This is the dark cold and wet season when we celebrate affection and mercy. This past summer, my daughter Sarah signed the consent papers for my surgery when I was unable to make that decision. I had accidentally bonked my head, and I had a subdural hematoma. The doctor advised that two quarter inch burr holes drilled in my skull would relieve the pressure. “I decided that you could put up with two holes in your head so that you could still talk,” Sarah told me after the surgery. Well, I’m still very much talking, (and working, fully recovered) and I’ve decided to show you all some affection and mercy by NOT mentioning the “S” word in any of the recipes I’m about to share with you. You see, I operate like a CSA (community supported agriculture), and customers are welcome to come for a visit (there’s no charge for an overnight or a weekend stay) so that they can discover for themselves the source and spirit of these wonderful “herbs of the sea”. (See? I didn’t mention the “S” word!…..After 40 years of harvesting them, I’m entitled to a day off!) Well, let’s get to it. This is the kind of cooking that keeps me warm while I’m working in water temperatures that are 40-45 degrees F., and this is the kind of food that can keep YOU warm during the holiday season! If you want more recipes that incorporate vegetables from the sea, you can always go here. Tags: | 4 Comments »

By Larch On December 1st, 2012

Some seaweed companies sell seaweed incorporated into candy or chips. Some mix it with spices and sell it in shakers. Some sell it in small retail packages, and the price per pound is more than $100. If the packages are exposed to direct light, the pigments will degrade. Call me a purist if you like, and thank me when you do, because my intent is to deliver the essences of various seaweeds to you, bone dry when appropriate and protected from humidity and direct light, and offer you recipes for using them. Most of the recipes at theseaweedman.com and larchhanson.com are wet recipes because iodine is a volatile, and roasting kelp or alaria will drive off the iodine. The soak water and the cooking water should be used. This water transfers the iodine to people, and since we all need iodine to protect our thyroids in a world of failing nuclear reactors that emit radioactive iodine, this is the most important point. Seaweed candy, spice shakers, and chips won’t deliver the iodine necessary to health.
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