Richard, our neighbor, celebrated his 53rd birthday Saturday night. It was so hard to decide what to bring.... After we thought long and hard, we decided that Richard wanted Conch Salad for his birthday!
Saturday was the first cool day of the year...with the windows open, Ollie helping, and Mango napping, Justin and I fondly remembered our summer. We talked about our trips to Bimini, our countless boatrides, and our (or mainly my) new obsession with Buckshot Bay Burgers as we sliced, diced, and juiced our way to a delightful Conch Salad.
These are the "mobile homes" of the conch that we used in the salad. The shells have been cleaned and they are ready for their new place of honor in Amanda's house!
First the limes needed to be juiced (15 limes to be exact)....in an antique juicer that I inherited as a young girl and kept in my hope chest until Saturday! What an awesome treat to have a use for this old, beloved treasure! (Thank you, Uncle Al!)
Justin got to work preparing the "side of the road fruit stand" goodies. Tomatoes, peppers and onions needed to get sliced....
Smaller, please....
Just right!
Next the conch needs to be sliced! Honey, don't forget to slice it really fine!
Everything was prepared and we still had a few hours until the party. The weather was getting cooler by the minute and the rain was barely drizzling, so we decieded to take naps, not just any naps....we took lazy, Saturday "couch naps". 
Then we added a every last bit of time juice I had squeezed (15 limes made a little over 2 cups).
Everything was prepared and we still had a few hours until the party. The weather was getting cooler by the minute and the rain was barely drizzling, so we decieded to take naps, not just any naps....we took lazy, Saturday "couch naps".
After our naps and the Gator game (whew, that was close!) it was time to finish the Conch Salad!
So, we added the conch to our beautiful "side of the road fruit stand" mixture.
Then we added a every last bit of time juice I had squeezed (15 limes made a little over 2 cups).
Hot sauce and pepper to taste finish this treat!
Oh yeah, I almost forgot the most important part, the taste tester!!!! Grandma Price says that nothing should leave your kitchen without being tasted first, and we take her advice very seriously! Afterall, she is the expert!
So we went to the party with, conch salad proudly in tow, and we ejoyed our evening with our friends and the cooler weather.
So we went to the party with, conch salad proudly in tow, and we ejoyed our evening with our friends and the cooler weather. To our surprise, when the cake was presented.....Justin's name was on it! The cake celebrated Richard, Justin and Jamie's birthdays! How special is that?!
