Day 22-23: Whidbey Island Plunder

Weight: 192.2

I finally got what I was looking for when I started (minus the salmon victory): shellfish. After the energy I gained from a day of fulfilling (literally) mushrooms, I went on a quest for our exoskeleton-boasting treasure here in the northwest. All day Sunday, I engorged myself on pears and apples. I asked if I could eat a snake or two my friend's son caught, but he turned me down. Just as well, since they were ... cute? But the less-sentient shellfish were not so lucky. For lunch, I ate the best oyster I've ever tasted, fresh off the cold water. Shucked it, and ate its cool, seemingly pollutant-free meat. I am very interested in finding a big oyster bed for this purpose. My grandfather, who used to live in Seattle, would go down to the shore with a shucking knife and horseradish sauce, open the critters up, throw on the nosebending sauce and eat them right there. It was almost spiritual. Then, the kids uncovered some great clusters of very clean looking mussels. I pocketed them and later cooked them up in butter and garlic. I don't think I've had better mussels in my life: whether starving or not. It is amazing how much better fresh shellfish tastes than it does when it makes it to a restaurant. I've had better recipes or preparation, but never better basic meat quality. Later, for low tide, my main man AP and his son G, along with my oldest boy, went down to the shore with shovels and uncovered several clams. We ate them for dinner. Superb. Once again: fulfilling. I am writing on Monday, and I'm sore from the shoveling of wet sand; it was a great workout with decent results. We wished for more but AP said, "I think it was a successful failure of an outing." I agree. Tasty at least.

This morning and through work I kept eating from the big bag of pears and apples we brought back, with generous permission from our friends.

Tonight, for dinner, I plundered my own back yard garden. I ate the last little cucumber, a decent carrot (with top, tasting like parsley), nasturtium, dandelion, and lots of fresh amaranth.

In the mean time, my wife has been occupied with personality tests. She thinks she is a INTJ, and I am an ENFP, with occasional tests showing up as INFP. In my profile, it mentions something about crazy dietary swings. I post this to solicit comment on whether this experiment of mine relates to my Jungian type. My friend's daughter M (age three) was real excited to give me a bug to eat the other day. She is such a free spirit that it may be that testing culinary boundaries play into personality concerns. I tested her boundaries as she collected a big flying insect, and she tested mine as I chomped on it without really being hungry. All in all, I'd like to thank my friends and their kids for helping me stay alive. They've been really accommodating. You know how annoying it is when someone comes to visit and has weird dietary restrictions (e.g., I sometimes visit people during a vegetarian fast)? Well it's pretty dang nice of another family to help me get a dinner that involves trekking through the woods looking for fungus. We couldn't be more grateful for the opportunity to visit our Whidbey friends on the weekends.