Beach Vacation Part 2

Our fisherman only caught 4 "keepers" on the fishing trip. They were plenty tired and sun kissed though. The next day, we went to a local coffee bar/art gallery, and a riverside restaurant for dinner. After a big, delicious meal we gathered to play a few games.

I present Mike and his side of the family playing Cranium:

My brother-in-law sculpts, and Mike's sister guesses. I think this particular clue was "gas station".

Because it was already after 9:00, my main activity was sitting in my chair with my dog on my lap.

Here, I think they are deciding whose turn it is, or who must present the task next. They played until almost midnight. I was very entertained though.

2nd Beach Vacation part 1

Our 2nd visit to the beach this year included a fishing trip. But the weather almost didn't cooperate. The guys are watching the clouds and lightning.

After about an hour, it looks as if the storm has passed.

They are ready to load up the boat.

They head out into the bay, ready for a day of sun and fishing. The weather was great for the rest of our vacation. It was a welcome break from the heat and drought. We actually didn't want to leave, so we are already making plans for next year.

Okra Pickles

A friend gave me a sack of okra. I'm glad because my garden didn't produce anything much this year. I decided to use part of the okra to make some pickles.
Okra Pickles (I made 6 pints)
3 C. vinegar
3 C. water
1/4 C. pickling salt
3 cloves of garlic, halved

Prick each okra pod with a fork. Pack tightly into 6 pint jars. Put a half clove of garlic into each jar. Bring the vinegar, water, and salt to a boil. Fill each jar, put on the lids and process in a water bath for 10 minutes.

Crawfish Cornbread Casserole

I have been on a roll lately with Cajun Style food. Last night, I made a shrimp boil with shrimp, corn on the cob, potatoes, and sausage. I used a prepacked spice packet by Zaterains and it was delicious. For the 4th of July I made this:

Crawfish Cornbread Casserole
1 lb. frozen crawfish (crayfish) tails, cleaned and thawed
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped green onion
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
1 chopped jalapeno
3 eggs
1 can of creamed corn
1 stick melted butter
2 cups grated cheese
1 box of Jiffy cornbread muffin mix
2 tsp. of creole seasoning
1 tsp. salt


mix all ingredients and pour into a greased 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 for 45=50 minutes until golden brown on top and set in the middle.

Pat's One Hour Rolls

My aunt is a great cook and she gave me this recipe a long time ago. I decided to make these rolls the other day and a friend said that this was the best bread he had ever eaten.



Pat's One Hour Rolls:
1/4 C. warm water
2 pkgs. yeast
1 Tbl. sugar (measure 1/4 C. sugar and take the 1 tbl. out of that)
put the above ingredients in a large bowl and let the yeast bloom.


Heat 1 1/2 C. milk
1 stick butter
1 tsp salt
the rest of the 1/4 C. sugar

Add 4 1/2 C. flour to the yeast and milk mixture. Stir to make a soft dough. Let rest 10 minutes.
Melt 1/4 C. butter in a 9x13 pan. Shape the rolls (makes about 20) and place in the pan, turn once. Let rise 30 minutes. Bake at 400 degrees for 12-15 minutes.





My dough was very soft, and actually, I should have added a little more flour than the recipe called for this time.

I also melted a lot of butter in my pan, I didn't measure it but I'm sure it was more than the 1/4 C. that the recipe called for. See the butter oozing up around the dough...

These were so soft and buttery when they were done. My friend and his son ate them with shaved ham. We had ours plain with our meal. Really delicious either way!

Country Girl celebrates the 4th

It's the morning after the 4th. Everything is quiet again. What does a real country girl do after she sits on the porch, in her pajamas, drinking coffee with her mom? She goes fishing, of course. After all, she and her mom are the only ones awake. It is relatively cool, and there's a nice breeze. She doesn't bother to change, who is going to see her? She takes the fishing pole, some cold pork from the fridge and heads over to the nearest tank.



She catches 3 pretty big fish (about 4 lbs each) and one smaller one. Now she has to skin them.

Now I (I mean she) poses proudly behind those 4 cleaned catfish and has her daughter take a picture. Still in her now very blood stained pajamas. Guess what's for supper.

That is a proper way to end this country 4th of July weekend.