Ummm..I think I'll pass.

Today was a good day on the Bayou. Food is plentiful and free for the taking for those who are willing to do a bit of work. As I mentioned earlier, shrimp are "in" meaning they are schooling in the Bay making it easy to catch them. Throwing the net requires a good bit of strength and stamina but a good platter of fried shrimp makes it all worthwhile. Today's catch..approximately 14 pounds which yielded eight one-pound bags of headed and peeled shrimp for the freezer. When trying to become more self-sustainable, that is a hefty addition to the larder. But today's catch did not end there. Somewhere in the range of thirty-five mullet were caught and filleted. The mullet are in the Bay to spawn and are full of eggs or roe. Mullet roe is an acquired taste and many will pass on eating them. I have no qualms about eating the yellow roe (also called red roe for some incomprehensible reason). The "white roe", on the other hand...umm..uhhh..how about "No!" Think of what you are asking me to do..I do not think so..ewwww! White roe is also called "male roe" and that should explain it all! (There is another oxymoron for you..male roe???) For any who still need a bit of clarification..yellow roe is the female eggs..they are edible and even in some cultures considered a delicacy. I, personally, can take it or leave it..but I am not adverse to eating the yellow roe if that is all I have. No problem. White roe or male roe is actually the male testes according to Monterey Bay Aquarium. This I knew but as a reference it was great to find the Monterey Bay Aquarium website to cite. It is amazing how many people here will call the stuff "male roe" but then refuse to believe just what they are eating. This I do have qualms about eating..I refuse to eat "white roe". Think about it folks..nope..not happening. I will just pass. You might ask.."Would you eat it, if that was all you had?" Answer..I will become a vegetarian for a while! In a word..NOPE!

While we are on the subject of mullet roe, there is a recipe that I recently heard about that I hope to try. I do not fry a lot of foods any more but face it..I live in the Deep South and fried food is a definitive part of life here. When frying mullet fillets or any fish for that matter, it is almost a requirement that you serve the fillets with a side dish of "hush puppies". I love hush puppies with a good hot jalapeno cheese sauce! I could forgo all the rest of the meal and just take a platter of hush puppies and cheese sauce and be one happy camper! The recipe that I am anxious to try is a batch of hush puppies made with a good dollop of loose mullet roe added to the batter. Loose roe meaning the outer skin is slit and the eggs themselves are used in the batter. Perhaps tomorrow would be a good day to try this!