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Cook Like a Pirate!

Painting of Macao harbor with boats

by D. Leilehua Yuen

With the Chinese pirate Shek Yang (Zheng Yi Sao) going viral after books and movies included her, I thought it would be fun to do some recipes of her homeland. She probably was born in the Xinhui area, on the Tanjian River. Using modern transportation, her homeland is about an hour drive from Zhongshan, the homeland of my own Chinese ancestors.

 “The stern of the boat held a basic kitchen, with a tiny brick stove and some wood and kindling. We had an iron pot for making the simplest “fish rice,” as well as an iron plate for frying fish and shrimp. . .

“The boat was only five or six meters long. My father and grandfather would take turns standing at the bow to pole the boat forward and cast nets. The middle of the boat was a “ship’s cabin” made from a bamboo canopy, with long wooden boards fixed along either side. These served as both benches and beds. Clothing and food were stored beneath the boards on one side, while fishing nets were piled on the other side, along with water tanks, miscellaneous fishing gear, and repair tools. Whenever the sun was out, the top of the canopy would be covered with all kinds of drying fish.

“My mother made cloth curtains for the two sides of the cabin, so that we could change and groom ourselves with more privacy and keep out some of the wind and rain. “

Ah Jin, interview with Nathanial J. Gan Gone Ashore: Inside the Vanishing World of China’s “Sea Nomads”

Because of the challenges of cooking onboard a boat, meals probably were very simple, using as little fuel, space, and working time as possible. It seems that different styles of jook and other soups were the mainstay. Once in the pot, they can be left to simmer over a bed of coals. Dishes that required more complicated cooking, such as baking and frying in oil, might be purchased from nearby communities, though the Tanka were not welcomed in the towns.

At the bottom of this article I have a jook recipe, and found a couple of nice videos to share. I’ll add more recipes as I find them, so please check back!

This pencil and ink sketch (at the Peabody Essex Museum) shows a scene of a woman poling her boat near Macao. She could easily be Shek Yang in her younger years.

Shek Yang probably was a descendant of the Baiyue, ethnic groups who inhabited the region for about 2,000 years before their tribes were assimilated into the expanding Han empire. The Book of Han describes various Yue tribes and says the peoples can be found from the regions of Kuaiji to Jiaozhi. They were described as having short hair, body tattoos, fine swords, and great naval prowess.

According to official Liu Zongyuan (Liou Tsung-yüan; 柳宗元; 773–819) of the Tang Dynasty, there were Tanka people settled in what are now Guangdong province and the Guangxi Zhang autonomous region.

A Tanka Boat Girl
Chinese School of Art, 19th Century
Shek Yang probably dressed much like this young woman.

By the time of Shek Yang, the late 18th century through early 19th century, many of the Yue descendants had been pushed to the rivers and oceans, displaced by the Han communities in Guangdong who called the earlier inhabitants “Tanka” or “boat people.” The term is now considered derogatory and many discourage its use. Nàamhóiyàn (People of the Southern Sea) or Séuiseuhngyàn (People Born on the Waters) are gaining in usage.

The People Born on the Waters did not practice foot binding, they spoke their own dialect, and had their own style of music. They were forbidden to marry the land-dwelling Han Chinese, or even to live on land, except for some small houses at the water edge.

Today, the People Born on the Waters are facing changes from the environment, development, and society. I hope that they can navigate these new currents to live as they wish.

River Dwelling, Canton, Guangzhou, China
John Thomson, 1869
Auguste Borget sketch 1838
Shek Yang might have been born in a home similar to these. Land-based homes often were made from boats which had been pulled up out of the water, or the homes were constructed to be similar to a boat.

Unfortunately, many people are sharing turn-of-the-century photographs claiming that they are Shek Yang, and these images have nothing to do with her!

Though they should not be conflated, there are similarities between the Ainu and the Séuiseuhngyàn. Both are indigenous peoples, both were colonized and displaced, both are being severely impacted by environmental destruction.

I recommend watching this video with the sound muted, while listening to the woman singing on this one.

You can learn about the Ainu people in this excellent documentary below by Dr. Kinko Ito, a professor of sociology at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock (UALR) in the United States. She conducted her research and many unstructured interviews in Hokkaido in 2011, 2012, and 2014. This ethnographic film features several Ainu people, and the interview topics include identity, marriage and family, human relations with non-Ainu Japanese, their history, and school and work experiences.

This image below also is not of Shek Yang. But the actress Crystal Yu is, indeed, lovely!

Shek Yang would have looked much more like this woman, below. Maybe I should make my own Shek Yang fan art?!

You can help support my research in global food and culture by becoming a patron of the Questing Feast Patreon page which continues to support the work and legacy of Geraldine Duncann.

Tom Johnson photograph of Tanka woman 1869

Tingzai Zhou 艇仔粥 (Sampan Jook)

Tingzai Zhou is the modern spelling of the old-fashioned sampan jook I grew up with. This variety is also known as boater’s jook, boat congee, or any of several other names. Considered to have been developed by the Nàamhóiyàn of Lìzhī Wān (Lychee Bay) it’s a great one-pot meal. One pot meals that are easy to prepare, filling, and nutritious are important in the limited space of a boat! While my family is descended from the later Han inhabitants of the Zhongshan area, sampan jook became a popular dish throughout the Pearl River Delta.

Here is how my family prepares it:

If you don’t have an item, donʻt worry about it, just substitute something else that would taste good in the blend. This kind of cooking is not about following a specific recipe, but about adapting a basic recipe to what is available.

  • Rice (white or brown short grain)
  • Chicken carcass or pork bones
  • Chicken meat
  • Pork meat
  • Shrimp
  • Fish (I prefer a white flesh fish for this)
  • Water chestnut, slivered
  • Ginger, slivered
  • Scallion, shredded
  • Pi dan (hundred year egg), roughly chopped
  • Fried peanuts
  1. Cook rice as you normally would. You will want about a half-cup of uncooked rice per person, plus one full cup. When we know we want to make jook, like when a storm is coming, we make lots of extra rice the night before.
  2. For the main proteins, combined, you will want about a half-cup per person.
  3. While the rice is cooking, or even the morning or night before, boil the chicken carcass and/or pork bones to create a broth. You want about 2 cups of broth per person. Strain all bones out of the broth.
  4. When the rice is cooked, add it to the broth and cook just below a simmer. Long slow cooking to make a porridge about the consistency of split pea soup. These days, I do this in my slow cooker.
  5. While the rice is cooking, prepare your other ingredients. I cut the pork, chicken, and fish into pieces about 1/2in by 1in or 2in. These are blanched to set and firm them. The fish, especially, will tend to fall apart in the jook if not set first. It will still be tasty, but there won’t be delicious chunks of fish to eat! Set them aside.
  6. If the shrimp is small enough to pick up with chopsticks and eat conveniently, just shell, de-vein, and blanch them. If it is too big, then after cleaning, cut them into bite-sized pieces.
  7. When the proteins are cooked, garnish the top with the remaining ingredients.

You can serve this in one big bowl with the garnishes already added, and people can scoop out what they want, or you can serve in individual bowls and people can add the garnishes they like.

Here is another way of preparing this hearty jook:

Youtiao 油條

Also known as yau char kway in Southern China and guǒzi  in Northern China. It also has a multitude of other names throughout the dough-frying world!

For myself, I just buy them, so my advice on how to make them will not be the best. I guess I need to make them, though, as these days I cannot find anyone who sells them. I like this video series:

Resources

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=3729031907181150

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Scones

image of scones
Scones and Strawberries

Ok, now that you have your lemon curd, you need something to put it on! Here is Geraldine’s recipe for scones.

If you want one of the fancy recipes with chocolate chips or some such, there are plenty at other websites, so out of respect for Geraldine, we won’t put them here. The auld Scotswoman who taught her to make scones used to say, “Well, you can put in what you like, dear, and they may taste lovely, but they doon’t be scones.”

Scones

by Geraldine Duncann

Makes 12 scones

This sounds hard but it really isn’t.  Just follow the directions and don’t stir the dough too much or you won’t have scones; you’ll have Hockey Pucks.

  • 2 cups of flour
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1 ½ sticks of cold butter or margarine
  • 3/4 cup cold water

Preheat the oven to 500° or 550°.  Oil a baking sheet (cookie sheet) or line it with baker’s parchment, and set aside.  Sift the flour, baking powder, nutmeg and sugar together into a large bowl.  If you don’t have a sifter, just put them all into the bowl and stir with a fork or wire whisk.  Cut the butter or margarine into very small pieces.  Then, using a wire pastry blender, work the butter into the flour mixture until it is well blended.

At this point, none of the bits of butter should be bigger than a pea.  (if you don’t have a pastry blender you can cut it up with two table knives or even use your hands and mush it.) 

After the butter is worked into the flour, pour in the water, all at once, and using a dinner fork, stir it all round and round until the flour mixture has all been moistened. 

Then, gather it into a ball and sort of shove it all together.  Put it on a flat surface that has been lightly sprinkled with flour.  Set the ball on the flat surface and cut it in half. 

Form each half into a ball.  Flatten the balls into disks that are about six inches in diameter.  Cut each disk into six equal sized wedges; like you were cutting a pie. 

Place the wedges of dough about an inch apart on the baking sheet and put in the center of the preheated oven. 

Bake for five minutes, then turn the heat down to 350° and bake for another twenty minutes. 

Remove from the oven and put in a basket or bowl lined with a clean cloth to help keep them warm. 

Serve immediately with lots of butter and strawberry preserves.  To eat these wonderful scones, do not cut them apart with a knife.  Just pull them apart.  If you try to slice them while they are hot, it will sort of squash the crumb and they won’t be quite as nice.

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Hinamatsuri, March 3, is Girls’ Day in Japan

by D.L Yuen

According to one tradition, Hinamatsuri (雛祭り Doll Festival) started in 1625. The imperial court ladies of Emperor Go-Mizuno set up beautiful dolls for his daughter, Okiko, to play with during the Peach Festival season.

Okiko was born on 9 January 1624. When her father abdicated in her favor on 22 December 1629, she was only five years old. She succeeded her father as the Empress Meishō, ruled Japan for fifteen years, and then abdicated on 14 November 1643 at age 19. She was succeeded by her brother Tsuguhito, who became Emperor Go-Kōmyō.

Many political intrigues and changes occurred during her reign. Her mother was Tokugawa Masako, and the Tokugawa shogunate rose in power at this time, encroaching on much of the Imperial power.

I often think how difficult it must have been for her, being surrounded by the powerful court from the time she was a tiny girl. But there were some moments of fun.

During her reign, in 1687 “Hinamatsuri” became the official name of the holiday. Doll-makers began making elaborate and ever larger dolls for the festival, until laws were passed to restrict their size. Eventually, the hinazakari standardized to include fifteen dolls and their accessories. They are displayed on a hinadan, a stepped platform covered with a red cloth.

Today, hinazakari can be found that are small and simple or large and elaborate. Some families start small, with the emperor and empress, and add more figures each year. Some families have hinazakari that date back many generations and are cherished heirlooms.

18th-century mebina and obina, Empress and emperor dolls, on display at Musée d’ethnographie de Genève
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Special foods are prepared for Hinamatsuri. In general, they are made in the delicate pastel hues of spring time. Among them are:

Hina Arare (雛あられ) – A pastel and often sweeter version of the small rice crackers popularly eaten as snacks.

Hina Arare (雛あられ) – A pastel and often sweeter version of the small rice crackers popularly eaten as snacks.
Hishi Mochi (菱餅) – A layered mochi cut into a rhombus shape. The pink/red of the mochi are derived from fruits of Gardenia jasminoides (山梔子), and is symbolic of plum flowers. White is made from the water caltrop (菱, hishi), and represents the snow and its cleansing effects. Green comes from Gnaphalium affine (ハハコグサ) or mugwort like kusa mochi, and is believed to be a restorative that improves the blood.
Chirashizushi (ちらし寿司) – Chirashizushi literally means “scattered sushi.” It is a bowl of sushi rice with sushi toppings arranged on top. The chiraishizushi pictured is from Kitchen Umeko in Hilo, Hawaiʻi.

Hamaguri no Suimono (はまぐりの吸い物) – A soup made using clams. Because the clam shells close, fitting together perfectly, they represent wishes for the girl to find a husband who fits perfectly with her.

Shirozake (白酒 white sake) – A special sake made to celebrate Hinamatsuri. Today, girls are given a non-alcoholic version. But the traditional style is made by adding mirin (sweet cooking wine) to steamed mochi-gome (glutinous rice). This is thoroughly mixed and then left to ferment for a few weeks. In some areas shochu (a distilled spirit) and malted rice were added to the steamed mochi-gome.

It is said that the method of manufacturing shirozake originates in the ‘nerizake‘ brewed in the Hakata region from ancient times and that, from the Edo Period, it came to be used as an offering in the Doll’s festival, a custom from the Heian Period, in place of the peach leaves soaked in sake which had been used from the Muromachi Period.

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The Origin of “Sweet Summer Child”

Illustration of lemon cake

by D. Leilehua Yuen

Pour yourself a glass of sweet tea and have a slice of Mama’s Lemon Icebox Cake, recipe below.

Now:

Please hear this in my very best “Church Lady” voice. “Oh, my sweet summer child, Game of Thrones did NOT coin ‘sweet summer child.’ GOT may have popularized it, but GOT did NOT create it.”

“Sweet summer child” already was old when my grandmother used it in the 1960s.

The Creole

1850, Mary Scrimzeour Furman Whitaker

Blue was the summer ah—, and mild
The fragrant breeze,— sweet Summer’s child.
All rob’d in white, dead Stanley seem’d,
And radiance, from his features, beam’d;—
Meta, companion of his way,—
Yet pale as when, on earth, he lay.

The West Wind

1849, James Staunton Babcock

Thy home is all around,
Sweet summer child of light and air,
Like God’s own presence, felt, ne’er found,
A Spirit everywhere!

Poems eulogizing children are found throughout newspapers of the 1880s. This one was used for at least two different children, including “Little May Tyng” and, in this case, attributed to Frances B. M. Brotherson in the Blount County Dispatch of Blountsville, Alabama. It seems to have been common practice to use such poems as a structure and then alter specifics to match the individual child’s circumstances.

Little Mary Tyng

1879, Frances B.M. Brotherson

God took her forever,
Our sweet summer child—
She passed through the valley
With Thee, Undefiled!
So trusting, so fondly
To Thee did she cling,
Thou wert the sure refuge—
Of little May Ting

19 Mar 1879, Wed Blount County News-Dispatch (Blountsville, Alabama) Newspapers.com

In that oh-so-Victorian poetry, the “sweet summer child” can refer to anything tender and summery—from a gentle breeze to an actual child.

So, how did such a tender sweet phrase develop its stinging backhand? Well, for that, let’s turn to my Nana. Born in 1900 in St. Louis, Missouri (properly pronounced “Muzurah,” I have been informed), she moved to Hawaiʻi as a young bride. When she packed her bags for the islands, a number of colloquialisms jumped in before she could get the latches fastened.

If you know anything about the ladies of that time and place, you know that they were strong proponents of “if you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.” Instead, they became masters of making a cut while using the nicest possible words. And, the same phrase can have many different meanings, depending on the skill with which it is deployed.

“Why, bless your heart” can mean anything from “thank you, that was so sweet of you,” to “how on earth did you come up with THAT?”

And so, “Oh, my sweet summer child” could be anything from a simple comment on the beauty and grace of a small child playing in the summer sun to a verbal head shake at unfathomable naïveté. It can refer to a very young child born in summer, a person with a summery disposition, or a person who has little to no experience of “winter:” hardship, trials, and tribulations, or just someone who is clueless as to anything that has happened before they came on the scene.

In the 60s and 70s, I frequently heard it in response to some bit of pre-teen or teen angst I expressed in my youthful confidence that in under two decades I had managed to acquire far more wisdom than had the totality of adults of my acquaintance. “You really think no one else has thought of that? Oh, my sweet summer child.”

So in honor of Summer Children everywhere, here is a recipe for Mama’s Lemon Icebox Cake. No, not my Mama’s Lemon Icebox Cake. HER Mama’s lemon Icebox Cake. It’s good. Try it. But first, make the lemon curd.

image showing lemons in a colander
A colander full of lemons waiting to be juiced. Gleaned from a friend’s yard, they are not especially pretty, but they are juicy and flavorful!

Lemon Curd

by Geraldine Duncann

What is Lemon Curd?  It’s the yummy stuff in the middle of a lemon meringue pie.  That’s about all Americans use it for.  In England however, it is used like jam or preserves, being served with scones at tea time and eaten on toast or bread. 

There are many recipes, some thickened with eggs only and others thickened with cornstarch only.  The egg ones taste just too eggie for me and the cornstarch only aren’t rich enough.  This recipe I feel is a perfect blend.

  • 1 cup sugar
  • ¼ cup cornstarch
  • 1 ½ cups of cold water
  • 3 egg yolks, lightly beaten
  • Grated Zest of 1 lemon
  • ¼ cup lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon butter 

Combine the cornstarch and sugar in saucepan.  Add the water and stir until smooth.  Whisk in the egg yolks.Stirring constantly, bring to a boil over a medium heat and continue boiling for one minute.  Remove from the heat.  Whisk in the lemon juice, zest and butter.  Allow to cool.  This is wonderful used like any jam or jelly.  It is also the base for many other elegant desserts.

Mama’s Lemon Icebox Cake

by Geraldine Duncann

Make 1, 8 to 9 Inch Round Cake

We had a lemon tree on the farm that seemed to have a plethora of lemons on it all year round.  In our Southern California summers when the temperature inside the kitchen could be well over 100 degrees, Mama would stay up late at night after the kitchen had cooled and make this delectable and refreshing lemon cake for us to enjoy the next day.  It was a lot easier for her to make once we got an electric refrigerator to replace the old ice box. You may use my Basic Lemon Cake (below) as the base, or a commercial cake mix.  Make the various components in the early morning before it gets hot or in the evening after things cool down.

  • 1, 2 layer lemon cake
  • Juice of one or 2 lemons
  • 1 cup lemon curd
  • ½ pint whipping cream
  • Thinly slivered curls of candied lemon peel if available
  • Sprigs of fresh mint

Split the two layers of cake in half.  Sprinkle the cut sides with lemon juice and set aside.  Whip the cream to hold stiff peaks.  Save about a cup of the whipped cream for garnish. Temper the lemon curd by gently folding about half a cup of whipping cream into it.  Then, gently fold this lightened lemon curd back into the remaining whipped cream, (minus what will be used for garnish.)  Place one of the split layers on a cake plate.  Spread with the lemon curd, whipping cream mixture.  Top with another split layer.  Spread with cream.  Continue until all the layers have been coated with the lemon cream.  Do not frost the sides.  Just let the cream ooze out between the layers.  Refrigerate until ready to use.  Just before serving, garnish with dollops of whipped cream, candied peel and sprigs of fresh mint.  This is a delectable and refreshing dessert for those hot, hot summer days.

Basic Lemon Cake

by Geraldine Duncann

Makes 1, 8 to 9 inch 2 Layer Cake

This basic lemon cake is delicious on its own or as the beginning of many other desserts.

  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1 cup butter (2 sticks or ½ pound)
  • 4 eggs
  • ¼ cup lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon lemon zest
  • 1 cup cold water

Pre heat the oven to 350°.  Prepare 2 8 or 9 inch cake pans with non stick spray or by lining with bakers’ parchment.  Sift flour and baking powder together and set aside.  Blend the sugar and butter together until soft and fluffy.  Add the eggs, one at a time, beat in well after each addition.  Add the lemon juice and zest and mix well.  Add the dry ingredients alternately with the water and mix well.  Divide between the prepared cake pans and bake in the center of the oven for 30 to 35 minutes or until a slim skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool on cake racks before removing from the pans.

Other phrases my Nana used:

Well, bless your heart

This useful phrase fills in for everything from a warm “thank you” to a frustrated hope to never have to deal with you and your willful incompetence again.

Well, bless your little punkin’ head

This is similar to “Well, bless your heart,” but you had to do something a several degrees more stupid to earn it.

It don’t/doesn’t amount to a hill of beans

Beans were cheap and abundant food in my Nana’s day, so if something did not amount to a hill of beans, it did not amount to much at all.

She’s blowin’ up a storm

The wind rises before a storm blows in, bringing with it a unique smell.

Got more of _______ than Dr. Carter’s got little liver pills

Dr. Carter was the inventor of his own brand of liver regulating pills. They were tiny round things, the size of the head of a quilting pin, and a whole bunch of them fit into a tiny little glass bottle.

Madder than a wet hen

Personally, I never noticed my hens any more mad when they were wet than when they were dry, but I grew up in Hawaiʻi and it rains a lot here. Maybe chickens in MO are less amenable to rain. I did know that when Nana said I was making her madder than a wet hen I should hush my mouth and head over yonder.

Hush your mouth

Be quiet.

Over yonder

A distant place, usually indicated by pointing with the chin and/or eyebrows.

ʻTil the cows come home

All day, or a very long time. The cows come home in the evening at feeding time.

Pretty as a peach

Fresh and plump, appealing looking.

Full as a tick / Swoll as a tick

Ate so much you can’t eat any more. “Swoll as a tick” is the same, but not as polite, and might also refer to constipation.

Good Lord willing and the creek/river don’t rise

As long as no disasters happen. Also, the small body of flowing water is pronounced “krik.”

Hold your horses

Back in the days when horses were the only things providing horsepower, if you did not hold your horses (either by having someone stand at their heads and hold the bridle, or tie them to a hitching rail), they might wander off while you were loading your wagon. So, “hold your horses” means to slow down and make sure things don’t get away from you while you are getting things together for a project.

__________ as all get-out

“Funny as all get-out,” “frightened as all get-out,” “shocked as all get-out…” the phrase adds a level to whatever emotion you are experiencing.

Too big for your britches

You have an elevated sense of self-worth.

Gumption / Moxie

A sense of drive and purpose, “sticktoitiveness,” being really on the ball.

Cattywampus

Crooked

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Jack London

by Geraldine Duncann ©2009

Jack London, one of America’s greatest novelists, a social advocate and a true renaissance man, was born on January 12, 1876. What better way to celebrate than with some of his favorite foods.

Along with pioneer vintner, Agoston Haraszthy and botanist, Luther Burbank, author Jack London is one of my favorite California folk heroes.  This may in part be due to my family’s close connection with him.  As a boy, my father knew Jack London and often spent summers at the ranch in Glen Ellen. 

Jack taught my father to ride and fish and much to my grandmothers mortification, also to cuss, tell risqué stories and to drink.  My dad always reminisced with great fondness of the lavish meals served in the rustic setting of the Glen Ellen camp where Jack and his second wife, Charmian spent much of their time during the construction of the ill fated Wolf House.

Socialist London’s political views were ahead of his time.  Dying in 1916, he was not to see the ratification of the 19th Amendment in 1920, giving woman the vote in the United States.  He had long been a supporter of a woman’s right to vote and contributed some of his favorite recipes to Mrs. L.O. Kleber, author of “The Suffragette Cookbook,” a book published in 1915 to raise money for the suffragette movement.

You can help raise money to keep Geraldine’s website on-line by purchasing through our links.

Among the recipes he contributed was a dish he called Hawaiian Salad, (Lomi-Lomi Salmon), which he had become fond of while in Hawaii.  Other recipes include Savory Rice with Tomatoes, Roquefort Stuffed Celery and several recipes for oysters including: Oyster Savories, Anchor Steam Steamed Oysters and Oysters Barbecued with Steam Beer.  It is likely that he developed his fondness for oysters during his early years as an Oyster Pirate in San Francisco Bay.

Unfortunately Jack fondness for life led to his early death at the age of 40.  In his own words:

“I would rather be ashes than dust. I would rather that my spark should burn out in a brilliant blaze than that it should be stifled by dry-rot. I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet. The proper function of man is to live, not to exist. I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them. I shall use my time.”

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Oysters Barbecued with Steam Beer

by Geraldine Duncann ©2009

This is another method of serving oysters that my father learned from Jack London.  It also uses Anchor Steam Beer as well as a lot of finely chopped garlic.

  • Fresh live oysters in the shell
  • Finely minced garlic
  • Anchor Steam beer
  • Salt and pepper and favorite hot sauce

Scrub the shells of the oysters with a stiff brush under cold running water.  Discard any that are open and do not close when you tap the shell.  Place the oysters, on a rack over the glowing coals of a barbecue.  Leave until they just begin to open.  Using tongues, remove them and with an oyster knife, pry the shells the rest of the way open.  Place the oyster in the deep half of the shell.  Add a pinch of minced garlic and a bit of beer.  Add salt, pepper and hot sauce to taste and return to the barbecue and continue cooking to desired degree of doneness.  SPECTACULAR!

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Horseradish

by Geraldine Duncann ©2009

If you are a true horseradish fan and want a ready supply of truly fresh, you need to grow your own.  It is relatively easy to grow, however, like any root vegetable, it develops best if you have loamy soil.  I have a hard time growing it in my adobe.  It grows, but the roots that develop are rather stunted and pathetic looking.

You may not be able to find horseradish plants at your nursery.  If so, find one at your produce department.  Buy a large one.  Cut it into large chunks and put them in zip-loc bag in your crisper drawer.  Leave for several weeks and they will eventually develop sprouts.   Plant them in the spring or early summer in soil that you have spade well and amended with a lot of organic material.  Like any root vegetable, horseradish needs loose soil in order to develop nice fat roots that are good for culinary use. 

It will develop a large ragged plant above ground that will die back with the first frost, and then come back every spring.  Once it is well established, the roots may be dug at any time of year to use, however, some people feel it develops a better favor after a frost.  Dig only as much of the root as you need at any one time, leaving the rest to remain in the ground and continue to grow.  

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Jack London’s Steam Beer Steamed Oysters

by Geraldine Duncann ©2009

It wouldn’t be Christmas Eve at our house without oysters steamed with Anchor Steam Beer and fresh California Bay Leaves.  This method was taught to my father by Jack London during one of my dad’s visits to Jack’s Beauty Ranch in Glen Ellen.  My father remained an adamant and dedicated advocate of San Francisco’s own Anchor Steam Beer all of his life.

  • Fresh Live Oysters in the Shell
  • 1 bottle Anchor Steam Beer
  • Water
  • 1 or 2 fresh California Bay Laurel leaves

Scrub the shells of the oysters with a stiff brush under cold running water.  Discard any that are open and do not close when you tap the shell.  Place them in a large pot with a tight fitting lid or a steamer.  (if you happen to have a tamale steamer, or set of Chinese steamer baskets, that would work just fine too). Add enough water to make the total amount of liquid come to about two inches deep.  Add 1 or 2 fresh bay leaves.  Cover with the lid and over a high heat, steam until the shells begin to pop open.  Remove from the steamer with tongues and pile into a serving bowl.  Accompany with melted butter, fresh horseradish, Tabasco and of course, Anchor Steam Beer.  Each diner will need an oyster knife and a large cloth napkin or tea towel moistened at one end.

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Oyster Savories

by Geraldine Duncann ©2009

Oysters were always a favorite food for Jack London.  He most likely learned to enjoy them during his time as an oyster pirate in his youth.

  • Shucked fresh small oysters
  • Salt and fresh coarse ground black pepper
  • Lean bacon
  • Softened butter
  • Minced garlic cloves
  • Toast triangles or rounds
  • Fresh lemon

Season the oysters with salt and pepper.  Wrap each in a strip of bacon and secure with a wooden toothpick.  Blend minced garlic to taste with the softened butter and spread on the toast triangles.  Place a bacon wrapped oyster on each toast triangle.  Set the savories on a baking sheet and place in a preheated 350°F – (180°C or Gas mark 4) until the bacon is crisp, about 3 to 5 minutes.  Remove from the oven and place on a warmed serving dish.  Squeeze a bit of fresh lemon juice over each.  Garnish with sprigs of fresh parsley or dill weed and wedges of lemon.  Serve hot.

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Roquefort Stuffed Celery Boats

by Geraldine Duncann ©2009

This is a simple appetizer or side dish that Jack London enjoyed serving with roast duck. 

  • 2 ounces of Roquefort cheese, softened
  • 2 tablespoons butter, softened
  • Cream Sherry
  • 1 tablespoon minced fresh chives
  • Celery boats

Cream the Roquefort and butter together.  Moisten with just enough Sherry to make into a spreadable consistency.  Use to fill small celery boats.  Serve chilled.