I’ve been cooking a lot more of late, which i adore so very much. Cooking for Clem and myself just makes me so HAPPY, i try to do it thrice a week now. Other nights are spent out with friends or at events.
Today i decided to cook seafood pasta. Not Clem’s favourite dish, but mine for sure. I haven’t cooked it for ages just because… i try to cook what he likes? Well, i for one am gonna take into account my own preferences for my palate today! (yeah, one day out of a month -_-)
I navigated through the raging storm this afternoon to get to Village Grocer, where i bought fresh fish, squid and prawns. For the first time, a squid slipped out of my hands at the fishmonger’s but i CAUGHT it! A pat on the back or what! (ok i squealed as it was flying through the air but that’s understandable right.) After returning home and finishing up some emails and client edits, i proceeded to blast Au Revoir Simone on my mac while cutting up the seafood.
I don’t mind cutting up seafood. It’s all part and parcel of cooking, along with getting poked by sharp prawn bits and trying not to burst squid ink all over my trusty wooden chopping board. And i honestly, truly, ENJOY the process of cooking, as long as i’m not rushing. (Some dinner parties have made me rush, and realized the UNenjoyment and stress of cooking for 20 people at one go!)
So i was quite happy… no, i WAS happy… laying out the sole and slicing it simply cos it’ll break up in the simmering.
Tying bunches of rosemary, parsley and thyme (i happened to have those to finish okay) together with a long strand of thyme.
Peeling prawns and putting the shells and heads aside to flavour the pasta while it boils.
Bashing up garlic, trying not to shoot any juice into my eye (it hurts like shit let me tell you that) and finely chopping up an onion.
Caressing some ruby red ripe cherry honey tomatoes while i rinse them before cutting them.
Finely chopping up parsley leaves to add on the last second after everything is cooked.
Moved on to the two huge squid i bought, and marveled (as i always do) at its bone that resembles a piece of plastic.
I proceeded to pull the squid’s head and tentacles from its body. I love it when the whole thing comes out clean – i feel like i accomplished something very important. I cut between the squid’s head, trying not to burst its eyes, cos ink spills out from that too. Gross. I know people like squid ink. Hell, *i* like eating squid ink pasta in restaurants. But i still can’t GET the whole COOKING WITH squid ink. Maybe in the future.
After sorting out the head and tentacles to rinse, i moved on to the body. I slipped my fingers inside the squid’s body under running water to clean anything i can pull out, and felt… something slimy and scaly/hard(?) inside. Seriously. What is this shit. Maybe it’s squid shit? I don’t know, do squids shit inside themselves like how mammals do with their intestines? OK whatever. I just gotta have some balls and find out. So i tugged at this *THING* and just couldn’t get at it. All the time while my insides were going ‘gross gross grossssss’. Decided to slice the squid’s body halfway (i hate doing that! Spoils my squid mojo) and found….
A WHOLE FISH IN THE SQUID
Well, i was QUITE sure it was a fish! At first i thought MAYBE it’s a SPECIAL squid, with some special mature part of its body i never discovered… then i saw tiny bones sticking out of an obvious tail, and knew… this squid ate the fish and didn’t get to digest it before it got caught! GROSSSSSSSSS GROSS GROSS GROSSSSSSSSS
The damn squid slipped and wriggled about my hands as i tried to get a grip on the fish and PULL it out (as i do its plastickey bone) but it was WELL STUCK. So i HAD to cut the remaining squid on my board and discovered i decapitated the fish’s head at the same time.
SO. GROSS.
Sorry fish. I know you’re considered a bonus, and i did pay for your weight, but you’re not going into my marinara pasta tonight.
