Humor

Macarons, marshmallows and mini cupcakes … oh my!

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I’m getting a new kitchen floor this week so I have to stay out of the house. Twenty inch ceramic tiles … it’s gonna be awesome. At least it will be very nice right about Wednesday afternoon when the refrigerator makes it way out of the living room and back into the kitchen!

It’s one of the reasons I wound up driving all the way into Houston today. I got to play with my daughter Katie. On one of our stops we wound up at Petite Sweets for like two hours just hanging out and catching up on life. I love days when I get a little “Katie time.” It is so soothing to my soul.

If you have never been to Petite Sweets (www.petitesweetshouston.com), it is located at 2700 West Alabama. It is a mini cupcake, macaron, whoopee pie, cakeball kinda place, and oh, so much more! Kendall was the sweetie pie behind the counter that gave us the grand tour. Personally, I so respect a place that makes homemade pistachio marshmallows. Don’t you?

After making our selections, Katie and I settled down at a table with the small assortment of sweet delights. My personal favorite was the salty caramel macaron and the oatmeal whoopie pie. I took home a chocolate toffee cakeball and a red velvet macaron for hubby. Next time I’m loading up on some of their mini cupcakes.

Life … it doesn’t get any better than hangin’ with your daughter and sharing a whoopie pie.

My happy place is a quilt shop

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One of my New Year’s resolutions many months ago was to make up several scrappy quilts to have on hand. That’s so I don’t look like a deer in bright headlights about to get creamed by an eighteen wheeler when someone asks for a donation for their next fundraiser. I know what you are thinkin’. What is up with the Christmas fabric? It’s nearly the Fourth of July. I like to be prepared. Part of my Girl Scout training.

So this particular quilt was created with a disappearing nine patch pattern from my stash of Christmas fabrics. Easy and breezy! I promise to blog about the pattern in a future post. My friend Debbie demonstrated the pattern one day at Prayer Quilt Ministry. She is awesome! It’s my new favorite pattern if you need to create a quilt top quickly.

So last night I pulled out some of the larger fabric pieces from my personal stash that would be enough to bind the quilt. For you non-quilters, the “binding” is the edging that finishes off the quilt. One-half yard is about the right size but my options were limited. I didn’t like the all-over candy cane fabric for the quilt. And the batik with the red and white berries wasn’t speaking to me either.

It’s why today I traveled to The Quilt Room, http://www.thequiltroomhuffman.com, to purchase some binding fabric. The ladies are so nice at The Quilt Room and are always up for pulling down bolts of fabric for auditioning purposes. Adela helped me pull some Christmas fabrics over to the cutting table so we could figure out if any had potential. Laura, who also works at The Quilt Room chimed in with a thumbs-up or a thumbs-down. I came out of there one happy Girl Scout camper with a half-yard of dark green foliage and tiny red berry fabric. Let the binding begin!

“Kick in the Pants” Chicken Salad

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It’s beastly hot outside. Yep … summer in Texas. So what to cook tonight for dinner? I was thumbing through a stack of cookbooks looking for a recipe that didn’t require turning on the oven, or the stove top, and came across one for chicken salad that looked moderately interesting. After the first taste test, I decided it contained just the right amount of cumin and chili powder. It really gave it some zing! I’ve renamed it “Kick in the Pants” Chicken Salad. So instead of literally heating up the kitchen … decide if it might be more fun to simmer a couple of taste buds instead. On a scale of one to five my husband gave the recipe a five. And don’t forget the corn and bell peppers. They give it just the right amount of crunch! I just had to share.

Chicken Salad with Corn and Cilantro
Serves four

Serve with salad greens, or roll the chicken in a wrap for a quick lunch.

½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
½ cup rice vinegar
¼ cup freshly squeezed lime juice (about 2 limes)
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
½ teaspoon granulated garlic
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
½ teaspoon Tabasco or other hot sauce
4 cups cubed cooked chicken
2 ears yellow corn, kernels removed
½ cup chopped cilantro
½ red bell pepper, diced
4 green onions (white and green parts), thinly sliced

To make the dressing, whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, lime juice, chili powder, cumin, garlic, salt, pepper and hot sauce in medium bowl.

Add cubed chicken, corn, cilantro, bell pepper, green onions and stir well to coat. Serve cold or at room temperature.

Adapted from “Pure Flavor” by Kurt Beecher Dammeier

Top 10 favorite things to do in New Orleans – part 2

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Part two of our favorite things about New Orleans involve food, lodging, transporation, worship and a fantastic museum!

Cajun and Creole food is abundant in New Orleans so why not make it a quest? I was in search of the best cup of gumbo and am delighted to announce I found it at Mulate’s, http://www.mulates.com, near the convention center! Try a bowl of their Zydeco Gumbo, which is roux-based with shrimp, chunks of sausage, chicken and okra. It had just the right amount of heat … enough to make my nose drip … but just one nostril which was perfect. You may want to make your quest all about red beans & rice, meat pies (had one … delish), alligator, boudin balls (hubby’s personal favorite), crawfish etouffee, jambalaya or even oyster po’boys. Another restaurant I recommend is Mother’s, http://www.mothersrestaurant.com, at 401 Poydras Street. No need to dress up if you are going to Mother’s. They have been around since 1938 and know how to cook New Orleans cuisine. And they have some downright righteous gumbo! If you find yourself hungry for breakfast in the morning why not stop in at Oceana, http://www.oceanagrill.com, located at 739 Conti Street, in the French Quarter. We split the St. James Crepes loaded with shrimp and crabmeat. Thank goodness the waitress warned us it was plenty for two!

Okay … so you have to sleep somewhere when in New Orleans. The French Quarter has lots of great options. If you want to get a few hours of great sleep we steer clear of places on Bourbon Street. We are not late-night party animals. Actually, we try to stay away from most places adjacent to Bourbon Street. If you like garbage trucks, motorcycles and party-goers all through the night go ahead … I dare you! We love the Monteleone Hotel, http://www.hotelmonteleone.com, located at 214 Royal Street. With over 600 rooms you can easily request a quiet room and be assured to get one. Be sure and check out the Carousel Bar. Opened in 1949, it is the only revolving bar in New Orleans and makes one complete revolution every 15 minutes.

We found several interesting transportation options while in New Orleans. The street car ride down St. Charles’ Garden District is lots of fun. There are also romantic horse-drawn carriages clip-clopping all through the French Quarter. Jackson Square seems to be where they hang out. But for short hops around the Quarter why not try a bike taxi? FYI bike taxis can accommodate 2 riders and charge one dollar per block per person. If you’ve walked all day, a ride back to your hotel may well be worth the buckage! Our favorite pedaler was Russell, a 3-year pedal veteran in the bike taxi world and also college graduate with a double major. He can’t find a job so Russell pedals people around 60 hours a week. He toted us from Harrah’s Casino to Café du Monde for some late-night beignets. And yes … they accept tips!

We love to attend Mass in a city we are visiting. On our last visit to New Orleans we attended Mass at St. Louis Cathedral, http://www.stlouiscathedral.org, located at 615 Pere Antoine Alley, in Jackson Square. St. Louis was founded in 1720 and is the oldest Cathedral in North America. This time we stayed on Poydras Street in the Business District. The hotel was walking distance to St. Patrick’s. http://www.oldstpatricks.org, located at 724 Camp Street. The lovely church dates back to the early 1800’s and has the most amazing stained glass! There are three beautiful murals behind the altar painted in 1841 that are worth feasting your eyes on, particularly the one that depicts The Transfiguration.

I saved the jewel of New Orleans for last. The National WWII Museum http://www.nationalww2museum.org is located on Andrew Higgins Drive between Camp and Magazine Street. The museum itself is filled with interesting WWII history presented in state-of-the-art fashion. My favorites were the occasional alcoves with bench seating. They show mini-movies, or slides, and a personal narrative. Also, be sure and reserve tickets for the 4-D movie “Beyond All Boundaries” narrated by Tom Hanks. The movie is 45-minutes long, and literally, a moving experience. I will not give any surprises away. Don’t forget to head across the street where six WWII-era aircraft hang from the ceiling. That is also the location of “Final Mission: The USS Tang Experience,” the most decorated submarine during WWII. This interactive exhibit (tickets also required) is located in the US Freedom Pavilion: The Boeing Center. You will learn about the final mission of the submarine. Each person is given a card of one of the crew. You will report to a station on the sub and participate in the final mission. The story is quite moving. Only a few survived. Find out after the mission if you were one of them. A special exhibit entitled “Guest of the Third Reich: American POW’s in Europe” is also very interesting and should not be missed. This exhibit ends July 7, 2013. The museum houses a soda shop (Jeri Nims Soda Shop) and a full-service restaurant (called American Sector) as well as several excellent gift shops. A museum expansion is scheduled to open later this year, with another expansion opening in 2014, so you will be going back for years to this amazing museum and loving tribute to all who served.

Top 10 favorite things to do in New Orleans

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This past week hubby and I traveled to New Orleans for four fun-filled days to celebrate 41 years of marriage. May is a great month to visit the city of gumbo, beignets and all the French Quarter has to offer. So here is part one of my top ten list:

Since 1862, Café du Monde, http://www.cafedumonde.com, has been generously sprinkling powdered sugar over their tasty beignets (French donuts). If you don’t do anything else while in New Orleans stop here! Note to self … if you wear black … be prepared to be covered with powdered sugar. Everyone else is. With eight café locations, their oldest is in the French Market at 800 Decatur Street across from Jackson Square. Look for the green and white awning and just sit down at an open table. Someone will be there to take our order shortly! This location is open 24 hours a day, except on Christmas and the occasional hurricane. FYI … beignets are served in orders of three. I’m not going to tell you how many orders to get. You will have to figure that one on your own. Paired with creole coffee, hot chocolate, or milk, there isn’t anything more decadent!

Stroll down bawdy Bourbon Street in the French Quarter just once in your life so you can cross it off your bucket list. For the faint-hearted, make that visit during daylight hours. The street is loaded with bars, restaurants, strip clubs and hotels. I got way too close to the door of a strip club and was asked if I would like to step in for a pole dancing lesson. Really? I didn’t know whether to feel mortified or glorified at that moment. Streets get crowded with party-goers later in the day carrying around plastic fish bowl-shaped glasses of mind-altering liquid. And yes … drinking alcoholic beverages while strolling down the street is legal in New Orleans.

You can book and pay for all kinds of tours on http://www.NewOrleans.com before you even leave home. I recommend the French Quarter Ghost Walking Tour (ages 13 and up). With choices like the “The Vampire Tour” (I’m scared of vampires so we couldn’t do that one), “Voodoo Tour,” a “Cemetery History” tour, we opted for the “French Quarter Ghost Tour.” The meeting location for this particular tour company, http://www.hauntedhistorytours.com, was Rev. Zombies Voodoo Shop in the French Quarter with departure times at 6 pm and 8 pm. People … these walking tours are VERY popular! Reservations in advance make life so easy. Cost is $20 per person and lasts 2 hours. Wear good walking shoes! Your guide takes a group of 20 for a stroll through history stopping in front of haunted locations and imparting stories of woe through the ages. Note there is a bar/drink break halfway through the tour at Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop/bar (also haunted).

Browse through the many art galleries in the French Quarter. Our absolute favorite is the Rodrigue Gallery http://www.georgerodrigue.com at 730 Royal Street. It is the home of George Rodrigue’s Blue Dog. You will fall in love with his bold use of color and the many interesting images and situations of Rodrigue’s Blue Dog, which by the way is not always blue. So the art is pricy, but hey, he has an affordable line of children’s books and prints a yearly calendar you can purchase on-line. Oh, if you prefer to wear your art, my daughter’s favorite t-shirt is a Blue Dog version we purchased several years ago at the Blue Dog Cafe (www.bluedogcafe.com) in Lafayette. You can also enjoy his art at Mulate’s, http://www.mulates.com, 201 Julia Street, a New Orleans Cajun Restaurant over by the Convention Center where I had my favorite bowl of gumbo. Spoiler alert … more about that in my next blog.

The New Orleans Cooking School located at 524 St. Louis Street has been in existence for almost 30 years. Who knew? I didn’t. Their lively cooking demonstrations and entertaining history lesson cost $29 per person and can also be reserved through http://www.NewOrleans.com. We signed up for their 10 a.m. morning class. Allow at least 2 hours and come hungry, as part of the experience is getting to feast on the goodies they prepare! Each class seats about 60 and is very popular so reserve ahead of time. We sat next to a family who was coming to the school for the third time. Michael, our awesome host, cooked Shrimp and Artichoke Soup, Crawfish Etouffee, Bread Pudding and Pralines. Not only did we leave with full tummies, we also were given copies of the recipes that were cooked. I also understand they have a hands-on cooking class. Cost is obviously more with smaller numbers in the classes. Check the website for details.

Be sure and stop by my blog next time to learn about the food, where to stay … and not stay, interesting transportation options, historic churches and our absolute favorite museum in New Orleans.

Almost home

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Ricky on the flight lineIn less than thirty hot, dusty days our Air Force son will return to the states after his six-month deployment in the Middle East. Yep … his happy reunion with our daughter-in-law is finally in sight. His parents will have to wait until later this year to hug on him.

So far Ricky and Kate have missed spending together Turkey Day, Christmas, New Year’s, Valentine’s Day, Easter, and next week, the anniversary of his birth. Which reminds me … I’ll never forget the size of his ginormous feet the day he was born. Seriously thought I’d birthed a Great Dane puppy … a very cute Great Dane puppy.

My husband and I FaceTime (Apple’s version of Skype) with Ricky every Sunday around the breakfast table before heading to church. It was during our lively chat about what Ricky will not miss … flies, sand and yucky-tasting chicken patties … that we changed the subject to his birthday. I’d already mailed his birthday package a few days before and learned I might be in trouble.

“Do you guys celebrate birthdays at the base?” I asked.

Of course, I totally knew there would be no Chuck E. Cheese or Ronald McDonald handing out slices of iced birthday cake. Those days are long gone … but not forgotten.

“Oh no … that is something you wanna keep secret. Around Christmas somebody found out one of the guys was having a birthday. You should see the picture of him tied to the basketball pole with Christmas lights,” Ricky laughed.

And the Christmas lights … they were turned on.

I didn’t tell him at the time … but maybe Ricky should be alone in his room when he opens his “birthday in a box” from his parents. Just saying.

Quilters R Us

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On Friday, I attended a local quilt show in our area hosted by the Kingwood Area Quilt Guild. The members put on a great show every two years showcasing their skills in manipulating fabric, creativity with design and interesting color choices. And besides providing lots of great eye candy for a fabric junkie like me, there was plenty of quilting inspiration to go around.

Some of my quilting buddies: Noreen (we call her the Fabric Whisperer), Sid (the needle-turn applique guru), Sally (perfectionist extraordinaire), Tina (she can do anything) and Kim (the long-arm quilting queen) won a bunch of ribbons between them. I’m so proud of these ladies. I credit them, and several others skilled in the quilting arts, for improving my own skills over the years. They have inspired me to grow outside my comfortable cardboard rowboat to wander through scary swampy areas like needle-turn applique, intricate paper piecing and taking risks with color choices. I mean … how can you sink up to your neck in yuck when you have friends that are there to throw you a life jacket?

It’s probably why last year I actually finished five quilts (photos are featured above). Two found a home with extended family as Christmas presents, two quilts I kept, and one was auctioned for a local charity. Without the help of Kim, who has a long-arm quilting business, that would never have happened. She cuts my quilt-making time in half and makes my piecing look amazing.

While the quilt show is now just a memory … they left me with enough ideas to last till the next time the guild show comes to town.

Ice Cream and the Bluebonnet Trail

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One of the amazing things about writing for a local newspaper is I’ve had the opportunity to visit some pretty cool places and write about them. Several years ago I went on a behind-the-scenes tour with a group of reporters to the Blue Bell Creamery. I mean … what could be literally “cooler” than touring an ice cream factory? And did I mention it’s located in Brenham, Texas which is this time of year located smack dab in the middle of bluebonnet country?

Bluebonnet Trail

After we walked along the production room floor donning our manditory hairnets … inhaling deeply the luscious aroma of Cookies & Cream Ice Cream and snapping photos … the reporters were given the option of entering the blast freezer. That is where all the ice cream hangs out when it leaves the production line in a semi-solid state. Of course I raised my hand and said, “Me first please.” Since the production floor and blast freezer are not on the public tour, you never know when you will have an opportunity like that ever again in your entire life. I lasted about 15 seconds … which was probably a world record, but I’d do it again.

The 45-minute public tour (there is a modest admission fee) is a must and runs Monday through Friday (8:30 a.m. through 3 p.m.). My personal favorite was the ice cream sandwich machine! The tour ends with a serving of ice cream. You pick the flavor. Visit http://www.bluebell.com for location and other information about tours. Oh, and don’t forget to visit the gift shop! We have a nice collection of Blue Bell ice cream bowls, t-shirts and even No. 2 Blue Bell pencils.

So what is your favorite Blue Bell Ice Cream flavor? Mine … Peaches & Homemade Vanilla.

The next book in the queue

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“The universe is not made of atoms. It is made of tiny stories.”

I saw the quote on Pinterest and just had to pin it to one of my boards. My husband, the engineer, will playfully argue with me on that one. Rick loves to watch all those science shows about the universe. He also believes in black holes. I don’t.

Last night I finished a book that was a bit of a struggle. It was pretty good … basically stories about the Vietnam War … just not one of my all-time favorites. “The Things They Carry” by Tim O’Brien was recommended by another author.

Recommendations are sometimes how I pick the next title to read. Several years back my son recommended “The Art of Racing in the Rain” by Garth Stein. Ricky said it changed his life. That is a good recommendation if ever I heard one. Loved the book.

So it was that one afternoon I just happened to catch an author on television when I was channel surfing. Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni was speaking about the writing process. I had read one of her books and stopped to hear what she had to say.

She wrote “One Amazing Thing.” It is a story about a group of people trapped in a building after an earthquake. A motley crew from varying backgrounds, they were all having a most difficult time keeping themselves from falling apart. Someone decides each person should tell a story about the “one amazing thing” that shaped their lives. It was indeed an interesting collection of tiny stories. I found the book remarkable and decided the author could certainly be an authority on what to read next. In the course of her lecture she mentioned a couple of book titles. One was the book by Tim O’Brien. I’m sure I have the other book written down somewhere.

Last year I received another book recommendation and downloaded it onto my Nook. It is the one I am excited to be reading next. Rick and I were visiting the Napa area and seated for a wine tasting at a small vineyard. Across from us was a cute couple that had been dating for several years. The lovely young lady was a recent graduate from Berkeley. Between wine pours, she mentioned just finishing “Gone Girl” by Gillian Flynn the night before. She told me it had deeply affected her. Don’t know why, or how, but her eyes led me a place I decided to travel.

So what do you do when someone gives you a gift? You give one back. I recommended she read “One Amazing Thing.”

Do you have a book title you loved so much you would gift it to a stranger?

Taking your breath away

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“Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but the number of moments that take our breath away.”

It’s my daughter’s favorite quote on her Facebook page. Katie and her husband are currently on a European trip to London and Paris with a stop in Bruges, Belgium. Katie is the one that vaccinated our family with the travel bug some years ago when she studied abroad in Italy.

After her summer semester in 2000, I met Katie in Milan. Just the two of us then traveled to Venice, Florence and finished in Rome. The moment that most took my breath away on that trip was in Rome. I remember stepping through the Holy Doors of St. Peter’s and looking up. It was also the moment I spontaneously burst into tears. Yep, I melted into a little puddle right there on the floor of St. Peter’s. It took a Vatican custodian with a large mop and bucket a few minutes to clean up the mess my tears left behind.

You can see photographs of a place all your life but nothing prepares a person to step into that scene yourself. I highly recommend taking a large box of tissues if you are planning a visit to St. Peter’s.

Katie’s recent picture of the Eiffel Tower reminded me of my own recent breathtaking moments last year. There were many … the Eiffel Tower all lit up, Mass in Notre Dame, Sainte Chapelle’s stained-glass windows, Mona Lisa in the Louve (who knew she was so small), Sacre Coeur Basilica and I’m just getting started! Rick and I were there to celebrate forty years of marriage. It was amazing Paris … as in France … not Las Vegas.

Talk about a city that leaves a person breathless! Seriously, there should have been an oxygen tank on every downtown corner.

I can’t wait till Katie and Chad get back home on Easter. I want to hear about all the places that took THEIR breath away!