Blow That Dough! -2021

[Dtail]

My BTD Covid purchases for the last year:
iMac 27-inch, 3.7GHz 6-Core intel Core i5, 16 GB 2667 MHz DDR4
Apple Watch Series 6
Air Pods Pro
Knit Stars5 (online education of advanced knitting techniques)
all new baking pans (King Arthur, of course), flour, and other supplies
new clothes (dropped twenty pounds)
yarn, yarn, yarn
IceBug GoreTex running shoes
Women's Crosstown Leather Hoodie Jacket - Carbon2Cobalt
2018 Honda HRV for DW

I also sold:
FatBike - I found I was skiing rather than bicycle riding in winter.
Wonder Washer - it didn't work for felting as I thought it would
Snow tires for DW traded in Prius

Nice list.

 

[Palmtree]

We get our 2nd Covid shot in 2 weeks and have not had a proper vacation in well over a year so we booked a trip to Belize in 4 weeks!

Also ordered a mini-split HVAC for my hobby woodworking shop to keep me comfortable year round.

 

[NW-Bound]

It’s interesting. I’ve lived near enough to the Texas gulf coast all my life to have plenty of great gulf shrimp. But once we stayed on the Alabama coast, and they had a very different gulf shrimp there. I think “Reds” was in the name. It was delicious. I’ve also had terrific shrimp from the GA coast (Atlantic).

Well, as I mentioned, being in a landlocked state I can still get live Dungeness crab and live lobster from tanks at supermarkets. But has anyone seen live shrimp in fish tanks anywhere?

I ran across frozen Gulf shrimp occasionally here, but fresh unfrozen shrimp is something I have not had. Maybe it's no big deal, or my dull palate may not be able to differentiate, but I still want to taste it to see.

 

[audreyh1]

Well, as I mentioned, being in a landlocked state I can still get live Dungeness crab and live lobster from tanks at supermarkets. But has anyone seen live shrimp in fish tanks anywhere?

I ran across frozen Gulf shrimp occasionally here, but fresh unfrozen shrimp is something I have not had. Maybe it's no big deal, or my dull palate may not be able to differentiate, but I still want to taste it to see.

IMO freezing shrimp is no big deal as long as it is immediately frozen. It does change the color of the shell, but I don't think the flavor changes, and it can actually test fresher that way.

 

[CardsFan]

For the record, the Royal Reds are frozen on the ship. They are a deep water shrimp, caught at over 1000` deep. The fish monger in PCB told us you can`t buy them fresh, or with heads. Her story checked out on the internet. But boy are they tasty.

IMO freezing shrimp is no big deal as long as it is immediately frozen. It does change the color of the shell, but I don't think the flavor changes, and it can actually test fresher that way.

 

[audreyh1]

For the record, the Royal Reds are frozen on the ship. They are a deep water shrimp, caught at over 1000` deep. The fish monger in PCB told us you can`t buy them fresh, or with heads. Her story checked out on the internet. But boy are they tasty.

Yeah, I read about that. I figured out that we don’t have them here because they are a deep water shrimp, and I bet our end of the gulf is too shallow.

Lots of prime seafood is flash frozen after harvesting. King Crab is a good example. IMO for most seafood it keeps it at peak freshness. I’ve had Dungeness crab here that I thought tasted better than on the west coast, and it’s because I buy it still frozen and it was frozen immediately after cooking, and I assume cooked just after harvest.

 

[RobbieB]

We have crap crab here. Just like everywhere.

When you pop the shell there should be plenty of "juice", the guts should be large and yellow and wet. If they are dry and withered just toss it inna trash, not going to be good.

 

[NW-Bound]

For the record, the Royal Reds are frozen on the ship. They are a deep water shrimp, caught at over 1000` deep. The fish monger in PCB told us you can`t buy them fresh, or with heads. Her story checked out on the internet. But boy are they tasty.

OK, thanks. It makes sense. Save me a lot of trouble and cost to travel 1000 miles for nuthin'.

As there's no way you can have fresh unfrozen shrimp unless you work on a shrimp boat, I will just watch the local market here for their frozen wild shrimp. They don't have it all the time, just the farm-raised ones.

 

[harley]

IMO freezing shrimp is no big deal as long as it is immediately frozen. It does change the color of the shell, but I don't think the flavor changes, and it can actually test fresher that way.

It does. I'm not a super taster or anything, but when I get fresh Gulf shrimp when I'm down in FL there's a noticeable difference from the frozen Gulf shrimp I get in FL. And as far as anywhere else, forget it.

One of our favorite places/dishes is Yucatan Shrimp at Doc Ford's in Fort Myers. I've gotten the recipe and cooked it myself. If I'm down there and use the fresh shrimp it's amazing. If I use the frozen shrimp, it's just really good.

I'm not saying the frozen is bad, by a long shot. But I was surprised to taste the difference myself, since, as I said, I've got relatively pedestrian taste buds.

 

[RobbieB]

I agree. I ate in a place in Tampa right on the gulf with the shrimp boats docked out back. Amazing. The richness and depth of flavor is stunning.

Same with Joes Stone Crabs in Miami Beach with their own crab boats.

 

[Montecfo]

Great seafood subthread. In the past year i have been introduced to the Key West pink shrimp on my travels. Definitely better than the gulf shrimp i have encountered along the Texas coast.

Wondering how the royal reds compare?

 

[audreyh1]

There are some lovely cold water shrimp/prawns in the Pacific Northwest. Spot prawns. Huge too.

Besides driving over to the oyster/clam/mussel farm* a ways from Friday Harbor for amazing eats and takeaways, we walked down to the docks nearby our condo to get spot prawns and Dungeness crab. We were stuffing ourselves daily!

*If you visit San Juan Island check out https://www.westcottbayshellfish.com/ . They had grilled oysters to die for. Raw too, but pick out your own from tanks and then shuck your own. Well worth the trouble. Bay front outside covered picnic tables.

 

[NW-Bound]

It does. I'm not a super taster or anything, but when I get fresh Gulf shrimp when I'm down in FL there's a noticeable difference from the frozen Gulf shrimp I get in FL. And as far as anywhere else, forget it.

One of our favorite places/dishes is Yucatan Shrimp at Doc Ford's in Fort Myers. I've gotten the recipe and cooked it myself. If I'm down there and use the fresh shrimp it's amazing. If I use the frozen shrimp, it's just really good.

I'm not saying the frozen is bad, by a long shot. But I was surprised to taste the difference myself, since, as I said, I've got relatively pedestrian taste buds.

I agree. I ate in a place in Tampa right on the gulf with the shrimp boats docked out back. Amazing. The richness and depth of flavor is stunning.

Same with Joes Stone Crabs in Miami Beach with their own crab boats.

Alrighty!

Back to my plan of camping out with my RV by the sea to eat fresh seafood.

PS. I suspect that the ambience of the locale has a lot to do with how the food taste. But if that is the missing ingredient compared to eating it at home, then so be it. It's no different than when we had food in Europe or any other places that's not home.

 

[RobbieB]

I don't agree. Except for the location of the local...

What I mean is that when it comes to fish, it's best to eat it the same day as it was swimming in the ocean or the river or lake.

 

[Sue J]

I don't agree. Except for the location of the local...

What I mean is that when it comes to fish, it's best to eat it the same day as it was swimming in the ocean or the river or lake.

I'm in Ohio and people here are eating sushi. You can even find it in the grocery stores in the prepared foods aisle. We also have a couple of gas station/convenience stores that carry it. I'm not going to eat raw fish in Ohio. And gas station sushi just sounds like a really bad idea.

 

[HF63]

Speaking of seafood, I told my wife that one year, I would take the RV and make a trip to the Gulf Coast, and linger for a while to eat all the seafood, particularly freshly caught shrimp until I decide I have enough. Was going to do it, but then Hurricane Harvey intervened, and then one thing and another, and the Covid.

I did make a quick RV run to New Orleans one year, but had to hurry back home for a scheduled major surgery. In fact, the reason for the pre-surgery mad-dash RV trip was that it could very well be my last RV trip.

Anyway, that was 8 years ago. I survived, and am doing well. I am still going to go camp out with my RV on the Gulf Coast to gorge myself one of these days, before I get too old.

Just do it life is to short!

 

[Out of Steam]

500th post

I'm planning to start shopping for a car with manual transmission once I'm fully vaccinated, almost certainly used. Right now, I think it will be a VW Golf or Jetta.

Nothing fancy or very powerful, but I think I'd enjoy it. I will be keeping my current car, so don't need to spend a lot of dough.

 

[oldphd]

but fresh unfrozen shrimp is something I have not had. Maybe it's no big deal, or my dull palate may not be able to differentiate, but I still want to taste it to see.

Part of that previous order I made included fresh Key West Pink Shrimp... FedEx will overnight. For my shipment (ordered about 8 lbs of seafood, weight was easily over 10 lbs including some reusable freezie things to keep it cold), the shipping free was about $125. If you want to try some, just BTD and see!

I've also had fresh shrimp straight off the boat in Brunswick, GA. We were staying on Jekyll Island nearby (this was 30some years ago). That Georgia coast is flat and muddy, which makes for a great shrimp environment. However, with all the shrimp boats stirring up the muck the visibility is near 0 and not a great ocean swimming experience.

Great shrimp!

 

[Palmtree]

One of our favorite places/dishes is Yucatan Shrimp at Doc Ford's in Fort Myers.

As I read this I'm drinking a nice IPA wrapped in a Doc Ford's Rum Bar coozie!

 

[finnski1]

As I read this I'm drinking a nice IPA wrapped in a Doc Ford's Rum Bar coozie!

We visited the Doc Ford's on Sanibel several years ago and had a good time

 

[ChiliPepr]

Decided I needed a new ride....

 

[Out of Steam]

Decided I needed a new ride....

Great! Two of my friends had the earlier version of the Ridgeline and liked them.

 

[harley]

I've always been tempted by the Ridgeline/Avalanche design. It seems like a good compromise. But the reviews I read were never that good, although the people that I knew that owned them were very satisfied. Plus my 2004 Highlander just won't die.

Nice looking vehicle. And happy looking passenger.

 

[street]

Decided I needed a new ride....

I like that a lot!

 

[skyking1]

I like it, we had a Pilot years ago. I really like your buddy there, positioned to never be left behind