
Howdy Susitna Cafe’ friends! Glad you made a stop at the Cafe’ today! Seems like we’re always talking about something interesting here…today we’re discussing bird peeping.

What? Haven’t heard about bird peeping? Well, you know…it’s like when you look at birds and tip toe around them so as not to scare them away…here at the Cafe’ we call it bird peeping. “R” and I enjoy the outdoors and nature, and although we’re not regular bird peepers per se, we did do some bird peeping recently.
Actually it all started during our fishing trip in Fulton and Rockport, Texas USA. We took our camper, fishing gear and Golden Retriever, Gus, to catch “The Big One”. We fished at night on some piers. However, some dolphin friends paid us a visit with their babies while we were fishing…i think they chased the fish away because after that we didn’t get anymore nibbles…at least i hope that’s why we only caught a few teeny tiny flounder…i really hope that it doesn’t have anything to do with my BIG Alaskan fishing skills…gee, do you think that i’m getting rusty or something? Oh, i hope not…
Well, I’m just not going to think about that anymore. Now, where were we? Oh yes, bird peeping. Anyways…the dolphins scared the fish away and that’s that. Sooo, since the fish weren’t biting, we decided to partake in other activities. So we did.
We went to Charlotte Plummer’s Seafare Restaurant in Rockport for lunch. Charlotte Plummer’s Restaurant has big picture windows that overlook the Fulton Harbour activity…


We ordered grilled seafood atop mixed green salad and some fried onion rings. Quite honestly, the grilled seafood was OK and nothing to write home about, but the fried onion rings sure were TASTY. In addition, the view was really nice.

While we were enjoying those TASTY onion rings, we looked out over the pier and noticed some beautiful birds. I got sooo excited, I ran out of the restaurant (with Big TASTY onion rings in hand) and started taking some photos and before we knew it both “R” and I were bird peeping.

Boy, bird peeping is some serious business. You actually have to do alot of tiptoeing and pretending like you’re peeping at something else other than the bird(s) of interest. Tiptoeing and peeping prevents the bird(s) from getting annoyed and flying away. Actually, after a few toe cramps, we got good at it!



However, i’m sure that the customers looking out of the bay windows at Charlotte Plummer’s were sort of wondering what we were doing tiptoeing and all…

After our toes got cramped and sore, we decided to take a break and get some coffee at the Daily Grind. The flavored iced coffees were sooo good and refreshing…we just got all energetic again! So, we drove back to Fulton Harbour and bird peeped some more.

Eventually, the sun started to set and our toes got sore again. But before returning home to our camper, I took one more bird peeping photo…

"Gulf of Mexico - Waiting...Wondering..."
Do you like it? Hope so! While taking the photo, I thought the birds looked like they were waiting and wondering as they looked out over the Gulf of Mexico waters and oil rigs. Since I took the photo about 4 weeks after the Gulf of Mexico oil spill and prior to Hurricane Alex’s arrival, I named the photo “Gulf of Mexico – Waiting…Wondering…”.
Oh, did I tell you? My bird peeping photo will be on display with other talented geo-artists’ work at the Geo Sapiens II exhibit at The Two Wall Gallery on Vashon Island, Washington USA from Sept. 4 – 30, 2010. Do stop by and see it if you’re in the Seattle/Vashon Island area. Oh, and don’t forget the Susitna Cafe’ Chronicles’ bird peeping tips while you’re viewing the exhibit at the Two Wall Gallery! Cheers!

Susitna Cafe’ Hot Crab Dip
Gulf Coast blue crab meat is sooo delicious…we make crabcakes and hot crab dip at the Cafe’ whenever we get fresh crab meat. We find that the claw meat is sweeter than the lump crab meat, however use either for this rich and decadent dip…

Ingredients
1 Tablespoon olive oil
2 Tablespoons butter
1 shallot, minced
1 cup rainbow peppers, chopped (use yellow, orange and red)
8 ounces Neufchatel cream cheese
1 cup sour cream (I use organic Wallaby European style)
1/2 cup mayonnaise (I use SmartBalance Omega Plus)
1 cup cheddar cheese, grated (I use a mixture of Vermont white, yellow sharp and mild cheeses)
1/2 cup romano cheese, grated
1 pound crabmeat (juice and all)
2 Tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/3 cup green onions, chopped
2 teaspoons Gulf Coast seasoning (I use “Slap Ya Mama” white pepper blend, but Tony Chachere’s seasoning will do too)
2 teaspoons Hungarian hot paprika
Heat olive oil and butter in medium sized saucepan over medium heat. Saute’ shallots and rainbow peppers in hot oil/butter til tender. Add cream cheese.

Stir until melted. Add sour cream, mayonnaise and the remaining cheese. Stir on low heat until the grated cheese is completely melted and the dip is smooth and creamy.

Add crabmeat (juice and all), lemon juice, green onions, and seasonings. Stir until combined.

Pour into a buttered oven safe baking dish. Bake at 300 degress for 20 minutes. Serve warm with crackers or poured over toast points..

Cook’s Note: Try substituting small sweet Gulf Coast shrimp for the crab meat…another rich and decadent dip for you, your family and your guests!
Traveler’s Notes: These are some great suggestions from our Susitna Cafe’ friends…
Rockport Restaurant(s) to Try:
The Boiling Pot
Panjos Pizza Pasta and Burgers
Things to See/Do:
Visit the many downtown Rockport art galleries and The Rockport Center for the Arts
