Food of the Heron

Once or twice a week this Heron eats fish, sometimes even more frequently according to his luck. Regularly though fresh Tuna steaks are purchased to satisfy not just my taste buds, but for its nutritious and oily content which canned tuna does not have.

The cooking of and buying of fish regardless of type, is mine alone. My normal method is a medium fry using a dash of olive to which half a teaspoon of cayenne pepper is added. This to my mind brings out the full flavour of the fish, including white fish such as cod or even scallops.

Another preference is to eat the cooked fish without the accompaniment of vegetables, preferring it on its own or with fruit or on a bed of parsley. Tonight I peeled and sliced a sweet apple, dropping the slices into the pan when the tuna was three-quarters cooked.

The end result was simply delicious, I was yumming away so loudly that even Mrs Heron swiped a slice off my plate, fortunately I managed to consume the remainder of the apple before she had the chance to rob me again!

I rarely use recipe books preferring to experiment rightly or wrongly (and isn't that how the recipes were got ?) . Am a firm believer that if you start off with good quality produce and use a spoonful of common sense then you will not go wrong.

Chestnut mushrooms are a firm favourite: I chop them roughly into quarters or halves, leave on the stalks. Toss them into a small pan under a low heat, add a knob of butter, thinly slice a clove of garlic. Let them heat slowly giving a bit of a stir, then add a tablespoon of olive oil by dribbling it over the 'shrooms and another gentle stir before adding a glass of red rich Merlot. All is ready when the 'shrooms have shrunk by 25% or more; remove from heat and serve on to previously heated plates. They can be consumed as a single dish or added to some grilled Linda McCartney's veggie sausages and do dribble any excess sauce from the 'shrooms over all.

I consider myself to be a semi-vegetarian because I eat fish regularly and very, very occasionally Mr Pig in his various forms, mainly as a rasher or a slice of ham. In listening to my body and its needs as it ages, I remain relatively fit and have not lost any feathers, functions or mobility. Am a great believer in regularly taking Lecithin with my organic, oat based, sugar less morning muesli, softened with unsweetened soya milk. In addition I take supplements of Vitamin E 200 iu, Zinc, Omega 3-6-9, garlic and other vitamins come to me via fresh fruit such as pears, plums and bananas on a daily basis. Plus 1 square per day of 60% dark chocolate.
A good guide for your supplements and herbs is BRIGHID'S HEALING by Gina MacGarry ISBN 0 9547 23302 3 published by GREEN MAGIC www.greenmagicpublishing.com

The foods that I avoid like the plague, are wheat, sugar, salt, dairy products (butter is used for cooking now and then so 1/2 lb. lasts for 3 weeks) and all food additives, especially artificial sweeteners and preservatives, such as Aspartame E951 (and its cousin Neotame) & Sodium Benzoate. They are I believe the majority cause of obesity in society and the silent killers!

The clue to the products that contain these silent killers is the prefix words DIET or SUGAR FREE read the small print before you purchase, if necessary take a magnifying glass with you for it is printed in very small print.
Because the manufacturer really doesn't want you to know how bad for you their product is !
These poisons, the silent killers can also be found medicines too again check the labels! Because you are responsible for what you put in your mouth.