Sazzy's Degustation Diary: Wednesday 17th Sep '08

Aaah - I slept in until the early afternoon today. I really did want to get up earlier to get some things done during the day but just couldn't drag myself out of my warm bed. Needed to catch up on the sleep.

I went outside to water my plants and picked a few strawberries.

they're so munted!!

I went to the seafood store down Warton Road in Southern River and picked up a few things. I feel like seafood these next few days. I bought some clam meat without the shells this time. I'll do a pasta and maybe have some in a nice creamy garlic sauce. I also bought some bamboo clams to try. Let's see if I can google a photo of them...

Here we go...they're a tubular shape - I suppose that's why they're called bamboo clams! The clams in this photo look delicious! Maybe they can be our next Iron Chef ingredient!??

The store didn't have any lobsters and wouldn't have any until next month so I had to make a mad dash to Thornlie Square to pick one up from the Macrofish store. I also bought some mussels. Out of habit, everytime I walk past them on the way to Coles, I always glance at the oysters. Today they had some that were not yet shucked and I almost squealed in excitement. Last night I had come across a short online video on how to shuck oysters and now finding some oysters in need of shucking...it was just meant to be!

At home, I took Simba for a quick run around the park and back home. Mum had made some ho fun (again...she's really in the mood for this dish lately isn't she!?) and I ate some. Not too much though because I wanted to save room for some seafood I was going to cook later on.

Mum's Ho Fun with Fish, Beef, Prawns & Vegetables

I set about washing the mussels and then eagerly got the oysters out to try my very first attempt at shucking them. I used a butter knife because I didn't want to cut myself. I tried to wedge the tip into the 'hinge' of the shell but after trying a few I was beginning to think there would be no oysters for me tonight. I just couldn't seem to get the knife far enough between the shells to pry it open. I rushed to my computer and googled some tips on shucking oysters. The consensus was that practice makes perfect. Great.

I went back to the kitchen to tackle the oysters and after a few more attempts managed to pry one open. YAY! As I shucked each one, I could feel myself getting the hang of it. I don't think I'll be doing it again any time soon though. I think it would be easier to shuck them if they were fresh oysters.

enjoyed with a squeeze of fresh lemon and tobasco sauce

I made some chilli mussels using Teresa's sweet chilli sauce. That sauce is so versatile!! We didn't have any garlic bread so I improvised by spreading some slices of sandwich bread with butter, chopped garlic and a sprinkle of mixed herbs. I toasted them in my sandwich press.

Jocelyn's boyfriend's parents own a fish and chip shop and he bought me a bag of CORNJACKS! I've been trying to get someone to buy me some in bulk for over ten years but no one has ever come through for me until tonight! You can't buy cornjacks from the freezer section of the supermarket. I absolutely love them!