The First Thanksgiving

No, not the one with the pilgrims and indians. This Thanksgiving was a time for lots of firsts. The first time the whole fam came to my house, the first time I cooked a whole turkey (other than deep-fry), the first time I made Mom's dressing and the first time I made a table setting look half-way decent. It was also the first time we used our crystal and Mom's china. I would like to think she would have been proud of her anti-martha-stewartish daughter. The turkey was awesome; the dressing not-so-much. I didn't put enough turkey broth in it. Anyway, Dad brought a great sweet potato casserole;Brother did a great job with Mom's cheesecake recipe again; and Sister-in-law brought another awesome sweet potato casserole and green beans from the garden. We had fun. There was another larger table set almost like this one so we had plenty of room and plenty of food. I was worried that the 15.2 pound turkey wouldn't be enough for 15 people but it was and then some. All in all it was a good day and I'm thankful for my home and family. Anything other than that is all just stuff.

Wonder Woman

I am really flattered that my family has so much faith in me but sometimes it can be a little overwhelming. Hubby brings home 8 dozen eggs that he bought from a local man and hints that he would like some pickled eggs. Stepson proudly brings home 2 squirrels that he shot and gives them to me. There is no other option but to cook them for him. Then yesterday evening he shot 2 does, therefore it will need to be canned this week. I'm really not complaining. It's a blessing to have an abundance and variety of food...it's just ...bad timing all at once given the fact that I was moving lumber to the site where my little goat barn will be raised. And I had my daughter's 13th birthday party to prepare for and go to. Anyway, I survived so here are some recipes that where used over this last weekend.

General Store Pickled Eggs

This was an old general store that I would rather not name, where it was claimed they had the best pickled eggs. This is how it was written and given to me.

4 day old eggs
3/4 Cup salt
1 1/2 quart white distilled vinegar
1 Tbs. red pepper

Put eggs in big pot and cover with cold water and let boil for 10 minutes, remove from stove, peel and put in jar. Boil vinegar, salt, pepper to a hard boil then pour hot vinegar over eggs and let set over nite.

It's funny she specifies "4 day old eggs" but not how many. I have no idea how many days old my eggs were but they turned out ok. I doubled this recipe and used 6 dozen eggs. It made 5 quarts. Simple and good if you like pickled eggs unlike myself.


On to Sunday....
I'll spare you the pic of the dead squirrel with an acorn in his mouth. At least he died happy. They were both small and I've always heard that you should not fry large or older squirrel or rabbit because of toughness. We soaked them in salt water in the fridge for a couple days then in buttermilk the night before. Sunday when the boys came home from their morning hunting expedition, they were met with a fried squirrel, gravy and biscuit breakfast/lunch. I guess that's what they call brunch.

Trail Ridin'

Yes, that is a rotary telephone that some trickster nailed up a long time ago. No, it doesn't work.

That's a mushroom!

The weather has been awesome lately! A little cool with warm sunshine. The nights have been so clear that I've been laying on the roof staring at the stars. Perfect trail riding weather. Since I still haven't replaced my camera, I had to get some pics from about a year ago, but it still looks the same. This is my favorite trail to ride. Sometimes, the neighboring great pyrenees run up to the fence and scare the crap out of the horses. This day, they must have been down in the valley, thank goodness.

Dove Season

Hubby talked me into going dove hunting this year so we started shooting skeet a week beforehand. "We went sheet skooting" is what usually comes out of my mouth...which has a totally different meaning. Anyway, it had been about 20 years since I had even held a shotgun much less shot one, so I only ended up hitting about 3 clays. Oh well, it was fun. Dove hunting on the other hand? Well, let's just say that I ended up with more chiggers than birds and leave it at that. The rest of the family, though, have been to other more productive hunts. Stepdaughter is the most awesomest shot in the field I guarantee. We have already frozen a lot and have grilled some too. They won't last till turkey season though. They go fast. We use the dove breasts, pineapple and jalapeno wrapped in bacon and then grill.

Football, Chili and Sweatshirts

At last! At least a few days in a row of some sort of weather unlike the most hot, humid and dusty place you can think of. Hell maybe? The whole month of August saw only 1.5 inches of rain. Construction is rampant in this town and at work; therefore the dust that had settled on my windshield was as thick as my Fisher Scientific catalog. It wasn't safe to drive and washing it would have been a total waste of time. We also recently had a fresh load of gravel dumped on our driveway at home so there was another coating of white dust atop the reddish brown dust. Whatever, I didn't care. Just let me get in the house under the ceiling fan and everything will be alright. Somehow, the tomato and pepper plants were still producing, but it was too frightening to think about walking to and in the garden. Droughts are times when rattlesnakes go looking for water so I wasn't going to chance it. Plus I had a date with that ceiling fan. Well, Labor Day weekend brought with it the true ending of summer, at least it felt like it. Thanks to the system that had hit the gulf a day or two before; we had the most delicious of temperatures and *gasp*, what's this? A breeze!! The next day it rained; a slow steady rain that ended up totaling almost 7 inches in 3 days. Saturday, I even got to wear a hoodie, granted it was with flip flops but still. Have I mentioned before that I'm a fashionista? Well, now ya know. My stepson is having his birthday campout this weekend so it should be great weather for that and also to put on a pot of chili and watch some football. On a serious note, I truly hope that Texas feels some relief soon and that wherever you are is just as nice.

Salsa Muy Bueno!

I've made a few batches of salsa this year. One was entirely too hot, although Dad's trail ridin' buddies liked it. (or they were just being polite. Either way they ate it. :) thank goodness) The other one was ok but this latest one was the best. I like thin salsa. Chunky salsa isn't salsa; it's pico de gallo. Anyway, here's the recipe...kinda. It's definitely not exact measurements, heh.
10 to 12 small to medium tomatoes(peeled and chopped fine)
a couple jalapenos
a few chilis
a couple banana peppers
a couple cubanella peppers
an eighth of a red onion (hubby doesn't like onion or i would've used more)
3 cloves of garlic
some lime juice
some olive oil
cilantro
parsley
sea salt

A Visit

Visit:to go to and stay with (a person or family) or at (a place) for a short time for reasons of sociability, politeness, business, curiosity, etc.

I recently visited a lady that I hadn't really seen in years. Someone had told me she was a wine maker and that I should call her up. She invited me to come over and see her set-up and taste some of her different wines. They were all excellent by the way and I learned a lot. While I was there, she offered up some hors d’oeuvres. "Tomato jelly?", she says. "Oh sure!", I say. (wow, that really doesn't sound good at all I'm thinkin'). She spread a little cream cheese on a Ritz and then a dab of the tomato jelly atop that. It was awesome. Addictive even! I know, even the recipe sounds bad but you've got to try it. It's cheap too. The following recipe made 5-4oz jelly jars:

3 cups green tomatoes (pureed in blender)
2 cups sugar
6 oz strawberry jello

Put all in pot, bring to a boil, and simmer (stirring frequently) until it's a spreadable consistency. This took a while for me because I had to stop it and go to my brother's house for a while and then come back and finish it. Maybe an hour though? Then put in hot jars and seal.


For an introverted home body such as myself, that short lil visit did me a world of good. Not just because I learned a lot but it was somehow good for the soul. I should really make myself go visit people more often. And not just those with good eats and good wine :)