Eastside Curry

Here is an old post I wrote last March that I guess I never got around to pushing the “Publish” button for!!

It’s been awhile since I posted anything and I must say I’m feeling a bit guilty, like I’ve forgotten to feed the dog!

Today’s post is all about the Green School 3rd grade field trip to the Fish Market in Jimbaran.

Arlo’s class has studied Farmers and Fisherman so a trip to the Fish Market was the place to go…

Arlo was a bit apprehensive about this trip ( as you may remember from past post he’s a puker, if you go into a hot and stinky Asian market with him its best to bring a bag).

It was pretty fishy in there…. We squeezed our way up and down the isles. Marveling at all the colors, shapes and sizes…

Fish sellers with cigarettes dangling from their mouths beckoned us in with shouts of

“good fish, cheap price!”

After much deliberation….deals were made,  fish were weighed, gutted, scaled and then sent over to the grill to be cooked up for lunch….

Not only was the field trip about seeing how the Fisherman do their job it was also a great place for the kids to practice their Indonesian. Everyone picked out a fish to have cooked up for lunch.  The kids did a great.

While lunch was cooking we took the opportunity to get some fresh air and enjoy the beach…Arlo was feeling and looking a bit green and didn’t want to push his luck, so he decided to play it safe and skip lunch.

A dozen grilled fish and some squid were served up. Everyone said it was delicious, so yummy in fact that I was convinced to go back into the market and buy a very pretty fish to take home and cook up for the big boys…. couldn’t understand the Indo. name but, it sounded like “crazy fish” which Arlo thought was a good name since I was crazy enough to bring home a fish with a head on it. I’m not a fish eater myself so I followed my friend Sarah’s lead and got some advice from a dad that happened to be a chef…I felt satisfied with my “crazy fish” head and all and went home.

I finished scaling the fish, chopped off the head, seasoned it up with herbs and spices, lots of lemon and some serious love ( I have to really like you to handle a stinky dead fish and cut off its head). I slid it into the oven to bake and 45 minutes later I was quite impressed with how lovely it looked and smelled. Silas was the first taster  and sadly the last…

He took his first bite, I waited bugged eyed, gripping my wooden spoon for his response….”so, how was it?” I ask

“good” he replied…

just “good?”…I was looking for better than “good”, hardly worth the effort for “good”… leftovers are “good’…

then he took another bite, and another “this is actually great”, he mumbled from his over stuffed mouth. “great” you say? yay! “great” is way better than “good”… he served himself  up a second plate and said “this is the best fish I’ve ever had!!”

Whoop!  I can’t wait for Zeb and Philip to get home and try it…

I put the pan back into the oven leaving it open just enough so the heat can escape and not keep cooking my delicious fish…a little while later I hear some noise in the kitchen, and wait for Phee and Zeb to start in with the praise but after 10 minutes and no ” your amazing” shouts from the kitchen I decide to investigate and what do I find but an empty pan and a trail of lemon rinds and fish bones leading to two very naughty yet very satisfied dogs!

I should have known… the terrible two once opened the refrigerator door and ate all the cakes my friend Stephanie and I had baked that day!

This may not have been the first time but it might be the last….

Next post:

Dogs Looking For New Home… don’t feel guilty if you forget to feed them they will feed themselves.