Crab Walk

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Crab walking...

I took myself
down to the river
for my daily constitutional
to tease out
those tricky little tendons
and ligaments
around my ankle

and came across
a young man loading
many crates
of these red-orange beauties
into his van

only a few crabbing boats
and prawn trawlers
come into the river
the bar is too shallow and dangerous
to foster a fishing industry base
on the river foreshore

these are Spanner Crabs,
which are found
on the east and West coasts
of Australia,

with the scientific name
of Ranina Ranina







Photo from rawfish.com.au




they take their name from their first legs
which are spanner (wrench) shaped
while the others are flattened
and have numerous short bristles


Unlike other crabs
who move sideways
the Spanner Crab
moves forwards and backwards

The crabs are found in sandy bays
in intertidal waters
to a depth of 100 metres
They eat worms, fish, crustacea,
molluscs and sea urchins
and are often found where there is prawn fishery
suggesting that they also eat the discards
from the trawl as part of their diet

Turtles in turn feed on Sand Crabs

Most crabs are exported
to East Asia, particularly Taiwan
They weigh 900gms
and the carapace measures 150mm

The pigeons
have also got food on the brain

and battle
with a large crust of bread

I wander on
looking at the colours
of the hire boats
at this time of day

and thinking of crab

and my stroll ends at the red
of the giant Terminalia Tree
which are found
all around the shores
of the islands of Hawaii





and I still think of crab...





Photo from spannercrabsnoosa.com



This is the lovely couple
who have the spanner crab stall
at the Farmers' Market




Crab Stuffed Avocado Salad

Ingredients:


3/4 lb (340 g) lump crabmeat, or cooked shrimp, chopped if large
1/4 cup (60 ml) mayonnaise
1 1/2 tbsp (22 ml) fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp (15 ml) chopped fresh Italian parsley, tarragon or dill
Salt and pepper to taste
6 oz (165 g) mixed salad greens
1/2 cucumber, halved and thinly sliced
Lemon wedges
Drizzle of olive oil
2 large firm, ripe avocados



Method:


Pick through the crabmeat for cartilage, setting aside a few legs to garnish the plates.

Gently fold together the crabmeat (or shrimp), mayonnaise, lemon juice and parsley.
Season lightly with salt and pepper.

Distribute the salad greens among dinner plates and top with the cucumber slices.
Drizzle some lemon juice over the greens, then drizzle with a little olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

Cut the avocados in half and remove the pits, then carefully remove the peel.
Place a half avocado on each bed of greens and pile crab salad in each cavity.

Garnish the plates with the reserved crab legs.




Delicious




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