Hot Granny, Tomato Crab Soup™

Post written on 10/01

Today the area feels as if it has been cleansed and the ground fed.  The air is fresh, cool and surprisingly dry this Friday evening, after over a day of torrential rains.  It is just the right temperature to induce a subconscious desire for a hot and spicy soup.

How many times do you go into the store for a specific item or two and reach the cash register with a half a dozen or more items in your hand basket? 

This PM, at Bloom, I stalled too long at the seafood section* and picked up a half pound of pre-cooked snow crab clusters that pulled me in and bit me for a total amount of $2.45. (Fair price.)

The majority of the crab was picked and eaten for dinner this evening.  But, I did not get overly zealous in the picking the smaller strands of meat out, as I wanted to experiment by making a tomato crab soup.

You know how you can never quite replicate your grandmother’s dishes because she never wrote the recipe down and always cooked by feel and taste?  Well, not so bad here for what I am calling HOT Granny, Tomato Crab Soup™, as I have some general measurements for use of commercially sold items.

In a large pot add:

·         ½ lb pre-cooked snow crab cluster shells with some strands of meat remaining

·         Use just enough water to cover the crab

Boil for approx. 20 minutes

Remove from heat and use tongs to remove shells from crab broth

Add to pot of hot crab broth:

·         2 – 10 ¾ oz cans of concentrated tomato soup

·         1 – 14 ½ oz can deiced tomatoes and juice

·         1 – 16 oz container of fresh salsa (contains - tomato, cucumber, green pepper, red pepper, red onion, cilantro, lime juice, tomato juice, garlic, poblano pepper, Serrano pepper and salt)

·         ½ teaspoon of Old Bay Seasoning (use more or less to taste)

Bring mixture to a boil and then reduce to simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

Check for taste and a slightly thickened consistency to determine if soup has simmered long enough.

Serve up this hot & spicy soup with a dollop of sour cream, ice cold beverage and enjoy!

*I am rather surprised, that some of the local grocery stores, over the last couple of years offer fish in one variety or another on special Friday’s, as not many Catholics and other Christian faiths are strict about not eating meat on Friday.  Mainly, the local Asian supermarkets have Friday seafood offers, but now I am seeing other mainstream grocers also placing seafood specials on Friday, as well.

Columbus Holiday Weekend

In 1492, Columbus went in search of spices and “discovered” new land that Spain then took possession of calling it the Americas.

How appropriate, that this weekend, I am going to work with my neighbor in helping him put up fencing for a dog run and he’s going to help me place up a length of fencing in my backyard that abutts his front yard.

What’s mine is mine and what is yours is yours.  Take notice Columbus, wandering neighbors and domesticated pets.  You all need to find some other land to discover or a place to put your eyes, nose and feet, after we have completed our projects.

The human resources for this project, other than me, myself and I (who has never built a fence before) is my new neighbor who has told me that he was 12 years old when he first started working as a runner for a fence maker.  Plus over the years he has built a good number of fences himself.

For style and design, we are also going to follow the fine example of a "good neighbor fence" that our former neighbor built board by board last summer.  The only exception being that for the section that I am putting up I want it at a height of 7’, as opposed to the 6’ due to the fact that my back yard is viewed by all of the other front yards up this side of the cul-du-sac.  On the flip side, when in my back yard, I am can not escape from being in the line of site of their front yards, driveways and cars.

Not pleasant for any party involved.

The neighbor has warned me that since I am not doing a standard 6’ height that I more than likely will have to purchase the lumber at a local specialty lumber store, as opposed to the near-by and oh so convenient, Home Depot. 

Inconvenient and potentially much more costly.  But, for that particular section, I don't think I will sway in my decision for the extra foot of height.

I will need to make time to research this matter this evening and tomorrow.  If need be, I will contact one of the local, private lumber yards for availability, pricing and hours of operation, etc.

The neighbor is in charge of renting the power auger and I can already imagine my muscles are going to be screaming after we fight with that machine to pull the earth up from below to make room for fence posts.

Miss Utility has been contacted and as of this evening there are another set of utility lines marking the front of my property warning us where we either must dig carefully by hand tool or avoid all together, as lines can be up to 2’ on either side of their marks.

Since all of the utility companies had to respond and mark our properties prior to us digging, I also asked that they mark the remaining perimeter of my property.  This is for me to note and in the future I will be more aware of where lines reside underground.  Plus, be prepared for whether or not I can place additional spans of fencing around the perimeter of the side yards, etc.

My intellectual property name for this business endeavor is Sawyer-Finn™.  ;^)

Stay tuned, as I will update with photos and related stories.

10/08 AM Status Update

Neighbor that I am going to help build a fence with is sick enough that he's heading off to the doctor's this AM.

We met outside briefly to go over what I need for materials for the section of fence I am going to build.  But, in light of him being as sick as he is he agreed that it would be wise to put off our purchasing of supplies until he's feeling better and we can put a full effort into the digging of post (have to rent an auger) and hauling lumber and 80 lb bags of concrete to fill post holes, etc.

Cold Beverage Decanter / Jar

Cold Beverage Decanter / Jar

Have you ever wondered how to dispense large quantities of homemade beverages or ice water when you have a gathering?

More than likely, you have been in the same situation that I am in and you either end up purchasing beverages in containers pre-made from the store or you have a number of odd containers available. 

Like me, do you have some containers that you would rather not share with the general public that you keep in the refrigerator and use on a daily basis?

You know the ones with the stains that will never come out or that chip that has been on the edge of the pitcher since 1960, when your grandmother hit the faucet while hand washing it.

I have eyed these large glass beverage decanters with the matching clear glass tops and metal spigot, as the one shown above from Crate & Barrel, over the past five years or so when I have seen them in the stores. 

The negatives being the size and the cost and the pluses being the ability to have one nice large decent container to serve drinks from that were made or mixed at home rather than increasing the carbon footprint with empty containers that end up in the recycle bin.

Last week, I saw one of these style containers in a store and was very surprised that I walked out of the store without purchasing it.

This week, I did not get away without having it in a shopping bag and a receipt in my wallet.

The planets finally crossed and there was a not 100% perfect two gallon decanter in the store, as it had a very small chip on the lower portion of the jar’s interior where the spigot hole was drilled (one would need to examine closely if filled with a clear beverage to see).  $10 and it was sold and on the way home with me.

Currently, it is sitting next to the kitchen sink half filled with water to determine whether or not there are any leaks.

Why?  Because, I had purchased a one gallon glass and plastic beverage container five summers ago and discovered that no matter how much I tried to tighten the spigot and adjoining nut inside the jar that it continued to have a slow leak.

Eventually, that container was given to a friend of mine who has her younger brother living with her.  She said he would make a container of ice tea and leave it on the counter and consume it each day.

Perfect for him to keep next to the sink and without the worries of whether or not a puddle of tea would be in the bottom of the refrigerator by days end.

During the summer season, the one gallon jars with colorful seasonal artwork printed on them are readily available in stores such as Wal-Mart, CVS and Target or for very reasonable cost.

I would just recommend testing with water prior to filling with any beverage to determine if there are any leaks.  If there are leaks, it can potentially be rectified by tightening the mechanism. 

If not, pack it back up and find yourself in the returns line.  Better to test it out and know ahead of time rather than end up upset over a ring on the furniture or puddle on the floor, etc.

More options -

A friend and I are enamored with Horchow.com.  They have the most exquisite items for home and garden, as well as a team of designers that have a knack for putting the right color and style combinations together.  WE both subscribe to their email notifications and scan through their on-line merchandise like we did as children through a Service Merchandise toy catalog.

Exception, now, we email each other the URL’s to share the webpage for the item(s) we like and I, personally, keep a file on my computer of some of the images of their merchandise that I have on that wish list.

I received the email posting of their beverage decanter collection and sale a few weeks ago.  Likewise, my friend did and loved the containers so much she forwarded me the email with a link to make certain I understood what I “should” have.

Here is the link for you to view their collection and become intoxicated with the beauty of their urn style containers with etched glass.

If per chance you are feeling overly generous and want to send a surprise package.  My address is . . .

Homespun Gifts from the Heart

Reference books, what can I say, I just can not quench the thirst for knowledge and ideas that these books offer as a source of entertainment and learning.   Thus the ever growing collection of how-to books and other like reference materials.

Yes, some books I can pass up such as the Starbuck’s recipe book, I had in my paws this week. 

The defining test is to take the time and sit down to examine the contents of the book prior to getting to the cash register, if in a brick and mortar store. 

This is what I did with the Starbucks book and I am glad I did.  I found myself a chair and examined the pages while resting in a chair and decided quickly, that I did not need it. 

I told myself that there are plenty of recipes out there related to foods that can be served with coffee in recipe books I already own and for free via the Internet.  “Wake up, I thought, and realize that it is not unique recipes this book is selling, it is Starbuck’s and Starbuck’s coffee.”

Ha!  One book that did not follow me home like a lost puppy.

Another book was also recipe related and was rather large.  Yet, I carried it around the store thinking I would purchase it, as its cover art and copy gave the impression of generations’ worth of old southern recipes. 

NOT. 

Once I sat down and looked through the pages, I discovered it was more artistic nouveau cuisine, as opposed to good old classic southern country cooking. 

Another book put right back on the shelf.

A book that I did purchase this week is entitled “HOMESPUN GIFTS FROM THE HEART:  200 Creative Ideas, 250 Gift Tags & Easy Directions”, written by Karen Ehman, Kelly Hovermale and Trish Smith.

What caught my eye is in the back section of the book; “Gift Tags & Labels” there are pages and pages of 250 tags and labels to go along with the food and gift items from the front of the book. 

Not only are they artistic and in good taste, design wise, but they also have optional tags that include the recipe for the pre-made item (or) in the event it is a dry mix, it includes a list of wet ingredients and what other instructions are needed to complete the recipe.

The authors of the book first started “Homespun Gifts From The Heart” for women’s and church groups and with their mixture of various talents finally put their wisdom, ideas and designs into a nicely packaged book.

I did not read that last page, until after I purchased the book.  Though last night I had been thinking how well this book would present itself to a women’s guild, at a church for ideas on what to make and sell for a church fair and fundraiser.

The book has some not so main stream recipes, such as cinnamon spiced nuts and hot drink recipes consisting of the dry ingredients.  These are some of the many creative recipes that can be packaged in a nice cellophane bag or other choice container.  Afterwards, pull it all together with a decorative cord or ribbon and a copy of the appropriate tag from the back of the book.

Voila!

There are even such things as a recipe for dog biscuits and craft ideas and plans for homemade Christmas stockings.

Another final and interesting note from the last page of the book is that it lists each of the author’s biographies.  Not only are they all mothers.  They also all home school their children.

My mother is a member of her church guild and continues to enjoy and work on church fairs along with other church members.  Definitely, I will be passing along an idea or two from this book for her to share with her guild members, as well as experimenting with some homespun gifts of my own when the occasion arises.

I say, give the book a gander by accessing the link I provided at the top of this piece to view on Amazon.com.  ;^)