{thirsty thursday} — blue crab, old bay, and fat tire.

here’s my “true fat tire story” —

so… by now you probably all know that i got promoted at work – and if you didn’t, now you do 🙂

it’s a good thing. added stress is always annoying, and with management usually comes more stress… but i decided that on my shifts, there will be none of that, no drama, no “issues,” no stress.  that’s just how i roll.

i digress.

so, after my promotion, i was all like “i want to buy myself a congratulatory meal!”  and so, the first thing i always go to when i want to treat myself with food – is seafood.  i love love love me some seafood. anything that’s been in the ocean, really.  but my favourite go-tos are shrimp, crab, scallops, or salmon. mostly shellfish, mostly delicious maryland blue crab meat. i have been craving them ever since i made my homemade potato chips… when i visit NYC in october, i’m actually considering making a day trip back to the bay, to mow down on some chesapeake catches!

in the meantime, i can just buy a huge tub of hand-picked blue crab meat, sprinkle on some old bay seasoning, and go to town.

so that’s exactly what i did 🙂

crab meat isn’t cheap.  seafood isn’t either, especially out here in colorado. but sometimes you just have to splurge.  what i appreciate about whole foods market is that they source only the best food. for a while there, i couldn’t find crab meat anywhere – it’s because they had pulled it from the shelves due to unsafe fishing practices.  since earth day this year, you will no longer find any unsafe or unsustainably-caught fish anywhere at a whole foods market.  their mission is to only sell the best quality food with the most sustainable practices.  since we can’t exactly get “local” crab, they source the best one. also, i appreciate the fact that it is wild caught and not previously frozen.

this makes me feel so much better about my choices when shopping.  if you put a crab pot in the water near your house in maryland and the next day you have some crabbies — hooray! – can’t get much more local and sustainable than that.  but when people start tearing up ocean-lining and destroying ecosystems with their unsafe fishing methods, it’s hard to want to buy from them.  so that’s why i always choose to buy my fish from whole foods market.

see that little blue sticker with the check mark on it? that’s the MSC stamp of approval.  MSC stands for Marine Stewardship Council.  they verify that the product is sustainably and ethically caught and handled.  that just makes me feel so much better.

so i just tossed all that deliciousness in a pan on low heat to warm it up…

then i doused the meat with my favourite seafood seasoning… and i ate the entire bowl… one decadent bite at a time…

nom nom nom…

i happily washed it all down with a local brew from NBB – fat tire.  so classic.  i feel like i don’t need to describe this one, as i gather most everyone has had a fat tire at some point in their life, no?!  wait a minute, i don’t think you can get new belgium brews back east can you?!  sad day.  — maybe soon.

i don’t always pour my fat tires.  for some reason, they are one of the few beers that i like to drink out of a bottle. normally everything tastes better poured, and often times NBB will recommend pouring it – they even show an illustration as to what kind of glass to use for best flavour – how cool are they?!  but i did notice on the fat tire bottles, there is no image.  it’s like they agree with me, it’s best out of the bottle 🙂

fat tire is the perfect amber lager.  well-balanced, smooth, hints of caramel in the body and flavour, clean slightly crisp finish… good stuff.  get your hands on one as soon as possible…

you’re welcome.

Tags: beer, blue crab, crabs, fat tire, fun, maryland, new belgium brewery, seafood, special meal, thirsty thursday