We have been “homeless” for almost 3 weeks and it is certainly presenting its challenges! We are still learning to pack the car with each stop along the way! Yesterday, leaving Santa Fe after relaxing and eatting our say thru town we decide it is time to get back to relaity and head to Texas where we will once again begin to eat our way thru the state! After finishing packing Randy tells me he needs to repack the car to see if we can pack more in the trunk and not look like we are living out of our car! We are tired of people staring at us as when we are pulling up in parking lots! As he takes the things out of the car/trunk to repack for the next leg of our trip we looked over to the restaurant which overlooks the parking lot of our inn! There in the window are the folks which we just finished sharing a table, looking out the window! They were placing bets! They truly didn’t see how we would get all our “stuff” into our compact car! we watched as one table actually cheered as they saw Randy close the trunk with still more “stuff” sitting on the ground beside the car! But we managed to find little cubbie holes in the backseat! upon last inspection of the room we discovered we had forgot our pillows. Mr Packer told me he was too embarrassed go carry them out so guess who got the honors! as we pulled out of the parking lot, we glanced over and saw our breakfast friends holding a sign up which said, “call car hoarders annoymous…you need help”! We jumped the curb pulling out of the boutique inn! We decided we look more like Motel 6 people!
Falling In Love with Italian Desserts
Last night we drove into one of Randy’s favorite places…Santa Fe, NM. We were on a mission to get to the shed, 18 which is always the first place we eat upon arriving here. For some reason Randy loves to feel his mouth on fire, hence…the blue corn enchiladas with red chile sauce. I knew in 1995 that if this marriage was going to last that I would need to adopt a love of New Mexico Mexican food, which is totally different fro Tex-Mex. I remember the first time he brought me here to meet his parents. By the time we finished eating lunch that day at the shed, my mouth was numb from the heated enchiladas that I had never experienced before. Besides being nervous to meet them, now I couldn’t talk well for the swollen tongue from the red chile that I was told was “less spicier than the green chile sauce”
But 18 years later I can truly say that I love the food here. It is still spicy to me, but because of the ambiance which surrounds you here, it just seems right. Because we have not been back here in quite some time, even Mr. Spicy Red Chile sauce admitted that it was hotter than he remembered. You think? When the waiter came to ask if we needed anything else, I happened to ask him what the dessert listed on the board was. I had remembered seeing it, but could not for the life of me remember what it was. When he began to explain that it was an Italian dessert that helps take the heat out of your mouth, we immediately ordered one. When it arrived and was set in front of us, I fell in love. Before me was the prettiest swirl of whipped cream with a hint of color, which I later learned was from the Amaretto liquor that was added. It was the creamiest of creams that I had eaten.. Before I left the restaurant I googled to get a recipe for this wonderful dessert.
I do not know if it is the exact recipe that we ate last night, but as soon as I can get to a kitchen where I am free to cook, I will be making it.
From Mario Batali
4 egg yolks
4 teas sugar
4 tables marsala wine
Whisk all ingredients over a double boiler until thickened like pudding. Take on and off the heat while cooking so s no to scramble the eggs. When mixture is thickened, allow to cool. *Beat in 1 cup heavy whipped cream that you have beaten until stiff peaks form. *I have added he whipping cream to his recipe because the waiter last night told us that the chef used whipped cream in his recipe and served it cold, as opposed to Mario who says to serve it hot. Our mouths were already on fire so we needed all the “cold” we could get. ”
Happy Valentines Day
We are still in Phoenix with kids and grandkids. Wanting to do our part and not be a burden financially to them, Jodi and I sat down to discuss the situation. When she began to tell me what they were treating us to for Valentines, I remarked that I didn’t think that was fair to them as we were staying free for over a week, using their water, washing our clothes with their laundry soap and so on…she begin to tell me that that was their payment to us for the babysitting we were doing and for the groceries we had already bought. It went downhill from there. We began to itemize, for fun, going back and forth, things that they had bought and things that we had bought. Bargaining began. She offered me turn down service if I would do her laundry. She even offered a mint on our pillows, if we wouldn’t mind picking up the mints next time we went to the store. I told her that I would do her laundry if we could have air conditioning in our room. Randy walked in and as he sat there and listened to us, he spoke up and said that he thought it would be cheaper if we stayed in a hotel as we got free breakfast without having to take turns playing basketball in the park in the afternoons. We could snack our way through Costco for lunch,without having to change 2 dirty diapers in exchange for lunch provided by the Duprees, which usually consisted of Tortinos Pizza or cus of Macaroni & Cheese.
Spending our Valentines day with 3 little precious darlings, ages 12-1 1/2, might not be as romantic as we are used to, but where else can we sit down to eat with valentine stickers stuck all over our arms or a lego wedged between our toes under the table? Next Valentines Day might be a little quieter, but this Valentines day is special. There is nothing quite like having a grandchild wrap his little arms around you and tell you that you are his favorite valentine in the “whole whhoold”. unless Randy gets me a new phone for Valentines, That wins over the grandchild. Sorry Caleb, but Pops wins “favorite valentine” this year.
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The Adventures of Ms. Piggy & Kermit
Well, I jumped the gun a bit on our travel game. Because everyone knew we were headed to Phoenix, there was no need to beginning our game until we leave here. So the fun of guessing will begin next Wed……..stay tuned!
Peanut Butter & Honey Pound Cake
Being at our daughters house the last two days, gives me the chance to do baking. With 3 grandchildren in the house (plus a son-in-law that has the baking pans and mixer out on the cabinet when we walk through the door), it is exciting to try new recipes that I have found the last weeks, but because we were packing, have not had the chance to bake..
This is from the new Southern Lady Magazine that I am finally having time to look through. What a perfect little cake to serve at Bridal or Baby Spring showers.
Since
Makes 1 9″ cake
2 cups sugar
1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
5 large eggs
1/2 cup half & half
1 teas vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teas salt
1 (10 oz) bag peanut-butter morsels
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup honey
2 tables heavy whipping cream
Garnish: chopped peanuts, honey
Preheat oven to 300. Spray a bundt pan with Pam with flour.
In a large bowl, combine sugar, butter and peanut butter. Beat at medium speed with mixer until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add half & half and vanilla, beating to mix well.
In a small bowl, sift together the flour and salt. Gradually add flour mixture to sugar mixture. Beat to mix well. Stir in peanut butter morsels. Spoon batter into prepared pan. Bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until cake tests done when wooden pick inserted in middle comes out clean. (Might take a little longer than the time listed).
Loosely cover with foil the last 20 or so minutes of baking time to prevent excess browning. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes. Remove from pan to a wire rack to cool.
In small bowl, combine cream cheese, honey and whipping cream. Beat until smooth. Drizzle over cooled cake. Garnish with chopped pecans and a little honey if desired.
*Since the cake is baked in a bundt pan, after cake is cooled and drizzle had time to dry, you might like to place a small glass of edible flowers in the middle of cake to serve.
Ms Piggy & Kermit Adventures a Begins Tomorrow
We have now completed our time here in California and am headed out tomorrow to begin our adventure of traveling and visiting family and friends. We have had such a great time these past 3 years learning our surroundings here in Southern California. The friends we have been blessed with here are so very special to us. Thanks to all for the outpouring of love you have shared. We are headed tomorrow to spend a few days with Some of our kids. The sadness we feel tonight from leaving here will be eased a little by the hugs we receive from our grand kids tomorrow.
Randy and I thought it would be fun to make a game of our travels. We are taking along Ms Piggy and Kermit with us. Every stop we make we will take their picture and give hints as to their location. Instead of Where’s Waldo? We are playing Where’s Kermit & Ms Piggy? Participate by commenting your guess as to where you think we are! The fun begins tomorrow
Movers & Shakers
The movers are here and we have begun the reality of entering our new season. I will post a great new recipe tomorrow that I found while going through old magazines the other night. IT is a chocolate scrumptious dessert that you will want to make for Valentines. So stay tuned and say a prayer today for us. We aren’t as young as we were the last move and I think our “stuff” grew due to the beautiful weather here in California.
So Many Thoughts, So Little Time
As we are fastly approaching moving day, Wednesday, there are just so many thoughts going through my mind. One thought is, “I DON”T WANT TO GO” and another is “HOW IN THE WORLD DO YOU PACK FOR TWO TO THREE MONTHS WHEN I CAN’T GET TO CLOTHES BECAUSE THEY WILL BE IN STORAGE SOMEPLACE”…where will we go for this new adventure? Will we travel to places which hold special memories or search out new adventures in places that we have always wanted to find..where will we be living around Dallas?… where will we be going to church? Will I be living in a house or a condo? Will we be able to just fall back into the life we left 3 years ago? Will we really spend the time with family that we intend?
Only time will reveal the answers to the questions. We have been up to Big Bear for the weekend with 4 other couples who we have come to love these past 3 years. As we were driving up the mountain, snow began to appear last Friday and it never ceases to amaze me that we can drive 2 hours away and enter a winter wonderland. The purpose of the weekend was to have our traditional Super Bowl party up there with lots of food, card games and of course, the ladies shopping and going to the tea room. Each time we have been there has engrained the fact that we have been so blessed here the past 3 years with friends who have become just so very dear to our hearts. When we are cooking together in the kitchen for the 10 or us, we have learned each others moves and what we do best. Some of us are the ones who do the actual cooking. Some set the table and clean up, while others provide the conversation that makes us all laugh. We have bonded so beautifully with our friends God has given to us here. The friends here have shown us how to love others and truly open your heart to newbies. We never felt like the new kids on the block because of their kindness and hospitality.
Both Randy and I hope that when we return to Dallas, that we will have learned how to reach out to others. We learned so much the past 3 years regarding friendship. Don’t just tell someone to call if they need something, most people will never call. Go ahead and do what you feel is needed. Take a meal by when needed, invite people into your home, regardless of the dust on the table. Reach out to friends by including them in everyday simple activities. When we remember some of the things that people here have included us in, it is usually the simple things that we look back on so fondly. I really truly pray that I continue to “pay it forward” as we head back to Texas and begin this new season of life that is called, “retirement”. We anxiously hope that our lives will spread the joy and encouragement to others that we have received here in California.
Pistacio Cake
This cake is so much better than the one we used to make all the time in the 80’s..we were invited over for dinner to some friends house last Sunday evening and when she brought this cake out and set it on the counter, my mouth began to water. The frosting in this cake is amazing. Trust me, you will love this cake. I cannot wait to get my hands on a oven and some cake pans (all of ours are packed) and make it so I can eat the whole thing. Thanks Sylvia and Al for a most wonderful evening and meal. Made such a nice memory.
Mix Together:
1 box of Duncan Hines White Cake mix (the moist one)
1 cup liquid Canola, Crisco or Wesson Oil (whichever you have)
3 eggs
1 cup of club soda
½ cup chopped pecans
1 box of pistachio instant pudding mix
Mix well with mixer and spread evenly into 3 round cake pans.
Cook 25-30 minutes @ 350 degrees. Cool
Icing:
1 cup of powdered sugar
½ cup of 2% milk
1 (12oz.) container of cool whip
1 (8oz.) sour cream
Beat together until mixed well
Then add:
½ cup of chopped pecans
1 box of pistachio instant pudding
Mix well, spread between layers of cooled cake & then spread icing on top & sides. There will be more than enough icing – so apply thickly
Can be made night before & placed in refrigerator. It freezes well – IF you have any leftover!
Chocolate Castles 