Skewered yamame trout

Dinner would be cooked over the hearth. I lit charcoal in a clay brazier and carried it, brazier and all, into the hearth room. The coals glowed red on the ash, and the iron trivet warmed up. In the old days, people kept the house fire going and treated it with care.

Obvious as it is, life is hard without fire. Sitting before the hearth, I felt that again. I ran a bamboo skewer through each yamame from the mouth, salted them, and stood the skewers in the ash. This is the thing I had always wanted to try.

An iron pot hung from the pot hook: wild boar hot pot, with thin slices of boar, onion, enoki mushrooms and shirataki noodles. It bubbled away, and the boar hot pot was ready. I poured a beer into a glass mug, and dinner by the hearth began.

I'm sure I'm not the only one who longs for fish on a skewer. The radiant heat of the charcoal crisps the skin and leaves the flesh fluffy and delicious. Picking at the pot, I watched the fire. I love the hearth.

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