(Read more about Lagoon Cove & view the photos.)
Some folks travel the Inside Passage for the wilderness and wildlife experiences. Others come to escape the hectic city life and wind down to a slower pace among the area's small towns and harbors. Still others come for the sheer poetic beauty of this 500-mile waterway.
That's all well and good. But tonight, we came for the sushi…
Today we're at Lagoon Cove, a sheltered spot on West Cracroft Island. Last night, following a wonderful dinner together at Shoal Bay, we found ourselves on board with the ultimate doggy bag of fresh cooked crab, and quite a bit of it.
Now, most of us might simply pull out the crab crackers, melt some butter and call it good. But not us - not when the Grand Tour is fortunate enough to be traveling with Chef Becky Selengut.
Becky was preparing for today's cooking class, looking for a central theme or dish. Her first session at Prideaux Haven was a hit, and many owners were looking forward to today's class (as were we all, since the results would be shared at tonight's potluck dinner). She had the crab, but there wasn't enough to fill the bill for the class and potluck. When we tied up at the charming port of Lagoon Cove, she hit the docks looking for inspiration - and soon found Beth.
Beth, one of the fine folks who call Lagoon Cove home, was carrying a large pot of shrimp to the steamer nearby. Never one to be shy (particularly when it comes to food), Becky approached Beth and asked if she could have some of her catch. Beth generously obliged, and Becky clicked on her cooking class subject: sushi.
It helps that Becky just happens to travel with nori (seaweed wrappers) and shiitake mushrooms, seasoned rice vinegar and toasted sesame seas, plus a host of other ingredients necessary for a good meal of sushi. She quickly prepped a pot of steamed rice, julienned some carrots, rehydrated some hijiki, and cracked open a jar of pickled Japanese gourd, and as her "students" filed onto the 70 Aleutian CP Becky calls home for the Tour, everyone was eager to watch and learn.
The fresh shrimp found their way into a salad of tabasco, scallions, mayo and spices, which Becky wrapped in nori with rice, tobiko and other ingredients. Other rolls followed, along with a nigiri sushi of unagi (smoked eel), plus a cucumber salad and another of carrots and hijiki. Students had a chance to watch Becky's preparation techniques ("the secret of sushi is all in the prep work"), sample ingredients, ask questions and try their own hand at preparing a sushi roll.
The product of all this work, along with a number of other rolls Becky prepared after her class, made its way up the dock to a rustic outbuilding set among gardens and trails and a collection of found objects that decorated the landing. Each other boat in the Grand Tour also brought a dish - the Takagi's aboard Indigo, by coincidence, also brought sushi - while Bill Barber and his crew supplied pounds and pounds of fresh shrimp and crab.
A mild, misty evening settled over the cove as our GB owners sat on the deck, sampled the outstanding collection of dishes (the sushi was all gone by the time we made it to the font of the line!) and listened to Bill's tales of life at Lagoon Cove.
We won't spoil the fun and recount them here, but we heartily recommend that when you get there yourself someday, ask Bill the one about the waterskiing bear. And you're sure to be a hit when you bring some sushi for the buffet.
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> GRAND TOUR HOME
> ROUTE MAP
> LOG BLOG
- Day 1: Nanaimo
- Day 2: Pender Harbour
- Day 3: Prideaux Haven
- Day 4: Shoal Bay
- Day 5: Lagoon Cove
- Day 6: Sullivan Bay
- Day 7: Sullivan Bay
- Day 8: Sullivan Bay
- Day 9: Duncanby Landing
- Day 10: Shearwater
- Day 11: Khutze Inlet
- Day 12: Klewnuggit Inlet
- Day 13: Prince Rupert
- Day 14: Foggy Bay
- Day 15: Ketchikan
- Day 16: Ketchikan
- Day 17: Meyers Chuck
- Day 18: Santa Anna Inlet
- Day 19: Wrangell
- Day 20: Wrangell
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