Austin Texas

One week in Austin with my fabulous family, stayed at Hotel Bobbie, walked Lake Bobbie (if Lady Bird can have her own Lake why can't Bobbie), and saw lots of Long Horns! They are spectacular!

Spent time with Paul and his kids, visited the best BBQ places in Austins, crazy fair, and reconnecting with my adorable nieces. Saw Paul "star" in the pre-bat show, a million bats fly out at sun down and a hundred people applauded Paul's great performance. The juggler is standing on Paul's shoulders while juggling.

Cara is Supper Mom by day, Aggressive Soccer Competitor by night.

Jen is ready to give birth to a little boy and I even won over Miss Sadly Hadley, by the end of the week she was my best friend, and that's not an easy task.

Airplane Snack Food

Five days without a kitchen worked out to be 9 days. It was well worth the wait, Rusty Hall is a master craftsman, my kitchen looks great. Rusty Hall 714 307 9797.

Leaving for Austin Texas in the morning. I will need one mindless book to read, comfortable walking shoes and airplane snack food. Won't be cooking much for about a week. Home on March 20th., the first day of Spring! For the next 3 months most of our meals will be prepared on the outdoor BBQ.

In Austin I plan to feast on comfort food, I'll return to healthy cooking when I get home. Sorry California but Texas BBQ, full of salt and brown sugar is just much better tasting than anything we have here in California. And sinful as it is, I am going to Oasis for a piece of their high sugar, buttery, Chocolate Explosion cake. Might even take in a Texas Rodeo!


Airplane Snack Food

1 c almonds
1c dried cranberries
1/2 dried banana chips
1/4 c Sees Candy Bridge Mix

Fill zip lock sandwich bags with 1/2 cup Airplane Snack Food

Without a kitchen for 9 days! Take out food, restaurants and Ralph's deli. My blood pressure must be over the top, so much salt in prepared food, I will need to flush out my body with totally no salt for a couple of weeks.

The best part of refinishing my kitchen cabinets was cleaning out 35 years of accumulation. Now the fun begins, what to keep, what to discard. We had 2 mixers, 3 coffee pots, 4 graders, 5 large measuring cups, 6 identical baking dishes and a cartridge in a tape deck. Now the Salvation Army has 1 mixer, 2 coffee pots, 3 graders, 4 measuring cups and I have one of each. We had can foods with expiration dates older than Spankey, cake mixes dated 2001 and spices from our trip to the Garlic Festival 1999. I found a small box where I had put old credit cards just in case I needed them later, Broadway, May Co and Fedco's. I found dinner plates with Mimi's Cafe on them that Annette gave me years ago and some decorative dishes that I had completely forgotten about.

In the next 35 years I am going to get organized. Or Not!



Worth the wait, love the new clean look.

Portabello Mushroom Crepes

In the midst of the most horrific kitchen mess you can imagine I feel like cooking.

Problem is we moved into our house 35 years ago and yes we have redone the bathrooms, living room, family room and kitchen several times, however, our poor old kitchen cabinets haven't had much help.

Now they say you can measure a dogs age by multiplying by 7, if Spankey is 7 years old, in doggy life he is 7 X 7, making him more like 49. Well the same goes for kitchen cabinets. If you factor in raising a family, entertaining, cooking three meals a day for 35 years, and the worst abuse of all seems to come from emptying the dishwasher, 3 of those we have replaced. Constant banging, poking and slamming. So if you measure kitchen cabinet life by 7 X 35, using the same formula as a dogs life, than my kitchen cabinets are 245 years old.

That is why Rusty arrived last week to begin the process. Currently all the doors and drawers are missing and at the end of this week he will begin to restore the frames. Every item that was in our kitchen drawers and cupboards is now spread through out the living room, dinning room and family room. However, we still like to eat, and there is a refrigerator, stove, microwave and oven so what's the problem!

Crepes with portabello mushrooms, feta cheese and very thin strips of beef tenderloin.


Crepes

3 eggs
1 1/4 c milk
3 T oil
1 c flour

Pam for cooking

Mix together and let batter stand for several hours
Heat 8 inch skillet and spray generously with Pam
Pour in 1/4 c batter and roll the pan around to spread the batter evenly
Cooks very quickly, turn and cook back side.
Stack Crepes

Filling:
Saute mushrooms
Saute thinly slice beef tenderloin

Warm the Fete in a low oven for a few minutes, makes it easier to spread on the crepes.
Spread Fete Cheese on warm Crepes and layer with mushrooms and meat. Fold in half.

Serve with broccoli and a small salad or sliced tomatoes. The color looks great.

After all presentation is the most important part of any meal.