Saturday, and I'm Crabby!

I got up at 7:30 AM and put on the coffee. I started to rinse off the dishes to load the dishwasher, and then decided there were so few of them, I should just wash them. So, I did. It's not raining and when I checked the weather report, it had changed. There's only a 30% chance of an isolated shower or thunderstorm today. So, I am grateful for the rain yesterday.

I stripped the bed and started the first load of laundry. That went into the dryer and the next load into the washer. I am drinking coffee, making my grocery list. I had to hang up the shirts and pants in the second load, so I did get some housecleaning done. But I left a bit later than usual (11:00 AM) for my Saturday morning errands.

First came the library. To get there, I had to drive past the Township buildings where they are having their annual Cinco de Mayo festival. I threaten to go there every year, but never do. This is the closest I've come. I saw all the rides they had in the parking lot and it reminded me of church fairs back in Richmond or St. Clair. I know they have a big classic car show (I saw a ton of them parked on a street they'd closed off to traffic), Mexican dancers and traditional food. Oh well, maybe next year...

After the library, I went to Westborn Market for my veggies and then to Meijer's for my groceries. I was back home, unpacking everything, by 2:30 PM. Carla called and wanted to know if I would like some company and maybe we could grille? I said, "Sure!" She said they had to go to Costco (near my house) and would bring "something" for dinner.

So, I finished cleaning the house. Then I went out to the garage to work on another item on my ToDo list. I want to use last year's compost in the old sandbox where I want to plant vegetables this year. But, I don't want to buy tons of topsoil to cover it so I need the compost relatively clean. Simple! I will build a sifter out of items leftover from other projects.

When we painted the kitchen cupboards last year, I had a bunch of 2x4's I cut in half for the doors to rest on when drying. So, I got a couple of the straightest down from the attic, where they have been stored. And, I had a roll of 1/2-inch square hardware cloth I'd bought but never used for the rabbit nesting box I made for Lu.

With those two items, and some scrap wood for corner braces I am going to make a 2-foot by 2-foot sifter to screen out sticks and leaves from the good compost. It was almost 5:00 PM and I was about halfway done when Jake and Carla pulled in.

They had brought ground chuck and focaccia bread for burgers (Jake swears that focaccia bread, sliced in half and toasted on the grill beats any hamburger bun he's ever tasted). And, Carla had picked out three, big, killed and cooked Dungeness crabs! And, they brought me a big bag of roasted peanuts for the squirrels.

We visited for a bit (I had to explain the compost sifter, for example) until we were hungry. Then came the big debate. Carla said we always make too much food (and we usually do, lol) and that the crabs would be enough for dinner. Jake held out for his focaccia bread burgers. We finally went with reason and went along with Carla (and we usually do that, too!)

So, Jake cracked and cleaned the crabs while I watched, more than assisted. Then Carla and I (well, I did stir the stuff in the roaster!) got busy. She preheated the oven to 500 degrees F. I melted butter with olive oil in my roasting pan over medium-high heat. Jake minced shallots and garlic which I then stirred in along with dried crushed red pepper. In went the crabs, sprinkled with salt and pepper. Carla then sprinkled dried thyme (I didn't have any fresh) and chopped fresh parsley over crabs. She sliced a lemon and added that. I stirred to combine and into the oven it went, for about 12 minutes.

Jake cut up some of the focaccia bread for dinner.

Meanwhile, Carla melted another stick of butter. When the pan came out of the oven, she pulled out the crabs and let them rest. She added the juice of two more lemons and then boiled the crab au jus until it was reduced by half. Jake strained it and they added it to the melted butter. That dipping sauce went into three ramekins and we dug in!

Oh, my! That was the sweetest crabmeat I ever tasted! Messy to eat, to be sure, but worth it! The focaccia bread was the perfect counterpoint. And (of course) Carla was right. When we finally got done with our crabs, we were all stuffed.

They insisted on cleaning up and, since it was almost 8:00 PM, they left for home and hearth. I made sure all the doors were locked and all my tools in the garage were unplugged and so on. Then I wandered in to watch the Oscar De La Hoya fight on HBO. When it was done (Oscar won, BTW), so was I and I went to sleep.