Fresh Seafood

This section has articles on preparing, cooking and serving all types of seafood, including fish, lobsters, crabs, shrimp, clams, oysters, scallops and other seafood.

By daybreak
Published: August 30, 2007
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Combining 2 passions can sometimes achieve even more fulfilling experiences than either pastime would provide in their own. A good example of this can be enjoying two seasonal pleasures, fresh vegetables from the garden mated with fresh caught fish and other seafood.

Certain foods just seem to compliment one another and nowhere is this more evident than the marriage of seafood and garden fresh herbs, vegetables and fruits. For example shrimp, oysters and many white fish are complimented by lemon while crab cakes are delicious with a fresh sliced garden tomato. Lobsters just seem to be better with a fresh ear of corn on the side. Other seafood items plead to be paired with herbs such as cilantro, basil or oregano.

Many of the most respected seafood recipes are simply incomplete without garden fresh vegetables, fruits and herbs. Shrimp Scampi is one of the most popular seafood dishes known. Most scampi recipes mate shrimp with garlic, lemon and fresh herbs. Clam chowder is exquisite with garden tomatoes, onions and carrots.

A Seafood Lover's Garden

Seafood lovers' gardens vary by location but might include greens, corn, lima beans, potatoes, tomatoes, sweet peppers, hot peppers, squash, onions, shallots, garlic, dill, chives, parsley, cilantro, oregano and more.

Giving Back to Your Garden

Discarded seafood parts can enrich your garden and provide much needed minerals to your soil. Shrimp, lobsters and crabs all have a hard shell that can be added to your compost pile or buried in the garden. Fish bones, scales, skins and carcasses are other excellent additions to your garden soil. Even seaweed, rinsed to remove the salt,  makes a superb mulch or compost additive. These are all simple, environmentally friendly, natural ways to dispose of seafood discards while enriching your garden. The results can be amazing!

Other seafood by products may not be needed for compost but can be used or recycled in some way. Clam shells make great walkways, or other fill for other projects. Mussel and oyster and other shells can be crushed and made available to poultry that need the calcium in order to produce strong egg shells. The belly sections of many fish can be brined, frozen and kept for fishing bait. In some cases, entire carcasses can be saved for crabbing or other baits.

 

Seafood Recipes that Blend Fresh Fruits, Vegetables and Herbs:

Instructions:

In a large, non-reactive bowl, stir together the olive oil, lemon juice, parsley, garlic, and black pepper. Season with crushed red pepper, if desired. Add shrimp, and toss to coat. Marinate in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Preheat grill for high heat. Thread shrimp onto skewers, piercing once near the tail and once near the head. Discard any remaining marinade.

Lightly oil grill grate. Grill for 2 to 3 minutes per side, or until opaque.

Summer Clam Chowder

Ingredients:

Instructions:

Note: Use freshly shucked clams, saving clam juice.

Snip the clams into small pieces using kitchen shears.

Remove the stomach sections and discard.

Dice the vegetables.

Combine the ingredients, clams and juice in a sauce pan.

Season with pepper. Add water as needed to cover the ingredients and simmer for 2 hours on medium heat.

 

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