Loving Texas Hill Country

We had an amazing, exhausting, exhilarating, and HOT trip to Texas.  Below are my travel notes and highlights.  Plus some pictures. 

Day 1

• Flight--Jet Blue let me load first, with scooter and crutch; we eventually find Gommie, Pop, and the cousins at the airport; cousins have grown and are excited and chatty (my team is a bit tired since being up at 3:30 CST but happy to finally be there.)
• lunch at Hoover's--a great first Texas meal--chicken fried steak, pinto beans, cowboy beans (have ground beef), potato salad, mashed potatoes, greens, green beans, candied yams, these amazing cinnamon sweet potato biscuits, buttermilk pie, coconut custard, and an incredible blackberry cobbler!!!
• Buc-ee's, "the cleanest bathrooms in Texas" and one of my favorite tourist spots--great (and tacky) Texas souvenirs and snacks, great photo ops, and iced tea in huge cups.  Sis got a cowboy hat for the trip and some Buc-ee nuggets, of course.
• reunion in SA--we meet up with Aunt Banana and Uncle Soccer at our hotel--we're all together!  
• Emily Morgan hotel--she might have been the infamous/famous Yellow Rose who distracted Santa Anna, but the 1930s building is Gothic Revival and like the Flatiron building in NYC; we have a great room overlooking the Alamo complex.
• evening walk by Alamo, which was closed, and protected by a Texas Ranger; Mama and I got a tamarind snow cone like the one we enjoyed in SA the week of Banana's wedding; I had forgotten how gorgeous the trees are in the hill country
• Riverwalk--it hadn't changed much; there was even a marker for the old Kangaroo Court restaurant, where we used to get great cheesecake; the same boats cruise the river; I had forgotten some of the 19th-century architecture and, again, those trees.
• dinner at Schilo's, a German place off Alamo Plaza--German pretzels and beer cheese, schnitzel, German (think IKEA) meatballs and mashed potatoes, red cabbage, German potato salad
• Menger Hotel--Mama, Sis, Banana and I swazu through the hotel on the way back, admiring the elaborate 19th-century architecture and the famous bar visited by Generals Grant and Lee for the Mexican-American war and also by Teddy Roosevelt; barbed wire was first demonstrated outside in the square

Day 2

• Missions!  Well, we chose a hot day to see the missions, but then everyday was a hot day.  I remember visiting all 5 of the missions in college, perhaps once I had my car; I think I went with my roommates.  I know I'd also visited some of them with beloved Aunt Sis, but now they are a National Park (though, NOT the Alamo.)
• Mission San Jose:  the main mission, where the visitor center is, was our major mission stop; I had thought we'd see all 5, but with the heat, my ankle, and interest, we focused on this one.  It has great walls and living quarters for the indigenous Coathiltecans with a well and a few bakery ovens still around, ruins of the convento where priests lived, and of course the church, with its elaborately-carved door (for which there was a whole legend, about pomegranates, etc, all symbols of pilgrimage and salvation) and side chapel to the Virgin of Guadalupe.  We came across several images of Guadalupe, including paintings in several chapels, a cement yard ornament, some souvenirs, and projected on the cathedral in a light show.  I remember seeing her on candles and car ornaments when I was a kid and, after class last semester, I have a much better understanding of her role in Mexican culture.  I forgot to mention it, just like I forget to notice in--we missed the Rose Window on my first walk around the mission; it's not stained glass but an elaborately carved window frame.  Beautiful!  I'm glad I went back to see it.  
• lunch at the new Liberty Bar:  The classics department would take speakers to Liberty Bar after lectures of the SW chapter of the AIA.  It was in a leaning-over, wooden building on Josephine Street, complete with tilted floor.  I don't remember the entrees, but I loved the coconut custard!  Which is like flan, but denser and with no sauce.  And it was exactly the same!  The restaurant is in a new place, an old convent; still has lots of charm and character.  We had a great meal--Minguichi queso (with feta, goat cheese, cream cheese, parmesan, and bell peppers), ceviche, Ensalada Emiliano (a bean on arugula with feta salad, so tasty), a sauteed tenderloin and peppers Puntas Nortenos, grilled potato slices with garlic aioli, and a chicken alfredo with shaved brussel sprouts.  And of course, that custard, plus geranium cream with blackberry sauce and shortbread cookies, and rum and sour cherry ice cream!  There was also a tasty Karkade hibiscus and mint tea with ginger and white grape juice, and an amazing limeade.  
• Mission Espada--we were hot and tired but I wanted to see the bell tower.  So we split off, our four plus Gommie and Banana.  The locusts were singing their "it's hot" song.  It was so hot.  But the garden at Espada was beautiful and the inside of the chapel, so peaceful.  I'm glad we stopped.  
• Concepion--we waved at it as we drove by (well, I hopped out for a picture.)  
• San Antonio architecture--I forgot how much I like the various buildings of SA--the big Gothic revival buildings like our hotel, the Spanish-inspired architecture like the McNay, the Victorian gingerbread houses, all the 1920s-era craftsmen cottages, and the one-story stucco houses with porches and slanted roofs.  I took a great class in college about American architecture and went around photographing buildings, including the Scottish Rite temple, the red stoned Bexar County courthouse, the interior of the Majestic theater, and one with Islamic influences.  I saw some of those buildings again.
• Tejas Rodeo!  Yes, we went to a real Saturday night rodeo in Texas.  I'd been to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, and swear I'd seen Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton singing from the back of a circling pick up truck.  I'd also been to see a rodeo my cousins competed in.  But the kids and Mama had never been.  It was very Texas--very kitschy Texas--with windmills and rough wooden buildings, neon, and even a mechanical bull!  We sat in bleachers around a covered sand arena, eating great festival snacks.  And my beloved wife brought me Frito Chili pie!!!  I love Frito chili pie. There was also sausage on a stick, nachos, chicken fingers, etc.  The rodeo itself was fun and very local.  There was precision drill team work (with flags!), bull riding, calf-roping, and cloverleaf barrel racing.  Such talent on horseback, even if we never saw anyone stay on a bull for 8 seconds.  When Sis rode the mechanical bull afterwards, she stayed on for more than a minute!!  (Boy cousin tried--on a slower speed--and was so cute!) There was dancing afterwards, with a local band.  Girl Cousin and Aunt Banana danced and then Banana danced with Pop.  Bud and I danced out in the yard, too shy to be observed.  
• The landscape as we went out to the rodeo was beautiful Texas hill country--barbed wire fences, scruffy fields, clumps of beautiful live oaks and cedars and pecans, lots of wildflowers (thought not THE famous ones.)  There was a stalky purple flower that almost looked like a bluebonnet; kinda looked like thistle, too.  I realized later it was horsemint.  There were also some small sunflowers, some primroses, and other plants I can't identify.  Plus tons of flowering crepe myrtles in whites and pinks and purples.  Beautiful.

Day 3

• The Alamo!  You can't imagine how small the Alamo is until you see it in person.  It's about the size of a McDonald's front, barely two stories.  And it's just right there, in front of a small plaza, across the street from stores and hotels.  Which is funny because the church used to be inside a mission like at San Jose.  You can still see the outlines and some of the walls of the old mission.  Inside, it's a plain white stucco church with flags and some labels, envisioned as a shrine to Texas liberty and the sacrifices at the Alamo, but not in quite the same TEXAS way it used to be (they've toned down the mythology--the line in the sand and Deaf Smith and the women survivors; it's not exactly states' right and anti-Mexico; I like that they've balanced the history of it responsibly, like in the movie, which really went through the whole Spain/Mexico timeline.)  We saw that one person from CT died at the Alamo--William Gordon Cummings Jr (I think.)  But less focus on bullet holes and where people died.  Outside of the small church, we walked around the yard with the gorgeous huge trees, so beautiful.  I liked the exhibit in the other building, with the Bowie knife and rifles and uniforms and the like.  And we met up with some of the Australians who were in the rodeo the night before!  So I got to tell them how great it was.  
• Whataburger, pronounced "water burger."  Yes, with the orange and white stripes.  I didn't go much as a kid--there weren't really any in suburban Houston.  But I've been since then.  Chicken bites, Texas toast, fries, sweet tea (now mixed with unsweet because I can't handle full sweet!), burgers.  And the GRAVY!  Yep, we had this for lunch.  With a Dr. Pepper float!!!!  So, so good.  Mama and I used to stop at Whataburger on the way to see Aunt Sis--they're tasty and everywhere and open 24 hours a day.  And you can't get Texas toast in Connecticut.  
• Natural Bridge Caverns:  I remember going a few times as a child and then once in college in my geology class (when part of the caves had flooded and then we hiked Enchanged rock afterwards.) But I didn't go into the cave this time--with my ankle it wasn't going to work.  So I sat with Pop.  Bud joined us because he wasn't feeling well.  But everyone else went and saw the Hall of the Mountain King, the "fried egg,"  the bat guano, and all the stalagtites and mites; they didn't turn off the lights in the cave though.  So Pop, Bud, and I enjoyed the breeze and the trees, and two little humingbirds flitting around, and a long stick bug right by us.  Bud practiced juggling Koosh balls.   The crew liked the sights but thought it was steep and hot and humid.
• THUNDERSTORM  I woke up to thunder a little after midnight.  And I immediately race to our wall of windows looking south over SA.  What a view!  Lightning flashes constantly, thunder too.  Hard rain.  For more than an hour or two.  I even saw the strikes a few times even though the main storm was out of my sight; and because it was dark, I couldn't see the dark sky.  It was just a regular summer storm, nothing major, but it was more lightning that I've ever even seen in CT.  And we saw some of it again the next day.  But watching it that night with Mama was extra special.  

Day 4

• I spent most of the day with Bud, who still wasn't feeling well; we think it was a small bug.  He was better after a day of rest.  
• Mama, Sis, Aunt Banana and girl cousin went horseback riding in Bandera along the Medina river.  The rain delayed their ride, so they had time to check out a bunch of the tack shops; yep, there was more than one.  Sis got a beaded rope halter for Patience; she also tried roping a calf model (Sis said the roping in a rodeo wouldn't be her thing, just the riding.)  They rode in the afternoon, having a great time along the river and the main road in town.  Mama's horse liked to eat; Sis had good control of her pony, Concho.  The leader rode a white mule.
• I stepped out for a bit with Gommie, when Bud was feeling better.  I grabbed a good sandwich at the local chain Jimmy John's--good bread!  Across the street was Rocket Fizz, a shop filled with regional sodas from all over the country.  There was Ranch soda, which I'd heard of but would not try.  I got a Jasmine ginger tea soda I get here in CT; I know not adventuresome.  Mom got a couple of coconut and lime ones.  And I got Mama the Sprecher's root beer which we liked in Chicago.  I got Bud some Dr Brown's cel-ray, which he likes.  A nice distraction.
• When Mama and Sis got back, I left Mama with Bud, and Sis and I went to the Riverwalk with everybody else.  We rode one of the touristy river boat cruises; I even got a touristy paper flower garland like we used to see at Fiesta, which I wore the rest of the night.  I actually enjoyed the cruise, which I must have taken as a little girl.  We heard about the Coathuitlecan peoples living there when Spaniards arrive, the old Mexican village at La Villita, the aqueduct system, the witness tree of Ben Milam's sniper during the Texas rebellion, the 19th-century warehouses and hotels and restaurants and institute for boys, the saving of the river in the early 20th century as well as the flood, and the World's Fair in the 1960s.  Beautiful.
• Boudro's: We ate on the Riverwalk at a old standard.  We had grilled vegetables, black beans, fresh bread, and Sis and I had rosemary chicken; we took home some gumbo for Mama.  For dessert, coconut flan and creme brulee.

Day 5 

• Bud felt better!
• We were headed to the SA Zoo in Brackenridge Park and randomly stopped for breakfast, at two places side by side, doughnuts and breakfast tacos. Mama and Gommie got some award-winning breakfast tacos which were very good.  The rest of us hit the doughnuts--citrus lavender, chocolate brownie, unicorn, orange cake, maple bacon (Sis's favorite!), blackberry, blueberry--and this great strong Mexican coffee with tons of cinnamon. Serendipitous.
• Oh, my dear old San Antonio Zoo!  I went as a child and so often with Aunt Sis, sometimes after watching cousin John juggle in the park.  There were koalas then and those melt-a-molds that made blue koalas!  It's built in the same quarry as Trinity, now on the other side of the highway.  It looked good--the trees were bigger and the zoo had been updated (you could spot some of the old habitats.)  It was hell on my scooter, though, and oh so hot.  But we stayed a long time.  I got henna--I can't pass that up.  We did the butterflies--and they had so many blue morpho butterflies!!  And at least one landed on my hat!  As Mama noted, it was the very first time we went in a butterfly exhibit that wasn't really hotter than the outside; it was the same temperature!  (That's not what happens in NY or CT or MA.)  I loved watching them flit around and brush past me; I wish the kiddos didn't get competitive or disappointed that the butterflies didn't land on them.  I even loaned girl cousin my flower garland, which I'd brought for fun.  Maybe I just sweat better. And we rode the carousel--I rode a panda (because the kid in front of us beat me to the manatee!)  I love carousels.  We finally made it to the KOALA BEARS!!!  And they moved, both of them.  One considered its lunch; the other scratched its ear.  So cute.  Mama had seen them once before in San Diego.  But it was a first for the kids.  I used to watch them a long time, when they were always at the zoo (they're in a special exhibit for the summer.)  It's why we went to the zoo.  Because otherwise, it was too hot and humid.  So hot.  Too hot.  But henna, carousel ride, butterflies, and koalas made it pretty awesome nonetheless.
• Alamo Heights--after the zoo, our four went to wander my old area, stopping first at beloved Aunt Sis's old house at 826 Cambridge Oval.  The yard was totally different--a little cactus garden that she would have loved--and the house was so well cared for.  I recognized it, of course, but it didn't look like hers anymore.  No windchimes or little statues on the porch.  No gravel driveway.  No overgrown plants.  A new garage.  But I could picture Otto the dachsund on the porch and cousin John outside and Aunt and Uncle on the porch.  And all the cats.  Good memories, not many tears.  Then we drove around to see the pizza place EZs which was next to a Bookstop back then and was our Friday night hangout, the McNay villa and now museum where I took a museum studies class and often visited with Aunt, the Witte (where those AIA meetings were), SAMA in the old brewery where I had my first museum internship, the so incorrectly named ghetto and gucci HEBs.  We didn't see Earl Abel's; I think it had moved.  But we did drive through the Olmos Dam area to get to the other side of 281N.
• Taco Cabana--the very first!  With its brick patio and vinyl walls and tiny order counter.  We got bean and cheeses, steak and peppers, iced tea, chicken quesadillas.  Oh the bean and cheeses. Oh, good old TCs.  Bud really liked his steak tacos.
• Trinity--my, how I was so happy those four years at Trinity.  A perfect fit.  I enjoyed my classes, liked my friends, enjoyed my service fraternity APO; it was just great.  And it was fun to be back, even if it was a bit different and really too hot to walk around.  The fountain has moved and a few of the buildings redone.  But there was the tower, the Magic Stones, the "Mom" sculpture, the fabulous collage in the library about the world's civilizations (and the columns were yarn-bombed and there was a Starbucks in there!), the (relocated) fountain, the Esplanade, the red brick, the beautiful trees (not bigger!), the various buildings I'd taken classes in, the Coates student center, and the relocated bookstore where we bought some souvenirs.  Okay, it was their least favorite part, but only because it was so hot.
• Mi Tierra's in El Mercado--is it the best Mexican food or the best restaurant in SA?  Nope.  But it holds lots of memories.  Aunt Sis and I went to El Mercado, where there are little shops selling Mexican crafts and Texas souvenirs; and so we went and picked up some things, including cascarones, those Fiesta-time confetti eggs.  The restaurant itself is crazy decorated--lights and colors and decorations everywhere, like nothing you've ever seen, with a long bakery counter filled with buns and topped with grainy sugar pralines that I remember.  There are roaming mariachi bands, which we paid to play a song for us, in the room with the mural of famous Mexicans, including Frida, Selena, Henry Cisneros and sons, Roy Benavides (purple heart recipient from El Campo), the restaurant founders, and many many more.  The food is average Tex-Mex, which is to say a lot of cheese, but way better than what we get up north.  The cheese enchiladas even had the right meat sauce (yes, I got the combo with the taco, tamale, enchilada, beans, and rice.)  We had nachos with everything and then soapapillas and tres leches cake for dessert.  It was a lovely, memorable night, just like I'd hoped.  Because you just can't forget Mi Tierra's.  
• Walking out through El Mercado, with the colorful paper flags flying, we cracked some cascarones on each other.  The I got the kids, the kids got Pop and then got me.  Loved it.
• We went home in separate cars, so that my crew plus Gommie could stop by the projection and light show on the facade of San Fernando Cathedral.  We couldn't find parking and only Bud and I got out to see the little show about SA history.  If it had been less hot and we had been less tired, it would have been fun to take everyone.  There was mariachi music, polkas, and "Ashokan Farewell" during the Civil War part.  And so ended our time in SA.

Day 6

• We made a morning HEB run, the big, amazing Texas grocery chain where Uncle Soccer works.  It's about the size of a Target, probably bigger, and has everything--we even got water shirts and those sunscreen shirts.  Plus premade lunch and tons of snacks, like kimchi pork rinds!  (Talk about mixing cultures.)  I didn't know it would be such a production to go to . . . .
• SCHLITTERBAHN all day!  Yep, the huge Texas waterpark that started as a few slides next to Landa resort and has now taken over New Braunfels.  I'd been a few times as a kid--even split a swim suit on the water slide and later had heat exhaustion--and liked it (balanced with being scared of the dark water and the snake I saw hanging from the tree above the river.) I liked eating at Oma's Haus (gone, but home to my first Boston Cream Pie!) and also breakfast at New Braunfels Smokehaus (with slanted floor.)  And Nagelin's bakery!  Which I saw in a movie some years back and it looks the same.  We stayed at the park way longer than I expected and so didn't get to see anything else, but it was worth it.  The kids did some of the rides and shutes while I rode the lazy Kristal River in an innertube all day.  All day.  I bet I went around, straw hat and long-sleeved sun shirt and all, about 100+ times.  I think I even fell asleep more than once.  I liked the rapids and the slow parts, watching the sun on the water, watching the trees nearby, just the feeling of floating and having nothing to do.  Best parenting day ever.  I got out a few times to eat and drink and go to the restroom.  But that's it.  Me and the lazy river, with or without someone (and I pretty much traveled around with everybody at least once), all day.  I had the most fun with Mama, who liked the water more than she expected.
• We ate more Whataburger on the way to our new hotel, a tiny room in a suites near Aunt Sis's house, where we crashed. 

Day 7

• It was a slow morning and we didn't get to Aunt Banana's house til almost 11, which made it too late to really do anything before our boat rental.  Probably just what we needed, truthfully.  So we watched soccer, played games, admired the house, and just generally hung out.
• That night, we headed to Just for Fun boat rentals on Lake Travis, where we had a pontoon boat waiting, for four hours.  We had drinks and snacks, and all the swim gear from the day before.  The lake is human-made, a thin, deep ravine with very expensive houses high on the sides (with little trams from house to dock.)  The breeze was lovely and I always love a boat ride.  And we got out to swim twice, at the shore of an island.  Though it was clear, the bushes (which grew during the drought) under the water freaked me out.  I managed to enjoy floating as long as everyone helped me avoid the bushes.  I like it better than salt water for sure.  A nice refreshing evening.
• Rudy's barbecue take out for dinner--brisket, ribs, beans, potato salad, white bread.  Great!
• And then, the kids had a sleepover and  . . . Mama and I went back to the room and packed before falling asleep (this is when I first noticed that I had a cold, when my throat began to be so sore.)

Day 8 

• Last full day in Texas.
• Bullock Museum and the La Belle:  I hadn't been to the Bullock before but had been hearing about it and the La Belle from Gommie for years.  The museum was new and huge and spacious, with good balance--straightforward acknowledgement about slavery and the Native Americans who were devastated by the Europeans--and clear labels (though the path through was not clear nor linear; you already needed to have a pretty good grasp on TX history.)  The La Belle, excavated from my mom's bay, is impressive, with wooden timbers and rope and 1.5 million surviving artifacts (mostly military, but also supplies for settlement; and some skeletons.)  Reminded me of some of the Viking ships we've seen.  Mom asked if it was the oldest shipwreck on view in the US and I think it is. We took a break in the cafe--good Texas chili (no beans, lots of spice, though a little tomato) and good salsa (though it was pureed and possibly from roasted or sun dried tomatoes.)  The shop was great, too.  But by the end of it, I was done, between my ankle and my cold and the knowledge that the trip was ending.
• We hung out at Banana's house some more, with Bud introducing everyone to BTS choreography and videos.  We had pizza, which Banana and I fetched while having a good chat.  We also got a giant cookie and some treats to celebrate everyone's birthday.
• And then we all said goodbye.  The trip was everything we could have hoped--family time and a lot of Texan culture.

Day 9: Departure

A Few Favorites

We've been experimenting with dinner--new recipes and techniques, a la a meal service.  Here are some of our favorites so far.


ENTREES

Glaze for Beef Lettuce Cups
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoons hoisin
salt, pepper

Combine and add after beef is cooked, stirring to coat.

Sweet and Sour Glaze for Chicken
chicken breasts, cooked with salt, pepper, and oregano and sliced scallions
2 tablespoons orange marmalade
juice of 3 lime wedges
1 clove garlic, grated

Coat cooked chicken with glaze and serve

Honey Glaze for Chicken
1 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoons chicken demi-glace
2 tablespoons water
Toss with cooked chicken.


Lime Sauce for Fish
juice of 1 lime
1 tablespoon honey
tops of 2 scallions
1 teaspoon sesame seeds
Serve over cooked fish.

Panko Fish
1/4 cup Panko
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
.7 oz Grana Padano cheese
2 cod or whitefish filets
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

Pat 2 cod filets dry; season with salt and pepper.  Place on oiled and foiled baking sheet.  Spread mustard on fish then top with breadcrumbs (mixture of breadcrumbs, grated cheese, lemon juice, Italian seasoning, and 2 teaspoons of olive oil.) Bake 9 to 11 minutes or until fish is 145F. 

*Can also top with 1 tablespoon sweet white miso paste, 1 tablespoon mirin, and 1 1/2 teaspoons sesame oil.  

Chicken Stir Fry
10 oz chicken breasts, cubed
6 oz green beans
4 oz sweet peppers
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 lb cabbage
2 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon ketchup
1 tablespoon rice vinegar

In a bowl, combine ketchup, honey, soy sauce, vinegar, and 1 tablespoon of water.

Coat chicken pieces in half of the cornstarch and saute in pan with olive oil.  When brown, remove from bowl and toss with 1/2 of sesame oil.

Saute green beans in pan, adding peppers, cabbage and garlic.  Season with salt and pepper and the other 1/2 of the sesame oil.

Add chicken and glaze to veggies and serve. 

Lemon Yogurt Sauce for Chicken or Pork
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
1 teaspoon preserved lemon puree
salt and pepper

Chicken with Farro and Lemon Sauce
2 chicken breasts
2 scallions
1 lemon, quartered and de-seeded
2 tablespoons dried currants
1/2 chicken broth
1/2 cup farro
6 oz carrots, peeled and sliced
4 oz cooked beets
2 tablespoons fromage blanc
1 tablespoon whole grain mustard

Cook farro in water, 18-20 minutes, until tender; drain and return to pot.

Add juice of 2 lemon wedges to beets.  Soak currants in 1 tablespoon of hot water.

Salt and pepper chicken, then saute until browned; add broth and cook until chicken is cooked through.  Remove from skillet.

Saute carrots in skillet; add white bottoms of scallions and cook; add water and cook until water has cooked off. 

For sauce: combine fromage blanc, mustard, juice of 2 lemon wedges, and salt and pepper.

Combine farro, beets, carrots, currants, chicken, and sauce.

Hoisin Glaze for Meatloaf

1/4 cup hoisin sauce

3 tablespoons ketchup

Combine.  Cook meatloaf with half of the glaze and then add remaining after baking--do not cross-contaminate glaze.

Veggie and Beef Bolognese

1 1/8 lb ground beef

1-15 oz can crushed tomatoes

2 tablespoons mascarpone

1 clove garlic, grated

6 oz carrots, peeled, halved, and sliced

1 sweet onion

1 1/2 teaspoons calabrian chile paste

2 tablespoons worcestershire sauce

1/2 cup ricotta

pasta

Cook pasta. Reserve 1/2 cup of pasta cooking water.

In bowl, combine ricotta, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, and grated garlic; season with salt and pepper.  

Heat olive oil in skillet.  Add beef and carrots; cook until lightly browned.  Add onion, salt, and pepper.  Add chile paste.  Add tomatoes and worcestershire.

Add bolognese, mascarpone, and cooking water to pasta.  Serve with garlic ricotta.

Roast Pork

Pat pork roast dry and drizzle with olive oil and season with salt, pepper, other seasonings.  Roast 27-30 minutes total (or until 145F.)  You can add veggies about 10 minutes in.

SIDES

Vegetable Marinade
sliced veggies like cucumbers and radishes
1 tablespoon vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons sesame oil
salt, pepper

Cheesy Orzo
2 tablespoons creme fraiche
1 1/2 oz feta cheese
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
salt, pepper
lightly stir fried veggies like snap peas
4 oz. orzo pasta, cooked

Combine.

Black Beans with Sour Cream
olive oil
1 tablespoon of sour cream (or more to taste, up to 1/4 cup)
1 clove garlic, grated

Heat olive oil in skillet.  Add beans and garlic; salt and pepper to taste. 

Black Beans with Onions
1 red onion
2 tablespoons butter
2 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon rice vinegar

For onions:  heat butter and saute diced onion; add 1 1/2 teaspoons honey and 1/4 cup water, cooking about 10 minutes. 
For beans:  heat olive oil; saute 2 cloves garlic and scallions.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Add black beans, 1/4 cupe water, 1 1/2 teaspoons honey, 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar, and caramelized onions. Heat through.

Seared Zucchini

Slice zucchini into rounds.  Saute in 1 teaspoon olive oil until browned (without stirring.)  Add juice of 1/2 lemon, salt, and pepper.


Brussel Sprout Slaw
4 oz sliced brussel sprouts
1 apple, diced
2 tablespoons almonds, sliced and roasted
1 tablespoon creamy mustard
1/2 teaspoon olive oil
salt and pepper
Combine and let sit 10 minutes before serving. 


Quinoa Salad
1/2 cup red quinoa
4 oz sweet peppers, sliced
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
4 oz snow peas
3 oz radishes
.7 oz grana padano

Boil salted water, add quinoa, and cook uncovered 14-16 minutes.  Drain and set aside.

Saute sliced peppers and snow peas in olive oil.

Combine vinegar, grated cheese, olive oil.  Combine with quinoa and cooked vegetables, plus radishes.  Season with salt and pepper. 

Optional:  add cooked chicken

Olive Tapenade
1 oz sliced roasted red peppers
1 oz pitted nicoise olives
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 teaspoon olive oil
salt, pepper
Combine.

Creamy Farro with Zucchini
1/2 cup farro
1 zucchini
4 oz cherry tomatoes, halved
1 tablespoon capers, chopped
1 teaspoon oregano
2 tablespoons creme fraiche
grated Grana Padano
Boil salted water, add farro, and cook uncovered 18-20 minutes.
Meanwhile, saute zucchini with olive oil, garlic, and salt and pepper.
Combine farro, zucchini, and sauce. 
Chicken is optional.

Moroccan-style Chickpeas
6 oz carrots, peeled, halved and sliced
scallions, white bottoms only
1 oz green olives, chopped
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1-15.5 oz can chickpeas
1 clove garlic, grated
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 1/2 tablespoons golden raisins

Make garlic yogurt:  add grated garlic to yogurt and set aside.
In olive oil, heat chickpeas, carrots, and white bottoms of scallions; season with salt and pepper.  Add tomato paste and raisins.  Add 1 cup of water and continue to cook until slightly thickened.  Add vinegar and olives and garlic-yogurt.
Chicken is optional.


Roasted Vegetables
sliced carrots
sliced onions
sliced potatoes (Yukon or sweet)
broccoli pieces
brussel sprouts
green beans
bell peppers
etc
olive oil
salt, pepper

Preheat to 450F.  Layer any veggies in pan; drizzle with 2 tablespoons olive oil and season.  Roast 10-20 minutes (depending on veg) or until browned and tender.

"Fried" Freekeh
1/2 cup cracked freekeh
2 eggs, beaten
3 oz radishes, de-stemmed, peeled and sliced
2 scallions
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
4 oz sweet peppers
6 oz carrots, peeled, halved and sliced
2 cloves garlic, grated
3 tablespoons roasted peanuts

Boil salted water and add freekeh; cook 24-26 minutes. Drain.
Saute sliced carrots, radishes, peppers, and white scallion bottoms; season with salt and pepper.  Add egg and cook, slowly combining with veggies. Remove from pan.
Add freekeh to pan and cook 3-4 minutes without stirring until crispy.  Add soy sauce, vinegar, veggies and eggs. 


Sandwich Slaw
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup creamy mustard sauce
1/2 cup pickle relish
1 lb. sliced cabbage
salt, pepper
Combine and set aside for 10 minutes.


Cheese Rolls
22 oz pizza dough
4 oz fresh mozz
1 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
pecorino cheese
olive oil

Preheat oven to 450F.  Oil small baking dish.  Combine 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 1 1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning. 
Cut dough and mozzarella into 8 portions.  Working with each portion, insert piece of cheese into dough and pinch closed.  Top with pinch of pecorino cheese. 
Bake 23 to 25 minutes until golden brown.

Summertime Ideas

Summer isn't like it used to be.  I don't quite feel like the camp director figuring out how to balance occupying two children while also allowing them independence and time for boredom and creativity.  Plus meals!  Well, meals are still a daily trial, but the kids mainly know what they want to do; my main job is making sure they do their jobs and limit their screen time. 

But also, for the first time in a long time, it is my summer, too, because I was in class in the spring and will be in class again in the fall.  It's been a long time since my years have been dictated by my own academic schedule; my last classes for my Ph.d. were back in the last millennium!  But as you know, I really enjoyed being in class; well, I think I told you--it was a chaotic semester, with the kids wrapping up middle school and my balancing parenting and school.  I'll have to look back to write up what I thought of my two classes.  Since I haven't been writing much about the kids, who want privacy and are now crafting their own stories (though not on a blog!), perhaps I'll write more about seminary and chaplaincy, both to keep you up to date and to work out my thoughts.

It's summer, now, though, and my thoughts are on relaxation.  We just got back from Texas--that will be its own post!--and we're now engaged in camps and other activities.  It's just me and Bud at home during the day while Sis is a counselor-in-training at a day camp; she loves it.  Mama is busy with her own work and learning some new skills for a position change. 

Still, I like lists and so here is one, mainly for me, for my summer fun:

1.  Summer Tangles Challenge--the Zentangle challenge I made; I'll tangle everyday.
2.  Finish my blue crocheted waffle stitch blanket (for our chaplain)
3.  Finish my Bird Academy raptor class
4.  Finish my embroidery sample
5.  Read at least one theology book this summer (I have a few UU ones.)
6.  Go swimming with the kids (at least a few times.)
7.  See Far From Home
8.  See BTS movie in August
9.  Birthday parties for Sis and Bud
10. July 4th party at a friend's
11.  Purge books (again)
12. Do filing.
13.  Learn new bill system.
14.  Purge knick knacks.
15.  Paint stairs
16.  Go to beach (at least once.)
17.  Attend Taizé service a few times.
18.  Take Ro for check up.
19.  Finish straightening basement
20. Hang photos in bedroom

Putting on Our Aprons

We've been using a meal delivery service for the last month or so.  For us, it's cheaper and better food than we would get from take-out, which becomes our go-to in times of busy-ness and stress. And it's been great.  The meals are tasty and easy to prepare; and the kids even like most of them.  They are sometimes high in calorie, but there are lower-calorie options too.  And we're trying new things--I ate fish and Mama had fruit in her food, neither of which is our usual fare.

And we're even learning some new techniques. 

• chicken breasts and pork can be cooked at 450F for about 30 minutes (instead of our usual 350F for closer to an hour; and they don't dry out!)
• veggies can be roasted at 450F also, for about 15 minutes
• always add an acid at the end--vinegar, wine, lemon
• stir in creaminess at the end--creme fraiche, cream
• garlic grated into yogurt is a great sauce
• stuff cheese in pizza dough rolls--yum!
• garlic or miso paste in mashed potatoes is good
• hoisin and ketchup makes a good glaze
• small sweet peppers are even better than big bell peppers

The Next Step

Or not.

Pretty in Purple

My scooter, with snacks

The side of my right foot had been bothering me for awhile, often when I hit it against something or stepped on it too much.  I tried my plantar fascitis boot, rest, muscle relaxers, etc.  And then one day I was at the barn with Sis and our pony Patience and I stepped on a rock funny--and almost fell over.  Not good.  That afternoon I went to the speedy orthopedic walk-in--it isn't broken or fractured, but something is in spasm, so they put me in a boot.  I wore the boot for two weeks, intermittently based on if I needed to drive and how much of a hassle it was, and no surprise, it wasn't better.  I'm not really sure wearing the boot constantly would have helped, though.  It wasn't any better.  Anyway, I went to see a podiatrist on Friday and they put me in a big purple hard fiberglass cast!  Non weight-bearing.  For four weeks.  Very annoying.  Especially because I'm not balanced or coordinated under the best of conditions.  I have crutches and a kneeling scooter, which I like very much but which isn't very practical for certain spaces.  And I have a temporary handicapped parking placard, which will help when we go to the movies, the BTS concert, school events, etc.  Stairs are scary and I avoided them the first 36 hours, but now I can go up on one crutch and clutching the bannister and go down on my butt.  Showering is harder--can't get the cast wet but also can't balance completely on one leg long enough to shower.  So right now, we're winging it.  Last night, it started itching furiously and Mama held the fan to blow it into the cast for some relief.  Better today.  I crocheted a toe sock to get my piggies clean and Sis decorated my toes with gold-flecked polish. It's entertaining at least.

My rainy-day look

It's boring.  And annoying. And uncomfortable. But not particularly painful or even scary, so much better than emergency abdominal surgery or my back injury.  Just have to pass time. 

My homemade toe sock

So I'm reading, Zentangling, crocheting, taking my Bird Academy feeder bird class (ugh, I bombed telling all those "little brown jobs" apart today), blogging,  and watching "Agents of SHIELD."  I've culled magazines.  Fiddled with my music playlists.  Three full days down, only about 25 days left to go.  Maybe I'll be better at Feeder Birds by then!

Last Week of School!

Last week of my school term, that is!  Yep, I've almost finished my first semester of seminary.  I've just turned in my second paper this morning (having turned in the first class's paper on Friday) and need only wait to engage other people's final papers.  It's been an amazing semester.  I learned so much in my two classes--one on the Christian church, the other on feminist/womanist examinations of the Marys in the Bible (mainly, Virgin, "of Bethany," and Magdalen.)  Because I'm not a Christian, I have a real lacuna when it comes to scripture and Christian history, but, because most of my hospice patients are Christians, I wanted a better understanding.  And I got the beginnings of it, from a major outline of Christian history from Jesus through Liberation Theology and the Catholic Charismatic Renewal to the major stories of the four Gospels, plus all the church fathers and councils and schisms and even some of the Gnostic and non-canonical Gospels.  I also started growing my working knowledge of the vocabulary of theology and religious studies--mercy, do they have the words, including tapeinosis, anawim, synergistic, monophysite, kerygma, kyriarchy, apophatic, hermeneutics, patristic, dispensatioalism!!!!--and the various methodologies for studying text and history (womanist/feminist/mujerista, Black Theology, Liberation Theology, historical-critical, etc.)  Most importantly, I learned some ways to approach the subject matter from the outside, especially when it is so important and personal to many of my classmates.  Religious studies is, in many important ways, nothing like art history--truth and belief and faith come into it in a way that art historians never have to contend with (even if they disagree with your theory or attribution or date or provenance.)  It's definitely much trickier, but in many ways easier because "I believe" doesn't require facts.  I will say this, though: as much as I am a beginner at religious studies, my classmates know almost nothing about the historical study of art; they often made wild leaps based on their own perceptions without any context or academic inquiry.  Frustrating. 

And so I've applied to the MDiv program.  Yes, another Master's degree.  It'll take awhile, at 6 or so credits a semester (maybe once I settle in, I can do 9; still working on balancing home life and my type-A student personality), but will enable me to be a credentialed chaplain when I'm done (and officially, an ordained minister, I think.  That'll be "Reverend Doctor Mommy Hungry to you!")  Most importantly, I want to be a hospice chaplain for people who are outside the mainstream of Christianity or the other major faiths, the "nones," spiritual-not-religious, agnostics, and atheists.  I want to be able to sit with them, comfort them, help them process and reflect, while acknowledging all the big questions for which, for me at least, there are not easy answers.  And to do that and be paid to do it, I need to do this first.

But until next semester, what am I going to do with myself?  Actually, I've been working on a list:

• my Raptor class through Cornell's Bird Academy "Be a Better Birder" classes
• prepare for the Summer Tangle Challenge, which I hosted online last year
• I have a back up of crochet projects, including a beautiful Sweet Pea blanket from Attic 24 (I already have the yarn pack)

Those are the big ones, but I'm looking forward to reading, baking, and exercising on our new recumbent bike.

I haven't been exercising much because I injured my foot a few weeks ago, though that is more dramatic than it sounds.  The side of my right foot really hurts, but only sometimes it; it's not broken or fractured, but I'm wearing a boot to rest it.  I have an appointment on Friday to find the next, um, step, since it's not healing.

And I need to be able to walk and drive!  Especially because we are going to Texas in less than two months!  Yay!  We have the hotel booked and are working on the airline tickets.   We can't wait to see family and show the kiddos a different part of Texas, around Austin and San Antonio.  On our list right now:  Schlitterbahn (a waterpark), Natural Bridge Caverns, Bullock Texas State History Museum, the Alamo and other Spanish missions, the Riverwalk, horseback riding, and lots and lots of eating--Tex Mex, barbecue, German, who knows what else.   Plus Buc-ee's!!!!  

Also, in less than two months, the kids will be rising high school students.  High school!  And 14 years old to boot.  I'm excited for them and trying really hard not to count that we only have four years left living in the house together before college (if all goes right . . . .)  And for the first time, they are going to completely different schools; Sis is going to a animal science magnet school and Bud is going to our local school, with a full schedule of honors classes.  The last two years of middle school have been really easy for them academically (way too easy) and so I expect next year to be a difficult challenge. At least I hope its challenging.  But I know they are up for it.

Let's see.  Bud is loving his hip hop classes.  Sis is finishing up her time in our GS troop.  Both are going to camp this summer--Bud has a weeklong sleepaway magic camp and Sis has four weeks of counselor-in-training at a GS day camp. Plus horses, kung fu, etc.  We also have some movies coming up that we are planning for--Pikachu, Spiderman: Far From Home, I forget what else.  

And yes we saw Endgame.  Loved it.  Cried some.  Actually, I cried more at Princess Leia in the new Star Wars trailer.  No spoilers here.

And we saw The Prom, the Broadway Musical.  LOVED it.  It's a satirical look at flagging Broadway stars seemingly coming to the rescue of a lesbian teenager whose town doesn't want her to bring her GF to the prom.  Hilarious, touching, catchy songs.  We had a wonderful time and stage-doored afterwards meeting everyone (thought the lead "Emma" and the principal were the "swings"; still really good.)  And I bought a bright yellow shirt that says "We're All Lesbians." Can't wait to wear it to Pride, which we're attending this summer, on the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots.  We had lunch before the show at Tea and Sympathy, in the Village, which Mama had read might have to close due to rent hikes.  We had a lovely spread--high tea with amazing Victoria sponge and a nice "Rosie Lee," cottage pie, rarebit, Scotch egg, and  . . . I can't remember what Mama had (bangers and mash?)  And apparently the whole time we were chatting and eating, Glenn Close was having her lunch a few tables away; Mama spotted her but thought she was wrong in identifying her, until the owner made a Fatal Attraction rabbit joke after she left.  Wow!  I wonder if we could have kept our cool if we'd known she was there?  I'd like to think so.  I checked our pictures later; none in her direction.  Before leaving, we bought some candies--Bud likes British Crunchie bars and their crisps--next door.  

Easter happened, quietly.  Ma and Gong came over for ham, Sumi salad, heritage fruit salad, roasted asparagus, roasted brussels, and pie (they brought the pies; I had a lemon almond tart from Whole Foods.)  We dyed eggs later in the day and the kids had fun looking for them in the morning.  

What else?  We went to Vermont a few weeks ago.  And it actually snowed on us some, which I love.  We had several great meals--a lovely stop at the Vermont Country Deli (mmmm, the macaroni and cheese, and pulled pork!! plus great desserts), our favorite Scottish pub MacLaomainn's, great breakfast at Country Girl, lunch at Worthy Kitchen, another lunch at a tasty fish and chips place--and a delightful time exploring, mainly visiting covered bridges, seeing an exhibition of Grandma Moses, seeing raptors at the Southern Vermont Natural History Museum (great views and shop, too), two great bookstores, Manchester Woodcraft shop... whew!  We really do love Vermont.

The kids were in Boston last weekend for a UU 8th-grade retreat with their Affirmations class.  They were there to see important sites in UU history, from the headquarters of the UUA to historical sites like King's Chapel.  They were also there to work on their credos, which they will be presenting later this month.  And, as part of that reflection, I solicited letters from teachers and neighbors and relatives to send with them (Oh, Lambeth, I should've asked you!  Well, if you'd like to write one, I can send the details.  Stupid me.)  I know the letters were deeply meaningful for them, but "what happens on retreat stays on retreat."  So I don't know much more than that.

I do know that Mama and I had a wonderful weekend at home in our empty nest.  We had some great meals--a new-to-us Ethiopian place (spicy, but the spiced iced tea and Ethiopian coffee ice cream were amazing), a NY-style deli, and our favorite Bloodroot--and toodled around some.  We went to the Connecticut Sheep and Wool Festival, enjoying all the yarn displays.  So many pretty colors!  Such expensive yarn.  There were also booths on felting and rug hooking.  My favorite booths were in the historical re-enactment tent where they were making bobbin lace, weaving on a weighted loom, doing needle lace, hand spinning, and so many other old craefts (to borrow from the book I'm reading by Alexander Langlands.)  We saw sheep and this amazingly fluffy angora rabbits--just like touching a cloud in a dream.  We bought little felting kits (hedgehog and penguin), a small frame loom to use with some of my very lightest yarn, a huge ball of rainbow rug yarn for who-knows-what-but-it-was-soft-and-pretty, and some very tasty feta pesto cheese spread.  We also picked up several prints of pen and ink drawings--one of a covered bridge in the snow, one of an old colonial hearth, and one of some horses at a barn for Sis, plus one for Pop and Gommie's cabin.  We got Bud some local honey and also some strawberry butter.  All in all, a really great day.  And weekend.  I won't look forward to it completely, but it's nice to know that we can still have a wonderful time with just the two of us.  

It did rain off and on.  In fact, I think it's been raining off and on for more than a week, with probably a week or so more to go.  I guess the April showers were cutting it a bit close this year, heading straight into May.  But at least it's only rain.  My dad got some terrible winds a few weeks ago up at his cabin in the woods, felling dozens of big and beautiful trees, cutting off access to his property, damaging his tractor, interrupting power and water, but not hitting the house.  Still, that much damage is very discouraging and sad to hear about.  Especially because my mom was out of the country with her travel buddy Granny Q--on an amazing cruise down the Rhine, with a few days in Amsterdam with tulips and the Rijksmuseum, and an inspiring visit to Heidelberg castle ruins.  But she's back now and able to help decide on how to start cleaning up the property.

And I think that's it.  May is busy, but good busy.  Patience continues to heal and we visit her everyday to change her bandage and give her some exercise; she also gets some time to munch on the grass in the pasture.  Sis has been riding another horse to get back into the saddle, literally.  Bud has an audition for the hip-hop dance team at his dance school; he also has his annual international kung fu festival.  They both have their Affirmations service and party.  And we have tickets to BTS in a few weeks.  Then pretty much school will be out and we'll be headed to Texas!

Whew.

But I do hope to write before then.  

A Weekend Away

I had another lovely Zentangle retreat at Copper Beech Mindfulness Institute, my fifth!  I love the location--a huge, connected, multi-building monastery on a forested hill complete with labyrinth and (at least once that I saw, though not this year) Great Horned Owls.  This time, my little room overlooked the woods, my favorite view there. 

I was getting into the retreat spirit early, stopping at the other labyrinth in town--can you imagine, two lovely labyrinths?--which I had never walked.  I do love to walk a labyrinth--it's restorative and contemplative.  And it's the first thing I did when I got to the monastery, walking the labyrinth there, which is my favorite of anywhere.  I love the wide, flat, accessible walkway, and most particularly the beautiful stone circle in the middle.  In fact, I actually bought a print from the Monastery Gallery of a photo of the labyrinth, stretched to make it look painterly.  Lovely.

The majority of the weekend was devoted to Zentangle. I love to learn new Zentangle technqiues, to be challenged in my practice, and to draw with a group.  And I got to do all that this weekend.  Several of the projects were outside my comfort zone--I generally like black-and-white, non-representational tangles.  This weekend we used a lot of watercolor to make little houses and a "creative girl" (inspired by Danielle Donaldson), which would not have been my own choice, but I had such a great time tangling.  And I've gotten more comfortable with color as non-representational, meaning I'm not specifically coloring in particular shapes, but only laying down washes of color before or after drawing. 

The two women at my table were new to Zentangle and asked a lot of questions; so I got to explain and explore Zentangle with them--comfort tangles (the ones you know and use a lot), favorite resources (www.tanglepatterns.com and the books Zentangle Primer and  A Tangle a Day), tips to turn the tiles while drawing, step outs of Huggins and w-2 and pokeleaf/root and Diva Dance Rock 'n Roll, all of which only mean anything to people who tangle. There were tons of supplies, raffle prizes for many (I gave away my blank canvas tote and origami book to one of the newbies at my table who didn't win.) 

We enjoyed several fantastic meals--roasted chicken, lemon fish, roasted potatoes, the best balsamic vinaigrette, orange-y pickled beets, oatmeal with all the toppings (granola, raisins, Marcona almonds, blackberries, cinnamon, yum!), frosted lemon poppyseed cake, a variety of cookies, and delicious little cannoli--it's such a treat to be cared for this way.  It was a lovely little break.

While I was away, Sis worked her last Girl Scout cookie booth for the year and for her term as a Girl Scout (she wants to be an independent Juliette next year, without a troop, so I had my last cookie booth last weekend!)  She also got to walk her horse outside on a sunny day because the ground had firmed up a bit.  (I got to go outside with the horse and Sis yesterday; Patience was so happy that she actually rolled on the ground.  I missed it, though, because I was corralling the dogs who had spooked her just a few minutes before.)  And Bud had his first competition of the year, winning three gold medals and a high score of 9.93 in straight sword.  Yay! 

Fragment dice to choose a tangle!

Catching You Up

Yes, I've been a hopeless blogger for months, and most of all in this new year.  If I can still call it a new year here in March.  It's not just busy-ness that has kept me quiet here; I've been expressing myself on FB, in private discussions, and in the few papers and responses I write for my seminary classes each week.

Yep, seminary.  I'm a "special student" taking two classes for credit that will count towards a degree program when I apply for the fall semester.  Both classes surround Christianity--one on representations of Mary, the other on church history.  And, while there is a lot of theology, there is enough history, which has always interested me (though, usually not the history of the east Mediterranean!)  I'm also learning how to navigate discussions and interpretations of text I don't "believe" in, which is to say, the Bible is only a text for me, not a sacred statement of belief and faith inspired by God.  So, I'm more likely to look to socio-historical interpretations or feminist/womanist hermeneutics when I examine a text.  Yep, see me using the lingo there?!  I'm loving it.  I think I'd forgotten how much I really do love being a student and learning things in a structured environment.  And I'm really good at it.  So it feels wonderful to be in school again.  Which Sis and Bud just don't quite understand.  And Mama is happy to see me so engaged, if a little bit jealous that I love my "work" so much.

Otherwise, as you know, we went to Thailand over Christmas.  I'm sure I didn't tell you everything I had meant to, but between temples and food, I hit the highlights.  The other big thing to happen in January was almost entirely negative and traumatic:  our horse was severely injured around her back fetlock (ankle/foot) in a freak accident, Sis found her lying in a pool of blood (horses have 50 liters so can spill several, which looks awful), it took forever for the vet to arrive, she was taken to the emergency vet hospital far away, where she spent a few weeks.  And it took awhile for us to know if she would be ok.  She's back at our "home" barn now, but still takes antibiotics, is on stall rest, and has a huge bandage.  But oh so much better than it was.  We learned a lot about equine medicine, which I'm not sure we needed to learn experientially.  Except these things happen to all pets and big horses can have big problems.  Sis has been a trooper--sure, she had hard days and lots of stress--but she has taken great care of that pony and been very diligent and responsible.  I'm proud of her.  I'm just sorry she had to go through this.  Sorry for our sweet horse, too.  But yes, Sis will be able to ride her again and things should be all well.

What else?  We're talking about high school!  Sis got into a special magnet school and is so excited to be going.  Bud will be in all honors here at our town school, which is a perfect fit.  They've never been in different schools before.  It also means we're only four years away from their heading off to college; half that to a driver's license.  Time flies.

Other tidbits:

• Sis has decided to leave our GS troop at the end of this school year, but she will stay on as an independent "Juliette" because she loves being a camp counselor and also likes some of the council programs (like archery and outdoor cooking.)  It's bittersweet.  I've been her leader for 9 years--this was my last cookie season!--but I now it's right for her.
• Bud just finished lunar new year season for kung fu, after numerous performances.  Now he's prepping for competition season, which starts this Sunday.  He's also teaching the little kids' class on Saturday afternoons and the graduating senior on the team is also preparing him to take over as unofficial head of the team.  So proud of him!
• Mama is actually doing some studying on her own, trying to pick up some new tech skills.  She misses coding and programming and is finding her way back to it.
• The cats have found a relatively happy balance, though Hermione is still grumpy.  Or even grumpier, especially as she is increasingly arthritic.  But Eris isn't as scared of her, or any of us, anymore and, after two years, really seems to have settled in.  Romeo, the new orange guy, is just in love with Sis, whom he follows around and sleeps beside and sits on; he even guards her door from the other cats and us once she's headed to bed (until he is ready to turn in!)  He only engages me when I am in the kitchen, in hopes that he'll get a little milk. I do give in sometimes.  Albus is still our great protector; he does clockwise rounds of the first floor a few times a night.
• My mom is coming for a visit next week, before she goes on a grand trip down the Rhine in April with her dear friend Granny Quinn.  They should have a great time.
• I had a terrible stomach bug a few weeks ago.  At first we thought it was another obstruction and almost went to the ER (twice!); I was that miserable.  Threw up for hours and hours.  With a fever.  But we checked in and the doctor on call thought it was a virus. Ugh.  Sprained my poor stomach muscles and my back, and didn't move for two to three more days, didn't eat for another week, talked to all my specialists, still a bit hesitant to eat much.  Blah.  I've never been that sick.  
• We've seen a few movies.  How to Train Your Dragon 3 was a wonderful, if tear-jerking, ending to the trilogy.  Those are some great movies.  (But the trailer for the dead-dog-spirit movie A Dog's Journey that we saw before the feature was enough to start our crying early!)  We also saw Captain Marvel--NO SPOILERS--we loved it.  Really great, right up there with Black Panther and Wonder Woman, for the genre.  
• We aren't doing anything for spring break, a "staycation," I guess.  But then we did go to Italy and Thailand last year, plus got a horse and a new cat (both kinda unplanned!), replaced our upstairs flooring, and spent a week at Audubon family camp, in addition to all of our usual things.  The kids are going on a retreat later this term, with their church group.  And Mama and I are using it for a local nano-honeymoon.  We'll do some cool things here in CT that we've wanted to do together, instead of heading somewhere $$$$.  
• ....because both kids are going to camp this summer and we're going to TEXAS!  Yep, we're headed for a week or so in the Lone Star State to see my sis and folks.  The exact dates are TBD because we're still having snow days (had one last week, actually.)  But it'll be great fun!
• As for fun, I'm going on retreat this weekend which is lovely.  I wasn't going to go, but Mama insisted, which was really nice.  Or she's trying to tell me something!
• And I will end with a recipe we all really liked recently:

Slow Cooker Chicken Salad

2 lbs chicken breasts

8 oz cream cheese (choose your kind; I think I used 1/3 fat free)

salt, pepper seasonings

Spray the slow cooker with cooking oil.  Place chicken in cooker; season.  Cube cream cheese over top and cook on HIGH for 4 hours or LOW for 6-8, until chicken is cooked through (165F.)  Remove from cooker and shred chicken.  Stir in any desired ingredients--I added finely chopped celery and sliced almonds.  Refrigerate until chilled.  Actually my kids liked it warm, with pasta.  Then we ate it as a cold chicken salad.  And today I actually heated the leftovers with zucchini, onion, salsa, and bell peppers which made a kind of Tex-Mex chicken-a-la-king.

Mommy Hungry

I think that's all I can think of right now.  

Of Buddha and Boat Noodles, Part 2: Restaurant Meals

It seems impossible to capture the food we ate in Thailand with photographs, except I can taste the flavors when I look at the pictures.  So, this will serve as a record for my family to remember all those wonderful meals and hopefully also serve as some instruction in the food culture of Bangkok.  I'm focusing here on restaurant meals because street snacks will take up a whole other post.  But my mother-in-law tells me that even many of the restaurants we ate at are considered street food.  With a few exceptions, the restaurants were hole-in-the-wall, haphazard, but extremely clean places run by families.  No one in our party became ill, no doubt in part because they chose specific places for us to go and also because the food is fresh--they don't have the refrigeration to store it (nor is any of it processed on a huge, national, industrial scale like, say, Perdue chicken or lettuce that crosses the country) and they cook it at high heat to order, so not a lot of mass production and processing and sitting around.  And some of them actually had Michelin recommendations!  The flavors are complex, almost always salty, sweet, and sour together (not as much bitter and I know they cut down on the spice for us.)   With different textures--crunchy but "juicy" sprouts added to dry noodle dishes, herbs like parsley or cilantro accompanying almost everything (which they also cut out for some of us), and they don't shy away from bones and skin and heads and body parts.  They also like gelatinous textures.  There are lots of little condiments and additions and customizations to each dish.  There was no dairy (but lots of coconut milk), very little wheat, lots of sugar--mostly this was in the drinks, but one noodle dish had a tablespoon of white sugar on the edge of the bowl to stir in!  We always ate family-style; though people could make specific requests, all the food was shared (though, all the seafood eaters were careful not to hog the chicken dishes Sis and I relied on.)  There wasn't a progression to the meal--you ate what came out first and worked your way through dishes as they showed up.  Drinks were often bought separately; I almost always got iced coffee or iced tea, Thai style--which means sweetened condensed milk.  We drank water out of bottles; sometimes we tried chrysanthemum or lemongrass tea or butterfly pea drink (which was purple.)


Nai Mong Oyster Place
This restaurant has a Michelin recommendation--and I'm sure it deserves it.  Though, I didn't eat any of the fried oyster omelet, everyone but Sis and I thought they were outstanding.  The man stands at the window near his wok and stir fries the oysters, just as his father apparently did before him.  Ma and Gong have been coming here a long time.

  

Fried oysters on sprouts

Yentafo Noodle Place
Yentafo is a particular sauce, made from a particular soy bean paste, translated as "pink noodle soup."  I think this was our first foray into Thai restaurants, with our cousin joining us for the meal. Everyone got a bowl of soup (the only time it wasn't family style was if we were having bowls of noodles) and could ask for specific toppings.  Mine was pretty plain, with chicken.  

A standard bowl of Yentafo

    

My more reserved chicken version

Yarwalat at Night

The sidewalks were packed and all the street food vendors were out.  We were with our cousin again, who guided us to the best places.  We ate peppery soup with Guay-jup (spiraly) noodles--I liked these, though they were so spicy, but I could eat the little fried "croutons" you dropped in the soup--and then had Hong Kong stir-fried noodles at a separate place..  I don't think I got any photos of the food this time, which was a rarity.  By the end of the trip, no one would eat until they checked that someone had a picture of it!

Som Pong Seafood Place

We ate here with a couple of aunts and uncles.  It's a roadside restaurant that has grown in size since Ma and Gong first started coming here.  I've included several photos of the table, but I don't remember all the dishes we had.  They served great lard nar (a chicken vegetable stew dish for Sis and me) and amazing mango with coconut sticky rice. Bud ate all manner of seafood, including mantis shrimp (which are kept in a special tank because they can break the glass with what is the fastest punch by body weight in the animal kingdom, equivalent to a speeding bullet.)  There were also several good sauteed veggie dishes.

Steamed whole fish

Chicken Lard Nar, the go-to dish for Sis and me.

The dish at the bottom is sun-dried pok with keffir leaves, one of our favorite dishes
of the whole trip.

We loved stir fried greens, which we ate at many places.  They are seasoned with
soy sauce, garlic, etc.  The greens are various plants, one called
"Morning Glory."

THIS.  Mango sticky rice with coconut cream and crunchy
roasted mung beans. BEST. DESSERT. EVER.

Suan Thip

Our late lunch was at the royal Thai food restaurant Suan Thip, a Michelin-recommeded place housed in numerous traditional Thai houses and nestled in a lush garden with a canal. The food is served in numerous Thai set meals, meaning a collection of dishes that go together and in this case were served on woven trays. There were make-your-own appetizers in kefir leaves, rice crackers with peanut pork spread, fish curry, royal basil chicken, pineapple Thai fried rice, Chicken in pandan leaves, and this amazing coconut ice cream sundae with roasted mung beans, blue palm heart, yellow jackfruit, pink water chestnuts fried in tapioca, and green pandan noodles. We had Thai iced tea (which is an orange rooibos always served with sweetened condensed milk), coconut shakes in fresh coconut, pineapple shakes, and a lemongrass iced tea.

A traditional Thai appetizer, where you put various minisculely-chopped tidbits like onion,
lime, shrimp, roasted coconut, peanuts into a keffir lime leaf and eat it.

That's galangal soup on the upper left.  The main dish is a
fish rice, if memory serves.

Coconut smoothie in a coconut

Little fried pork packets with plum sauce

Very spicy fish curry in the foreground

Royal Basil Chicken for Sis and me

A very tasty peanut/pork spread for rice crackers

 

Coconut ice cream with jack fruit, palm hearts, "ruby tip" water chestnuts,
crunchy mung beans etc.

Chinese Banquet at SBL Restaurant

We feasted on a formal Chinese banquet with some of the extended family at a restaurant favored by Ma's dad, Lao Gong, because it served Teochew specialities. We had two special Teochew appetizers (one was a cold pork jelly and the other was sauteed duck tongue), crispy pork skin, fried fish, soy sauce fish, Peking duck rolls, crispy duck, crab with scallions, stir fried pork, noodles, shrimp shumai, chilli prawns, sauteed goose feet, fried taro nest, sauteed sea cucumber, chicken soup with young bamboo, custard buns, taro bread with red bean paste, and tapioca taro dessert soup with coconut milk, plus chrysanthemum tea. Whew.  Most of this was passed around via Lazy Susan; all of it was family style. 

Sauteed crab with scallions and peppers

Roasted pig--you eat the crispy skin first and then they take the pork
and stir-fry it

The lazy Susan at work--that's young bamboo chicken soup in the foreground

A lovely little custard bun

Snow fish in sweet soy sauce

Sauteed goose feet

Cold jellied pork 

Fried crab

Stir-fried sea cucumber

Soy sauce noodles, served at the end so guests don't fill up on cheap carbs

Refreshing chrysanthemum tea and a steamed taro bread

Dessert--taro soup with coconut milk and gingko beans

Ban Ong Restaurant by Canal

We had a delicious lunch at a restaurant the family has long visited--it was Lao Gong's favorite restaurant (he is Mama's grandfather), with his favorite green curry with egg omelet.  There were also chicken wings, sauteed vegetables, and a lovely chicken with royal basil dish for Sis and me. Goo and Gong tempted the fates by eating the super spicy boar, which neither could finish. The amazing dessert was taro dumplings in fresh coconut cream. And we liked the lychee iced tea, and sharp and a bit salty sparkling limeade (like at our Vietnamese restaurant back home.)

Omelet and Royal Basil Chicken

Various drinks and dishes, family style

Stir-fried wild boar.  SPICY! 

Coconut milk with noodles and taro.  So good.

Boat Noodle Place in Ayutthaya

"Boat Noodles" are a Thai speciality, so called because they were (and still sometimes are) sold by purveyors in boats on the Chao Praya.  These are small bowls--a regular adult could probably eat four or more in a serving.  And you can get all manner of meats and toppings.  Yum!  This place is famous for its boat noodles and it was packed--we sat at three separate tables across the entire place.

The various toppings

A snack of sesame-fried bananas while we waited.  So good!

Thai iced tea, which is essentially rooiboos with sweetened condensed milk.

Boat noodles!

  

A sweet palm sugar sponge cake with shredded coconut.

Shabu Shabu at MK Restaurant

This is like a Thai Friendly's, with lots of meal options and lots of desserts.  We had hot pot, where you cook various meats and veg in the center pot.  Ours had pork and chicken, I think.

Fast Restaurant
Yep, sometimes I just didn't know the names of where we were eating.  Thai has 44 letters and 22 vowels, plus inflection symbols!  So I gave the places nicknames, like the fast place.  We ordered a dozen or more dishes (which are usually relatively small, less than a US entree--each dish would give each of us a small serving) and they kept coming and coming.  We ate to make room for the next plate.  So good!  I don't see a photo of it, but this place is known as one of the best places for Tom Yom Goong soup--it was spicy and sour and complex.  I liked it thought I couldn't eat much of it.

Most restaurants and shops are narrow, at least in the first room or so facing
the street.  

You can almost always see them cooking and prepping your food.  In many places,
we walked past or through the prep area to get to our seats.

This place expanded out some in the back.

Mee Krop--sweet and sour crunchy noodles with sprouts

Ketchup macaroni with Worcestershire Sauce.  This has long been a family dish--but Mama didn't know it
was from a restaurant and not made up by her grandad.  Nope, it's a "real" thing.

Chicken Lard Nar

Sauteed Morning Glory

"Lime-y" noodles

Omelet

Noodle Meal by Ma and Gong's House

This is the meal that bit me.  I was happy to order Gua Tiew (wide white) noodles with minced pork and dug right in, only to find fish balls, fish cakes, and cilantro!  UGH.  My least favorite meal.  I downed an entire iced coffee to get rid of the taste.  Betrayed.  Luckily, everyone else was happy and didn't notice.  I ate a lot of fried wontons and turnips that night.

Even the minced pork had some fish in it, or was fried with the fish.

One-Hundred Year Old Restaurant
If I understood correctly, this restaurant is owned by a distant cousin of Gong's family (or of Gong's brother-in-law's family.)  A hundred years ago or so, the ancestor living in this small, traditional village by the river, paid an official to re-route the railroad away from town so that it didn't destroy their community.  The track went 4 km away and it is still a sleepy little place, with wooden houses from 100+ years ago, including this restaurant which is famous for its crispy fried wontons.

Crispy wontons as the base for pad thai.  Yum!

A chicken dish for Sis and me (Pad Si Ew, I think)

Royal Basil Chicken

Noodles with teensy tiny little red shrimp--can you see them?

Can you see them now?  They look like little chili flakes, but with black eyes. Apparently,
these are a very traditional flavoring in Thailand.

Siam Paragon Mall Food Court
So much better than any American food court I've ever been in.  Instead of crappy mall-only chains (like Sbarro or the oily Chinese or some random taco place like Texas Tacos or whatever), the purveyors at the food courts we went to were top Bangkok restaurants serving their best dishes.  Apparently, they compete to be in the malls!  So much variety, so much good food.  We had pad thai, lard nar, Heianese chicken, and I forget what else--and that was just scratching the surface!  I could have eaten there for days.  And this was the food court.  There were actual mini-restaurants in another section of the mall, serving sit-down meals.

Chicken Lard Nar and Heianese Chicken

I think that's the Pad Thai.

Breakfast at the Hotel

Breakfasts in Asia are not the egg-and-carb fests we have here and in Europe.  You start with either a broth soup or a rice porridge (congee or jook) and add toppings like vegetables, various meatballs, lots of pickled condiments, etc.  Mama and the kids loved having this a few times to start our day.

The porridge breakfast toppings

Feeding the Monks

The last meal to discuss isn't actually one we ate--it was the one we bought the monks.  Thai monks take their begging bowls out after sunrise to collect donations for their day's meals (which they traditionally eat before noon; monks who have followers collect food for them too, as little boy monks don't go out begging.)  It's become quite organized, with monks going to certain places where vendors have pre-arranged meals that people can purchase and gift them.  Ma bought a meal for each of us to give a monk, plus some extra fried doughnuts.  The monk opens the bowl and you put the food in, careful NOT to touch the bowl or the monk if you are a woman (don't get me started.)  Then the monk will give a blessing or a lesson and preside over a quick finger cleansing ritual (symbolic to your whole self, I think.)  One of the monks we fed had a man following behind with an insulated cooler so he could collect extra, presumably (hopefully) for his followers.  I like that they get cookies!