With watercress, apple and bacon. $15
Oswald, Santa Cruz CA
Mmm! I don’t eat abalone very often, but I’m definitely a fan when it’s prepared correctly. It has a tendency to become very tough and chewy so a skilled hand is needed for this delicate protein. Oswald did a great job with this dish. The abalone was beautifully cooked and still tender and very flavorful. NOMS!
Milk thistle (Silybum marianum, Asteraceae), Pigeon Point, Pescadero.
Vittle Monster 
Particularly good milk thistle pic. 🙂
Thanks! It’s so hard to photograph plants with an iPhone when it’s windy.
Aww I loved Pescadero Beach, it’s been many many years since I’ve been there. Do the locals still build little huts and structures out of the driftwood that comes to shore?
Yeah, they’re still building away! Beachcombers can be SO creative! 🙂
Oh milk thistle! You can harvest the purple flowers i believe to make rennet.
Huh, I didn’t know about the rennet but apparently you can! Good to know the next time I’m making cheese, hehe.
We used to dive for abalone when we were kids growing up in south Western Australia. Love em!