Yes Tan! No Carb! Beach eating.

So I am in Rodanthe, NC this week and still doing RFL pretty well (scratch that as of returning home today, I started this post on Wednesday!) In fact, it's been super easy to eat while I've been here. I have no access to the normal kitchen fare at home that makes it such a temptation to make and eat whatever I want. No, here I've limited my access and really made a couple of phenomenal things with fresh, locally caught fish!  The other stuff has been, eh...beef jerky for late night snacks, and mostly boring salads with chicken otherwise.  I did make some great breakfast cups and will blog that another day. Let's just dive in. (Pun intended.)

Fresh Flounder

My first experience with ceviche was back in 98' or 99' on a beach trip I took to Delaware. I was staying with a Cuban family and they made this one of the first days. The huge wooden bowl was filled with a mixture of fresh white fish, onions, peppers, spices and lemon juice. You don't really "cook" this. The citric acid in the lemon juice "cooks" the fish, leaving it a creamy white color, but with the same softish texture of raw fish. It's divine!  Here is what I did...

Fresh Flounder Ceviche

1/2 lb fresh flounder, skin off and chopped into small 1/2" pieces

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/4 cup medium salsa

1/8 cup fine chopped onion

salt and any addition spicy spices you may want, I used a bit of my Kick'n Chicken spice

Mix it all in a shallow dish, cover, and let remain at room temp for 15 mins before transferring to the fridge, covered. I ate it straight. Most people will use crackers or tortilla chips and eat it like a dip. 

Fresh Mako Shark

For whatever reason, where I went to college was in the mountains of VA, and we always had fresh shark steaks at the local Food Lion. I fell in love with shark then, and always take up the opportunity to buy it fresh if I can. I'm not usually likely to order it in a restaurant though. Don't know why, that's just how I roll.  Anyway, when I found it at the market in Rodanthe I immediately bought a pound with the intention of making shish kabobs. So I did!

Mako Shark Shish Kabobs

1 lb fresh mako shark, cut into 1 1/2" cubes

1 medium zucchini, cut into 2" pieces

1 medium yellow squash, cut into 2" pieces

1 large onion, cut into 1" chunks

salt, pepper, soy sauce, lemon juice, whatever you want to flavor with

Thread mixed pieces of shark and veggies onto skewers with about 4 pieces of shark on each one.  Season each skewer with spices you want, and then sprinkle with lemon or soy sauce after cooking. You might have a couple of veggie skewers in addition, but extra veggies are always good! We used a charcoal grill almost ocean front, so it took a looooong time, but on a normal grill you can probably do med/high heat and cook about 5 mins and flip, then do 5 mins on the other side.  Let them cool and enjoy. These are delicious!

I wanted to add that I am now home from the beach. I've had this post up and ready to complete for 4 days now, but couldn't break from relaxing enough to finish. So you are welcome!! :)