Droolworthy Shrimp Sandwich, and a Stunning Berry Filled Hike

I’m proud to announce that Feasts of Strength now has a facebook page that will probably be under construction for the next month or so. You can follow me there too at www.facebook.com/feastsofstrength Yay to you for being an invested follower!

For the last 3 years my boyfriend and I have been doing an annual fall hike up off highway 2. Its not particularly strenuous, but it does start out at 4500, and end up at around 5500. After a short uphill climb the rest of the hike is pretty much all sweeping views of the cascades. The best part about the hike is the berries. I’m sure you’ve had a blue berry before, and you may have had a huckleberry, but have you had the illusive wild blueberry. These delicious little bastards grow at high elevations. They look quite a bit like huckleberries, only instead of growing at knee to waist height, they are at ankle to shin height.  The cold from the elevation make them quite a bit sweeter than their lowland counterparts, and they are so delicious you’d think they were fake.

Every year, after picking I drop off a bag of blueberries with my mom, we celebrate the incoming blueberry liqueur by making shrimp sandwiches. These aren’t just any shrimp sandwiches, its layers of amazing. Shrimp strategically placed to have some in every bite, crammed between dungeness cream cheese spread, and a layer of guacamole. The whole thing is entirely too much to handle. I might warn you. Making this is a bit of an involved process. It usually take at least 30 minutes to put it all together. WORTH IT!!!!

The aforementioned blueberry liqueur

For the Shrimp

2 lb medium shrimp

olive oil for sauteing

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp chili powder

the juice of 1/2 a lemon

1/4 tsp liquid smoke

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

salt

pepper

Coat the bottom of a large pan with olive oil, add in the lemon juice and the liquid smoke and swirl it around to mix. Toss in the shrimp, and add the chili powder, cayenne, salt, and pepper. Saute until the shrimp is cooked all the way through and set aside to cool.

For the Crab

1/2lb Dungeness crab meat

8 oz cream cheese

2 tbs finely chopped chives

1 finely minced garlic clove

salt

pepper

Strain the crab meat, and combine all of the ingredients until well mixed.

For the Guacamole

2 avocados

1/2 red onion finely chopped

2 cloves of garlic minced

1 medium tomato chopped

the juice of 1 lemon

salt

pepper

Mash up the avocados until they are creamy, add in the rest of the ingredients until well mixed. You can buy it too, but it won’t taste as magical.

Finally, putting it all together

On one side of the sandwich, place the crab dip. On the other put the guacamole. On crab side begin placing shrimp, interlocking them with one another so the entire piece of bread is covered in little shrimp bodies. Top with alfalfa sprouts, and put the sandwich together. Mmmmmmh. Sandwichy goodness. I recommend pants with elastic bands. You’ll want 2 or 3 of these.