Crawfish in the City

You know I crave Louisiana food. My favorite is still Crawfish Etoufee but Creole Shrimp and Chicken Gumbo is not far behind. I’ve heard from a friend of mine that Booker’s in downtown Calgary has crawfish and other cajun dishes. If that’s true then I’m going to have to try it. For now, I will drive for 45 minutes to Canmore to get my fix at French Quarter’s.

Today I went hunting for crawfish. Believe it or not, I tracked down a place in Calgary where you can buy frozen crawfish meat. The place is called City Fish and it is located on 27th Street in the Northeast. The exact address is 3515 – 27th Street NE but please call ahead first. They are a wholesale distributor and don’t normally sell to retail. I called and asked for crawfish and ended up reserving a box of cooked crawfish and a package of crawfish tail meat. The box of crawfish sells for $7 per pound and comes cooked in cajun juices. There are 3 pounds in each box and averages about 35 to 40 crawfish. The crawfish tail meat sells for $13 per package. I bought both.

I picked off a recipe from YouTube showing me how to cook crawfish etoufee. I thawed out the box of crawfish and peeled the meat from each tail. I then followed the recipe and made a pot of the stew. It doesn’t taste as good as how the French Quarter’s make it but it will do. I plan to use a ladle and spoon it over hot steaming rice. At $7 per pound and 3 pounds worth of crawfish, this can get expensive. I think I will drive out to Canmore every so often instead.

3’s Company

Our spring golf getaway in Fairmont will most likely be cancelled. The 3 guys were going to head out next Sunday and play 3 rounds of golf in 3 days. But with the storm that blew in on Thursday evening, the whole place is under a foot of snow. I think it’s very unlikely that the snow will melt in time. And even if the snow does melt, the golf courses will be too wet to play on.

Fairmont is located about 3 hours from Calgary. It’s usually a nice drive in the Spring as you head west on Highway 1. After an hour drive out of town, you reach the tourist town of Banff. Just for fun, I heard that Banff is an acronym for ‘Be Aware, Nothing For Free’. I remember I had a good laugh when I heard about that. I’m sure it’s not funny for those who live in Banff so I apologize for laughing.

It’s another half hour from Banff to reach the majestic Lake Louise. I remembered going to see Moraine Lake and Lake Louise the first time when I visited the area. These lakes are so blue that you have to see it to believe it. I urge you to make a visit there one day to see it for yourself. And if you are curious to google-it, believe me when I tell you that the pictures were not enhanced.

Before reaching Lake Louise, you turn off on highway 95 and head south to Radium. There are a few resorts in Radium but my destination is Fairmont. Fairmont is only 20 minutes south of Radium and is near the small town of Invermere. If you golf, fish or like soaking in natural mineral hot springs then Fairmont is the place to go. It is a year round resort, with world class skiing and snowshoeing in the winter and golf and fishing in the summer. There are some incredible fishing holes as the Columbia river flows through the town. Brown trout and rainbow trout are an abundance in these areas. (Unfortunately, so are the bears.) Some of the best golf include Greywolf, Copper Point, Radium Springs and Eagle Ranch.

I was really looking forward to golfing with my 2 buddies. Instead, I think we are heading to the hot springs to soak.

There is Life after Budgeting

Sometimes I feel I’m not doing this site justice. I should be blogging about how to save you money rather than to tempt you with things to buy. Lets start off with laundry. To save on buying static sheets such as Bounce, you can buy dryer balls that sell for $15 a pair. Using these dryer balls when you dry your clothes will remove the static and save you money at the same time. I understand that 90% of the energy used in washing clothes is the heating of the water. Based on the US Department of Energy, they tell you to wash your clothes in cold water and use cold water detergents whenever possible. If you check out their website, you can see a list of tips that we can all follow to save money. Since you’re there, you might as well check out the driving and car maintenance too.

 

If you want to go further on my blog about ‘Cheap Eats’ then learn a few recipes and eat home more often. Use Google search box on our site to find recipes of food that you like, download them and experiment with different recipes. You will find that it is more economical if you make your own meals than to go out. Try making a little more for dinner then bring the leftovers to work the next day. Saving on lunches can add about $40 per week to your savings. 

 

Everyone enjoys a nice steak sandwich or a juicy steak on the grill. Next time you’re at the market, try to pick up a Sirloin Tip roast instead of a T-bone steak. With a roast, you can carve your steaks to the thickness you like and you will find that each individual piece will actually cost less than one sirloin steak.

 

Here’s a simple tip to cook fish. If you want a real economical fish dish, buy a package of frozen fish such as cod filets. This should cost you no more than $10 for a package of five filets. Thaw out a serving in room temperature then coat it with some white flour. Sprinkle some salt and pepper on it then pan fry it in a tablespoon of olive oil. Cook for about 3 minutes and slide a spatula underneath it and flip to the other side. Reach for a bottle of salad dressing such as a golden italian, greek salad or my favorite, cuban lime and chili. Pour about an ounce over the fish and let it sizzle for a minute. Transfer to a plate with rice or some cooked vegetables. 

 

If you follow some of these money-saving tips, you can probably save enough for the next cruise that we find for under $34 per night. Think of it as your reward for inconveniencing yourself for a short while. There is life after budgeting.