robirdstx

Plan A that got scratched on Monday was put into play today. Time to find a lemon and a lime tree! I was looking for a meyer lemon and found it and a kieffer lime at my local Lowe's Home Center. Meyer Lemon Kieffer Lime So many pots to choose from at the Houston Garden Center! Repotted Lime Tree Both trees repotted on the south side of the garage where they will get lots of sunshine. I can hardly wait for them to start producing fruit!

Thank you. I don't know that much about the different varieties of crab. (Note to self - must work on that.) I've only ever bought crab that has already been picked.

I can think of no greater expression of love, dedication and hunger. Ditto x 1,000,000,000,000 Thanks and yes, I got very lucky.

Don't give him too much grief, just point him in the right direction.

Thank you. I usually make the cakes with crab but the snapper worked out pretty well. Definitely one of a kind steel. Pizza results coming soon!

Thanks from the both of us.

I can think of no greater expression of love, dedication and hunger. Thank you. I think I'll keep him! And keep feeding him!

Yes, we are having pizza tonight. I don't know about Texas-style, more like personal-style. Thanks to information on this forum and others, DH made the pizza steel for me last Saturday. First, a good washing and then a thorough drying. I had read to season the steel with bacon grease, salt, green onions, and garlic to get rid of the metallic taste, much like seasoning a new wok. The steel started to rust almost immediately, so on to a hot grill. First the bacon grease, salt and green onions. Then more bacon grease, salt and the garlic. Blacksmithing tongs come in handy for turning the steel to do the other side. After a good wipe down and a brushing of olive oil, on both sides, the steel went into a 550F oven for 30 minutes for the final step.

Here's a teaser for what's for dinner tonight. DH's hobby is blacksmithing. He was making a portable forge and just happened to have this fourteen and a half inch piece of 1/4 inch steel plate leftover.

Thank you! We did have a slice or two.

After dinner it was time to bake the bread. The bread made the whole house smell so good! Since its just the two of us, I slice each loaf in half, keep one half in the pantry for immediate use and store the rest in the freezer until we are ready to use them.

Fish Cakes Part II Into the frying pan. I used peanut oil and let it get nice and hot first. The cakes browned up nicely in just a couple minutes per side. Drained briefly on paper toweling. Dinner! I didn't cook the other two cakes; they went into the freezer in a ziplock baggie for another time.

The Island looked pretty sad after Hurricane Ike made its direct hit in '08, and there are still a lot of boarded up buildings, but its looking better every time I go down. I'm just up the highway, half-way to Houston, in the Clear Lake/Galveston Bay area.

Thank you. I just wish that eyeball hadn't been looking at me while I did it.

While the dough for the bread was proofing in the micro, I got started on the snapper fish cakes. I had about 8 ounces of meat leftover from Sunday's snapper. I made up a mix of egg, dijon, worchestershire sauce, creole seasoning, mayo, parsley, green onion and panko and gently folded the snapper in. There was enough for six nice sized cakes. I gently flattened the fish balls and coated each patty with more panko. Then into the fridge to rest for about an hour to firm up.

After letting the pate fermentee to sit out of the fridge for about an hour, I started on the final dough. Dang! I forgot to take a photo of the dough in the bowl before I placed it in the microwave to rise. I like using the micro as a proof box. I heat some water in a measuring cup for a few seconds just prior to putting the dough in to make a nice warm environment. Using this method has really helped to cut down on the time it takes the dough to double. Nicely doubled! Divided into two equal pieces. Covered and allowed to rest for 20 minutes before shaping. I loosely covered the loaves with plastic wrap and set them aside to rise for a couple of hours.

Shortly after I finished posting Sunday's photos yesterday morning, the skies opened up and we had heavy rain, thunder and lightening. Scratch Monday's plan A and go with plan B. About a week after commiting to do this week of blogging I put the first part of plan B into action. Pate Fermentee for a couple of loaves of Vienna Bread: The pate fermentee was then placed in a lightly oiled ziplock baggie and put in the freezer. I had moved the dough to the fridge on Saturday in anticipation of baking on Tuesday but Monday worked just fine.

Hi Chris. We have most of our meals at home and its just the two of us. My DH doesn't usually quit working until after 6 pm and by then he doesn't want to go out again. Fortunately, I like to cook!

You are most welcome.

Thanks Heidi. I think we will do whole fish again but probably not on our grill. It is a gas grill and it just did not add anything to the fish. And that cage made a mess of the skin! I've been wanting to go back to New Orleans. Its been six years now.

I did much the same thing. The shrimp were big and tender and just darn tasty.

Back at home and it was time to cook our snapper. DH got the grill going while I started some rice, in the rice cooker, to go with the fish. I must tell you that this is the first time either of us has cooked a whole head-on fish. We were keeping our fingers crossed. In preparing the snapper for the grill, I rinsed and dried it then brushed a mixture of softened butter, minced garlic and grated ginger root inside the fish. I brushed the outside of the fish with olive oil and put it in its cage. By the time we got the fish on the grill it was already getting dark so not the best photo. What I had read about grilling whole fish led me to believe it would cook pretty fast and I didn't want to overcook it, so we brought it in after about 20 minutes. It looked okay on the outside but it was still raw inside. Not good! So instead of putting it back on the grill, we preheated the lower oven to 350F and baked it for another 15 minutes. Prefect! We had the fish with pico de gallo, shreddedd red cabbage and a spicy remoulade. The sauce is a mix of mayo, dijon, dry mustard, olive oil, rice wine vinegar, paprika, green onions, garlic, cilantro, anchovy paste and lemon juice. After we ate, I picked the rest of the meat off the bones and head. There is an amazing amount of meat on the head! Monday's dinner is going to be fish cakes.

After lunch at the Gumbo Bar we strolled back to our car and left the Island for Alvin to get some strawberries at Froberg's Vegetable and Fruit Farm. They have the best strawberries and other great produce! You can purchase already picked fruit, like we did or you can pick your own! The atmosphere at the farm was awesome! The pictures don't show it but there were families everywhere. The farm has a playground for the children and tables for having a picnic. In addition to the strawberries, we bought this little thyme plant to put in the garden.

Hi Chris, its listed as a chipotle mayo on their menu. The dish actually came with three tacos but I had already eaten the first one before I remembered to take the photo.

Galveston Island Part III - Harborside, The Strand, And More. After leaving Katie's we found a place to park just off The Strand and took off on foot to work up an appetite for lunch. Here is some of what we saw on our stroll. The Olympia Grill - Greek food - haven't dined there yet. Willie G's - good stuff! Fisherman's Wharf - one of my favorites - great deck for dining outside! We wandered into this wine shop! Black Pearl - I dined here last time I was in Galveston and this is what I had - wonderful grilled fish tacos! Today we are having lunch at the Gumbo Bar. First up, a thirst quencher. Many choices! After placing our order, we watched the action. DH had the Lil Daddy Chicken & Sausage Gumbo. This is the small size! I had the Shrimp Po-Boy Shorty and the Fresh-cut Potato Fries.