Sunday Photos: The Northwest Seafood Experience

When I’m back home in Olympia, I eat as much seafood as possible.  DC does have a few good seafood restaurants, but the overall seafood scene can’t hold a candle to what’s available in a Pacific Northwest fish market.  So I’ve been loading up on everything that’s in season.

Clams and broth with shallots and tomatoes, over pasta.

Dungeness crab!

Alaskan king salmon, with wax beans and quinoa salad. This fillet came from a fish that weighed 45 pounds!

Shrimp salad with tomatoes and avocado.

Fried razor clams from Dockside Bistro in Olympia.

"Seafood Martini", a decadent appetizer from Dockside Bistro: shrimp, scallops, and crab in a hot cream sauce, topped with caviar.

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Dinner Photos: Roasted Halibut and Vegetables

Inspired by Ed Bruske’s recent posts on sustainably harvested (and heart-healthy) fish, I jumped at a special on Alaskan halibut.  But on a Friday night after a long, sticky week, we didn’t want to do anything too fussy.  So I put the fish in a baking dish, threw in some of my newly harvested potatoes, added some onion, pepper, tomato, herbs, olive oil, salt, and pepper, and then put it all in a 400 degree oven for 20 minutes.  Et voila.

Before going into the oven

Add some lemon and home-grown basil, and serve!

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Birthday Oysters

It’s my birthday today!  My wonderful boyfriend helped me celebrate early last night by taking me to Brasserie Beck downtown.  The food and service were both excellent.  They even wrote ‘Happy Birthday’ in exquisitely detailed chocolate sauce script on my dessert plate.  And I highly recommend the grilled trout, which came with a tart, salty, yet creamy lemon caper sauce.

But perhaps the most special thing for me was getting to start off the meal with a half dozen oysters on the half shell:

Three Rappahannocks, three Maple Points.  The latter, a Pacific specialty, were especially briny and delicious.  No need for mignonette sauce, just give me that pure oyster liquor.

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Seafood Watch for your iPhone!

Ooh, another technological aid to help me make my life a little greener – and this one’s isn’t about gardening.  The Monterrey Bay Aquarium, which publishes guides to sustainable seafood choices, has now made their recommendations available as an iPhone app.  How handy.  Just the other day I was at a grocery store wondering about some halibut.  Turns out Pacific halibut is a good choice, but Atlantic is on the “avoid” list.

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