A funny thing happend when I won a fishing competition........

A funny thing happened to me once when I won a fishing competition with my Dad on Great Barrier Island, off the coast of New Zealand in the 1960's.  We were spending the summer on this wonderful island, in the South Pacific, living off the land, enjoying the company of may friends at a place called Orama.  It was run as a Christian Retreat Center and every summer we camped there and enjoyed the ocean and farm life.  We had to take a small ferry boat or tiny airplane to get there....what fantastic experiences.........watching cows being milked, sheep sheared etc.  

But back to the fishing story............My Dad who worked for a large Toy Company for a living.....was a passionate fisherman.  The camp had organized a fishing competition for the day........my brother John had chosen to go spear fishing with snorkel, fins and goggles.  Dad and I had a small dingy that we rowed out into the bay.  Somehow we managed to put down anchor near a tiny island and began to fish.  Well, little did we know that this was the sweet spot of all time.   Dad couldn't bait the hooks fast enough, while I reeled them in one by one.  Before long we had more than our little boat could handle and we quit long before the fish were done biting.  We won for having the most fish.  And my brother won for the most unusual catch..........he caught a sting ray.

The next day while volunteering in the kitchen, it was my job to assemble a cold steamed fish salad with some of the bounty.  I was instructed to layer the freshly cooked fish with raw onions and cloves.  Having never worked with cloves before, I was liberally throwing them into the salad.  I think I was abut 11 years old at the time..........very confident and not into asking for advice.  So the next day when the layered fish salad was served, people were biting down on  mouthfuls of cloves and spitting them out left and right.  I don't know who invented that recipe, but I'm sure it was never repeated.

I however have a great love of fresh fish.  We had a neighbor who lived down the street from us in New Zealand who was a professional fisherman.  Many mornings he would drop by real early with a couple of fresh snapper or flounder wrapped in newspaper. My mother would simmer the fish in butter and cream and serve it for breakfast with a little parsley garnish.  Or we would buy smoked fish, and she would serve that in a cream sauce over rice.  But, I think my all time favorite was freshly caught rainbow trout that either my Dad or brother had caught, simply using a fly and rod,  wading out in the river or lake. 

Today, my husband and I had Mahi Mahi BBQ'd with a fresh cilantro dressing.  That was pretty amazing too.  I'll share the recipe for the sauce with you here.

Thai Cilantro Sauce 

In a blender place:
2 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped
1/2 c cilantro leaves (fresh coriander)
2 Tbsp  Asian fish sauce ( or 1 Tbsp soy sauce)
1 Tbsp toasted sesame oil
1/4 c fresh orange, lemon or lime juice
1 pinch of red pepper flakes
1 Tbsp sugar

Blend until smooth.
 Reserve half for marinading the fish and half for serving over the cooked fish later.
Place the fish in a zip lock bag with half the sauce for about 15 mins in the fridge.
Meanwhile heat up the grill and cook the fish until done.  Depends on the thickness of the fish.
Serve with liberal amounts of the reserved sauce.

This is also a great sauce for chicken or pork.  I made it with chicken just a few days ago.
The secret to keeping cilantro fresh in your refrigerator is to trim the stems a little when you get it home, and place into a couple inches of fresh water in a cup, with a  loose plastic bag over the top.  You will have fresh cilantro for up to two or more weeks this way. 

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