The Fat of the Land

Tasmanians, like Alaskans, are very hospitable. Fishermen on Baranof Island, Alaska, gave us smoked halibut, and friends in our hometown of Kodiak were constantly giving us salmon and venison and homemade goat sausage. I love wild, locally gathered foods. The Tasmanians we've met seem to share this appreciation of hunting and gathering.

Last week during our few hours dockside in Kettering, Tasmania, both De and Susan brought us bags full of garden greens – peas, zucchini, radishes, basil, cucumbers, oh my!

And then the following day while we were anchored off Bruny Island, some sport fishermen asked if we wanted any squid. "Oh yes!", yelled a very excited Elias. And so we suddenly had 12 huge squid they'd just caught and cleaned. What a treat! The first night I used 8 squid to make calamari rings (simple batter of flour, baking soda and water) fried in olive oil. And the next night we had squid stir fry with onions, garlic, and eggplant.

Eric loved the squid, too!

It is wonderful to receive such bounty from the sea and land. It is also great to be the bearer of these gifts, and I hope that we can do some harvesting (and sharing) during our year here in Tasmania.