The weather has been pretty good lately so I have been outside doing a few things. I’m still nursing a couple of injuries so I’m taking it easy but I still need to get stuff done. Grass/leaves mowed, a few small trees cut, cut up a few longer pieces of firewood to fit the stove, trimmed a few bushes, and even transplanted a little oak tree.

I still have a few bigger trees to take down but want a spotter; the small ones I am okay with taking down alone. I can haul them a few feet to the burn area, trim branches up as far as I can use for firewood, then I chop it up into pieces. Less stuff to drag around and move.

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A few days ago I got out the smoker/grill and tossed a couple of salmon burgers on there. I wanted to try out a smoked salmon shortcut. It tasted like smoked salmon but salmon burgers are flakey fish that are compressed into a patty about the size of an average ¼-lb. burger. The consistency isn’t the same as a filet.

I decided to hang onto them after smoking them, then I got some raw deveined “shrimp” out of my freezer to thaw a day or two. I had a box of chip-shop batter mix I had bought. It’s easy – just add water (I wish I would have subbed a Guinness for the water but I forgot to do that) and whisk it up.

I ended up with this:

Living in the Pacific Northwest I learned a few things. One of those things is that battered and deep-fried salmon is delicious. The pieces the picture that don’t look like a shrimp are those smoked salmon burgers, sliced into wedges. I figured since I would have plenty of batter I would batter-up the salmon and these colossal shrimp needed to join the party.

These baby’s are enormous – a portion is four. The sodium is a bit high for even just four shrimp so I had that and two breaded salmon pieces for my lunch. I also wanted to keep the fats low. The batter quickly got a shell on the outside and they really weren’t too greasy. No, it ain’t health food but it’s all about that moderation thing.

I cooked it up in oil in my Dutch oven on the induction cooktop. That was awesome because the cast iron keeps it hot and the temperature stays constant on the induction cooktop. Everything cooked very nicely and evenly.

The batter was golden brown and crispy but it needs beer for bubbles and flavor. It was bland so I also need to add some spices & herbs for some taste.

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Last week some old friends I had not seen in many years contacted one of my daughters to try to get in touch with me.

I have known Dave for many years. We were co-workers in two different places and became next door neighbors. Ironically, at one point we became related through marriage.

I called and talked to his wife Lori during the day and we talked for two hours. It’s been a long time since we had talked and we tried to go over it all!

She told me to call back later after Dave got home. He & I chatted for quite a while and made plans to meet up over the weekend.

It was really good to get in touch with them both and catch up on our lives. Dave and I started on our stroll down Memory Lane and as we talked we really did a lot together. Camping, backpacking, some great trips, and all the personal private stuff in our lives. We threw some great parties too!