Summer is a busy time here at Ocean Harvest. While the days are longer, there always seems like there is more to do in them. This is the time of year where our harvest ramps up. The seaweed is plentiful and the sun is out in full force to dry and lock in all of the nutrients. The race is on to get as much as we can done before the inevitable turn of fall around the corner.
Harvest days start early, but there is a little bit of magic to them. We have to be out at the ocean before low tide, which is typically right at about sunrise. That means waking up in the dark, grabbing our gear and sometimes even doing a hike down to the beach in the glow of first light. I don’t love waking up before dawn, but watching as the sky blushes to its first hints of pinks and blues is undeniably awe-inspiring. I’m always thankful once we are out there to get to experience such a beautiful way to start the day.
After harvesting and carrying out our day’s haul, it’s back to the drying racks to lay out all of our seaweed. If we’re lucky, the fog has already burned off and the sun is ready to do its work. If we’re not as lucky, the fog hangs around a bit longer so we are a little colder as we prepare our drying racks. The sun always seems to win in the end though, pushing back the marine layer and drying our quarry throughout the day.
Then, finally, we get a little break as the seaweed dries. It shrivels down almost miraculously, going from luminous iridescent strands to nice, crispy morsels ready to be stored away. The change continues to amaze me, even after years now of watching it happen. Once packaged away, it is hard to recognize from the live seaweed swaying in the ocean water. Throw any of it into water for a few minutes though, and you can watch it quickly rehydrate back to its former state. Every time I make a Sea Palm salad or a pot of beans with some Kombu, I get to have a reminder of what it looked like when we harvested it. Its deep green color and flesh restored to its original state.
Here at Ocean Harvest, we are thankful for the long summer days and the ocean that continues to provide us with a bounty of sea vegetables that we can harvest and share with our customers. We’re thankful to our customers for continuing to support us and enjoying all of the nutrients that our local waters have to offer.
Thank you again from us here at Ocean Harvest and we hope that a little of the ocean magic makes its way to you from our sea vegetables!
Beans with Kombu
Take the nutritional value and digestibility of any bean up a notch by cooking it with kombu! Something magical happens when you cook dried beans with kombu. The kombu rehydrates to look something like it did when we harvested it, then as it cooks, it releases small green flecks that break down the beans to be easier on your system and impart a lovely umami flavor. Any bean will work, but my favorite is white cannellini or navy beans.
Ingredients:
2 cups dried cannellini or navy beans
4 strips kombu
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
- Soak beans and kombu overnight or at least 8 hours. The beans should swell in size and the kombu will be nice and soft.
- Drain off the water and replace with fresh water, covering beans with at least an inch of water.
- Bring to a boil, turn down to a simmer and cook for one to two hours. I usually try a bean after an hour and keep cooking until the beans mush easily. The kombu may disintegrate completely, or may leave a translucent strand. It is entirely edible, but I will usually remove any part that is still a large piece.
- You can add the beans and cooking water to any soup, or drain them to have as a side or on their own. Add salt and pepper to your liking and enjoy!