Book Em', Dano!

After sitting here in the desert with not much to do since the end of December, things are starting to hop here at the Fab household. This week, I received my paperwork from the dream job to fill out for going back to work. I also had to go to Parker, a 100 mile round trip, to get fingerprinted. I had to do this last year, too, and I think it is too funny that I, a gray haired old grandma, has to go to the sheriff's office to get fingerprinted for this job. But off we went to take care of business. While we were there, I also stopped in at the DMV to get the date of birth corrected on my drivers license. So, now after only 40 years, I have a correct drivers license. Yay!

We have booked a room in Imperial Beach for our long awaited vacation at the beach. Yeah, we live in a travel trailer, and camp all the time, so when we do take an "official" vacation, we stay at a motel. This particular place, The Seacoast Inn, is a special place for us. It is where we stayed for our first vacation together in 1994.

We still lived in a house in Georgia at that time, and I was still working at a "real" job. I took 17 days off, and we drove from Atlanta to San Diego and back, spending 5 days at the beach. Our reservation was for a swanky hotel in La Jolla, that said in their brochure that they had a "beach view". Well, they did, IF you stood on your tip toes and leaned over as far to the left as you could, you could see a little bit of sand from the room. I was so disappointed with that.

The first day we were there, we drove down to Imperial Beach, which is where FabGrandpa grew up. And right there on the beach where he spent his childhood, was this incredible little inn, very intimate looking, and quaint. They had been closed for renovations and had just re-opened that day when we showed up. We booked a room there for the remainder of our stay, went back to that crap hole in La Jolla, and moved down there. It was so nice. All I had to do was open my patio door and put my feet into the Pacific sand. This is one of the highlights of our first trip there. I took this picture from our patio:



Then, in 2004, ten years later, we went back for our summer vacation. We emailed all the kids, and gave them a link to the inn's website, and told them, "If you want to come and meet us there, here is the website and the dates we'll be there." Three out of the four of them showed up, and we had so much fun! We went to Old Towne, the San Diego Zoo, downtown San Diego, Tijuana, and just relaxed on the beach. The grunion were running while we were there, and our grandson, Michael, who was 7 at the time, had a blast staying up til 3 in the morning, chasing little fish on the beach with a flashlight. This is my favorite picture from that vacation. It's Michael holding a lobster he and his Dad caught on the pier:


The sad part is, this will probably be the last time we get to stay there. They are tearing it down after this summer, and building a new hotel. I don't know if they are going to rebuild in the same style of little suites with kitchenettes, or not, but I hope so.

Then, as soon as we get back from San Diego, we will be moving. I have made a reservation for a month at a campground on the other side of Wickenburg from where we are now, about umm, maybe 85 miles east of here. The rent is a little cheaper than it is here, and the electricity rate is 11 cents per khw, as opposed to being 18 cents per kwh here. And it is beginning to be hot here: today was 90 degrees. We'll need to run the air conditioner more, so that difference in the electric rate will make a big difference.

We'll also be closer to town. We have enjoyed being in a remote area, but I am ready to be closer in. Being 85 miles from Wal-Mart and 55 miles from a decent grocery store saves you when you need to stay on a budget, but it can get pretty old. Yeah, I said it! I am tired of this place!

Another "booking" I have made is an appointment for FabGrandpa to get his annual physical at the VA Medical Center in Prescott. And to answer the question I know must be on The Original FabGrandpa's, my father-in-law's, mind at this point is "No, there is nothing wrong, he just needs to get his bloodwork done for his thyroid medication." We usually do this at the doctor in Atlanta, but since we didn't go to Atlanta this year, he is going to the VA to take care of that. And because he has never been to this particular VA facility, they are going to do the in depth "intake" physical. Everything from looking down his throat to a finger in the Whooo Hoooo! He should have a lot of fun that day.

So, Prescott is about a two hour drive from where we will be at the time of his appointment. We'll go up and spend the night with Gaelyn of Geogypsy, then go for the day in Prescott. There is a health food store there where I can find some of the things I can eat, as well as my dishwashing liquid.

This last month before starting back to work is going to be busy. I'll probably also do my annual cleaning out of things we don't need. I hate to do it, but it has got to be done. Everything that comes in weighs us down, and we sure don't need too much weight when we go back over those mountains towards Flagstaff!

Rescued From Boredom!

I was lolling about on my bed this afternoon, while talking on the phone with my oldest daughter, Becca, about words--how people use them incorrectly, or pronounce them incorrectly, and how some people use high dollar words when a cheap word would do--in other words, talking about words. The conversation was going somewhere about why in heck anyone would use "consternation'" when "fear" or "panic" would suffice. Yeah, we are word nerds, I guess.

(that's Becca on the left, Emily on the right, with my son, Seth, in the middle)

This whole conversation started because she is preparing for taking the GRE on Saturday, because she is, like, a perpetual student. She had a degree in Fine Arts from the University of Alabama, and went to graduate school at Old Dominion in Norfolk. Now she wants to be a library lady like Parker Posey in Party Girl, so she is going back to school. OK, ok, she wants to get a degree in Library Science, or something like that. She wants to be near books is all I'm saying.

So we were having this great intellectual conversation, with me remembering that when she was four, she, her sister, and I were standing in the kitchen one day. Emily, my youngest, who was three at the time, was putting a on a pretty good temper tantrum. Becca stood there, hands on hips, and said "Emily is certainly being obstinate today." I sort of shook my head in a double take, as she not only pronounced it correctly, she used it correctly in a sentence. At four years old.


Suddenly, there was a knock at the door, which startled me, because I don't know anyone out here in the freaking middle of nowhere in the desert who would come calling without calling me first. And there, at the door, we found our friend, Gaelyn, of Geogypsy fame. She had been to Quartzsite to visit some friends there, and to purchase a new slide in camper for her pick-up truck. She stopped by to show it to us. She was very excited, as I would have been if it had been mine.

We went outside to see it, and climbed in to look at the inside. It is a marvelous bargain that she got for $450! Now she can go camping in the desert, or go anywhere her heart takes her without the worry of where to lay her head at night. What freedom!

We spent the rest of the afternoon talking and laughing. It was so much fun to catch up with her. Fabgrandpa finally started talking about his hunger, and Gaelyn suggested a restaurant out on I-10 about 8 or so miles away. We said our goodbyes to her, and got ready to go. When we got to the restaurant, guesss who was already there! She said she got to thinking that her cupboard was bare in the new camper, so we got to chat a little more at dinner.

It was so much fun today! We made plans to go up to Yarnell and spend the night with her in about 3 weeks. Can't wait to go!

Tuna Salad With Avocado

In my opinion, anything is better with avocado. Tonight I made a fairly simple dinner of tuna salad, and made it just a bit better by serving it with sliced avocado and some of those yummo corn tortillas I got at the restaurant in Parker the other day.

Tuna Salad:

1 large can tuna, drained
2 boiled eggs, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
12 cherry tomatoes, cut in quarters
salt and pepper to taste
1/3 cup mayonnaise

Mix all together well and serve on a bed of lettuce. If you like avocado, put some slices on top.


Here I am, a new self portrait, to show you how long my hair is getting. I let it air dry instead of using a hair dryer. I think it still has some natural curl left in it.

Pork Roast Two Times

Yesterday was a little warm here, with the temperature going up to 86 degrees. I was glad for the sunny warmth, but to keep the trailer from heating up too much, I got out the crock pot.

I had a pork roast in the freezer from our last shopping trip. I thawed it out, and seasoned it and put in the bottom of the crock pot. Then I got out my last pumpkin that I have been saving since November.

Those little sugar pumpkins are really good, either made into a sweet pie or souffle, or a savory vegetable dish. I decided to cook it along with the pork roast in my crock pot yesterday.

Here is what I did with it: Cut the pumpkin in four or five pieces, and clean out all the seeds, then scrape the inside of each piece to remove the stringy part:




Spray or brush each piece with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Arrange the pieces on top of the roast in the crock pot so that they sort of just sit there and lean against the sides of the crock pot. You don't want them sitting in the juices from the roast later on:



Cover and cook three to four hours on high. Take the pumpkin pieces out and put them in a serving dish. Then, take out the roast, and slice. We had steamed green beans to round out the meal. Yum, and yum.



Then today, I had some yellow summer squash and one zucchini that were going to go bad if I didn't use them up. I starting thinking about making squash casserole with them, but I didn't have any bread. I did have this new to me bread mix from kinnikinnick so I thought I would give it a try.



This was the easiest mix, ever! You just measure the mix, then add water, then mix with an electric mixer for 3 minutes, put the batter in greased muffin tins, bake 25 minutes. The result: Some really good rolls that taste like, "BREAD" ! Imagine that! Good gluten free bread from an easy mix! Why oh why have I not tried this mix before???



Here they are, cooling on the stove. A cup and a half of mix and a cup of water makes six large rolls. They rose up over the top of the muffin pans. They smelled good, look good, and taste good. I'll be ordering some more from Amazon.com for sure!



I ate one of these rolls hot from the oven with some butter. OMG! heaven. Then I used one and a half rolls in my squash casserole. The casserole was delicious. We added a tossed salad, diced potatoes, and the rest of the pork roast from yesterday. Same pork, different sides, another day done.


Gluten Free Squash Casserole:

3 yellow squash or zucchini or mixed
1/2 onion
salt and pepper to taste
3 eggs
3 slices gluten free bread or 1 1/2 gluten free rolls
1 stick of butter
1/2 package Glutino Gluten Free crackers

Scrape and cut up the squash. Chop the onion. Put them in a 4 qt pan, cover with water, add salt and pepper to taste, and boil until the squash is tender, about 20 minutes. Turn off the heat and add 1/2 stick of butter to the pot.

When the squash is cooled off, break up the bread into small pieces and stir into the pan with the squash. Add the eggs, and mix well. Add salt and pepper if needed. Pour into a greased 8 X 8 inch casserole dish. Break up the gluten free crackers into crumbs. Sprinkle on top of the casserole. Dot with remaining butter. Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes.

I love this squash casserole so much that I eat it for breakfast sometimes. MMMMMM.

The La Paz County Fair

To celebrate FabGrandpa's birthday today, we went to Parker, Arizona. We had a little business to take care of first, then we ate lunch at El Serape' Mexican restaurant. They had the best corn tortillas I have ever eaten. They weren't mushy tasting and wet like a lot of corn tortillas are. When I paid the bill I told them how much I liked the tortillas, so they sold me a bag of them for $2.50. I was so excited that I found something I can eat that tastes so good and that they let me buy some to take home.

(FabGrandpa on the Tilt-A-Whirl)

After lunch, we went to do laundry, then to Basha for some veggies. We wound up spending $65 at Basha, but we got cauliflower, broccoli, brussels sprouts, tomatoes, mushrooms, green onions, lettuce, avacados, bananas, strawberries, grapes, green beans, and asparagus. Two cases of water and coffee and we were out of there. So, for what we got for the money we did pretty good.

(The Ferris Wheel)

Then as a treat, we went to the fair! I can't remember the last time I went to a fair, and he said he doesn't think he as been to one since Becky was a little girl and she is, ummm, 34.




I love the animals of the carousel, they are always so pretty. I especially liked this zebra.




Yeah, he tried to get me to ride the Starship 3000, but I am not completely crazy. The last time I got on one of those things I was really sick, and the other riders were not happy. Besides, who in the world thinks that something like the spin cycle on a washing machine could be fun???



I don't remember the name of this one, but it looks like a Ferris Wheel except that the bucket you are in twirls around and upside down. We got in it, but changed our minds before it started. I think it was a good decision.




Here it is from the ground looking up. See those little space capsule looking things. Yeah, right. I'm glad I didn't do that.



This is the more dignified, real and true Ferris Wheel. It was just the right speed for us old folks.


And here I am, with my new longer hair and shades. I got sunburned on my face because the sun was out and not a cloud in the sky.


Well, except for way over there on the horizon. This is the view from the top of the Ferris Wheel. They held this fair out in the middle of the freaking nowhere desert. Way out from town. I wish we could have gone at night, I'll bet the lights are really pretty out there. But is is more than 50 miles over there so...


Oh, and there was lots of "fair food", but since we had already had lunch the only thing we got were these: An orange cream soda float and a root beer float. It was the first thing we did. And after we rode that Tilt-A-Whirl, we were both wishing it had been the last thing we did. Riding that thing was sort of like taking just one toke too much, or one glass of wine too much, (so I am told, as I would NEVER know for sure just what that feels like.)

Happy Birthday, FabGrandpa!

My honey, my sweetie, my dear husband, FabGrandpa, is 60 years old today! I am married to an old man! Can you believe it? So here are some of my favorite pictures of him:

March 1949:

Still 1949:

March 13, 1950:

1968, His senior picture:



1992:


and today:

Happy Birthday, honey! I love you.

Feeling Better Now

That gluten I got in those daily vitamins knocked me on my hiney. I am finally feeling better, so maybe I can catch up with everything. And I finally had a phone call from the manufacturer of them, telling me which one of the pills in the daily pack contains the wheat, the B12 tablet. I let them know how sick it made me but they offered no compensation. I don't know yet if I am going to continue taking them without that one pill or not. It does seem like a waste of money not to, but FabGrandpa may take them if I don't, since the gluten does not bother him.

I was planning to give a recipe a day from the meals I was making this month, but for the last few days, it has been simple simply prepared basics. You know, roasted chicken thighs, mashed potatoes, steamed broccoli, stuff like that. So what I will do is just put up the dinner menus since Saturday. Yeah, boring, I know. But the last time I talked about cooking here was last Friday when I made that Mexican Seafood Soup. So, here is what we have been having:

Saturday:

Baked Chicken Thighs
Rice Steamed Broccoli

Sunday:

Italian Mushroom Stew
Rice
Pear Salad

Monday:

Gluten Free Fried Chicken Livers! mmmmmm:


Mashed Potatoes
Gluten Free Gravy
Sweet Peas

Tuesday:

Chicken with Salsa and Rice (Thanks to my mother-in-law for that recipe!)

Wednesday:

Corned Beef Hash
Cooked Cabbage

Thursday:

Chili with Gluten Free Cornbread

We are doing really well on the overall budget, too. I stopped doing the Cash Monday posts, and several readers have asked me about that. It was just so boring to write about after we got out here to the desert, because there is no where to go to spend money. We haven't even taken money out of the bank some weeks because there was no need to. So, my suggestion to anyone who wants to stick to a really tight budget? Move to the middle of nowhere, only go grocery shopping once a month or less, and stay out of stores. You'll do just fine.

I have to give a little more info about those yummy Gluten Free Fried Chicken Livers. Years ago, when all my children were young, they all loved fried chicken livers as much as I do. Now, I know liver is not something that everyone likes, but my family did. I used to cook more than was needed to feed us all, so I would have some to take to work with me for lunch the next day. I had to hide them in the back of the refrigerator so my children would not sneak downstairs and eat them in the middle of the night. More than a few times I didn't hide them well enough and had none to take for lunch. So I have weird kids!

After I made my chicken livers on Monday, I called Becca, my daughter, who is also a gluten free girl, and told her how good they were. She was really excited to hear about it and said she was going to make some, too.

For anyone who would like to know how to make them:

1 carton chicken livers
1/2 cup Crisco shortening
1 cup Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Baking Mix
salt and pepper to taste

Drain and rinse the chicken livers. Dredge in the Bob's Red Mill Baking Mix. Melt the Crisco in a skillet, and let it heat up on medium heat. Place the breaded chicken livers in the hot oil, cover and let cook for two minutes. Remove the lid, turn the livers over, replace the lid, and let cook another two minutes. Remove the lid, turn the livers over, and resume cooking without the lid for about three minutes more. Turn again, and cook on that side for another three minutes. Remove from skillet and drain on paper towels. Repeat until all the livers are cooked.

To make the gravy, drain off all but about 4 tablespoons of the Crisco from the skillet. Add about 1/4 cup of the Bob's Red Mill Baking mix, and stir well, cooking until the mix is browned, about 2-3 minutes. Add 2 cups of milk (any kind of milk will do, cow, soy, hemp, almond). Stir and cook until thickened.

I was sooooo in Georgia Girl Heaven!!

Workamper News

Just a quick note to those of you who think you may want to run away from home and live in an RV:

You can do it too! Just click here:



Subscribe to Workamper News Magazine or buy a book--Yeah, if you do, I'll get an affiliate commission, but hey, you like me, don't you?

Gluten Alert!

FabGrandpa started taking the Prescripitive Formulas Men's vitamins manufactured by Nature's Bounty a couple of months ago. He is liking the added energy he says he is getting from them. I read the ingredients on the package and since they had no wheat ingredients, I ordered the Women's formula for myself.

I started taking them about a week ago. Yesterday, after feeling sick and generally "bad" all week, I finally decided to read the ingredients on this package. Silly me, the Women's Formula has wheat listed as an ingredient.

I feel bloated, my muscles and joints all ache, I have a headache, my eyes hurt, and my old friend, the big "D", is back. I don't know how long it is going to take to feel better, but I stopped taking these vitamins yesterday. Just wanted to let the gluten free worlkd know about it.

P.S. READ EVERY LABEL!!!

Adopt A Gluten Free Blogger: Simply Gluten Free

The Book Of Yum is hosting an Adopt A Gluten Free Blogger event this month. I chose Simply... Gluten Free as my adoptee. The purpose of this event is to try out a recipe from the blog you choose. I made Gluten Free Smore's Cheescake.

I was a Girl Scout leader for many years when my daugthers were growing up. I took the troop camping about four times a year. At each camping trip, we made the smores, roasting our marshmallows over the campfire until they were good and hot and sticky, then plopping them between graham crackers with chocolate bars. So good! and so full of gluten.

I followed the recipe to the letter. I wasn't so sure about making the crust out of roasted peanuts, as I am not a big fan of peanuts; AND because I had never thought about peanuts being in smore's. But, that crust is a streak of genius! It has many potential uses for other recipes, and surprisingly tastes very little like peanuts.

I used Nestle Special Dark Chocolate Chocolate Chips. They melted quickly and really made the whole thing so chocolaty good.

Here is what my version of the cheesecake looks like:

Oh, and that topping? it tastes a lot like the Seven Minute Frosting my mother used to make for her coconut cake. I know I will be using that again too, but probably as a frosting for a cake. It has all the sticky sweet goodness of that long ago recipe but is very easy and quick to make.

Thanks, Book of Yum! And thank you, Simply...Gluten Free.

Spring In The Desert

We have been taking walks in the desert for the last few days in the afternoon. There are lots of flowers bloomin out there, but most of them are so tiny you have to have your eyes wide open to see them. That's my shoe in the first pic so I would have some reference to how tiny these flowers are. I have no idea what any of these are, just wanted to share their loveliness.




These yellow ones have "hairs" sticking out all over. Very fuzzy flowers.


These are my favorites. The orange can be seen quite a ways away. The leaves are large and sort of velvety.


I think this one may be lupine. Purple spikes sticking up from green foliage.


When you look out across the desert, you can't really see many flowers. It really does take looking closer to see them.


These white flowers were mixed in with some dead twigs.


I didn't have anything to put in this picture to show how little these flowers are. The whole plant was maybe two inches tall. And my camera doesn't photograph purple accurately so you really can't tell how pretty these are.


I had to get down on the ground to take this picture. These white one are one of my favorites. And so little tiny!


I think these were the smallest ones we saw. I put my water bottle on the ground next to them just to show how low to the ground the plant was.


The showy desert poppy! There are lots of these blooming right now.


The beauty has been out here a long time.

MMMM, Mexican Seafood Soup

I wrote about this soup last year, but it is soooo good that it is worth repeating. When you eat it, it tastes like it takes hours to make and like it would be a complicated recipe to make. It really isn't. If you like a little bit of heat, and a little bit of spice, this is a really good soup. And everything in it is naturally gluten free. You'll say "¡Esta sopa está tan sabroso!


The ingredients are basically the same as for any good vegetable soup, with a few Mexican herbs thrown in. The secret ingredients? Shrimp, cumin, and shrimp bouillon. Don't be afraid of it because of the jalapenos, two won't make it hot, just a little warm.

Mexican Seafood Soup

3-4 tablespoons Olive Oil
3-4 stalks of celery, coarsley chopped
1 large onion, chopped
2-4 cloves garlic, minced
2 (or 3 if you dare) jalapenos, seeded and chopped
1 16 oz can diced tomatoes
3 carrots, peeled and cut in chunks
3 medium potatos, washed and cut in chunks
1 zucchini, cut up
3 cubes Shrimp bouillon (Caldo con sabor de camaron) w/ 1 cup water
OR 16 oz seafood stock
6 cups water
2 tablespoons cumin
1 teaspoon basil
1 teaspoon red pepper
1 teaspoon salt
2-3 shakes of tabasco sauce
1 bunch fresh cilantro if desired
1/2 lb tilapia or other firm white fish, cut in bite size pieces
1/2 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 avocado, peeled and sliced
1 lime

Heat the olive oil in a dutch oven. Saute the celery, onion, garlic, and jalapenos until the onions are clear. Add tomatoes, cumin, basil, red pepper, tabasco, carrots, zucchini and potatoes. Put the bouillon cubes in 1 cup of water in a microwave safe container. Microwave for 4 minutes, until the water is boiling. Stir well to make sure the cubes are dissolved. Add to the dutch oven. If using the seafood stock instead, add it now. Add the rest of the water. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat down, cover the pot, and simmer for 40 minutes. Add the fish and shrimp, cover, and simmer another 10 minutes. Slice the avocado and squeeze lime juice over to prevent discoloration.



To serve, fill each bowl with soup, then put some slices of avocado on top, followed by a squeeze of lime juice. ¡Demasiado delicioso ser verdad! I always eat way too much.