Bena Mae’s Kitchen: Does it mean “Ends Times” is near?

Is it just my thinking or are natural disasters increasing by leaps and bounds.  Just consider the number of earthquakes,  tsunami’s, floods, forest fires, the latest mine disasters in West Virginia and China, and now the volcanic eruption in Iceland that has an unpronounceable name.  

Are they more frequent or has modern communication made them more accessible via the internet and television? I find it hard to stay focused on one catastrophic incident before up pops another one. Does the forecast of “End Times” come to mind.  “Nah,” say the scholars and scientists who study these things. They can cite many earth shattering events that equal or top what is happening today. I found this to be true when I researched natural disasters of the world. One example was the famous Black Death of the 14th century that killed over 25 million people in England and parts of Europe.

So far I haven’t seen a death attributed to this current disaster.

Nevertheless, I can think of no one thing in my lifetime that has equaled the absolute stoppage of air travel on such a large scale as is being caused by this latest volcano eruption. (17,000 planes grounded, hundreds of thousands of passengers stranded.)  And it sets me to thinking that there are some things over which the smartest minds and modern technology can do nothing about but sit and wait for nature to run its course. Kind of a reality check, wouldn’t you say? “Hey, we put a man on the moon, so why can’t we…..”   

As in all things, there is the human element to offset the awfulness. One of my cyber friends who lives in Wales sends this message:

“Things are very peaceful and quiet in Britain lately, without planes flying all the time. I can imagine the people living around Heathrow, Gatwick and other major airports relishing the peaceful break for as long as it lasts.

Only Air/Sea rescue and police helicopters are permitted to fly until the ash cloud disappears from our skies.

The sunrises and sunsets caused by the ash cloud, are magnificent sights to behold. They are spectacularly beautiful.”

She sends pictures of the effect the ash clouds have on the sunrises and sunsets and they are magnificent. The rosy pink and purplish hues would be a real joy for sky watchers. Being nearer the volcano gives her the luxury of seeing them each morning and evening.  The ash is not close enough to the ground to be harmful to humans, she says.  

All of this leads us to wonder what next, where next, how bad will it be. As Yogi Berra might say, “We’ll know when we know.”

Simply Delicious.  Chill for 1 hour before frying.

Crab Cakes

1 lb lump crabmeat 

1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter

1/2 small onion, chopped

1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt

2 large eggs

1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon of paprika

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 Tbsp prepared tartar sauce

2 slices firm white sandwich bread torn into small pieces

6 Tbsp fresh bread crumbs

Pick over the crabmeat to remove any bits of shell and cartilage, being careful not to break up the lumps of crab.

Cook the onion and 1/2 of the teaspoon of salt in 1 Tbsp of butter in a small skillet, over medium high heat, until the onion is softened. Let it cool.

Whisk together the eggs, Worcestershire sauce, remaining salt, paprika, pepper, tartar sauce, and onion mixture. Gently fold in the crabmeat and torn bread. Note that the mixture will be very wet. Gently form the mixture into six cakes, each about 3 1/2 inches across and 3/4 inches thick. Line a tray with a piece of wax paper just large enough to hold the cakes and sprinkle it with half of the bread crumbs. Set the crab cakes in one layer on the top of the paper and sprinkle with the remaining bread crumbs. Cover the crab cakes loosely with another sheet of wax paper and chill for one hour.

Melt the remaining 3 Tbsp of butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat until the foam subsides. Cook the crab cakes until golden brown, about 3 minutes on each side.

Makes 6 crab cakes.