A foraging we will go...better yet, get someone else to do it!

As many of you will know, Ms Monkey is an avid forager! Come late summer I can normally be found, fighting the brambles and up to my arse in spiky foliage, on the quest for various berries to make ingenious, normally alcoholic, concoctions. But at this time of the year there is little greenery about to be of interest, however, now is a fabulous time for shellfish! I will eat any kind of sea creature and the best kind are those you have foraged yourself! Nothing beats taking a stove on to the beach and rustling up a few 'moules mariniere' fresh from the ocean. The sweetness of these wee morsels cannot be over emphasised and I have a few choice spots where I can forage mussels, oysters, shrimps, whelks and winkles, but one little beastie has always evaded me. The Razor Clam (Ennis sp. and Solen marginatus). Now this little blighter lives under the sand, well under the sand...

Now, our local beach provides plenty of shells, ergo, the clams must be there somewhere. However, the mouth of Hayle Estuary is not a good place for food foraging, the intense industrial activity in the estuary during the Nineteenth Century has left heavy metal deposits amongst the sands (although I've yet to find patchouli smelling, greebos hiding out within the dunes!). I have to say, that shell fish, generally, are often found to be containing heavy metals. Providing one isn't about to embark on a shellfish only diet, then one should be fine. Still, I plan on staying away from the mouth of the estuary. Fishermen take lobsters and crab from elsewhere in the bay, so I am assuming that it's perfectly safe. If I start mutating, I will let you know!

Anyway, back to the plot... Now Razor Clams have a tell tale, keyhole shaped siphon hole. But I have never seen any!! Now, I suspect that there may be some dwelling over in Mounts Bay, but the problem is that I never seem to be over that way on a spring tide, or if I am I do not have a pot of salt with me. Salt, I hear you ask? Yes indeedy, the trick is to pour salt into the siphon hole, this will make the Razor Clam 'pop' to the surface to spit the salt out. Gripping the shell by the the edges, you can, slowly, but firmly, pull the clam to the surface. The rules for commercial landing state a minimum of 10cm, so best to let anything smaller go. All parts of the clam are edible, except for the grey stomach. The tastiest part (apparently), is the foot, which when cooked, looks a little like a flaccid....ahem...gentlemans' part! These little devils can be cooked in a variety of ways; barbecued, grilled, boiled etc. They are ready as soon as they cease to be translucent.

Well, I had still to taste these elusive bivalves, so you can imagine my excitement when I received a text from Mrs McGregor saying "At 5pm I shall be sauteing Razor Clams with garlic and shallots, how much do you love me?" Well my answer, as I'm sure you can imagine, was effusive! One of Mrs McGregor's friends had retrieved these whilst diving (the cheater!). At 4.45, Dude and I shot from the house, breaking all sorts of speed laws and possibly one or two laws of physics as well. Well, we arrived just in time for the feast to begin and I can assure you, we licked the plates clean. I would describe the flavour as rich and meaty, whilst also sweet. Only Dude was brave enough to eat the foot...although, as I have previously mentioned, it is, supposedly, the most tasty bit. Next time I will have more courage...

Of course, there has been another bonus from our marine plunder...dozens of razor shells, for converting into mobiles and wind chimes....and the cats got the scraps, well Tyson did anyway...nothing went to waste!!

I can feel a project coming on...