And now he won't leave...
Monday, December 31, 2012
Happy New Year!
This is the sight that greeted us after returning from our week spent visiting family and friends in the Seattle area. Juneau often feels a bit surreal to me, and with all the darkness and snow and ice I feel like I am living in the world of Peter Hoeg's novel Smilla's Sense of Snow. The fresh water on the surface freezes when the temperature drops and intricate patterns are created by the motion of the tides and the currents moving through the harbor.
Saturday, December 8, 2012
Ah, Alessandro!
I blame Matt entirely.
One of our current dark-of-winter entertainments is following the Vendee Globe, a round the world solo sailboat race which began November 10. In the beginning I chose Samantha Davies as my favorite, the only woman competitor. But early on she was dismasted (but thankfully not injured) so I cast around for another favorite. Matt tried to draw my attention to some guy who was dead last, but I ignored him and fixated on the Laughing Cow boat. (Who can resist a boat with the Laughing Cow of cheese plastered bigger than life on the mainsail? I couldn't.) But soon that boat had a mix up with a trawler and was also out of the race, or 'retired' as they say.
Once again Matt brought up this Alessandro guy who was still in last place. "But he's having fun!" Matt said, and made me watch a video of a French-Italian guy talking animatedly about the sprouts he was growing in the cabin of his sailboat. Other videos followed: images of porpoises playing off the bow, the birds that came to visit Alessandro's boat at sea, Alessandro making pan fried bread and adding jam (I'm a big pan fried bread fan too), Alessandro hanging out in Speedos, Alessandro in his wacky get-up for the equatorial crossing, and Alessandro in action in the cockpit grinding away at his winch, which is not nearly as naughty as it sounds. All of this he does with a twinkle in his eye. Not knowing French (or Italian) I cannot understand a word he says, except for 'voila', 'soleil', and 'ciao ciao'. But what I can understand is that he really is having fun, and has tremendous joy for being exactly where he is at.
So yes, I blame Matt for the big crush I've developed on Alessandro, but both of us welcome the lively distraction from the cold and dark that looms outside our own cabin on these long winter evenings.
If you want to see what the fuss is about, check out Alessandro di Benedetto's Team Plastique site, and the Vendee Globe page.
One of our current dark-of-winter entertainments is following the Vendee Globe, a round the world solo sailboat race which began November 10. In the beginning I chose Samantha Davies as my favorite, the only woman competitor. But early on she was dismasted (but thankfully not injured) so I cast around for another favorite. Matt tried to draw my attention to some guy who was dead last, but I ignored him and fixated on the Laughing Cow boat. (Who can resist a boat with the Laughing Cow of cheese plastered bigger than life on the mainsail? I couldn't.) But soon that boat had a mix up with a trawler and was also out of the race, or 'retired' as they say.
Once again Matt brought up this Alessandro guy who was still in last place. "But he's having fun!" Matt said, and made me watch a video of a French-Italian guy talking animatedly about the sprouts he was growing in the cabin of his sailboat. Other videos followed: images of porpoises playing off the bow, the birds that came to visit Alessandro's boat at sea, Alessandro making pan fried bread and adding jam (I'm a big pan fried bread fan too), Alessandro hanging out in Speedos, Alessandro in his wacky get-up for the equatorial crossing, and Alessandro in action in the cockpit grinding away at his winch, which is not nearly as naughty as it sounds. All of this he does with a twinkle in his eye. Not knowing French (or Italian) I cannot understand a word he says, except for 'voila', 'soleil', and 'ciao ciao'. But what I can understand is that he really is having fun, and has tremendous joy for being exactly where he is at.
So yes, I blame Matt for the big crush I've developed on Alessandro, but both of us welcome the lively distraction from the cold and dark that looms outside our own cabin on these long winter evenings.
If you want to see what the fuss is about, check out Alessandro di Benedetto's Team Plastique site, and the Vendee Globe page.
Spot on
A trio of beheaded Pandalus platyceros
One of the benefits to living in a marina in Southeast Alaska is the opportunity to buy fresh seafood directly from our neighboring fishing boats. About a month ago we saw that one of the locals was open for business. Several people were in line. I took this to be a good recommendation for whatever catch they were hawking, made Matt give me all his cash in his wallet, and joined the queue.
The sign said prawns, but the fishing people called them shrimp. I really had no idea what exactly I was buying, but I happily took my bag back to our boat. Once we had satiated ourselves with a meal of pink-hued sea bugs I figured I should learn more about the little critters that were gracing my tummy with their presence.
To start with, I decided that the white spots were not random blemishes but an important key to identification. Sure enough a bit of internet research revealed that we had innocently gorged on spot prawns, or Pandalus platyceros, highly regarded in the culinary world for their sweet taste and firm texture.
I learned that the terms 'shrimp' and 'prawns' are used interchangeably, and that P. platyceros have a very interesting sex life.
Although the commercial season seems to be short and sporadic, we've scored spot prawns a few times now. We've determined that our favorite way to eat them is to simply boil them, peel the shells off, and then dip them in a mixture of Sriracha and Thai sweet red chili sauce.
Some spot prawn facts:
They are the largest West coast shrimp, and females can grow to 23 cm or more in length.
They range from the Aleutians to Southern California, as well as the Sea of Japan and Korea Strait.
Their typical lifespan is 7 to 11 years.
They become sexually mature at 3 years.
They practice protandric hermaphroditism. (Meaning they all begin their lives as males, and then at around 4 years of age turn into females. I guess this gives all those mature female prawns a great excuse to date youthful males - they don't have any other choice!)
In the past, Southeast Alaska was called the 'shrimp treasure house'. Although not as abundant now, the spot prawn fishery shows promise as an environmentally sustainable one. (So I don't have to feel too guilty about my newest addiction...)
My sources included:
The Spot Prawn Fishery Status Report
Alaska Department of Fish and Game
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