Day 276: Crocodilians

I’m loving this croco-gator. He was so cool! I suppose in the animal world this would be some sort of stalking or hunting pose. His whole body submerged except for his nose and eyes. Right as I snapped the picture his eyes slid over to stare at me.

The little green leaves completely coated the top of the water, which made his parts above the eater surface, beautiful camouflaged.

As I took this picture, there was a 13 foot alligator behind. He could move but was pretty lazy. Saving those quick reflexes for a real meal.

Lola and Kit posed with him. Whoof, he was big! A little boy around five was told to stand by the glass for a picture similar to ours and he thought his parents were nuts! He stood about a foot from the glass and looked terrified when they told him to get right up close to the glass.
This child is smart. You don’t snuggle huge wild animals.

Day 275: Deep Ocean Critters

The deep sea room really got my attention because it was so dark and there were eerie blue lights that showed off weird critters. As my eyes adjusted and my nose nearly pressed to the glass I would exclaim as I finally saw the strange shapes inside.

I have been to other aquariums where the octopus resident had a jar or other treat toy to play with. Maybe this just wasn’t play time, but this octo-friend gave off a lonely and depressed vibe. He was snuggled in the corner as if willing the clock closer to closing time.

This is some sort of sea cucumber. From random Google searches, my guess is the Johnson’s sea cucumber. They are at least related even if the colors are different. They were fun to look at even if they barely moved. The tank didn’t have any signs up for these cucumbers.

The giant Japanese spider crabs were really freaky. All legs and huge. It could, gladly, wrap its legs all around me in a morbid cuddling fashion. They were devilish cool, but I wouldn’t want to be a little fish swimming by.

Day 274: Sharks and Santa

I should have taken pictures of the signs instead of just the tank inhabitants. Because I am 100.4% certain that the scientific name of this creature is Baby Shark.

They were pretty precious whatever they were. I have seen catfish bigger than these guys.
Right next to this tank was a touch tank for a sea urchin. Those are spikes of death. They are pretty soft. Starfish were pretty alien too.

Nearby, we saw fish that could walk around on land using their pectoral fins. Like we might hold our breath under water, they hold water while they skitter around on land.
Another tank exhibited some rather benign looking fish but an informational video showed them shooting water at insects. Archer fish I believe those were called.

We also saw a brief show featuring Scuba Santa. It was definitely directed towards kids but it was neat to see the shark rays swimming around Santa’s head.

Day 273: The Underbelly

Not much to way about this fish. Except that maybe he is a bit of a show off. Of all the places to sucker onto, he chooses the archway glass so that everyone can get a good look at his exquisite underbelly.

When I was a kid, I thought the most interesting thing in a fish tank were the fastidious cleaner fish. I still think that if I had to be a fish, being a cleaner wouldn’t be so bad.

I’m not sure what this fishy creature is, but it doesn’t look like it is cleaning….

Vegetarian Recipe Resources

My friend, Jess, has recently become a vegetarian and confessed she didn’t have a lot of ideas or good recipes to make yummy veggie dinners. Enter Kat, the friend who has no life and loves surfing the Internet

Here are a few of my favorite, conveniently vegetarian meals:

Spaghetti Squash Lasagna (tons of cheese)—I believe in this vegetable. You could even just bake it and make it a salad.

Stuffed Bell Peppers (you can litterally stuff them with anything)

Scrambled Smash–This is a family tradition. Heat your skillet, clean out your fridge of all your veggies (meat optional). If you’re adding pepper, onions, mushrooms or spinach, I recommend to saute it all before adding eggs. Beat eggs equal to your other ingredients (eggs will hold it all together), add spices and a dash of milk if you’re feeling frisky. This is NOT an omelet.
It is a great way to have a one skillet breakfast and clear out your fridge of all the scraps of veggies.

Now we’re moving on to the list links. If you are a vegetarian reading my blog, please share your favorite recipe or website. Knowledge is full belly.

The first website I was reluctant to add because many of the photos look so fancy and perfect. Then I saw the picture of the beet humus. The Simply Recipes Vegetarian Section.

I’m not brave enough to try it. Beautiful, no? I do like humus and it doesn’t take very long to make.

The blog 101 Cookbooks has an amazing selection and organization. This a blogger who truly wants to be a resource, like an online, searchable cookbook with tips. Quesadillas are super easy to throw into the oven. Cheesy melty goodness:

VegWeb has a huge amount of recipes from fancy to duh-simple. This is also a good resource for Vegan recipes. Not all their recipes have pictures but the community can add their own. The feature that tickled me most was the Surprise me! Button by the search bar. It surprised me with this delicious looking dinner:

Vegetarian Times some sweet recipes. Some of their categories include: 1 ingredient/5 ways, 30 minutes, vegan, one pot meals and more. Kale and garlic soup is Sooo perfect for this time of year:

Vegetarian Resource Group (VRG) has a journal you can pay for, but it is not necessary to access recipes. They even have old journals in .PDF form on the website if you want some veggie reading.

Savvy Vegetarian has recipes and an advice section with tips on how to keep a balanced diet (protein etc). Also they have some nice categories, such as quinoa, tofu and beans/lentils.

All Recipes is my fvaorite site because it is super searchable and has user reviews that really help! I read a recipe then skim the reviews for those tips you wish your cookbook would tell you beforehand. The vegetarian lentil soup is very similar to mine, except for that whole sausage thing:

I hope this helps you find out what you’re eating for supper. Gosh, I’m starving. Now I have too many options! What should I eat!?