It's winter time here in South Africa now and lately it has been bloody cold, this is perhaps the worst time of year on the mussel farm for me. The Mussel Cat leaves the jetty at around 06h30 and in winter sunrise is only at around 08h00 so at least I get to watch the sunrise every day Monday to Friday and sometimes it is spectacular! This morning the red sky even made the steel plant look acceptable, I must say that I do enjoy the sunrise and I consider myself lucky to be able to see it.Today I decided that I would have a seafood starter before dinner so I selected some lovely big mussels and four oysters, I brought quite a few mussels because I knew that I would have to share them with Fatcat but the oysters were mine!
The mussels are Mytilus Galloprovincialis and they are at their best in the winter months, unfortunately now the demand for fresh mussels is at its lowest but that allows us to pump tons into the factory for frozen half-shell production for later in the year.
I steamed my mussels and oysters, (you can see the oysters in the middle of the plate) doused them with lemon juice, sprinkled with ground black pepper and also a spot of hot tabasco sauce and enjoyed them with a glass of Hout Bay Vineyards delightful Sauvignon Blanc.
Just look at the size of this mussel, almost too big to eat - almost, I managed it quite nicely! I am a huge seafood fan and consider myself lucky that I can eat this sort of thing whenever I want to.
Alan and Gill are coming to visit us this weekend, he is off to start a new job and a new life in Qatar in the middle of the month so they are coming to say goodbye, I will be sorry to see my friends leave but there's a lot of this happening now, people losing jobs due to the recession and looking to further, greener pastures - damn! We're going to have to give them a bit of a spoil this weekend.
I managed to get the big red machine out of the garage yesterday, we finished work fairly early and I was able to wind it up a bit along the R27 through Velddrif and back through Vredenburg, it was only about 60kms but it was very enjoyable and I think it did the battery a bit of good.
I'm ending off with an "Out of Africa" picture; this happy fellow has found a novel way of carrying his cellphone, it should be quite convenient, adds new meaning to the term "hands-free kit"!
Frank and I will be playing the FA cup pool competition again tomorrow and I'm sure Don will try to be there, it's a great way to start the weekend off.
The soccer world cup is slowly drawing to a close, the final will be played next weekend, but what a great thing it has been for South Africa. I think we have shown the rest of the world that we are perfectly capable of hosting a world class event and the comments from visitors seem to support this. It has been a fantastic opportunity for all of us South Africans to get together and show our support and I seriously hope that this spirit of "Ubuntu" - "togetherness" will continue after everyone has left and we get back to normal.
The mussels are Mytilus Galloprovincialis and they are at their best in the winter months, unfortunately now the demand for fresh mussels is at its lowest but that allows us to pump tons into the factory for frozen half-shell production for later in the year.I steamed my mussels and oysters, (you can see the oysters in the middle of the plate) doused them with lemon juice, sprinkled with ground black pepper and also a spot of hot tabasco sauce and enjoyed them with a glass of Hout Bay Vineyards delightful Sauvignon Blanc.
Just look at the size of this mussel, almost too big to eat - almost, I managed it quite nicely! I am a huge seafood fan and consider myself lucky that I can eat this sort of thing whenever I want to.Alan and Gill are coming to visit us this weekend, he is off to start a new job and a new life in Qatar in the middle of the month so they are coming to say goodbye, I will be sorry to see my friends leave but there's a lot of this happening now, people losing jobs due to the recession and looking to further, greener pastures - damn! We're going to have to give them a bit of a spoil this weekend.
I managed to get the big red machine out of the garage yesterday, we finished work fairly early and I was able to wind it up a bit along the R27 through Velddrif and back through Vredenburg, it was only about 60kms but it was very enjoyable and I think it did the battery a bit of good.
I'm ending off with an "Out of Africa" picture; this happy fellow has found a novel way of carrying his cellphone, it should be quite convenient, adds new meaning to the term "hands-free kit"!
Frank and I will be playing the FA cup pool competition again tomorrow and I'm sure Don will try to be there, it's a great way to start the weekend off.The soccer world cup is slowly drawing to a close, the final will be played next weekend, but what a great thing it has been for South Africa. I think we have shown the rest of the world that we are perfectly capable of hosting a world class event and the comments from visitors seem to support this. It has been a fantastic opportunity for all of us South Africans to get together and show our support and I seriously hope that this spirit of "Ubuntu" - "togetherness" will continue after everyone has left and we get back to normal.
2 comments:
Fabulous photos as always Andrew. Haven't had mussels for ages but as we're going to be staying with friends inland this weekend, I'll take a big pot down, along with some smoked fish. Thanks for the timely reminder!!
Just had Steamer Clams and BBQd Oysters when we were in Oregon visiting the kids. Mmm, mmm, good. Came home to a heat wave that's not going to let up until the Monsoons drive it out. It's running about 118 degrees here in beautiful downtown Yucca! I think I'm longing for your Winter! Oh, and I've been known for some big floppy earrings in my lifetime, but not on the level of that fella you posted the picture of!
Post a Comment