Trip Report #3: Flour Power

We didn’t plan this, but somehow we managed to fit in some wild “flours” at almost every stop.
1. The Creekhaven Inn in Wimberley is situated on Mill Race Ln. Know what a “mill race” is? It’s a specially dug trench for allowing water to flow downhill, enough to power the mill wheel. This particular one is a state historical landmark dating back to the early 1850’s when the town was named Winter’s Mill. Beautiful spot for walking and exploring. Plenty of deer to keep you company!
2. In San Antonio we visited the historic Guenther House, owned by the founders of Pioneer Flour Mills. The tour is free, there’s a cute little gift shop, and there’s even a restaurant if you’ve worked up an appetite. While you’re there, be sure to take a drive around the historic King William neighborhood, if you’re hooked on houses that is.
3. Mission San Jose in San Antonio contains a replica of a working grist mill. More wheels, more water, more wheat. Fascinating history lesson!

4. Guess where we ate lunch one day? The Gristmill in Gruene!
Up Next: Get Your Goat

Trip Report #2: Wild About Texas

More fun in the Hill Country.
You’ve heard of The Horse Whisperer? What about The Boot Whisperer? That’s right, step into  The Wild West Store in downtown Wimberley and the owner will “read” your feet. With nary a measuring device in sight, she will bring several pairs of boots that fit both your feet and your budget. Her collection is vintage, funky, and made the way boots should be. The leather is broken in and buttery soft.  (Note to self: One day I will own a pair of Lucchese boots. One day.)

Is everything bigger in Texas? The outlet malls sure are! You could spend a week here but, hey, I know my husband’s limits so we made a quick trip for just essentials: Disney Store (1 princess dress for the grand-princess), Pottery Barn (if 400 count sheets are your thing), and Crate and Barrel (just because).
Lunch? Chicken Fried Steak of course. Best to enjoy this while sitting outside in the shade, watching folks tube down the Guadalupe River. Willie & Waylon in the background and the state’s oldest dancehall right next door.

Up Next: Flour Power

Trip Report #1: La Bella Vita

Our Hill Country vacation felt like a little bit of Italy – right here in the Lone Star State.
The Creekhaven Inn’s Treehouse Suite featured an Italian themed, painted cupola surrounding a luxurious spa tub. (Who needs Calgon?!)

For a fun afternoon, we took a tour of the Bella Vista Olive farm and tasted the locally grown oil. The lime infused version found its way home with us, along with a bar of pear scented Castilian soap.

For a different kind of tasting? The Duchman Winery is down the road in Driftwood. And right next door…

We saved room for dinner….and dessert. The Mandola family’s Trattoria Lisina reminds us why this family = Italian cooking. Osso Bucco, Prosciutto, Espresso Afogato. I’m just gonna say it…Mamma Mia!

Up next: Wild About Texas

Just Peachy

Just pulled this little beauty out of the oven, baked especially for Father’s Day/Kyle’s birthday tomorrow. (If I can’t keep the hungry sisters away, there may not be any left by lunchtime!) How to make homemade cobbler even better? Even ones baked the night before? Amy’s ice cream of course! Oh yes, we are still working on the graduation-party ice cream.
I confess to making this recipe with canned peaches, and it does work…. but really. It’s not so hard to peel a few now is it? You can do it!
Texas Peach Cobbler
10-12 ripe peaches
1/4 c. sugar
1/2 t. powdered ginger
1 t. cinnamon
1 t. vanilla
1 T. fresh lemon juice
Mix above ingredients in a bowl and set aside. It’s  a pretty juicy mixture but that’s what you want in a cobbler! Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 350. Get out a 9x13 casserole dish and melt into it:
1 stick butter
Make your batter out of these ingredients:
1 1/4 c. flour
1 c. sugar
1 c. milk
pinch salt
2 t. baking powder
Pour the batter over the melted butter. Don’t stir! This is what makes the crispy edges. Pour the peaches and juice over this. Bake for 45 minutes.
Happy Father’s Day everyone! May you be blessed with a hug, a phone call, or a precious memory of your dad.
-Renee

Truffle Salt & Possums

A possum is roaming my suburban neighborhood. Last night I traded recipes with my neighbor as a joke, then felt the need to redeem myself by posting what we actually ate for dinner.
Granny Clampett can have her country critters – this meal was a summertime winner!
Cedar Plank Salmon
We found the planks on sale at the Williams Sonoma Outlet Mall (now there’s a subject for another post!) in San Marcos. Recommended by my friend Suzanne, who isn’t called “Southern Inspiration” for nothing, we also grabbed the Potlatch Seasoning.
Method: Soak the plank for 2 hours in water. Season the salmon filet. Preheat the grill and place the wet board on there until it begins to smoke. Put the fish on the plank (skin side down), close the lid for 8 minutes, and that’s all folks! My friend Bet gets her cedar from a lumberyard and has them cut it to fit her grill. Brilliant (and cheaper!).
While the fish is cooking, wash and trim a bunch of asparagus. (I’m not using the word as slang – I literally mean one of those little rubber band wrapped bunches). Place in a nonstick skillet with 2 or 3 T. water. Cover and steam until bright green. Drain any remaining water and add some butter. Finish by topping with a sprinkle of truffle salt.
Ahhh….the truffle salt. What does it taste like? It’s earthy, mushroomy, dark, and deep. (I’m starting to feel a need to quote Robert Frost. Must refrain.)
I found it at HEB for around $11/bottle and it has lasted a long time. You don’t need much!

Poems: For Tax Time

I’m convinced that no matter what kind of day you’ve had, there is a poem that goes along with it. Some younger folks probably feel the same way about song lyrics (but since I rarely understand or even recognize those) I’ll stick with something more comfortable. Poetry. In honor of National Poetry Month, I’ll be sharing some favorites.
April 15th is just around the corner and there has been much crunching of numbers here at the MathMansion. Mr. M. has done more than his fair share, for which I’m grateful. Me and numbers….well…. I’d rather read a poem about them than solve an equation with them any day!

Numbers

I like the generosity of numbers.
The way, for example,
they are willing to count
anything or anyone:
two pickles, one door to the room,
eight dancers dressed as swans.
I like the domesticity of addition--
add two cups of milk and stir--
the sense of plenty: six plums
on the ground, three more
falling from the tree.
And multiplication's school
of fish times fish,
whose silver bodies breed
beneath the shadow
of a boat.
Even subtraction is never loss,
just addition somewhere else:
five sparrows take away two,
the two in someone else's
garden now.
There's an amplitude to long division,
as it opens Chinese take-out
box by paper box,
inside every folded cookie
a new fortune.
And I never fail to be surprised
by the gift of an odd remainder,
footloose at the end:
forty-seven divided by eleven equals four,
with three remaining.
Three boys beyond their mothers' call,
two Italians off to the sea,
one sock that isn't anywhere you look.
                        -Mary Cornish

The One Room of Possibility

Here at my writing teachers’ retreat, one never knows what the next assignment will be. We share teaching ideas with one another, we teach to one another, and we learn from one another. Last night we were given the assignment to write a sonnet. The title was “The One Room of Possibility.” That’s not a lot to go on, but what an interesting idea. The responses this morning were varied and vivid and I’m continually impressed by the talent of my fellow teachers.
Sonnets have a strict form, but there is freedom within that form. Sounds like life doesn’t it? Like any writing assignment, I started with invention (coming up with something to say), arrangement (putting my thoughts in order), and elocution (adjusting the rhyme and meter.) In case you’re curious, I’m happy to share my feeble efforts. I don’t think the subject matter will surprise you.

The One Room of Possibility

A pantry shelf of flour, white and wheat

Cold butter, eggs their treasures to uncrack;

Cream and milk and sugar, fine and sweet

Vanilla, cocoa -richest, darkest, black.

Those mentors teach and guide from pages worn

(I hear the voice of Julia chirping “shoulds”)

A recipe, a note, a clipping torn

My cookbooks overflow with unbaked goods

But spatulas and whisks transform the base

Convecting heat and oven’s fire to bake

As magic elevates raw matter’s place

The grocery list becomes a birthday cake.

What joy to see the hungry soul restored-

To taste and see the goodness of the Lord.

-Renee Mathis 2/25/11