Food, like music, is something that can instantly transport me to a time or place, intricately associated with feelings - usually happy ones, I have to say - I don't have many bad memories associated with food (apart from tripe).
My memories of 2 trips to the States, for example, are chiefly those of the $10 lobster dinners, corn dogs, and frozen margaritas the Husband and I enjoyed on our first proper holiday together to New Orleans, and of a fabulous salad with deliciously cold white wine my friends and I ate on a roof top garden in Manhattan - very Sex and the City, although we were none of us searching for love, only enjoying each others company for a long weekend...
France is enmeshed with a series of memories for me - lusciously ripe peaches and tomatoes purchased from road side stalls on the south west Mediterranean coast, the freshest tower of fruits de mer eaten in a restaurant on a harbour wall somewhere on the Cherbourg peninsula - the crabs being fished to order out of the sea, snails eaten in various guises, the first - and only - meat fondue I've ever had, at the age of 16, the day after I arrived for an exchange visit with a family that I am still in touch with nearly 30 years later... And salmon, nailed to a board and cooked over a fire, Finnish style, when I was an au pair in my late teens, early 20s.
The salmon always fascinated me. The family I was helping out had moved to an old farmhouse that was being renovated. The kitchen was out of action and we were BBQ-ing most days. The father of the family, Bruno, would appear home from work with various delicacies, and one evening, announced we would be having saumon Finlandais. I can't remember what it tasted like (unusual) but the mere fact that it was cooked in such an unconventional manner and was edible, amazed me. At that point, I hadn't done much in the way of camping...
So it's always been on my mind to recreate this, and it turns out the Husband wanted to try it too, and eager to create some memories (not necessarily food-related) for the kids, we headed down to our local beach, Mwnt, for some late afternoon bodyboarding and a cookout on the beach. I'd like to say we caught our fish but we didn't, but you can't have everything, can you...
And literally, all you do is get a decent piece of wood - we had some oak board, nail your piece of salmon to it,
and wedge it next to your fire while it cooks.
You can always cook some sausages while you're waiting...
I'd love to be able to include beautiful shots here of the food on the beach, perfectly styled, but this is what really happened, - beach food, that we ate...
And another food memory - 6 months pregnant with Blue, in Winchester with the Husband's amazing Great Aunt visiting from Australia, eating juicy cherries in the Cathedral grounds on a blazing hot day. Every time I've eaten cherries since, I've thought of that moment. But we had cherries this evening, after the salmon, bought from a local market garden, Glebelands, this morning. We ate them as the sun finally dropped behind the 'mwnt' itself...
I think perhaps cherries will trigger a new memory from now on.
Of course every one knows that the very best way to eat a tin of sardines is to carry it to a deserted beach on an early Autumn morning. Spend the morning running round, skimming stones, playing chicken with the waves.
As lunchtime approaches, light a fire, open the lid slightly, empty out some of the oil, then soak some kitchen paper in the rest of the oil and stuff it in the top of the tin. Place the tin on a flat rock next to the fire and light the oily kitchen paper. Allow the sardines to get hot and smoky, then eat hungrily...
Granted, this is something that our present location makes more possible for us than it does for others, but even if you're not close to the sea, this is well worth remembering for those occasions when beach fires could be on the cards...
We made good use, then of the tinned sardines and mackerel fillets that were included in a box of goodies that arrived from John West a couple of weeks' ago.
I guess perhaps we should have done something more adventurous (in a culinary sense) with them, but there's some salmon and tuna left for that - I'm thinking fishcakes - perhaps with some Asian spicing as suggested in the helpful recipe booklet that accompanied the goodies.
What I was more interested in in were the tins of John West Infusions - tuna lightly drizzled with flavoured oils - and the 'Steam Pots' - couscous with a tin of Infusions to stir in after the couscous has been plumped with boiling water - that I received.
I'm not one for buying 'quick food fixes', tending to go for the raw ingredients and making it from scratch - and any food you might buy with the word 'Pot' in the title has me naturally eyebrow raising, due to associations (intended or otherwise) with MSG-laced noodle affairs, the kind of which you won't catch in my kitchen - no siree...
Tuna Infusions first - in a number of flavours, chilli & garlic, basil, soy & ginger, lemon & thyme, coriander & cumin. These are really really tasty - the tuna is meaty and succulent (although I usually buy tuna in spring water for calorie reasons, tuna in oil really is lush) and the flavours that infuse these pots of loveliness are tasty - not overpoweringly so but give the tuna genuine 'zing', and importantly for me, taste very natural. The Husband and I really enjoyed these, and surprisingly, so did the children. They've never really embraced tuna, but both of them gobbled down these infusions (basil for Pink, Chilli & Garlic - yes, really - for Blue) on top of a jacket potato and pronounced them delicious. Big hits then, and definitely something I'd consider buying again.
The steam pots are essentially pots of dried flavoured couscous plus a complimentary infusion pot. So, Tuna Infusions with Chilli and Garlic and Spicy Red Pepper Couscous, and Tuna infusions with Basil and Sun Dried Tomato Couscous. You get the idea.
In terms of creating your lunch (or dinner, or whatever) you just add hot water to the couscous and leave to soak for 5 minutes, then stir in the tuna. And despite my misgivings, they are pretty good - and satisfying. I'm a fan of couscous anyway, although wouldn't normally add tuna to it, but the Tuna Infusions work very well in this context. My only gripe is that unlike the Infusion itself, there are far more ingredients creeping into the couscous. Things like potato starch, tomato powder - and quite a lot of sugar and salt. To be honest, I probably wouldn't buy these as a complete package - although I might well buy Tuna Infusions to eat with my own couscous in future - but they are a world away from the noodley horrors that sprang to mind when I saw the name Steam 'POT' - so don't let that put you off.
So there you go - tinned fish has just taken on a whole new dimension for me. And even if my favourite way to eat it is still on a wild, Welsh beach, I'll bet that a few Tuna Infusions start creeping into my cupboards...
Disclaimer: I received a box of various John West products in return for writing this post, but was not required to mention any specific products, and all views expressed are my own, honest opinions.
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