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My weekend: 

Thanks to all who donated their time and backs to the project!

Moving and Reconnection

As promised, I'm going to get back to updating my blog since I have now moved away from my friends that I have enjoyed getting to know for the past two years. I have moved back to my hometown, which is still surreal after being here almost a month, but I still feel like a part of me is still in Nashville. Although part of me is still there because I still have to move the rest of my things this weekend!

Since my things are mostly packed up and not at my parents' house, I've been having a hard time getting past the feeling of being home for the holidays. The kitchen is the same as it always was, but the things that I know are going to be in my kitchen are not there. I didn't do a whole lot of cooking on my own growing up aside from baking, so I'm having to learn my childhood kitchen. Isn't that weird? Now, I always hung out in the kitchen with Mom, but I would mostly talk or she'd hand me something to stir while we were chatting. I did know where a few staples were without question, like the lemon pepper, bouillon cubes, pots, measuring cups, and other things I used on a regular basis. Mom told me last week she bought some canned salmon and I should make salmon cakes. I got all excited for a moment before I started wondering, "Where are the breadcrumbs?" That was when I realized I'm out of touch.

Last night I decided to do a test run because I was missing the simple domesticity of my life, so I was going to cook some soup. I had recently had some delicious She Crab Soup and I wanted to try my hand at it. I went to Old Bay's website and in their recipe archive, I found a recipe for Cream of Crab soup. Close enough. Plus it's Old Bay, so how can I go wrong?

CREAM OF CRAB SOUP

INGREDIENTS

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter

1 medium onion, coarsely chopped (1 cup)

1/3 cup flour

4 cup milk or half-and-half

1 tablespoon OLD BAY® Seasoning

1/2 teaspoon McCormick® Parsley Flakes

1 pound lump crabmeat

3 tablespoons dry sherry or cooking sherry (optional)

DIRECTIONS

Melt butter in 3-quart saucepan on medium heat. Add onion; cook and stir 5 minutes or until softened. Add flour and Old Bay; whisk until well blended. Whisking constantly, gradually add milk.

Stir in crabmeat. Reduce heat to low; simmer 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Stir in sherry, if desired. Heat 1 to 2 minutes. Sprinkle with additional Old Bay, if desired.

I didn't measure the sherry, but only added a little for fear of it overpowering the soup. I also didn't add any parsley flakes because I was in a hurry and kept reading the instructions over and over again without looking back up at the ingredients at the top. Additionally, I used a scant pound of crabmeat because I used two little cans of lump crabmeat rather than buying it fresh. The soup turned out delicious and made quite a bit. I used a quart of half and half to make it rich, so I recommend if you do the same, you only have a cup or so of soup with something else. I had a bowl of it and a garlic breadstick and was ready for a nap afterwards. I brought it for lunch today and we'll see how that goes in the afternoon slump.

With all the hoopla of moving and all, I hadn't been able to cook in a long time so it was nice to be able to come home, truly home, and have a recipe success.