Baseball and Boat Shoes and Crabs! Oh my!

Sailing into Baltimore

Mom on the helm

A few weeks ago, David and I had the opportunity to spend the weekend on the Chesapeake with my parents on their sailboat.  My parents are avid sailors, navigating the waters to most points surrounding their Rock Hall, MD marina.  On that particular weekend, we set sail for Baltimore praying to the wind gods to give us a push.  Historically (and I am not pointing any fingers...or maybe I am) any time David has gotten near the boat, the winds have died and we have stayed put in the marina, settling for an early happy hour.  However, our prayers were finally answered and we were able to have a gorgeous sail to Baltimore.  

At the aquarium

The weekend was action packed with visits to the National Aquarium, Fell's Point and Camden Yards to see the Orioles play all while wearing our Maryland uniform, our Sperry boat shoes.  The icing on the cake of our memorable weekend was our visit to Harbor Shack Sunday evening to dig into some Maryland blue crabs.  Harbor Shack doesn't typically offer crabs on their menu but, for those with inside information, you can call ahead to order however many dozen you want.  They then contact local fisherman to buy from them.  When you arrive, they are steamed and smothered in Old Bay.  It really doesn't get any fresher than that.  With a surgeon's precision, you dissect and retrieve every ounce of crab meat.  The meal is delicious but also a fun experience.

Go Orioles!

While I am certainly not suggesting we can recreate this feast at home, I thought I would pass along an Old Bay based Maryland crab soup to hold you over until your next (or your first) Maryland blue crab experience! 

Enjoy!
Joanne

Maryland Crab Soup
Serves 10

Ingredients

• 1 can (28 ounces) whole tomatoes, cut into small pieces
• 3 cups water
• 2 cups beef broth
• 1 cup frozen lima beans
• 1 cup sliced carrots
• 1 cup frozen yellow sweet corn
• 2 tablespoons McCormick Chopped Onions
• 1 tbsp Old Bay seasoning
• 1 pound lump crab meat

Directions

Combine tomatoes, water, broth, lima beans, carrots, corn, onions and Old Bay in 4-quart saucepan.

Bring to boil on medium heat. Reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer 5 minutes.  Add crabmeat. Cover and simmer 10 minutes.