My sister goes the distance for seafood

My twin, Janet, came for a visit from Atlanta two weekends ago for what I think could qualify for an Olympic biathlon event: hunting bargains and eating.

The rules in our endurance event were simple, and we followed them with stealth and precision.

With the speed of downhill racers, we hit one upscale junk store after another, and then stopped to eat. The meal had to be centered on seafood, which Janet said she was craving. Then it was back out to the next salvage store, yard sale, thrift store or antique shop.

Janet arrived Friday at lunchtime to my version of salad nicoise — potatoes, green beans, tomatoes, eggs, anchovies and tuna fish arranged on a platter. It's a colorful, simply delicious summertime salad.

Minutes after eating, we were off for an afternoon of searching for treasures.

For dinner, we decided on Circles in Apollo Beach, where we could sit outside and enjoy the waterfront.

All of our entrees were good, but Janet's stuffed grouper was exceptional. Her platter arrived with three rolled grouper fillets generously stuffed with crab meat, baked and placed in a lemon basil beurre blanc. The serving size was so generous she ate only one and took the remainder home.

Lucky for us she shared them with us the following evening. Wow. They were amazing.

Back at it again Saturday morning, we were off to Sarasota, first stopping at a yard sale and the Mary and Martha House Thrift Store. In Sarasota we roamed the farmers market, visited the Woman's Exchange, an upscale thrift store, and Sarasota Architectural Salvage.

Janet's unquenchable thirst for seafood hadn't waned, so I chose The Old Salty Dog on City Island for lunch.

What a treat it was to split an order of their crispy fish and chips, have a cold beer, and enjoy the sea breeze to cool our shop-'til-we-drop feet.

Our morning of junking should have been enough for any normal person, but we made one last stop at the Salvation Army before heading home.

On Sunday we made an early morning trip to El Bori-Mex Supermarket and had lunch at the Acropolis Greek Taverna in Riverview, where we ordered the appetizer platter, grape salad and falafel. No seafood this meal, unless you count the taramosalata, a smooth-whipped blend of milk-soaked bread and salmon roe. It's not to be missed and was our favorite on the platter.

Our marathon ended Sunday when we had a small, family get-together. Believe it or not, we were still in the mood for fish. For many years, I've baked all kinds of fish in parchment. As long as you don't over bake it, the fish always comes out moist, flavorful and succulent.

It was some kind of wonderful weekend.