Keller Family Blog

re’s another rmin

Long ago in a place not far away, the Keller family provided another adventure in eating that remains memorable, if a little painful. In about 1965 Dad, Mom and Kathleen decided that it might be nice to take a mini camping trip up to Salt Point, just outside of Fort Ross. Dad said that abalone season was open and that it might be fun to try to do a little fishing. I offered to join them. I had to work thalt day, but could drive up later. Done deal . Somehow, my buddies Bill and Oddvar learned about the trip and, never having fished for abalone , wanted to give it a try. At around 7pm we piled into my Chevy pickup and headed north. We found the campsite sometime after 11pm and settled in to get some sleep. Around 4:30 Dad wakes us up with the news that low tide is at 5:30-get ready. Our manner of abalone fishing was wading and the gear was simple: jeans and tee shirt, old tennis shoes, a pry bar made from a sharpened leaf spring and a gunny sack for the catch. Lest it not be said, the sun wasn’t quite up and the water was about 55 degrees! Dad and Mom started a fire on the beach and Dad decided that I should do the fishing, so that I could instruct my buddies…while he tended the fire.. I found a promising group of rocks, just peeking above the water, waded into water just above my waist and invited my best friends to join me for their lesson. They demurred and said they’d learn by watching from shore, so I told them when I’d located abalone I’d toss them to them and they could put them in the sack. By golly, it was cold! After exploring the bottom of the rocks with my hands, I found a really large specimen, pried it off and told one of the guys I’d throw it to him, which I did. It went right through his and “plop” into the water. Luckily, I found 3 more and unluckily the boys dropped them all. By now, I was a little upset, seriously cold, shivering and the tide was coming back in. I asked my friends to toss me the sack, luckly bagged 3 good sized specimens and headed for shore. I could hardly move for the shivering. Dad got me to the fire and Mom pulled out a bottle of red wine and helped me drink. That wine must have been a cross between Manischewitz and Carlo Rossi, but when the warmth and the sugar hit, I knew that all would be well. While I was enjoying my first taste of the grape, Dad was slicing the abalone and heating the cast iron pan to make one of the simplest and most elegant breakfasts ever: thin sliced abalone fried in hot oil (about 30 seconds per side), plated with lemon wedges and salted to taste with sides if you wish. May be served with friends who can’t catch, but are smart enough to stay out of cold water. Enjoy