Recipe time: Fish power

We've had our first round of winter illnesses down here in Chapel Hill. Some virus conspired to take down the entire staff and client base of Crossfit Durham (for time, of course) and was pretty successful. UNC positively resounds with sniffles. And with a large percentage of the nation squeezing through a few airports in the past few days we're all probably more vulnerable than we'd like.

I have thus far been spared. In fact, I've been spared for the past few years. I don't mean that as a boast - it's the result of a little bit of luck and a lot of lifestyle choices. Namely, eating large quantities of bacteria on purpose and rolling around in dirt without any shoes on.

I suspect it also has to do with my love of and commitment to delicious stocks. Making stock is rapidly becoming a lost art, which is a shame because it is fun, satisfying, incredibly useful, and extremely nourishing. It's also pretty easy, cheap, and requires very little effort.

I'm going to share with you a basic fish stock recipe and then, in the next post, a possible application. This is based on the fish stock recipe found in Nourishing Traditions, which you should all acquire ASAP.

A word on fish carcasses: You want to use a non-oily fish such as sole, turbot, rockfish, or snapper. I usually have the best luck tracking down whole snapper carcasses. Avoid oily fish such as salmon - the long cooking process will cause the fish oil to oxidize (go rancid).

To get your hands on the carcasses, go to your local fish market or seafood section in a decent grocery store and talk to the people there. Ask when they get their deliveries of whole fish and if it would be possible for them to set aside a few carcasses for you. Ask them to include the heads. I guarantee you they will say yes. On the day they specify (at my local Whole Foods, the magic day is Tuesday morning) give them a call to remind them that you're coming in, then present yourself. My guys always have the bag ready for me. You will probably get charged some nominal price and it's totally worth it for the funny looks you get from people in line with you at the checkout counter.

All together now: "Le....poi..sson, Le poisson..."

Without further ado, here's the recipe:

Ingredients: 3-4 whole fish carcasses; 2 onions, coarsely chopped; 1 carrot, coarsely chopped; 1 bay leaf; 1/2 cup dry white wine; 1/4 cup vinegar; approx. 3 quarts water; a few sprigs fresh thyme; a few sprigs parsley; 2 tablespoons butter.

- Melt the butter in a large pot. (you do own a stockpot, right?) Toss in the onions and the carrot and gently cook them for about 30 mins. until everything is soft.

- Add the wine and bring everything to a boil. Add the fish carcasses, vinegar, and cover everything with the water. Bring it all to a boil and skim off any scum that rises to the top.

- Add all the herbs to the pot.

- Reduce heat to a very slow simmer. Cover the pot and leave it for 12 - 24 hours. You can check it every so often and give it a stir.

- Remove from heat, strain the liquid out into storage containers and refrigerate. about 12 hours later, remove any congealed fat that hardens on the surface.

- You can use the stock immediately, or transfer it to the freezer for long term storage.

The stock is delicious on its own and forms the base of many great soups. The inclusion of the fish heads insures that your broth will be rich in iodine, fat soluble vitamins, and will benefit from the thyroid gland. I really don't think there are many more nourishing foods - and it's really tasty. Enjoy!

Yes, that last caption was a Little Mermaid reference...

Etre fort pour etre utile

I was just the first responder to a crash site.

I was walking around UNC's campus posting Fifth Ape flyers. I was on a brick path when not 100m away the driver of one of those bigger-than-a-golf-cart/ not-quite-a-car lost control on a steep downhill. I looked on in horror as the car skidded, tipped, smashed into the street in a shower of glass and metal, then tumbled down the rest of the hill.

I have never run so fast in my life. The driver was an undergrad girl - conscious but bleeding and (understandably) in a state of near panic. She responded to verbal cues but there was no way to tell how badly she was hurt.

So I dug out all the debris and lifted her out of the wreckage. Others had arrived at that point, 911 had been called and help was on the way. The bleeding looked pretty bad at first, but wasn't very serious - a few lacerations on the hands and a long but shallow cut on the elbow. No head trauma and no shock - I tried to get her to sit down but there was too much adrenaline in her - she wanted to stand up.  People kept asking if I was okay... I finally realized that I had a lot of her blood on me as well.

The police and an ambulance arrived and we turned her over to the medics. I then helped the police flip the car back over and drag it out of the road.  I found a place to wash my hands and arms, and headed out.

As awful as the situation was, I've had a strange feeling of wellbeing ever since - I think it comes from being called upon to help a fellow human in crisis, and responding to the challenge. We are all fortunate that the girl was not seriously hurt. But this was a profound reminder to me of why I train the way I do and why I am not satisfied with conventional definitions of fitness. I think we have a duty to be ready to help each other - "etre fort pour etre utile" - be strong to be useful.

I wish this had never happened. But I'm glad I was there when it did.

More Fifth Ape press!

News from the front: This is a rough transcript from this morning's Fifth Ape Fundamentals class:

Colin: "Okay, we're going to start working on muscle-ups from the cat hang position. Now, this is a pretty tough skill that req..."

Katie Rose: "Like this?" (executes perfect muscle-up)

Colin: "Um, yeah... that was really good..."

So there you have it - after just 5 sessions of Fifth Ape training, you will begin to develop skills preternaturally. Doesn't that sound good? If so, you should sign up for the next Fundamentals class!

***

Jill Marie Hively runs a great organization - Order Up Organizing - and keeps an equally great blog. And I'm not just saying that because Fifth Ape is featured in it - but that's pretty neat too. You can read the article here. Thanks so much for the kind words Jill!

This is the second time Fifth Ape has been featured in as many weeks. It's already gone straight to my head. To prepare for what will surely be an onslaught of media attention I have commissioned a three-piece suit spun out of pure gold and a pocket watch made entirely out of diamonds and whale bone. Fear not, I am not wasteful - the rest of the whale bones are being used to make stock. Whale stock. I may need a bigger stockpot.

Actually, I have created a new page, conveniently named "Press", where you can easily keep track of Fifth Ape in the news. I am pretty humbled to have such a thing on my site - many thanks to Reese News, to Order Up Organizing, and to all of you for the continued support.