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Steamed Maryland Crabs | Happy Anniversary to our Blog!

It has been just about one year since we started blogging about our primal/paleo meals. This whole adventure started on a whim one night while we were on vacation in Stone Harbor last summer. It just so happened that the only week we had available this summer to come back to Stone Harbor was just about the same time as we were here last year.

Our one year celebration in the place that it all started was definitely one to remember. We were able to spend time with a fellow blogger, and good friend of ours, Cave Girl Eats and her “Cave Husband”. We spent the afternoon on the beach chatting with this gorgeous (and very tall!) couple (Bill and I are a bit on the short side haha-okay to be fair, I’m the short one). Talking food, health, happiness, relationships, and things to come for the paleo movement. After we were all sun-kissed (or lobster-esque, however you view it), we moved our paleo party to the beach house to grill up a tasty dinner.

Bill and I couldn’t have been more excited to cook for our guests, and we ended a fantastic day with a little walk around the town of Stone Harbor. A short paragraph summarizing the time we spent with Liz and the Cave Husband really does not do it justice. Maybe if MTV stopped by to film our time at the Jersey Shore, you might better be able to picture the great time we had, but unfortunately they are too busy with pregnant high school girls, and drunken Jersey ‘natives’ to take the time to film some semi-normal paleo bloggers.

Our beach trip wouldn’t be complete without a “primal” style workout. Last summer we spent one entire day building a giant sandcastle together. We got a few odd looks being that we were the only 20-somethings playing in the sand, and the moment we stepped back to view our work, a mob of small children appeared out of thin air to stomp all over our masterpiece. Classic.

This year, we decided to run the 3.5 miles to the farmers market to grab our produce for the day. One of our favorite parts about being at the beach is our daily trips to the farmers market to gather just enough produce for the day, as well as picking fresh seafood right before dinner. Our hot (and buggy) run was successful, and we definitely felt like real cave people running over 3 miles, leisurely, to “gather” our produce.

We decided to walk back to the island with our veggies, and as we were heading back we spotted a few cars stopped in the middle of the road. We quickly realized that they stopped for a turtle that was trying to cross the street, and without hesitation, Bill ran to the rescue of the helpless turtle. Bill picked up the clearly pissed off turtle, and as he was putting him safely back along side the road, he found a second one that was trying to cross onto the street as well. We decided to take both turtles as far from the road as we could, and with one turtle in each hand, Bill proceeded to lecture the them on why they shouldn’t be crossing the road. I don’t remember exactly what he said, but I believe it went something like this…”Guys, seriously, what the F*&%. Don’t be stupid, stop trying to cross the road!” I’m not sure if he expected them to respond to him sternly telling them to stop trying to cross the road, but regardless, they kept quiet about the matter.

Our 2011 beach trip has definitely been an interesting one, and a great way to celebrate one year of blogging together. Although this was a mini vacation, it was also time for us to get away from “reality” and get some work done together. We also decided that we couldn’t spend a few days at the beach without posting one of our meals. We decided that in the spirit of being at the beach, this was the perfect time to post a tasty seafood dish.

Bill did not want to leave Stone Harbor with out having a night of fresh, steamed crabs, so we decided this would be the perfect meal to share on the blog. For this meal, we grabbed a dozen crabs from a dock side crab shack in Cape May, served them with some warm Kerrygold garlic butter, and some freshly steamed asparagus spears. Unfortunately for me, I was too hungry to fully enjoy the crabs. Although delicious, I made it through three of them, before giving up and going inside to cook up some bacon. Note to self: working for your food is not something to do when extremely hungry (especially when you are an amateur crab puller-apart-er), and I was certainly too hungry to struggle over crab shells. Bill worked his way through the remaining 9 crabs, and enjoyed every bit of it. Unfortunately, the steamed crabs just made me crabby.

Ingredients:

  • 12 Large blue crabs
  • 1/4 cup New Bae seasoning
  • 1/2 tbsp sea salt
  • 1.5 cups apple cider vinegar
  • 2 cups water

Process:

  1. In a large bowl, combine water, vinegar, and seasonings.
  2. Place a steamer basket in a large pot.
  3. Place 6 live crabs on top of the steamer basket.
  4. Pour approximately half of the seasoning mixture from the bowl over the crabs.
  5. Add the remaining crabs, and top with the remaining seasoning mixture.
  6. Cover pot with a tightly fitting lid and place a heavy object on the lid to prevent any crabs from escaping.
  7. Steam crabs for 20-30 minutes, until crabs are bright red.
  8. Serve.

This year-long journey has been a very exciting one for us. We have big things on the horizon that we cannot wait to share. Thank you to everyone who has supported us in this business that started out as just something fun for the two of us to do as a couple. And thank you to all our followers. We appreciate you more than you know. We cannot wait to see what next year brings!

As always, enjoy!
Primal Palate Spice Blends

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    COMMENTS

    1. June 17, 2011

      Thank you for taking us with you on your vacation. I hear you on the crab thing. I work for my food in the kitchen, not at the plate. lol. Happy Blogaversary. Looking forward to many more delicious years!

    2. June 17, 2011

      I love Maryland blue crabs! Whenever we're in PA, Chris requires we make at least one trip down to Maryland to get them. Also, I was in Ireland recently and visited a butter museum and learned all about Kerrygold Irish butter. Crazy.

    3. June 18, 2011

      Sounds like you guys had a great vacation! And this meal looks perfect =)

    4. June 18, 2011

      I'm going to PEI this fall and I hope I get to try some crab, real authentic, NOT canned crab. Should be an adventure…glad your holiday was so magical!

    5. June 19, 2011

      Gorgeous! Simply gorgeous! Simple, fun, bright, colourful and tasty! This is EXACTLY what food should be.

    6. June 19, 2011

      Happy one year anniversary! Now I am seriously craving crab! 🙂

    7. June 21, 2011

      'May your greatest years lie ahead with unlimited success!' Wishing you a very HAPPY ANNIVERSARY! It has been a wonderful journey together so far and truly, only the best is yet to come.

    8. June 21, 2011

      I live in Southern MD and crabs make me crabby too! 🙂 They taste so good, but are so much work!

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