Hey! I am your best friend! Give me FOOD!

  Happy New Year!  It rained...and rained...and rained.  Then!  Then, it rained some more.  At times, the storms were so severe that I could not hear anything save the water pelting the rooftop.  Thunder, high winds and torrential rains seem to have settled in for the duration.  Once it started yesterday, it seems that the system forgot to move on out of the way.  Last night, it poured.  Today, it poured.  And now. it is doing the same.  Nonstop, torrential rains seem to be the norm.

  Since I could not get out to the pier today, I sat looking at some of the pictures that I took just before this storm settled in on the Bayou.  One made me giggle since it was of Cinderella, the pelican.  She (or he? I am not sure which) is such a friendly thing and will follow me around just begging for a handout.  The day of the photograph, Cinderella was almost too friendly.  I had just gone down to make sure the fishing gear was secure when I turned to find Cinderella following a few steps behind me.  I sat down on the bench to have a chat with the bird.   "Well, now!  I suppose you are wanting your lunch."  I said to the pelican.  I had no intentions of throwing the net but the big, sad eyes made me change my mind.  I got up to retrieve the net.  The bird followed.  As I tossed the net, Cinderella stayed right with me.  The net came back empty.  Poor Cinderella!  No lunch for her!

  I sat down again and watched as the bird sidled up along side of me.  I put out my hand to show that I had no minnows and the silly bird nigh on snapped off my fingers!  It is a good thing I was quick handed!  I pulled back my fingers just in the nick of time!  SNAP, closed with the bill!  Ok, so the bird thought my fingers were little fish!  Not good!  Now, every time I wiggle my fingers, Cinderella and Gus come running up the pier.  They both want minnows!  My bait bucket will never be safe again!

And There is Lunch!

  As is our habit, Mark and I ventured down to the pier early this morning.  While most of the fishing gear had been stowed away lest a storm rumbled in from the Gulf, we did bring the net and a bucket back to its usual spot.  As we neared the end of the pier, we could see that the water was literally churning with a school of fish.  Mullet!  Biloxi Bacon! Good stuff for those who know how to cook them.  Needless to say, Mark threw the net and in the first throw caught fourteen of the silvery fish.  Yep, there was lunch.

  We watched for a bit as the great schools kept the waters swirling. September brings the mullet in the Bay by the droves.  Thousands of the fish school in the shallow waters and fishermen (and women) make haste to fill their freezers.  Mark and I do not.  While we catch our share of the fish, it is not our aim to freeze any.  Mullet, for those who are not aware of the fact, are best eaten within minutes of being caught.  Quickly fried in a coating of flour, cornmeal, garlic, red pepper, salt and black pepper, these fish are fantastic!  Left in a freezer or refrigerator for any length of time, the meat becomes strong and almost bitter tasting.  This is the very reason we eat ours as soon as we catch them.  Usually, the fish are served with a side of potato salad and maybe some good, ole baked beans! 

  Back during the Civil War and then again during the Great Depression, the moniker of Biloxi Bacon was slapped on the lowly mullet. During the Civil War, the northern troops tried to place blockades at crucial ports to keep supplies from reaching the people of the Gulf Coast region.  It was the thought that if supplies could not reach the people, they would soon run out of food and the towns would be easy to take.  Being a resourceful folk, instead of starving, people fished.  There was a never-ending supply of fresh fish.  These were eaten with grits and became known as "Biloxi Bacon".  Years later, during the Great Depression, things were quite dismal but that resourcefulness came into play again. People that did not mind doing a little work feasted upon the fish.  The Biloxi Bacon moniker was fondly applied to the fish once again.  Now, only the locals (most who just heard tales of hard times from their elders) refer to the fish by this name.  I am sure that if the need ever arises, these same locals will fall back on their knowledge of fishing as a means of supporting their families.  It is just in us to use what we have and not whine nor complain.

  Our lunch was delicious and we have plans to repeat this again tomorrow if things go well.  We will also try to catch, clean and share the wealth of fish with our elderly friends who can no longer catch their own.  It is the neighborly thing to do!

Delicious Lunch!

Early this morning while on my walk, I noticed that the bell peppers desperately needed picking. The Purple Hull Peas were starting to ripen, too, so I grabbed a basket and started my chores. Now I only have six bell pepper plants but each had five or six peppers on it, so I managed to get quite a few of those but only enough peas to make a mess for lunch. After chopping the peppers and bagging them for the freezer, a thought occurred to me! I should make crab cakes for lunch! Now, I love crab meat almost any way it is prepared and living on the Bay, it is readily available. So I pulled some white clump crab meat out of the freezer (and note..this is the real deal..not Krab with a "K"..I refuse to eat that stuff!). Setting aside some diced peppers, I chopped celery and onions. Twenty minutes later, I was enjoying delicious crab cakes with homemade tartar sauce and a side dish of crowder peas! In my mind, there is nothing better!

Crab Cakes

1 1/2 lbs white lump crab meat

1 cup diced bell peppers

1 cup diced celery

1 cup diced onions

1 clove of garlic (crushed)

2 tablespoons butter

2 eggs (beaten)

3 cups panko bread crumbs

2 tablespoons fresh basil (chopped)

1 teaspoon each of cayenne pepper, black pepper, and paprika

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup yellow cornmeal (or FishFry) for coating

an additional bit of butter or a little oil for frying

In a large skillet, place two tablespoons of butter and heat to just melted. Add the peppers, celery and onions. Fry this down a bit on medium heat until tender and then add the garlic. Remove from heat since garlic tends to get bitter if over cooked. Pour all of this in a large bowl. (You will reuse the skillet so don't wash it!) To the onion mixture add the crab meat, bread crumbs, basil and seasonings. Pour in the beaten eggs and stir well. Let rest for about five minutes. While you wait, reheat the skillet on low heat, melt another two tablespoons of butter (or use oil). Form the crab mixture into nice big balls and slightly flatten. Place in the cornmeal (or FishFry) and coat both sides. Turn up the heat to medium high. Now carefully place the crab cakes in the skillet and fry for about five minutes on each sides until nice and brown adding more butter as needed. Drain on paper towels, and serve with tartar sauce! This will make ten to twelve very large crab cakes! I wish you all could have been here for lunch to share this with me! Instead, I froze ten of these for a later date!