Friday, June 27, 2008

Three Conch and a Brick



Jerry went diving with some of the Marines last Saturday and picked up these lovely conch shells.  He had to go to work and called me to pick them up. I put them in the car and realized very quickly that these babies stink to high heaven. I continued the drive with the windows down all the way home. They are very ugly shells before they are cleaned due to all the sea garbage stuck to it.  I was instructed to put them in the freezer before handing them off to one of the Philippine workers to clean. I guess freezing them makes it easier to pull the entire thing out. If one little piece of the conch stays in the shell you can never get the stink out no matter how long you soak it in bleach.  While I was putting them in the freezer I could see one of the conch moving. I felt badly freezing them alive but was assured that they just go to sleep when they get that cold. On a side note conch is supposed to be good eating. You can make conch chowder, conch sushi, pan fried conch, baked conch, conch kabob, conch on a bun. You get the idea.  Everyone we talk to cooks conch differently. These are apparently old conch. The dude that cleaned them said to find ones that are a bit smaller and the color will be more vibrant. Jerry is diving again with the Marines tomorrow and with me on Sunday. We are hoping to find more to add to our collection. The brick is for frame of reference so you get an idea of the shell size. 

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