i'm desperate for parsley inspiration. it grows like crazy here all year round. my #1 green edible thing on the farm, just ahead of arugula. this pic is of my bachelor...

the plan was to thaw the tongue my neighbor gave me in a brine. then @two weeks more brine-ing in the back of the fridge. then boil, peel, and voila...corned cow tongue. but as usual the whole process made me antsy so i skipped the two week part, put the tongue and a well marbled shoulder in the big stock pot with water, onion, ginger, 1/4C sugar and fish sauce, 1T pepper corns. simmered 3-4 hours on the crab cooker outside on the kitchen porch. while i like the smell of a vietnamese restaurant, i don't particularly want my sheets to smell like a vietnamese restaurant. (san juan county won't pass my final inspection until i install kitchen venting. i don't want or need a vent. i cook stinky stuff outside. another story).
i've only had cow tongue twice. once at a market dedicated to meat in center city Oaxaca. grilled over a wood fire, chopped and sauced, wrapped in a warm corn tortilla with diced radish and a squeeze of lime. i got amoebic dysentery later that night. my second tongue experience happened more recently here a few years ago. we were shrimping off the west side of Spieden island in a boat that belonged to a guy name Victor. "you don't need to bring anything but your goddam license. you bought your goddam license didn't you?" Victor was a football coach at U of Oregon years ago. we're not exactly close friends. along with shrimping comes  gov. regulations and expensive equipment. you are limited to a certain # of shrimp per licensed boat occupant. a mutually beneficial relationship. Victor gets to catch more shrimp. jay gets to eat fresh shrimp w/out spending over $100K for a boat like Victor's.

"Jay, please don't make pork." last words from a old friend before leaving for his upcoming weekend visit here. i respect Leif's words because he's a smart mother fucker (smf). he was referring to my pork party's of twenty years ago. mounds of forked, slow smoked pork, white bread, coleslaw, bbq sauce and lots of the seattle motorcycle racing community. i have huge respect for folks who have graduate degree's. it takes determination, perseverance, smarts. ramp that up to a graduate degree from a ivy league school and you're a smf. that's Leif.

weather permitting i put on a white sleeveless t-shirt before pounding my meat. beer is helpful regardless. pork is my favorite beating victim. pretty much any cut is enhanced by the tenderizing effect of smashing the meat into thin cutlets. then you have a world of options at your disposal...

the crabby tamale pies were delicious despite the tedious recipe. but fresh dungeness crabs are delicious by themselves. here's a recipe. crab on ritz cracker. crab in a avocado half. crab risotto (more involved). next page for moron crab tamale tart for tarts.