Where I come from....

On any given Summer Evening

You can find us here...

The heart of our town set deeply in it's Maritime history.

We stroll the old fashioned boardwalk and it feels as though we've simply stepped back in time.

We live in a coastal shore town where clamming, crabbing, fishing, and hunting
is a long part of its history.

Generations of families have survived and thrived here with those occupations.

A coastal town in which a light house such as the one shown below has guided

many a fisheman home safely to their families.

A small town from which fresh seafood is still readily available on the docks

where the fishemen bring in their day's catch.

And many a market has stood the test of time, passed down through families.

Long standing names in our community grace business signs.

A place that reminds the residents of

how our community came to be.

On certain summer evenings we gather together with family and friends here to listen to the

live concerts they put on for the locals. 

Including locals of the webbed foot variety...following us down the clam shell path.

While listening to the music we walk through the town and enjoy the sights

of things and appreciate times that once where.

I love history,

I especially love the local history where we live.

Standing outside old bait shops and fish markets that had a strong hand in keeping this community standing makes you appreciative of the old timers you pass by on the docks.

Can you tell if this picture was taken 60 years ago?

 Or maybe taken just yesterday? 

If it weren't for the light in the peak and air contitioning unit peeking up
I don't think that you really could tell.

All in all, it's still the same.

So what is your local history?  What type of local commerce has kept your town afloat for generations, coal mining, logging, fishing maybe farming? 

Let me hear all about where you are from!

PS.
Well gals looks like we have hit 500 followers now and I did promise a giveaway when the blog hit 500 and a giveaway I shall give.  Be sure to check back in about a week for all the details.

I'll give you a tip off on the requirements now, you must be a follower, bonus entries if you leave comments, more bonus entries if you have my link in your sidebar, bonus, bonus entries, if you blog about the give away and mega bonus entries if you are a customer.  As usual, the winning entry will be drawn by random number generator but more on all that later.  I'm off to pick the perfect giveaway sign now. 
Have a great week!
Take care,
Dee

Crab Boil 2010

It's Crab Boiling time again...

Ahhh, I should have known that when I was taking these photos

they would come back to haunt me. 

Tease me.....yes, taunt me.

Mouth watering.

WARNING:  If you are a Seafood lover...you may not want to look at these photos,

they are just plain naughty.

Alright...I'm not going to show you all these photos without sharing the recipe so you can have a Crab boil of your very own...that would be just plain cruel. lol.  So here goes:

Low Country Crab Boil

Shuck 6-8 ears of corn & break in half

1 lb. of petite red "taters"

1 lb. of sausage-sliced into 1" pcs.

1 lb. Fresh Mussels

1 lb. of fresh little neck or mahogany clams

1 lb. of king crab legs

1 lb. blue claw crabs

1 lb. shrimp

**Fill a large pot (I use my canner with metal inserts removed) 1/2 way with water, add 2 cups chicken stock , 2 T Zataran's Liquid Crab Boil, 2 bay leaves, 1/4 c fresh parsely chopped. 2 T old Bay Seasoning

**Boil sausage, taters and corn for apx. 20 minutes or until taters are soft.

**Remove taters and corn with slotted spoon or tongs reserving broth in pot.

Yeah, go ahead girl, slap some butter on those cobs n taters!  You know you wanted to.  Put aside in a seperate covered dish to keep warm.

**Into the simmering broth layer (in order) Clams, then lobster claws and cook for 3 minutes. 

**Next layer king crab legs, blue claw crabs, then mussels and cook for 3 more minutes. 
(Leave everything in the pot...and proceed to next step)

Is your mouth watering yet....don't worry we're almost finished!

**Lastly, add the shrimp on top.  Cover and boil for apx. 3-5 minutes or until shrimp is PINK.

Remove everything with tongs.

***reserve the stock ***

***I make a red Clam Chowder, using the broth, left over taters and corn....

everything marinates in the broth and it is the best chowder evah!***

(You can also freeze it for future use.)

 **Serve with melted butter, garlic butter, and

Homemade cocktail sauce made from 1 c ketchup, and 1/4 c. grated horseradish.

NOW....

Grab Your Claw Crackers and go to TOWN.....do not expect this to be a neatly eaten meal...

that's just not going to happen!

Fresh homemade coleslaw to go with it.

Make sure your table is layered with a plastic table cloth then covered in newspaper, plastic plates and cups for easy cleanup! I put out wood crab crackers and lobster picks with a whole roll of papertowels...this meal is to be enjoyed, no fancy eatin' here, you will be a mess when through!

Now if you compare the cost of making this meal to the cost of going out to a good seafood restaraunt and feeding 8-10 people this wins hands down.  We live along the Jersey shore so Fresh Seafood is readily available and sold at a reasonable cost to us.  We spend alot of summer days catching our own crabs and clamming so if you can do the same you can eat your own catch as part of the meal too.

My family looks forward to this each summer.  Lots of great memories have been made around our Crab boil table and I can't wait for the next one.

Take care,

Dee

Happy Father's Day!

So, what do you do when you want to show your love and appreciation to great Dad's at our farmhouse on Father's Day? You don't take these guys out to a fancy restaraunt, nope, that just isn't their style. You can't make them dress in their Sunday best, and you don't even tell them that they have to use the fancy china... Not in this family, not these guys, they get to do something they like on their special day and you make it casual and fun....

You have a crab boil! Not just any ol' crab boil either....a crab, clams, shrimp and lobster boil! Their favorite type of food...seafood. You set a very casual table, make everyone comfortable and throw a bunch of good food into a pot!

If you are wondering about the precise art of having a crab boil, I am going to illustrate and explain...lets start:

First, you take a HUGE pot...I mean REALLY HUGE! Next, you get your water boiling ....some Old Bay seasoning and secret ingredients mixing it all up in there. Mmmm, smell that? Heavenly!

Then you take some red taters, boil them for 15 minutes.

Now add some fresh sweet corn on the cob. Throw them into the boil on top of the taters for 10 more minutes.

Next, you take some smoked sausage and slice it into 2" pieces, and throw that into the boil.

Let that all roll around in the HUGE pot for 5 more minutes. With a slotted spoon put everything onto a platter, leaving the boiling water in the pot. I cover it tightly with tin foil.

Now, for the really good stuff....you LAYER in this order....king crabs, Lobsters, shrimp, and then lastly the clams.....some of it will be sitting on top of the water and will be steamed. Put the lid on the huge pot!

Boil at a low temperature for 15 more minutes and then remove everything with tongs and the slotted spoon, draing the water from your huge pot and put everything back in with the lid to keep warm. Now proceed to your fully prepared table....right this way folks.

A properly prepared table for a crab boil consists of the following: a plastic table cloth, news paper (yes you read that right) crab crackers, mallets and anything else you can use to get that juicy seafood from it's shell.

Remember, this is a mans meal and you are allowed to eat like a heathen! Just kiddin, but maybe not! Bring in some mismatched kitchen chairs, ignore the bad lighting, the fellas don't care about that! Lots of paper towels, lemonade for the children and summer ales for the papa's and uncles. Fruity drinks for the mama's and the aunts......some homemade coleslaw, garlic butter, and........

did I mention rolls and rolls of paper towels? Heed my warning, have lots handy!


You put one happy grandpa (pop-pop to my children) and.....


and a happy daddy in front of this mess, yes, right on that newpaper....(nothing fancy remember) and ya'll dig in! My Hubs and Father enjoy this meal alot...they barely spoke!!

Happy Father's Day to the important men in my life.....

My father, who I love so very much, you are a great father, loving, a good care giver, and he can fix anything! I was a lucky girl when god chose you to be my daddy! I love you!

My hubs who is a wonderful father to our children. He loves them with all of his heart and it shows....He works his tail end off for us and he would bend over backwards to make his babies happy....and you are the silliest man on earth and you keep us laughing all the time!

I love you very much and thank you for being such a great dad!

My brother, David, although you do not have your own children, you are my Cassidy's god father and so very good to all my children and

we love you very much too!

My Brother, Shawn, although I don't see you very often, you are missed and a wonderful father to your beautiful girls, we love you too!

My brother, Mathew, your time is coming fella! I can't wait! Ha!

Happy Father's Day, we love you very much!
xoxoxoxo