Harvesting Oysters

Yesterday, I wrote about preparing to expose Henry to foods that have a higher potential for allergen. I should have posted that story a few weeks ago, but it just didn't make it into the queue until now.

So what was our first allergy prone food for Henry? We started with shellfish, fresh local oysters. I was surprised that Daddy seemed less apprehensive about this then I was.

Daddy and Nana harvest oysters on Hood Canal.

Harvesting and grilling oysters was a new experience for our family, but one that will be very memorable. If you like fresh seafood and have the opportunity to harvest and grill your own oysters, I highly recommend it.

A few weeks ago we stayed on Hood Canal for a long weekend with the family. Our vacation house was right on the water adjacent to a former oyster bed. At low tide, we were able to walk down to the sand and pick out any oysters we could reach. Nana and I also had a quick tutorial from a local about how to shuck oysters.

Henry tags along for the oyster harvest.

We kept the oysters in water until we were ready to cook them later that same day. The shells are known for their sharp edges so we wore gloves while rinsing and cleaning them.

Daddy fired up the barbecue and we put the oysters on to grill, along with salmon and crab. We quickly learned that we should have cleaned the oyster shells more fully by removing all the barnacles, which explode when heated. Daddy had to wear sunglasses to protect himself from the barnacle shrapnel. After about 10 minutes the oysters started to open, indicating they were ready to eat.

Henry tests out a grilled oyster.

The oysters were very similar to one of my favorite foods, mussels. Henry seemed to enjoy his oyster, probably since they are quite salty. Luckily, he showed no allergic symptoms so we will start exposing Henry to other shellfish flavors too.

Comments

The Baby-Led Weaning Cookbook

UPDATE (10/2/12): Unfortunately, I did not hear back from our original winner. Congratulations to our alternate winner for "The Baby-Led Weaning Cookbook" -- Robin Pfefer. UPDATE (9/29/12): I am happy to announce that Kashia Clopper is the winner of "The Baby-Led Weaning Cookbook". When I was first thinking about using the Baby-Led Weaning (BLW) model for Henry, I was unsure about whether it would really work. I was excited about BLW’s claims of less stressful meals that the whole family could share together. Plus, I was all for encouraging Henry to gain new skills by learning about the shapes, textures, colors, smells and flavors of food. This sounded ideal in theory, but would it work in practice? After some fun but ineffective attempts at letting Henry feed himself, I went in search of resources to learn more about BLW. I needed to learn how to prepare meals for our family in which Henry could participate. That’s when I found “ The Baby-Led

Do Your Kids Eat Everything?

UPDATE (3/15/2013): Congratulations to Kia as the random drawing winner in this giveaway! Thank you to all those who entered this contest. Before we began our food adventure with Henry, Daddy and I had many conversations about how to encourage Henry to become “a good eater.” After watching other parents constantly struggle with their toddlers, we wanted to know if there was anything we could do from the start to prevent picky eating. That’s when we read “ French Kids Eat Everything ” by Karen Le Billon . The book is an easy and enjoyable read about the year that Karen’s family spent in France and how it changed the way her family eats. The heart of the book explores the 10 French Food Rules for raising happy, healthy eaters. “French Kids Eat Everything” sparked numerous discussions at our dinner table about how our family eats. We have become more conscious of our assumptions about food and how that will influence Henry’s understanding of mealtimes. In addition, the

What is I-522?

Yesterday, I interviewed a mom who is concerned about GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms). She explained that there is no way to know whether the food you purchase may include GMOs unless it is certified organic. In Washington state, Initiative 522 would require labeling for foods produced through genetic engineering. Providing consumers with information about the foods they eat seems like common sense. However, I-522 has already been met with controversy especially from the state's wheat growers . I wanted to hear from a local farm, so I asked Dan Hulse from Tahoma Farms for his thoughts on GMOs and I-522. Henry loves finding his favorite foods in our weekly produce delivery from Terra Organics. In 2003, Dan and his wife Kim formed Terra Organics an organic produce delivery service. They have been small family farmers since 2004. In 2009, the couple purchased a 40-acre farm in Orting, WA known as Tahoma Farms. The farm and Terra Organics sell organic produce locally

How to Feed a Henry

Search This Blog