Enjoyment vs. Need

While I love to fashion aspects of my life to old time methods and 1800 technology, I would not enjoy having to do those things on a daily basis, out of need.

I love to imagine that I could survive if need be, but the true test has yet to come.

That is why this years tomato crop has been mostly frozen. Canning my excess tomato crop is more efficient, considering if the power goes out I would loose my frozen vegetables, without the help of a generator.

I also have seen that in times of failing health, ( or perhaps a motorcycle accident)..People might not feel the energy to can vegetables is worth the effort. My 2009 excuse, and I’m sticking to it.

Frozen, Roasted, Tomatoes

Simply wash and cut tomatoes in uniform pieces and spread on a baking sheet. Top with a chopped onion and then spray well with an olive oil cooking spray. Sprinkle with plenty of kosher salt, dried basil, and dried orgegano ( fresh herbs burn ).

Place in a 350 degree oven for 1 hour. Stir and replace about 20 minutes or however long you feel will consume most juice without a burn. Cool well and bag for the freezer.

To use, just thaw & throw in soups or recipes calling for canned tomato,
or thaw and process in food processor, push through a wire strainer for tomato sauce.

New Camera

Just trying to learn how to use my new Canon PowerShot Camera. It is going to take me a while I think.

Clementis Vine

Pumpkin

Squash Blossom

Wordless In Virginia

A Pie?

Jambalaya and a crawfish pie and file’ gumbo
‘Cause tonight i’m gonna see my ma cher amio
Pick guitar, fill fruit jar and be gay-o
Son of a gun, well have big fun on the bayou

We had flooding last night in our area. The rain came down in buckets here.

I awoke to see our ponds filled to overflowing, and the creeks rushing like they were late for an appointment.

The dogs were carrying on in our driveway like a pack of wild animals. I am used to having the dogs act like that over a mud turtle that might have strayed from the ponds, or a poor rabbit that got in their way.

I was not prepared for what I saw when I checked out the commotion.

One of the biggest crawfish I had ever seen in these parts! It was snapping and trying to ward off the wild pack of enemies.

I ran to the house and got my old garden gloves to rescue the critter.How in the world the thing got so misplaced is a puzzle. I am sure the creeks could not flow into our driveway.

I placed it in a bucket to show hubby and take this picture. I am going to release it later into one of the creeks. It got me to thinking that I have never tasted crawfish, and didn’t even have a clue as to what that song was written about…Crawfish pie.

It would take a pound of these misplaced critters for one of those pies. Honestly I am glad I only have one.

I am sure I would try someone else’s “pie”, and here is someone elses recipe taken from About.com.

Crawfish Pie

* 1 med. to large onion
* 3 stalks of celery
* 6 to 8 cloves of garlic
* 1 can of cream of mushroom soup
* 1 can light or regular evaporated milk
* 1 pound of crawfish tails
* 5 tablespoons of cornstarch
* pie crust for 2-crust pie

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350°. Sauté onions, celery and garlic in butter or olive oil. Add milk and soup; bring to medium boil. Add crawfish, bring to medium boil again then add corn starch. Lower heat and cook for another 10 minutes or until thick.
Grease pie shell w/butter and place pie shell in bottom of pan then add thickened mixture. Put on top shell and bake at 350°
for 20 minutes.

Chateau Morrisette Bike Ride

I hope everyone is enjoying the Memorial Day today!

Yesterday we and friends took a trip to this wonderful nearby winery for a tasting and lunch.
Chateau Morrisette

Several Bikers were also enjoying the trip. That is hubby on the right.

The winery

The Chateau is just off the Blueridge Parkway.

glass

inside winery

Waiting to start tasting

We had the chance to taste 10 of their wines, but I wish to highlight the ones I liked best.

2006 Merlot- Rich plum and cherry flavors
2007 Pinot Noir- Strawberry and cherry aromas with earthy tones
2006 Cabernet Sauvignon- Berry and dark cherry, also earthy
The Black Dog- Blend of Cabernet, Chambourcin, and Merlot -very smooth semi dry!
Our Dog Blue- The best selling white in the states of VA and NC right now. A semi sweet Riesling Blend.

After the wonderful tasting we enjoyed the buffet. They featured many items, but I chose the Prime Rib with green beans and potatoes.

Not a great pic. I tend to pile a buffet plate too high!

The food was wonderful as well as the tasting and we hope to return soon since it is a hop, skip, and jump from home for us.

I recommend you try if you ever get the chance.

Birthday Party

For my twin grandson’s Birthday Party this Memorial Day Weekend, I have been asked to bring my chocolate dipped strawberries, pineapple, and peanut butter crackers!

Mine are never perfect to look at..but boy do they taste good!

Of course the secret to great tasting dipped fruit is to have good ripe fruit. Even a wonderful chocolate can’t make hard unripe pinapple or strawberry taste good!

Happy Birthday Kingston and Xavier! Grandma loves you boys!

Missing in Action

Oh well I have been playing too much smallworlds at smallworlds.com to be able to keep up this blog.

Here is my avatar ( Elite Sweet and her dog LuckyChance) having her pic taken with santa. lol

Not sure when I’ll get back to blogging.

Roadtrip

Took a short road trip to the Breaks Interstate Park, Park Link, over the weekend. It is also called the Grand Canyon of the South, but I must laugh because I am sure the Grand Canyon would be completely different.

We stayed at the lodge which was comfortable with a nice pool ( although very far from lodge, we walked and it took about 15 minutes) and lots of hiking trails. They have great campgrounds, so we hope to be able to come back and rough it soon.

us at the tower overlook

view information

towers overlook

Some shots going down RT. 460 on the motorcycle.

We ate at the restaurant and it was so enjoyable, mainly because of the view.
The steaks for supper were fantastic and my breakfast BLT was out of this world at a mere 3.99.

Doug at table

view from Breaks Park restaurant

My breakfast BLT

I have to say we had a most enjoyable trip and will certainly return someday.

Road Trip

An overnight road trip to North Carolina.

Tweetsie Railroad was on the agenda.

We ate a bunch of junk with Pilot Knob coffee along the way.

We went to a goat haven.

We stopped at a bike retreat but decided to leave since we had our weapon of choice in pocket..Pepper spray.

I got a lot of neat pictures from the back of the bike.

And we met the cutest dog inside his traveling dog house being pulled by a Gold Wing.

ME oh ME

I have been tagged by Ali at Henbogle
so here are the meme rules.

Tag Rules:
# Link to the person who tagged you.
# Post the rules on the blog.
# Write six random things about yourself.
# Tag six people at the end of your post.
# Let each person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.
# Let the tagger know when your entry is up.

……..and here are 6 random things about myself.

1. I am a grandmother of fraternal twin boys. Kingston and Xavier.
2. I love to boat, waterski, water kneeboard, and camp out.
3. I have held several jobs in my lifetime ranging from Breakfast head waitress, (Oh I forgot to mention pizza maker at a local pizza joint..my gosh why couldn’t I just stop job hopping? ) Debt collector, Secretary & Treasurer of a window and door Corporation, B&B owner and operator. I am now retired.
4. I wish to live as self sufficient as possible, ( although I often don’t meet my wishes in the least and will
not pretend that I do )
5. I have been on several area TV commercials before my retirement.
6. I no longer dress to impress and have become a hayseed. ( my own term for country gal all the way )

I tag –

Natashya at Living In The Kitchen With Puppies
shwankie at Eclectic Edibles
Francie at Frantic Home Cook
katie at Thyme For Cooking
kate at Kate in the Kitchen
Jeff at C For Cooking