Monday, June 9, 2008

A Quick Howdy


Just popping in with a short post on a foreshortened day. We got away from Delaware earlier than usual this morning, which turned out to be a mistake because we hit DC at rush hour. When we finally pulled into home, the power had been off for several hours and didn't return until around noon. That gave both of us excuses for doing outdoor chores, since whatever needed to be done inside needed electricity. So I'm starting my after-the-beach chores late and just sliding in this little visit.

I wanted to show you the picture above. Those are the three dozen crabs I caught between Thursday and Saturday evenings--all of them good sized, and some mosters. I took the picture Sunday morning just before I sat down to pick them. Three hours of sit-still work, literally, sitting in one position, bent over your fingers as they pick the meat from all those crevices. It kills your back. (Or at least, mine isn't fond of it!) The payoff, of course, is the deliciousness that awaits. These 36 crabs yielded two pounds of meat. That's a lot. I divided the bounty into two one-pound packages and froze them in brine. One pound will make crabcakes for us and our friends Michele and John, who will be visiting us from Ohio in two weeks.

And that's where the "yum" comes in, and why the picking is worth the work.

More tomorrow.

7 comments:

nan said...

Wow! Sounds like hard work, but the payoff will be delicious!

Mark said...

Hi Ralph - first of all, thanks for your kind and supportive comment the other day. Glad you like my odd views of the world!

Second, you're a better man than I for picking and not nibbling! I have tried to pick crabs for later eating, only to find myself chomping along as I go. I know your crab cakes will be great -

and third - the picture of the crabs on the table is now my pc wallpaper! Umm Umm Old Bay yeah!

Anonymous said...

The crabs sure looked yummy!

Sure you will enjoy them!

Linda
SE PA

Mim said...

HI Ralph,
Thanks for stopping by..
Yes we will adjust and get used to our rural life! And you asked if it's congrats or not for not going back overseas. Well since Jan we've been thinking we were going but the project was cancelled, so this is how it goes and so we will go with the flow.
There are good things for settling in and learning to know people and just knowing we can now get to work on our house,etc.
Those who have lived overseas understand.
Crabbing and picking the crabs hard work but worth the effort!
Mim

Ralph said...

Well, Mark, now that you're going to be reminded of crabs every time you look at your computer, I guess it won't be long before you hit some wharf or other...wonder what the crabs will be costing this year?

I guess picking the crabs at 8 in the morning put a damper on my appetite to nibble. A little too early for seafood!

jack/andrews said...

We are died and gone to heaven! As I was reading the post I wondered if there would be any crab meat left for our visit or if picking crab meat would be a skill we would learn in Delaware. I'm willing to help on the next catch. Can't speak for John. He's not a patient man. He'll probably need a Steve kind of project.

Ralph said...

HA! Michele, if things go as planned, we'll have more interesting things to do than pick crabs, butthabks for the offer. The crabcakes will be your welcome dinner when you get in Friday.

And no "projects," either--unless, God help us, the septic tank backs up or something. (Shouldn't!)