Tasty Tuesday: Sea Serpents

Sea Serpents???

Yes, yesterday was Sea Serpent Day! Did you ever know there was such a FUN day to celebrate??? We couldn't neglect the mighty sea serpents lurking deep in murky waters. We just had to honor them!

With map in hand and courage in heart, we set sail on our pirate ship couch across the ocean blue living room. The warm sun on our skin, the salty water sprinkling our lips, the wind tickling our faces. The vessel sliced through the rugged waves. The lure of a treasure kept our focus. Suddenly, there was a rumbling deep below and our ship began to rock. A grotesque face emerged from the black-blue waters. We sprung to action as one slimy tentacle - larger than we'd ever seen -  coiled around the ship. Frantically, we began to fire sock cannonballs in hopes of escaping from an eternal water prison. But the monster responded with more force, more fury, more strength. He squeezed tighter and we heard the distinct sounds of wooden planks cracking. With one final resolve, we aimed our last cannonball directly at his heart. BOOM! The sound was almost deafening. We held our breaths. Time seemed to stand still. Then slowly, the tentacles unraveled and the ship was set free. We watched as the creature sank into the abyss. Ho! Our adventure could not be thwarted. On to the treasure!   

Despite the hazards, our exploit consumed only a portion of the day. We still had plenty of time for other fun, sea-serpenty activities.

 We colored frightening pictures.

We read books about sea creatures.

We noticed that while we delved into our first book, a sea serpent stole the rest of the them and carried them off into his lair. We had to carefully and quietly retrieve the books from the sleeping monster.

For lunch, we dined on a luxurious sea serpent meal. (Truthfully, it was only mock-serpent. Shh, don't tell my kids. Real monstrous sea serpents are endangered, you know.)

Mock sea serpents are really very simple to prepare but require only the finest ingredients.

You'll need hotdogs and raw spaghetti noodles. Both will need to be cut/broken in half.

Gently slide the spaghetti halves into the cut ends of the hotdogs.

Using a sharp knife, cut a half-inch incision in the other end to form the mouth.

Here's something not many people know - sea serpents really are gentle creatures when they're born. They live nice, peaceful lives and are friends to the fishes. The trick to turning them into ferocious beasts, bred to destroy is cooking them in boiling water.

They despise boiling water.

When they are thoroughly angry - but before they are roasted alive - remove them from the torture chamber and place them back in the deep ocean where they can freely wreak havoc on their once-friends the fish, the sharks, and the unsuspecting ships. Sit back and be amazed by their fierce vengeance.

You might even catch some of the action, if you're lucky. Your pictures may be compromised though if you're holding a fussy baby in one arm and trying to take pictures with the other.

We watched a sea serpent as it silently floated beneath the surface. Within minutes, it leaped out of the water and took a huge bite out of a ship as it dragged it down below. 

 Hearing the commotion and smelling dinner, a second serpent quickly approached.

The first serpent, possessive of its feast, attacked the other. He finished him off like an appetizer before heading back to his ship meal.

There were no survivors.

Then the kids asked to help birth more sea serpents.

They're a vicious bunch.

And what sea serpent day would be complete without a frothy, serpenty-green drink???  That evening, we enjoyed Sea Slurpents while we reminisced about our adventure-filled day. 


Next time you're sailing the open sea in search of hidden treasure, keep a vigilant eye on the horizon. You just might spot the shadow of a mighty sea serpent lurking below.



Sea Serpents
Ingredients:
hotdogs
spaghetti noodles (3 per hotdog)

Directions:
1. Cut hotdogs in half; break spaghetti noodles in half.
2. Carefully insert 6 noodle halves into the cut-end of each hotdog. Make a half-inch slice in the other end of the hotdog to form the serpent's mouth.
3. Cook according to spaghetti instructions. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain well.
 
Recipe idea adapted from Feed Our Families.


Sea Slurpent
Ingredients:
limeade 
carbonated soda
lime sherbert

Directions:
Mix limeade and carbonated soda in a glass. (We carbonated a liter of water using our SodaStream and added a packet of True Lime.) Add 2 scoops of lime sherbert.

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