Monday, May 07, 2007

Atlantic Bluecrab


Atlantic Bluecrab
Originally uploaded by linfrye.
The theme for Kate's alumni group this month is Mom. Now certainly I don't mean to imply in the least that my mom is 'crabby!" Far from it. But the Atlantic bluecrab figures prominently in her cooking and character.

We have a 'non-company' dish she seemed to invent -- crabs cooked with tomato sauce and a bit of red pepper and served over spaghetti. It's not a 'tidy' meal to be sure -- one that dictates newspaper tablecloth and tons of napkins! But this one dish is so traditional for our family and so coveted (we don't find bluecrabs very often in the piedmont of NC!), that last Christmas Mom carried a suitcase filled with FROZEN CRABS from Florida on the plane to my home so that this traditional and special dish could be served at our all-family gathering -- SCRUMPTIOUS!

And more. When C and I visited Marsala, Sicily, we were served as our 'first course', spaghetti and prawns that were so reminescent of Mom's crab dish, that I burst into tears in the restaurant -- overcome by such a feeling of finding my roots and 'home-coming'!

So for me, one very special symbol of my mom is the Atlantic bluecrab ...and that delicious spaghetti dish we long for!

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yum, I love crab, though we don't get this sort here. This sketch is certainly scrumptious!

Anonymous said...

Wow; what detail and terrific shading. And the all that fine detail backed by just the hint of sand and sea gulls. Terrific!!!
Hugs,
Lorraine

mARTa said...

This is a wonderful sketch! The colors are perfect! This one sketch just tells a whole story! Great job!

platitudinal said...

Lin, blue crab sketch is very good. The color is soft, sweet, and appealing. But, your story of what the blue crab reminds you is beautiful. Thank you.

Now certainly I don't mean to imply in the least that my mom is 'crabby!" --> I love this line! :)

Africantapestry and Myfrenchkitchen said...

Oh, me too, I love crab! Great sketch you have here...it doesn't actually make me feel very decent looking at it's beauty and at the same time saying how much I love crab...something like the wolf in Little red riding hood?
Well done!
Ronell

Sue Seibert said...

Oh, wow, Lin, I love the sketch of the blue crab. Looks good enough to eat!! Yummmm You drawing is wonderful, as usual.

Teri said...

wow Lin, this is just wonderful!!! Wow or wow!!!!

Anita Davies said...

Fabulous sketch and touching story!

Serena Lewis said...

Great sketch, Lin! I so enjoyed reading your very sentimental post too.

Anonymous said...

Lin, I loved your story of tasting in Sicily something so close to your mother's cooking -- a beautiful story, beautifully illustrated!

Linda said...

My goodness, Lin! I've been too busy to visit for a while and have missed just too much of your excellent work. This crab is great -- and I loved the story about you bursting into tears in the restaurant in Italy!
;-)

Jana Bouc said...

Stunning! I love the colors and the composition. Beautiful work!