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Rafael & Carmen’s Wedding In Magnolia, TX

It’s the beautiful wedding of Rafael and Carmen Cruz Rodriguez in a rustic, peaceful setting in Magnolia, Texas, just north of Katy. Finally, the blog you’ve been waiting for. Me too. TL:DR: Everything was just lovely, and of course, the food was delicious. Take a ride with us to The Springs of Magnolia.

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Hi Again, Dear Readers:

So, I’ve been procrastinating for over a year with these blog posts and it’s time to just get it done. I know, there have been been a couple of other occasions where I put it off before. But seeing as the married couple just celebrated their first wedding anniversary, well, here it is.

Going to the Chapel of Love

Rafael And Carmen Had a beautiful wedding on Saturday, November 5th, 2022 at a place called the Springs in Magnolia. A year before, Raf texted me the date and they later sent out a “save the date” card to their guests.

This was a big fridge magnet, and I framed it later.

The pictures are perfect. But one thing it does not show is that Carmen is at least a foot and a half shorter than Rafael! That’s OK. If you didn’t know, you wouldn’t see it in the engagement pictures. But it’s obvious in the wedding pictures, as you’ll see.

Later on, the wedding invitation arrived.

Yup, framed that one too after the wedding.

Rafael and Carmen did the design work themselves. Nice work, well done. The design was in full view throughout the reception.

Travel Arrangements to Houston

And then BF and I made our plans to attend. We found a suitable pet sitter on Rover.com. She was a nice young lady who took care of our two dogs and two cats for the duration of our trip. Once we arranged that, I made our hotel reservations.

Rafael suggested staying in Katy because it was the easiest and best way to get to the wedding. I used Booking.com, and it was easy. For the wedding, I booked us into the Katy Hampton Inn, right off I-10. For after the wedding, I booked the Extended Stay Suites on Nasa Road 1 for the second half of the trip. It made no sense to stay 50 miles away in Katy when we were going to spend time in Clear Lake visiting people there. BF didn’t understand this until we started driving around Houston.

When I asked BF about his preference for hotel chains, he just said that since he’d stayed in foxholes with a bunch of guys, it didn’t matter to him. So, I booked our hotels based on location. I just wish that I had done a tad more research into hotels before we went. Next time we will stick with Hampton Inn. But eventually, everything was fine.

A few things went wrong for us. But we made it to the wedding on time and saw Raf and Carmen get married. We enjoyed everything, talked with some great people, and made it home safely. And of course, the food was delicious and beautiful, too.

Friday, November 4th, 2022

Finally, The day came when we drove from the Casa de Rurale to Katy, TX. We began our packing a day or two before leaving. Every day, our pet sitter kindly sent us pictures of the Casa de Rurale Zoo residents.

The day before we left, BF went to someone’s house to install a motor by himself. It had to be done, he said. But it was a bit more difficult than he expected. He hurt his hip somehow and was in pain for a couple of days, walking around carefully. He talked about dancing at the wedding, but thank heavens, he didn’t. I would later find out that he was blathering to make me worry a little. He was successful.

We left home mid-morning and made it to Katy in the early afternoon. The hotel was a little hard to find because I’m not as familiar with Katy as I am with Clear Lake. But after a lovely Mexican lunch, we found it and checked into our hotel room.

Early Voting in Texas

What I didn’t know from looking at Booking.com was that The Katy Hampton Inn was also used as an early voting station. That’s right, it was around the time of the 2022 election, and the hotel lobby was used for early voting. In Clear Lake, that early voting area is the Freeman Library on Diana Lane where I’ve early voted many times. But there was no way to know that the hotel was an early voting station when I booked.

We discovered this when we saw long lines of people trailing out of the lobby door. I went inside to check us in and get our hotel room, while BF began removing our luggage from the truck. Ever the smart alek, BF handed me some of my luggage, and carried the rest, loudly announcing to everyone in the parking lot:

“Hello, My name is James and I’m Amy’s pack mule.”

Yes, he actually said that, out loud, where everyone could hear him. There must have been 200 people standing out there, waiting to vote. He got a few laughs and a few funny looks, but not everyone in line was a Texan, either.

Tex-Mex

One of the things we did was to get a big lunch and takeout boxes so we could eat later. After driving 300-plus miles, we didn’t want to go out again, and the second half was enough for a good dinner. Besides, it was real Mexican food in big Texas style, and worth savoring. (More on that one in the next blog.)

BF’s brother also checked in with the animals in the evening, letting them out again on his way home.

After texting Raphael and letting him know we’d arrived, and BF talking to his brother, we could finally relax in our hotel room. It was lovely and very comfortable, and we looked forward to breakfast downstairs the next morning.

Saturday, November 5th, 2022

Breakfast was great. We had plenty of options and I had some delicious coffee. Because we did need a few small things, we headed to the Katy Target store a few miles up the road on I-10 first thing in the morning. BF wanted a new tie, that sort of thing. Once we got everything, we returned to the hotel to get dressed for the wedding.

Just to let him know what we were doing, I texted Raphael a few times that morning. Additionally, we had the venue and address loaded into the phone so we could find our way without any trouble. We didn’t realize what a long drive it was, and of course, BF was unfamiliar with the terrain.

Rafael told us to leave early since the wedding was scheduled for 3:00. He suggested we leave about 1:30 or so from the hotel. I’m glad we took that advice because we missed the onramp to the Grand Parkway twice. We were not prepared for driving laps on the Katy Freeway. Finally, we got onto the Grand Parkway and headed North.

The Drive

At some point, you get off the Grand Parkway and get onto a road that takes you to The Springs in Magnolia. That road gets smaller and smaller and more rural. It was almost like driving around our little rural area. Then we saw the sign.

Wedding venue

We made it!

And then the sign that told us we were at the correct hall:

And in the right place, too.

As I mentioned in my last blog, The Springs of Magnolia is a beautiful rural spot ideal with two reception halls for such an event. Take a look:

Wedding venue landscape

Isn’t it gorgeous?

And this:

Wedding venue landscape

And the weather was perfect.

This was the chapel-like altar setup behind the hall:

Wedding venue landscape

Isn’t that gorgeous?

Another shot of the wedding area:

Wedding altar area

A closer look at where the wedding took place.

After parking, they directed all the guests around the back of the Stonebridge venue. We sat down, and took a selfie:

Amy and James at the wedding venue, The Springs of Magnolia

We made it!

Then I texted our selfie to Rafael to let him know we were there. I also managed a great picture of BF:

James at wedding venue wearing a suit

He’s so cute!

Because you don’t see him in a suit every day. I have this one framed on my desk, and why not? BF exudes “FBI Special Agent Fox Mulder” vibes here, too.

My Designer Dress

Because I sew—and I can’t help myself—I had to have a new dress. BF has a few suits, and he just picked one from the closet. But no, I needed a new dress and something stylish. After changing my mind about 187 times (vintage or modern?), I decided on Vogue 1776, a Badgley Mischka cocktail dress from a holiday season or two ago:

Vogue Pattern #1776, Badgley Mischka

Isn’t it fabulous?

I showed it to Rafael, and his first question was, “You’re going to wear white to a wedding?” I forgot to tell him I was making it Navy blue before I showed him the pattern.

And you know I had to have that FRINGE! A quick trip to Etsy and I got some that arrived a week later. I stitched it to the drape and removed it when we got home to wash the dress. The intent was to have snaps to hold the fringe onto the drape, then remove the fringe for washing and storage. But I didn’t get that done on time. (I did the snaps a few weeks ago, as I’ll explain in an upcoming blog post.) It’s fully lined, too.

Unfortunately, I don’t have a good picture of me wearing the dress. . .so, it’s Navy blue, and yes, it does have the long fringe hanging off the drape. And I can’t say it looks just like that on me. Plus, I won’t bore you about how it swings when you walk or how it gets in the way when you’re seated.

The Wedding

Although everybody arrived and was seated on time, the wedding started just after 3:00 pm, maybe 15 minutes or so. But once it did, everything went smoothly. A few of Rafael’s groomsmen were members of the Texas State Guard. They were dressed in uniform for the wedding.

Wedding groomsmen

Three are military; Rafael is the big dude on the left.

Then came the bridesmaids, one at a time.

Bridesmaid #4

Get a look at that dress!

Isn’t that an interesting color?

There were four ladies:

Bridesmaid 2

Same color, slightly different style

I say “interesting” because bridesmaids’ dresses are usually pastel colors, like pink or blue, or darker colors like red, blue, purple, etc. Not here. These ladies were all were drop-dead gorgeous:

Bridesmaid 4

Yes, I know, I got the cameraman’s equipment in the shot.

They used this gorgeous and dramatic fall color for the bridesmaids’ dresses and throughout the entire wedding. The flowers all matched, from the bouquet to the cake and table flowers.

Here Comes the Bride!

And then it was Carmen’s turn to walk in her very intricate gown.

Carmen and her son walking up the aisle

Just a few days before the wedding, Carmen’s abuela (grandmother) in Puerto Rico passed away suddenly, and her father had to go back to Puerto Rico to tend to her final arrangements. So, it was up to Carmen’s son to walk her up the aisle. He handled the job perfectly.

Carmen and her son

Here she is!

We were in aisle seats, so I got some great pictures, even if the official photographer’s equipment was in some of the shots.

WEdding ceremony

I told you he was taller. And Carmen is wearing heels!

Married

The wedding ceremony went off without a hitch—well, none that we noticed. Once the minister pronounced them married, they walked back down the aisle together. Now husband and wife:

The sun came in at the right time, yes?

Raphael was impressed at some of the pictures I showed him, so he asked me for copies. Since they’re uploaded into Shutterfly, I just shared a link to the online album with him. He could easily see and download the entire collection. I think he even used one or two of my shots in his social media.

Then, they posed for a bunch of pictures, naturally! When the pictures were all finished, they went in first. I took this one, which I thought was pretty good:

Carmen and Rafael married

They look fantastic!

And they both released this one from their official wedding photographer on their social media accounts.

Married! We were literally sitting right there when this was taken.

Then it was time to socialize and have a reception for these two.

Pre-Reception Appetizers

We were led onto the back veranda until they opened the hall an hour later. The workers wouldn’t let us into the hall just yet, so there were appetizers outside in the beautiful cool sunset:

Appetizer menu

Oh, my word. Ceviche!!!

I didn’t mind. . .except that the sole split from my right shoe as we were walking up the stairs, and my um. . .Spanx was showing a little from the bottom of my dress. Well, it wasn’t our wedding, right? Someone was kind enough to discreetly tell me, but the staff wouldn’t let me inside to fix the Spanx.

BF very kindly went out to the truck to get my other shoes.  I wore a pair of Navy Crocs flats with a fancy Badgley Mischka cocktail dress, including the long fringe on the drape. The other option was black duct tape around my shoe. Oh, that’s classic, right? (Classic dork!) I later wished I’d gone with the duct tape, but I’ll explain why later. (I have since found some shoe glue on Amazon, which I’ll add to my next order.)

We met many great people, all friends and family of the now-Mr. & Mrs. Rodriguez, while enjoying some delicious nibbles:

Charcuterie

I could have stayed here for the whole reception, but thankfully, we didn’t.

Ceviche And Empanadas

The servers were passing these cups of ceviche, the South American fish dish that is “cooked” with lime juice.

Ceviche in a cup with guacamole

Ceviche! It was SO GOOD!

This picture of the ceviche came out pretty good, yes? It was delicious, and it included a dollop of guacamole. I also plated it to show the details:

Plated ceviche

Naturally, BF wouldn’t touch the ceviche–too exotic, even if he does like shrimp. He doesn’t know what it is or what to do with it, and lime is involved so that’s a no. That’s just more for me! But he enjoyed the charcuterie nibbles. Servers also passed around these delicious Puerto Rican empanadas, but I only had a beef one.

Emapanada on a plate

These were also delicious.

BF had one or two, and he enjoyed them. I kept saying “gracias” each time I was near a server because everything was so tasty.

Yes, I’m afraid “gluten-free” went out the window this time. But like everything we had, it was delicious. I can’t tell you what “Puerto Rican style” meant, but I may ask Rafael one day. When we worked together, I used to tell Raf that if ever I had a Hispanic boyfriend, his mother would be on the hook for Spanish cooking lessons.

Inside The Hall

The staff were putting the finishing touches on everything, I suppose, and getting ready for the delicious dinner meal. We sat with some nice people and had some great conversations. After about an hour of hanging out on the back veranda in the beautiful weather, they directed us to the front door. We were greeted by an enlargement of one of the engagement pictures:

Seating arrangements were posted, and we found our way to our table.

Notice how the design matches the wedding invitation, too.

We signed the little hearts:

And I think there was a book, too.

The tables and arrangements were perfectly arranged, and included the rust color from the dresses and flowers we saw earlier:

Let’s put it this way: nothing was left to chance, and every detail was taken care of to the letter, in the same fashion as Southern Oaks Plantation does.

Cocktails, The Dinner Menu, Including Dessert

I knew about the dessert menu in advance, because Raf showed it to me. But the dinner menu was a bit of a surprise:

Dinner menu

Interesting, no?

New York Strip Steaks? Yes, thank you! And the addition of chimichurri sauce was nice, too.

Everything was so good.

I also tried the Pollo Tropical, aka “Tropical Chicken.”  BF also had the steak because Pollo Tropical was too exotic for him. Besides, there were cute little desserts to sample after dinner.

Longtime readers may remember the day I made my chimichurri sauce after being gifted an oregano plant. Chimichurri normally includes vinegar, so I suggested to BF that he pass on it, which he did. But guess what? It was very delicious and garlicky but with no detectable vinegar taste. They must have omitted the vinegar. I offered to let BF try some, but he declined. He did enjoy the steak and everything else on the menu.

Yes, there was a wedding cake, keep reading. But we also checked out the mini desserts.

Because, why not?

I don’t have a picture of it, unfortunately, (or I can’t find it) but there were also his-and-her specialty cocktails at the bar. The “her” cocktail was a Mango Margarita, and I had to have one. BF was driving, and he doesn’t drink, ever, so me drinking one wasn’t a big deal. (There was also champagne somewhere in there, and I only had one.) Although it was quite a strong cocktail, I didn’t feel it, probably because of the nibbles and dinner. Even if I had become a bit tiddly, we had our phones and Google Maps to get us back to the hotel, and he would be driving anyway.

The Cake!

Of course, because there was a wedding, there was also a beautiful wedding cake.

Lots of lovely details. The flowers and pearl detail are just exquisite:

Closeup of wedding cake decoration and detail

That’s a lot of work, for sure.

Oops! That’s one detail nobody asked for:

It was a big cake and needed careful handling, so a fingerprint shouldn’t be a surprise, really. Everyone handling or serving food wore gloves. We each had a slice of this delicious vanilla cake with a rich vanilla frosting. Two thumbs up here.

Other Reception Activities

We found our table and were seated with another couple who have known Rafael for many years. During the reception, we met many different people from all over Texas (I think we were the only ones from this side of the Sabine), and for me, it felt like “home.” I’m used to being around lots of different kinds of people, especially after working in the Houston Medical Center, Rice University, Compaq, and Boeing for eight years. (I was the only Boeing alumni who attended, although others were invited.) BF spoke with lots of new people that night and throughout the trip.

Remember when I said everything was perfectly matched? I wasn’t kidding. Even the napkins on the tables were that beautiful rust color.

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The table settings were just gorgeous, especially with the rust color infusion:

 

Our table was sort of in the middle of the hall. We were right by the stairwell when the happy couple came down the stairs to join the reception from upstairs.

Rafael and Carmen Descended the stairs

They were not only happy but enjoying the music that accompanied their descent.

The back of Carmen’s dress was also quite intricate:

I suppose they were taking more pictures up there, but I didn’t ask. And these two were just so happy.

Wedding Pictures of Rafael and Carmen

Of course, the photographers kept Rafael and Carmen busy posing for pictures the whole time. When it’s your wedding, that’s what you do.

 

They were the only dancers:

I’ll wager a guess that their picture of them with the fog machine looks better than mine:

Family pictures were also nice:

I don’t have any pictures of Carmen tossing her bouquet. If I remember correctly, I stood with the rest of the women for the catch. Normally, I stay far away from that activity. Well, I didn’t, but I wasn’t looking to catch it anyway. Maybe they decided who would catch it, and that’s OK, too.

I managed to get a quick selfie with Rafael:

Amy and Rafael at his wedding reception

My Boeing Brother.

Didn’t get to talk to him for very long. Then again, nobody else did, either. And guess who forgot to say Hi to Rafael’s parents? I know, DUH. But it was a busy night for them, too.

Reception Amenities

Everyone received one of these cute little favors, best described as a coaster, or maybe a Christmas tree ornament if you leave it in the little bag:

Either way, it’s a pretty reminder, and BF and I both brought one home. They’re nice keepsakes for some great memories. We’ll enjoy them for many years to come, along with the next souvenir.

The Sketch Artists

We noticed people were gathered around two sides of the hall, one in the front, and one in the back. After dinner, we investigated. It seems that the happy couple brought in a pair of sketch artists to make drawings for attendees.

Sketch artists

These ladies were SO BUSY!

Wasn’t that nice?

I think they did Rafael and Carmen’s first, then sketched others as they approached the tables. We really didn’t know about this ahead of time.  Both ladies worked hard to get everyone’s beautiful sketches done. We waited until they got less busy so they could catch up a little, and this is what she gave us:

Ours was also nice, and I did see Doctor Who and his Companion vibes here. Maybe that’s just me.

Of course, the sketch captured my dorky flats with a designer cocktail dress. Now you see why I wish I’d gone with the black duct tape instead. It’s not a big deal, but again, it was their wedding. Later, I framed this little sketch, and it’s hanging where we see it every day.

Photo Booth With Video

I don’t know how to describe the second amenity on the other side of the hall. It’s a photo-booth thing where you can take still pictures and make a 30-second music video in front of a 360-degree circulating camera. We went with the pictures, but not the videos, and this is what came out:

I know, I look awful here. The dress was too big because I didn’t get to fit it correctly before we left. Bright lights, no filters, and other reasons, but lots of photogenic props for posing. BF had to lean on me a little because he was still hurting from Thursday’s motor installation. This was my one chance to wear a tiara, so I did. BF just had fun with the “wedding crashers” sign, the prop gun, and looking “gangsta.”

If you’re reading this and laughing about it now, you should be. I may try to use some photo editing apps to make a nicely framed headshot of us from one of the pictures.

We could have walked to the next “attraction” with the tiara and pea shooter in the middle of the stage and made a 30-second dance video with flashing lights and the camera racing around 360 degrees. Honestly, we had to ask about what the heck it was so we could decline! It’s hard to describe, and I don’t even know where to find something online to show it to you. Everyone was having fun making their videos, and BF was still in pain, so we just watched.

Eventually, I want to add all our pictures into a few of those little books from Shutterfly.

The Texas Military Delegation

I’ve told BF before that Texas has its own military, to which he would respond, “Oh, you mean the National Guard.” You see, he was in the Louisiana National Guard for a long time with a couple of active duty stints overseas. As a veteran, BF knows all about that sort of thing.

Except in Texas.

Someone showed us this, it wasn't sewn onto a uniform.

Louisiana has a National Guard delegation, but not a formal “state militia” as Texas does. That’s because Texas was an independent country before it became a state. BF didn’t understand, and I don’t know enough about it to give him a proper explanation.

Rafael joined the Texas Army several years ago and continues to do technology-related work for them. During the reception, we approached a couple of these Texas Military members, introduced ourselves, and asked them to explain it to BF. They were happy to talk about it, and BF learned some interesting things he didn’t know. Military guys are in their zone when they start talking about their service tenures! I was glad to see him chatting with these fellow veterans, and he learned a lot he didn’t know before.

Enlightenment

On the return drive to the Katy Hampton Inn, BF called his brother. The first words out of his mouth: “Did you know that Texas has its own Army?” I just smiled while he explained everything to his brother.

The next morning, we also had breakfast with one of the groomsmen, also a Texas Military man. We didn’t know he was staying in the same hotel. He was going home to Austin while we were headed to the Extended Stay in Clear Lake for a couple of days. When BF told me who it was, I took a picture and sent it to Raf, who got a kick out of that one. We had a nice conversation over breakfast and coffee with him, including a little more about Texas’ military forces before parting company.

The Remains of the Night

After we got our portrait drawn by one of the two sketch artists and had a small bit of the wedding cake, we left the reception.

Sketch with two empty plates and forks after wedding cake.

The remains of the day, or night

We were there until about 9:00 pm, I think.

Before we left, we saw Rafael again, congratulated and hugged him and Carmen, and walked out to the truck to head back to the hotel in Katy.

It was a lovely wedding that evening with delicious Puerto Rican-style food and a great time with a diverse group of friendly people. The weather, the venue, and everything else was just perfect. The Mango Margarita added a little tasty je ne sais quoi, but not too much.

Congratulations to Rafael and Carmen, and Happy Anniversary. We hope we’ll get to see them again one day soon.

What’s Next In HeatCageKitchen

I’ll try to get these done sooner rather than later, but now that the wedding blog is done, it should be easier.

The rest of the trip to Houston

The next blog will include the rest of our Houston trip, including a visit to the Houston IKEA store. We also visited some people: Aunt Ruth, Aunt Kathy, and Neighbor E. I’ll also tell you what went kind of sideways. That will be a blog of its own.

Another wedding

Guess what? We went to another wedding, a year after Rafael’s. This one was closer to home, in the Knights of Columbus Hall in nearby Ponchatoula, LA, and one of BF’s business cohorts. It was also nice, in a smaller venue, and every bit as enjoyable. Admittedly, I wore the dress from Rafael’s wedding with a few tweaks, including the removable fringe. That wedding will be a separate blog, too.

The Holiday Season is here whether we want it or not, so buckle up and stay warm. Winter is starting to show itself, and we hope we’re ready if we have another big winter freeze before spring.

Until next time, Happy Dining!

Cookie baking
Happy New Years, 2023 Edition

Welcome to 2023! Yes, another year. What are you going to do, go back to the ’80s? Not happening. Embrace 2023 for what it is, and hope that it’s going to get better. (Yes, the Amazon affiliate links are live.)

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Hello Again, Dear Readers:

Happy New Year! We made it to another year, and more importantly, through another holiday season. Anytime you can make it through a difficult time, I say, raise a glass and toast yourself. Even if it’s milk. The holidays are difficult for a handful of reasons, even though most people wouldn’t admit to it.

I realize that it has been more than six weeks since my last blog post, and for that, I apologize. This post has been sitting in the draft folder and I’ve been picking at it for more than a week. I have a couple of blog posts planned about our trip to Houston back in November, I just haven’t been able to sit down and finish them. Since we got back, we’ve had a lot happen, much of it boring.

We Got Sick, Again

I don’t know what the heck happened, but we caught some kind of bug not long after we returned and were laid up for a few days. I was coughing for at least a couple more weeks after it was over. We’re OK, and we didn’t need a doctor, just time to let it run its course.

I posted about it on Facebook, and a lady up north said that in her doctor’s office, they were seeing a lot of people with a “cold they just can’t kick.” Coughing was included, so I presumed we had the same “super-cold” we’d been reading about.

Of course, that set everything back more than a couple of days, too.

Another Freeze!

We made it through the holiday freeze just fine and did not lose power. However, others were not so fortunate. We were ready with our space heaters and other preparations just like we did for the last one nearly two years ago. Fortunately, we had nothing to worry about. But you never know with these things. We realized that we were much more fortunate than others. We got cold, but not “Buffalo cold.” That is, Buffalo NY, where things literally froze over.

Multiple stories of everyday heroism emerged from Buffalo. One described how a lady and her boyfriend brought home a 64-year-old man to keep him from freezing to death. She didn’t have to do that, but she did, and saved his life. She was able to notify his family and get him to a hospital, where he was later reunited with his family.

But the cold didn’t stop me from doing a little cookie baking for friends:

Cookie baking

Delicious but REALLY messy!

That’s Nigella Lawson’s Chocolate Christmas Cookie recipe from Nigella Christmas. I dropped off two batches during the day on Christmas Eve, then visited an elderly couple that evening to drop off the rest. Ended up helping them out a little more than we expected, but that’s OK, we were glad to help them. The recipe always comes out just right. Not all of them came out perfectly round, so there was some “quality control” involved. Thanks, Honey.

Turkey Day

At Thanksgiving, Winn-Dixie had turkeys on sale if you belong to their Rewards program. We bought a 16-pound turkey for under $8.

Thank you, Winn-Dixie!

It really did ring up $7.93.

Because it was just us, we decided to cut the turkey into parts and just cook half and freeze the rest. Known as spatchcocking, we cut the backbone out first, then cut through the breastbone, separating the two sides and freezing one of the breast parts. We also separated one of the leg quarters with a wing and froze that too. Mostly, we just needed it to fit into Ziploc bags.

Thankfully BF was home on Thanksgiving because I needed his help doing this. That bird wasn’t going to split up easily, and he very nearly went out to his workshop and got his Sawzall reciprocating saw to cut through the bones. I think I would need to set up the tripod to record that incident because there’s no way anyone would believe it. Especially the attending physician in the emergency room. Fortunately, we got the bird cut into parts with great difficulty and without incident.

I still can’t find turkey thighs here. I really want to buzz back to HEB and buy a case for our freezer. Maybe one day. Or at least the Rouses or Whole Foods in Baton Rouge.

Christmas Day

For Christmas, we had another part of that turkey. (There’s a leg quarter and wing still frozen. Maybe for Easter?) I also gave BF a DVD of the old Mel Brooks film, History of the World, Part 1.

DVD of History of the World Part 1

This movie is over 40 years old now

He’s a fan of Brooks’ earlier films but had never seen this one. Immediately, he cracked open the wrapper and sat down to watch the film. He really enjoyed it, and it was all new to him.

What did he get me, you ask? A small but sharp pocketknife. No kidding:

Pocketknife and box

Yes, he really did.

I asked about the reasoning for such a gift. He responded, “because you’re always using mine. It’s for opening all those Amazon packages.” I resent the implication that I order so much from Amazon because I don’t. But anytime I get a package from anywhere, his collection of pocket knives is always on the little table. Now I have my own, and it’s sharp, too.

He never said he was sentimental, and, well, the knife is. . .practical. I still cook him dinner.

Also managed to get one of Starbucks’ delicious Cranberry Bliss Bars this holiday season. They’re more than double the price they were when I first found them in 2007. But as always, there are recipes available for making your own; just pick one.

Holiday Apparel

The one thing I couldn’t leave behind in Houston was this gorgeous t-shirt from HEB:

Red HEB Christmas t-shirt

Isn’t it fab??

And I wore it Christmas Day, with an apron while I was cooking. It’s now washed and hanging up for next Christmas. I couldn’t interest BF in the sweaters that Winn-Dixie was selling, half price right before the holidays:

Winn-Dixie sweaters

I don’t understand why BF didn’t snap one up when they went half price!

Yes, they really sold these, and marked them down to $14.99 later. I haven’t seen anyone wearing any, though. Maybe the store employees bought them for the freeze. I guess it was a part of their promotion with the “Winn Win Twins.” Don’t ask.

But BF did like this from our local Tractor Supply on sale after Christmas:

BigFoot Christmas Ornament

Cute, isn’t it?

Suddenly, BF has a supply of Bigfoot Merch. If ever we exhume BF’s Christmas tree from the back room, we’ll hang that right where it’s visible. It goes with his BigFoot t-shirt and the lovely collection of BigFoot gifts his brother gave him.

The Somewhat Traditional New Year’s

We haven’t really made any resolutions for 2023, so it’s easy to say that we haven’t broken any, too. And we never got to go through the pantry or the back room, despite BF being on vacation for an unexpected two weeks. He planned one vacation week, and somehow, it turned into a second week. He watched quite a lot of TV, especially after I loaned him my older Roku device. Wish I hadn’t done that.

He’s now obsessed with Tubi, Crackle, Peacock, Paramount, The Roku Channel, and other great streaming sources. When he discovered I had the YouTube channel, he threatened to start watching BigFoot videos in my YouTube account so they’d show up in my feed. I very nearly took it away from him right then. I’ll be “repossessing” that device very soon.

Still A Sunday Dinner

As I’ve done in past years, I made Stephanie O’Dea’s wonderful slow-cooker Black Eye Pea Chili for us along with some coleslaw for myself. We can make this chili any time of year, but we only seem to make it at the New Year. Really, it’s tasty anytime and easy to make. I used the Instant Pot for browning the meat, onions, and garlic, removed them, wiped out the cooking pot, then went back to the recipe. Put the glass lid on it, set it to slow cook, and R2-D2 had dinner ready on time.

I froze half of the chili for another time. Otherwise, we were home all day and I got some work done for clients. I think I did a little bit of sewing in the evening, too.

If you are of a mind to make fitness resolutions, Sunny Health and Fitness is having a sale both on their own website and in their Amazon store. Still under $100 is the original Row & Ride, as well as the higher-end version of the same thing. Yes, I still have mine, and I dust it occasionally. I am planning to return to using it regularly, soon as I get a big bottle of Aleve.

Happy Birthday, Broccoli Stirfry

It’s been just about a year since BF brought home this little rodent at the tender age of eight weeks:

Buddy face

Look at that FACE!!

Now this derp (aka “weirdo”) weighs 65 pounds.

Buddy in frosted grass in 2023

He just doesn’t get it. That was one day when it was below freezing.

On his backside, you can see slight colorations from the Catahoula input. He’s still chewing everything in sight, which recently included the remote for BF’s years-old DVD player:

Destroyed remote for a DVD player

Yup, he did it.

It’s easily replaceable, we just haven’t done that yet. The dog has also chewed wood furniture, a door frame, a roll of electrical tape, the Dash dog treat maker, and a whole bunch of other things he suddenly found within his reach. He’s stopped short of boring a hole in the wall.

You know those winter memes telling you to bring your pets inside, because “if you’re cold, they’re cold?” Broccoli Stirfry doesn’t get that, he wants to play. But we drag him in any way. Generally, when I get near him with the leash, he knows it’s time to stop playing “Stick” or chasing leaves and go back inside. Once I hook him up, he politely walks inside with me.

Because if I don’t hook up that leash, he’ll continue to run high-speed circles around the house and around the property until he falls asleep. And you cat people thought only the felines did “zoomies.” Nope—this guy was trained by a cat:

TigerCat on bed in 2023

Isn’t she cute?

And paws like one, too.

It’s coming up on a year since BF bought him from a guy he knows through work and brought the little cutie pie home. He loves to tell the guy that he wants his $20 back on the “defective dog.” Nope, he’s all ours, and we’re stuck with him.

Houston IKEA Reconnaissance

During our Houston trip, we paid a visit to the hallmark of Swedishness, IKEA. Still on I-10 at the Antoine-Silber exit, we spent at least three hours checking out everything. The purpose of visiting IKEA was to get an idea of what’s available, and what might be good for the future kitchen whenever we get to do some updating. (It’s not anytime soon.) Planting seeds of ideas, really. I did get some small house things, but there were no big purchases like furniture.

We had lunch in the upstairs café, and my IKEA Family card still got me some free coffee. Before we had lunch, I was able to get something else—a picture of that look BF gets when presented with something he’s not entirely sure of:

James in chair at IKEA Houston

He’s got *that* look

I first saw this look when he looked into the pantry after I moved in and he saw it full of stuff he didn’t understand. I showed the picture to one of our local friends and she said, “he looks like he’s getting old! Are you giving him all that grey hair?” Poor BF was way out of his element at first. Eventually, he enjoyed his trip through IKEA Houston.

James in easy chair in IKEA

He’s become more enlightened

As you can see, he’s now fully embracing his inner Swede. (No Swedish accent yet.)

Up Next: Valentine’s Day 2023

Valentine’s Day is in about a month. If you’re so inclined, give some thought to a dinner date with your significant other. Dinner out is usually crowded and problematic, so consider dinner at home. This post includes some tasty desserts that would fit the bill. There’s also this small chocolate cake that I tried two years ago. I’ll start asking BF what he’d like to have this year. Hopefully, the entertainment will be better than last year.

And if you and your S/O like the Cranberry Bliss Bars during the holiday season, it wouldn’t be a bad move to make them in February. This copycat recipe suggests heart-shaped cookie cutters.

Williams-Sonoma has its usual collection of heart-shaped and high-end cookware for Valentine’s Day. Of course, they’re not a requirement, but they are pretty to look at for a while. Less expensive models are available on Amazon, like this one from Martha Stewart for $80 and this one from Miamo for $75. If you like that sort of thing.

Should a Galentine’s Day party be on your itinerary—a party just for females to celebrate friendship in lieu of having a partner—start planning now. Nothing wrong with enjoying time with friends.

And if you’re going to be alone for that Tuesday, well, that’s OK too. Been there, done that, and you can either ignore the whole thing or enjoy a nice dinner by yourself in front of the TV, or meet with friends who are also unattached. Have a little chocolate of your choosing while you’re at it. Should Starbucks resurrect the Molten Chocolate Latte, I highly recommend getting one if you’re in the vicinity. Not sure if the bottled version is still available, but with a recipe, you can get one made by request.

Coming In 2023 (Hopefully)

I’m overdue to write about Rafael and Carmen’s beautiful wedding in November, as well as the rest of our Houston trip. I’ll start that soon. They’ll be celebrating their first Valentine’s Day as a married couple this year. Rafael said he was running around on Christmas Eve getting ingredients for Carmen to bake these Cranberry Walnut Oatmeal Cookies on Christmas Day.  Aunt Ruth asked for the recipe, so I emailed it to her. I need to try those for BF one of these days, too.

Even though “winter weather” alternates between warm and cold here in the South, don’t put the coats away just yet. Heck, even Florida was freezing at Christmas, and it could happen again. Keep these two soup recipes handy for the day you need something warm for dinner and don’t want to mess with too much. Or if you’re doing Meatless Mondays.

I’m always looking for new and interesting topics, so I’ll be bringing those to you as well. Until then. . . .

Happy Dining!

 

Baked blackberry galette
Blackberry Cheesecake Galette

Are you a blackberry fan? I’ve got a great dessert recipe for your upcoming Labor Day outing, or just anytime you want something easy, sweet, and tasty.

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Hello again, Dear Readers:

How did it happen that it’s the end of August? Well, while were busy with other things, Father Time kept moving. Labor Day is Monday, and that kicks off the fall season in the US. Kids go back to school, fall fashions arrive, regular schedules resume, and the Pumpkin Spice Latte (PSL) returns to Starbucks. Then social media memes about pumpkin spice everything arrive, as well as other products with the flavors and spices of pumpkin pie.

Cooler weather will be coming to the South sometime around late October to mid-November, whereas our neighbors above the Mason-Dixon Line will be reaching for their winter gear in the next few weeks. Until then we can still enjoy some summery things, like today’s featured recipe from The Pioneer Woman Magazine. I know, I’m late doing this one. I finally got around to not only buying the ingredients but also baking the thing. BF is happily licking his paws and enjoying it this week.

I’m also late writing this post because for the last two weeks we’ve experienced a serious “rainy season.” No kidding, long periods of heavy rain every day, which takes down the Internet for a while. The rain kept the temperature in the low 80s, so I did turn on the big oven once or twice.

Flooded land

See? The Brazos River returns, and this was a couple of hours after the rain ended.

Never fear—I’m told that there’s a new Internet company that’s installing fiber optic cables in the area, and they’re going to be installing them on our little country road soon. After five years of the Internet that’s knocked out every time clouds roll in, I’m hoping for better service. Maybe I can finally use my little MagicJack and the (now-discontinued) Plantronics phone instead of just the iPhone app.

Prime Time For Hurricanes

It’s been a year since our Hurricane Ida adventure started. We survived that, plus The Big Freeze in February, so maybe we’ll survive anything—we’ll see.

Others aren’t so fortunate and are still not back in their homes nearly a year later. Many don’t know when they’ll be going home again.

Hurricane season isn’t yet over, because it runs to November 1st. But this is the time of the year (August through late September) to keep an eye out for things happening in the Gulf of Mexico. It’s the same season where other storms have happened:

  • Hurricanes Laura and Marco, 2020 (there were more, and the National Weather Service ran out of names)
  • Hurricanes Gert, Harvey, Maria, and Irma, 2017
  • The Big Flood in Southern Louisiana, 2016 (not a hurricane but a weather system just as destructive, even this far north of the coast)
  • Hurricane Ike, 2008 (Houston and Galveston were seriously impacted; I was in New Orleans with The E Man and his wife for nine days)
  • Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, 2005 (I drove through the Rita evacuation to Austin, it took 11 hours)
  • Hurricane Ivan, 2004

Just to name a few. We’re ready, we think, especially with all the tea light candles I bought last year, but I also think we need to stock up on batteries soon. As one of my Boeing Brothers posted on Facebook over the weekend, there are things that happen, and you don’t think about those possibilities ahead of time. He shared it on the date they were devastated by Hurricane Harvey in 2017. He and his family had to quickly evacuate their home with what they could carry, including three cats and two dogs, one of which didn’t make it out.

If you’re thinking about hurricane preparation (better late than never), here are some checklists:

If it sounds like I’m becoming a “doomsday prepper,” then I’ll take it after two power-out periods last year. Better ready than being caught unaware, right? Ask anyone who went through Hurricane/Superstorm Sandy in 2012.

I’ve got a post coming up that can help with those possibilities, too.

Hatch Chiles

Recently I headed to our local Winn-Dixie for a few things and bought a couple of Hatch Chiles. I was so happy to see the display:

Hatch chile display in Winn Dixie

They’ve arrived!

However, I went back last Friday and planned to buy more, but they were gone. One of the very nice employees said that they were all spoiled and had to be thrown out. I said, “because nobody knows what they are and I’m the only one who bought them?” She nodded.

What do I need to do—start a PR campaign?

Albertson’s and Rouses will have some, and maybe the Winn-Dixie in Hammond, too. Walmart hasn’t carried them locally, but they do have Anaheim chili peppers from Mexico all year around.

Another Year Of Blackberries

As I’ve done for the last couple of years, I picked the wild (and free) blackberries that grow around here.

Even more berries growing on vines

I pick as many as I can reasonably reach.

I walk out with my colander, suited up with gloves, heavy jeans, and my knee-high black Muck Boots to pick them. (The vines have sharp thorns on them.) Once inside, I wash them gently, drain them, and put them onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Then I put the tray into the big freezer on top of everything and let them freeze. If you just toss them into a freezer bag, they’ll freeze into a huge block, and you can’t get them apart to eat or use.

When that’s done, I start adding them to a large Ziplock bag, marked with the date I started the bag, and of course, the contents. The berries are frozen until I am ready to use them. This year’s harvest was pretty good:

Bag of blackberry harvest 2022

Look at all those berries!

I guess I’d have more of them if I would quit eating them and hand-feeding a few to Buddy (aka “Broccoli Stirfry”) when we went outside.

What To Do With The Blackberries

I like the bragging rights that the blackberries are “organic,” because we just let them grow on their own, and they’re “locally grown,” because they’re right outside. They’re picked for our own consumption, and certainly not for sale.

BF never paid attention to them until I found out that blackberries were growing wild. Then I let him know not to mess with the vines until blackberry season ended. Mother Nature provides you with fresh, free fruit—why wouldn’t you pick and enjoy them? Respect the berries, pick them, and freeze them for later. They thaw nicely in the fridge for a day or so, or you can leave them out on the counter for a little while. Don’t leave them too long or they’ll get mushy.

You may remember in my review of Emilie Bailey’s The Southern Keto Book that I made Granny’s Blackberry Cobbler. I still make it occasionally, and both BF and I really enjoy it.

Slice of blackberry cobbler

It is as good as it looks.

But sometimes, BF doesn’t want the keto/gluten-free/sugar-free stuff. He wants “the real thing, with real flour and sugar.” Lucky for me, Ree Drummond, The Pioneer Woman, came through with a recipe in the Summer 2022 edition of her magazine on page 80: the Blackberry Cheesecake Galette.

Warning: today’s recipe isn’t keto, low-carb, sugar-free, gluten-free, or in any way “diet” or “healthy.” Except for the use of the blackberry.

What’s A Galette?

Well, it’s like a pie but a bit simpler. Made free-form, it’s a French-style dessert that just has crust with an open top. You can see a short explanation on Delighted Cooking. If you want something more thorough, Wikipedia has a detailed explanation.

Ina Garten, The Barefoot Contessa, has a recipe that’s similar, called Apple Crostata, which is also very good.

In Ree Drummond’s case, her galettes use an ingenious shortcut: store-bought pre-made pie crusts. So that’s what I did. BF is enjoying the second one piece by piece as he did with the first one.

The magazine has recipes for three different fruit galettes:

  • Blackberry Cheesecake, pages 80-81
  • Blueberry-Raspberry, page 82
  • Strawberry Basil, page 83

All three use the same basic crust iteration, and different fillings with fruit, sugar, and cornstarch. They also start out by using the bottom of a baking sheet, adding parchment paper, sticking the two crusts together, and rolling them to a 12-inch circumference.

Note that these recipes are not on her website, but there are five other fruit galette recipes there. On the affiliated Tasty Kitchen collaborator website, there are a total of 79 recipes for galettes, both sweet and savory, as well as 276 blackberry recipes.

I haven’t tried the other two galettes myself, but I think nearly any sweet (or even savory) filling you tossed together would work well in this crust. Make sure to leave a two-inch border when adding the filling to the crust so you can fold it up easily.

Making The Blackberry Cheesecake Galette

So, let me just say that it does take a bit of prep work to get this going, especially since I prefer to measure things ahead of time. But the smile on BF’s face makes it totally worth the trouble. He’ll keep me around for this one, even if I didn’t do it exactly correctly.

Here’s the printable recipe, re-typed from the magazine’s instructions.

Baked blackberry galette
Amy

Blackberry Cheesecake Galette

From the Summer 2022 edition of The Pioneer Woman Magazine, page 80-81
Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Cooling time 1 hour
Servings: 6 people
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American

Ingredients
  

  • 1 14-ounce package of refrigerated pie dough
  • 2 cups blackberries
  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • Grated zest of 1 lemon
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 3 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
  • 1 tablespoon sour cream
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 large egg, beaten
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1 tablespoon coarse sugar

Method
 

  1. Place an oven rack in the bottom position and preheat to 400F. Flip over a baking sheet and line with parchment paper. Unroll the pie dough on a work surface, then stack the two rounds, gently pressing to adhere. Roll out into a 12-inch round and transfer to the prepared baking sheet.
  2. Combine the blackberries, cornstarch salt, 1/4 cup granulated sugar, the lemon zest and 1 tablespoon lemon juice in a medium bowl and gently mix until the cornstarch has dissolved
  3. Combine the cream cheese, sour cream, vanilla, egg yolk, remaining 1/4 cup of granulated sugar, and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice into another medium bowl. Beat with a mixer on medium-high speed until combined and smooth, 2 to 3 minutes
  4. Use a slotted spoon to remove six or seven blackberries into a separate bowl. Spoon the remaining blackberry mixture into the center of the pie dough, leaving a 2-inch border. Drizzle the cream cheese mixture on top, leaving the border uncovered. Gently fold in and pleat the dough edge, taking care not to rip it. Scatter the reserved blackberries on top of the filling. Brush the crust with the beaten egg, then sprinkle with the coarse sugar.
  5. Bake the galette until the crust is a deep golden brown, the cheesecake is set and the blackberries are slightly bubbling through the cheesecake in spots, 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer the baking sheet to a rack and let the galette cool completely about 1 hour.

So, gather up your ingredients, including your blackberry bowl:

Ingredients for blackberry cheesecake galette

The setup

Preheat your oven to 400F, with the oven rack in the bottom position. Flip over a baking sheet and add a length of parchment paper on top, weighing it down so the paper doesn’t fly off.

Baking sheet and pie dough

Like this

Unroll your pie crusts and stack them on a work surface—a cutting board, or another flat thing.

Unrolling pie crusts

This isn’t how you’re supposed to do this, but it was at night.

Now the second:

Stacking two pie crusts

Just like that. . .I think.

Here’s where I went wrong: you’re supposed to use a rolling pin and roll them out to a 12-inch round and get them to stick together. But because “rolling pin” isn’t in the recipe directions, I didn’t think about using one. So I just kind of pressed them together by hand to make them stick:

Flattening the pie crusts

Like this

It worked OK. Next time. Now move that base onto your parchment paper, if you’re using a flat surface, and go fiddle with the blackberry mixture:

Ingredients for blackberry filling

The setup, part 2. The reason the coffee cup is upside down is to let me know that my coffee is all set up and ready to go, all I have to do is push the button in the morning.

Add the berries, cornstarch salt, ¼ cup of granulated sugar, lemon zest, and a tablespoon of our lemon juice into a bowl.

Adding cornstarch to blackberry mixture

Just like this.

Carefully mix them so you don’t mess up the berries (especially if you use thawed frozen ones as I did.)

Mixing blackberry mixture

Careful!

Mix until the cornstarch dissolves, set it aside, and move on to the cheesecake part.

Ingredients for the cheesecake topping mixture for blackberry cheesecake galette

The setup, part 3

Into another bowl, add the 3 ounces of cream cheese, a tablespoon of sour cream, vanilla, the egg yolk, the remaining ¼ cup of granulated sugar, and the rest of the lemon juice. Use a hand mixer on medium-high speed to blend that well, two to three minutes.

Mixing the cheesecake topping for the blackberry cheesecake galette

LIke this

Now you’re ready to bake.

Galette Assembly

First, remove a few berries from the other bowl and set them aside. These will make the top look pretty.

Removing a small amount of blackberries into a small white bowl

Mine aren’t quite as photogenic, but they sure are tasty.

Then add the rest to the flat piecrust, leaving a two-inch border for the up-folding.

Adding blackberry mixture to pie crust

Careful! Especially if your baking sheet isn’t flat.

Grab a roll of paper towels, because the blackberry liquid is now running all over the place. (Thank heavens it’s pink and not red. Next time I’m using the inside of the baking sheet or buying new ones.) No, I didn’t get a picture of that–I was busy trying to catch all that dark pink liquid rolling down the stove.

At this point I transferred the galette and the parchment paper to a flat baking sheet with an air cushion underneath that I’ve had for many years but ruined on the first use. Parchment paper makes everything all right.

Now carefully drizzle the cream cheese mixture over the berries, keeping it within the confines of the center and away from the two-inch border. Start folding the border inward, creating a nice looking. . .ok, whatever you can do with it, but don’t tear or rip the pie crust.

Folded piecrust on blackberry cheesecake galette

Post-cleanup. Obviously, I’m not a pastry chef.

If you haven’t done so already, beat the whole egg, and brush it on the crust you just folded up over the side:

Brushing egg white on galette

Carefully

And sprinkle some coarse sugar on top of the egg-washed crust area:

Sprinkling coarse sugar over crust

This is the coarse sugar, not the granulated we used in the fillings.

The coarse sugar gives the galette a nice, crunchy crust when it’s done. Into the oven for 30 to 35 minutes:

Galette baking in oven

He’ll be enjoying it soon as it cools.

Bake until the crust is golden brown, the cheesecake part is set, and the blackberries are bubbling up through the cheesecake part in spots. Alternately, you can just wait until it oozes all over your baking sheet and your oven like I did:

Baked blackberry galette

Right out of the oven!

I think I forgot to take more pictures at this point. BF was sniffing around during the commercials during that gory “true crime” show he was watching. But using a large spatula or two, transfer the galette to a baking rack and let it cool completely, which will take an hour or so. If you try to eat it right out of the oven, you know you’ll be paying for it with terrible mouth pain for days, right?

Oh, and you’ve got a bit of a mess to clean up. But it’s totally worth the trouble:

Big mess in the sink after finishing the galette

You know you always have this after making a delicious thing like this one.

Let  cool, then slice it into six or eight slices (or even twelve if you’re trying to serve more people.) I found that my large round pizza cutter made the job simple. Packed up pieces in individual containers for BF to take with his work meals and enjoy some then. He’s already let one coworker try a bite–thumbs up.

Whether you’re having a little get-together or going to a Labor Day celebration, the Blackberry Cheesecake Galette will be a favorite. Ask BF, and he’ll tell you.

Until Next Time

I’ve finally finished testing five recipes for Emilie Bailey’s newest (and possibly final) cookbook, Easy Dirty Keto. BF refused to try any of the recipes this time, including dessert. I’ve had no other willing taste-testers around. So you’ll have to go on my comments alone.

Once I finish writing and uploading all the pictures, you’ll be able to see what some of these new “dirty keto” recipes are like. Even if BF wouldn’t taste any. I’m sure I’ll eventually find something that will please his ornery, manly, and non-keto taste buds.

I’ll also tell you more about our newly renovated Winn-Dixie soon. It’s in the same building and has the same floor space but seems to have doubled in size. Our little store has a wider variety of things than before and may also mean less driving for me to find ingredients that were not previously available locally.

Until then, Happy Dining!

 

 

Cover Photo of the original Outlander Kitchen cookbook by Theresa Carle-Sanders
Cookbook Review: The Outlander Cookbook

Outlander is a popular historical drama on the Starz network. Like Downton Abbey, it has a legion of fans and a huge accompaniment of books, specials, merchandise, and heaven only knows what else. Today, it’s the subject of a guest post on the food of this popular show.

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Hello, again, Dear Readers:

Today’s blog post is the first guest post to appear here, written by a writer, colleague, and friend Beverly Matoney who lives in the great state of Georgia. Like me, Beverly and her husband live rural. Unlike us, they are also raising chickens.

Beverly is a copywriter for the homeschool market. She homeschooled her own two children who are now grown and in their own careers. Beverly graciously offered to write a guest post when I was, one day, stumped for new ideas. (Well, I did order from Misfits Market, twice.) We chat weekly on a Zoom call with other writer friends, one of whom is in another country, eight or nine hours ahead of us.

I’ve made no secret of my love for Downton Abbey after it was recommended by friends in Houston and elsewhere. I watched it through the end of the series when Lady Edith finally got married to Bertie Pelham (spoilers?) I really enjoyed the kitchen scenes, like when Mrs. Patmore tried an electric stand mixer for the first time. No microwave ovens, air fryers, slow cookers, pressure cookers, or even a countertop oven at the House of Crawley.

Then, I got BF to take me to the movie a couple of years ago. There’s another Downton Abbey film coming out in a couple of weeks. I can’t wait, but he’s not entirely thrilled.

Wait until I decide to get the official cookbooks of Downton Abbey and start using them to cook dinner for BF.

Another Series

Downton Abbey isn’t the only historical series that has a devoted legion of fans. The series Outlander also has a fiercely loyal fan base. But since it’s on Starz, I haven’t seen it. It’s available on Amazon Prime Video as well, but. . .I haven’t bought one of those streaming subscriptions. I’m too busy with Britbox right now (where you can also see Downton Abbey.) It’s longer than I want to admit since I watched anything on The Food Network.

Beverly is a fan of Outlander as well as of the cooking. Like me, Beverly enjoys cooking and embraces trying new and interesting things. Fortunately, her husband isn’t the “don’t mess with my Hamburger Helper” sort like BF.

There are actually two cookbooks, and this review is about the first one.

Cover Photo of the original Outlander Kitchen cookbook by Theresa Carle-Sanders

The original Outlander Kitchen cookbook. (Source: Amazon.com)

So starting with this first subheading, and very little editing (mostly for format), is Beverly’s review of The Outlander Cookbook by Theresa Carle-Sanders. It’s offered with great appreciation and thanks to Beverly for writing and sending it along. (The links are my live affiliate Amazon links, pictures gathered from Amazon, Google, and other attributed sources.)

Enjoy!

Outlander

If you’ve been introduced to Jamie Fraser and his time-traveling wife Claire, congratulations. You’re already immersed in 18th-century Scotland and America.

And, if like me, you’ve devoured the novels, you’ve probably drooled over Diana Gabaldon’s descriptions of the settings, the action, and yes…the food.

Picture of Scottish Oat Cakes topped with melted Brie cheese

Scottish oatcakes (picture via KitchAnnette.com)

Not to worry if you’ve not read the books. The television series offers plenty of images of historical fare that will make you hungry.

You may even have visions of going back in time yourself to try your hand at knocking about in an 18th-century kitchen, whipping up some bannocks, or a nice fruit tart.

Outlander, The Books

I was introduced to Outlander in the summer of 2004 during a trip to Seattle, Washington. My friend was clearing off her bookshelves and handed me the first book in the series.

The story was so captivating that I raced through the book, then went on a spree to buy the next four in the series. By the time I finished The Fiery Cross, the sixth book was at the publisher’s and A Breath of Snow and Ashes came out in 2005.

Not wanting to miss anything in the story, I re-read all five books before my new hardcover arrived, then melted into the tale, finishing with a long sigh.

What I didn’t know at the time was how long I’d have to wait for the next novel, and the next, and the next. Sometimes the gap was 3 or 4 or even 7 years!

Just before each new book was released, I started at the beginning and read them all.

Which means I’ve read Outlander five times.

And I’ll begin at the beginning when the tenth and final novel comes out…whenever that is.

And I’ve read all the side novellas.

And The Outlandish Companion.

And I’ve seen all of the episodes of the television series.

You could say I’m a little obsessed.

Enter Theresa Carle-Sanders

Her story offers insights into how she decided to create a cookbook around Diana Gabaldon’s amazing novels.

One line of her bio that struck me was “As with so many of Diana’s fans before and since, Outlander became the catalyst for the changes – some planned, many unforeseen – that have altered the course of our lives.”

I can relate.

While Theresa focused on the cooking of Outlander, I dove into herbalism. I’ve spent nearly 20 years learning to identify medicinal plants and how to use them, inspired by Claire Randall Fraser and her adventures across the centuries.

When I discovered Theresa and her Outlander Kitchen, I don’t believe more than three heartbeats passed before I had clicked “Buy Now”.

The subtitle of the book is “The Official Outlander Companion Cookbook”.

A slice of Dundee Cake plus the rest of the cake

Dundee Cake, via FeastOfStarlight.com

With blessings and a foreword by the gracious and generous Diana Gabaldon herself, the cookbook begins with the paraphrased first line from the first novel.

Nice touch.

Then Theresa follows with her personal introduction outlining her decision to embark on a “life reboot”. Much like me, Outlander mysteriously appeared in her life, and so her culinary story begins.

As Theresa points out, the cookbook isn’t historical. Since the novels cover 20+ years within a 200-year span, so do the recipes she’s written.

But, inside, you will find historical recipes that are still common today, such as Cock-a-Leekie Soup and Veal Patties in Wine Sauce. As she says, they’ve stood the test of time.

Bowl of Cock-a-Leekie soup

Cock-A-Leekie Soup (picture via VibrantLifeArmyWife.com)

Bannocks

My original reason for purchasing the book was to make bannocks. These oatmeal flatbreads feature often in the novels, and each time I read of the characters munching on the warm breads, I wanted to make my own.

Picture of Scottish bannocks

Scottish bannocks, via BrownieBites.net

The delicious recipe is on page 238 and delivers everything you’d expect of an unleavened oatcake…even instant transport back to a Scottish kitchen from 1740-something.

Along with each recipe, Theresa has included the passage from the book that inspired the dish.

Each brief excerpt plays an instant reminiscence from the tale. Not only can I picture the setting, but now, I can taste the food they were eating at the time.

Brilliant.

Imagine sipping on the same hot broth Claire had when she arrived at Castle Leoch (Outlander).

Or trying potatoes for the first time as roasted tatties at Lallybroch from Dragonfly in Amber.

Or having a pungent bowl of peppery oyster stew to take you to the pub with Jamie and Claire in Voyager.

Maybe some of Fiona’s ginger-nut biscuits with Roger at the manse from Drums of Autumn.

Bridies from Drums of Autumn

Brianna’s Bridies from Drums of Autumn, via OutlanderKitchen.com

Or a batch of Mrs. Bug’s buttermilk drop biscuits dripping with butter and honey the way they ate them in the Fraser’s Ridge kitchen in The Fiery Cross.

Perhaps you’d enjoy a glass of cherry bounce described in A Breath of Snow and Ashes.

Diana even contributed to the book by sharing a treasured family recipe for cheese enchiladas.

The Recipes Of Outlander

The recipe section of the book is laid out with beautiful color photographs, some of the process, some of the completed dish, all of them gorgeous.

Theresa has kept the recipes uniform by offering an Ingredient section, a Method section, and a Notes section.

I found the notes section to be most informative, including not only recipe hints, but also historical references.

Of course, Theresa has transformed the historical recipes into their modern versions, offering easy-to-find ingredients in place of some of the more exotic bits from days gone by.

She’s included a wonderful recipe index for those seeking ideas to use ingredients on hand or to plan and prepare a delicious feast.

Picture of Scotch eggs

Scotch eggs (picture via Parade Magazine, parade.com)

Honestly, I read (good) cookbooks like novels. I enjoy the recipe intro, the exposition, and the list of ingredients, and I follow along with the method in my mind whether it calls for chopping, mixing, kneading, or drizzling with butter.

Each of these recipes inspires me to add to my grocery list and then make a note on my calendar, “Outlander dish tonight”.

And if you are a fan, you’ll know what I mean.

For Foodies Everywhere

Even if you’ve never heard of Outlander, you won’t be disappointed with Theresa’s cookbook. Every page is filled with interesting culinary tidbits you can apply in your own kitchen.

Plate with sausage and mashed potatoes, known as "bangers & mash

Bangers & Mash, via FeastofStarlight.com

There’s something for everyone in the Outlander Kitchen. Modern, historical, romantic, delicious, soups, meat dishes, vegetarian dishes, breads, desserts…this book has it all.

You may even find yourself daydreaming about time travel to the 18th century yourself.

 

Dash dog treat maker with dog treats
Post Holiday Catch-up For 2022

The holidays are done, and we’ve been quite busy since my last dispatch. Time for a New Year’s catchup, including our little dog Spencer.

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Hello, again, Dear Readers:

I’m sorry that it’s been three months since my last update. A lot has happened, some of which I won’t mention here. But since the hurricane, we have had much happening at the Casa de Rurale, and I’m just going to jump in and start somewhere.

Grab your cuppa, this is a long one. Here’s hoping your Holidays went well, wherever you are and whatever the weather.

The Tradition of Black-Eyed Peas

For the record, I did make black-eyed peas on New Year’s, using this delicious recipe from Stephanie O’Dea, that I’ve made before. I made it the first New Year’s I was here, and we really liked it. I made the full recipe, so we had it twice and I froze the rest for a fallback dinner for another night.

BF has an injured shoulder and might be having surgery to remove two bone chips. Ouch! This is in addition to my foot injury, which I’ll explain later. So, I’ll be playing Florence Nightingale soon. Told him he’ll need to eat healthier food so he can heal, but he doesn’t believe me. I also told him to admit the truth, and that he injured himself wrestling with BigFoot.

I still owe you a review of the Vegetarian Keto Cookbook by the Texas Granola Girl. It’s started, but I put the book down next to my desk, and I have not been able to finish that blog post. That’s hopefully going to be next.

Winter Vs. Summer

A popular meme on Facebook says that “Winter and Summer are fighting for custody of Texas.” Boy is that ever true, and we’re involved in it!

If you remember the freeze from last February, it looks like we had a break from winter this season. We had an 80-degree Christmas, and the next cold front came after New Year’s Day. My paint bucket garden has peppers, lettuce, a small amount of basil, green onions, sage, parsley, the recovered Meyer lemon tree, three or four sprouted avocado seeds that need planting elsewhere, and a little green tomato plant with flowers on it. In December! But that won’t be for much longer, some likely won’t make it to spring. The basil already took a hit with the sub-freezing temps last night.

This past weekend, West Texas saw sub-freezing temps and so did we. Hopefully, Texas is in better shape this time and ready to handle whatever comes its way. We’re warm, and have plenty of blankets, sweaters, hoodies, and socks. I miss the fireplace that I had in Houston, and I have to make up for it with the one I stream on TV from PlutoTV’s Crackling Yule Log Fireplace Channel. BF doesn’t understand.

The Post-Hurricane Cleanup Continues

We got some great firewood, and one day we’ll have it behind the house to use later. We know many people who are going to be out of their homes for quite a while.

A few weeks after power restoration, huge trucks with crew began appearing on our little back road, picking up more downed trees and branches. There are still multiple uprooted trees everywhere. Removal of these gigantic tree stumps will be quite a long time. Scenes like this are still common:

Half destroyed houst through a car window

Taken in Albany, LA, near a friend’s place. The house was literally shredded in half.

BF was able to get one backhoe operator (using a $20 bill) to give us a nice big log for the eventual wood stove he’s planning to install in the living room. After the February freeze, he decided that it would be the next phase of the “beautification project” for the Casa de Rurale. He even has one picked out.

In mid-November, more trucks began appearing with bigger equipment. This was a different company but doing the same thing.

This company didn’t observe property lines or boundaries, either.

While I was working in the back of the house, they rolled onto the property with a backhoe and attempted to take our firewood. It wasn’t on the side of the road—it was pushed far enough back to where they had to trespass on the property to get it, leaving huge marks in the grass. I caught them just in time, shooed them away, and threatened to call the cops.

Later that evening, BF was in the shop, and they came back attempting to do the same thing. He shooed them away too.

A couple of days later a nice lady came to the door from a different company that was “observing” the tree removal company. She said they were a “nightmare,” breaking the rules (and a few laws), and were terrible to deal with. They came in from Florida after winning the contract because they had the most experience. This lady said that she would mark our address as a “no go” or something. They never came back.

Rouses Recovery

Longtime readers understand my affinity for HEB, Texas’ homegrown chain that’s one of the oldest and most respected grocery companies in the US. But in Louisiana, one of the many homegrown grocers is Rouses. They carry many items that are more difficult to find where I am, including my favorite chocolate almond milk for hot chocolate. In the late summer, they’ve had Hatch chiles. Understandably, they didn’t do the in-store roasting this year, but they do have some in jars.

Hatch chiles in jars at Rouses

They still have Hatch chiles.

Never had them pickled before.

Rouses has a bi-monthly magazine that they have on racks by the doors. I pick them up when I see them. The November/December issue has recipes for some of their delicious cakes featured in the bakery, including our Hammond store.

This issue also has a fair amount of information about what they did for hurricane recovery after Ida’s landfall. This included how fast they could reopen their stores after the storm ended and recovery began. So many of their employees also suffered losses, many stores were heavily damaged, and everyone worked hard to get food and supplies into the stores for everyone who needed things. I, for one, was very glad to see our Hammond Rouse’s open, even if they did have floor fans drying up everything. That’s to be expected after rains and flooding and all that. (The Hobby Lobby next door also had roof damage and was closed for a couple of weeks.)

No, it isn’t HEB, and they don’t have a disaster recovery vehicle like HEB. But they do have a DR team that swung into action immediately. Now, I like Rouses a lot more than I already did. Many thanks to them for getting our Hammond store open again and making sure that people could get what they needed when it really counted.

The Karma Of Spare Parts: The Dishwasher Returns

After two months of hearing about the “worldwide supply chain disruptions,” I was really in a bad mood because I had to start hand-washing everything again.

Then I found myself with a stomach bug of some kind on Halloween. Mind you, I’d begun walking again in October, and made three miles on Saturday the 30th, no kidding. But the next morning, something got ahold of me, and I was horribly sick. I won’t describe it, but I was very “wrung out” for a week. That ended the walking, and I had a hard time standing up for too long.

I’d been washing all the dishes and kitchen things by hand since the day before Ida made landfall when the leaking began. Annoyed as I was, I donated the red dishes to a local thrift store and bought paper plates and bowls. That helped. BF didn’t. Nor was he happy about me giving away *his* dishes that used to be called “ours.”

But when I was ill, BF swung into action and took care of me best he could. He went to Walmart and got a heating pad and some Nut-Thins crackers so I could eat. I was hungry but my stomach was in very bad shape for three days. I was afraid of more stomach troubles than I already had.

On the third day, I went into the kitchen (he was back at work) and saw that three days of dishes were untouched. Piled in and around the sink and on the stove, the one thing he didn’t bother doing was dishes. I did ask, and he promised. It took an hour and a half to slog through the dishes before I could get anything to eat after three days of nut crackers.

I was REALLY unhappy at this point, as well as being unsteady on my feet.

Finding One

After finally getting some Pea & Pesto Soup, I pulled out the offending gasket and went looking online for something to replace it. I contacted a few online vendors that dealt in appliance parts, but none carried the replacement gasket for mine.

Then I thought: what about Amazon? It’s always a great place to start research, even if you don’t buy there. I’ve bought replacement gaskets for my Starbucks tumblers that I use daily. The original gaskets had long ago become moldy, and I knew it was a matter of time before they would break. I asked for suggestions on Facebook, and someone suggested I look there. It took a few tries, but I got bigger and heavier ones that work better for both cups. Could I have the same luck with the dishwasher?

It took a little while, but after a search on Amazon, I found just the thing. Took measurements, looked really closely at the pictures, and found one that I was sure would work. I simply needed to trim the gasket down to fit in the smaller space. I ordered one and immediately installed it when it arrived a week later, snipping it to fit. Ran the dishwasher, no leaking at all. I ordered a second as a spare and put everything in a Ziploc bag for later. Finally, the Heatcagekitchen Countertop Dishwasher is back in operation!

The first lesson learned: Amazon has a huge range of little parts and things like gaskets you can order when you can’t find them anywhere else. Just takes some careful looking around and searching.

The second lesson is that BF will get out of doing dishes anytime he can, which is all the time. This includes loading, running, and unloading the dishwasher.

Inflation

Chances are, you’ve noticed the sharp rise in the price of just about everything. It started about this time last year when the price of petrol started increasing. Shortly thereafter, the prices of everything else followed suit since shipping and transporting goods (especially food) increases with the price of fuel.

We’ve been trying to buy a little extra here and there because we know it’s going to get worse. I’ve also been looking for sales on coffee and stocking up. Mostly, It’s Community Coffee since that’s locally produced in Baton Rouge. Last week I found big packages of both pork roast and chicken at Winn-Dixie on sale to freeze in smaller bags for meals.

But BF is also buying extra things like rice, dried beans, and other things for long-term storage, as well as stashing extras in the freezer. He’s even talking about getting a bigger freezer to store more stuff. I’m sure there will be more deer sausage involved as well.

I have organized the big chest freezer with shopping bags, but I have to stop him from putting anything in there. He literally tosses things into the freezer without regard to the bags. How do you find anything like that?

We’re conscious of this, and yet we still haven’t cleaned up the pantry. I’ve asked for help, including some additional shelving to eliminate wasted space, but I’m on my own. So I have to find a time when I’m not doing anything else to clear everything out, clean it well, then replace and re-organize everything.

More Dash Appliances For The Holiday

Right before Christmas, I was in Target and discovered that they had a sale on some of Dash’s little appliances. I got two of them: the waffle stick maker, and the doggie treat maker. (This is a similar model on Amazon.)  I’ve been wanting to get the doggie treat maker for some time. I also got the waffle stick maker because I was making waffled falafel to take to this year’s Christmas party at BF’s workplace.

Dash waffle stick maker and waffled falafel mix

They were really easy to make and easier to eat.

BF, of course, continues to go around telling people that I’m trying to kill him with the quinoa and the awful falafel.”. (Not yet, I haven’t.) I thought it might be nice to make the falafel as waffle sticks, and it worked well. I, Miss Grace, and Miss Ruth (not to be confused with Aunt Ruth in Texas) enjoyed them.

Waffled falafel sticks in aluminum pan

Ready to transport!

Both the doggie treat and the waffle stick makers are slightly larger than the smaller round Dash mini waffle makers. Dash now makes a full-size waffle maker, as well as a full-sized waffle maker that makes 4 mini waffles at once.

Veggie Mash Waffle Sticks

If you follow Dash on Instagram, you’ll see there are frequent videos by a redhead who calls herself Ms. Dash, and she’s usually with young children. I don’t know if they’re her children or not, but she’s always making delicious recipes featuring a specific Dash product, many of them vegan.

One day Ms. Dash demonstrated a recipe for using leftover vegetables and turning them into a mash that you cook in the waffle stick maker. This gave me the idea to get one for the holiday party waffled falafel. I cooked some cauliflower in the CrockPot, and I added a little too much liquid.

It made a mash alright, but a very soupy one. The addition of coconut and almond flour didn’t help. Therefore, making them into waffle sticks was less than stellar. But the waffled falafel turned out great and even easier to eat.

Treats For The Pup

Now, in the case of the doggie treat maker, I had to buy some peanut butter and whole wheat flour (I know, I know), but I had canned pumpkin already.

Canned pumpkin with the doggie treat maker

Ready to roll!

It took a little while, and I decided to make a double batch. That wasn’t the wisest idea, unfortunately.

The pit bull gladly ate all we gave him. But because I didn’t let them completely cool, they went into the plastic zipper bag and became a bit damp. A week or so later, they had MOLD on them. They became possum food.

Banana-Flax Treats

Next up, some banana-based treats with flax and a few other ingredients. I didn’t make so many at once and let them cool completely then dry out a little to prevent them from going bad. I keep making them so the 85-pound “puppy” doesn’t get upset.

Dash dog treat maker with dog treats

Made these for the pup

I might have bought the donut maker and the mini-Bundt cake maker since they were also on sale at Target until Christmas. But BF couldn’t give me a straight answer. If I do get them, I’ll probably have to order them online. I showed him the mini pie maker too, but he’s still indecisive. He can have frozen pies for a little bit longer.

But our other hungry little pup didn’t get to enjoy these homemade treats.

Sewing

While it was hot for Christmas, it was very cold in the days preceding.

Some months ago, BF saw a video on Facebook for a pullover jacket made from a military wool blanket. Unfortunately, the company doesn’t exist—no website, and complaints from viewers in the comments. Still, asked me to make this jacket for him. I had to go back and look for the hard-to-find video so that I could understand what he was asking me to create.

Simplicity had just published a suitable pattern. Because it’s not exactly the same, and no stretch in the fabric, I needed to make it larger. He also requested a quilted lining similar to his work jackets. I ordered some quilted lining from a company called Wawak.

Once I got everything assembled, I started cutting. Then it was a matter of putting pieces together. As I sewed, things became more difficult, heavier, and harder to handle. I used an ultra-heavy-duty 1975 Kenmore sewing machine that was gifted to me last year. But I took my time, and late on a cold Sunday night, I finished it, a week before Christmas.

BF wearing his wool jacket

BF wearing his jacket based on Simplicity 9240, a unisex pattern for sweats. That’s his mess, and he chose to leave things in that order. (I’m better organized.)

BF was thrilled and wore it to work the next day. He received many compliments, including from two women who also sew. In fact, he wore it for two days, because it was so cold before it warmed up. When it became warm and he isn’t wearing it, the cat nestles comfortably in the hood or on top of the scratchy wool.

Cat sitting in the hood of the warm hoodie

There he is, the master of disguise, and the connoisseur of comfy.

Later I posted pictures in the Facebook group for The McCall’s Pattern Company. BF was delighted to see that his post garnered more than 600 likes. There were also more than 100 nice comments from fellow sewing enthusiasts.

Now that I’ve finished it, I can return to cutting and sewing my own things. I have two big blue IKEA bags full of projects to cut, plus two more full of cut and ready-to-make projects. There is also a bag or two of projects I’m either going to cut later or I need something else to finish, such as outer fabric for a purse.

I also want to finish a queen-sized quilt I started in Houston. I’m not a quilter, so it’s a big deal. I pinned it up in Neighbor E’s living room because he has a non-carpeted floor and a bigger living room space than I had.

RIP Spencer, The Garbage Gobbler

One of the unhappy things that happened since my last dispatch was the loss of BF’s little dog, Spencer. He was a 14-year-old rust-colored mutt, about 25 pounds. He was as friendly as all get-out, no matter how fiercely he barked when someone knocked on the door.

Spencer seated on cushion

There he is, happy. I made two of those cushions for the dogs.

The dog previously belonged to someone else, and BF acquired him not long after moving into the Casa de Rurale in 2010. BF had another dog at the time, and not long after that one passed, the beloved pit bull came along. Through it all, Spencer just wanted to be friends, because friends share their snacks, right?

Even when the cat took a few swipes at him or jumped him like the mighty African lion taking down a gazelle on the savannah, he didn’t mind a bit. Because, after all, the cat was playing with him. The cat lost, but Spencer was always ready to play or try what you’re eating.

The Appetite

Spencer was always hungry, or so it seemed. Anytime you were in the kitchen doing something, we’d be right there with his metronome of a tail. It doesn’t matter if you were getting a cup of coffee, cutting onions, or washing dishes, he was ready for you to share it with him. I thought I was going to break my neck when I fell over him a few times when he was looking for food. But he just knew I had something tasty he would enjoy. He just didn’t know what it was.

I also had to watch out for him–the cat litter box held amazing mysteries he couldn’t believe. I finally turned the darn thing around so Tab E. Cat has to go under a chair to get in it and keep Spencer out.

I considered buying the Dash doggie treat maker many months ago but only got it because it was on sale before Christmas. Spencer would have been all over me if I’d made treats for him, and he’d know immediately what it was. At least the pit bull is polite about asking for one.

Spencer also scarfed his share of cat food when Tab E. Cat wasn’t looking.

Where have we seen this before? Oh, yes—Jezebel the Step Kitty, may she rest in peace.

Walking Spencer

I started taking Spencer out for walks earlier this year. It was spring, after the changeover to Daylight Savings Time. The pit bull weighs 85 pounds, but I just can’t handle the lovable lap dog. Because if he sees a bunny crossing the road and wants to follow, you too are going follow the little bunny. So, I had to stick with just walking the little guy.

Spencer and I enjoyed going out for those walks, sometimes as long as two miles. But I had to quit when I developed a painful heel condition. Called Achilles tendinitis, it’s one of those things that I have to let heal on its own (and it still hurts). There are some at-home treatments I need to try soon because I’m still limping a little.

Unfortunately, the daily walk with Spencer ended in pain until my heel would get better, so I thought. He wasn’t going to let that stop him. One evening I let the dogs out to go see BF upon his return from work. Spencer decided to take himself out for a walk, trotting off like it was no big deal. BF had to chase him down the street to catch him because he was fast.

The Free Spirit

There have been a few times where Spencer got loose and went off by himself, casually trotting back home when the spirit moved him. When I first moved here, he went on a jaunt and someone found him, then tied him on a short leash to a tree—no food, water, or shelter. We didn’t know where he went, and he was gone for four days. We heard him howling and barking but didn’t know how to find him. Fortunately, the weather was good.

I went looking for him one afternoon and found him on someone’s property just across the road. Immediately I leashed him, untied him, and brought him back. He drank so much water we thought he was going to sink. I fed him right away because I knew he was hungry. That’s when we started keeping a closer eye on our little free spirit.

Later he managed to lose one of his eyes, and somehow broke one of his incisors. He didn’t care, as long as you had something tasty for him.

The First Taste Of Gourmet

Longtime readers may remember my discovery of Nigella Lawson’s delicious sweet potato supper, cooked in the oven on a sheet pan on top of parchment paper. Well, after BF discovered how much bacon was involved, he liked it, asparagus and all.

So did Spencer.

Spencer smiling

This is what you would normally see when Spencer was around. It’s BF’s favorite picture of him.

This dish is cooked at 425F for an hour. The pan is very hot when it comes out of the oven. Even with a potholder, it can burn you. So, it sat out on the counter, on a cork trivet. Unfortunately, it was on the lower counter that Spencer could reach.

While we were enjoying this delicious dinner at the table, BF heard the rustle-crackle-crinkle of the parchment paper and immediately knew what happened. Spencer was in the kitchen investigating the pan with the rest of dinner. “Oh, NO!” BF said, and walked into the kitchen to find Spencer enjoying his own gourmet cuisine.

Pork Chop Heaven

Another day, BF and I came back from the grocery with a large pack of boneless pork chops bought on sale. When we buy something that big, we divide them up into small freezer bags of two for the big freezer. During the process of adding them into the big freezer, I dropped several. I thought I’d picked them all up.

Nope.

Later that night, the dogs found the bags and gorged. We presume it was Spencer who found them because he liked sniffing around the freezer looking for anything we missed. He found them and they had raw pork feast during the night. Fortunately, nothing bad happened, and they were both fine. We did have to pick up shards of plastic freezer bags from the living room. That’s when we realized our little sniffer had been busy.

FISH!

BF’s favorite Spencer story was a couple of years ago. BF likes to fry fish, and it’s how he believes fish should be prepared and eaten. He fried up three large filets of catfish, leaving one piece to take the next day for his lunch. The call came to go down the street to his dad’s house, while we were finishing dinner, so we left quickly. The remaining piece of fish was sitting on a big red plate on top of the stove.

We didn’t think the dogs could reach up there, but they did. We also believe the pit bull flipped the plate onto the floor and it broke since he’s the bigger dog. Both dogs plus the cat had delicious fried catfish for their dinner. BF was so disappointed–they took his lunch! You couldn’t deny that they had consumed the fish because they all had crumbs around their whiskers.

When we discovered what happened, they gave us the look that said, “What?”

Something’s Wrong

A few weeks after the hurricane, on an ordinary morning, I was thinking I should take Spencer out for a walk that very nice day. That’s when Spencer started having trouble walking. Later in the morning, he couldn’t stand up at all. He tried to stand and walk, but he just couldn’t. The poor pup was shaking as if he were cold, even though I had a blanket over him. Lying sideways flat on the floor, his legs were stuck out straight, shaking, alternating between sleeping and trying to move.

He didn’t want to eat his regular food, and I began hand feeding him whatever he would eat and anything he wanted. (The potted meat in a can and the deli-style ham leftover from Labor Day at the fams went over well.) We arranged to take him to a vet we’ve visited before. This vet had a “wait and see” attitude. He gave Spencer a “feel good” shot for pain, plus a couple of other things, which left the poor pup suffering. He didn’t even take an X-Ray.

When we realized he was not getting better, we arranged to go see the local in-town vet but had to wait until the evening.

BF Carrying Spencer to the vet

I drove and he held our little buddy going to the first vet’s appointment. We were both very unhappy about this development.

We didn’t find out until later that LSU in Baton Rouge has a 24/7 walk-in veterinary facility. It’s an hour away, but we could have gone there instead. However, they may have reached the same conclusion.

The Animal Communicator

I was fortunate to be able to talk to a very nice lady named Ami Pope, a Japanese Lady in California who is a trained animal communicator. It’s a long story of how I was introduced to Ami, and her help is greatly appreciated. I was quite upset and just didn’t know what else to do. After a phone call and texting some pictures, Ami very kindly talked to Spencer for me.

Spencer told Ami that he knew something was wrong, but he couldn’t quite tell her what it was. He was OK, she said, and he understood. There was something in his head, he thought. He did not want us to worry about him, even if it was his “time.” She also told him that we were very worried about him, and we didn’t want to lose him, but Spencer told Ami that everything was OK.

Saying Goodbye

I took care of Spencer for about a week, cleaning him up, putting him on a cushion, on a towel, or a blanket, hand-feeding him, and doing anything to make him comfortable. BF was working, so it was up to me. He kept trying to move around, but he could only operate his front legs. Movement was possible, but not what he was used to doing. At one point he could sit up and move his front legs, but he pivoted in a circle propped up on his tailbone.

Without any progress, we took him to the other local vet. Realizing how old Spencer was, he kindly recommended that we send him to the Rainbow Bridge.

So, reluctantly, and with many tears, that’s what we did. I texted BF from the vet’s, picked him up from work, and brought him back to the vet’s office. We hugged Spencer and told him we loved him. I told Spencer to go find my cats, Catmandu and Kismet, and let them know I still miss them after all these years. Both of us held him and petted him so he didn’t feel alone in his last moments.

We were with Spencer when he passed on to the Rainbow Bridge. He seemed comfortable, but he was always that way.  The folks at the Kent Veterinary Clinic were very nice and understanding. They wrapped him up for us and we took him home for the last time.

Resting In Peace

After we buried him, Ami had one more talk with Spencer. He told Ami appreciated all the treats, the cushions I made for them, and the walks all the way to the church at the intersection. He loved going for those walks, and I didn’t even realize how much he enjoyed our walking around.

Spencer also told Ami that he also appreciated that we took care of him at the end of his life, instead of letting him go on his own in the backyard. We couldn’t do that to him (or any dog) and we hope we did right by him. BF did the best he could for Spencer and gave him a better life than he might have had otherwise. Spencer appreciated all of it, he said to Ami. I wish we could have done more, but there wasn’t much else we could do.

If you are interested in her animal communication services, contact Ami Pope via her website (scroll down to the bottom), by email at info@amipope.com, or by phone at 619-655-9494 to set up an appointment. Ami is a very nice lady who loves animals. I highly recommend her services. She works to put people and pets in touch with each other. I can’t say enough about how she talked to Spencer and told us what was happening with him.

Still Making Friends

Spencer was a sweet, likable doggie, and was just friends with everyone. I used to say that my tabby Kismet would purr for the burglars. I think Spencer would have been pretty much the same. He was a free spirit, marching to the beat of his own drum. Not particularly smart, but a lovable dog, who got along with the pit bull, the cat, and nearly anyone who came around, including other dogs.

Spencer is buried under a tree at the back of the property, where he’s had some visitors burrowing in the ground. BF has had to re-bury him a few times. We believe it’s the misguided armadillos that don’t realize they aren’t in Texas. They’ve not pulled him all the way up (he’s well-wrapped) but they’ve come close to going all the way down. But we think Spencer just appreciates the company because he liked everybody.

We miss our little Garbage Gobbler. I wish I could take him out for one more walk.

Until Next Time

Once again, I was chided for something I wrote in this blog, and it happened to be this post. At BF’s request, I’ve edited the passage to appease the offended party.  With that, I offer two points:

  • HeatCageKitchen is my blog, I pay for it, and I’m constitutionally protected by the First Amendment
  • Obsidian vs. Cox, 2011, in which the Ninth Circuit ruled that bloggers are considered “citizen journalists” under the First Amendment, and are thereby protected as such

 

As one of my lawyer clients pointed out, if you don’t publish anything untrue, you’re good. I did, of course, from three eyewitness accounts. But I suppose recollections vary based on individual perspectives.

A more polite call would have worked much better than what we were subjected to, Girle.

We’re amazed at how many alleged adults act like high school kids. On the other hand, maybe if they keep coming back, they’ll drive more organic traffic!

Anyway. . . .

So, If you’re making resolutions to get healthy, stay tuned for my next blog post.

You’ve undoubtedly seen the commercials for diets, fitness equipment, and other “get your fat butt back into shape” ads airing since Christmas. I’ll tell you about something I bought back in June that’s been a “resolution” since the summer–if I could quit getting injured, of course.

In addition to the new Emilie Bailey book, I also have two other cookbooks to tell you about, one of which I’d call “healthy-ish.” You see that term here and there, which means that something is healthier than it could be, but maybe not perfectly healthy. In other words, less sugar, less flour, or those ingredients are replaced with something else that is healthy.

I’ll be back as soon as I can with another blog post for you, and more posts in 2022.

Happy New Year!

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