See I got him, see the size! Stripped and cleaned before your eyes. Sweet meat look, fresh and ready to cook.

Watch the upper left corner/center 'bout 25 sec into the video and ya will see Mr. Crawfish! At 'bout 50 sec, ya can see him being pulled in from the center of the video!



Such a crappy vid, but see how the dang guy won't let go off the jerky once he gets it? Crazy easy to catch 'em!

What'd I do with 'em crawfish? Well, there wasn't enough for a big meal (got 'bout seventeen) so we got prawns (I wanted chicken but what was at the store looked groossss.) and made 'crab'cakes! Dang yummy. To go with it, I made chipotle mayonnaise mm good stuff in an egg sandwich in the morning!



Crawfish Cakes with Chipotle Tartar Sauce

Homemade mayonnaise:
if making by hand, use an egg yolk only rather than a whole egg
1 large egg
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
salt and pepper
1 1/4 cups sunflower oil
juice of 1/2 lemon

Put the egg, mustard, vinegar, and seasoning in a processor with the metal blade; process until blended.
With the machine on full speed, gradually add the oil through the feed tube in a steady stream.
When the mayonnaise is thick, remove the lid, add the lemon juice, and process to combine. Check seasoning. Store in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to three days.

variation: chipotle mayonnaise- add 1-2 chipotles and a tablespoon+ of adobo sauce (from can of chipotles)

Tartar sauce:
instead of adding dried chipotles, I made chipotle mayonnaise
2 dried chipotle peppers
1/2 cup prepared mayonnaise
1 tbsp chopped green onions
juice of lemon
salt and pepper

In a cast-iron skillet over high heat pan roast peppers, toasting them on all sides, until smoky and slightly charred. Chop finely.
In a small bowl combine with remaining sauce ingredients. Adjust seasonings, to taste, with salt and pepper.



Crawfish cakes:
2 tbsp + 1 tsp oil
1 cup shelled crawfish tails
2 tbsp each chopped onion, red bell pepper, celery
creole spice
1 egg
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
chopped parsley for garnish

In a sauté pan heat 1 teaspoon oil, add chopped onion, red pepper and celery, and toss and cook 2 minutes until tender. Remove pan from heat and add garlic, crawfish meat, and 1 teaspoon Creole spice or to taste. Transfer to a mixing bowl and set aside to cool.
Mix in egg and enough bread crumbs for mixture to bind; adjust seasonings to taste with salt, pepper and Creole spice. Form into 4 equal patties and flatten to 3/4-inch thick.
Heat remaining oil in a sauté pan and cook cakes on both sides until brown and crispy. Serve garnished with parsley and a dollop of tartar sauce.



The salad is red oak lettuce picked from my own little vegetable garden, candied walnuts (walnuts lightly toasted in walnut oil and brown sugar), Humboldt Fog (best blue cheese ever) and lemon vinaigrette that I made.
In the bowl is chipotle tartar sauce and the can w/ lid is my vinaigrette. Jesse also filled a bowl with sour patch kids for dessert, and in the glasses is Petite Sirah from Jesse's parent's winery.

Yum!

Here's a cute picture of Grizzly, the silliest little Manx ever.

An apple is an excellent thing-- until you have tried a peach.

Baking is the only thing that will make me enthusiastically jump out of bed at five in the morning! Before the road trip down south last weekend, I got up early to make an adapted version of Plum Tarte Tatin using peaches Jesse and I picked from a tree we spotted while picking berries in Blue Lake. It was all made using only a cast iron skillet, and that was fun! Start it on the stove and finish off in the oven, flip it right-side-up once cooled throughout and ya got yourself a tarte tatin, which is an upside-down caramel tart. Very cool!



I brought it down to Jesse's parents, and they gobbled it all up! Compliments were plenty, and I'm sure glad they liked it. It was yummy! I'd make it again, trying different fruits each time.



Plum Tarte Tatin with Orange Creme Fraiche (I adapted this recipe)

1 cup creme fraiche
1 tsp grated orange peel
1 sheet frozen puff pastry (1/2 of 17.3oz pack), properly thawed (follow instructions)
2 1/4 lbs sweet firm red plums, halved and pitted
2 tbsp + 2/3 cup sugar, divided
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp finely grated lemon peel
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
6 tbsp unsalted butter

Whisk creme fraiche and orange peel in small bowl. Cover; chill. Roll out pastry on lightly floured surface; trim corners to create circle.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix plums, 2 tbsp sugar, lemon juice, lemon peel, nutmeg and seeds from vanilla bean in large bowl. Let stand for half an hour.
Melt butter in heavy ovenproof 9-inch-diameter skillet over medium heat. Sprinkle remaining 2/3 cup sugar evenly over melted butter. Tightly arrange plums, cut side up, in concentric circles in skillet. Plums will soften while cooking, creating an even layer. Drizzle accumulated juices from bowl over top. Cook over medium heat, shaking skillet gently to prevent sticking. Continue cooking until syrup turns deel red, pressing plums slightly to form compact layer, about 35 minutes. Remove skillet from heat; cool 10 minutes.
Slide crust atop plums in skillet. press crust edges down around plums at edge of skillet. Cut several slits to allow steam to escape. Bake until golden brown, about 30 minutes. Cool tart completely in skillet.
Rewarm in skillet set over high heat to loosen, about 3 minutes. Place large platter over skillet. Using oven mitts, hold skillet and platter together and invert, allowing tart to settle on platter. Slowly lift off skillet. Let stand at least 30 minutes and up to four hours at room temperature. Serve with orange creme fraiche.

My manwich!

I made slow cooked sloppy joes for dinner, and it was fabulous! I got a bit excited with the rooster chili sauce, so it was super spicy heh but I think I did a pretty good job softening the heat (see vLogs). I wish I got pictures of the finished sandwich, but Melissa and Timm were over for dinner and we all were very eager to start eating, so I forgot! Bummer because they looked great heh organic buns and local cheddar (Loleta), and big heapings of slow cooked sloppy joes mmmm!

Favorite Sloppy Joes (serves 6-8)

2 pounds ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
3/4 cup chili sauce
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup prepared mustard
2 tsp chili powder
hamburger buns, split
cheddar cheese, sliced

Note: I caught the camera before it hit something! Order of ingredients I added: chili powder, rooster chili sauce (smells good..spicy!!), organic mustard

Lookit! My tomatoes &lettuce :)

And I've got somebody special for y'all to see! She's a sweet little Manx


Transcript: Hi! I want to introduce you to my new kitty named Grizzly. Cutee! See she has no tail? She's a Manx.

Because of her back leg proportions, she hops rather than run! Manx cats started the urban legend of the Cabbit (half cat, half rabbit). Man, they're the craziest things! So playful and sweet..Far more interested in humans than other animals and loves to ride in the car! So we're leash-training her :)


ya can't see grizzly do squat! She's too small and black heh