Pumpkin and Spice

I've been doing great at getting to the gym after work, however, the downside is I don't get home until 6 or 6:30- which means by the time I walk in the door, I am starving. Kyle gets home shortly after, also hungry.

When I wasn't doing the gym-thing, I had an extra hour and a half to cook, but now, if I want dinner on the table by 7ish, I've got to be a little craftier. I'd love to spend time simmering, peeling and whatnot, but sometimes (and I'm sure you're with me on this) I just need to get dinner ready now.

My okra with sausage and shrimp fits the bill perfectly. It's quick, easy and healthy- plus, most of the ingredients are freezer or pantry stable, which is a bonus (in my opinion) because it means I can plan in advance, but if something comes up, nothing's going bad waiting to be cooked. (I usually plan 4+ cooked meals a week, but don't always wind up getting around to cooking all of them- either we go out or eat leftovers or whatever- so it's nice to have at least one that can lapse into the next week without ingredients spoiling.)

This morning, after a healthy breakfast (frosted mini-wheats, Silk chocolate soy milk, coffee and an orange), we packed up the car and left our cabin in Key Largo to head south.

Our first stop was the Florida Keys Wild Bird Rehab Center in Tavernier, FL. The Rehab Center rescues wild birds that have been injured. They care for them, and if the birds can be healed enough that they can be released into the wild, they release them. There are some birds that cannot survive in the wild, so they live at the center. It was a really unique chance to see a lot of native Florida birds up close. They must take great care of the birds, because this fellow in the picture was a "patient" at the center 12 years ago- and he migrates back to the center every winter!

Since we got into Coral Springs a little late (1:00a) last night, we slept a little late this morning. Well... late for my mom. 8:00ish, which is about normal for me. We ate breakfast (I had raisin bran, coffee, a Silk chocolate soy milk and a banana) and then headed out to a fabulously quirky, odd-ball attraction- The Coral Castle!

The Coral Castle was built in Florida City in the 1920s by a Latvian immigrant named Ed Leedskalnin. As a youth in Latvia, he had his heart broken by his fiancee. Shortly after, he moved to America, where he began work on the Coral Castle. He quarried his own coral, and began building himself a fantasy world. In the 1930s, he moved to Homestead, FL, and spent three years moving the pieces he had already carved to his new home. Once settled in, he continued work on his castle. He carved and quarried all of the coral rock himself, and refused to allow anyone to watch him work. He never told anyone exactly how he carved and moved the pieces, but he did not use any mechanical devices. That is remarkable on its own, but even more so when you take into account the fact that Leedskalnin was only 5 feet tall, and weighed only 100lbs.

 I think it's pretty fair to say that learning how to cook mussels and clams has changed my life. A bold statement, I know, but it's true. Less than a year ago, I had never cooked mussels before. I'd eaten them, but cooking them seemed daunting. Then, we made them one night in class and they were so quick, so simple that I couldn't believe I'd never done it before.

While maybe not a busy weeknight meal, they are an ideal date night meal. As I have mentioned, I like my date night meals to be simple to prepare, but also a little more special than weeknight meals. Mussels have quickly become a date night favorite in our household.

My favorite basic mussel preparation is steamed in white wine and just a few other simple ingredients- minced shallots, minced garlic and red chili flakes. Once perfectly cooked, the mussels are removed and the wine, now flavored with the ocean-y mussel juices is reduced, and a couple handfuls of chopped, seeded tomatoes are added. At this point, you can take your mussels two different ways, depending on your mood. You can reduce the wine waaaay down, swirl in a pat of butter, pour it over the mussels and enjoy it with lots of crusty bread to dip in the sauce. Or, if you'd prefer a pasta reduce the wine, whisk in a slurry of cornstarch and serve the mussels and sauce over linguine noodles.

Since Kyle and I don't see each other much Monday through Friday, given that he works during the day and I work and go to school and don't get home until midnight or so, Saturdays are usually our "date night". We generally go out to dinner, but this weekend, I was in the mood for seafood and we couldn't decide on a local seafood place, so I decided I'd cook. We couldn't really decide on anything in particular, but decided to go to our favorite seafood market to see what they had.

As we looked around the market, Kyle caught sight of some pretty soft shell crabs in the case, and suggested them for dinner. I commented that yeah, they looked good, but I had no idea what to do with them once I got them home. One of the guys working overheard me and asked to what I was referring. I pointed to the crabs, and he responded, "Oh, you just clean 'em, bread 'em and fry 'em." He then pulled one out of the case and gave me a quick tutorial on cleaning a soft shell crab. He offered to clean our for us, but added that it was best to clean them right before cooking. I decided that it looked easy enough for me to handle, and we bought two, packed them in our cooler and took them home.