Mmmm, mmmm, seafood!

I've become something of a homebody since moving to the Bay. It's partly because I haven't found a bar that suits me. It'll be hard to match a place as comfortable as the Cumberland Avenue Mellow Mushroom, but I'm still hoping. One of the advantages of staying home is that we're eating-in a lot more. We have a great kitchen here, marble counter tops, stainless appliances, a well-lit island with stove and sink, and twin ovens. I just can't walk into it without wanting to cook something! Since I'm usually home from work sooner than Dianne, I've enjoyed taking on most of the culinary responsibilities.

The lack of a good bar is somewhat offset by the wealth of well-stocked seafood shops. While there was only one in Knoxville, there's literally a seafood store on every corner here. My research tells me the Bay has always supported a seafood culture. Unfortunately the local harvest of crabs and oysters is much lower now than before thanks to polution and over-fishing, but it's still seafood heaven to a fomerly land-locked Tennessean. It's currently oyster season and all the shops have local oysters at fifty cents a piece or less depending on how many you buy. Tonight I found a special at the closest seafood store of 3 dozen local oysters for $15.00. They were even cheaper by the half-bushel and bushel. The best part is, they're even nice enough to put out some crackers and hot sauce so you can eat while you shop! I polished off a few bigguns while picking up some crab meat for tonight's soup.

So far, I've tried my hand at crabcakes, which turned out sort of so-so because I used too many crackers, and Margarita Shrimp Scampi, cooked in butter, olive oil, lime and tequilla - my own receipe - it turned out absolutely delicious. Since I'm also downing lots of oysters and clams when we eat out, I'm doing my share to keep the Chesapeake seafood culture alive! Tonight's soup is Maryland Vegetable Crab which I'm making just like Tennessee Vegetable Beef but, well, you know, lump backfin crab meat and Old Bay.

I can't wait until Crab Season when we can catch them off our dock. The seagulls are leaving lots of clam shells out there, so I'm getting up my nerve to wade around and look for some. I'll let you know how that goes! Better check on the soup! -S