Mud House Year

The Sweetest Thing

Something about my previous blog, and those baseball caps hanging in the breeze, made me think about my favorite childhood books.  Remember this one?

Oh my gosh!  I loved Caps for Sale when I was a kid, and I loved reading it to my own kids.  It was first published in 1940 and it is the sweet story of a peddler who sells caps.

Until monkeys steal all of his caps.

And he has to come up with all kinds of plans to get them back.

I copied this from a review on Amazon "You need this one if you would like children to learn how to make predictions, recognize patterns, sequence events, and notice setting elements. "  Who knew?  I always  just loved it for its wonderful fun story, colorful illustrations, funny monkeys, and the giggles and laughs of little children as you read it to them.  I love, love , love this book!

 

But No Elephants is a lesser known book and I think I bought it for my kids from Scholastic.  It's the story of a kind-hearted grandma who buys pets from a traveling salesman.  She draws the line at elephants, though. My kids loved it and they asked for it more than any other book when they were little.  I never heard much about it over the years.  Funny thing is, years later, when my oldest daughter married and had a baby of her own, her mother-in-law sent this book to her and said it was one of her son's childhood favorites, too. It's now one of our grandbaby boy's favorite books.
So, so sweet.  I just love how families' traditions combine and grow and become more meaningful over the years.  

 

                                       

Our children grew up in Boston and we spent much of their childhood vacationing in Maine so the Robert McCloskey books were big favorites.  We especially loved Make Way for Ducklings.

 

                           Our oldest daughter was born when we lived on 57th and 6th Avenue in New York City.  That's about two blocks from the Plaza Hotel.  I took her for tea there when she was a tiny little girl.   She loved the story of Eloise and I think she enjoyed imagining what it would be like to actually live at the grand and elegant Plaza Hotel.

                                                 
She always loved Madeline too, maybe imagining herself in Paris.  This daughter grew-up loving to travel and took advantage of every opportunity to live in other countries, including going to summer school in Salamanca, Spain and spending a semester abroad in Chile.  

 

                                                             
As a little girl, our middle daughter was always offering to help.  She still does. I'm thinking it might be a middle-child thing but I will leave that to the experts.  While writing this post I asked her for her favorite childhood book and she said, "Herman the Helper," it's  about a very helpful octopus.  

                                                     
She also loved Runaway Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown who, of course, also wrote Goodnight Moon.  Over and over, the mother bunny tells her little bunny "Wherever you go, I will find you."  What sweet, reassuring words.  

I emailed our youngest daughter and asked her for her favorite books.  Without hesitation, she said But No Elephants and Nancy Drew.

                                                                
This daughter loves figuring things out.  While she was growing-up, she read and collected all of the Nancy Drew books.  She is now in law school and still has her collection of Nancy Drews.

 

When I sat down to write this, I was thinking about those baseball caps and those monkeys. Now I'm thinking about this sweet little guy and how fun it will be to see if his favorite childhood books influence the person he becomes. Or, does he choose his favorites because that is who he already is? Who knows??   Even the experts don't know the answer to that one!  All I know is what a joy he is.

 

 

Ok, here is one of my favorites.      I read it to my little girls when they were growing-up in New England.  It's about what to expect when you travel to my part of the world. Recommended reading before a visit to the Mud House.

With all of the technology today, there is simply no substitute for sitting down with a real book and reading to a child.  There are so many, many reasons why, and so many, many wonderful books. For me, it is simply magical.  It is truly the sweetest thing.

 

 

 

 

 

What's Blooming at the Mud House?

Nope, not baseball caps.  Although they look pretty cheerful drying in the breeze.

Roses!  Yes roses.  When we moved to the Mud House, we re-potted nine neglected roses that were pot-bound and had been growing in the  same potting soil for about 10 years.  We weren't sure if they would survive, much less produce blooms, but this week we were rewarded with our first rose.   All of the rose bushes have new growth and buds so we are expecting even more!

 Zinnias! Since I took the picture of our first zinnia a few weeks ago, the little cutting garden has become a riot of color.

Purple basil.  Some of the herbs are flowering.  I'm pinching them back and planting more seeds. 

The peppers are blooming and producing peppers.  This is a variegated fish pepper plant.

The okra continues to bloom.

This is one of the many succulents blooming around the Mud House.

The nasturtium seeds I've planted are doing well. 

The honeysuckle and the bougainvillea continue to thrive along with our collection of scruffy dogs.This is Rex.  He is our foster dog.  He is a 14 pound chihuahua.  He is sitting in one of the large pots that we have prepared to plant sweet pea seeds, which we will be doing very soon.

Oh, and about those baseball caps.... Allen decided to help with the laundry so he washed all of his caps in the washing  machine and hung them out to dry.   I seriously laughed-out-loud when I walked into the garden and saw them hanging there.

 
 

Pinterest Wednesday

I pinned this recipe a couple of weeks ago and it has been calling my name! There is something so seductive about salted caramel.  Combine it with a shortbread crust and it's impossible to resist. You've got the sweet/salty/flaky/buttery seduction all wrapped up in one.  This Pinterest Wednesday recipe comes to us from What's Gaby Cooking and it is yummy!  I am copying the recipe here with no changes.  I didn't have a 9x9 pan so I used an 8x8 pan which contributed to the shortbread crust being a bit thicker.

Salted Carmel Bars

Ingredients:

10 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg yolk, whisked
1 2/3 cups AP flour
1 cup unsalted butter
1 cup light brown sugar
12 tbsp light corn syrup
2 tsp sea salt
4 tbsp sugar
4 tbsp heavy cream
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
sea salt flakes

Instructions:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees and line a 9-by-9-inch pan with parchment paper with the edges of the parchment hanging over the sides. This will make removing the bars easier.

In a large bowl combine the butter, sugar and salt with a fork.
Add the yolk and combine with the fork.
Add the flour and using your hands, combine the dough until its flaky.
Transfer the dough into the parchment lined pan and press down with your hands or the bottom of a measuring cup.
Refrigerate this for 30 minutes. Once chilled, bake for 25 minutes until lightly browned.
Once baked, remove and set aside to cool.

Meanwhile, in a pot combine the topping ingredients; butter, brown sugar, corn syrup, salt, sugar and cream.

Bring to a boil and make sure all the sugar is dissolved. Stir for about 5-10 minutes until its thick and bubbly. If you have a candy thermometer – the caramel should be about 230 degrees. Remove from heat, stir in vanilla extract and pour on top of the shortbread.Refrigerate for 2-4 hours. Then sprinkle with the sea salt flakes and serve!  

Mud House Notes

These are rich and delicious but must be kept refrigerated until serving. I refrigerated mine overnight but after only about 10 minutes at room temperature, the caramel melted and looked like this: 

Next time I will cook the caramel a little longer to a higher temperature than recommended in the recipe.  I will cook it until the temperature reaches 240 instead of 230 and I will let you know how it turns out.

The flavors of these bars are delicious!  A big thank you to What's Gaby Cooking.

I am giving this recipe 4/5 Prickly Pear Margaritas because they melted so quickly at room temperature.
   

 

 

Mud House Prickly Pear Margarita Pie

There are many, many versions of margarita pie out there, including this recipe I found in one of my old, regional cookbooks.  It is a 1977 collection of recipes benefiting the Tucson Museum of ArtAmong other things, the recipe requires the addition of four uncooked egg whites which is frowned upon today due to food safety issues.  I chuckled a bit, thinking how much things have changed.  I was getting ready to close the book when I glanced at the facing page and saw a recipe for French-fried diamondback. It took me a minute to believe what I was reading.  For those of you who are neither baseball fans nor familiar with desert creatures, diamondbacks are rattlesnakes and deadly.  The recipe includes directions to use "utmost care and caution to catch a rattlesnake at least two feet in length using a long snare."  Talk about food safety issues!  Shucks, these folks weren't afraid of a lil' ole raw egg!   The author of this recipe was "anonymous" and I can only hope it was written with tongue firmly in cheek.  It is, however, a legitimate recipe.  Yuck and yuck and blech.  Western diamondbacks are not currently considered endangered but they are essential to the eco-system of the desert so nobody out there better be French-frying up a batch of diamondback.   If you want to know more about them (and I don't) check out the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum here.

Anywayyyyy... back to less creepy subjects.  I decided to leave raw eggs and rattlesnakes behind and continue my quest.  I wanted a recipe I could adapt by adding prickly pear syrup.  I wanted prickly pear margarita pie!  You can read about my adventures with prickly pears here and here.   Fortunately I have a nice collection of vintage, regional cookbooks and I found a recipe from the Rancho De La Osa Guest Ranch in Sasabe, Arizona  (it is a mud house, too!).

Here is a little history from their website and I encourage you to visit their website if you would like to learn more.

"In the late 17th Century, the fertile Altar Valley was settled by Spanish Jesuits. Father Eusebio Francisco Kino and his followers built a mission outpost on the ranch. This building was used for more than a century as an outpost to trade with the local Indians and Mexicans. This rare and historic adobe structure is reputed to be the oldest building in Arizona and still serves as a peaceful gathering place for our guests to mingle and relax.

Rancho De La Osa is part of the original three million acre land grant from the King of Spain to the Ortiz brothers of Mexico in 1812. When the Gadsden Purchase was signed in 1854 settling the border dispute between Mexico and the United States, the ranch fell within the US boundaries. Shortly afterward cattle baron and Civil War hero Colonel William Sturgis began renovations on the main house and made the structure the center of his massive ranching empire.

The Mexican Revolution brought history to our doors when revolution leader Pancho Villa fired on the hacienda. A Mexican cannonball from the era was found embedded in the stucco walls of the main house. Today the cannonball sits on display in the structure for all to see.

In 1921, Louisa Wade Wetherill, who is still considered one of the foremost Navajo historians, came south looking for a lost tribe of Navajos. She never found them, but she started "Hacienda De La Osa (She Bear) Guest Ranch" in 1924, and the ranch began its transformation into one of America's premier guest ranches, beginning an enviable tradition that continues to this day."

 

This is a pretty cool, historical place.

I am copying their recipe with my changes and additions in parenthesis.  This recipe is delicious without the addition of prickly pear syrup so don't let that stop you.  If you want to try it with syrup you can find it here.  Just boil it down so it is thickened and you have approximately 3 tablespoons.

Rancho De La Osa Margarita Pie

 For the Pretzel Crust:

1 1/2 cups finely crushed pretzel  (I used 1 cup pretzels and 1/2 cup graham crackers.  If you want a saltier contrast with the pie filling, use all pretzels.)
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter melted

Pulse the pretzel and sugar is a food processor several times to combine. Add the butter in a steady stream and process until well mixed.

Spray 9 inch pie plate with non-stick cooking spray and press pretzels evenly over the bottom and up the sides of plate

For the Pie Filling:
1/2 cup fresh lime juice (use Mexican or key limes if available)
1 - 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
2 tablespoons gold tequila
2 tablespoons Triple Sec (I use Cointreau - much yummier!)
Green food color (Or pink if you are going with prickly pear pie.  The syrup gives a light pink color to the pie but I wanted my pink to pop so I used two drops of magenta.)
(3 tablespoons reduced prickly pear syrup)
2 cups heavy whipping cream, whipped

Combine the lime juice, condensed milk, tequila, and Triple Sec (Cointreau), food color, and prickly pear syrup, if using, in a large bowl and mix well.   That's the prickly pear syrup in the center, so pretty!Gently fold in whipped cream and fill pie crust.

Freeze for four hours or overnight.

Garnish with whipped cream and lime slices.

Notes:

Don't use non-fat or low-fat pretzels.  The crust will not hold together.
You may substitute graham crackers for all or part of the crust.
The pie definitely tastes better the next day so try to plan ahead with preparation.
This pie is delicious with or without the prickly pear syrup.  It tastes just like a creamy, frozen margarita. 

Enjoy!

Mema's Dinner in a Pumpkin

I've mentioned Mema before.  You can read a bit about her here.  Among the many things I cherish are the recipes she shared with me while I was growing-up and, later, when Allen and I had three little girls of our own.   

That's Mema's handwritten recipe for dinner in a pumpkin.   I love her handwriting.  It brings her back to me.  This is a recipe she made for me when I was a little girl and then it later became a family tradition in my own family.  I remember one especially  memorable Halloween party when I made 15 individual little pumpkins for a bunch of costumed 5th grade girls.  And later, when we moved while our youngest was a freshman in high school, a little dinner-in-a-pumpkin-party paved the way to some new friendships. We made it every Halloween when the girls were little and now, we make it any time we are together between Halloween and Thanksgiving.

I'm going to share with you Mema's original recipe and indicate my changes and additions in parenthesis.

Mema's Dinner in a Pumpkin 

This recipe serves approximately 4.  You can either use one medium sized pumpkin and serve it family style,  or use little ones for individual pumpkins.  The little pumpkins are a little more work but it's really fun for everyone to have their own pumpkins.  They are also sweeter and firmer.  Try to find 1 1/2 pound sugar or pie pumpkins. These were about twice as big as large apples.  

Ingredients:

One medium or four small pumpkins
1 1/2 pounds ground meat
1 teaspoon salt (I use more - 1 1/2 teaspoons.)
1 diced onion (I use half of a red onion.)
dash of pepper (I use quite a bit more - maybe 1/2 teaspoon.)
1 diced green pepper (I use a combination of red, yellow, and orange peppers.  I like the extra color.)
2 teaspoons oregano (I use 2 heaping teaspoons of Mexican oregano.  I always crush the oregano before adding it.)
2 teaspoon mustard (yellow or dijon)
1 teaspoon vinegar (apple cider or red wine or balsamic - whatever you like)
1/3 cup sliced olives (I use half a cup of green - you can use black, green or a combination.)
1/2 cup rice (I don't use rice.  If you do, be sure to cook it first before adding it to meat mixture.) 
1 can tomato sauce (I use a 14 oz can of fire roasted diced tomatoes with green chilies.) 
2 beaten eggs
(I also add a small can of green chilies.) 
(I rub inside of pumpkins with brown sugar.) 
(I made little individual bouquet garni from herbs in my garden.  I used tarragon, oregano, sage, and thyme.) 

Here's how:

Pre-heat oven to 350.
Drizzle a heavy, sturdy pan with olive oil.


Make lid in small pumpkin. (Cut the top as though it is a top for a casserole.)

Clean out seeds. (Use a soup spoon to scrape sides.  Leave the pumpkin flesh but get out all the seeds and stringy stuff.)

 
Brown 1 1/2 pounds ground meat. (You can use beef, turkey, chicken, etc.  I always use beef.) And drain
fat. 

Add all remaining ingredients to meat.

Combine and heat through.

Rub inside of pumpkins with brown sugar.  Sprinkle with salt.

Use a slotted spoon to fill pumpkins, draining off as much liquid as possible.

Put tops on, place in oven and cook for about an hour.  

They are done when meat is bubbly and pumpkin flesh ion the inside is just tender but not too soft.

Remove from oven.  Let pumpkins sit for a few minutes.  They are hot and heavy so use care when transferring them to individual plates or bowls.
 Be sure to scrape the pumpkin flesh from the insides of the pumpkins and mix into the meat - so yummy.

I always add a few dashes of Tabasco and a glass of red wine.
 Left-overs are particularly good, too.

Enjoy!