Crabby Crabs

Alright, it's Sunday night...just hours before the new work week starts. Whoo! Right, haha. Tonight's feature is the Chrysanthemum, which I photographed in my front yard about a month and a half ago.

Chrysanthemums were first grown in Ancient China around the 15th-Century B.C. and have had important cultural significance throughout Chinese and Japanese history. This particular cultivar has been grown at home ever since I was a little kid. When autumn arrived, we were always on the look out for these to flower. Why? Well...when these guys first bloom, the timing roughly coincides with the female Chesapeake/Atlantic blue crab containing roe inside of their shells*. Here's a picture of one of these delicious crabs:

Photo from Wikipedia

Some recipes call for spices but we've always just steamed them without any spices. The crab meat is naturally sweet and the roe is great as well, enhancing the overall taste. While these crabs are good-eating and cherished by many people, especially those along the eastern coast of the United States, its should be noted that their population has been declining drastically in recent years. As with all of our resources, we should take care to use and replenish. I'm no activist but I do believe in moderation. That being said, I hope they make it in the wild so that we can all continue to enjoy them.

Here are a couple of more photos of Chrysanthemum flowers:

*In some states it is illegal to catch and keep female blue crabs that have fertilized eggs under their apron. Those sold at market do not have eggs under the apron but instead, have roe inside of their shell.