Galley Gourmetwith Captain Chaos

Lobbying at North Head


Driving through Coffs Harbour the other day I happened to pick up the local paper and saw an ad for the Pittwater to Coffs race in January. The members here at the yacht club take the race very seriously, which is great for the crews as they will find a very appreciative group of yachting enthusiasts waiting to greet them.
While I was there I climbed up onto Mutton Bird Island, what a wonderful view of the coast and the nearby islands. Remembering the coastal trade of the past I couldn’t help but wonder why we still don’t have coastal ships using the ports for freight … and of course tourism. But sadly most of the river mouths are now silted up and not navigable to any large ships.
There is one left which at least has the ability to have cruise ships and that’s Coffs Harbour, where the council have just released a plan for the harbour foreshores that takes in the beautiful old wooden wharf. I look forward to seeing this vision come to fruition.
Last month being cold and windy, prudence found me wandering around the house looking for something to do when the phone rang.
“Hi Chaos. It’s me Sid what are you up to?”
“Why? What do you have in mind?” I asked, knowing Sid wouldn’t ring if he wasn’t up to something and needed help.
“Do you need any lobbies and maybe some oco? Come on down to Sydney and we can go out tomorrow.”
After some thought I was on my way down the coast to Manly. A long night found me at the bottom of North Head dressed in a wet suit holding a surf board and a large onion bag. Sid was dressed the same. We were going to head towards Manly Beach because his pots were laid out in that direction.
“Wait until the wave has broken and is going out, then throw yourself into the sea on your board, OK?”
“Well …” I didn’t get to say anything more as he had gone and was paddling out. I took my life in my hands and jumped after the next wave, I didn’t realise how strong the swell was and found myself looking down into the trough of the next wave. I heard a yell.
“Don’t just sit there Chaos. Paddle!”
It broke the spell and I started to paddle as if my life depended on it. When I thought it was safe to look around I nearly had a heart attack the waves and backwash were pushing the board around and the cliffs hung ominously above. I heard Sid yelling to come and help with the pots. I made my way over and helped put the lobsters into the onion bag while Sid rebaited the pot. I was engrossed in this work and following behind Sid nearly enjoying myself.
“Remember to keep your feet on the board and keep the bag out of the water.”
“Why?”
I thought it was a silly question because the only thing that would make Sid say some thing like that was …
“SHARKS! Hell Sid, what have you got me into?”
“Don’t worry I have been doing this for about ten years and I haven’t been bitten yet.”
“That’s all right for you. You’re too skinny to get a meal off, while me on the other hand …”
I didn’t finish as looking around, all the chop looked like dorsal fins and the shadows on the surface were fast moving shapes.
“Wow! Look at that!” Sid yelled at me. I think I had my eyes closed because when I opened them and wiped the water out, all I could see was a huge grey shape that seemed to fill my whole vision.
I’m dead. … was the terrorising thought. Then I heard Sid laughing.
“I have never been so close to one in my whole life. What a wonderful sight.”
Cruising past within what seemed like touching distance was a huge whale. After looking us over, it sounded and silently submerged.

Easy Lobster

Ingredients
1 large lobster, cooked
(remove meat cut into bite size chunks). Save the shells
¼ cup white wine
½ cup white sauce
½ cup grated mature cheese
2 tablespoons fresh grated Parmesan
1 tablespoon bread crumbs
1 tablespoon finely chopped shallots
1 cup mixed of fresh parsley, basil and tarragon chopped fine
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
ground black pepper

Cooking
In a pan, heat the butter and oil add shallots, pepper, fresh herbs, heat through then add wine and white sauce, mix and reheat. Pour mixture over the meat in the lobster shells. Top with butter, grated cheese and bread crumbs Place dish under griller for a few minutes to brown cheese.