Peeky Toes

Wood Nymph


Eugene Koch
Wood & mixed media, 2004.


Tonight the door bell rang at my house, and I opened it to the sight of a teenage girl holding a dripping wet plastic bag. She's the daughter of my neighbor, Joe, across the street, and she's brought a pile of peeky toe crab claws for my family. Joe catches the crabs as unwitting volunteers to his lobster traps, and lately he's taken to giving away these claws to me once a week or so. The claws are tan and maroon with black tips, and why they are called peeky toed, I invite comments on. Once steamed the maroon turns bright red, and the black tips remain black. They are beautiful gathered together onto a big serving platter, and they are delicious, as sweet as lobster, and more nuanced in flavor. Their shell cracks easily, and often the claws break at the knuckle joints with the meat from the joint exposed and ready to dip. Delicious with a cold IPA, why aren't these being served at openings? Sure they'd be a mess, but put a pot of them in the corner of the gallery, and you'd be sure to keep the artist riffraff occupied while your serious patrons checked out the show !


















All content and images©Eugene Koch 2005