Down the road from Lou, the fishmonger was jam packed for a Saturday morning. All the dfLs, myself among them, crowding in to get their fresh fish. A good amount of different forms of finny friend on the ice in there. We went home with a gilthead bream and four scallops. I’m a sucker for scallops. You can take the boy out of The Isle of Man … But there were some huge mackerel, plenty of good looking flatfish. I still haven’t unpacked the trauma of my mother’s wallpaper paste Aga cooked skate.
Over hill and down dale we went, within reason. Lou needed some fabric taken to her workshop. She goes by bike so it’s much easier for me to drop it. From there to Stanmer and a short walk. Eleven quid for three bottles of fresh apple juice. One with ginger, one ginger chilli and one apple and pear. Pricey but nicey. The fish was £16 so the whole lot came in under thirty, and sometimes I’ve spent that much on pizza. Still, not a frugal day. But it’s a weekend, eh?
By half past four I was cooking it. Bream was pre-cleaned. Teenage Al learnt how to gut a fish but they always do it for you in Brighton. Often we used to have to gut our own catch on the mackerel boats. It’s not as bad as with game, but you still want the guts out as quickly as you can. Weird to think that it was swimming around not so long ago and then this weird guy put mixed herbs, garlic, lemon, ginger and seasonings where its guts used to be, and then wrapped it up in tinfoil. “You wouldn’t believe what happened to me this weekend” Half an hour in the oven, no more. Sometimes I go twenty minutes and it’s still good. But I wanted the flavours to cook in.
With mash and two veg, my body was quite surprised at this sudden healthiness. I’ve been subsisting on pasta pesto, pies and cassoulet. Often the pie will be sitting on the plate with nothing around it. Other times I’ll dump a can of sweetcorn in the gravy. What a time to be alive. Suddenly fresh fish and loads of cavolo nero. I feel great for it.
You are what you eat, they say, along with all sorts of similar hocus. But there’s a truth in it. You can see the additives in some fast food raised people, like their skin is becoming translucent. I was in great danger of becoming a pesto pie, and since Lou has been sick it’s important I do things that bolster my immunity. Also good food is a great pleasure. I love going to that fishmonger, you won’t get fresher. Maybe the scallops are defrosted but the bream felt like it was healthy. I’m glad we will still have fish in the sea for a year or two. I’ll be part of the problem while it’s still possible.
AlBarclay 