Those Eggs

Apparently Anne and I share a genetic dislike, which we discovered about 5 years ago, of scrambled eggs. And French toast, because of the eggs. The smell, the after-feeling. Ick.

But she discovered this way to make eggs that has developed a regular craving in us! The secret is adding fat. Butter, and sour cream. I don't know if the stirring technique does anything, but the fat definitely changes something. Leftover Fried String Beans and Eggplant in Garlic Sauce from our local Dumpling House went along, plus the final serving of a ginger-coconut veggie soup that I made a few nights back.

I may just make more eggs tonight. Mark is still in California, Joshua will be at work, and our refrigerator contents have dwindled significantly over the past month. Or maybe I'll just bake a pie. Sour cream fruit pies have most of the basic food groups....

Leftovers

I can always tell when I have spent a weekend traveling with family. There are leftovers from meals in the fridge that do not get eaten. The family leaves and I am left with food to eat I didn't order in the first place. Why would I eat it in a warmed-up state? So, in an attempt not to waste food, we waste it anyway, including the styrofoam containers. 🙂

There were good memories made this past weekend among the Wisconsin and Indiana part of our blended family. Autumn and Zach's households gathering in Spooner, WI, and visiting Duluth. And, two of the four Brinkman children joining Patricia and I, and Auntie Anne (she did not bring pretzels so I was bummed) gathering in Carlsbad, CA, and visiting San Diego.  Plentiful food experiences in both places. Because I was in CA, I shared in the experience of traveling different places to get this exotic tea and that recommended Mexican food. We ended the weekend with a good meal at Barley Mash In downtown San Diego where I enjoyed a very good brown ale to wash down a black and bleu burger on an excellent bun. Then fresh cut fries were meh, but it was a notably good burger. I liked the prosciutto-wrapped, deep fried pickles we ordered as an appetizer as well.

For the balance of this next week I remain in S Cal to do some work. The food chase is over for awhile.

Mountainous

I took hardly any photos during my loop bus/light rail tour of Phoenix/Tempe/Scottsdale, which I found to be sleepy and marked by a handful of tall buildings, cars, what felt like 50 miles of strip malls, and very few people. Where are they all? I felt occasionally like I had been dropped into an empty city, not completely convinced of the over 4 million population. There certainly were enough miles and miles and miles of houses for all of them, but not much sign on the sidewalks or streets. The only person I saw near downtown was a chatty man resting at a bus stop, adding strips of colored duct tape to his weather-beaten scooter.

Clearly, discovering Phoenix will take several returns and a gas-efficient car.

I did find tacos! There were too many possibilities...I missed out on Juan's, with "cheap, really good tacos and margaritas," recommended by Tyler the shuttle driver. I did, however, eat Peking Duck, coffee-braised beef, and guac/cilantro pork tacos at the Taco Guild, housed in an old Methodist church with the announcement board still hanging inside. They boast multitudes of tequilas, and flavorful and creative but not too-cool-for-school combinations of taco fillings. And really friendly, accommodating service.

The mountains were easy to photograph and easy to love. Mark and I went on an explore for a day, one that included desert protrusions and mountain rims, a rain storm and lessons learned about taking pictures of the trail maps before heading out. We made it down the mountain with soggy feet 5 minutes before the sun dropped. The day also brought huge pies and cobblers at Miss Fitz's Cafe in Payson, Arizona. It was the kind of place with a joke-cracking waiter and a long-time cook whose daughter is the waitress, where homemade pea soup and chili were quickly consumed.

The end of the day also took us to Eric and Daphne's! We were happy with the chance to hang out for a couple of hours (and the perfect end-of-hike, rainy day beans).

On a different subject:
I don't think there are any real possibilities here, but I would love to talk to someone with real knowledge of and connections into the world of computers about recovering my blog. It ran from about 2002-2012 under a domain that doesn't exist anymore...if anyone has thoughts/ideas, please email me!
I'm sure if I ran for office, somebody somewhere would be able to dig it up.

Let's bake!

What do you do after your daughter's 3 day volleyball tournament?

 Bake of course. Although I enjoy baking, I don't do it much anymore. 

I just don't want the stuff around the house, dare I eat it! But, Emily and I got inspired. 

Emily made her famous and delicious "puppy chow" 

while I made the original Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe. 

I rarely make this version, as we have a different family recipe that uses Crisco (I know, bad, huh?). 

I just had a hankering for this version tonight. I added lots of walnuts and pecans. 

Now all I need is a cold cup of milk or hot cup of coffee! 

- Daphne 

My Mother, But Not Eggzactly

Yes, I am in Phoenix, and, no, these photos are not from Phoenix. Last Saturday I ran with Karen, my 3-year running partner, near her house west of Yorktown. It was -1 when we started! It felt warmer than it sounds, due to lack of wind, and it was a lovely run. So lovely, I had to stop and take photos.
I wear fingerless gloves, if you were wondering....

The temperatures rose through the week, to the point that the blizzard we would have had on Wednesday became a deluge. We currently have a river flood warning.

This morning I ran alone in 55 degrees, under cloudier skies than I was hoping for but nicely unlayered.

Phoenix is a new town for me, and I get to explore much of today while Mark is with people. So far, the run along a canal (3.74 miles, according to Map My Run) and a great breakfast has started it off well!
I eat omelettes sometimes, but usually other people's omelettes are way too fluffy eggy. This one was exactly how I like it: thin egg, lots of vegetables (spinach, mushrooms, onions,bacon - a vegetable, right?), plenty of cheddar. With almost everything else in the breakfast bar...oatmeal, a small danish, yogurt, fruit, potatoes, more bacon, English tea. That was 2 hours ago, and I'm hungry again.

My goal for today is figure out where I am in Phoenix, find something that isn't flat, and eat tacos. That would be goals, then, plural.
I think I have found a trail we can happily hike early in the day tomorrow, before possible rain and before finding Eric and Daphne's house. There look to be many, many to choose from! Phoenix Mountains Preserve won the beauty contest, at least temporarily. I'm looking forward to checking it out.

I did travel to get here. I was going out of the house with no food (gasp!) and thought of my mother. And became her, although less organized. I threw almonds and dried apricots into one Ziplock, crackers and Newman's Own Ginger-O's into another, grabbed a couple of Kind Bars, and I was set. I didn't have time to slice apples, so that my car would smell like hers...besides, I was out of Ziplocks. I was very glad to have these little bags and not have to buy a Flavorless Something in Bread at the airport. Thanks, Mom!

Onward to urban orienteering and taco hunting.

Wing it!

Last evening, my boys (Izzy, 16 and Joey, 12), and I gathered at my mom and dad's to watch the Giants get anihalated by the Packers and enjoy some delicious food.  I attempted making wings on my own for the first time and was quite pleased with the result especially using a homemade BBQ sauce with the base being my previously canned cranberry jalapeño sauce.  I love finding new uses for it!

I also made a new to us hummus.....cilantro, jalapeño.  Very tasty with a great kick.

For those of you who might be wondering about my username....it is Regina backwards and a name my father affectionately called me growing up.

I look foward to getting to know you all better through this avenue.

Gina (Mark's sis)

Gratitude Pie

This is my thank you key lime pie for my wonderful neighbors, who fed the kitty and kept an eye on my house while I had a wonderful trip to Indiana and Wisconsin. Loved meeting and spending time with all the Vincents and with Pattie and Mark and the grandkids. And 💙 thanks to Pattie for all the help tonight, with my first ever blog post! Yay!

Refrigerator Time!

So, every once in a while when we've eaten chips and dip for dinner and don't want to admit it, or pictures of oatmeal have already been posted 5 times, we do a "what's in your fridge" day.

My refrigerator is no longer under my control! There is a frozen cheeseburger, a bottle of 7Up, and a Jello cup in plain view! But this is what is in it today, and I am so thankful to have had all my 5 children here over the break and to still have two...until tomorrow, when it becomes one.

The refrigerator was stuffed the whole time the kids were home, and it hasn't emptied yet. It will this week, with Mark heading back to Wisconsin today and Luke going to Tennessee tomorrow. The frozen cheeseburger won't be part of the week for me, I do know that!

I have no plans for cooking this week, as clearly there are leftovers, and I fly Thursday to Phoenix! Oatmeal it will be, for sure, with no photos of it.

Filet Mignon in a Mustard Mushroom Cream Sauce

So...last night I made this:

https://barefootcontessa.com/recipes/filet-mignon-with-mustard-mushrooms

which was pretty good. I went with Shiitake mushrooms instead, and used homemade mustard instead of what the recipe called for. I also messed up and bought that nasty bitter parsley instead of Italian parsley. Actually, the parsley is probably just there to add color, didn't really affect the taste of the dish.

I added pine nut cous cous on the side, and paired it with a Dry Creek Heritage Zinfandel which was very tasty.

The mushrooms were really good and the sauce was great. In fact, the sauce was really the star of the dish. I might try it again with chicken and see what happens.

If you're a veggie person, I would do the whole thing without the steak and make it a cous cous mushroom dish with sauce.

We have a pretty good storm coming in today, and it's supposed to rain for most of the next 10 days. So, today I'm making holiday bread (with molasses and honey) and will eat that up with some Guinness while I watch a little of the Raiders game this afternoon.

Savour the slaw

It's possible I will be the recovering functional eater among those of us contributing to this blog.

As 2015 gave way to 2016, and the relationship between Patricia and I deepened, I began to notice smells, blends of taste, texture and temperature as if a blown fuse had been replaced and the lights came on. Perhaps it is because my brain was so focused on medical care and strategies for holding it together, there was no capacity left to enjoy, to savour (I like throwing in GB spellings). Now, in fits and starts, there is some reawakening, perhaps even just wakening.

Many of my family members are foodies, and I have married into yet another family of such, so I expect to benefit more from the contributions and successes of others than to offer much substance myself. But, I like to write, I like experimenting with cast iron cooking, I'm getting better at working the grill, and I've become quite experienced at popcorn. Perhaps I will offer something here and there about the good ales I come across.

I go to bed tonight wearing my Twin Archers t-shirt, from a favorite restaurant in Muncie. We ate there tonight, in fact. I had blue cheese on my grass-fed burger. Joshua launched a discussion on whether pulled pork should ever be mixed with coleslaw. He can tell his side of it, and whether anyone at the table agreed with him.

Ahhhh food

This is a fantastic idea ... I could literally talk about food all day, it makes me so happy!  Thank you, Pattie!

I have gotten out of the habit of taking pictures of my food/kitchen/life, so it's apparently time to get back IN to the habit (New Year's resolutions and all...)

Here is where I spend about 80% of my life... in the desert of So CA. We have had some awesome "winter" weather (aaahahahahah!!!) in the last week, with clouds, wind and rain - made for some nice pictures! Not so great for the hair-do! I have invested in a few baseballs caps....






This kind of weather makes me crave two things: tea and sweets! (and also chips and guacamole, but that's another blog entry!!)  My go-to tea is a decaf Earl Grey. Every time. With some sort of cream. But not sugar.  I am on the hunt for The Best Earl Grey Tea, since I feel like Twinings, while established and historic, might not be the primo. The hunt continues...

So ... now my confession:  I am a sugar-fat-aholic. You're looking at the bottom of the jar of Jelly-Belly's.  The top layer (aka, the first 3/4 of the jar) was really good! But I also had (today) chocolate/peanut butter malt balls, a banana and I might have had a chocolate cookie.

::ahem::

I need to work on my problems.

Hooray for blogs!!

Cheers!

Annie Teall (Pattie's sister)

Traditions

Both the mexican/spanish and german food traditions have been honored in our house this week. We had enchiladas on New Year's Day (usually a Christmas Eve tradition). My dad is Mexican American and my mom is mostly European, including a little Spanish. So...every year we make Spanish enchiladas, made with flour not corn tortillas, soaked in a red sauce, stuffed with ground beef, olives, lots of cheese, and (don't wince) chopped, hard boiled egg. We usually ring in the New Year with the traditional german pork and sauerkraut (with apples). Since we were traveling, I just got to making it today.

Yes, we still have Christmas up! No, were not lazy. We just refuse to take it down before Ephiphany (and taking it down makes us sad). We are already sad enough that we had to send Elyse back to her second (third) year of college at Fresno Pacific University. Eric accompanied her on the 10 hour drive and  flew back yesterday. 

It was fun seeing family and snow at Christmas but we are back to this in sunny Surprise, Arizona. Yes, that is the sun you see. Sorry! 

Winnie is worn out from all the excitement! 

Looking forward to seeing your posts, getting new ideas and getting to know all of you better! 

Blessings for the New Year! 

Daphne 

Not Quite Fair?

 So, because I spent plenty of time figuring out how to change the blog from French to English, then more time finding an adequate background...I get to post the first two blogs!

Please jump in. :)

Having picked up a bronchial thing somewhere in the past 5 days, soup was good food tonight for me. Something Italian and spicy, with chickpeas and kale thrown in. Plus pommelo/avocado/mango salad and corn quesadillas. I'm not sure it's any particular theme, but it was complete, warm, and full of vitamins!

I had never noticed before how my sink looks like a face. With a curl.

I have noticed, though, how Silverstein turns into a tiger behind bars, or racing across the acres. Jailed with the roses!

********************

The crosswalk is just there because it's one of my favorite pictures from our old neighborhood.

It's currently 18 degrees here in Yorktown, at 8:27 p.m. How 'bout in your parts of the world??

Long Overdue

Welcome to The Grande Table!

I have wished numerous times in the past months that this blog were already in existence.

When I ate tater tots in Chicago. I hadn't had them since Minnesota in 2005. They were nice and salty...and I can wait another 12 years, no problem.
When Charlie and Annie emailed me recipes like the one found here.
Last weekend, when we made pumpkin spice pancakes with too many topping choices. Applesauce, apple butter, plain yogurt, honey yogurt, raspberry jam, butter and syrup....

It was worth waiting for.
During our Christmas pie baking contest, which has been happening most years since 2011. Pies baked have included black-bottom lemon, Key lime cheesecake with ginger cookie crust, and sour cherry marzipan with dark chocolate. This year's two pies didn't even need official judging; Salty Honey Pie and Cranberry Sage Pie (which became Cranberry Thyme, based on cupboard items) tied for the win with no questions. Whipped cream all around.
Both recipes came from this cookbook, fun to read and more fun to bake out of!

Photos from the Vincent Christmas in Goshen recently - where there was an abundance of good food.

The kids' Christmas present to Mark and me was a growler (which we filled with a red at a local brewery last week), inscribed with our names. The brewery man was impressed!

I had 4 days off for Christmas, with a short week, long, worthwhile drive to and from Wisconsin, and another 4 day weekend. The rest of this week could feel like a bit of a shock.

Tonight we said hello to 2017 and goodbye to my Mom (who flies home to Oregon Tuesday morning) with grilled Burgandy spoon steak and other festive foods, leaving plenty of leftovers to help with that shock.