Seafood Extravaganza

Oh my, but do I love seafood!

Well, really, I just love food…

And now that I am officially a Food Network addict, I’m always trying new things.

I guess I’ve become a FOODIE. And I’m thrilled. It’s a way to put some adventure in your life without leaving home. (Although I like leaving-home adventures, too.)

But whether I leave home or not, I can’t wait to eat something exciting – or comforting – depending on my mood.

Although that did not come naturally…

My mother was not a good cook. She just wasn’t interested. Besides, she lived on coffee and cigarettes to stay thin. And she had a strict grocery budget. Not the makings of any type of chef. The funny thing is, when I think back, I can’t even remember what we ate. It was that nondescript.

Then I was married forever to a man who had food FEARS. He didn’t like anything pickled, he wouldn’t eat vegetables, and he was so TERRIFIED of mayonnaise that he used to check the trash to make sure I wasn’t tricking him. No salads, no casseroles, just meat and potatoes non-stop. No wonder by the time we parted, we both looked like meatloaves!

Well, not now! (Actually, I don’t even know what HE looks like anymore, but I exist on fantastic food!)

I figure if a food sustains any group of people, anywhere in the world, then it is worth giving a try. I’ve had alligator, baby goat, rabbit, bison, suckling pig, rattlesnake, snails, squid, octopus and more. It’s a bit harder to get into insects, but I do think I tried a chocolate covered cricket once.

At present I am totally digging seafood. Specifically shellfish. And I think I might be craving it because I am perpetually low in zinc due to several surgeries. So bring on the zinc!

One great source is shrimp… oh what lovely food these ugly bugs cook up into!

And then there’s oysters.

Now I never thought one of these would cross my lips, but how wrong I was! I even bought an oyster knife so I could shuck them myself. Love…

So that’s the day’s post. And as far as drawing goes, it is an easy one.

For me, doing portrait sketches are like pedaling a bike uphill. You gotta work at it. But food in the daily journal? That’s coasting downhill for miles. Just relax and feel the breeze in your hair. After all, if you’ve seen one oyster, you’ve seen them all.

But I’ve got another couple portrait sketches lined up for later today. Discipline, you know…

Advertisement