So I was trying to use up my lobster that was on sale at the Atlantic Super Store 2 for 10$ right what an epic deal but my youngest is super curious about everything and it turned VERY QUICKLY into a educational experience we both enjoyed.
So the first thing we did was wash our hands since we were about to be handling food,then we transferred one of the lobsters over to a cookie sheet so we could begin an up-close and personal look .
Then I asked a very excited 3 1/2 year old where do you want to begin he's like " oh mom the tail" okay tail it is ,we looked very closely at all the bumps and ridges of the tail
We must have bent and unbent that tail a good 10 times before he realized this was only the shell on top of the tail and not the underneath.
When I was finally allowed to turn it over he squealed with delight to see the little feet he bent and unbent the tail a good 10-20 times and the feet and then spread the fins at the end apart and all i wanted was to eat this lobster not dissect him .So we cracked the tail in half so that we could pull out all the meat which i usually don't get all at once so I was surprised .We then sat that aside in a bowl for later .
Now that the tail had been removed we looked at the rest of the lobster .With wide concerned eyes my son looks at me and says "mom he is dead right he cant feel this right i don't wanna hurt him ". AWWWWW seriously little cutie now I don't wanna eat him/her either you turned him/her from food into a pet and that makes mommy sad so we had a moment to gather ourselves and wipes his tears for mr.lobster before continuing.
We looked at the top shell and all its bends and folds we talked about what it felt like and then what the inside looked like.the eyes and the antlers and all the claws etc
When we flipped the body over he squealed with such delight again to see even more legs we talked about how like spiders they have 8 legs and what they felt liked and how they moved and why he thought that the front 2 were bigger .Obviously they grew first mommy and so they are bigger and stronger literally had to take a minute not to laugh out of the mouths of babes so they say.
Then I finally got to break the legs off and eat some of my lobster I don't know if there is a actual way to get the meat out but I just break it and chew till the meant comes out ,totally worth the wait and to have this time bonding with my child is priceless since so many times were so focused on just getting it all done because were to busy to stop and explain and sadly society has ruined to many childhoods because we don't take the time to relax and enjoy the children we created who didn't ask to be here but just to be included and loved .
I wanted to give him the full experience so I broke apart the head and torso part of mr.lobster and his claws were set aside also and explained that some people like to eat this brownish green colored stuff which I've always called tom-ally I personally don't like it but to each their own .He didn't like the inside of this portion very much but he did examine it and touch it so that's more then I had originally expected.
when we took the claws off at first he was scared to touch them but after telling him to be gentle he did then he ran around the kitchen with them chopping anything in his path (yes i did clean and sanitize all of those surfaces after the fact ).
I then pulled the small part of the claw off and explained it to him as its like our thumb and the bigger part is like our index finger and so he makes a fist with his thumb inside and says "look mom just like mr.lobster" .
this is the meat that came out of the remainder of the claw the same was done to the other claw.
All the meat was then torn and ripped apart with a fork to make it easier to mix and later spread .
All my spices were then added and mixed into the meat .
We then added in some mayonnaise (only realized now it's in the shape of a heart) .We then mixed all that together.
This is where I would normally add in some diced onion and celery to add some more flavor and texture (sadly I don't have any).
Then we got out our white bread if I have garlic butter I will lightly butter the bread for additional flavor however i'm also out of that .
We then took our lobster mix and spread it out evenly on the bread and placed an additional slice on top .Then we cleaned our mess of lobster shells and placed them in the garbage and the nut cracker and fork and bowl into the sink to be washed.Most importantly we then washed our hands and the counter surfaces .
Then of course we grabbed a plate and got to have a very well deserved and delicious sandwich.
