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| All three types of sassafras leaves - the mitten, the ghost, and the football - from Pennsylvania |
Evelyn Dixon's Texas friend Mary Dell and her son Howard have invited Evelyn over for dinner to hear about her trip to New England to see the fall colors. And better yet - we're all invited!
Mary Dell's Menu
Buffalo Chicken Wings
Cheese Straws
Banana Pudding
Dr. Pepper
Southern Living Cheese Straws
1-1/2 cups butter,
softened
1 (1-pound) block extra
sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded and at room temperature
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
1 to 2 teaspoons ground
red pepper
½ teaspoon paprika
4 cups all-purpose flour
1. Using a heavy-duty stand mixer, beat softened
butter, shredded cheese, salt, red pepper, and paprika at medium speed until
blended.
2. Gradually add flour, beating until combined.
3. On parchment paper-lined baking sheets, use a
cookie press with a star-shaped disk to shape mixture into long ribbons. Cut ribbons into 2-inch pieces.
4. Bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes or until
lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to
cool. Makes 10 dozen.
from Southern Living March 2006
Tips from Southern
Living:
Shred your own cheese; it’s stickier and blends better than pre-shredded
cheese. Store baked cheese straws in an airtight container for 1 week. Store
unbaked dough in the fridge for 1 week or in the freezer for 1 month. Bake stored
cheese straws in the oven at 350° for 3 to 4 minutes to make them crispy again.
Did you know that Dr Pepper is a native Texan? According to the Dr Pepper Museum, it was created, manufactured, and sold in Waco, Texas, starting in 1885. It is the oldest of the major soft drink brands in America.
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| A Northern Red Oak leaf from New Hampshire |
Now it's your turn. Share with the book club in the comments section about a special trip you've taken.
You might also enjoy reading my previous blog post:
http://www.starwoodquilter.blogspot.com/2013/03/my-house-quilt-mushroom-house-block.html
What a very special trip you experienced!!!! I've mostly traveled places, not to "vacation" but for some event or to visit family. But one very fun trip was in January 2005 when we traveled to Denver for the National Western Stock show, where our son's 4-H meat judging team was competing. We took the kid's and all the parents skiing at Loveland Basin, plus we visited our friends and family. To top it off, our team won the contest and many other honors! Many of the kids had not experienced "real winter", so it was nice to show them my "home"!!
ReplyDeleteBlessings
That sounds like a wonderful trip, Doniene! I've been to that stock show. And what fun to show your family a real Colorado winter as well as where you grew up.
DeleteMy great aunt was a school teacher. She had always wanted to travel and see the world, so when it came time to retire, she worked extra years to save money for her dream trip. When it came time, she had a stroke and ended up spending the rest of her life in a nursing home bed. I was a teacher by that time and barely making enough to pay room and board to my parents but I decided to take her trip for her. I bought a round trip by ship to Europe for 400 dollars and a youth hostel membership pass. I sailed out of Montreal to Grennock Scotland, bought a cheap used bike, and set out on my adventure. Starting in Scotland, where my uncle had changed houses and pastor-ships with a minister in Dundee for the summer, I biked ... well, pushed that bike up hill and rode down ... all around Scotland, Skye, over to Ireland, back through Wales, through England, then over to Europe where I switched to bus and train, taking in Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, France, and finally ending up in Denmark where I caught my return ship back to New York. I managed on less than a dollar a day, took lots of pictures, loved seeing the art I had studied and memorized information on for tests in college ... now the real thing. I took my report back to my Great aunt who was pleased. I also proved to myself that if you wait until you can afford to do something, it may never happen, or you may be too old and decrept to do it. There were tourists on those buses that were too tired to get out and look at the sights once they were at the place, and only wanted to skip Milan to get to the next hotel earlier! It really upset me when they all voted not to stop. I returned broke but inspired to work hard the next year and make my dreams come true.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful adventure you had, Julie, as well as a special gift to your great aunt and a good lesson learned. Thank you for sharing your experiences with us.
DeleteI've had several really pleasant trips to Canada's east coast in the last five years. Now that DD # 2 has decided to get married and stay in Newfoundland I am sure that trend will continue. DH and I went last fall to see where she is living and go to her graduation from her advanced paramedic course. We spent ten days in Newfoundland with DD,her fiance and his 3 year old daughter. We then flew to Halifax and drove to PEI for the graduation. We only spent two days in PEI as we had to get on to Nova Scotia to visit DH's cousins who live on or near the old family farm and then to New Brunswick to see my aunt and cousin - who live one place - and my sister, who lives elsewhere in NB. We were there for almost a month and it was a great holiday.
ReplyDeleteI've been to the eastern provinces and really enjoyed my time there, although I've never been to Newfoundland. My sons and I had fun visiting Green Gables on Prince Edward Island and drinking a bottle of raspberry cordial!
DeleteMy husband is partial to islands. We travel with Road Scholar (www.roadscholar.org) which has a lot of programs that happen to be on islands. Among our 27 RS trips: Iles de la Madeleine and PEI; Newfoundland; Nantucket; Star Island (off Portsmouth, NH); Isle Royale (Lake Superior); South Bass Island (Lake Erie); Mackinac (Lakes Michigan & Huron); Bermuda. (We've done inland Road Scholar programs, too, and right now are debating between London and the Maritimes in August/September.)
ReplyDeleteHow interesting to go to islands on your vacation. And I'd never heard of Road Scholar. Thank you for telling us about it, Nann.
DeleteThe same lesson Julie learned was brought home to me when my father (also a teacher) died five months before his planned retirement. My husband and I took our Grand Trip the summer of 1999. We left our hometown at noon on the last day of school in PA, drove south, then west in our little motorhome, and came back August 15th in time to prepare my classroom for the new year. Highlights were experiencing the desert - Badlands - praires(None in PA!), reliving Route 66 going west, and the westward expansion trails coming east, talking without interruptions, visiting 56 quilt shops and 3 quilt museums, and living to the rhythm of the sun. I drove across The Golden Gate Bridge and most of Highway 1 in California and Oregon. Reds for our son's wedding quilt had to be collected so I was able to buy just a little in each shop. I pinned a Drunkards Path by day and sewed on the Featherweight evenings. (It's now hanging in our living room.) We were on a very strict budget but the memories are priceless!
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful Grand Trip with priceless memories. I can just see you sewing on your little Featherweight in the evenings! (I have one, too.) And 56 quilt shops and 3 quilt museums. Amazing!
DeleteI have two memorable trips. I went to Europe for 30 days, back in 1985, with my college group. We went to East Germany, and Czechoslovakia, both of which aren't even countries any more, now that communism is gone. We visited a total of 7 countries on that trip. 2nd, hubby and I went to Maine with his parents to celebrate our 20th Anniversary, 5 years ago. Lots of wonderful memories were made on that trip, too.
ReplyDeleteI took a trip to Czechoslovakia and East Berlin as well as other European countries in 1972 with a Young Life college group. It was a memorable trip for me, too.
DeleteMany years ago (back when the economy was way better!) my family and I took over a small hotel in Dingle, Ireland for a family reunion. We're very Irish on my mother's side. It really was the trip of a lifetime. We had three generations of the family together and it was such fun seeing them interact. The hotel owners were lovely to us as well - they arranged to have some musicians come in and play traditional music for us on our last night. Such fun!
ReplyDeleteWhat an amazing trip for all generations and such good memories!
DeleteI am new to your blog and am intrigued by the beautiful leaf applique blocks. Is it a pattern that can be purchased? TIA, Laura
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately the pattern cannot be purchased. I found the idea in a quilt magazine and altered it. But it's not hard to make. Each leaf block is 6" x 8" finished. In between each block are 4" x 2" flying geese. People sent me actual leaves from all over, and I traced them to make patterns. The leaves are made of felted wool. The plaid background fabric is brushed cotton, and the flying geese are cotton flannel. I used perle cotton to attach the leaves to the background fabric with a buttonhole stitch. I then wrote the name in pencil and stitched with perle cotton.
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