Now that I have finished my summer course work I can concentrate on some more harvesting. Yesterday local chef and sommeleir Cefferino M. and I headed across the bay for some clams. The seas were flat and the fog hung in beautiful wisps and curls along the live and green Sitka Spruce trees, unlike the spruce on this side of the bay that have been killed by the spruce bark beetle. It always amazes me that in a 10 mile distance the devistation of the beetle kill is so dramatic. On the Homer side a majority the trees are dead and brown, yet the other side of the bay has such a different climate that the trees had enough moisture to combat the infestation.
We ended up on a hot bed of streamers, butters, and cockles. The streamers, the sweetest and most tender of the clams, were mostly two plus inches across. Nicky said that these are some old clams. We left a lot of sub-legal clams, which means good recruitment for years to come. The sun poked out a couple of times and by the time we headed back the fog had lifted, but the seas were still calm. Last night Nicky and I had steamed clams dipped in garlic butter, fresh tomatos from our greenhouse, and sauteed garden fresh spinach with shallots. An attempt was made to halibut fish today, however the fog has rolled in and visibility is limited, so we will try tomorrow.
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