Soft Shell With Cajun Linguini Alfredo

The last time I had this dish, I was in New Orleans. I think we were there for a National Football Championship, which Florida State played and won (long time ago). I don’t remember the restaurants name, but it was on a side ally and we sat on the second floor balcony, sounds of jazz coming from neighboring clubs, it was relaxing and what you would expect from New Orleans. When I saw Soft Shell Crab over Cajun Alfredo on the menu I thought to my self that seems odd, really you eat the whole crab???

        I can remember, Heidi just commenting every other minute what in the hell did you order and why.  I was kinda leery myself, but I am always willing to try something new and interesting, so the only question was Why Not?  When the Crab came out over a plate of steaming Cajun Linguini Alfredo, it looked so first-rate, that I had no problem digging in right away.  On the other hand Heidi was covering her mouth pretending to dry heave and laughing at the same time joking about how in no way shape or form would she ever eat that (little did she know years later), she would be sitting at the table in our home eating her own plate.

A Blue Crabs molting cycle is approximately between 30 – 50 days. Also, look when there will be a full moon, that is when crabs will start molting. *There are different theories on this process, but not a lot of hard fact just observations and assumptions. One of the theories is that since the full moon is out the tides are unusually high or low (called "spring" tides). This is because twice a month the moon and sun are in line with the Earth and therefore, their combined gravitational pull is greater. During a spring tide, more shoreline grasses are submerged (or exposed) which would provide a larger area of cover and protection for crabs to molt. Or, perhaps it's because crabs are able to exploit expanding feeding grounds or have more time for feeding in the shallows.  Mr. Oesterling notes, "In the summer months, food availability has a major affect on shedding activity. If a crab does not satisfy the physiological need to shed (increased muscle tissue, body cavity 'cramping', etc.), it will not enter the molting cycle. In other words, if it doesn't get adequate nutrition it's not going to grow."        

Soft Shell Crabs are available at local seafood markets and if your as fortunate as I am, go out to the Island or to the boats that come in to the docks and get them as fresh as you can, the taste is so much better.

Just a reminder before you write this dish off because of the appearance, bear in mind the texture is just like eating fried seafood. Give it a opportunity and you might have just found a new favorite dish.

Serves 2

Recipe: Soft Shell Crab and Cajun Linguini Alfredo 

Half a box linguini noodles boiled in 6-qrt pot of water or fresh linguini noodles

1 Tsp butter

1Tsp flour

1 cup heavy cream or milk

 1 Tbsp Cajun spices ( I use bottle named Cooter Rub, by Gator Hammock)

Couple of drops of hot sauce, I use Siracha

2 cups of all-purpose flour

1 egg whisked

2 tbsp water

2 cups of peanut oil (has a higher burn resistance)

Directions:

CAJUN CREAM SAUCE

In a sauce pan melt butter, and add the tsp of flour and whisk until it becomes a paste .Let cook for about a minute or two and then add cream or milk and whisk together over a low heat. Occasionally whisk until it starts to become a thick sauce, if to thick you can always add cream to it (a teaspoon at a time).  Once you are about five minutes before serving add the spices so you get more of the taste, other wise you will cook some of the flavor out. Then when crab is done just spoon some of the cream sauce over linguini on a plate.

BLUE CRAB

Heat the peanut oil in skillet over med to med high heat (sprinkle a little flour into oil, when it starts to sizzle it’s ready)

In two bowls that are double the size the crab add, flour to one and combine eggs and water in the other and whisk together.  Put crab into egg mixture and roll around till fully coated, now dredge in the flour, once fully covered in flour put back into egg mixture and roll it around, then back into flour and fully covered in flour and place into skillet ( repeat for each crab). Let the crab cook for about two minutes per side and once done place on paper towel so the oil can drain and serve over pasta and cream sauce.

2006 Steven C. Zinski 

Tropical Fruits/ Black Sapote

Here in S.W. Florida we have many islands, and I have the pleasure of working on one of them - Pine Island. This island has many different aspects of life, one minute you could be in a place that reminds you of old Florida, and the next you could be on a street over looking the Charlotte Harbor. I have been out there for approximately one year, and I have never opened myself up to see what the island really had to offer me. I have always noticed tree farms along the Islands main road. After, talking with one of my customers about a strange looking fruit/vegetable on the counter, it piqued my interest. It resembled an oblong cantaloupe, and upon asking what it was, the lady explained it was a Mamey Sapote which is a tropical fruit sold at one of the local markets. For about a half hour, she went on to tell me about so many more tropical fruits that are available on the island. At the end of my visit, she had given me one of the mameys to take home. Mamey sapote on the inside has the color and taste of a sweet potato and with a hint of sweet pumpkin. So, this is what started my deep curiosity of tropical fruits.

Black Sapote, (pictured above) looks sort of like an over- sized green tomato with a brown interior and a hint of a chocolate taste. This tropical fruit intrigued me with the chocolate flavor. I figured it would definitely please my wife, Heidi to have a healthy chocolate substitute. Well, not so fast my friend, as everyone knows, women know and respect their chocolate and there is no substitute (my wife told me so). My mistake was letting her try it in it’s raw form, right out of the skin and not whipped and topped with cool whip, which I heard is really good. I would add a couple of spoonfuls to my cereal in the morning and it made the milk taste like chocolate. Some other variations include adding chocolate chips, adding it to milkshakes, adding it broken up with a health bar, and also adding it to pies, which I will try next.

Sapodillas were my next fruit treat to encounter. This little thing is a oversized looking Kiwi, but the inside is so far from that of a kiwi. The way the women at the market described it to me was a pear rolled in brown sugar. Let us not forget all of the taste and descriptions I have described mirror natural flavors in these fruits. Sapodillas fruit in the raw taste really good; especially with blackberry cobbler ice cream! I’m sure you could add this tropical delight to any pie, shake or any other ice cream you desire. We had an extremely long cold winter, leaving the fruits about a month behind in ripening. This gives me lots of extra time in the coming months to try a lot of fruits.

There are lots of different fruits and vegetables out there that are native to your area. Just in our little piece of paradise, one single market, they grow their own fruits and some of those include over 6 different types of bananas, 30 types of mangoes and various organic vegetables.

I hope this little information on different tropical fruits that I have shared with you, will lead to you trying some unique fruits of your own. Then you can carry on this healthy fresh produce information along to other people, so that they too can try new things and expand their experiences with food.







Here in S.W. Florida we have many islands, and I fortunately work on one of them named Pine Island. This island has many different aspects of life, one minute you could be in a place that reminds you of old Florida, and the next you could be on a street over looking the Charlotte Harbor. I have been out here for approximately a year, and I have never opened myself up to see what the island really had to offer me. I have always noticed tree farms along the Islands main road, but that’s it. After, talking with one of my customers about a strange looking fruit/vegetable on the counter and it peeked my interest due to the fact of what it looked like (oblong with the outside resembling a cantaloupe), so I asked what the heck it was and she explained it was a Mamey Sapote which is a tropical fruit which is sold at one of the local markets. For about a half hour she went on to tell me about so many more tropical fruits that are available on the island. At the end of my visit she had given me one of the mameys to take home. Mamey sapote on the inside has the color of a sweet potato and the taste of one and maybe a slight taste of a sweet pumpkin. So this is what started my infectious curiosity of tropical fruits.

Black Sapote, (pictured above) which somewhat looks like a over sized green tomato, and on the inside is brown and has a hint of a chocolate taste. This tropical fruit was very interesting to me due to the fact of the chocolate factor, I thought chocolate, then thought Heidi would love me even more than she does now since I would bring home a healthy chocolate substitute. Well, not so fast my friend, as everyone knows, women know and respect their chocolate and there is no substitute. My mistake was letting her try it in it’s raw form right out of the skin and not whipped and topped with cool whip, which I heard is really good. I would add a couple of spoonfuls to my cereal in the morning and it made the milk taste of chocolate. Some other variations are to add chocolate chips, make milkshakes, broken up health bar, and also made into pies which is what I am going to try next.

Sapodillas were my next fruit treat to encounter, this little thing is a oversized looking Kiwi, but the inside is so far from that of a kiwi. The way the women at the market described it to me was a pear rolled in brown sugar, lets not forget all these taste and descriptions are all natural flavors in these fruits. Trying sapodillas in the raw do taste really good and especially with blackberry cobbler ice cream! I’m sure you could add this tropical delight to any pie, shake or any other ice cream you desire. We had a extremely long cold winter so the fruits are a bout a month behind, so in the coming months I will trying a lot of fruits. I forgot to mention is that at this market they grow there own fruits and some of those include over 6 different types of bananas, 30 mango’s and organic vegetables.

I hope this little information on the tropical fruits that I have shared with you, will lead to you trying some unique fruits of your own, and then you can carry on this healthy fresh produce along to other people so they can try new things and expand their experiences with food.

Tomato basil chicken

 

This recipe comes from the Campbell’s soup company cookbook “Incredible Easy Recipes”. With Chicken there are always new and exciting ways to cook and devour new recipes, but to find them, may be tricky, so what do we do, we go back to old “I mean OLD” faithful and this is no fun for anyone.  I am learning that some dishes just seem especially out there and I am fearful to try them, due to the fact of ruining a dish and eventually ordering take out which makes the whole experience a two hour event and by that time I’m in bed and not happy and the food is not so polite to the waist line.  Well with this dish it’s actually easy and doesn’t take long to make or last on the plate. Justa reminder, simlpy because a sauce is called for on a piece of pork or fish, etc.. you don’t have to solely eat it with that piece, you can always use other substitutes. So thumb through the index of one of your cookbooks and pick out a interesting sauce that grabs your eye, and swap the main dinner portion for something else and explore the possibilities.

2 skinless chicken breast

1 can condensed or 98%fat free cream of mushroom soup

1/3 cup of warm water

½ Tbsp fresh or dry basil

1/3 cup chopped tomato

2 Tbsp Olive Oil

Salt and pepper to  taste

Take 1 tbsp of olive oil and heat over medium in a non-stick pan. Sprinkle salt and pepper over top of chicken. Place chicken top side down and cook approximately 6-7 minutes, once chicken looks cooked (white) half way up turn over and cook for another 6-7 minutes.  Take chicken and place on plate and cover with foil, so we can use the pan to cook the sauce in the juices of the chicken. Place water, soup, tomatoes, basil, and rest of oil into pan and cook over medium heat for about five minutes and stirring occasionally, until sauce is nice and creamy.  Now return the chicken to the pan and cook for another 5 minutes. Once internal temp is between 155- 165 degrees place on plate and serve with vegetables or rice.

Ground Pork Supreme

This entree I found in an old cookbook from a Franklin, Indiana Church (it still had local ad's in it)the name of the dish grabbed my attention, but the ingredients made me maybe re-think it. Although,there is mango(most people think it's sweet and others not so much)in the dish, it comes out really good and better than I thought. When I initially asked Heidi what she thought she said" different", and I had some for a snack when I got home from work and thought it was better after resting for a couple of days in the fridge. It has a red sauce, I don't even think you need Parmesan cheese on top. I would like to hear from you and see what your family thought.

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1 LB Ground Pork

1 Medium Sliced Onion

1 medium Mango chunked

8 Small Button Mushrooms sliced into three per mushroom

1 Can of Tomato Sauce or Puree

1 Tsp Hot Mexican Chili Powder

1 Tsp Salt

1 Tbsp Olive Oil

In a saucepan start cooking mango and onions for about three minutes before you add the pork. Once, pork is added cook for about 10-15 minutes. Add mushrooms, chili powder, salt  and tomato sauce /puree and cover to cook for about 10 minutes. You should serve over spaghetti noodles.

Tropical Tilapia

Heidi found this recipes in one of those Aprons reecipe cards (Publix). The salsa ingredients sound (to me weird) for a fish entree, but what the heck.  It turns out to be really deliscious and does not last to long on the plate, at leats not ours. I used a spice named  (Cooter Rub) from a company named Gator Hammock, which is a local brand, but I think they sell it  nation wide if not you can always buy it online. The spice has a tiny bite from smoked Cayenne but it's not bad Heidi even likes it and she is not a hot flavor in her food type of person. Hope you enjoy and if you have any suggestions or comments please fell free to add to the blog.

• 2 fillets of Tilapia
• cooter rub
• 4 turns of the pepper mill or 1/4 tsp
• 1 container fruit salad (Kiwi,Strawberry,Pineapple)
• 4 strawberries chopped
• 4 pineapple chopped
• 2 kiwis chopped

• 1/4 tomato chopped
• Handful Cilantro finely chopped
•  1 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar

Heat a non-stick pan on med-high heat and drizzle olive oil into pan.  Sprinkle cooter rub and pepper over Tilapia and place into hot pan.  In a bowl mix together fruit, tomato,cilantro and Balsamic vinegar till well blended. Cook fillets for about five minutes on first side and turn over then cook for two minutes more. Place on plate and top with fruit salsa. .

Stir Fry

This Oriental dish is one of Heidi's favorites. She also, helped out with cutting up the pork. This dish only takes about 30 minutes. I used fresh pasta which will make the dish better so if you want to make it your self feel free or just go buy the local Italian market and get some spaghetti noodles, but if there is a local Orient shop, buy from them for authentic noodles. I hope you enjoy
















1 lb pork chunk ed
1 Zucchini chopped
1 tsp ginger
4 1 in slices of orange peel chopped
2 tbsp chili sesame oil
1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 oz Chinese five spice
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 handful chopped water chestnuts
1/2 lb spaghetti noodles cooked and cooled

In a hot non stick pan heat oils and place pork in oils for about five to seven minutes or till no pink is showing on the outside. Now that no pink is showing remove and set aside. Mix zucchini, orange peel,chopped water chestnuts and ginger in pan and cook for about three minutes. Now place pork, soy and noodles back into pan and cook for about another five to seven minutes. Be careful not to let noodles burn but if they crisp that's not bad either. The subtle taste of orange and heat are just the key for this dish

Poached Egg Balsamic Salad

Lite foods can be a rewarding meal when it has great flavors. This salad is filling and packs medium heat and different yet interesting textures. I would pick up a fresh loaf of bread from your local bakery to make the croutons for the salad.

1 heart of romaine lettuce
2 Eggs
2 tbsp of Sesame Chili Oil
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 Garlic Cloves crushed
1 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
1/4 cup Grated Romaine Cheese
3 slices of bread cut into medium cubes
1 Sliced Tomato

First I would start off by making the croutons with heating sesame oil in a non stick pan. Once oil are hot throw bread cubes in and cook for about 5 minutes or till golden brown remove and and set aside. Next in a medium size pot fill half way up with water and bring to a boil. Using a measuring cup crack a egg into cup (one at a time). Once water is at at boil drop a egg in ( you can place multiple eggs in water at a time)and let cook for about three minutes. Chop romaine up and place on plates. In the pan you used for croutons heat vinegar,olive oil and garlic for about 30 seconds to a minute. Place egg, romano cheese, sliced tomato and croutons on salad and drizzle warm dressing over them.