every thursday morning at 9 am our fishmonger, monsieur sauzet, shows up in the village square to sell us fresh fish his sons have caught the previous day. Buying the fish is usually just the beginning of the process. They are always whole, and so we have to gut and clean them, or fillet them, or, in the case of squid, pull their heads off, scrape off their skin, scoop out their insides, and slip their beautiful, clear cartilaginous spines out from along their backs. they look like willow leaves, and it is worth all the rest of the work to accumulate a small pile of those spines on the sideboard next to the sink. a little magic in the midst of minor drudgery.
squid spines
autignac, france
I have been trying to tell you how much I love this new look, but from my iPad or iPhone I cannot make the comments work.
So, anyway, I really love this. I especially like the squid post because I love cleaning them and pulling out that beautiful carapace.
I have to say, however, that I do feel sorry for the creatures, delicious as they may be. Safe travels back and remember do not tune in to any news.
So funny that I should see this just now, only minutes ago I announced to the family that we will all be on a mandatory media black-out for a couple days.