Slow cooker pacific mussels and sausage chowder

On March 29, 2014October 8, 2019 By Sasquatch ShaneIn Crock pot recipes, Foraging, RecipesLeave a comment

There are many types of chowder in the world and even more variations of chowder recipes. Over the centuries if it is from the ocean then some one has probably made chowder out of it. After my last trip to the coast to forage I didn’t get any clams but I did get a nice bucket of fresh mussels. Which make a perfect chowder. The only thing that tends to throw people off about using mussels is that instead of the normal white of clams these are an orange color. Using a slow cooker for this makes the mussels nice and tender and delicious.

Tasty bowl of chowder with mussels and sausage.

ingredients:

8 oz chopped mussels
4 sliced chicken sausages
1/2 cup chopped onion
6 to 8 medium potatoes
3 c. water
3 1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
4 c. half and half cream or milk
3 to 4 tbsp. cornstarch or (instant potatoes)

If you are using fresh mussels like I am you will need to steam them open and then cut them up. Also be careful of the occasional pearl. All of the ones that I have found were small but they would still have chipped a tooth. Cut the mussels into bite-sized pieces after removing them from the shell if they are large. In a skillet, saute sausage and onion until golden brown; drain. Put into slow cooker with mussels. Add all remaining ingredients, except milk and cornstarch. Cover and cook on high 3 to 4 hours or until vegetables are tender. During the last hour of cooking, combine 1 cup of milk with the cornstarch. Add cornstarch mixture and the remaining milk and stir well; heat through.

A link to my handy slowcooker

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Garlic mussels with Yakisoba noodles

On March 9, 2014March 9, 2014 By Sasquatch ShaneIn Foraging, RecipesLeave a comment

Tasty and healthy stir fry of mussels, bok choy, and noodles.

Once more I have a nice amount of wild harvested mussels to something with. These are a different type than the bay mussels I harvested last time. These are the California mussels that live along rocky outcrops all over any rocky habitat throughout the Oregon coast. And I found a bonus in these mussels. There were several small pearls that I found while cleaning them.

Lots of mini pearls that were embedded in the mussels.

They are not very big, but it was fun to find them. For this batch of mussels I am going to stir fry them with some veggies and Yakisoba noodles. Stir frying is a very quick and easy way to make a quick meal. The noodles are already cooked so they just need to be warmed up.

Ingredients:

1 package of yakisoba noodles
2 cups fresh bok choy
1 cup bean sprouts
3 garlic cloves
8 oz cooked and shelled mussels
1 tablespoon olive oil or oil of choice

Saute the garlic in the oil until it just starts to change color
Add in the bok choy and bean sprouts and cook for 2-5 minutes at medium heat or until they are almost cooked
Add in the yakisoba noodles and mussels, then cook until heated completely. This usually only takes a couple minutes
At this point you can add in any sauce that you like for flavoring. I am just adding a light soy sauce to the mix.

Mussels with pesto

On February 23, 2014 By Sasquatch ShaneIn Foraging, RecipesLeave a comment

Yesterday day was a great day of fun and sun at the beach. And the perfect low tide to pick a limit of bay mussels of the jetty. The only thing about getting mussels off the jetty is that they tend to be on the small size. The largest one that I found was about 4 inches. The average was just over 2 inches. With all these delicious mussels I decided that mixing them in with some pesto would make for a great dinner tonight. That and it’s a very simple recipe. This will make two servings

Ingredients:

1/2 lb cooked and shelled mussels
2 ounces pesto
4 ounces dried pasta of choice

Cook up your pasta as per directions and drain. While the pasta is cooking warm up the mussels with the pesto in a large saute pan. add the cooked pasta to the pan and toss to coat the noodles evenly with the pesto. pour into bowls and enjoy.