Back to My Roots

I grew up in Maryland, just north of Baltimore. I've lived in Rhode Island for 9 years now, with stops in Philadelphia (undergrad), the Boston suburbs (first job out of college), Newport (first duty station as a Navy spouse), and Virginia (grad school and Navy livin'). But Maryland will always feel like home.

One thing I miss is steamed crabs. I never dare to eat a crabcake outside of the state of Maryland. Even ones I've tried in Virginia, along the Chesapeake Bay using blue crab don't hold a candle to a Maryland crab cake. As a fun little birthday gift for my Marylander nephew, I decided to make him a cuddly stuffed crab. I used the free tutorial from Abby Glassenberg's blog While She Naps, Casey the Crab. It's a fairly simple and straightforward pattern, a good introduction to making soft toys.

Of course I had to make one for my niece's birthday as well. And maybe my Rhode Island children with Maryland lineage will get their own too. I give them away before I get the chance to take a decent photo, so this will have to do for now.

I don't know too many steamed crabs that wear a smile like that...