Kaimusailing

An additional note about the Venus de Milo Seafood Chowder: the lobster, shrimp, and scallops are cooked separately and reserved, then added to the soup at the end. This way each piece of seafood retains its own unique flavor. Also the roux should be made with the clam stock before adding the tomato puree. I usually don’t use potatoes. Now I’m getting hungry again.
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I was concerned about hurricane Idalia in the Florida panhandle, but it looks like it won’t affect the St. Marys boatyard much and will also not affect us here in the Chesapeake at all.
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I organized car service for two upcoming doctor visits, one for pre-op screening, and the other for joint replacement training. We’re finally getting into the home stretch on this hip problem. .
My cupboard is now nearly empty, last of the chicken soup is gone, I fried a couple hotdogs and had them on my last slice of sourdough bread. I had one egg left. Time to hit the grocers, and so I did. Then I rode to the Legion.
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I had a Sierra Mist on ice and a glass of merlot. The place was nearly empty. I tried the taco salad, edible. I rode back to the marina.
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I now had cheese and crackers for a late snack with some pinot noir.
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The street in front of the marina experienced a water main break. When I heard the news I immediately took a shower while there was still water. I biked past the flooded area. The street looked like an asphalt snake that had eaten too much, it was bloated with long cracks with water pouring out, not a geyser, just lots of cracks and water, flooding the streets around the wine shop, oh dear.
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It took less than a day for the public works to fix the problem. I think I almost met the mayor, because there was a businesslike woman at the site of the flooding, it must have been her. There have been a lot of improvements to the town that calls itself a city. I heard someone say of the mayor, she’s done more in a year than the previous did in ten years. I rode past her with my shopping bag of wine.
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The fly problem has now settled down, now that I have learned the flies come in and accumulate when they can’t find their way out, and now I kill them while they are here. I zap them with the bug zapper which works by U/V light, they sometimes land in the bowl of apple cider vinegar and detergent, I swat them with the comical Chinese telescoping fly swatters, and some of them end up on the orange colored, orange size and shaped fly trap. It’s sticky and they get stuck.
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Pork butt is on sale for $.99/lb. This spurs me into action to make my Ole Mole Pork Soup. I’ve made it many times before and have had many positive comments about the aroma of the stew pot. Basically it’s pork and spinach with onion and the ole mole spices. It calls for 3 quarts of water and there is a note that a pork butt might provide too much meat for the soup. Instead of regular chili powder I will be using my stash of ancho chili powder and some red habanero chili powder.
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The wind, unfortunately, was from the North and it made my progress toward the grocers difficult. I found one pork butt on the shelf there and it was less than 7 lbs. so I bought it. My grocery package was not that heavy. The trip to the Legion was like tacking a boat upwind. On some tacks it wasn’t so bad, but other times the 10-20 mph wind would be blowing right into my face and I struggled.
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At the Legion I asked if they had fish basket like they had shrimp basket. The server said no, but the chef was right there and he agreed to make a flounder basket with onion rings and sweet chili sauce. The place was dead. My order came out quickly. I liked it. After another glass of merlot I packed up and left. People were starting to fill up the place.
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Sunset was just around the corner. The super moon would be visible tonight. When I got to the marina the gates were still open, but perhaps they were slow in closing it. The moon didn’t come up till well after sunset. It looked huge on the eastern horizon. I tried to take a photo of it with the S20+, but magnification and red eye reduction ruined it. I must have fallen asleep afterwards and woke at midnight. Take my forgotten evening meds and drift off back to sleep.
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The next day was beautiful, cooler, and with clear sky and light breezes. I biked around the marina looking at the preparations for the big Labor Day event. I think they have crab boat docking races, crab races, rides for the kids, food trucks, and live music. I will be making my soup.
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To get started I have to sharpen the edge on my elegant stainless knife that someone threw away in the boatyard in Georgia. It holds an edge well, but has to be honed every so often. The tip goes first. Perhaps I just have to sharpen the tip. I did so.
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Trimming the pork shoulder butt is difficult in that it is a big piece of meat, almost 8 lbs. and I don’t have a large kitchen to work in. I used a dinner plate to hold half the butt, trimmed off unwanted pieces of fat, bone, and gristle, placed them in a zip lok bag for disposal. The Chinese cutting board was used to dice the meat into small, maybe ¾ inch dice, chunks, then stowing them in a large bowl. Then grab the other half the butt and do it the same way. At least 3 quarts of diced pork, maybe more. I did a large yellow onion next.
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The pressure cooker body was used as a stew pot and the meat was seared over high heat. Liquid smoke was added, maybe too much. The spices, cumin, habanero powder, ancho powder, cocoa powder, peanut butter, and orange marmalade, were added while scraping the bottom of the pot and mixing the stew. The diced onions went in. Four large cloves of garlic were sliced and added. About a half tablespoon of garlic salt was added. A quart of water was added in two stages to keep the mixture bubbling.
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I had an idea, why not use the poaching method on this stewpot? As it was bubbling a bag of spinach was added, allowed to wilt, and mixed up, maybe 5-8 minutes, then shut off the fire with the pot covered. Wait 15 minutes to bring it to a boil again, and so on.
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I received notice that a part for the Raritan toilet on board was on its way. It is a sort of plastic elbow that takes the brunt of the pumping action of the head. It is a manual toilet. It is probably original and thus going on 45 years. I thought I would have to buy a complete pump assembly, but through the manufacturers website I found a service dealer in Maryland, in Dundalk, near Baltimore. The price for the part was just about 30 dollars and they said they would email me the invoice. It sounded like it would be drop shipped from the manufacturer in New Jersey. I was shocked when the bill for shipping would be also 30 dollars. Dundalk is about a 3 hour drive from Crisfield. I checked UPS shipping rates and I could ship the part anywhere in the US for about 15 dollars. The service dealer would not reduce the shipping cost, so I looked around and found I could get the part for less than 20 dollars, with shipping and tax I would save about 20 dollars over the service dealers invoice, I canceled my order with them. The part will be here tomorrow.
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The marina is filling up with yachts for the annual Labor Day activities. If you watch the video “Ape Hole” on YouTube, you will see how the crab festivals carried on before the pandemic. Crabs are available at the American Legion on a special night for $20/dozen. Oh boy!
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After the first 15 minute poaching session a 24oz. Jar of medium chunky salsa was added. This is Food Lion’s house brand, generic salsa, and I found remnants of plant stems, etc., once. The brand I prefer is Herdez and it is on sale at Food Lion, but not at our store in Crisfield, a monopoly. A taste test revealed our pork mole stew was tasting very authentic, spicy, and almost ready for dinner. The salsa has to cook too, so I probably have 45 minutes to go before I can eat it. No crabs, just pork.
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I ended up taking a taste and then another, and so I had a bowl of it, it was ready so quickly, not hours, maybe 15-20 minutes. The poaching method works so well I will try it on other dishes. This time the pork came out very tasty and tender. I started by searing the pork and some diced onions, this caramelized some of the onions and seared the pork with a flavor enhanced. The sauce can be played with a bit. Each time I eat it or a version of it I experience different flavors and ideas associated with the flavors, a complex sauce with a complex message.
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Poaching cooks food without destroying it. Flavors remain intact in poached meats or vegetables. It’s much nicer to taste the individual flavors of the ingredients of a dish rather than a mish mosh all blended together. Keeping the veggies crunchy is a plus also. I can’t wait to try it again, except for the eight servings of pork mole soup that have to be donated or eaten. This poaching process kind of opens up a new avenue for me to pursue. I don’t need the mexican spices as much as the cooking process. The mexican soup is remarkable in that a little goes a long way, I have a lot of it, so I might not be cooking anything new until 2024.
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I received delivery notice that UPS had delivered my Raritan toilet part at the house. I texted Cornelia Marie and she called and said she was going to the Legion and did I want a ride. The place was a swarm, it was a big weekend in Crisfield and the Legion had their security door unlocked. Swarms of people were enjoying a special crab dinner, $20 for a dozen crabs and two ears of corn. This place has no wait staff. The line at the bar was long, 10-20 people. I was glad to pick up the tab for those who braved the mobs to bring me merlot. Not my preferred, but beggars can’t be choosers.
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What a contrast to the quiet weekday evenings at the Legion. We could enjoy the excellent weather, and very nice photographic late afternoon illuminations, the reds slowly creeping up. I interviewed an ornate old veteran, 93 years young. I took a photo of him instead of the landscape. We left to pick up my package and I was back at the marina.
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The next day I removed the broken handle socket, that’s what they called that part, replaced it, and now the head pumps even better than before.
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The image is of the blue moon rising a little after sunset.