Ta Da!

French Toast Casserole
Photo as promised.

I made this casserole again when George and Jane were here visiting last weekend. That was Saturday morning.

Friday afternoon when they arrived we all headed straight to the pool and swam around cooling off. Friday night we sat down to a yummy dinner of grilled salmon and salad topped off with blondies and vanilla ice cream. During the preparation of dinner Jane sat down and treated us to some piano music. After dinner we took a short walk though the park.

After the casserole on Saturday we visited the Naval Armament Museum to see the product of the project John works. Then off the the theatre to se Ratatouille. I think the movie inspired John and George. They came straight home a began to make bread. John has been dreaming of recreating the bread his grandmother and dad used to make when he was younger. John was able to do that with the new bread machine he aquired for his birthday. Happy Birthday John! While "the boys" were creating their favorite treat Jane and I and Natalie and Kevin made sandwichesto take to Lake Isabella where we watched an early fireworks show. Happy Birthday Kevin!

Sunday morning we enjoyed homemade bread with butter and jam for breakfast served with grapefruit halves. Off to church we went followed by lunch at Cafe Potpourri. The afternoon took us back to the pool to cool off, naps, then pork tenderloin for dinner. After dinner we celebrated the birthdays of John and Kevin with Baskin Robbins cake and presents. More flashlights have been added to our collection. One solar powered and one that floats while sending out a life saving red flashing beam. Heather even popped in for a visit. Jane was able to capture a picture of the four kids all together.

Monday morning John and I were back at work, but Grandma and Grandpa came over in the morning to pick up the kids for a McDonald's breakfast.

Thanks for the visit Jane and George!

Come back soon.

Maybe when it's not so hot . . .

My First Favorite Song Ever

TobyMac Rocks!

Until recently I've never been one to have a favorite anything, but at nearly forty years old I finally have a favorite song! The most exciting part of the song is the first few seconds at the deep base "boom boom" part.

Happy Father's Day Everybody!

If it weren't for fathers none of us would be here today.
Treat Him to . . .

Baked French Toast Casserole with Maple Syrup
Recipe courtesy Paula Deen

1 loaf French bread (13 to 16 ounces)
8 large eggs
2 cups half-and-half
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Dash salt
Praline Topping, recipe follows
Maple syrup

Slice French bread into 20 slices, 1-inch each. (I cut mine into cubes instead). (Use any extra bread for garlic toast or bread crumbs). Arrange slices in a generously buttered 9 by 13-inch flat baking dish in 2 rows, overlapping the slices. In a large bowl, combine the eggs, half-and-half, milk, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt and beat with a rotary beater or whisk until blended but not too bubbly. Pour mixture over the bread slices, making sure all are covered evenly with the milk-egg mixture. Spoon some of the mixture in between the slices. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.

The next day, preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Spread Praline Topping evenly over the bread and bake for 40 minutes, until puffed and lightly golden. Serve with maple syrup. (I melted the topping before topping and didn't serve it with maple syrup. It's plenty sweet already).

Praline Topping:
1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup chopped pecans
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and blend well. Makes enough for Baked French Toast Casserole.

Recipe Summary
Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Inactive Prep Time: 8 hours
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Yield: 6 to 8 servings

Episode#: PA1B23
Copyright © 2006 Television Food Network, G.P., All Rights Reserved


I treated John and the kids to this this morning along with a fruit salad of kiwi, bananas and strawberries.

Sorry I don't have a picture.

Next time . . .

Big Pink Pillow

I made my first purchase with my birthday money today. Behold my new pink pillow.

Natalie Learns to Sew

Natalie took a quilting class last week. Pictured is her at the sewing machine and her with the project she finished at home today. There is a video too of her working on it.

Doughnut Anyone?

Last night I watched a bit of FoodTV. Alton Brown made doughnuts. True to form, I then wanted a doughnut dunked in hot coffee because that's what he did; so this morning John, Brent and I walked to Crest Donuts for fried cake batter.

Ginger followed us as far as the park, waited for us and met us on our way home.

Hi Ginger.

All in One Day

We, John, Kevin, Natalie, and I, left the house this morning by 7:30am to make it to Dupar's in the Los Angeles Farmer's Market for breakfast. We had french toast, pancakes, bacon, a mushroom omelet and coffee. Very good. So good, John said, "We should come back here some time". Yea! From there we went to my newly revisited favorite store, Surfas. They sell all things gourmet and everything kitchen. Since I was there last, which was a couple of years ago, they've moved into a new bigger space. Now they sell even more cool stuff! Below is a picture of their walkway entering the store. See that? There are kitchen gadgets imprinted right in the concrete! How cool is that! I'm still reeling . . .



If you're wondering, I only bought three little things and spent only $10. Two clear plastic tongs (one large, one small) for serving salad at potlucks and a flat whisk came home with me today.



After all that, we went to the beach. Santa Monica Beach. It was a little on the cold side so we didn't go in the water, but we did soak up some sun rays and collect shells. Then we visted the pier, where the picture above was taken. From there we made the trek to 3rd Street Promenade for some Johnnie's pizza. After dinner we purused the shops a bit before stopping into Coffee Bean and Tree Leaf for some coffee and hot chocolate. From there we headed back to Ridgecrest. And here we are, home again, home again . . .

Our Latest Adventure - Memorial Day Weekend

Here John and I are ready to backpack overnight. Our plan was to hike through Cottonwood Lakes, but like Mt. Whitney you now need a reservation to hike there. We did not know that and as of Saturday morning we did not have a reservation, so we went with plan B; we hiked through Casa Vieja just past the Black Rock Ranger Station in Kennedy Meadows. This was my first overnight backpacking trip ever.

Here is a photo of the inviting unassuming trail head.

Here is the destination spot. Just between the sandy area and the area covered with trees is a nice little creek with a hot spot.

Here I am on day two in a meadow still two miles from the car.

Overall the trip was good. I would do it again. I guess. The nightime was not too cold for sleeping. The hike was a little grueling, especially on the way back (it was all uphill) but not unbearable. Unlike Cottonwood Lakes, Casa Vieja is at the elevation level where you can still breath normally while hiking. June 9th we're planning to hike in the June Lakes area.

Bizcochitos

My mom used to make these many years ago. She says she got the recipe from either Gourmet or New Mexico magazine.

Bizcochitos
From New Mexico, also called: Galletas, Biscochitos, Biscochos

Cream:
1 cup lard (or half lard, half butter)
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg - lightly beaten
1 1/2 tsp anise seed - crushed to release more flavor

In a separate bowl, stir:
1 1/2 cups wheat flour
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt

1/4 cup water

Mix:
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Stir flour mixture into creamed mixture, add water until smooth.
Refrigerate.
Roll pieces of dough 1/8 inch thick on floured surface, cut into shapes.
Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon mixture.
Bake at 350 for 12 - 15 minutes until they are golden.
Transfer to racks to cool, store in airtight container for 5 days before serving (if you can, I suppose it allows the flavors to meld, but I eat them right away).

Enjoy!

Happy Mother's Day, Mom!

I finally finished the bag I was going to make for you at Christmastime. The fabric is greener in person. It's inspired by the green rolling hills of Tennessee and of course your poodles. I hope like it.

I Love You.

Disneyland with Kevin and John

Here is a picture of Kevin and me standing in line of the "new" Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland a couple of weeks ago. Kevin went with his school band to learn about quick site reading. John and I went to support Kevin. The group had a short lesson then played some Disney movie theme music. The Disney team then dubbed the recorded into animated film clips. They played some music from Peter Pan, Aladin, and some other one. We saw the clips at the school last week at a recital performance. It was the first time we saw the result of their Disney session. It was very cute.

Socks

Awhile ago I learned how to knit socks. I'm slowly improving my knitting skills by trying increasingly more difficult pieces one project at a time. I started small with these baby socks (John's foot is in the photo for prespective). The first one of these I made and showed around was seeminly not impressive because the typical question was: What are you going to do with it, give it to a one legged baby? So, I made another one. I want so badly to put my feet in them, but . . . yeah . . .

Anyway, I've started on a "my size" pair and this is how far along I am. It will be awhile before they're finished. I actually don't knit that much. That is only the cuff that is slipped over my foot. I'm almost ready to start knitting the heal. As you can see I knit in the car. It's a good car craft.

Parsley - My New Favorite Vegetable?

Chimichurri Sauce

1 bunch parsley
3/4 cup or more (depending on your taste. If you like it more liquidy, use more, if you like it more pastey, use less). olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
3Tbsp lemon juice
2 cloves garlic (more or less depending on your taste. I used three and it was a little too garlicy for me).
1 Tbsp shallot (optional? I've only made it once and it turned out really well with the shallot and I only used it because I had some)
salt
pepper
dried red chili flakes

Finely chop the parsley, garlic and shallot then mix with the other ingredients. Serve with bread or use as a pork marinade.

Yummy!

Happy Birthday to Me

Asteraceae (Compositae)

Echinacea purpurea or Purple Coneflower


Finally! I got one to grow! From a seed!

Parmesan Popovers - Remember the Salt

I was inspired to make Parmesan Popovers today after watching Everyday Italian with Giada De Laurentiis on FoodTV this morning. I've never made popovers before today. They're like little quiche with the crust baked right in, but easier and quicker to make.



To see the recipe, visit FoodTV.com . I also made her Almond Blueberry Cookies today. Next I'll try her Iced Tea with Grenadine.

Indian Wells Canyon: It's the Desert - A Photo Post

See a video of John playing with an old rusty miner thingy HERE.

Camera Takes Black and White

Thanks Michelle!

For Easter weekend this year John and I and Natalie and Kevin and Brent traveled to Fremont, CA to visit David and Michelle. We (John, me, Kevin and Natalie) left on Friday morning to get there in time for dinner at a local pizza joint called SFO. Brent left Friday afternoon in his own car because he had to work at the pool in the morning. Saturday we spent the morning having breakfast together fueling ourselves for a mid-morning/afternoon hike. Little Yosemite is a destination in of Niles Canyon that really is reminiscent of Yosemite National Park complete with a little half dome and a valley similar to that of Yosemite's valley with the stream running through it. Here is a picture of us at the "W" tree. David was there, really, he was taking the picture. Thanks David!


We hiked four miles, had lunch, skipped rocks, played with nature


and enjoyed the outdoors as well as each other's company. Brent left shortly after we returned; he was scheduled to work Sunday morning. His first "real" road trip. Way to go Brent! He made it there and back very safely. Saturday night we had dinner with David and Michelle and some friends of theirs. Sunday we went to church. Conveniently we were able to find a Calvary Chapel close by right in Fremont. When we returned Michelle and her dad treated us to a complete Easter Sunday brunch.



Yum! Thanks Michelle!

I Remembered to Fertilize the Rose Bushes

Hi Kat. Happy Spring.

Yummy . . .

If anyone knows me, they know I watch FoodTV. It's the first channel I go to when I turn on the set. Yesterday, Natalie and I sat down to a show of Ham on the Street. The host of the show, George Duran, is continually challenging tradition with his "outside the box" recipes. This particular show he tried convincing his viewers that any choice of bread, cheese, and jelly would make a good tasting grilled sandwich by playing his invented game grilled cheese and jelly lotto where he had three tumbling machines full of lotto balls; one with balls listing different types of bread, one with cheeses and one with jellies. Passersby were asked to choose lotto balls from each machine, then George cooked them up a sandwich with the ingredients chosen. You can check out the FoodTV site to see the list of ingredients on the balls he had in his lotto machines. There was a rye, havarti and apricot sandwich made, a challah, brie and strawberry and a whole wheat, bleu cheese and hot pepper jelly during the show and the passersby were each thrilled with their uniquely different sandwich. So, today we tried our own version of the grilled cheese and jelly sandwich. We made swiss apricot, American strawberry, swiss strawberry and American apricot all on whole wheat. We all tried them and everyone said, "Mmmm good".

See for yourself, make one today.

No. 5

Robert Ernest Rice

John and I traveled to Minnesota last Tuesday. His grandfather, Robert Ernest Rice, died early Saturday morning after 98 years of joyous living. We went to join in celebrating his life, mourning our loss and catching up with family. We returned home Thursday afternoon.




Until we meet again, Grandpa Bob, in God's Kingdom.

This One Is For Erin

This one is for Erin. I was inspired when she told me she was remodeling her Airstream kitchen in turquoise.




Have fun in Florida Erin.

Black Bean Soup

Mary Anne from work gave me this recipe. It's easy and delicious.
Thanks Mary Anne!

Black Bean and Salsa Soup

Ingredients:
2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can vegetable broth (chicken will work too)
1 cup chunky salsa
1 cup corn (fresh, frozen or canned will work)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
maybe a little garlic
sour cream
green onion



Combine beans, broth, salsa and cumin. Blend until fairly smooth (I used a stick blender right in the pot, but a regular blender or food processor will work). Add corn, heat through. Ladle into bowls. Garnish with sour cream, chopped green onion and salsa if any is leftover.

TA-DA! I served mine with corn chips and sliced avocado. Yum!


Enjoy!

Are You Wearing Your Green Today?

No. 3

I'm obsessed.


This is the third and last designer dishcloth pattern out of the little pattern book I've been using. This pattern is knit 3 purl 1 to the end of the row, knit a row, repeat until the desired length is achieved.