Pensacola, FL; Museum of Naval Aviation & More Shrimp

Pensacola is home to the National Naval Aviation Museum, and several people recommended that we visit. Admission is free and even though I don't know a thing about aircraft, it was very interesting. 

View from the second floor looking down onto a display

Old Blue Angels planes on display

Garry had read a recommendation for this little seafood restaurant under the bridge, called Fisherman's Corner, and we stopped for lunch. The food was great and our chatty server told us about a seafood market called Joe Patti's World Famous Seafood. We always carry a cooler, so we made a stop there and bought some more shrimp! I think we had shrimp and/or fish every day in February. Heart healthy! 

Fisherman's Corner - Great fish tacos & amberjack.

World Famous Joe Patti's Seafood Market

Joe himself sitting on the stool to the left, calling out numbers. 

We search out parks when we travel, and found Tarkiln Bayou State Park in Pensacola. It was a little early for the pitcher plants to be in bloom, but we found one! 

Whitetop Pitcherplant

  

Elevated paths made walking easy and I didn't worry about snakes. 

Armadillos, Dinosaurs & Shrimp in Foley, Alabama

Foley, Alabama was the largest town (17,000 pop) near our cabin in Perdido Beach, and on the main highway going to Orange Beach and Gulf Shores. It had the necessary shopping centers, restaurants and tourism spots. 

We found two different fish markets in nearby Bon Secour;  Aquila Seafood  and Billy's Seafood  and bought several types of shrimp on more than one visit, which we cooked at home. Our favorite by far was Royal Red Shrimp - tasted like lobster! 

Shrimp Boats next to Billy's Seafood, Bon Secour, AL

Foley has a nice Farmer's & Fisherman's Market, which we visited several times for fresh fish and vegetables. What a treat for us to have fresh broccoli and Brussels sprouts. We bought and cooked some Cobia (also called lemonfish). Tasty! 

Next to the Farmer's Market is a nice restaurant called Wolf Bay, (but it's not really on the bay). Their website photos are much better than mine!  It was one of the many places I tried gumbo, and of course they all say their's is the best. It was very good. So was the rum punch special that night. If you're ever in Foley, Alabama, stop there for a good meal and very friendly service. 

Fish dinner with hush puppies.

Wolf Bay has a nice boutique shop for you to spend money in while you're waiting for a table.  I think these hats would be great for Derby Day.

One of the first animals we saw after arriving in the Foley area was an armadillo, so of course we had to take photos and a video.  

A new family entertainment complex called OWA (pronounced like oh-wah, the name is inspired from the Muscogee Creek language to mean “big water) had been built recently, and I'm sure that during the spring and summer, it will be busy. 

There are many retirement communities in the Foley area. This one had elevated decks so that you could sit outside without worrying about alligators (unless you wanted to swim in the pond). 

Garry likes to use Google Earth to scope out places before we travel, and he saw that people had posted photos of dinosaur statues near Foley, so we had to go on an exploration to find them. They were on the road to Barber Marina. No explanation was given how or why they are there, but they were in pretty bad shape. I think they needed dino veterinary care.  We weren't the only people stopping and taking photos; I guess they are a tourist attraction.  

Foley is home to the Lambert's Cafe (home of the famous "throwed rolls"), but we didn't go there, since we were too busy buying shrimp to cook. Foley also has many thrift shops and while I was in one buying books, Garry saw this tree frog on the light post outside.  

Mardi Gras

Being in Alabama in early February, we learned that not only did Mardi Gras originate in Alabama, but there are many parades and celebrations in the weeks leading up to the actual Mardi Gras date of February 13. The beads and other things tossed to the crowds are called "throws" and you'd better be careful, because they are thrown hard! We went to several parades, the first of which was in Foley. I had my first taste of a Moon Pie, and decided my favorite was the basic chocolate. 

We have more parade pics from parades in Gulf Shores &Orange Beach in that post. We also toured the Carnival Museum in Mobile, Alabama and it was so interesting that I have an entire post just devoted to it. The costumes on display are impressive! 

Bead throwers - Mardi Gras Parade, Foley, Alabama

Beads and Moon Pies! 

Some of our "throws" - and we weren't even trying! 

Whenever we travel, Garry is always on the lookout for dirt to use in his taxidermy mount habitats, and carries containers to take home a few scoops. Do you think I can deduct this trip on the tax return because we brought home some of this red Alabama clay? 

Gumbo, Milwaukee Style

Gumbo - Milwaukee Style
We tried gumbo at several different restaurants in Alabama and Louisiana in February, and they were all a bit different, and each one claimed to be "the best".  After a month back in cold, damp Wisconsin, Garry was craving some, so I gave it a try. I started with the recipe from Kevin Belton's "Big Flavors of New Orleans" cookbook, and had to make some adjustments with ingredients that were available at my local grocery, as well as cutting the quantity by half. My apologies to Mr. Belton. His PBS show, Kevin Belton's New Orleans Kitchen, is one of my favorites! He's very entertaining and passionate about cooking. I've made some other dishes from his book. I'm calling this "Milwaukee Style Gumbo", since I had to substitute frozen shrimp, crab and okra, and chicken broth instead of fish stock. I used Usinger's Andouille Sausage and Penzey's Cajun Spice mix. I also replaced green pepper with red pepper just because we don't care for green pepper. 

Gumbo - Milwaukee Style
Makes approximately 6 servings

1 box (32 oz) chicken stock or broth
1 cup water
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup flour
1 small onion, chopped
1 red or green pepper, diced
1 rib of celery, diced
1 box frozen okra
1 lb frozen raw shrimp, cleaned, shelled, deveined, thawed and rinsed
2 links Usinger's Andouille sausage
1 cup of frozen lump crabmeat 
2 TBS Penzey's Cajun Spice Mix 

Put the stock or broth in a large dutch oven with the water and bay leaf, bring to a boil and turn down to simmer. 

Make the roux (thickener for the gumbo), by warming the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the flour gradually, whisking it in. Keep stirring over medium heat with a wooden spoon as it bubbles and then begins to turn brown. Take it off the heat when it turns peanut butter color, and pour into a separate bowl. It will continue to cook a bit and turn browner. 

Flour and oil beginning to cook.
Remove from heat when it is peanut butter color.

Roux continued to cook and get darker brown after
I removed it from the pan

Wipe out the skillet, and add 2 tsp oil to the pan, along with the red or green pepper, celery, and onion. Cook about 5 minutes over medium heat. 


Add the vegetables to the simmering broth. Add 2 TBS Cajun spice mix, roux and okra. Stir well and simmer for 30 minutes. 

Note: 2 TBS of Penzey's Cajun spice mix made a medium-hot gumbo. Use more or less to your taste. 

Cut the sausage into 1/2 inch slices. Add the sausage, shrimp, crabmeat. Simmer 5 minutes. 

Don't overcook the shrimp or they will be rubbery. Serve over rice, if desired. 

The cornbread was another recipe test. I've posted the recipe, Low Fat Cornbread.