oysters

What is it about the Puget Sound that makes it so condusive to growing oysters?  Is it the grey sky, the constant rain, maybe it's the wind that blows off the pacific and pounds the shoreline ceaslessly carving new bays. The flat lands have been saturated year after year by the remnants of silt from massive glaciers that carved huge river valleys.  Only a few mountains in the Cascade range still hold these locked seas of ice.

The rich waters have been making human life rich and easy for hundreds of years.  Before the Sweeds or Dutch migrated accros the great plains to fish, farm and fall timber, Native Amercian Tribes warred over the bays and inlets.  But now a less violent war is waged, this one is fought over cold hard cash.  Which oyster and muscle farmer will put your dollar in their till this season.

My preference is Taylor Shellfish Farm, no they haven't given me anything except excellent service for this promo, make that excellent service and amazing (shrink down your shoulders, let your head fall back and your eyes roll amazing) oysters.  I'm sure their geoducks and muscles and crabs are good too, but the oysters, yes please, can't get enough of them.

So here's a little receipe from grandma (who I am sure got it off the label of some jar of oysters somewhere)

Oyster Stew
heat 2 Cups of  half and half
add 2 Cups milk
add oysters and their juice (at least 36),
a dash of worshtershire,
a spinkle of salt,
a grind of pepper.
warm for a while to let the flavours mingle
and a dallop of butter, let melt
serve  (prior counting of oysters is highly recomended so that everyone receives and equal portion)
slurping this 'stew' is highly recomended too.

fyi.  if the oysters are raw and you don't like this then pre cook them in their own juices prior to adding them to the milk.