Maryland Crab Cakes

As a native Marylander, of course, I have my favorite crab cake recipe. Make sure you use genuine meat from the blue crab. The highest quality "picked" crabmeat, with the least amount of cartilage and shells, can usually be purchased from seafood specialty restaurants.* 1 pound fresh backfin crab meat 1 raw egg beaten 2 slices bread, toasted & cut into small croutons 1 tablespoon milk or cream 1 tablespoon mayonnaise 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce 1 tablespoon baking powder 1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning butter for frying Remove all cartilage and shells from crabmeat. In a bowl moisten bread croutons with milk. Stir in remaining ingredients, except the crabmeat. When well mixed gently fold in the crab meat. Shape into six or eight cakes. Brown the cakes in a frying pan, with just enough butter or oil to prevent sticking, about five minutes per side. Makes 6-8 crab cakes. * I purchase my crabmeat from a local grocery or Costco Warehouse that sells freshly picked crabmeat from the Tidewater area of North Carolina.

More of Neddy's Recipes

Colcannon Recipe

“Well did you ever make colcannon,
Made with lovely pickled cream,
With the greens and scallions mingled
Like a picture in a dream?
Did you ever make a hole on top
To hold the meltin’ flake
Of the creamy flavoured butter
That our mothers used to make?

Oh you did, so you did,
So did he and so did I.
And the more I think about it,
Sure, the nearer I’m to cry.
Oh weren’t them the happy days
When troubles we knew not,
And our mothers made colcannon
In the little skillet pot?” ~~The Black Family

The Colcannon Recipe 

Ingredients:
1 pound cabbage
2 pounds russet or yukon gold potatoes
2 small leeks, green onions or scallions
1 cup milk
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 cup (1 stick) plus 2 tablespoons butter
dash of nutmeg or mace

Core, quarter and shred the cabbage and place in a pan, covering with boiled salted water until tender, about 15 minutes. Peel and cut the potatoes into two inch pieces and cook those in another pan, insalted water for about 15 minutes. Drain the cabbage and chop into very small pieces. Drain the potatoes and mash by hand. Do not use a processor or mixer! Meanwhile, wash and chop the onion - using the middle parts - not the root end or rough ends of the green part. In a pan large enough to hold the cooked potatoes and cabbage, combine the onions and milk and cook over medium heat until they are tender, about 8 to 10 minutes. 

Add the potatoes, salt, pepper, and mace to the onions and milk and stir over low heat until well-blended. Add the cabbage and 1/2 cup of butter and stir again to the consistency of mashed potatoes. Mound the mixture in the middle of a platter and make an indentation. Add the remainder of the butter. Serves 4 to 6.

(This was first published on 1 August 2011, by Edna Barney at "Neddy's Kitchen.")

Old Time Boiled Frosting

This is a four-generations-old Virginia recipe that I have used for many years. It makes a cake frosting similar to Seven Minute Frosting. I found it in the recipe book "Virginia Hospitality" (1975) on page 216.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 4 egg whites
• ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
• pinch salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Instructions

With an electric mixer whip the eggs whites with cream of tartar and a pinch of salt until egg whites stand in stiff peaks, but are not dry. In a heavy saucepan boil sugar and water for two minutes. Slowly, pour the boiling hot syrup into egg whites whilst beating at highest speed. When frosting becomes stiff enough to spread (2-4 minutes), fold in vanilla.

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Old Time "Unboiled" Frosting:

(I have not tested this recipe)

1 cup white sugar

1 unbeaten egg white

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/2 cup boiling water

Beat all ingredients together until stiff enough to frost cake. This recipe makes enough icing for a large angel or chiffon cake.

Old Time Boiled Frosting:

(I have not tested this recipe)

1 cup milk

4 tablespoons flour

3/4 cup butter

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Mix flour and milk over medium heat until it forms a paste. Let cool. Mix butter and sugar together then beat in cooled flour and milk mixture. This will take 10 minutes, at least, until no sugar granules can be felt between fingers. Add vanilla.

Quick Banana Bread

I originally published this recipe to the Internet on March 16, 2007

This is my basic recipe for banana bread. I almost always fancy it up a bit with additions such as vanilla, cinnamon, freshly grated nutmeg, grated orange peel, chopped nuts, raisins, dried blueberries, shredded coconut or whatever I have on hand that sounds good. Be creative.

• 1/2 cup butter, softened (1 stick)
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2-3 eggs
• 1 3/4 cups flour (I use 1 cup of whole wheat plus 3/4 cup of all purpose white.)
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 very ripe bananas (1 1/2 cups mashed)

Cream butter and sugar together. Stir in eggs one at a time. Add the mashed bananas and continue mixing well. Mix the flour with the baking powder and salt and add to the creamed banana mixture, mixing well.

At this point you can fold in any additional ingredients, such as chopped nuts.

Pour into a greased and floured* 9″ x 5″ loaf pan. Bake in a 350 degree Fahrenheit oven for 50-60 minutes, until the top is chestnut brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the cake rest in the pan for five minutes, and then run a knife around the edge and remove to cool. Serves eight generously.

*I usually do not use flour for this step, but spinkle the oiled pan with granulated sugar instead.

Belgian Waffles

I first published this recipe on February 18, 2007

I have had my Belgian waffle maker for a few weeks now and it has been a great addition to my kitchen. Thanks to my neighbor Kathleen for recommending it. The waffles that I have made are as tasty as any that I remember eating in Belgium and they are far superior to any that I have ordered in American restaurants anywhere. Do not expect this recipe to be as good if you use an ordinary waffle maker, as it will not become hot enough. When my waffle maker first arrived I did not have all the ingredients to make the recommended recipe, so I used Jiffy Mix and the waffles turned out wonderfully. With the Jiffy Mix recipe, I did separate the eggs, adding the yolks to the batter and folding in the whipped egg whites at the last. Following is a recipe that I adapted from the one that came in the instruction booklet for the Waring Pro Belgian Waffle Maker. That original recipe did not turn out well for me, and I feel it was probably because the fresh milk was not scalded, which may have affected properties of the yeast.

Edna's Belgian Waffles (Makes Ten Waffles)

Classic Belgian waffles have a crispy outside and are soft and moist on the inside. The Belgians often serve them as a part of a celebration. You can try these waffles for something as simple as celebrating a beautiful day. My husband likes his with Mrs. Butter-Worth syrup. I prefer fresh fruit such as sliced strawberries or blueberries mixed with sweetened Greek yogurt or whipped cream.

* 1 1/4 cups water
* 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast (one packet)
* 4 eggs, separated
* 8 tablespoons unsalted butter
* 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
* 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
* 1 1/2 cups milk (scalded if using fresh milk)
* 3 cups sifted flour
* 1/3 cup sugar (I use Splenda)
* 1/4 teaspoon salt

Dissolve the yeast in 1 cup of lukewarm (105°-110°F) water with a pinch of real sugar (not Splenda); let stand for 5-10 minutes, until the mixture begins to foam.

Cool the scalded fresh milk or heat the dry or canned milk in a heavy saucepan. Add the butter and when it has melted, stir in the oil, vanilla and remaining ¼ cup water and cool the mixture to lukewarm, 105°-110°F. Add the egg yolks to the yeast mixture and stir until smooth. Slowly stir the egg yolk - yeast mixture into the lukewarm liquid mixture.

Put the flour, sugar (or Splenda) and salt into the large bowl; stir to blend and then slowly stir the entire liquid mixture into the flour mixture and beat until it is smooth.

Let stand for one hour, stirring every 15 minutes.

Whip the room-temperature egg whites until stiff peaks form and fold them into the waffle batter at the first 15-minute interval.

Preheat your waffle maker on your preferred setting. Setting #4 for the Waring Pro Belgian Waffle Maker achieves a golden brown baked Belgian waffle. You can adjust the browning control if you prefer lighter or darker waffles. The green ready indicator light will turn on and the waffle iron will beep when preheated.

Using the provided measuring scoop, pour the batter into the preheated iron. You may use a heat-proof spatula to spread the batter evenly over the grids, however once you get the knack of pouring the batter evenly you will not need to do this. Close the lid and rotate the waffle iron 180° to the right. Bake until the beeper indicates that the waffle is done. Rotate the waffle iron 180° to the left to open.

For best results, do not open the iron during the cooking of the waffle, as doing so offsets the timing mechanism.

I save the remainder of the batter not used, covered in the refrigerator, and two days later, I give it a stir or two, and it is just as delicious as when first made. Be creative. Orange or apple juice or flavored tea can be substituted for the 1/4 cup of water. Freshly grated orange rind or nutmeg can be added or a teaspoon of almond flavoring. The oil used can be a flavored one such as walnut or almond. A small amount of whole wheat, bran, ground oatmeal or almond meal can be substituted for the white flour. A couple teaspoons or so of flax seeds or chopped nuts can be added.

Your iPhone Tracks You Wherever You Go

Did you know your iPhone tracks you everywhere you go?

Go to Settings -> Go to Privacy -> Location Services -> and scroll all the way down to the last item, System Services. Open and scroll down to the bottom of System Services and tap Frequent Locations. Apple has hidden a feature here so that your iPhone tracks you everywhere you go. This depletes battery power by constantly tracking your whereabouts, so turn it off unless you want to be tracked. Then go back to the bottom of System Services and turn on the Status Bar Icon, so that you will know when one of your Apps is tracking you.

If you want to prevent your Apps from tracking you, you will need to read this article, which has many tips on saving iPhone battery power: The iPhone Battery Fix

Where's the Haggis?

Scottish Breakfast of 1775: "He found Miss Bradwardine presiding over the tea and coffee, the table loaded with warm bread, both of flour, oatmeal, and barleymeal, in the shape of loaves, cakes, biscuits, and other varieties, together with eggs, reindeer ham, mutton and beef ditto, smoked salmon, marmalade, and all the other delicacies which induced even Johnson himself to extol the luxury of a Scotch breakfast above that of all other countries. A mess of oatmeal porridge, flanked by a silver jug, which held an equal mixture of cream and butter-milk, was placed for the Baron's share of this repast; but Rose observed, he had walked out early in the morning, after giving orders that his guest should not be disturbed. Waverley sat down almost in silence, and with an air of absence and abstraction" -- Waverley by Sir Walter Scott, 1814

The Richardson Hammer

My father and grandfather patented this masonry hammer in 1935, while they were living in Baltimore, Maryland. I just came upon Google's Patent Search and looked up their names, Arthur J. Richardson and Edward J. Richardson. Voila - their patent popped up immediately: HAMMER - Richardson et al.

An interesting bit of trivia is that I see my father was using only the initial "J" for his middle names. His full name on his birth record was "Edward Arthur James Richardson." I am posting it under "technology," although that does seem a bit odd for a hammer in today's computer world. But ... it was something new, wasn't it? A new technology for masonry?

Those ever-inventive Richardsons! What will they think up next? See A Richardson Grandson.

The image, Richardson Hammer, was originally uploaded by barneykin. It is posted here from Barneykin's FLICKR account.

British Pathé Archives Open

"News that British Pathé has added all 85,000 of its films to its YouTube channel should come with a health warning: dip a toe in its archival stream and you risk losing all sense of time and place – and half a day. More than 3,500 hours of newsreels include classics such as the Hindenburg disaster and Arnold Schwarzenegger at Mr. Universe 1969, but is best viewed as a captivating resource for personal historians. The vast digital library spans 1896 to 1976. A search function allows you to enter any word you like - your street perhaps, or favourite childhood haunts."

The article is here, or go directly to the YouTube channel here.

HAPPY MOTHERS' DAY 2014

Blooming Jonquils of Sugar Hollow

The jonquils are now blooming in the woods along the Moormans River of Sugar Hollow, Virginia. Spring has finally arrived.

The Promise of Perfection,

I found this poem in the preface of a genealogy book written in 1907, by W.H. Miller, Richmond, Kentucky. I believe the poem was written by the author's wife, Katherine Oldham Miller (K.O.M.)

Atoms massed, make up the universe.
The many littles make at last the whole;
No man is great, but each created soul has yet within,
the promise of perfection,
The image, and the stamp of the divine.
Adversity may hinder, dwarf and crush,
A chilling frost may blight the budding flower,
And years break down the growing tree of greatness
But, as the cycles roll, each passing life
Bequeaths its portion to a common good.
The generations piling, each on each,
Time writing still prosperity and failure.
And still recording effort and achievement,
And life and death, and shade and shine succeeding,
Bring on the world to that millenial age.
When every hill shall blossom with perfection,
The waters leap and dance for very joy.
And man regenerate stand great and good.
The statue and the fullness of a God.
~~K. O. M.