Days 19-20: Fish Heads and Hikes

Weight: 193.2

Yesterday, I cheated and had a box lunch when consultants came in to teach about technology. It was a salad though, and I could have gathered roughly the same items at home. Indeed, it was somewhat frustrating that it had lettuce, pears, carrots, and cucumbers--all of which I could have gathered at home, but it did have some walnuts, so a true cheat. This put me on the warpath to prove something. So, that night I went fishing. I was not after perch but something larger, and indeed I got a decent rock sole, a bit smaller than the one my son is holding to the left. I cooked it like fish and chips with some of my rye flour, but had no "chips".

Then today, while my son practiced football, I walked in the rain for a couple hours in a trail tucked away behind our local library. I found lots of inedible mushrooms, including several galerinas (deadly). So it was a mycological bust. But I at least kept my spirits up with lots of wet (from rain) and tasty red clover flowers and assorted berries along the way. The prevalence of blackberies around here makes this too easy. I tried something that looked like an olive, but I shouldn't have since it was not an olive but a berry that I recall was inedible (don't try this reckless method at home) but I only swished it around and spit it out. The whole thing was exhausting and so when I got home I pulled out a whole head of lettuce, and added some tomato mint and nasturtium flower (see pic). That left me somewhat depressed about the lack of strong nourishment. I almost ate a cucumber but it was too small and I'll wait and hope the rain gets it up in size by the end of my adventure.

So, fortunately, I thought ahead yesterday and saved the fish head and spine and tail. I used this to create a fish broth (with some nifty spices from the rack) and a couple pulls of garlic. I then used this broth to boil assorted big greens from the yard, like nasturtium leaves, huge dandelion leaves that I missed earlier, and some spinach that never quite looked good in my backyard. Perhaps I planted the latter at the wrong time or didn't get it enough sun. Who knows, but I do know that the greens in fish broth was worth the work. I am completely sated. Almost over ate. Now, I should start being careful of my fish intake. I will hold off after this experiment on the seafood because I don't want my mercury levels to rise, and I believe the head might contain extra stores of the heavy metals. Nonetheless, I can attest that fish heads make a great soup. I got the idea from a southeast asian friend on the pier. They have a couple traditional dishes I'll try again once I can buy some other ingredients like white wine and rice noodles.

One piece of good news: I felt like a real failure since the whole experiment was undertaken on the assumption that I'd be catching my fair share of salmon. On this side of the sound, with the sea grass and the currents, using my kayak has not been that effective. I hope to go back to Whidbey this weekend but the saltwater salmon season is ended. But again, good news: I found from a student that I can hit the Snohomish river. I have a combo license. I should have known this. In any case, the kayak will work much better on the river, so I will be down there before this is all over. If so, I will end on a high. We shall see. I'm confident in my buzz bomb and I may get back to the fly fishing on the river, upstream.