Potato salad is kind of like that great-aunt that you occasionally visit. I mean, you know, we all have those relatives that we don’t visit enough. It’s tough to admit that we don’t slow down enough to enjoy the old-fashioned pleasures in life of chatting, reminiscing, and eating potato salad. But today is a great day to make up for lost time. Potato Salad is for Family Gatherings Most of us grew up eating potato salad at family gatherings. It’s economical and feeds a crowd. I can’t have ...
Fried pies are probably the most nostalgic of Texas desserts. You have to remember that home ovens were not always that reliable until the 1940’s. Before that, it would be a wood stove, or a kerosene stove, according to my grandmother. Regulating the heat in one of those things had to be a royal pain. Can you imagine 100°F (38°C) weather trying to bake a pie? No thank you! Fried Pies are Traditionally Texas! Stove top desserts were the way to go before electric ovens. Fried pies could be ...
Making bread is one of my favorite past-times, but I get stuck in a rut making the same thing. White bread. Wheat bread. Flour tortillas. Corn tortillas. A friend came to visit, so I decided to experiment. Cheddar Pull Apart Loaf in a Dutch Oven Cheddar Olive Pull Apart Loaf is based on an old recipe in my favorite bread book from the 1970's. Easy to make, I baked it in a Dutch oven. The original recipe indicated the bread could be baked in a ring on parchment paper, but the Dutch oven ...
Cruising through junk shops, thrift stores and antique malls is one of my favorite pastimes. Do I need more stuff in my life? No. But you never know what you will find that inspires you. I always need more inspiration. Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwich Cookies Inspiration I stopped by one of my favorite shops, and was paying for my selection of knicky-knacky finds when I spotted an old recipe box next to the register. Over stuffed with recipes card bundles bound with pink ballet shoe ...
After we put away the Christmas decorations, we prepare ourselves for the seasonal avalanche of grapefruit. We have a small orchard here on the ranch, and every year we pick hundreds of pounds of fruit. We give some of it away, but we also eat tons of the buttery sweet citrus, and drink gallons of juice. Fresh grapefruit is one of the loveliest perks of living in South Texas. Grapefruit Shortcake is Fresh and Light Another favorite is shortcake of any kind, so I thought I would try ...
When the wind begins to blow in South Texas, and the temperature drops a few degrees (from Hell Hot to just Hot,) every menu, every Tweet, every FB post, every flashing outdoor sign declares “It’s time for a bowl of caldo de res.” And yes folks, it is. Caldo de Res on a Cold Day... Caldo de Res is a very basic country beef vegetable soup, but the clamor and fame that precedes this dish lets you know that in reality, this soup is very special. Grandmother’s serve caldo de res by the ...
Ranch Christmas is not like other Christmases. We don’t have pine trees. We don’t wear fur trimmed hats. The country road to the ranch next door is too dang long to go a’caroling. Forget all that snow culture...like snowball battles, making snowmen, snow angels, or snowflakes in your eyelashes…we don’t have any of that poetic snow-related jazz. We never have sleigh rides with jinglebells, but I can say we are familiar with the aroma of sitting upwind from a horse’s behind. Key Lime Icebox ...
On one of my visits to the Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley Humanitarian Respite Center, I took a huge pan of arroz con pollo (chicken with rice) to the volunteers, as well as a pot of beans. At that moment, the Humanitarian Respite Center was at its old location, a small former evangelical church in a strip mall on the west side of downtown. The kitchen was cramped and crazy, and people were running in and out of the kitchen with Styrofoam bowls of soup for the migrants. I knew ...
Making bread is one of my favorite past-times, but I get stuck in a rut making the same thing. White bread. Wheat bread. Flour tortillas. Corn tortillas. A friend came to visit, so I decided to experiment. Cheddar Pull Apart Loaf in a Dutch Oven Cheddar Olive Pull Apart Loaf is based on an old…
Cruising through junk shops, thrift stores and antique malls is one of my favorite pastimes. Do I need more stuff in my life? No. But you never know what you will find that inspires you. I always need more inspiration. Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwich Cookies Inspiration I stopped by one of my favorite shops,…
After we put away the Christmas decorations, we prepare ourselves for the seasonal avalanche of grapefruit. We have a small orchard here on the ranch, and every year we pick hundreds of pounds of fruit. We give some of it away, but we also eat tons of the buttery sweet citrus, and drink gallons of…
