, and not difficult to cook. Our only comment would be that it is messy to eat and getting all the meat out can be a task. Other than that the taste is great and it is fun to eat out of the shell.”
Maria Vasta from Massachusetts
“The only cooking tips I needed for halibut was how long to bake it for, and at what temperature. I topped the raw fish with salt and pepper, fresh fennel fronds, butter, and lemon slices, and baked that all together. This has been my favorite thing I've made through this project so far!”
Paul Anderson from Maine
A slight variation on the lobster roll
“I love a traditional lobster roll, but I have come up with an alternative to Mayonnaise that is more healthy and with good flavor. I use a similar recipe for my home-made tartar sauce: 2 tablespoons plain yogurt, 1 tablespoon sour cream, dash of red wine vinegar, pepper and salt. I also used a warmed hoagie roll instead of the traditional hot dog bun. A sprinkle of tarragon leaves gives it a slight herbal flavor.”
Marta Brill from Massachusetts
“This must be prime fishing season -- because there were lots of fish from previous weeks at Whole Foods! From this week's list, there were just scallops...which I would have chosen anyway! I pan seared them (2 minutes per side) and they were scrumptious. I served them with pasta and summer veggies.”
Kim Gainey from Massachusetts
Grilled Striped Bass
“I've been waiting to justify spending $ 30.00 pound for fish I used to be able to catch from the beach whenever I wanted. I was so excited to see striper on my list! It was perfect! A fat loin perfect for grilling!”
Photo by Brian: Monkfish for everyone
Brian Haggerty from Rhode Island
“A relatively unknown species to myself turned into a delightful surprise. Pan seared monkfish and finished on the oven with garlic, onions, and tomatoes reduction sauce.”
Stefanie Hall from Connecticut
“I was glad to see monkfish on the list for two reasons. I had never had this type of fish before and my local fish market carries it. Since the weather did not cooperate, I had to bake instead of grill the fish. I made a sauce that included fresh basil and mint, crushed garlic, fresh lemon juice and olive oil. After spreading the fish with the sauce, I baked it for 25 minutes. More sauce was added at the time of serving. I would purchase monkfish again to try cooking it on the grill.”
Carolyn St Jean Gogan from Rhode Island
Summer flounder in Reynolds Wrap
“Buying Summer Flounder was not a new experience for me so this was an easy week. I thought I would cook it using a tried and true method. It was prepared using 2 sheets of Reynolds Wrap. First you clean and pat dry your fish, next lightly drizzle olive oil over the fillets and season both sides. Now, cut up zucchini ,peppers,scallions, small red potatoes, add cherry tomatoes, and lightly oil and season these too. Now thinly slice a lemon ,use about 3 slices, place this first on the bottom sheet of Reynolds Wrap and next put your fillet on top. Now add an assortment of your sliced vegetables and top the whole thing with a pat of butter. Now place the top sheet of Reynolds Wrap over your vegetables and start sealing it up so no steam escapes. Place packet on a cookie sheet in a hot oven 425 degrees and cook for about 20 mins. This never fails and is always good and healthy and is an easy clean up.”
Meggan Dwyer from Maine
Lobster Salad with oranges, fennel and chervil
"I only visited one market this week (my favorite - Jess's market in Rockland, ME) because I am starting to get the feel of the diversity at other stores in our area and I know if Jess's doesn't have it, they probably won't either. Jess's market never carries mahogany quahogs. My guess is because of their low value. In Maine mahoganies are dragged offshore of Jonesport and Machias areas and are mainly exported for chowder. They are also particularly susceptible to biotoxin closures which have been widespread this year. Jess's also never carried butterfish or conch. Waved whelk, though they are widely available as bycatch in lobster traps downeast are also susceptible to biotoxin closures and are low value catch. They are mostly found pickled in local downeast markets and are definitely an acquired taste. So I picked the Maine no-brainer - lobster. Prior to moving to Maine, I never ate soft-shell and now that I am a spoiled Mainer, I will only eat shedders which are sweeter and easier to pick. We made a lobster salad with fresh greens from a local farm dressed only with oranges, lemon juice, olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Yum."
Rindy Sicard from Rhode Island
Grey Sole – Witch Flounder
"I was impressed with the fish manager at Whole Foods. When I asked him where it was from as I was in a Citizens Science Program called Eating with the Ecosystem, he went to get his delivery notes and told me my fish was from Gloucester, MA. Can't wait for next week to try something new!"
Anne Ewert from New Hampshire
"This was the first week in a few that I had actually found a fish on my fish list that was local to New England, and it was steamer clams. I have only ever eaten them once before at a restaurant, and I have definitely never cooked them myself. I remembered from the restaurant that they were served completely plain with just some butter for dipping, which I didn't really like, so I decided to mix it up a little bit. I steamed my clams the way they are normally done, but also made a white wine/garlic/butter/lemon/parsley sauce to toss them in when they were done. After they were finished steaming, I peeled the siphons off, then tossed them in the white wine sauce, and put them over a little bit of linguine. It came out pretty well! The siphons were a bit unpleasant to peel, but overall I liked cooking them. I also liked the fact that a lot of the weight of these clams is not tied up in big, heavy shells so that when I paid $10.99/lb for them, I actually got a decent amount of clams for a couple of pounds, instead of $3 of clam and $17 of shell. I highly recommend these little guys, but you do have to be careful handling them because the shells are much thinner than other clams, so they break easily. I had to ask the person at the fish counter to switch out a number of the ones she grabbed for me, since several of the ones on display had been broken."
Jacob Matz from Massachusetts
Mussels cooked in a garlic scape and dill white sauce with perogies and asparagus
"I cooked mussels in white wine with butter, garlic scapes, scallions, and dill. The smell was very intense during preparation. Cooking mussels is so easy and so versatile in terms of what they can be steamed in. Next time around I will experiment us if other ingredients in the sauce. It was delicious with some roasted asparagus and perogies."
David Ford from Rhode Island
Mahi Mahi with Lemon, Parsley, Garlic scapes and garlic oil
"For week 9 I found mahi mahi at Tony's Seafood in Seekonk, MA. In my opinion Tony's consistently has the widest selection of fresh local seafood in the region. Inspired by a recipe in Food & Wine magazine, I used a very simple preparation. I applied olive oil, salt and pepper to the mahi mahi and then roasted it in the oven at 450 degrees for 15 minutes. For presentation I added fresh lemon juice and parsley and topped with steamed garlic scapes. I served homemade garlic oil with the mahi mahi on the side. My wife Nancy claimed it was the best yet!"
Andrea McCarthy from Connecticut
Pan seared swordfish
"I am always excited to find out what my fish are for the week. This week I had bonito, surf clams, swordfish, and summer flounder (fluke). When asking about my choices this week I was told it is a little too early for bonito and had no luck with summer flounder. When asking about surf clams, one response I got was no and it seemed he was not familiar with them, and another place asked me how I was going to prepare them. I only really had seen anything about them being fried and that is what he said. If I was looking for the clam strips, which are usually surf clams, they had them. That same market also had swordfish from Block Island, RI, while another market had swordfish from Canada. So I knew what store I was going to go to, but not which species to get. The only real thought I had about preparing the clam strips were to fry them. And at that moment I did not feel excited by the thought. My hesitation with the swordfish other than that it is fairly expensive, is the concern of it being a top predator, which can translate to a higher level of contaminants such as mercury. On the other hand, swordfish is nutrient dense loaded with protein and omega-3 fats, and I had never had it or prepared it before. So I made my decision to try swordfish. I seasoned my steak with salt, pepper, and lemon and pan seared each side and finished cooking it in the oven for just about 10 minutes. It doesn’t take long to cook. It was delicious and filling. It was cooked just right so it was moist and while it is a firm fish, it does have large flakes that separated nicely. I would certainly recommend eating swordfish. I would eat it again but not regularly because of the higher mercury levels and because of the higher cost."
Catherine Schmitt from Maine
Miso-glazed halibut with sautéed purple cabbage
"This was the end of the Maine halibut season, so my "last chance" to get some of the local product, although halibut from federal waters in the Gulf of Maine is available at other times. I used a miso-glaze technique normally applied to "black cod." I've also found that cooked halibut is just as good the next day - it holds up well as leftovers and can stand being reheated without drying out or getting too tough."
Kate Aubin from Rhode Island
Bonito with Vegetable Stir Fry over Rice
"Bonito has been on my list at least two other times before this week and I have been avoiding it in favor of other fish. I feed my cat bonito flakes (sold as a cat treat) so I have to say that when I saw bonito on my list, it didn't seem appealing. This week it was the only fish The Local Catch had available from my list, so I bought it because I prefer to buy from them if it's an option (it feels like I'm more directly supporting local fishermen when I buy from The Local Catch...I don't know if that's true or not, but it's how I feel). Dave, who sells for The Local Catch at the Pawtuxet Village Farmer's Market, gave me some tips about how to cook the bonito when I told him I was wary of the fish. He also told me he removed the bloodline before packaging the fish which was great because I don't think I would have known how to do that on my own. The fish was also cut up into pieces, for stir frying according to Dave. I made a citrusy Asian marinade for the fish and let it soak for a few hours. Then I pan seared the bonito and added it to some stir fried vegetables and rice. Dave had told me that bonito tastes a little like tuna, so I wasn't anticipating liking the fish because I'm not a tuna fan (except when it's from a can). But I ended up really enjoying the bonito. I think I cooked it a minute longer than I should have (I still get a bit nervous about undercooking seafood) so it was a tiny bit dry, but I didn't mind. I was able to get a nice sear on one side of the fish and that provided some nice texture. All in all, I think I would eat bonito again!"
Peter Gauthier from New Hampshire
"I was so excited at my fish list this week! I knew every species! I had my sights set on Halibut from the get go because I could not readily recall preparing it. Unfortunately, Beef and Seafood in Concord was the only market that offered it and the fish was caught in the waters of Newfoundland. It looked soooo good though, it was basically a whole side that they cut to order. I decided to buy some anyway and ate it the day after the cod was prepared. It was expensive at 22.99/lb. I wanted to grill my chunky 1.25 pound piece and the fishmonger said any method of preparation would be good but he preferred grilling. I experimented with a Himilayan salt block that was recently given to me. It is a one inch thick block of pink salt that is heated on the grill and after 15 minutes or so, you place the fish (unseasoned) on top of it. The fish had a nice crust to it from the salt block and was cooked perfectly which added to its excellent flavor. All stores had steamers from the Gulf of Maine except for beef and Seafood. Swordfish was from all over the place with Hannaford only able to tell me it was from the North Atlantic. Swordfish was from Ecuador at Shaws. I ultimately chose Cod, one of my favorites, from Shaws to give their fish a try since this was the first time I was able to locate a fish from their store. It was good and I'm going to return to check out more options. I'm off next week because I'll be in Montana for the duration starting this Saturday! Fish On!"
Carolyn St Jean Gogan from Rhode Island
Conch Fritters
"I was excited to buy a live conch and prepare it. I chose to steam my conch to make it easy to remove from the shell. Now once you do that, then you must remove the non-edible parts and trim all the tough black skin from the white meat. Since I was making conch fritters, I chopped it into small pieces. I added those pieces to my prepared batter and dropped spoonful’s into hot oil until golden brown. Everything smelled wonderful and my husband and I were eager to bite into our fritters. Sorry to say the fritter part was tasty but the conch pieces were tough and had very little taste. Needless to say, after all that work we were disappointed. But I will try conch again and this time tenderize the conch meat first before using in a recipe."
Deborah Mager from Connecticut
Grilled Ahi Tuna with Trio Sauces
"My first thought when I received my Fish List this week was this is going to be a challenge. The only familiar fish on my list was Tuna. I then automatically went to www.eatingwiththeecosystem.org/eat-like-a-fish website to research my other fish species. I found that Scup is aka Porgy. I was hoping to find that in my search but it was not to be. I would have also liked to try either Spot or Smooth Dogfish but neither of those species was available. When I called my usual "go to" fish monger he said he had yellowfin tuna. When I arrived to purchase my fish I found that it was ahi tuna not yellowfin. I purchased the ahi thinking it was fair game. On a side note, before I purchased my species, I also did research for information on the internet about the safety of eating raw Tuna and found information about the mercury levels in different types of Tuna. I found that yellowfin tuna is a bit lower in mercury but big eye and ahi tuna are highest in mercury. Okay...so I definitely will limit my consumption of tuna. I made the Ahi grilled with Honey Soy Sauce and then served it with extra dipping sauces of the Honey Soy Sauce, original S&B Wasabi Sauce and the leftover last week's sauce I made of Trader Joe's Hot & Sweet Chili Jam mixed with Tsang Ginger Sriracha Sauce. I have to say the quality of the Tuna was just as good as what I've have eaten out at restaurants but I enjoyed it more because the sauces were better and preparing the Tuna only took minutes."
Jennifer L. McCaffrey from Rhode Island
Southwest Harbor Halibut
"I'm so lucky I happened to be vacationing in Maine at the end of hailbut season. It didn't matter what else was on my list, I love Hailbut and we don't see much of it fresh in RI. There was a fantastic food market in Southwest Harbor, Sawyer's, that had a limited amount of fresh fish but it all looked wonderful. It's a joy to shop here and put a homemade vacation meal together. I cooked it very simple with butter, olive oil, salt, pepper and lemon. I was so delicious. I spent and arm and a leg, and spent more than a dinner out but it was worth it. I probably ate a pound of it myself."
Charleen Thorburn from New Hampshire
"Finally, the week has come. Lobster was on my list. I invited one of my friends and coworkers over, but of course I had to explain to her why we need to eat a lobster by Tuesday at nine, ha ha. Seaport fish does a great job steaming lobsters, I just can't bear to listen to them flop in the pot. We had them classic style, steamed and dipped in just a little bit of butter. It had been a long time since I've had some lobster, and they are a hell of a lot easier to find than a spiny dogfish."
This post is for Week 7 and 8 and our participants are still going strong! We are also definitely starting to see patterns. While the species assignments are randomly generated, I can look at the species and predict which ones I think people will find (or not find) with pretty good accuracy. Well known species such as Haddock, Cod, Lobster, Halibut, Scallops, and Squid are often very easy to find while some of our lesser known species such as Scup, Monkfish, Dogfish, Jonah Crab, and Periwinkles while abundant in our ecosystems and caught in our local fisheries, are not so easy to find. Our participants continue to search each week and most are very excited when they find a new species they are not familiar with. Many of them list the reason they choose one fish over another is because they want to try a new species and most are finding that they really enjoy each new fish as well as the more familiar favorites!
David Ford from Rhode Island
Cod Drenched in Lime-Chili Nam Prik
"For week 7 I purchased Cod from the Local Catch. I steamed the Cod in the oven in a lime-chile-cilantro sauce. At serving I topped the fish with pea shoots. The result was a very tender and flakey fish. I was very happy with the result and will do more oven steaming in the future."
Paul Anderson from Maine
blackened halibut southwest-flavored tacos
"I've never had fish tacos, and the first time I heard about them, I thought that was a strange way to eat fish. So I thought I'd give it a try this week. My choices from the list that were available were Haddock and Halibut. The Halibut looked so nice and fresh, that I could not resist. I found a recipe with a southwest flavoring and went with soft corn tortillas. I used a cajun dry rub on the halibut stakes and pan seared them with a little coconut oil, about 4 minutes each sides. Warm tortillas were filled with thin slices of green cabbage and red onion, then chunks of cooked fish, a homemade southwest sauce, avocado slices, then garnished with diced red pepper, cilantro and served with a lime wedge. It was incredibly flavorful and light. Uno mas cerveza por favor! Southwest sauce: mayonnaise, lime juice, honey, vinegar, cayenne, paprika, garlic powder, cumin, salt, oregano."
Debbie Proffitt from Rhode Island
"Another week of research and learning for me... Jonah crabs was on my list but I learned that they are different from Rock Crabs but often found in the same locations. They are primarily caught as by-catch in the lobster fishing, are unregulated, available live, year round but I did not find any. Croaker is a by catch of shrimp trawlers found from Cape Cod to Texas, very productive in the Chesapeake Bay, I didn't find any. Swordfish, which I purchased and prepared, but have regularly - I was hoping for a new fish. It is available July - Dec, not experiencing overfishing, is about 5% above the established target and may contain higher levels of mercury (don't like that idea). John Dory - this is a fish I was hoping to find and try but wasn't able to. It is not pursued commercially, caught in small quantities as bycatch on squid boats, one of the best table fish available, available year round. The filets are naturally boneless, have a firm texture, buttery flavor and best prepared simply. I'm going to continue my hunt for this fish so I can try it - may have to resort to asking my friend who fishes commercially for squid... but he's out fishing!! A learning week with no chance to try a new fish! I will keep hunting!"
Jayne Martin from Connecticut
"I have never cooked squid before and as a matter of fact - never even really handled it before. BUT now that I have, I will definitely cook it again!"
Andrea McCarthy from Connecticut
Ginger scallion lobster with head and carapace shell
"This week included trying to find butterfish but was told it would be another couple of weeks before the fish market would have some in stock. Another species for this week was haddock, which I found at a store a couple of weeks ago, but the stores contacted this week either did not have it in stock, or it was from Iceland. When asking about Mahogany clams, one fishmonger said that they are small and do not contain much meat. The only species found this week was Maine lobster. Lobster is very versatile and made ginger scallion lobster (http://thewoksoflife.com/2014/12/ginger-scallion-lobster-cantonese/) with the tail and legs. With the claw meat, made a lobster roll. And made lobster broth for a later meal with all the shells."
Judy Tarr from Massachusetts
"I told my son, who lives in Arizona, about this project when it began. I told him "When you visit this summer, you can help me search...and eat!" He arrived yesterday, and was very happy to learn that lobster was on the list for his homecoming meal...complete with the stuffies I had frozen from a previous week's list as an appetizer. No searching necessary, as the local chain grocer had them on sale, directly from the waters of Maine."
Clay Groves from New Hampshire
"Eating squid was superfun and the kids really got a kick out of it. It was easier to cook than you might think and super yummy. A pound of squid goes a long way so it's inexpensive."
Red Hake - wild and wonderful!
Rindy Sicard from Rhode Island
"I think I really like the Hake as the appearance and texture after cooking reminded me of my favorite cod. It looked familiar to me! The flavor was a little milder than cod. Mussels were on my list again this week, which I had already chosen twice before and really didn't like the texture of them. I decided on Hake this week and glad I did. I prepared it in a very simple way, sautéd in a little olive oil, butter and lemon."
Kat Champigny from Maine
"I had some Jonah crab fresh on salad with Chipotle lime goat cheese and a cilantro lime yogurt dressing- Fabulous!! Also made crab Rangoons for Chinese night... Delicious, but most of the filling fell out in the fryer due to my poor pinching technique. Should have learned from the crabs!!"
Kate Aubin from Rhode Island
"I ate steamers all the time growing up. In fact, I think they were the first seafood I ever tried. I have fond memories of my father buying 4-5 pounds of steamers and the two of us sitting at the kitchen table eating them together. My father and I don't have much in common and don't hang out much, but this was always an opportunity for the two of us to spend time together. I've been waiting for steamers to appear on my list and was super excited when I saw that this was the week! I drove by Anchor Seafood in Warwick on Thursday and saw that Maine steamers were on sale for $2.99/lb. This was great news and I looked forward to buying 4 or 5 pounds to share with my father. Alas, when I went to purchase them on Saturday, they had changed the price to $4.99/lb, so I only purchased two pounds and didn't have enough to share. I assume the price increase is due to the holiday weekend. Regardless they were very tasty and easy to prepare (I'd never cooked them at home before)."
Carolyn St Jean Gogan from Rhode Island
Cunner seared in a brown butter sauce
"Cunner is a difficult fish to find. And most seafood markets don't know what it is. So I was happy to see it at Champlin's in Point Judith. Unless you have an area outside where you can scale a fish, I would not recommend getting whole Cunner. Also, please invest in a good fillet knife. There are sites on the web that show you how to clean whole fish that are easy to follow. But it is time consuming. The fillets were small so I simply dredged them in seasoned flour and pan seared them in a brown butter sauce. They were very tasty . I would buy Cunner again because it is very inexpensive, good to eat, and I need practice in cleaning fish." Also congrats to Carolyn for being the first person to find cunner!
Julian Chawarski from Maine
"Lobster is always available anywhere within stones throw of the coast during the summer, so I chose to buy a lobster from a home-based business, on my way home from a spectacular day at the beach. At Clam Hunter, they sold cherrystones, steamers, oysters, and lobsters. I bought lobster and my partner bought steamers. After a sun-filled day, we went home and steamed them in a double steamer and dipped the clams and picked lobster meat in a butter with lemon juice, crushed garlic and cilantro. It doesn't really get any better than that..."
Andrea McCarthy from Connecticut
Fresh loligo squid
"For week eight, I was looking for halibut, squid, Acadian redfish, and herring. The stores I contacted this week had halibut, but from Canada. Neither store had Acadian redfish, also known as ocean perch, nor did it seem like they knew what fish that was. While the only herring offered was pickled. But both stores had local squid from Connecticut, which I was excited about because last week was cephalopod week on a weekly radio show, Science Friday. I had just listened (and watched: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdpR6h-r9YQ) to how baby squid move through the water by jet propulsion. It’s cool to see their movement in water. The type of squid available was Loligo squid as known as long fin squid. Cleaning squid is a pretty easy and quick process, and the cooking process is fast. I decided to stuff the squid for my meal. The recipe I used was from the website epicurious (http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/stuffed-squid-109008). It was very delicious, easy, and an all around great meal."
Sion Vaughan-Thomas from Massachusetts
"I would tell people that I love how bluefish is a local species. It is one of my favorites to eat! I learned that getting the rest of the fish on my list was very difficult"
Aubrey Church from Massachusetts
"For week 8 of #EatLikeAFish I had to search for Spiny Dogfish, Striped Bass, Butterfish and Acadian Redfish. I was hoping to find Spiny Dogfish on the cape, but I think I would have better luck going closer to Chatham. Striped Bass commercial fishing season opened today, so I was lucky enough to find it at local seafood markets! As On The Water Magazine likes to say, “you have 98 days between Memorial Day and Labor day to pack in your vacations, barbeques, and of course, your summer of striped bass fishing.” June is the “perfect month” because water temperatures are in the 55 to 65 degrees range, and bait is abundant. In July, its considered the “Monster Month” with big schools of stripers taking residence around Block Island and open water. With a rich flavor and large firm flakes, striped bass is a popular saltwater fish that is important both for commercial and recreational fishing. Tonight for dinner I made grilled striped bass, with a pineapple tequila salsa! Delicious! ??Stay tuned for next week’s #fishtale. #eatingwiththeecosystem #piertoplate #seatotable #eatlocal #newenglandseafood #eatseafood #eatfish #fishma #commercialfishing #knowyourfish #capecod #stripedbass #summer #stripers #localseafood #myfishingcapecod #docktodish #boattotable #fresh #local"
Julia Mennone from Rhode Island
"My friend, Ryoko had shared her perfect method for cooking scallops with me. When I got them home I sprinkled with a bit of salt and let sit on a plate. Then I patted them dry and added to a pan with 50/50 olive oil and butter (this way they don't burn). I cooked on each side for 3.5 minutes and they had a perfect sear! Topped a caesar salad with homemade salad dressing and served with a stuffed scallop, which I also got a Daves. Have really enjoyed this whole experience! Summer is so busy but we're having a least one (sometimes more) fresh, home cooked meal at home each week. xo"
Sarah Nahabedian from Connecticut
""Poor Woman's Lobster"** This week, both my partner and I (he is also doing this study), had one similar fish on our fish list- Monkfish, aka Goosefish. I have had Monkfish in the past and very much enjoyed it, so I was excited to look for it. Luckily, the fish market down the road had one, and a fresh one! The guy behind the counter brought out the fish before he filleted it- I knew they were ugly, but wow! We dressed this fish in a lemon, garlic, and butter sauce and baked it. It took a long time to bake because it was so thick. Once finished, the meat on the fish resembles that of a lobster tail. With the herbs and butter, the dish was quite tasty. I would definitely buy this fish again. The price was perfect and a pound was enough for two people. ** Lobster actually used to be considered poor person's food up until around the 20th Century."
Deborah Mager from Connecticut
Calamari w/Lemon-Basil Sauce and Sweet Chili Ginger Sriracha Sauce
"Once again I was very disappointed that a large store like Shoprite (although each store is individually owned) didn't have any species locally landed. Whole Foods came through again! The squid looked great! Now to get it home and prepare it. My hope was that the squid would taste as good or close to as good as what I have eaten in different restaurants. I never imagined that it could be better! Prepared squid basically has no flavor but comes alive when served with a sauce of some sort. I now beg to differ after cooking it at home. The squid I made at home tasted fresher and had a nice mild flavor that could have been served with just a squeeze of lemon, although I had made two different sauces to serve with it. I will think twice before ordering squid out in a restaurant again after making it at home. Squid is easy to prepare and tastes better made at home!"
Cathy Pedtke from Massachusetts
"Who wants to cook when it's 90 degrees outside? I've been making any fish I can into ceviche. Before this study, I would've been a little concerned about making ceviche safely at home, but I've learned a lot about the fish I've eaten through internet research and recipe searches, and I'm more confident knowing the fish I'm buying now is local and very fresh."
Kim Gainey from Massachusetts
Yellowtail flounder with a rock crab stuffing
"I was looking forward to making skate but only found it frozen. Iv never had it when it has been frozen so I went for the yellowtail flounder on my list. The filets were very small so I made a rock crab stuffing and rolled the flounder. Rock crab was also on my list so it was a twofer. I baked it, super easy, super delicious! I will keep it on my list of must eat fish... Yum! I am stilling hoping for some fresh skate though??✌️"
Michelle Nelson from Connecticut
"I found whole Black Sea bass at Seawell. I tweaked a bon appetit recipe and stuffed the fish with fresh mint, tarragon, basil, garlic, shallot, lemon, saffron and orange flower water. Delicious! Eating a whole fish does come with the challenge of the many bones but it was all part of the experience. Dined al fresco on a perfect evening, great way to celebrate the holiday!"
fresh MA caught tuna
Jayne Martin from Connecticut
"My griiling of the tuna went very well, 1.5 minutes on each side led to the raw center. Perfect! It looked great but really lack any flavor. With my eyes closed, I would never know that I was eating any seafood. The price shocked me! $29.00/lb is really over my budget for one tuna steak. But - live and learn. I am enjoying the hunt each week!!"
During week 6, our citizen scientists made 123 individual market visits and cooked up some mouthwatering meals! They also learned some new information about why markets carry some species over other. Many participants have told me that the markets they have visited will tell them "oh we don't carry ______ species because there is no consumer demand for it", "we only sell that to restaurants", or "we have never heard of that species". However, due to the continuous requests for local species some markets are beginning to see that there is demand for local seafood and are starting to carry more of it! Join our citizen scientists by asking for local seafood and go outside your comfort zone and try something new! You might be surprised, as many of participants have found, that some of these less familiar species are not only local but also extremely tasty! One participant even found a treasure while eating her dinner!
Rebecca Stevens from Massachussets
A clam pearl!
"What a great experience this week! I stopped at a different Stop & Shop first, which had very little selection. Next stop Whole Foods, where I was able to purchase some littlenecks. I've made mussels at home before but only had steamers at a restaurant. Cooked them in some beer, served with melted butter. They were delicious. Got to my last one and found a pearl! I learned that clams don't make pearls as frequently as oysters, and clam pearls have a porcelain finish, as opposed to the lustrous finish of oyster pearls."
Kirstien Davidson from New Hampshire
Pesto Haddock!
"I lucked out this week getting the last filet of locally caught haddock at the fish market! Talking with the fish monger, he said normally they sell the locally caught fish to local restaurants because people buying it in the market want bigger pieces. I grew up eating haddock, normally either baked stuffed or in a chowder, but decided to try something different for this one. I stopped at Tendercrop Farm in Dover on the way home and picked up some lemon basil aioli. To prepare the fish, I put pesto over the top and wrapped it in tin foil. Then I grilled it for about 15-20 minutes. Once it was done, I put the aioli sauce on top. I served it with some grilled veggies and pasta with more of the pesto sauce. My daughter actually ate quite a bit of it for once!"
Lisa Jarosik from Connecticut
Fresh Black Sea Bass
"I looked all over for Black sea bass. When I called the store I purchased it from, the owner of the store had actually caught the fish himself in Groton and brought it back to the store. It was very fresh and looked delicious even uncooked."
Meggan Dwyer from Maine
"The two markets I visit are run by fishermen families so they are pretty well versed in what is the usual catch in these parts. Neither had heard of sea robin even by is other name Guenard. They both said they rarely if ever had sculpin or periwinkles. But they always have haddock! That seems true of most of the markets around here - plenty of haddock! I hope I don't spend the whole summer with haddock as my default fish as it is not really my favorite."
David Ford from Rhode Island
Roasted sea bass with grilled peach salsa
"For week 6 I found just off the boat Striped Bass at my first stop - Andrade's in Bristol, RI. I coated the filet with olive oil, sea salt and cracked pepper, then roasted at 300 for 30 minutes. I served it with a grilled peach salsa. My dinner guests were very happy!"
Mary Tanzer from New Hampshire
"I love fried clams. I have never made them at home before, however, since frying causes such a mess, greasy mist all over the kitchen, not to mention calories! I purchased a hot air fryer - specifically because of the clams on my list, actually (and because I love my kitchen gadgets). I did not really enjoy having to shuck the clams having never done it before - much easier when you steam them and the clams open up for you! The air fryer worked very well - no grease but a nice crisp exterior. The clams were tender and sweet. It was so easy and so tasty. A great success for my first attempt."
Debbie Mathieu from Rhode Island
more Poached Cod with a Spanish Twist!
"Even though I had been to that Stop and Shop in the past and was told they don't carry local fish, I was told today that they occasionally carry local fish - it costs more - and they do not advertise it! We discussed how they have little space in the weekly flyer for fish and therefore they could not post limited items like local items. Big stumbling block. The store I did purchase at was manned by two women with some difficulties with English - Portugese speaking. They told me the cod was local from New England...but the price was so low for a fresh fish. Taste was great! Also when poached with rice and some veggies, went a long way and could easily feed family with salad, rolls, etc. Still perfecting my recipe ... will add some canned diced tomatoes next time."
Terry Hahn from Rhode Island
"Never had cooked live crabs before-they were almost a pound a piece. I asked a friend from the south about cooking them, and the retailer. Got info on picking or cleaning, step by step on a chowhound internet site, then got a recipe from a chef friend for crab cakes. (have some crab bake/casserole recipes that I like but wanted to try crab cakes-hate the bready, squishy ones often found in restaurants) The joy of cleaning them escapes me-but a southern friend says you need people, beer, music, a sunny afternoon, to really enjoy that part. The retailer also had local crab meat-would buy that next time! Learned a few things I didn't know about cooking live crabs.Glad I had this opportunity-would probably never have gotten around to trying this on my own."
Rachel Hutchinson from Massachusetts
Dab on top of local greens
"This was the second time I enjoyed Dab from my fish list. Most of my other first was out of season, and even illegal to sell at this time of year in Massachusetts. I had an opportunity to grab some whole scup off a fishing boat when they came in, but I missed the boat so to speak. Stripped Bass is not yet in season in Massachusetts for commercial harvest, and although recreational harvest is open and possibly RI is open, it is illegal for fish markets in Massachusetts to have stripped bass for sale. Dab is such a fine delicate white fish I didn't want to do to much to it so as not to destroy it. I decided to make a hyper local/ seasonal meal of greens and fish. I sautéed up some baby bok coy some asparagus and Swiss chard with garlic scapes. I added the fish and put the leafy greens on top of the fish to essentially poach it. It was super easy to prepare, and delicious and was local and in season."
Christina Rodriguez from Rhode Island
Spicy squid with greens & kimchi over rice.
"We marinated our squid in pickled chili sauce first, then pan-seared it with onion, greens (kale), bacon, & kimchi, and served it over rice. This was the first time we made this recipe and it was hot and spicy, which we enjoyed immensely."
Baked Cod with a horseradish, carrot and breadcrumb crust along side purple potato with fresh chives, and buttered corn.
Michelle Nelson from Connecticut
"Prepared the cod for Father's Day dinner for my husband and father-in-law. They enjoyed the preparation. I bought 2.6 lbs because I was serving 5 people. We all had plenty and there was enough for 2 small portions as left overs. I covered the fish with a combo of sour cream, horseradish, Italian breadcrumbs and shredded carrot. It baked 17 mins at 400."
Caitlin Peterson from New Hampshire
"I was surprised to find local fish in Shaw's! I've struck out in large chain grocery stores many times throughout this project, so I've been making more of an effort to seek out fish markets. This week was really busy and I didn't have time to drive out of my way to a fish market, so I figured I'd at least grab a "zero" data point by hitting up another large chain grocery store. To my surprise, the fish selection at Shaw's was not bad! I'll definitely stop there again to check on their fish selection when I don't have time to make it to a market that's farther away. Haddock was a nice species to find on a busy week - easy to cook, fits into lots of familiar recipes, and not a big barrier to sharing with others because the taste is familiar to so many!"
Debbie Proffitt from Rhode Island
Steamaahs! Simple and Sweet!
"Simple and Sweet Steamaahs!! I was excited to see soft shell clams on my list this week because I hadn't had them in a very long time. We tend to buy little necks or eat the soft shells clams as fried clams. I was surprised I couldn't find wild mussels but maybe it was timing and because there are some mussel farms in the area, not sure. I did not find herring or spot. I bought a big bunch of soft shell clams and we steamed them up - they were sweet and delicious! And it was very simple and easy."
Aubrey Church from Massachusetts
"For week 6 of #eatlikeafish my four species to search for were: Halibut, Sea Urchin, Peekytoe Crab and herring. I was only able to find #halibut. Atlantic halibut are the largest flatfish in the world. They are a right sided flounder, with a very large mouth filled with sharp, curved teeth. The Massachusetts State Record is 321 pounds caught in 1965 in Massachusetts Bay. Atlantic halibut has a mild, white meat. It is flaky, and firm, but tender when cooked. For dinner I made Bahamian Halibut! The fish was marinated in #darkrum #limejuice and put on the grill. I served it with a mango/pineapple avocado salsa. Delicious! Follow along for next week's #fishtale. #eatingwiththeecosystem #eatfish #eatlocal #knowyourfish #supportlocalfishermen"
Michelle Pechie from Rhode Island
"I had the fish monger at Anchor Seafood find me whole fish from my list, and he came up with 2 small to medium haddock. They were beauties with bright, clear eyes and only a wiff of the sea!! I was going to fry them whole in the Thai style, but relented to my husband who is a bit more conservative than I. Tempura required I filet them my self. I saved the carcasses for stock so my lack of skill did not result in waste!! Haddock is a lovely, sweet fleshed fish that brings me back to my youth, when it was the fish and chip fish of choice. I'm hoping to acquire a more unfamiliar fish next week."
Daryl Popper from Massachussetts
Herb crusted Haddock with sriracha aioli and baked onion rings
Carolyn St.Jean Gogan from Rhode Island
Chorizo and Rice Stuffed Squid
"I found squid at all three places but one could not tell me if it was locally caught and none of them had fresh tubes. They only had fresh squid rings. I really wanted fresh but I ended up buying frozen tubes since that was all I could get. The frozen worked out fine. I stuffed them with a mixture of chorizo and seasoned rice topped with a nice roasted red pepper sauce. I bought medium sized tubes but next time I will buy the larger ones so that they would be easier to stuff. And since I purchased two and a half pounds, the next day I sliced the tubes and made calamari. So my family ate well for two days."
Pamela Corcoran from Maine
"I appreciated eating the quahogs chilled in a salad. This approach was new for me, but made perfect sense given how hot it was (90+). I imagined the clams as I might have used a firm flesh fish in a composed salad. I n chopped them up and added to a tomato, cucumber feta cheese and parsley mix. Garnished with red onion, parsley and lemon it was delicious. Easy, inexpensive and delicious. Of course the "bonus" clam broth went to the freezer for colder days and chowder soup."
