Wordless Wednesday: Scenes From My Sister's Wedding

Take 12!

The last time we made a trip to the barber shop, I was flipping through an old National Geographic while the boys got their hair cut. In the magazine there was a photographer who took an old picture of an Indian chief and recreated the photo with one of the chief's descendants.

I thought that maybe I could give that a try. I found a photo of my dad, taken in the 1940s, and loosely recreated it using my 8 year old son. It's not a perfect duplicate by any means. I didn't get the background right or the brand of overalls, the light was coming from the wrong direction and my son's flannel shirt should have been buttoned up all the way, but come on, look what I had to deal with!

Boo!

Last month we headed up to Eureka Springs, AR for my sister's wedding. It was her second so it didn't come with all the fanfare, hoopla and tradition that tends to overshadow weddings. It was small, informal and very Angie. Just what she wanted.

It took place at the famous Crescent Hotel--if you watch the Travel channel during October they seem to always feature the Crescent during their Haunted Hotels program. But I stayed at the historic Basin Park Hotel which has its own ghost stories. I kept an open mind--expected cold pockets of air to float over me, looked for ghostly apparitions in windows, waited for the radio to spontaneously start playing We've Only Just Begun but nope, no ghosts.

I loved the Basin. The rooms were cute. The food from the Balcony Bar and Restaurant was great. And being able to step out of the hotel and walk over to the Mud Street Cafe for a decadent cherry mocha was a definite plus. Maybe Angie and Billy will bring me along for their first anniversary if they decide to go back next year? I'm pretty sure I could scare the ghosts away...

Rice Pancakes

Now this takes me back. This is something my mom would make whenever she had leftover rice from dinner. It's sweet, simple and soothing. Comfort food at it's best.

But you know what the problem is trying to get a recipe from your mom for a dish she's been making for 40 years? There is no exact recipe! She's all "start with some leftover rice" and "just add a little flour" and "you'll need a lot of sugar" and I'm all "I need measurements!"

So after a few experiments I think I've figured it out.


Rice Pancakes

3 cups cooked rice
1 egg
2 TBS flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 TBS butter

Mix together rice, egg, flour and sugar. Heat butter in a skillet over medium heat. Spoon rice mixture into hot skillet and brown each side for 3-4 minutes.

Wordless Wednesday: "Where Troubles Melt Like Lemon Drops"

What She's Here For

This is Indie's anniversary month. As of July 3, she's been with us for a year. I remember the day she showed up--it was a hot, Friday morning and she had taken up residence underneath my vehicle. I have to say, my initial reaction was fear when I first noticed her--we get so many wild critters around here I didn't know what she was. But she wasn't scared. She was very sweet and friendly and before long she was a loved member of our family.

I'm a big believer in the whole 'life shuts a door, God opens a window' thing so in the back of my mind I kept wondering why is she here? There are many houses on our dirt road, why is she here? Why did she pick this house?

And then Lexie the Husky got sick and spent a week at the vet clinic. Howard the Husky does not do well alone and so we put Indie in the backyard to keep him company. They got along perfectly and I thought, okay, this why she's here. Lexie's not going to survive this infection and Indie is here to soften the blow.

But then Lexie got better and everything was fine until a couple of months ago. On May 28 Howard got out of the backyard after the air conditioner repairman left the gate open. I've searched all through the woods, left flyers around town, contacted the local radio station (they have a lost pet report everyday), left our phone number with our neighbors and sent out a plea on Facebook. And I've cried. And cried and cried and cried.

Nothing has worked.

He's gone.

But now I know what she's here for.

Pina Colada Frosties

Back in May I got an email from my sister that said, "I need you to make these" No Dear you or Love me or Hi, how ya doin' just "I need you to make these" So I did. And I decided to forgive her lack of email etiquette once I tasted these Pina Colada Frosties because they're such a yummy treat.

The recipe came from a Mr. Food segment during the local news and it caught her eye one day during her lunch break. Although the ingredient list is small, finding cream of coconut proved to be quite a treasure hunt for me. After searching a couple of grocery stores and liquor stores with no success, Angie brought me a can from Little Rock and saved the day. This recipe is definitely worth the search!

Pina Colada Frosties (original recipe from Mr.Food)

12 oz Cool Whip, thawed
15 oz Cream of Coconut
8 oz crushed pineapple, drained
small jar of maraschino cherries, drained and chopped
1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut

Mix all ingredients together and pour into a muffin tin lined with baking cups. Place in freezer for at least 3 hours. I like to let them thaw a little before serving.

Makes 12 frosties.

Wordless Wednesday: Our Fourth!

Number 17

Look at me, posting on a Friday night. It's past my bedtime but I just HAD to do a post on the brand spankin' new poet laureate of the USA: W.S. Merwin.

The announcement came yesterday so I began looking up some of his stuff online. It's good stuff, too. Turns out the 82 year old Merwin has racked up bookoos of awards including 2 Pulitzer Prizes for poetry. So now he has a year to further the cause, to expand our minds, to get us all to appreciate the written and spoken word, you know, to make poetry totally cool. Kind of like what I try to do here on Poetry Fridays, ha!

Anywho, here's a wonderful poem by the 17th U.S. Poet Laureate, W.S. Merwin, called For the Anniversary of My Death.

Every year without knowing it I have passed the day
When the last fires will wave to me
And the silence will set out
Tireless traveler
Like the beam of a lightless star...(head on over to the Poetry Foundation to continue reading.)

My Favorite Recipe For Baked Beans

I know, everyone has their own baked bean recipe that they use for every summer cookout. But after the millionth time of preparing this dish don't you start thinking about other baked bean recipes out there? What if there's something better? Something that puts your baked bean recipe to shame?

I admit, I started looking outside my recipe box for a different take on baked beans a few months ago. I came across a post from an uber food blogger where she raved about a recipe for baked beans, comparing them to "a prayer...a song." And she had over 300 comments to back her up, too. They must be good, right?

Well, yes, they were good but they just didn't measure up to my old familiar, tried and true, sweet and savory, perfect liquid to bean consistency, I'm-sorry-I-ever-doubted-you baked beans.

Here's my favorite recipe for baked beans:

64 oz pork and beans

1 cup ketchup

4 tsp Worcestshire

1/4 cup mustard

1/2 cup molasses

1/2 cup brown sugar

onion, chopped

6 slices bacon, cut into fourths

Combine first 7 ingredients and pour into a large baking dish. Top with bacon. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 1 hour.