Day 26- Such a mess

What is it about summertime that makes people not care about a messy dinner? I'm serious! We will eat with our hands and get stuff all over our faces and go through an entire roll of paper towels in one sitting. GLADLY. We'll eat at picnic tables covered in newspapers. During the winter, we wouldn't dream of doing this. What is it about summertime???

Now, growing up in Florida, our messy meal of choice was usually something like peel and eat shrimp. I always preferred them cold. Still do. It was always glorious fun to dig in, make a mess, and come away with your stomach stuffed to then stretch out in the grass somewhere. (Of course, when we were kids, we also didn't do the clean up afterwards.)

Now, there were no shrimp to be found at my house today. However, there were these:

A neighbor with family from New Orleans decided to share the wealth! He brought over quite the haul of mudbugs. (I managed to not fling my arms around his neck when he did.) There may have been some dirty rice and French bread added to the meal. You know, just for authenticity. All I needed was a roll of paper towels.

There really is nothing like digging in to a meal and using your hands for most of it. What is that about? There's something to great and childlike and fun about it. Before I knew it, my hands were covered in shell bits and juices and spices. I lost count of how many paper towels I went through. I licked my fingers. I generally displayed very poor table manners. It was fantastic.

Have you had your messy meal yet this summer? If not, DO IT. Don't worry about protocol or looking cool or being proper. Just dig in. Just like you did when you were a kid.

Oh, and if you're silly while eating at any point, it will actually make it taste better. That's a scientific fact.