True Grit

Spaghetti Alle Vongole

The clams harvest close to Mt Fuji has drastically decreased recently linked to a possible connection to Mt. Fuji activity. Last time it erupted was in 1707, during the Edo era. There have been things like the sudden collapse of section of the mountain, Lake Kawaguchi is north side of Mt. Fuji, it’s water level is unusually low and the massive amount of ayu (鮎, sweet fish) die off; those strange occurrences may be predicting another eruption in the near future? That is some scientists’ theory…I hope they ‘re wrong.Looking at Mt. Fuji from Lake Kawaguchi.

The clams my husband cooked were of Washington state origin so they had nothing to do with Mt. Fuji or to this recipe yet it was kind of eerie. We were there! A couple of months ago! We walked along Lake Kawaguchi, seeing Mt. Fuji up close… The thought that we may never see serene Mt. Fuji again and hearing of other catastrophic natural disasters lately cast shadow on my mind.

Now let’s go on to cooking - Hold your horses Cowboy, you shouldn’t cook clams right away! They need serious salt bath time! I lectured my husband. Biting into sandy clam is no fun-at-the-beach, de-grit you must! I read a fellow blogger’s method of de-gritting (is that really a word?) and I’m happy to report that it’s practically identical to mine, just that she is cuter and younger..what I’m talking about? In fact, I was getting nervous that the blogger made a really similar dish last week. Her fabulous photos and everything…Honey, do we have a plan B? No? I see….on the bright side, my recipe has Italian name. Buon Appetito!

Time to purge!   

1. Clean clams well with bristle brush under running water.
2. In a large bowl, pour 1000ml water and dissolve 2 Tablespoons of sea salt. Place a strainer one size smaller than the bowl. Put cleaned clams into the strainer.
   
3. Lay long cooking chopsticks or wooden spatulas across the bowl.
4. Cover with a newspaper or cloth on top.
   
5. Wait at least 1 hour but 3 or more hours is preferred. After more than 5 hours in salt water bath, clams were way relaxed.

Ingredients for 2-3 people

• Olive oil 1 Tablespoon
• Garlic 2 cloves thinly sliced
• Red hot pepper 1-2 pods, seeds removed and slice across
• Clams 2 pounds
• White wine 1/3 cup
• Spaghetti half package about 8oz.or less
• Cabbage leaves 3-4 roughly chopped
• Salt, white pepper to taste

1. Heat oil in a skillet. Add garlic and red hot pepper and sauté until fragrant.
2. Add clams and sauté for 30 seconds.
3. Pour wine and cover with lid. Steam until clams open up. Discard ones that do not open. Remove clams to plate or bowl. Set aside.
4. Pour 4 cups of water and 1 teaspoon of salt in a same pan and boil.
5. Break spaghetti in half or thirds and put in the pan. Cook till al dente. Add more water if spaghetti is not cooked.
   
6. Return the clams plus cabbage to the pan and cook for 1-2 minutes.
7. Salt and pepper to taste.Darling, this is marvelous!

    

Every Thursday 4 PM to 8 PM till September 5th. the city’s Farmer’s Market is open for the season. First stop - pizza! It was Delicious!

We ordered drinks at this place. Not bad but the price …yowza $5.75 We could buy 2 slices of pizza with that kind of money.Hand cranked juice extractor?

The picture is gluten free mini cupcakes but we bought regular cupcakes. 75 cent each or 3 for $2.Colorful macaroons are for our eyes only…we are getting short on cash. There is always next week.A different artist is scheduled each week.

The better part of Saturday was spent weeding and removing dead plants. Our next door neighbor came out with a pick to help my husband. How nice!I made strawberry cupcakes using fresh strawberries from garden as a Thank-You gift. I added very little sugar so they were not overly sweet.My raspberry shortcake raspberry plant looks wonderful – Hummm, it does not taste like shortcake however.My husband found this moth’s(?) nest in back yard.

I received bunch of lavender again this year from a neighbor who grew it in her back yard. Love, love lavender!