It's T & A Time!!!

T&A! T&A! T&A!

No, not T*ts and @$$, you perv!  Test & Amend!  Yayyy!!!

Doesn't sound too exciting?  Welllll...............................

If you want results like this:

And this:

Or maybe like this:

And this:

And, of course, who can resist this?!

Mmmmm :::drool:::

If you want to experience the above, firsthand, well you're gonna have to do this:

I first blathered about it here...  Or, you can skip my blathering, scroll down to the bottom of that post and find the links to Finnyknits' (aka Indie-Farms) blog where she explains Soil Testing and Organic Amendments very clearly and all scientific-like.

Feed your soil - and it will feed your plants!

So, if you're a South Bay Gardener - Run!  Do not walk to your nearest Garden Supply Store and buy yourself a Soil Test Kit.  Do it NOW - before the warm weather truly hits!!!

More Gardening Madness and Bonus Bee Story!

So yeah...  Been bizzy-bizzy-bizzy this past week or so!

Friday afternoon, I granted myself a little "Comp Time" from work and logged-out an hour early so I could drive up to San Mateo for the annual San Francisco Flower and Garden Show.  It's an Annual Thing - kinda like one of those "Rites of Spring."  I feel like, if I missed it, it wouldn't *really* be Springtime!

Springtime?!

Why yes please!  And thank you!! :-D

The Garden Show actually doesn't change a whole heckuva lot.  Of course, the displays change - but it still seems like the same thing year-after-year - and I wouldn't miss it for the world!

I took a bunch of pics with my Droid while I was there but, unfortunately, none of 'em were particularly post-worthy.

Nevertheless, I did enjoy perusing the vendor booths and stealing getting inspiration for different types of ceramic garden art.  They had all kinds of cool stuff - from ceramic wind-chimes, to bird-houses, to funky brightly-colored ceramic sculptures that could be threaded onto a tall length of rebar.  I'm kind of thinking I need to make a sandworm (a la Beetlejuice) to slither and tunnel through my veggie beds!

I did make a couple of smallish purchases:  A new "not-so-deep" harvest basket, a metal duck sculpture, and a few tiny succulent plants.  I showed GREAT RESTRAINT in the Plant Vendor Zone - and I even walked past Love Apple Farms' booth without stopping! (Trust me - with appx 130 seedlings in the greenhouse - I do NOT need to purchase any more tomato plants!!!).

Rusty the Duck, guarding my veggie beds

I also purchased a new garden apron - but not at the Garden Show, actually.  I bought myself a Roo Garden Apron (online) and I absolutely LOVE it!  I'll admit, I was a little dubious about the "One Size Fits All" claim.  I am most definitely an ample person (and not at all by choice!).  I am happy to report that yes, indeed, for the Roo Garden Apron - it really is One Size Fits All!

Nope.  No spliff.  I just genuinely like the apron.  In fact, just for grins yesterday, I stuck one of the dogs into the Roo-Pouch/Pocket thingie.  Dog weighs appx 13# and - while she didn't like it - it wasn't at all uncomfortable walking around with the apron carrying a 13# dog!  I especially like all the pockets in it (like for your cell phone, or a pen, or shears, or whatevers).  

Let's see, what-else, what-else, what-else?!  Gawd, there's been a lot going on and I don't want to get too rambly!  

Let's just focus on the Garden Seedlings then...........

First bit o' drama was the sudden realization that as the plants get potted-up, the amt of available space in my greenhouse shrinks exponentially!  I needed more pots and more flats.  I'd found the pots on eBay, and I found several online sources for seedling flats - but shipping was "Are you freaking kidding me?!!"  Well, as luck would have it, we've got a Hydroponic Supply Store nearby, Rasa Hydroponics.  They have a nice selection of seed-starting supplies (including soil organic amendments), including 3" square pots and flats - competitively priced even!  So I am all set!

Today's photographic updates:

Getting ready to Get Dirty!

Roo Garden Apron and my spiffy new harvest basket

In the course of potting up, I did discover a few plants that seem to be suffering from damping-off.

I dragged out the spritzy bottle of chamomile tea - maybe they'll bounce back.

More potting up...  The entire lower-shelf is covered with flats, and I'm moving up to a second shelf.

I have added another 4' light fixture (So 2 x 2' Grow lights + 2 x 4' Grow lights!)

My first Zucchini is finding a new home!

Sooooo...  In a nutshell...  I started out with 131 mini potlets of seedlings.  I was actually forced to create a spreadsheet to keep track of 'em all (AAAACCCCKKKK!!).  4 never sprouted and got tossed.  As of now, 78 have been potted-up with 49 remaining.

I have two flats (cucurbits and tomatoes) that are currently cycling in and out of the greenhouse.  Out in the sun during the day, then back in the greenhouse at night...  Starting tomorrow, I think that's going to become 4 flats that cycle in and out (and I haven't quite figured out where they're all gonna go!).

Making a batch of Buckaroo Worm-Poo-Stew

For foliar feeding...

Annnnnnd...  I started a batch o Worm Poo Stew (aka Worm-Casting Tea), as per Indie-Farms recommendation.  I wandered a little off-course and decided to dump my worm-poop into a pouch made from old pantyhose (I don't want to strain it later!).  I'll let it steep in the bucket for a day or two, then put it in a spritzy bottle and spray the plants.

Next up:  The Annual Test-And-Amend Ritual (I'll start that next week).

Annnnnd...  A mini-update to the Bee Saga (which I never finished, but it seems like the story refuses to end!!!).  Here's a preview:

That is a bona-fide SWARM!

Okay, that's enough for today!  Happy Gardening!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

xoxo

-QT

March Madness! No, not B-Ball, but GARDENING!

Holy smokes!  It's been awhile, huh?!

Truth be told, I've been BUSY.  Sometimes in a good way.  Other times, not so good!  But let's focus on the GOOD, shall we?!

The greenhouse has been a very fun and productive place to hang out!  You may recall that last month, I started yammering about seed-starting in the greenhouse.

So how's that going?

Ohhhhhh....  Pretty well, I'd have to say!

Okay, this is a Burpee Super-Sauce 'Mater I started my "Old Way"
Jiffy Peat Pellets in the bathroom windowsill

Assorted Melons, Squashes, Cukes and Zucchs 

Already ready for potting-up (March 10)

Babies are growing like mad!
(March 12)

Friend P heard about my Seed-Starting Adventure and convinced me to share some shelf space!

P's babies started March 1.  This picture was taken on March 15.

My lonely Super-Sauce 'Mater (the bathroom seedling)

Doing surprisingly well (and way ahead of my other maters, actually).

Potted-up on March 16

Ordered 150 cheap blown-plastic pots off of eBay

Jeez, I hope that's enough!!!

We've been getting some halfway-decent weather so the first batch of potted-up babies got to spend the afternoon working on their tan!

All of the babies, tucked-in for the night!

Germination rate, overall, has been pretty good (except for the some of the older seeds).  And I figure I'll plan on taking inventory and potting-up, as needed, on a weekly basis.  

I wander out to the greenhouse, twice a day.  First to open it up in the morning (otherwise it gets too bloody hot in there!).  Then again in the afternoon to "bond" with 'em.  Watering, adjusting lights, and just checking on their general welfare before I "put 'em to bed" every evening.  So far, so good!

Today I tackled a few smallish garden chores: 

Broccoli and cauliflower have bolted.

"Buh-bye!"

Two raised beds are "mostly cleared" (I even weeded!)
Cabbage, garlic and artichoke get to stay!

Former-Finny-Farm gets to stay - for now.
This bed is "mostly shade" right now...

EasyBloom Plant Sensor

This is a Geeky Garden Gizmo that Hubs bought for me a few years ago.  It's used to track sunlight, air temperatures and soil moisture. Newer models also track soil fertility (but I don't think I would trust that).  You "supposedly" can download the readings to your computer by plugging it into a USB port.  Sadly, I cannot recommend this product because I can't seem to get it to work with ANY of my PC's (Yes, I've downloaded the latest software/drivers) (and my inquiry to Customer Support went unanswered).  "Oh, well!"

I did manage to get it to work ONCE - after I'd left the sensor in the Finny Farm Bed for a week.  It confirmed that the bed doesn't get enough sun for tomatoes.  But when I went to use it again in "Recommend Mode" (where it gathers data and offers recommendations for plants that *would* grow in your specific conditions), well...  It just keeps giving me wonky error messages (PC doesn't recognize the sensor when it's plugged into the USB).

So yeah, save your money!  

* * * * *

Random Observations on Seed-Starting:

1. It's a heckuva lot more time-consuming than I thought it would be! Not a complaint - just an observation!
2. It's only gonna get worse after everybody's potted up and has to come out/go back in the GH daily for "hardening off."
3. You need to do math!  I started with appx 33 Peat-Pots per flat.  Well, when the babies start to get their first "true leaves" you need to pot them up.  33 Peat Pots per flat vs 18 x 3" pots per flat means I need a lot more flats than I have (and - obv - I had to order a bunch of cheap pots, too! See above!)
4. Need LOTS of adjustable lights.  I have my 4' Hydrofarm Grow light hanging appx 3" above the plants.  On the upper shelf, I also have my old 2' Hydrofarm Grow light fixture resting on the upper shelf (so maybe 8" above the plants?), annnnnd I have an old Aero-Garden Hood also resting on the upper shelf.  This *just* covers 4 flats.  Gawd help me when potting-up is complete and I have to start using multiple shelf-levels! (I think I'll be purchasing another cheap 4' fluorescent light fixture from Home Depot and rigging it up with more grow-lights).
5. Peat-pots:  Jury's still out on those.  It just happened that I had ordered a bunch of 'em on eBay, so that's what I used (along with peat-based "seed-starting" medium).  I like that you can start the seeds and pot-them-up without disturbing the roots.  I do end-up tearing-off the top 1/3 of the peat-pot when I transplant into larger plastic pots - plus I try to plant them deeper (especially the 'maters).  I've found, in the past, that peat-pots CAN wick soil moisture *away* from the plant if any portion of the peat pot is left exposed above soil level (YMMV - but that's been *my* experience).
6. Interestingly enough, I'm finding that the babies I start in the bathroom windowsill DO seem to get a bit of a head-start over those that were started in the greenhouse.  I do have heat-mats under the flats in the greenhouse, but I think that - just because the temperature is ALWAYS warmer (and much more consistent) in the house, -the windowsill babies do better.  And once they're potted-up (and put on heat mats in the GH), they seem to do just fine...
7. Oscillating fan is an awesome addition to the seed-starting ritual.  The constant air movement is good for the babies.  It makes 'em stronger AND keeps the soil surface from getting all yukky (and buggy)! But you definitely have to keep on top of watering (Daily!).
8. Haven't had to utilize my "Old" Secret Weapon of spritzing the babies with chamomile tea (to prevent damping off).  Not sure why - but I'll take it! (And I still have my spritzy bottle of tea ready - just in case!)

Lastly...  In other (but still Garden-related) news:  Eggton (love her blog) posted an awesome-sounding recipe for white chili here.  Love-Love-Love this post because it hits on Weenie-Dog-Racing AND has a recipe for white chili! 

Well, immediately after reading that post, I ordered a BUNCH of white tomato seeds!

Mind you, I have NO idea where I'll find space for the actual PLANTS!

Some have been started in the bathroom window, and others have been started in the greenhouse.  The bathroom seedlings are kickin' @$$ and takin' names.  The greenhouse babies seem to be a bit slower with waking up...

* * * * *
Allllllllrighty then!  I think that makes up for 3 weeks of silence!  I'm freezing my butt off - out here at the Tiki Bar (no, it's not summer yet!), so I think I'll wrap this up and haul my carcass INSIDE where it's warm!

xoxo

-QT

And now for something completely different...

No reason, other than I wanted to get these pictures posted and linkable!

Highway Wiener Nationals - 2007

Click to enlarge

Tazz "The Spazz" is in the #5 position (and took a commanding lead!)

Princess Annie is #6 (and I don't think she even budged!)

Close-up!

Tazz won her heat and took fourth, overall, out of (I'm guessing) several hundred dogs!

And what did we win (besides Bragging Rights)?

Burglars Beware - or - "Watch Your Ankles!"

Awesome times!

The following year, we didn't do so well.  Tazz made it to the finish line - and beyond!!!  Either her vision was starting to go and she just-plain didn't see me (that's a distinct possibility), or she was just so excited she ran right past me and into the crowd!

Sadly, after two back surgeries, Tazz's racing days are over.  And Annie and Dynah are just too lazy slow for racing!

And in related news:  If you're even remotely into Weenie Dogs, this movie is absolutely HYSTERICAL!

Wiener Takes All

Here is a trailer:

OTOH - If you aren't into Weenie Dogs, you'll probably shake your head and wonder what the hell is wrong with people! ;-)

Enjoy!

Edit: Ooh, I Googled 2007 Wiener Nationals and - aside from getting the Wienerschnitzel Competition - I did find one more photos of my girls!

Tazz and Dynah, and an unidentified onlooker!

Image Credit: westbaybanjo on Flickr

So how are those seedlings coming along?

I'm so glad you asked!

Two trays full!

I'd say it's going pretty well!

So at this point, I have added a hanging adjustable fluorescent light fixture like this one:

Image Credit: Amazon
This is the 2-foot model.  I think I may need to upgrade to the 4'!

And I also bought an inexpensive oscillating fan like thus:

Again, image credit to Amazon

Annnnnd...  I've got both rigged-up to an Aquarium Timer:

Yep, Amazon again!

Hell, I oughtta figure out how to become an Amazon Affiliate - given how many links I post back to them!  But no, I get no spliff for sharing.  I just really-really like Amazon (And I love-love-love Amazon Prime.  Free FAST shipping! :-)

So anyway...  I've got the light fixture rigged up so it's hanging just a few inches above the seedlings.  And both the lights and the fan are set to run from 6:00am to 6:00pm.  The lights will help the seedlings grow strong and not have to "stretch" for light. Yes, they are in the greenhouse - but the greenhouse is covered with 60% shade-cloth.  It is fairly bright on it's own - just not bright enough - and if I removed the shade cloth, it would positively roast in there on sunny days.  

The fan is aimed mostly at the seedlings, but it does oscillate.  Finny told me that the fan will also help the babies grow stronger stems, plus the constant air-flow *should* help with deterring critters (white flies, aphids) and keep the soil surface from getting fuzzy/moldy.  The flip-side to that is, I *have* to go check the babies every day because they do tend to dry out a lot faster.

Okay...  Notes/Observations on germination:  I'm not experiencing 100% germination - but I have to admit that some of my seeds were pretty old.  So, it looks like (once again!), no Luffas or Birdhouse Gourds.  Most of the tomato seeds were pretty fresh, though - and I am surprised (and disappointed) to see that none of my Burpee "Super-Sauce" tomatoes have sprouted yet (that's one of the FEW seed varieties that actually I purchased this year).  Luckily, my friend DV says she ordered an extra Super-Sauce Tomato Plant from Burpee, so I suspect we'll be doing some trading in the weeks to come!

So yeah.  Babies are coming along - and I think (hope) it's not too late for more seeds to decide to come to life!

And in other gardening news:  Yep, I'm still harvesting cool-season stuff!

Yummmmmm!!!

Beds have been uncovered now (Yay!), but I still keep getting these @#$% "Extreme Cold Alert" emails from Weather Channel (which means I keep having to run out and re-cover the Plumerias!)

Annnnnd...  I've already started amending my beds with bagged steer manure and Bumper Crop soil amendments.

Wake-up! Wake-up! Wake-up!!!

Yep - definitely a hint of Spring in the air!!!

Finny-Farm Bed.  

At this time of year, it doesn't get full-sun (it's tucked between my studio and greenhouse).

My Brassicas are very happy!

Don't they look happy?!!

I haven't started my Test-And-Amend Ritual yet (Soon!  Very soon!), but I think we're on-track for an awesome Gardening Season!

Oh, and in other Gardening News: I have a Cordyline Addiction!

It started out with Cordyline fruticosa - which is a tropical variety (currently residing in my greenhouse)

"Wahhh!  I wanna live IN the house!"

This is what it's supposed to look like:

And it will - once I find a suitable location for it!

And here are my latest additions to my Cordyline Addiction:

Clockwise from rear:

Large bronze Cordyline australis

Small black Cordyline "Renegade"

Small Cordyline "Electric Pink"

These three plants ARE suitable for our climate (unlike C. fruticosa who is truly tropical).  So they'll live on the patio year-round...

I've already potted-up the large bronze one, into a large (tree-sized) pot.  I plan to pot-up the rest of them in smaller ceramic pots and finding a nice place to group them together on the patio...

I ALSO decided that the outer perimeter of our yard needs some sprucing up.  We've got huge Italian Cypresses running along the fence-line and, over the years, I've tried to add different ground-cover type plants.  My favorite, so far, are the African Daisies (Osteospermum something-or-other).  The foliage fills-in nicely, but the flowers only bloom in early spring (Which is fine.  Daisies aren't exactly Tropical!).  

Over time, I've tried adding more plants to the perimeter (with varying degrees of success).  Unfortunately, the perimeter is a *very* long run, and our drip-system is pretty-well maxed-out.  But I've stuck different types of palm trees out there (slow-growers like Pygmy Date Palms), and back along the far-far-back fence, I planted Agapanthus - hoping they would multiply and fill-in all the bare-dirt along the berm.  No such luck!

Sooooo...  While we were visiting some of Hubs' relatives, last year, in the Inland Empire (think super-hot and droughty So-Cal conditions), I noticed that they were using smallish ferns as ground-cover around their pool.  It looked positively awesome, so I asked about them (since I always considered ferns to be Shade-Lovers).  They told me that they were Sword Ferns and they seemed to do quite well with minimal water and full-sun.

I figure - in spite of the fact that I WANT to believe that Spring has Sprung - there's gonna be quite a bit more rain in the weeks/months to come, and THIS is when I should be planting stuff - if I want it to stand any chance of survival! I am NOT dragging a hose OVER the pool and ALL AROUND the perimeter of our yard (to be honest, I don't know if our hose is even long enough to make it to the far back fence!).

So I went online and researched "Sun and drought tolerant ferns."  Found this site - which was awesome!  Yup.  Seems like Sword Fern is the way to go!  I checked Home Depot (they had ONE in stock!), as well as our local nursery (which would have been grossly overpriced - if they had 'em!).  I ended up surfing online and discovered that I could either purchase 15 bare-root ferns for appx $90.00...  Or if I went to their "wholesale" site (same site!), I could buy 100 bare-root ferns for less than $80.00!

Yes, it IS madness, but I bought 100 ferns!  And honestly, I could probably put them all to use (our yard is that big!).  But I am really hoping that they are SMALL plants, so I only have to dig 100 SMALL holes, right?!

Besides, whatever I don't plant, I am SURE I can pawn-off on friends and neighbors!

Okay then...  I think that post was PLENTY Rambly!

I've got CRABS! (Recipe: Crab & Shrimp Bisque - with BACON + Seafood Louie Salad)

I love living in the San Francisco Bay Area.  I especially love it when Dungeness Crab Season is upon us!

Dungeness Crab Season was particularly fun - back when I lived on a boat in South San Francisco.   I have many fond memories of having Crab Boils on the dock - which, naturally, resulted in full-blown dock parties! (Nevermind that we were huddled around the Cajun-Cooker, in gale-force-winds, with our teeth chattering!) (Yes, they are STILL fond memories!)  

We are talking about Mega-Fresh Crab.  There were some commercial fishing boats at the marina next door, and we'd buy our crabs FRESH off the boat!

Image Credit: Instructables
In fact, here is a link for cleaning/cooking dungeness crab

So yeah, I LOVE dungeness crab!  Don't love the messy/stinky prep-work- however - which is why this is kind of a rare treat around here.  Although...  If you ever have an opportunity to dine at Joe's Crab Shack (which we did - ironically - in land-locked Arizona!), be sure to steal the plastic crab-discombobulating tool.  It's a life-saver!

Yes, I stole it.  And I feel no shame! 

Side-Story:  Maryland Blue Crabs.  I have relatives in Maryland and while I was visiting one year, I bought a huge bag of fresh-cooked, still-steaming, Maryland Blue Crabs and brought 'em "home" to my cousin's.  They set-up the backyard picnic table with sheets of newspaper and several rolls of paper towels (and assorted hammers and forky/prier-outer-tools), and we had a delightful crab feast one evening.  But the thing about Blue Crabs is: They're the same amount of messy/stinky work - per-crab.  But Blue Crabs are much smaller - so it ends up feeling like 3x the work for one-third the quantity of meat!

Plus (IMHO) Maryland Blue Crabs just aren't as sweet or tasty as Dungeness (Sorry, Maryland!)

Yeah, so last week at the grocery store, cooked Dungeness Crab was on sale for $4.99/lb (Great Price), so I bought one!  I also picked-up a pound of salad shrimp and a loaf of sourdough bread...  Ohhhh there's gonna be a San Francisco Feast!!!

Originally, I was thinking I'd make a vat o' New England Clam Chowdah - but decided crab bisque would be better.  I couldn't find any recipes that exactly matched the ingredients I had on-hand, so I invented my very own recipe (Ooooooh!!!). 

Here goes!

QT's Crab & Shrimp Bisque - with BACON

Yield: Appx 6 generous servings

Ingredients:

• 4-6 slices of thick-cut bacon
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves fresh garlic, minced
• 3-4 stalks of celery
• 6-7 leaves of fresh chopped basil
• 1-2 TBS unsalted butter and/or 1-2 TBS olive oil (if needed)
• 3 cans (@ 6 oz which nets 4 oz drained) crabmeat*
• 1 can diced tomatoes**
• 1 @ 8 oz bottle of clam juice
• 2 cups organic vegetable juice (like V8 - only without the high fructose corn syrup!)
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1-2 cups half-and-half
• Old Bay Seasoning (← mandatory ingredient!)
• Salt and (red) pepper, to taste...
• 1-2 tbs flour + water (optional - to thicken the soup)
• Handful of fresh crab and/or salad-shrimp (optional)

Instructions:

1. Fry up the bacon 'til crispy.  Remove bacon and tamp it with a paper towel.  Keep the bacon grease in the pan.
   Depending upon how fatty your bacon is, you might need to drain some off.  Spreckles is VERY lean, so I actually had to add olive oil and butter toward the end of cooking!
2. Finely chop your onion, garlic, celery and basil.  Toss it in your big pot with the bacon grease.  Add butter or olive (if needed).
3. Saute on medium-low 'til the veggies are limp and translucent.
4. Add clam juice, canned tomatoes, crabmeat and vegetable juice.  Bring to a light boil, then reduce heat.
5. Add sour cream and half and half.  Stir until heated through.
6. Let it simmer for 5-10 minutes (do not boil - you don't want to scorch the cream).
7. Grab your immersion blender and blend the soup 'til nearly smooth (it'll still be a wee bit lumpy - and that's okay).
8. Finely chop your bacon and toss it into the soup.  Add more fresh lumpy crabmeat and/or salad shrimp.
9. Give it a sample and add salt/pepper and Old Bay Seasoning to taste.
10. If it's too runny for your tastes, mix a TBS of flour with water and stir it into the soup, to thicken.

*Yes, I know the bisque base has (GASP) canned crab - but I wanted to use the majority of the fresh crab in our salads.  I did dump a generous handful of fresh crab in, at the end

**I would have preferred to use a quart of frozen-squozen tomatoes - but I ran out and had to use canned instead!

Image Credit: Old Bay
Love-Love-Love this stuff!

Okay, I'm gonna skip the whole "Cleaning/Prepping the Crab" tutorial (Messy work - and I didn't want Crab Gooze on my camera, k?!).  Go back to the Instructables Site if you need help!

Bisque on the stove...
This was before the immersion blender whirred all the chunky bits into oblivion!

Bisque in the bowl

"Get into mah belleh!"

Along with the bisque, I figured we needed a bona fide San Francisco Treat for dinner, so I also whipped together a most delightful Crab + Shrimp Louie.  Nothing particularly "original" here, but I figured I'd list the ingredients just the same...

Ohhh yeah!  Good stuff!

Crab & Shrimp Louie

Yields: 2 very generous salads (I couldn't finish mine!)

Ingredients:

• Meat from one freshly cooked/cleaned Dungeness Crab (minus the handful that ended up in the bisque)
• 1 lb salad shrimp.  These are the teeny, previously-frozen, de-veined/de-tailed shrimps.  Not the big finger-sized prawns. (Again, this is minus the handful that ended up in the bisque) (and you could probably get away with buying only half-a-pound for 2 salads - to be honest!)
• 1 bag of salad greens (Ohhhh, such a CHEATER!  But I supplemented with fresh red lettuce greens and spinach from my garden, k?!)
• Couple of smallish, sweet salad tomatoes (I used Campari tomatoes - which are actually 'pretty okay' for store-bought!)
• Half of a smallish red onion, sliced into thin rings
• Half of a thinly sliced cucumber
• 2 hard-boiled eggs, sliced
• Tiny can of sliced black olives (I only used about half - on two salads)
• 1 avocado, sliced
• 1 lemon
• Old Bay Seasoning
• Thousand Island Dressing
• Croutons (optional)

Instructions:

1. Rinse your salad greens and pile 'em up on a plate.
2. Arrange your other veggies (eggs, lemon) around the perimeter of the plate
3. Rinse (and dry) your shrimp and crabmeat.  Pile 'em up on top of the lettuce and sprinkle with Old Bay Seasoning.
4. Serve with Thousand Island Dressing and warm sourdough bread with butter.

Yummmmmm!!!