As I’m sitting here in my nest (a slide -in camper on a pickup truck) on this December day 26 miles deep in America’s Jungle in the EverGlades at Big Cypresss N.P. writing a CT article for next summer on my computer powered by reddy kilowatts of electricity collected by solar panels, I’m listening to Jazz by Chick Corea, Dave Brubeck and Herbie Hancock on its phenomenal little speakers. It’s truly amazing!
    I generally make one pot meals and I’m nutritiously and well fed.  The variety has expanded since I now live in my nest, not a tent with a screened room that I did for over ten years for weeks or months at a time.  I now I have a gas stove and refrigerator, but I had a gas grill and made a refrigerator cooled by ice in a large metal cooler inside a tote bin with an old sleeping bag between the walls of the two, which was good insulation and would maintain a temperature below 50 degrees for a week if I started with a 20 lb. block of ice.  Almost all my meals do not contain red meat.  I love a good rare steak or burger, but clean up becomes too much in my camp site, so I eat that, as I travel between camping spots.  Seafood, now that I have a refrigerator, has joined dry beans, pasta, rice, whole grains (a mixture of wheat, barley, oats, soybeans, etc.) lentils, and hominy or a combination of some of them as the staples in my diet complimented by cheese, eggs, fresh vegetables and fruits.   I cook the whole grains much like oat meal and add fruit for brunch and eat them after my morning walk at about ten a.m.  I eat a breakfast bar, pastry, and/or oranges, grapefruit or other fruit as I walk. The other items make my other meal of the day.  I eat lots of crabs, fish, and other seafood at home, too, along with ribs, chicken and BBQ from Raymond’s Grill at Fager’s Island in the summer on Monday night.  I get more meat in that meal than most of the world’s population gets in a month!  My Recipes:
    Chili: Portion Size- 8oz.; 1- In a pan put 4oz dry beans (black + others) add black pepper to taste & a sprinkling of red pepper seeds; add water till beans are covered and heat til boiling, turn off heat and cover with a lid and let set for several hours; 2- Dice ½ a large Tomato preferably that I handpicked to assure it is firm but soft when gently squeezed, ¼ medium sized onion and the same for a green pepper and add to beans; add a 1/3 can of commercially canned chili with no beans to the mixture for stock and stir thoroughly; add beer till ingredients are covered and bring to a boil again, cover with lid, turn off heat, let set for several hours, and drink the rest of the beer.  3- Heat and eat.  Beans will be soft but firm and the Chili will be full flavored with the distinct flavor of the blend of tomato, green pepper, onion & spiced by the pepper spice and complimented by the stock.
    Tacos:  Portion Size- 6; 1- select a ripe avocado or one that is beginning to soften and wait till it’s thoroughly soft, but towards the firm side, obtain soft tacos and some conch, shrimp, oysters or fish and cheddar, Monterey Jack, Queso Quesadilla, and/or Asadero Cheese.  2- In a sautéing pan place the seafood (shell oysters-  a dozen medium ones, that are covered with water except at low tide; conch- pick up 3 or 4 small ones on the beach in the surf that are alive, remove the sand from the shell; shrimp- 6 (if you catch them leave the heads on for more flavor) with a little beer enough to make a healthy steaming, cover with a lid, bring to a boil then turn off, remove from the heat, after several minutes put in a container so they won’t overcook. If shucked oysters sauté them lightly and remove from heat, so they don’t overcook. The quantity of each is sufficient for 6 tacos, but if you are lucky enough to have all 3 adjust the quantity or eat what’s left over.  4 oz. of Fish steamed, broiled or poached will work nicely too, but never fry it or any seafood!!! That ruins the delicate subtle flavor. 3- Dice ½ a medium handpicked and selected tomato, ¼ of a green pepper, and ½ an onion and place in a pan with a little beer, place on medium heat, till steam rises, cover with a lid, and remove from heat.  4- Make Guacamole by cutting a ripe avocado in half without cutting into the seed, twist the halves till they separate.  Remove the “green” from both the halves with a spoon and place it in a small bowl.  Save the seed and plant later. Add a tablespoon of no fat mayonnaise & a little pepper and mash and mix thoroughly.  5-  The vegetables should be sufficiently cooked now.  Remove the shell fish from the shells as necessary. Dice them and add to the vegetables, with the juice and mix. I usually do not reheat.  6- Heat the tacos on one side, turn, then place grated cheese on them to taste as they heat. As soon as the cheese melts place some guacamole on each taco and two fork fulls of the vegetable-seafood mix and eat with copious amounts of ACBs.
    Blue Cheese Pasta- Portion 6oz.; Obtain whole wheat pasta and some blue cheese; 1- Place 4oz. of pasta in 6-8oz. of liquid. Beer, left over broth from the chili or other stock, bring to a boil over medium heat for 2-3 minutes, cover with a lid and let stand for several hours. 2- Dice ½ a medium handpicked and selected tomato, ¼ of a green pepper, and ½ an onion and place in a pan with a little beer; 3- Combine pasta and vegetables plus a couple oz. of their fluid or add beer with 1-2oz. of blue cheese. Heat til steaming, remove from heat, and cover with lid. When cheese has melted, mix thoroughly, and feast with several ACBs.
    I’ll be putting some more recipes in my articles this summer.  I eat good!
    Here in O.C., the locals better get ready for the loudest, rowdiest gang that has descended here for quite a while, but there are still some calmer spots with good people, service & prices.  A few are: O.C. Wasabi’s, MR’s, Belly Busters, Caribbean Poole Bar (especially when No Byscuyts plays), & and CocoNuts.  I’ll have to check out the places north of the Rt. 90 Bridge someday, but I usually don’t walk that far!  And don’t ever take a car after you’ve drank an ACB in O.C. or the flashing lights will greet you!!!