Yesterday was a glorious day here in Portland. Not that it began that way. It was cloudy, cold and grey. But the weather forecast said sunny and clear later and so I knew that the Weather Gods would eventually deliver.
But sometimes, your psyche does something totally unexpected. Mine suddenly reminded me that we hadn't eaten crab this entire season. We live in the Pacific Northwest, home of the Dungeness crab, those huge, fleshy species that thrives right at our door step, the Pacific Ocean. And we hadn't tasted any this year. While my hankering would have led me to the nearest grocery store where they sell cooked crabs, my husband's psyche worked overtime! "How about driving to the coast, to our favorite fresh seafood store and buying some?", he said. Well, the weather was good at the coast too, so we impulsively decided to go. After calling and making sure they had live crabs at the store, we took off.
The trip to the store is not the point of the whole story at all. Uneventful, we made it to the store in the usual time, no delays, breathtaking views, easy parking, a ton of live crabs to choose from, a very kind and helpful fishmonger. We were in and out the store in maybe 20 minutes?
And then what? It was too cold to stroll at the beach, but it was almost lunch time and driving back home on an empty stomach seemed like a mean thing. So off we went to our usual haunt, this tiny store we have been patronizing for almost twenty years I think. Clam chowder and fish and chips ordered and eaten in another twenty minutes and we were back on the road.
We left home at 10 o'clock in the morning and we were back home by 2 o'clock in the afternoon. Four hours total.
By now you probably guessed it-our travel time back and forth was way longer than the actual time we spent at the coast. Sounds silly and utterly stupid right?
But hear the rest of the story. We bought crabs and fish at the store and so had to clean, descale and slice up the fish. The crab, that was another story. We bought live crab and so had to come home, kill them( 2 of them), then cook them. One I made into an Indian style gravy eaten with the rice, but the other, I boiled in hot, salted water,which my loving husband then shelled patiently over about a half an hour after which, he and the kid made fresh mayo, with which we made crab cakes. The cakes were supposed to chill for an hour. So I cooked rice and a vegetable to go with the crab curry and we had dinner. The crab was utterly delicious - after all how much fresher can crab be than the one you killed and cooked within an hour?
Then we shallow fried the crab cakes and let them cool before boxing them up and throwing them in the refrigerator.
And by that time I was so tired that I slept halfway through a TV series we were watching.
Bear with me a bit more. I'm sure you are wondering why I have given you a blow by blow account of our day, yesterday. Boring, mundane, blah blah...
Well, the fact is, cooked crabs are about 2/3rd the price of fresh live ones, and even shelled crab meat is cheaper than what we had undertaken even if you take into account the fact that the labor portion deserves a fortune an hour. And most important of all, it doesn't require a four hour round trip. A local grocery store will have what you need.
But yesterday, we took the laborious route to eating crabs. So the question needs to be asked, why? Oh why? Why drive four hours and slave over something that one could have gotten easily at the local grocery store for slightly over half the price and for way less labor?
Because, as Mastercard says, somethings in life are priceless. I can see eyes rolling already. Eating the same, almost the same crab cakes without all the surrounding work and effort seems like the obvious thing to do. Not just obvious, but the sensible thing to do isn't it? Why would anyone not choose to just loll about on a lazy Saturday and if a hankering has to be addressed, do it the easiest way possible?
Why try to row solo across the Atlantic? Why climb every mountain? Why do marathons? Ok, as much as driving to Garibaldi for live crabs is so not in the same league as say, climbing Mt.Everest, the idea is the same. The satisfaction, the exhilaration that one gets out of doing something that might not make sense to anyone else, but beckons you like a siren call..you have to answer. There is no thought or even logic to why you do these things. I've always watched people attempting risky climbs and swims and sports and such and wondered why. It's the thrill and the happiness that you experience. That momentary high..while I would not in a million years try to replicate that any time soon, I understand how people can crave these highs and for back to it over and over again, sometimes against their better judgement.
A friend of mine who lost her father and brother within a few months of each other was telling me that she has decided that life is short. Fleeting, and you never know when the rug will be pulled from under your feet.
So live well. Don't deny yourself things , don't defer things for another day. A hankering? Indulge yourself. A craving? Splurge. Don't deny yourself simple pleasures because you've overthought things. Ofcourse make sure your actions don't negatively impact others. But beyond that, don't hesitate to live life the way you want to. And most importantly, don't judge anybody's choice of things to indulge in. I used to really wonder at the idiocy of people rapelling down sheer cliff faces and jumping off airplanes. But hey, if it rocks your boat and all your affairs are in order, go for it! No one except you get to decide what will give you that jolt of happiness, that high of joy. And if it doesn't cause anyone any grief, do it!
As for me, the taste of crab in a savory ginger coconut gravy still lingers in my taste buds and I'm looking forward to devouring the crab cakes for dinner today. But for now that hankering is done. Who knows what I'll want to do next week!Hopefully is doesn't involve high altitudes and parachutes!!
No comments:
Post a Comment