Brain Food

Fish, especially fatty fish such as salmon and lake trout, are a good source of Omega-3 fatty acids which helps brain function. Omega-3 has also been linked to cardiovascular health. The American Heart Association recommends eating at least two servings of fish a week and offers good advice on the risk vs. benefits of eating fish. Some fish, especially older and larger predatory fish, contain high levels of mercury and/or PCBs. These contaminants can adversely effect fetal and infant development, so women and young children are advised against eating these fish, especially from certain water sources. Fortunately, many of the lakes in our region, including Seneca and Cayuga Lakes, do not have chemical contamination warnings and can be consumed weekly as part of a nutritious meal. Below is a chart from the NYS Department of Health about eating sport fish which specifically shows waters that have contamination concerns in the Finger Lakes Region. Eating a variety of species per month is also recommended.

Finger Lakes Region

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Women under 50 years and children under 15 years

Don't eat any fish from the waters listed below.

All others

Should follow the advice listed below.

Water [*] (County)	Species	Advice	Chemical(s) of Concern
Canadice Lake [10] (Ontario)	Lake trout over 23"	Don't eat	PCBs
	Brown trout and smaller lake trout	Eat up to one meal per month	PCBs
Chenango River [34]	Walleye over 22"	Eat up to one meal per month	Mercury
Irondequoit Bay [9] (Monroe)	Carp	Don't eat	PCBs, Mirex
Keuka Lake [11] (Yates & Steuben)	Lake trout over 25"	Eat up to one meal per month	DDT
Koppers Pond [12] (Chemung)	Carp	Eat up to one meal per month	PCBs
Lake Ontario [8] - Whole lake Harvest/possession of Lake Ontario American eel is prohibited per NYS DEC Regulations.	Channel catfish, carp, lake trout over 25" and brown trout over 20"	Don't eat	PCBs, Mirex, Dioxin
	Chinook salmon, rainbow trout, white sucker, smaller lake trout, smaller brown trout and coho salmon over 25"	Eat up to one meal per month	PCBs, Mirex, Dioxin
- West of Point Breeze	White perch	Don't eat	PCBs, Mirex, Dioxin
- East of Point Breeze	White perch	Eat up to one meal per month	PCBs, Mirex, Dioxin
Onondaga Lake [14] (Onondaga)	Largemouth bass and smallmouth bass over 15" and walleye	Don't eat	Mercury, PCBs
	Carp, channel catfish and white perch	Don't eat	PCBs, Mercury, Dioxin
	All fish not listed	Eat up to one meal per month	Mercury, PCBs
	Brown bullhead and pumpkinseed	Eat up to four meals per month	Mercury, PCBs
Rushford Lake [7] (Allegany)	Walleye	Eat up to one meal per month	Mercury
Seneca River [15] - Downstream of Lock 24 at Baldwinsville	See Onondaga Lake
Skaneateles Creek [13] - From dam at Skaneateles to Seneca River (Onondaga)	Brown trout over 10"	Eat up to one meal per month	PCBs
Susquehanna River [35]	Walleye over 22"	Eat up to one meal per month	Mercury
All waters not listed above in the Finger Lakes Region: All ages men, women and children	All fish species	Eat up to four meals per month

Note: The specific advisories for the waters listed above also apply to tributaries and connected waters if there are no barriers to stop the fish from crossing, such as dams or falls.

Here is an easy, nutritious fish recipe that kids like too!

Creamy Dijon Fish Fillets

1 lb. firm, skinless, boneless, fish fillets (such as trout, salmon, perch, etc)

1/2 cup mayonnaise (low fat)

2 T. Dijon-style mustard

3 T. grated Parmesan cheese

black pepper to taste

Preheat broiler with oven rack in proper position. Rinse the fillets, pat dry and place on a broiler pan (you may want to lightly grease the pan with some oil to prevent sticking). In a small bowl, mix the mayonnaise, mustard, cheese and pepper. Spread this mixture evenly over the fish fillets. Broil the fillets for 4-7 minutes, depending on the size and thickness of the fish, or just until the fish flakes with a fork. Do not overcook or the fish will be dry. Serves 3-4.

Season opened for Bass fishing June 18th

Bass season opened the 3rd Saturday in June with a limit of five per day and only keeping those 12 inches or longer. The Finger Lakes have some of the best large mouth black bass fishing in the state! Here is a recipe adapted from Epicurious.com that impressively cooks the whole fish:

Black Bass with Ginger, Cilantro and Scallions

1 (3-lb) whole black bass( large or small mouth)cleaned, leaving head and tail intact
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 bunch scallions, white and pale green parts cut into very thin 2-inch strips and greens reserved separately
1 (1-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and cut into very thin matchsticks

1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
3 T. light soy sauce
1-2 T. white wine or sake
1/4 t. sugar

Special equipment: a large shallow baking dish (about 15 by 10 inches) to fit inside a 17- by 12- by 2 1/2-inch roasting pan; heavy-duty foil;

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 400°F. Put baking dish in roasting pan.

Rinse fish and pat dry, then rub inside and out with salt. Transfer to baking dish and sprinkle with scallion strips (white and pale green) ginger and cilantro.

Stir together soy sauce, wine and sugar until sugar is dissolved, then pour over fish. Add enough boiling-hot water to roasting pan (note: not the same pan that the fish is in!) to reach halfway up side of baking dish. Oil a large sheet of heavy-duty foil, then tent foil (oiled side down) over fish and tightly seal around roasting pan. Carefully transfer roasting pan to oven and bake until fish is just cooked through, 30 to 35 minutes.

While fish bakes, cut enough scallion greens diagonally into very thin slices to measure 1/2 cup (any remainder can be saved for another use).

Just before serving, remove foil from fish very carefully. Gently transfer fish intact to a serving dish and sprinkle with scallion greens. Serves 8 family style.

Ice Fishing!

The ice is almost a foot thick at the top of Cayuga Lake and the perch are biting. There have also been reports of lake trout being caught. As always, the NYS DEC website has good information on how to ice fish, safety tips, rules, regulations, and where to find fish.

Perch are sometimes called poor man's shrimp...simply boil the fillets just a minute or 2 until the flesh is white and cooked through (do not overcook or the meat can get tough). Chill the perch fillets and serve as you would a shrimp cocktail...with some fresh lemon wedges and cocktail sauce. Yum!

Trout Season Open

(Photo from NYS DEC website)

Trout fishing opened on April 1st. To get up to date information on the fishing, check out the DEC Central NY Fishing Hotline.

The weather has been gorgeous and perfect for outdoor grilling. Here is a simple grilled trout recipe...

Grilled Trout

4-five to six ounce trout fillets

2 T. lemon juice

2 T. olive or canola oil

1T. fresh dill, chopped (or 1 t. dried dill)

1T. fresh parsley, chopped (or 1 t. dried parsley)

salt and pepper to taste (about 1/2 t. each)

Mix lemon juice, oil, herbs and seasoning in a shallow baking dish or pie plate. Add the trout fillets to this mixture, being sure to coat both sides of the fish. Meanwhile light the grill. Oil the grill or grill pan before cooking the fish. Cook the fish about 2 minutes per side over moderate heat, or until opaque. Serve with fresh lemon wedges. Serves 4.

Smoked Lake Trout

Seneca and Cayuga lake provide delicious lake trout, brown trout, rainbow trout and landlocked salmon. Seneca Lake is hot right now for lakers (with less spiny water fleas to mess up fishing lines). You may keep in combination up to 5 fish a day (to include no more than 3 lake trout and no more than 3 landlocked) with a minimum length of 15", though there is an 18" minimum for landlocked salmon on Cayuga lake. DEC has a nice, one page fishing regulation guide for the Finger Lakes region to print and have on hand. Some of the lake and brown trout caught over the weekend had a lovely orange hue, similar to salmon, due to the carotenoids in the flesh from the fish eating small crustaceans. Wild trout is very nutritious, being high in Omega-3 fatty acids and an excellent source of vitamin B12, Niacin, and protein.

To fillet the trout start with a very sharp fillet knife (a good fillet knife should have some flex to it). Place the fish on a cutting board with it's spine facing you. Cut behind the gill in a slight arc to the backbone and slide the knife in a gently see-sawing action along the backbone and ribs to the tail. Leave the fillet attached to the end of the tail and turn the fillet over so the skin side is down. Then, starting where the fillet is attached to the tail, gently slide your fillet knife along the skin, keeping the skin taught, to remove the skin from the fillet. West Virginia Extension has an excellent Trout processing resource, including pictures and videos on how to butterfly fillet trout.

Once you have filleted and rinsed your trout place it in a brine for 6-12 hours. Brine should be kept cold, such as in a refrigerator.

Brine for trout:
1/2 cup pickeling or sea salt
2 qts. cold water
2-4 Tbsp brown sugar
2 Tbsp pickling spices (you can experiment with other flavors, such as dill and lemon peel, garlic, asian flavorings of soy, ginger and lemongrass, etc)

Mix all ingredients, making sure the salt dissolves. Make sure the brine is cold when fish are placed in it. Use a glass or ceramic container, do not use a metal bowl.

After you have brined your trout fillets, place them on slightly oiled metal racks (can use the smoker racks) and let them dry for about one hour to form a slight glossy shine, a pellicle. This locks in the juices and flavors. A fan can be used to speed up the process.

Preheat the smoker and then smoke your fillets according to the directions of your smoker. Usually the fish will be smoked at 225 degrees until it reaches an internal temperature of 180 degrees (about 2 hours).

Smoked Trout fillets are excellent served with crackers and cheese as an appetizer. They also make nice sandwiches, salad (similar to a tuna salad), and a spread when mixed with cream cheese, spices and spread on crackers or crusty bread. Delicious!

You May Eat the Bass

The third Saturday in June was the opening day to keep Black Bass (largemouth/smallmouth) with a daily limit of 5 and a minimum length of 12". Penn State offers a free publication, "Proper Care and Handling of Fish From Stream to Table", which is a helpful guide to help begin your culinary bass experience. Activeangler.com has some delicious looking bass recipes including the following:

Grilled Cajun Bass Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 pounds of bass fillets
• 1/4 cup melted butter
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 tsp. cajun spice
• 1/4 tsp. onion salt
• 1/4 tsp. paprika
• 1/4 tsp. garlic salt

Preheat barbecue grill or prepare open fire. Lay the bass fillets flat on aluminum foil. (Do not overlap the bass fillets) Baste bass fillets with butter. Sprinkle remaining ingredients evenly over fillets. Wrap heavy-duty aluminum foil around the bass, making a sealed cooking bag. Make sure to seal tightly so no steam escapes. Place bag on grill and cook for 7-10 minutes. (Do not flip) Use caution when opening foil.

Bullheads!

Bullhead fishing is in full swing, as are Bullhead dinners at local clubs and restaurants. The bullheads for the purchased dinners are primarily farm raised in Canada, but there is great bullhead fishing here in Seneca County. If you are fishing for local bullheads, seek out muddy flats near vegetation (the top of Cayuga lake is a good place to look), fish the bottom with worms, and go at night when they feed. DEC has a publication on fishing for panfish, including bullhead and how to clean them.

Here is a recipe to try, besides the traditional bullhead fish fry (it also works great for left-over fried bullheads)...

Bullhead Patties

2 lbs. filleted bullheads or other fish (can use previously cooked fish)
1 large raw potato
1 small onion
1 large egg
2 tbsp flour

1-2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley or dill (optional)
salt and pepper to taste

3 tbsp olive oil

Directions
Coarsely grind uncooked fillets (if using cooked bullheads, simply flake the meat from the bones), grate potato and onion. This can be done in a food processor, blender, or by hand. Mix with remaining ingredients and form into ½” thick patties. You can form small patties (1” rounds) to serve with tarter sauce as an appetizer or larger patties (3”) to serve on a bun as a sandwich. Heat olive oil in a fry pan and drop patties into hot oil. For a crispier patty, you may coat the patties lightly in fish fry batter or seasoned panko breadcrumbs before frying. Fry until golden brown on both sides. Serve with tarter or cocktail sauce, or lemon wedges.

Opening Day for Trout

photo source:U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

Trout and Salmon fishing seasons opened April 1st! New York State DEC issued a handy tips and reminders publication for opening day of Trout that has great information on stocking, public fishing maps, license and regulation information, and local fishing forecasts.

Here is an easy recipe for baked trout...

Creamy Parmesan Baked Trout

1 lb. trout fillet (any species)
1/4 cup sour cream, light preferably
3 Tbsp. mayonnaise, low fat preferably
1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 Tbsp. finely chopped red onion
1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper (or to taste)
2 Tbsp. fresh chopped parsley (optional)
paprika to sprinkle on top (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease (with butter) a 13"x9" baking dish.
In a small bowl mix sour cream, mayonnaise, lemon juice, parmesian cheese, onion, salt and pepper. Place cleaned trout fillets in greased 13"x 9" pan and then spread the parmesan cheese mixture evenly on top of fish. Sprinkle with paprika and parsley if desired. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes or until fish flakes lightly with a fork (being careful to not over cook the fish).

The Ice Fishing continues...

This is an epic year for ice fishing on Cayuga lake! The ice is thick in the channel, and the perch are abundant. Here is an easy recipe to oven "fry" your perch fillets.

Oven Fried Perch Recipe
Ingredients
• 1 lbs. Perch Fillets
• 2 Tbsp. Parmesan Cheese - grated
• 1/2 Cup Dry Bread Crumbs
• 1 Tbsp. butter, melted
• 1/4 Cup Milk
• 1/2 Tsp. Thyme
Combine bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, and thyme, plus salt and pepper to taste, in a shallow pan or plate. Dip perch fillets in milk then coat perch fillets with bread crumb mixture. Lay in single layer on greased shallow baking pan. Drizzle with melted butter. Bake in oven at 400 degrees for 12 minutes per inch of thickness of the fish measured at the thickest part or until perch flakes easily with a fork. Serves 4 with only 200 calories per serving and 5 grams of fat, but 110g of cholesterol (next week' recipe will be lower in cholesterol, seeking balance and moderation in our wild harvest diet).

Ice Fishing on Cayuga Lake

Ice Fishing is in full swing at the top of Cayuga Lake. Perch,Chain Pickerel, and panfish are the most common species coming through the ice, but occasionally you can fight a big Pike or lure some tasty trout. Check out the NY DEC website for ice fishing and safety tips.
Here is a recipe to try after a successful day on the ice...

Perch Chowder
6 sl Bacon; cut into 1-inch (could use 2T olive oil instead to lower fat content)
2/3 c Onion; chopped
1/2 c Celery; chopped
3 md Potatoes; peeled and cubed
2 c Water (fish or chicken stock would add more flavor, but use what you have)
1/2 c Carrots; chopped
2 tb Fresh parsley; minced
1 tb Lemon juice
1/2 ts Dill weed
1/4 ts Garlic salt
1/8 ts Pepper
1 lb Panfish fillets; perch; sunfish, or crappie, cut into 1-inch chunks
1 c Half-&-half cream (or condensed skim milk to lower fat content)
In a 3-quart saucepan, cook the bacon until crisp. Remove bacon, and set aside; discard all but 2 tablespoons of drippings (omit this part if using olive oil and just add olive oil to pan then proceed to next step). Saute onion and celery in drippings until tender. Add the next 8 ingredients. Simmer until vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes. Add fish and bacon; simmer for 5 minutes, or JUST until fish flakes with a fork. Add cream, and heat through.
recipe adapted from Just Seafood Recipes, located at www.justseafoodrecipes.com

Perch is a very lean source of protein and an excellent source of selenium and B12, though it is a bit high in cholesterol.