As the summer quickly approaches and you have learned about all these great ways to incorporate local seafood into your life at school, the question remains, what do you do when you go home for the summer? Obviously, you can incorporate the tricks you've learned so far through this blog into your lifestyle at home, but you can also start doing new things away from campus! The goal of this post is to introduce you to some fun new activities that you can do over the summer to increase the locality of your seafood consumption.
One way to include local seafood into your diet this summer is by catching it yourself! What is more local than that? If you enjoy fishing, you can fish from shore or go out on a boat with your friends or family. This will allow you to catch different species that you know are definitely local and be able to try them. This is a fun activity that you can do with your friends or family, or it can be something to do on your own for some quiet time. Whatever the case may be, if you are going to fish, please make sure that you are abiding by the state/municipal rules for the area you are in. These rules can be found easily through state websites, and include any fishing license information and catch limits to specific species. For example, these are the marine fishing regulations for the state of Rhode Island: http://www.dem.ri.gov/programs/marine-fisheries/rimftoc.php.
If fishing isn't your style, but you still want to try catching your own seafood, try clamming! Clamming is a fun way to eat locally while staying close to shore. Clamming is also an activity that does not require multiple pieces of equipment. All you really need is a clam rake or shovel to dig up your clams, and a bucket to store them! I think that this is a great way to incorporate local seafood while on summer break, especially if you find yourself at the beach often. Similar to fishing, however, if you are going to go clamming, please make sure you are following your state/municipality regulations. The Rhode Island clamming regulations can be found here: http://www.dem.ri.gov/programs/water/shellfish/shellfish-closure-maps.php
Although these activities are really engaging ways to incorporate local seafood into your life away from campus this summer, you may not have access to the ocean to go either fishing or clamming. If this is the case, one fun way to change up your diet of local species is to cook them over a fire! Fires are always a staple during the summer time, and they are such a great way to cook marshmallows, hot dogs, and especially seafood. Just head to your local fish market or grocery store, select your favorite local species, grab some tinfoil and some fresh veggies, and that's it. Wrap up the fish in some tinfoil along with the fresh veggies and some olive oil, and roast it over the open flame. The rule of thumb is to cook your fish for ten minutes for every inch of thickness. A well oiled grill helps prevent the fish from sticking. This method can also be done using a grill if open flames are not feasible. Grilling is also a great way to cook seafood in the summer when you don’t want to heat up your kitchen. Stuff a whole fish with some lemon and herbs and throw it on the grill or roast some oysters on the grill then add some herb butter and enjoy! These methods are super simple and quick, but makes for a great meal to share around the fire on those warm summer nights.
A seafood boil or lobster/crab/clam bake is another fun option to incorporate more local seafood and outdoor cooking into your diets this summer. Check out this simple guide for a New England style clam bake for some inspiration.
And lastly, when you don’t feel like cooking or using heat at all, try making crab or lobster roll at home or enjoy a delicious poke bowl using some local fish!
Although you have learned so many great ways to include local seafood into your diet on campus, these are some ways you can bring it home to your friends and family over summer break. Challenge yourself and your friends and family this summer to get involved! It will lead to fun days, great memories, and even better food!