Crab Cakes

March 9: National Crabmeat Day

Six weeks after our Hawaii wedding, Highlander had to go on a business trip to Maryland. Not wanting to leave his new bride in their one-bedroom Oklahoma apartment all alone, he decided to fly Islander up to join him for a long weekend. It was like a mini-honeymoon, because we did not have much time or money to go to Scotland until a year later (for our first anniversary/honeymoon). We enjoyed exploring Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, Maryland. At the Inner Harbor, we tasted some of the best seafood fresh from the Atlantic Ocean and Chesapeake Bay! We might not be able to recall now which museums and restaurants we went to exactly, but we remember that we were so stuffed with delicious Baltimore crab cakes that we just wanted to rest instead of continue with our sightseeing plans. As we reminisce about our first real newlywed trip together, we re-create a meaty Baltimore crab cake recipe for our blog for National Crabmeat Day.

Recipe

(Adapted from Crab Cake Recipes)

Ingredients

• 1 cup real crabmeat, flaked and drained
• ½ cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs), divided use
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 2 tablespoons green onions, chopped
• 2 tablespoons parsley, minced
• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
• ½ teaspoon green pepper sauce (see Notes)
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1/8 teaspoons sea salt
• fresh ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 1 tablespoon butter

Directions

In a large bowl, mix the crabmeat with two tablespoons of panko, egg, green onions, parsley, mayonnaise, pepper sauce, lemon juice, salt and pepper.

Shape into patties. Coat in remaining panko. Refrigerate for at least an hour to set. Heat the oil and butter in a skillet. Fry the crab cakes until each side is golden brown (about 3-4 minutes per side). Drain on paper towels. Serve hot with sliced lemons (optional).

Notes

• We did not have green pepper sauce in our pantry. So we added tabasco sauce instead.
• Crab cakes make an excellent Lent dish.

Cheerios Bars

March 7: National Cereal Day

For a Glee-themed get-together at Islander’s brother’s university, we brought over Cheerios bars to represent the popular television show’s cheerleaders who are nicknamed “Cheerios.” These cereal-based snacks are packed with peanuts and peanut butter for protein and are sweetened with honey, sugar and chocolate for an energy boost. The college kids said they even like to eat these Cheerios bars for a quick breakfast as they dash off to their morning classes. And “Gleeks” like to munch on them while watching the show. Make Cheerios bars for an easy snack, for a Glee-themed get-together or for National Cereal Day.

Recipe

(Adapted from The Pioneer Woman)

Ingredients

• 3 cups Cheerios cereal
• ½ cup peanuts
• ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• ½ cup honey
• ½ cup sugar
• ½ cup creamy peanut butter
• 1 teaspoon butter (for greasing a 9×9-inch pan)

Directions

Grease a 9×9-inch pan. In a large mixing bowl, combine the cereal with peanuts and chocolate chips.

In a saucepan, heat the honey with the sugar until dissolved. Remove from the stove top and mix in the peanut butter until smooth.

Pour into the cereal mixture. Combine all ingredients well, allowing the melted chocolate to coat everything. Place into the greased pan, pressing down evenly. Let cool before slicing into bars or squares.

Notes

• Cheerios (originally named “Cheeri-Oats”) debuted in 1941 as the first oat-based, ready-to-eat cold cereal in America. There are a variety of flavors currently on the market. Try any of one of them instead of the original flavor for the recipe above to create different taste combinations.

Pound Cake

March 4: National Pound Cake Day

Before heading into a long meeting at work in the afternoon, Highlander takes preventive measures to stay awake with caffeine and a confection. So he gets a cup of coffee and a sweet snack, like a slice of pound cake, from the company cafeteria to tide him over till dinnertime. Since he prefers his pound cake plain and simple, without a sugary glaze, we sometimes bake a classic loaf at home when we get lazy on long weekends (although they always feel short!) or whenever we get the “munchies.” Prepare powdered sugar pound cake for a satisfying snack for long meetings, long weekends, anyday munchies and, most especially, National Pound Cake Day.

Recipe

(Adapted from C&H Sugar)

Ingredients

• 2 cups powdered sugar, sifted (we used C&H brand)
• ¾ cup (1 ½ sticks) butter, softened
• 3 eggs
• 1 ½ cups flour
• 1 teaspoon vanilla (we used Hawaiian Vanilla Company pure vanilla extract)
• dash of salt

Directions

Sift the powdered sugar. Cream the butter with the sifted sugar until fluffy. Add the eggs. Mix in the flour, vanilla and salt until the batter is smooth.

Pour into a generously greased 9x5x3-inch loaf pan. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F for an hour, testing for doneness with a toothpick or skewer. Remove from the oven. Release the pound cake from the pan immediately. Cool completely on a wire rack. Slice and serve plain or with sweetened whipped cream and fresh fruit.

Notes

• The traditional pound cake gets its name for the amount of ingredients it takes to make it, for example, a pound of butter, a pound of sugar, a pound of eggs and a pound of flour. The recipe we have featured is scaled down to feed just the two of us over the course of a few days.
• Learn a little bit about the history of pound cakes from the What’s Cooking America website.
• Thanks to Lisa L. for the vanilla she brought back for us when she visited the Big Island of Hawaii.