Life In The A-Frame

Fried Eggs with a cornmeal crust

2009-11-07T02:53:00.000-08:00

Here is a really delicious way to fix fried eggs for breakfast or even for supper. My mother made these occasionally while I was growing up but I just now tried it for myself.
For one fried egg: Pour about 1 teaspoon of oil in a nonstick pan. Heat the oil and pour in 1 teaspoon of cornmeal. Spread the oil and cornmeal around in the pan and let the cornmeal get browned and crispy.

Beak an egg directly over the cornmeal. Let the egg fry until the bottom is crispy.

Turn the egg over and cooked until the yolk reaches the desired softness. We like our yolks soft. Place the egg on a slice of buttered toast. This is a quick and tasty treat!

Grandbury weekend

2009-10-26T07:33:00.000-07:00

Mike's side of the family gathered in Grandbury TX this weekend and had a great time......

Cooking
Touring

Who wouldn't want to shop in a town decorated like this:

Tasting

Shopping

Cioppino style soup with lentils

2009-10-20T11:21:00.000-07:00

I was watching Bobby Flay the other night on "Throwdown" and he challenged a chef to a "Cioppino" throwdown. Cioppino, which means "little soup" or "chopped" is, as I understand it, an Italian seafood soup made from a variety of seafood. In the "old days" the fisherman would all pool their catch to make this dish. I had to try to make a version. Here in central Texas, I was limited to the type of seafood I could buy. Traditional Cioppino has wine, clams, lobster, fish etc. I had shrimp and calamari. The traditional version has tomato sauce but I used organic canned tomato bisque, and no wine. Then I threw in some lentils to make it heartier. And guess what-it was delicious!

Cioppino style soup with Lentils

2 Tbl. olive oil
2 Tbl. butter
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
2 carrots, chopped
1 stalk of celery, chopped
6 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 pound of raw, peeled shrimp
1 pound of calamari, cut into pieces
4 cups water
1 can organic tomato bisque soup (I used Amy's brand)
1/2 uncooked lentils
salt, pepper and red pepper flakes to taste

Saute onion, bell pepper and carrots in the olive oil and butter until soft. Add the shrimp and garlic. Cook until shrimp are lightly browned. Add the water and let simmer to make a stock. Add the calamari and tomato soup. Cook until calamari are done (about 3 minutes). Taste and adjust the seasonings. Add the lentils and cook until tender, about 20 minutes. I served mine with cornbread but Bobby Flay made toasted garlic, cheese croutons with his.

The stock made with onion, carrot, celery, bell pepper, butter, olive oil, garlic, and shrimp is a rich golden color.

Adding the bisque makes the broth even richer, with a light tomato flavor.

Now the broth is an orange color with the addition of the tomato bisque and calamari.

You can see the chunks of seafood, as well as the vegetables in this hearty Cioppino. The lentils and cornbread make it a full meal.

Our Night at MSC OPUS

2009-10-17T08:52:00.000-07:00

We did enjoy To Kill A Mockingbird last Wednesday night. It had a great set and the play included some funny scenes as well as dramatic ones. I think the 2 most dramatic ones were the one where rabid Tim Johnson (a dog) is shot by Atticus and of course, the one with Boo Radley rescuing Scout and Jem.
We had a pre-play meal at our favorite local Italian Restaurant-Fritellas. My sister had never been there before and we knew she was going to love it. I think one thing she really enjoyed was the breadsticks, which are actually fried strips of bread dough. They are delicious!

Here I am, and my is sister on the right, at the restaurant. Mike moved his beer bottle in front of us to be funny. He is the only one who likes beer.

This is our daughter, Ky, and her dad. That look on her face comes from the fact that he moved the beer bottle in front of her right before I was going to take the picture. She quickly moved it back and gave him "a look". She's 19.

We couldn't bring the camera inside the theater, so here is one of me and Mike relaxing outside the theater right before the play.

Our next MSC OPUS event is next month when Riverdance has a performance. Mike isn't interested in that one so is will just be the girls in the family.

Looking Forward to This!

2009-10-13T11:09:00.000-07:00

We are attending this event tomorrow at Texas A&M. To Kill A Mockingbird is my 2nd all-time favorite book. I have read the book about 50 times and read it aloud to my 8th graders when I was still teaching. I also have seen the movie with Gregory Peck, so I am really looking forward to this event. It sold out immediately back in May. The season ticket holders got first choice and I wasn't even sure I had tickets until August. I'll let you know on Thursday what I thought about the play. In the meantime, if you haven't read the book, I highly encourage it.

New Quilt for a New Baby

2009-09-30T10:40:00.001-07:00

We spent the 3rd real day of Mike's retirement at home. We took a long walk together then he went out back to burn some brush piles since we've finally had enough rain to lift the burn ban. I brought the sewing machine downstairs and put together this little quilt for a friend's new baby boy.

I had all the squares cut already and the sun was bright through the windows in my sunroom, and the quilt went together quickly.

I finished it by tying the middle of the squares and each corner of the squares with brown embroidery thread.

And because it is Texas after all, I made sure the red print reflected that fact with these little cowboy hats. I had such a peaceful morning, sitting in the sun and sewing this gift for little baby Aidan.

In Mike's Honor

2009-09-27T18:03:00.000-07:00

Mike worked his last day with DPS on Friday. His friends and coworkers gave him a very nice reception at the Courthouse. The cake included a replica of the patch worn on the uniform as well as the sergeant's stripes. It was a bittersweet occasion because he has a great love for his job as well as the people he works with. But, he is ready to move into a new phase of his life, in areas with less stress such as mission work with our church. On Saturday we met some family members in San Antonio to celebrate.

A very nice lady took a picture of us on the Riverwalk. Left to right, bottom row are Mike's brother, Mike and our son Lee. The second row is my brother-in-law's friend, our daughter Ky, me-Kerrie, and Lee's girlfriend.

We toured the Riverwalk, had a great lunch, then spent some of the afternoon at our hotel. We stayed at the Menger. It was built adjacent to the Alamo in 1859. The Menger bar is where Teddy Roosevelt recruited some of his Rough Riders. And, the hotel is said to be haunted. The image of a lady who is sitting and knitting has been reported by guests and staff. We didn't see her but the hotel is heavy with a feeling of history. The weather was very warm and we even spent a little time in the pool. Every time we left our hotel, we passed by the Alamo which is also a place that is heavy with history. Most visitors stand before it in awe and you can feel their reverence for the people who fought there. It is a solemn landmark and I've never lost that respect even though I've been there many times. What an awesome place to visit!

So, we started Mike's retirement in a very special way. This will be an adjustment but we are really looking forward to it.

A Movie to enjoy:Waitress

2009-09-23T10:02:00.000-07:00

I've watched this movie twice since yesterday. "Waitress" is the story of a young, very unhappy, woman who is a master pie-baker. She is saving money in order to leave her abusive husband when she discovers that she is pregnant. She doesn't want the child at all, and she actually doesn't know how to make her life any better. She feels trapped and worthless. She doesn't discover that she is actually rich in life because of her 2 waitress friends, the pie diner's owner Joe, and her extreme baking talent. She doesn't even discover her own self worth until her baby girl is born.
Keri Russell plays Jenna, the unhappy waitress, and Andy Griffith plays Joe, the pie diner's owner. No one likes him except Jenna and they become friends. My favorite line from the movie comes from Joe. He tells Jenna "I'm dreaming for you, because my dreams is all gone".
Jenna lives to create pies. She makes up a new recipe each day and serves them at the diner. The end of the movie is wonderful because she finally realizes that she has control over her own life. When she finally gives birth, she calls the baby that she never wanted "the love of my life". Then Joe gives her a gift that enables her to own her own diner and she is able to live a full, contented life.

After watching the movie, my daughter told me that writer/director Adrienne Shelly ( who also plays one of waitresses, Dawn) was murdered in her office building by a construction worker before the film opened in theaters or appeared at the Sundance Film Festival. He tried to make it look like a suicide but investigators discovered the truth a few days later. I was looking up articles about her and found out that she also wrote the lullaby that Jenna sings to her baby at the end of the movie:

Baby don’t be blue
Gonna make for you
Gonna make a pie with a heart in the middle
Gonna be a pie
from heaven above
Gonna be filled
with strawberry love
Baby don’t you cry
Gonna make a pie
Hold you forever in the middle of my heart.

I am truly touched by this movie. I hope you will check it out sometime and enjoy it as much as me.

A Banana Tree for me!

2009-09-21T12:06:00.000-07:00

A friend gave me a tiny banana tree at the beginning of summer and look at it now-it has tripled in size. I hope to give it a permanent home somewhere in my yard soon. I'm supposed to cut it back this winter, so I'll probably plant it in the spring. Each new leaf is about 18 inches long. Actually each new leaf is larger than the one before. It is fascinating to me. My friend tells me that he has grown a few bananas on his. That's what I'm counting on!

The rain falls, the tank fills...

2009-09-16T09:20:00.000-07:00

Over the last week, we have gotten almost 10 inches of rain. That's more than our total for the last 18 months. As you know, it takes a hard rain to make the water run off of the soil, and you can tell how hard it is raining in this picture. Mike braves the storm, yes-it is thundering and lightning, and digs out a runoff area so that the water is diverted into our newly enlarged tank. He already had the "dry creek" built but it was raining so hard that the water was running over the sides. He runs out and shovels out some more dirt and builds up a better dam. It really helps and the tank is now half full of water.

This is my muddy view from the front deck. I can see the water from here! It is very reddish brown from the clay but it will settle. The water will clear up and water plants will start to grow. Then it will be ready for some catfish. Hopefully we will get some more rain and it will finish filling up.

I love reading your comments and from now on, I will reply to them in my comments section. KathyB from http://cedarpond.blogspot.com/ does this and I love it. So if you ask me a question or leave me a comment, check back by my comment section for the reply. Thanks!

Happy Birthday to my Mom

2009-09-15T12:50:00.001-07:00

We celebrated my Mom's 70th birthday last Sunday. She is so young-only 19years older than I am. We all got together for a brunch. I made this cake for her. It is the "best ever Carrot Cake" from Reader's Digest. It has 3 sticks of butter in it and cream cheese icing, and yes, it was good. We rounded out the menu with migas, pigs in the blanket, and sopapilla cheesecake. It rained hard the entire 24 hours that we were there. The creek was out, and the road was washed out. We were able to make it back home and discovered that we had about half of the rain that she did and our newly enlarged tank is about half full. It was definitely a memorable weekend!

Fingerling Potatoes with a Crunchy Parmesan Crust

2009-09-10T07:23:00.000-07:00

Oh....these are so good!
Fingerling Potatoes with a Crunchy Parmesan Crust: (for 4 people)
16 fingerling potatoes, cut in half
1/2 stick of butter
4 oz. freshly grated Parmesan cheese (or more!, I also used Romano-delicious)
salt, pepper

This is Pecorino Romano since this is the strongest flavored cheese I had in the fridge.

Melt the butter in 400 degree oven, using a 9x13 glass pan. When the pan is hot and the butter is melted, sprinkle the cheese evenly over the bottom of the pan. Place the potatoes, cut side down, over the cheese. Season the skins with sea salt and black pepper.Bake for about 40 minutes.

As you can see, the potatoes oven-fry in the butter, and the cheese becomes a golden brown, crunchy crust.

Cool slightly then turn the potatoes over to reveal the cheesy crust. These are really tasty. I also have used this method with regular russet potatoes but, to me, the fingerlings are better.

New News! New food Website

2009-09-09T08:33:00.000-07:00

I love reading the Pioneer Woman's blog. She recently started a new food and recipe sharing site called Tasty Kitchen. Yesterday I got up the nerve to join it and post a recipe. Here is the picture of myself I used:You can find Tasty Kitchen here: http://thepioneerwoman.com/tasty-kitchen/, and my first recipe is listed under the bread category. You can find me here: http://thepioneerwoman.com/tasty-kitchen/recipes/categories/breads/. I am under the recent recipes section.

It looks like there are a lot of good recipes here and I'm excited now that I posted my first recipe. I hope you will check it out and let me know what you think.

Stage 3, the finished tank

2009-09-05T08:43:00.000-07:00

Here is the newly enlarged tank. It is at least twice as big as it used to be. Hopefully we will get a heavy rain soon and catch some water. With the tank being twice as deep, it is less likely to go dry during the next drought. Amos and I explored...

I am standing where our new "fishing deck" will be, looking toward what used to be the shallow end.

Amos runs down and then across the bottom of what will be the deep end. He blends in with the dirt and is hard to see.

I stand at the bottom and take a picture looking back toward our house. Hopefully this will be the only time I'll be able to do that. When we do catch some water, I will definitely post a picture!

Monarch of the Glen

2009-09-03T10:31:00.001-07:00

This is the cast of one of my favorite series ever. (Thanks James for reminding me about it-glad you like it too). I started watching it on BBC during the 2nd season. Last year, I bought the entire series on DVD and we have been watching them over again.

ION TV says:

Inspired by the highland novels of Compton Mackenzie, this show follows Archie MacDonald as he finds himself thrown into the role of the new Laird of Glenbogle, his family's financially failing Scottish estate. With the help, and sometimes hinderance, of his family and faithful retainers he works to get the noble estate back on its feet.

I will say that we like the originality of the story and the quirky characters. It is a heartwarming series with lots of humor. The only thing we had to adjust to was the Scottish accents. After a while, we could finally understand what the characters were saying.

I haven't seen the entire series yet and have about 3 seasons to go. I highly recommend Monarch of the Glen for those who want something a little bit different-with lots of substance.

Stage 2!

2009-09-01T14:00:00.000-07:00

Our tank enlargement continues: It is amazing to watch. This dozer can move so much dirt in such a short time. I'm starting to love heavy equipment...

Amos sits where our little bridge once started. This will be the site of our new deck with a fire pit (I hope).

Our friend enlarges the shallow end. It is at least twice as big at this point.

He carefully digs the dirt from the bottom and pushes it up the side to make a bank. He has to be careful not to get the dozer too vertical as he goes.

Final stage coming soon!

Enlarging the tank, stage 1

2009-08-31T08:56:00.001-07:00

Our tank is completely dry now. Taking advantage of that, we decided to enlarge and deepen it. A nice friend with a big dozer is helping us out. He tore down our bridge to make way for a wide expansion. Mike built the bridge when the kids were little and I will miss it. They fished from it so many times and "fell off of it" into the tank when they got bigger.Mike will re-use the wood and build something else-probably part of the deck we plan to build on this bank.

He works on the shallow end. The depth was only a couple of feet here and that doesn't hold much water. Our goal is to collect as much water as possible. I think maybe the depth will be close to 12-15 feet when he is done.

Stage 2 will be shown tomorrow!

Something different-Salty and Sweet

2009-08-29T13:19:00.000-07:00

I came across a recipe for butter pecan cookies with a salty/sweet topping. It gave me an idea to make up my own version. I decided to use the original Toll House recipe but I substituted butterscotch chips for the chocolate ones. They were really good but a bit too salty for me. Next time, I will only dip the tops in the sugar/salt topping.

Salty/Sweet butterscotch cookies
Topping: mix and set aside

1/3 C. sugar mixed with 1 tsp. salt

Cream together:
1 C. butter
3/4 C. brown sugar
3/4 C. white sugar

Then add
1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs

Sift together 2 1/4 C. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt

Add the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture. Fold in one pkg butterscotch chips. Shape into 1 1/2 inch balls. Dip each ball into the salty/sweet topping. Place 2 inches apart on a baking sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for about 8 minutes.

I have a new friend

2009-08-28T07:49:00.000-07:00

Mike and the troopers had a get together last night at the beautiful home of one of the secretaries. As I sat there with my feet in the swimming pool, one of her 4 very large dogs walked very slowly and gracefully up next to me. He gently put his head (which, I noticed, was bigger than my entire 10 pound dog, Amos) next to mine to be petted, then casually pushed closer-intending to get into my lap. I convinced all 100 pounds of him to just lie beside me and put his head into my lap instead. He took a cozy little nap and then moved on to visit some of the other guests. Spike is a very sweet, gentle, friendly boy.

Incredibly Special Milestone

2009-08-23T03:30:00.000-07:00

Happy 70th Wedding Anniversary to our Aunt and Uncle. That's right-70 years ago they were married. The celebration took place in a small, beautiful, country church. The mood was calm, reflective, happy, and almost reverent.

Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.~ 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a.

God gave you and me

A precious love

That has grown in time

When things were tough

It was in those times

When love came through

In laughing, in crying

Our love stands true

Our love still grows

And deepens even more

With hope in our hearts

And trust in our Lord

More ideas for my Netflix addiction

2009-08-18T06:21:00.000-07:00

It looks like there are even more ways to enjoy Netflix movies. I will be investigating (I have questions for you James) your suggestions and maybe I'll have even more praises for Netflix. Got some movies to watch....bye...

Let me tell you how much I love Netflix!

2009-08-17T10:07:00.000-07:00

We have found a really good thing!...Netflix...

We can watch about 16 movies a month by subscribing to Netflix. All we have to do is walk to our mailbox to get the movies or return them. No late fees! I can mail movies on Monday and have the new movies on Wednesday. How can you beat that? I live 10 miles from town, so even a $1 Redbox movie requires me to drive to town to rent it, then again to return it. We have made a long list of movies to rent, mostly old black and white ones. These are so much fun! Oh, and you can watch movies on demand anytime-for no additional fee-on your computer.

This is a service I highly recommend. We have subscribed (we have the "2 movies at a time" plan for about $14 per month) for about 3 months and I am extremely pleased. You might want to try it. Most nights, there is nothing to watch on regular TV anyway, so why not try a great, classic movie.

My take on the movie "Julie and Julia"

2009-08-14T10:52:00.000-07:00

(The real Julia Child and Julie Powell are on the right)

My daughter and I recently saw the movie "Julie and Julia". It is based on two real women, Julia Child, and Julie Powell. The premise is that Julie Powell wrote a very popular blog about the year in which she cooks her way through each recipe in Julia Child's famous cookbook. It is about her triumphs and her disasters-in cooking and in life itself. Intertwined in Julie's story, is Julia Child's account of her early life in Paris. The movie depicts Julia Child's beginnings as a chef, and it gives us an intimate look into her personal life. We really enjoyed the movie. We loved the humor and thought that Meryl Streep's portrayal of Julie Child was masterful. And by the way, it made us want to buy Julia Child's book and try some of her recipes ourselves.

I do need to say that I know nothing about the real Julie Powell or her blog. I have never read anything from her blog but I am now aware that there is some controversy about it. I am, however, a knowledgeable fan of Julia Child, having grown up watching her television show, and I think I love her even more now. I don't really care about the controversy. I did like the movie and hope that the real Julie Powell has as much respect for Julia Child as her movie counterpart.

The only thing that disappointed me was that there were several strong curse words (including the F-word) that will now keep me from taking some older church friends to see the movie. It is rated PG 13, and I had hoped that it would be a movie I could take my women's group to. I guess I could overlook those words and still enjoy the movie, but it certainly won't do as a church activity. Oh, well...

What we did watch as a church group was "Lilies of the Field". That was so appropriate and meaningful, not to mention enjoyable. But....that is another review.

Homemade Chicken pizza-2 ways

2009-08-05T06:24:00.000-07:00

BBQ Chicken pizza

Vegetable Chicken pizza

I made two kinds of chicken pizza the other day. I baked 8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, then used 4 chopped thighs for each pizza. I also sprinkled Cajun seasoning on each thigh before baking.
Pizza dough:
3-1/2 C flour
1 pkg Rapid rise yeast
1 tsp salt
1 C very warm water
2 tbl olive oil

Mix water, yeast, salt, olive oil and 1 C flour. Mix until smooth. Add enough additional flour to make a soft dough. Knead about 6 minutes until smooth and elastic. Rest 10 minutes. Roll out into 2 (12-14 inch) crusts. Top and bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes.

BBQ Chicken pizza:
Top the dough with 4 chopped chicken thighs mixed with about 1 C BBQ sauce. Then add cheese of your choice (I happened to have Swiss). Bake until crust is done and crispy on the bottom.

Vegetable Chicken pizza:
Use the remaining 4 thighs, chopped. I mixed a small can of tomato paste thinned with 1C ketchup with the chicken. Spread evenly on the pizza crust. Add desired vegetables (I used thinly sliced onions and mushrooms). Top with cheese (I used fresh mozzarella and grated Parmesan).

I used Cajun seasoning because I am still on a roll with those flavors. I will post my new recipe soon. It was a quick and delicious Cajun casserole.

Beach Vacation Part 2

2009-07-25T14:54:00.000-07:00

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.