Some of the freshest shrimp I have seen in years, and the heads were tight with very little orange color fade and some even had none. They smelled like the ocean and had not hint at all of that typically “shrimpy” odor that most people associate with seafood. These were obviously just caught within days. We purchased about 5 pounds of the large, head-on shrimp at Earp’s Seafood Market.

The Shrimp Stock

Once we peeled the heads I rinsed them several times under cool tap water and then covered them with just enough filtered water and put the pot on a very low heat. Once the liquid came to a slow simmer I adjusted the heat to prevent boiling and allowed the shrimp heads to simmer slowly for several hours. Then I strained the shells from the stock and allowed it to cool. I used some of the stock as the boiling liquid for the shrimp later on. Sorry, no photos of the heads or stock.

Boiled Shrimp

Once the shrimp stock cooled some I added about 2 cups of the shrimp stock along with 4 cups of water then added about half an onion cut into chunks, three ribs of celery cut into chunks, and ten garlic whole and peeled garlic cloves to a large stock pot. I also added about a tablespoon of Crystal hot sauce, 1/2 a tablespoon of red pepper flakes and a dash of Worcestershire sauce. I brought this all to a boil and allowed it to simmer for about 15 minutes, then brought back to a rolling boil, at which time I then dropped in the shrimp and allowed them to cook until pink. Once the liquid is drained through a colander the shrimp and other ingredients are transferred to a serving platter and ready to peel and eat with some cocktail sauce.

Eat To Live and Seafood

This meal was a part of our Good Friday seafood dinner. The Eat To Live diet allows for the consumption of seafood or fish twice per week. Overall fish has a nutrient density of 15, which is actually low on the line with 100 being the highest and 0 being the lowest. According to the nutrient-density scores that Dr. Fuhrman provides it is based on the total phytochemicals, antioxidant activity, and total vitamin and mineral content in any given food ingredient.¹

Dr. Fuhrman explains early on that some fish and seafood is more beneficial than others, especially with levels of mercury found in their flesh. The fish with the lowest mercury levels include salmon, flounder, sole, tilapia and trout. He also mentions that fish higher up the food chain seem to have the most levels of pollution absorption, such as tune, swordfish, and shark. He also suggests that seafood such as shrimp, scallops and oysters which are lower on the food chain have less of a risk of absorbing pollution as a whole.²

This recipe was prepared on Eat To Live, Week 1 Day 5 and 6, and linked from Eat To Live, Week 1 Day 5&6 of our ETL diet, you can follow our progress at Eat To Live.

¹Furhman, Joel, Eat To Live, pp. 120-121, ©2003.
²Furhman, Joel, Eat To Live, pp. 128-130, ©2003.

Guacamole is one of those base master type recipes that can have endless variations, and indeed I was able to create one that fits in with the Eat To Live diet. Meaning, no added fats or oils, and no added salt. In fact, we all agreed that this batch was one of the best tasting guacamole’s I had ever made.

All ingredients are combined in a large bowl and mixed and mashed by hand with a spoon.

This recipe was prepared on Eat To Live, Week 1 Day 5, and linked from Eat To Live, Week 1 Day 5&6 of our ETL diet, you can follow our progress at Eat To Live.

Last week’s hacker attack that disabled my ability to do anything productive with CCR and for that matter many other things in my life seems to be all clear now. In addition, from a recent Google news search on the subject, turns out that the web hosting service provider that I use also fell victim to similar threats as hundreds or thousands of hosted blog’s were affected in a similar manner.

In fact, the frustration is that today (Wednesday, April 14, 2010) is actually week 3 and day 4 on our Eat To Live lifestyle.  Many more success stories to catch up and share with you in the coming days!

Moving on…

ETL Week 1, Day 6 (Friday, April 2, 2010)

Ryan: lost 1 pound and at 226.5

Monique: lost ½ pound

Breakfast

Mixed berry fruit bowl with strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, and added pineapple and sliced kiwi fruit. The photo was taken with the low early morning sun and shining through the eastern window in our breakfast nook. Again, our hot tea with honey and a splash of skim milk and a ½-cup of orange juice.

After breakfast and a quick change of clothes, we took our short 1-loop 30 minute walk around the neighborhood.

Lunch

We were both off for Good Friday and wanted to make our annual seafood run in appreciation of the last Friday in Lent. On our way to dropping Ben off at a friend’s house, we met the parents and talked for about an hour; turns out, they have a stash of Blue Bell ice cream, not found or sold around these parts. We used to buy Blue Bell in New Orleans and had not had any in over four years. Therefore, when they offered us some it was hard not to turn down, Monique and split a small bowl of mint chocolate chip. So we digressed from the formal ETL diet a bit, but the split bowl was half what we used to eat and a small portion too, possibly a quick slip off the horse.

Grocery Shopping Fun

Since it was Good Friday, we had made plans weeks ago to get some fresh seafood at Earp’s Seafood Market on South Saunders Street in Raleigh, and while on our way, we decided to make a run to the new Trader Joe’s in Raleigh.

This was our first trip to Trader Joe’s, and we were like kids in a candy shop. However, we were good! I mean, we pretty much stuck to our shopping list and did find a few things that were not on the list, but which also met our ETL dietary requirements. Fresh Hass avocados from Mexico, in packs of four for only $2.99, some TJ’s Blueberry Muesli for $3.49, bags of romaine lettuce leaves for $2.49 each,  Medjool Dates for $4.49 per pound, fresh Kumquats for $2.99 a pint, Golden Roasted Flax Seed for $2.99 per pound bag, bananas for 0.19 each, or eight for only $1.52. We spent only $38.16 with tax, and most of these items sell for much more at our regular grocery store. Trader Joe’s is our new favorite grocery store.

With our TJ’s spoils in the ice chest we headed to Earp’s for some tasty seafood delights, the list included getting fresh catfish, shrimp, and raw oysters in the shell. They had all three and then some. The head-on shrimp were the freshest I have ever lain my eyes-on, the heads were tight and intact and were amazingly sweet smelling. We got five pounds of the shrimp.  The raw oysters in the shell were available in three quantities, $12.00 for a peck, $22 for a ½ bushel, and $40.00 per bushel. We opted for the peck of in the shell raw oysters. The whole catfish looked great, so we ordered four pounds of filets, some of the freshest catfish around indeed. After bagging our fruits de mere (fruits of the sea) and paying only sixty dollars and some change, we were on our way home.

I bet you were wondering if we only ate ice cream for lunch! Good catch, because I had made a quick bag of trail mix with some walnuts, macadamia nuts, and raisins along with some water we took along for the ride. Once home and after stowing away our spoils, I made a batch of guacamole, see recipe linked below. We snacked on some hummus and guacamole with our cucumber chips and drank water like fish.

Dinner

We peeled the fresh shrimp, just removing the heads and proceeded to make a shrimp stock with the heads. See the recipe linked below. We also took the oysters in the shell and washed them off outside with the garden hose to remove the mud and stuck on shell pieces. Turns out, we got almost 2 pecks of oysters for the price of one; we ended up with about 65 whole oyster shells. Moreover, while the stock was simmering we ventured to the front porch to read and delight in the wonderful outdoor spring weather.

After the shrimp stock completed, I strained it and saved some of the liquid to use for the shrimp boil for dinner. See the recipe linked below for boiled shrimp.

Having shucked my fair share of oysters I can tell you that three dozen oysters takes me about 20 minutes to shuck now, still not as fast as your seasoned oyster shucker, but still quite good enough for family dining. I also take the time to remove any loose shells and mud that might find its way into the tasty bivalve’s half-shell bed. These salty gems are served up with a tasty and quick cocktail sauce, see the recipe link below.

Recipes referenced in this post: Recipes will be posted in the coming days, still struggling to catch up to the back log since security and protection has become the major focus of activity in the last 7 days.

Guacamole

Shrimp Stock

Boiled Shrimp

Cocktail Sauce

The Corporation
The film is based on the book The Corporation: The Pathological Pursuit of Profit and Power by Joel Bakan.

A friend on Stumble Upon shared this with me and once I started watching, I could not stop.  Sabina is from Deep Spirits, The Quest for Truth, The Exploration of Beauty & Magic of Life web site.

This is a must see, eye-opening movie. The producers of this film have put the entire movie on YouTube for you to watch completely free! And I am embedding it here for you too. Please take the time to watch this movie, you’ll be glad you did.

Quotes from the movie.

“In devastation there is opportunity.”

– Wall Street commodities broker, referring to the reactions of Wall Street to the effects of 911 on the price of oil and the bombings in Iraq.

“The corporation is a person, legally, but the corporation has no conscience.”

“The goal of corporations is to maximize profit, and market share, and they also have a goal for their target, namely the population. They have to be turned into completely mindless consumers of goods that they do not want. You have to develop what are called created wants, so you have to create wants, you have to impose on people what is called the philosophy of futility. You have to focus them on the insignificant things of life, like fashionable consumption. I am just basically quoting business literature, and it makes perfect sense, the ideal is to have individuals who are totally disassociated from one another, who’s conception of themselves, the sense of value is just how many created wants can I satisfy.”

Noam Chomsky

Foodies take note, CASE STUDY: rBST bovine growth hormone (rBGH), which is primarily used on cows to increase production of milk and manufactured by Monsanto was pushed through development, funding, FDA approval, and the marketplace without fully testing it effects on human consumption. It is now a known cancer causing substance. It get’s worse, Fox News was asked not to air an investigative report on the subject because Monsanto lawyers sent several fax’s threatening to pull or limit advertising on their broadcast stations. See the movie, it is an eye opener.

Did you know that rainwater in a city of Bolivia was a privatized commodity? Indeed, the Bechtel Corporation owned all water in the city, and it was against the law to collect rainwater from the sky in the city of Cochabamba. Watch the movie!