Winter gardening....

Without the dogs, we get critters in our garden....and one of them tore it up.  It was so sad.  Our beautiful lettuces were all uprooted and tossed aside.  Not eaten, just stomped and flung about.   I salvaged some of the lettuce...but ALL the seedlings were destroyed.  The herbs weren't happy there anyway so being stomped just sealed their fate to be moved! 

Dean and I cleaned everything up.  Then we replanted the salvaged lettuce in two boxes and resowed arugula, lettuce and broccoli in the last two boxes.   

Isn't that man of mine clever?  He made a little wire top to keep critters at bay while the seeds germinate and get some size to them.....

the best part is the lids lift so I can weed and harvest the goodies.   That oughta keep critters out!

Now we just the weather to cooperate!

Recipe Box.......Pecan Tassies

My parents were wonderful cooks.   They took classes and they taught classes.  They threw wonderful parties and hosted wonderful holiday meals.

My father wrote a family cookbook while my mom used recipe cards.  You knew something was good if mom copied someone else's recipe in her own handwriting!  Mom was a recipe snob.  She would never take the time to re write a recipe she didn't think "worthy!"    In fact, many of the recipes in the boxes had "YUCK!" written on the back, along with the date she tried it!  Yuck was one of her favorite words and meant more than just one thing.  She used it to describe food, clothing, people....whatever it was meant for had a slightly different inflection to it.

After they passed, we went through the house, and after selecting many for ourselves, donated hundreds of cookbooks.  Literally hundreds, probably close to a thousand...and that is no exaggeration.  It was a very difficult thing to do, giving their cookbooks away...

Before we started all that, my sisters got my mom's recipe file boxes for me.   I went through them right away, looking for some specific recipes.  Some I found, others are lost to us.  I don't know HOW....but they are gone.  I guess it is simply that many good recipes are never actually written down.  

Recipe cards are like a dying art form....with pinterest and computers, people don't seem to use anymore.  But these cards are so much more than the actual recipe.  They have stains on them and notes on them.  She wanted to be sure she knew who gave her the recipe so she would know what it was.  Some had titles like "Bette Nan's Whatchamacallit" (I'm not sure I'm gonna try that one!)
While looking through the boxes, at my mom's and my grandmother's and my aunt's handwriting, I had a huge flush of emotions. So with that in mind, I decided to do a regular recipe box post as a sort of homage to them.  I think it might be fun....and it will be a great way to share.
But sorry, some recipes will stay in the box.  Like the jello mold with salad floating in it.  

Today is the first installment and I made  "Pecan Tassies."  The recipe was from one of my mom's dearest friends...Bette Nan.  But I called her Aunt Nutsy and she was SO MUCH FUN!  I have so many memories of her. 

These are so good .They are the best part of a pecan pie...that sweet spot between the crust and top of the pie!

Pecan Tassies

For the crusts:
3 oz softened cream cheese
1/2 cup softened butter or margarine
1 cup sifted all purpose flour

For the filling:
1 egg
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 teaspoons softened butter or margarine
dash salt
1/3 cup chopped pecans

Starting with the crust, blend the first 2 ingredients together and stir in the flour.  Form into a ball and chill for about an hour.  Roll into 48 little 1 inch balls and press them into a PAM sprayed mini muffin tin, shaping the edge up to the rim but not over.  Set aside.

*For the filling, beat all ingredients EXCEPT pecans together.
*Put some pecans in each cup and fill with the sugar filling. 

*I am lazy and just put everything together and fill each cup.  Sometimes I have to add a few more pecans doing it this way.

bake at 325 for about 25 minutes or until browned.  Remove and let cool.  Use a little spatula to run around the edges and pop them out to serve.  These go SUPER fast so double the recipe...you'll need to!

If you try these and enjoy these, remember where they came from and give thanks to Aunt Nutsy....

Texas trip

After Christmas, we took a quick trip to see Dean's family.  He hadn't seen his folks in a couple years and wanted to go for a visit.  There is no way you are going to forget you are in Texas with these everywhere...

When we drove into their neighborhood, we saw all the deer that are so common there.  They walk the yards like dogs would.  Totally unafraid.  If they only knew what Dean was thinking (DINNER) they would have worried a little!

This one walked was curious and walked within 3 feet of the car.  Pretty.

There were lots of smiles...

While there, we took the boys to the playground.  They played tag.... so the biggest boy climbed a tree.  He was safely out of reach here.  NO FAIR!

during a tense movie, someone snuggled up with his niece!

we went to a trail of lights in Wimberly and it was awesome.  I loved this little teacup birdfeeder...

it was a long walk, with a lot to see.  This herb garden hedged in with stone made me want one...Dean?

 by the time we were done, it was dark and COLD!  We finished the walk at the Veteran's Memorial.  I couldn't help but think of daddy and get choked up.

When it got too cold, we enjoyed hot cocoa and then roasted marshmallows over a fire....a lot of fun, especially for the little ones.

Drive by "Hootings!"

Last year I decided I wanted to start doing toy drops again.   

I thought the idea up last year, long before Robin Williams passed away but a quote from a movie he was in was the inspiration for the theme..."Mrs. Doubtfire!"   We LOVE that movie!  Dean and I use the quote "run by fruiting" all the time.  

I was thinking things up and a "drive by hooting" was born.  No, this is not a nod to drive by shootings so don't get all fussy about it.  Just a fun way to fling toys at people.

With that in mind, if you'd like to play along, simply grab a badge and start tossing owls at unsuspecting people.  

One of the "hooters" who joined has sweetly created and emailed me a little tag to print and attach so if you join, let me know and I'll gladly email them to you.

I'll be posting them here on my blog once a month!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

Christmas lights

I love to look at Christmas lights.  We drove an hour to go to a drive through display in Metarie at a park.  After driving and hour and then waiting an hour, they CUT the lights off before we made it through!   We were driving up to where the display started and BAM...lights off...30 minutes early.  

I couldn't believe it but luckily, we had a new Ed Sheeran cd and the soundtrack from Guardians of the Galaxy so we were good......

We drove around looking at houses instead.  It was late so most houses had their lights turned off.  A few on St. Charles were still lit up...

As was this nativity at Loyola...

These were just down the street from us...

back home...

I need more deer....just a couple....

makes ya go hmmm...

This picture is HUGE and is in a restaurant here in town.

So does it look like Charlize Theron ......

or have I just had too many margaritas?