Red Gold Salsa Guacamole


A few days ago a package arrived in the mail from Red Gold Tomatoes. I have consistently been choosing the Red Gold brand over Hunt’s for several months, so when I was contacted by a Red Gold PR rep about receiving a “pretty cool tomato kit”, I was stoked. However, I never anticipated the quality and care that was put into preparing and mailing the package. It was in a large box with a fruit crate-type label announcing that it was TOMATOES, so when the mail lady brought it to my door, she expressed surprise that anyone would mail fresh tomatoes in the dead of winter.


The box inside was a cardboard replica of a wooden crate and was beautifully packed and generously filled with four cans of tomato products, jar of salsa, reusable tote bag, magnetic clip and frame magnet, key chain, cookbook, recipe cards, coupon, AND a die cast metal SSR Model replica with doors, hood and trunk that open and a steering wheel that turns, which was immediately confiscated by my husband for his office bookshelf!


Red Gold has very attractive packaging and features my favorite kitchen color red!


This family owned company in Indiana has an interesting history. It was begun in 1942 as a venture to help feed the US Army after Pearl Harbor and has continued that humanitarian spirit through donations for 9/11, hurricane relief, and national food bank assistance, including the Oklahoma Regional Food Bank. The Oklahoma event occurred in conjunction with the unveiling of a billboard featuring America’s largest tomato cans in March 2010.

The website is very attractive and user-friendly, with interesting articles about the company and an online store, and features a recipe contest -“Release Your Inner Red Gold Chef” where everyone who submits a recipe is a winner!

Other blogs have featured giveaways for their tomato kits, but I have selfishly chosen to keep my products.

I found my inspiration for the guacamole here. I used meyer lemon juice instead of lime, forgot to add the cilantro, and I subbed salsa for the can of tomatoes and onions. The salsa, which is colorful and chunky with juicy tomatoes, onions, and peppers, has a natural sweetness from the tomatoes since there is no sugar added. I love simple and fresh when it comes to guacamole, and this one is deliciously simple and fresh. I am looking forward to trying other recipes from my new cookbook and from the website!

The Great Blizzard of February 2011


The storm some have called “Snowpocalypse” generated this satellite picture detailing the massive coverage of this monster storm. Here in Oklahoma records were broken by The Great Blizzard of February 1 – 2, 2011. Oklahoma City and surrounding towns experienced whiteout conditions, heavy snow of 2 inches per hour, and high winds gusting to 50 mph. Our new Governor Mary Fallin placed Oklahoma under a state of emergency.

These are some of the area snowfall totals:
Owasso, OK 21″
Miami, OK 20″
Tulsa, OK 15″
Oklahoma City, OK 12″

It was 0 degrees on our patio this morning, and the forecast is for minus 5 tonight. Here are a few initial photos from my house.

My garden in the middle of the blizzard

Looking out the front window

These trash cans are about 4-1/2 feet tall

Patio chairs and table during the storm; thermometer is around 5 degrees

Night-time solar lights next to our drift-covered sidewalk

Early morning after

Deck chairs and table

In spite of our equipment running constantly, the pool had a thick layer of ice

Buddy had a great time running

The yard has 3 foot drifts

The drift on our side garage door

We haven’t ventured out of the front of the house yet, nor have we opened the garage door to see what awaits us there. I was bundled so much I could barely move, and the parts of my body that were exposed to the bitter cold this morning – my thumb, which was operating my iPhone camera, and my face – began to hurt. We might even try the roads later. If so, more photos to follow.

The Elusive Toffee Bar


When my husband was a teen, his Mom used to make a toffee bar that he loved. His description of it indicates that it had a sweet, shortbread-type base, a layer of melted chocolate chips, and chopped pecans on top. Yeas ago I asked his Mom for the recipe, and sadly, she could not remember it. Since then I have tried various recipes in hopes that I would find the “right” one.

This recipe from the Joy of Baking website is the latest, but not the last, recipe I have tried. It made a beautiful bar and tasted great – toffee-ish, crunchy base with a yummy layer of chocolate and nuts – but after much discussion, nibbling, and compliments, hubby decided it was still not the elusive recipe.

Toffee Bars
Adapted from Joy of Baking

1/2 cup salted butter
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup flour

Topping:
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
1 cup roasted pecans, chopped
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line bottom of 8 inch baking pan with parchment.

Melt butter in medium sized saucepan. Remove from heat and stir in sugar and vanilla extract. Add salt and flour and mix just until incorporated. Spread shortbread evenly on bottom of prepared pan and bake for about 20 to 25 minutes or until shortbread is golden brown with well browned edges.

Remove from oven and immediately scatter chocolate chips over hot shortbread. Return to oven for a minute or two or just until chocolate softens. Remove from oven and, with offset spatula or back of spoon, evenly spread chocolate. Sprinkle chopped pecans over chocolate, then press them lightly into chocolate. Cool on wire rack.

Makes about 16 squares.

In spite of the use of elastic waisted pants that my experiments demand, I have my sights on yet another recipe, this time from the Salad in a Jar blog. It looks like “the one”.

Christmas Party


We recently invited my husband’s office staff to an Appetizers and Desserts Buffet at our house. This was great incentive to decorate and clean the house and get set for the season!


We strung lights above the front porch, and even our cooktop was decorated with salt & pepper Santas. We hadn’t decorated this much in years, and once it was done, I was caught up in the holiday spirit.

While iPhone photos are not the best quality, especially at night, I tried to capture the essence of the party tables. I set up the dining room and the kitchen with an assortment of desserts and appetizers. Where did the guests congregate? In the kitchen of course, but I failed to get a photo of the goodies in there.I used a combination of red paper plates and my Pfaltzgraff Winterberry pottery; but best of all was having an excuse to use the Christmas crystal platters and bowls that I have accumulated and especially those given to me by my Mother in years past. Each cherished item that I took from the china cabinet was greeted with delight. Mom gave me the red tablecloth and teal runner that adorned the dining room table, and I carried that color theme throughout the house.


I had fun making way too much food and have already started notes for next year. I based my menu on these adapted recipes:

Appys
Cranberry Manchego Cheese Pinwheels
Mini Ham & Cheese on Hawaiian Rolls
Swedish Meatballs
Jalapeno Popper Spread with bagel crisps
Ranch dip with baby carrots
Salsa with tortilla chips
Hot Crab Dip
Maple Glazed Apple Chicken Sausage Bites

Desserts
Fantasy Chocolate Pie
Fudge Truffle Cheesecake
Pretzel Turtles
Drop Sugar Cookies with Candy Cane Kisses
Gingerbread Truffles


I served fruit punch in this dispenser from World Market.

I hope everyone had a very happy Christmas!

OU Alumni


Our little girl graduated from the University of Oklahoma on Saturday with a degree (and a 3.5+ GPA) in Criminal Justice. Way to go, Jenni!

It was a proud moment for all of her family, as her dream of a college degree was finally realized.


Convocation was in the stunning Catlett Music Center on OU’s beautiful campus in Soonerland–Norman, Oklahoma.

A quick handshake and photo with Dr. James Pappas, Dean of the College of Liberal Studies, and the diploma!

Congratulations to the new Oklahoma University Alumni!

Earthquake!

Magnitude 4.3 OKLAHOMA
Wednesday, October 13, 2010 at 14:06:29 UTC

At 9:06 AM CDT this morning, I experienced my first earthquake. Yes, here in central Oklahoma! At first I thought something huge had hit our roof, and it felt like the house moved sideways. My second thought was that it was an earthquake, because it felt different than anything I had ever felt. I immediately sent this message to my husband “Wow I think I might have just felt an earthquake or blast of some kind–it shook the house!!! I accessed the USGS (US Geological Survey), but there was no information there or on local news for about 20 minutes.

The earthquake was either 4.3, according to the USGS, or 5.1, according to the Oklahoma GS.

If you visit the website of the Oklahoma Geological Survey and click on “Earthquakes”, you are directed to the Leonard Geophysical Observatory, which is located near my hometown. According to the Preliminary Earthquake Report on that website,

This earthquake was located 5 miles ENE of Noble, OK and 8 miles SE of Norman, OK at latitude 35.164 N and longitude 97.316 W. The best estimate of the earthquakes depth is 13 km (8 miles). Felt reports have ranged from Dallas, TX to Wichita, KS and as far east as Arkansas. No aftershocks have been observed as of 5 PM on Oct. 13, but aftershocks are quite likely and some may be felt by local residents. This earthquake did not occur on a known fault, but there are more faults in the rocks in the subsurface of Oklahoma than we could possibly count.

The USGS reported a moment magnitude (Mw) 4.3 and the Oklahoma Geological Survey reported a magnitude (mbLg) of 5.1. So which one is right? They both are, these are two different estimates of an earthquake’s size. They are two common seismological methods for determining the size, or magnitude, of an earthquake, which cannot be measured directly. They often have discrepancies similar to those that we are seeing for this earthquake. It is entirely possible that the magnitude estimates will change over time as further work is done to measure the size of the earthquake. Whether it is a magnitude 4.3, magnitude 5.1, or something in between, it is still a small to moderate sized earthquake. This also makes this earthquake the second or third largest instrumentally recorded earthquake in Oklahoma. Earthquakes of this size have the potential of occurring almost anywhere in Oklahoma at any time.

How ironic that in spite of several trips to California in my lifetime, my first earthquake experience was in Oklahoma.

My Beautiful Mother – 1912 – 2010

All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel Mother.
~Abraham Lincoln



Ruby Maude Mitchell Lawhorn Hopkins
July 31, 1912 – September 19, 2010

This older post is a reminder to me of my Mother’s kitchen–the wonderful kitchen of my childhood.

~ What a brave soul she was, still trying to make each day count in the face of a debilitating illness.
~ What a magnificent life she led.
~ What a great amount of love she bestowed.
~ What a privilege to be loved by her.

Desperate Yard Crashers Update

On the last update, our flagstone had been laid, new furniture put into place, and lovely plants strategically placed. The plants have long since burned up, thanks to a long hot Oklahoma summer that has put just a few kinks in the backyard project. Although we did get a beautiful pergola finished, it has been like an oven outside, even in the evenings, so we have not had enough opportunity to enjoy it to the fullest.

However, we did get our first break in the plus 100 temperatures yesterday, and last night it actually rained! Here are some photos of our latest addition.

Just for fun, I’ll start with the photo from last year of the “blank slate”.

Here is the finished flagstone last November.

And here is the new pergola, partially built by our lawn guys and finished by my talented hubby.

We removed the railing from our existing deck and added a step-down deck. The railing was recycled by installing it for privacy on the back side of the pergola.

I planted wisteria at the far corners of the pergola and hope it will eventually cover it with gorgeous spring blooms!


Hubby dug out and mulched an area for me to have a patio garden. We had a puny Rose of Sharon already in place that has flourished with the company of caladiums, lantana, and mandevilla.

A couple of patio plants are also flourishing. I think the pergola allows the perfect amount of sun and shade.

Hubby’s vision of grass between the flagstone is coming along nicely; the fescue has suffered somewhat from the heat, but when cooler temps are finally here to stay, this area should be lush. Hibiscus in a pot has bloomed all summer. Next to the fence, an area of fescue that has not fared well.

The firepit has not been used this summer, but I am anticipating fall evenings with a toasty fire and s’mores!

Better Than Sausage Balls

This is one of those twists to an old recipe that happened to turn out better than the original. I had the ingredients for one of our old favorite snacks, Sausage Balls–the one that has Bisquick as a main ingredient. In light of my daughter’s recent post on eating more cleanly, I decided to use more natural ingredients–at least for the biscuit part! I used the sausage I had on hand, which happened to be Jimmy Dean, and it does have a couple of suspect ingredients. I have tried to make my own sausage, but I have not found the perfect recipe.

I combined parts of my old recipe for Sausage Balls from 1972 (which is when I first started making sausage balls) and Homesick Texan’s flaky and delicious biscuit recipe. My most esteemed sausage ball critic, my hubby, declared these better than the original and told me I could make them for him any time! I liked them better too, especially the crunch of the little browned bits of cheese and the tenderness of the biscuit.

Sausage Balls
2 or 3 cups cubed cheese (the original recipe calls for Coon’s Brand Cheese, which I cannot find anymore. I used a combination of cheddar, Manchego, and Pepper Jack)
8 oz sausage (the original recipe calls for 1 pound)
2 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 stick unsalted butter, cubed

Place flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt in bowl of a food processor; add butter and process until the size of small peas; set aside. Melt cheese, either in microwave or over low heat in pan on stove; remove from heat add sausage, and mix thoroughly. Add flour mixture and mix with hands until mixture holds together. Form into 1 inch balls and place on greased cookie sheet. Bake in 375 oven about 20 minutes or until golden brown. These flatten out slightly and look more like a puffy cookie, instead of the typical ball. I sprinkled a tiny bit of sea salt of the tops after they baked.