Every year in September (or occasionally October) we host a Low-Country Boil at the farm to gather friends, family, and our extended farm family together for a merry MooseMeet before the weather officially cools off for the year.  It's a fine time to take a short break to assess the change of seasons, kick up our heels momentarily, then dive head first into autumn!

I'd like to kick this post off by thanking my good friends Alisa Harkins and Bonnie Aills for their dynamite photography skills, as I had my hands full during the event and was forced to relinquish my camera.  Thank you, ladies - a fine portrayal!

While we're officially high of the Low-Country here in Southern Maryland, we Mooseherders continue to refer to this as Frogmore Stew - you may say Beaufort Boil in your neck of the woods - either way I'm sure we can agree to call this one-pot-wonder delicious fun!  The bigger the crowd the bigger the pot... and this here is a 2-potter.

This is usually my largest MooseMeet of the year with about 50 folks... and certainly the one with the best atmosphere...I surely do love those twinkly lights!  And I love autumn,  there's just something about the crispy little breezes that blow through in late September that let you know fall is coming.  I always thought it was the faint scent of pencil shavings but I'm officially too old to lay out such a claim - LOL! 

Instead, I present for your appraisal, the comforting aroma of Frogmore Stew with that luxurious yet down-home fragrance of shrimp and crawdaddies cooking up with tasty Cajun sausages and veggies.  I serve this up with a nice big plate of specially prepared cornbread - moist, sweet, and full of chunky bits of corn kernels.... mmmmm!

Between arriving and eating, while you visit with your neighbors, enjoy the fine southern music, and inhale the intoxicating piquancy of boiling low-country spices and seafood, you can imbibe on the homemade sangria to kindle your appetite.  We call 'em 'Boat Drinks' but, I warn you, there are no tiny umbrellas to protect you when you're up a beer river without a paddle...

Then, before you know it, the main dish is served: Boiling crawdads, shrimp and veggies are poured out of a couple of heavy pots we've had heating on the fire!  Stand back while the hot water cascades over the sides... there's lots of good grub for everyone to dig into,


Ahhhh... this right here is the fun part, folks!

Right before the hungry crowd descends, we add more of that red magic seasoning to top off the boil.... sorry but the incantations remain a closely guarded secret.

These larger affairs usually require two separate firepits so everyone can get the opportunity to wield a sharp poking device and stand/sit close enough to enjoy an interesting conversation and the warmth of the fire.  We've strategically placed the 'mobile fire' around the main dining area so that folks can wander from one entertaining group to another, there's never a dearth of diverse dialogue irreverently dancing about... there are some fun story-tellers in this group! 

For those few of my wonderfully effervescent friends who missed the event this year - we missed you too!  Hurry back next fall.  For all those treasured friends who were able to help us eat all this food, entertain all these guests, and drink all the beer, thank you!  I hope we have a standing date for next September.