Sunday Afternoon on the High Seas

T: In our continuing education on all things Florida, we took full advantage of our friends offer to spend the afternoon fishing for King Mackerel on Sunday. It was an absolutely beautiful day, so we headed to meet Howard and Jen late morning armed only with sunscreen, pretzels, and 24 ice cold Bud Lights. As per usual, they supplied everything including but not limited to the boat, equipment, coolers, fishing tackle, and hilarious company.

One interesting component of saltwater fishing is that you typically catch your own bait before heading out to fish. This can be accomplished in numerous ways, including the skillful use of a cast net (as pictured below/left)...or the substantially less skillful use of a sebinki (as pictured below/right). Suffice to say Howard's work with the next provided 100% of the fresh bait used during the course of the afternoon's fishing. The gentleman on the right did manage to snag one saltwater catfish, which is the freshwater (and culinary) equivalent of a Mississippi River bullhead...

We had an absolute blast patrolling the Gulf beaches for Kingfish, but ultimately came up empty handed. Certainly not the first time that's happened to me, and more than enough reason to recall my father's time tested words of wisdom: "That's why they call it fishing, not catching."

Still, it was an amazing experience...made all the better later that evening as Corrine and I cooked up the Pompano (not pictured) that Jen caught that afternoon. A truly delicious little critter, which I'm happy to report is available at one our favorite local restaurants should any Minnesotans have an interest when in town next week. (Ask us about "Pepin" if you want more information).

Hopefully we'll get out on the water again sometime very soon. I would like to catch a Kingfish, and any number of other big game saltwater fare. Perhaps then I can further impress Billy (pictured below/left) who enjoys two things over all else: i) Auburn football, and the discussion thereof....ii) referring to Corrine and I only as "Yankee". Good times, these...

Swine Flu hits the first grade

The economy size of Purell couldn't keep the H1N1 out of my classroom. Last Monday I had only one student out...by Friday I only had 8 of 19 show up. Yikes. I thought I would escape unscathed but did end up with a sinus infection. Overall, not too bad considering, but hopefully it just means we will now be totally healthy through the holidays!

Good Eats

T: As the latest in a long series of new things that Corrine has introduced me to, I am pleased to report that we recently joined a local CSA operation. The group is named Sweetwater Farms, located just across the bridge in Tampa. We signed up for a half-share, which entails 2-4 full grocery bags of fresh organic produce every other week. Our first pickup was Saturday morning (at the weekly Farmer's Market) and we have included a picture of the results.

We are thrilled at the quality and volume of the produce, and are also looking for to the "challenge" of learning how to cook so many fresh seasonally harvested food that we have little or no experience with in the kitchen. I realize that many of the Gerni have been taking part in CSA for some time, and I'm glad to be part of the group. It seems to be a great financial value, and will also help in our renewed quest to eat a healthier overall diet. We will keep everyone posted as we continue to move further into this strange new world, but at the moment I need to get back into the kitchen and see what magic I can make happen with a giant bowl of mustard greens. Cross your fingers...