I pass by this pond right after I leave my house to go to work. I have eat least 20 shots of this location--taken as I am driving with my hand out to the side and the camera on continuous. One day last week I was able to almost stop as there were no cars coming.
This might be my favorite yet--notice the bird? I "felt" him take off but didn't see him until I saw my pictures. I definitely want to get this one blown up. 
My first road trip with my new job was to Weatherford. Actually, it was to Burns Flat, but that town is too small for a hotel so we stayed about 35 miles away in Weatherford. I texted a friend from there on our way and she gave me some restaurant suggestions. We decided on Casa Soto for Mexican food.
My coworker and I both went for the tacos. I can't remember what they were called exactly, but they were described as having grilled steak, served with cilantro, tomatoes, and onions, plus the requisite beans and rice. And of course, I had a margarita.
The food was good, not great, but good. The cilantro was missing, though my friend said you couldn't buy it in Weatherford. :) The meat was good--tender, good flavor, but a little dry.
Next time I'm in the area, this is a place I'd eat at again. Service was good, prices were fairly cheap.
This was a few weeks ago, so I've forgotten details. As I get caught up and more into "real" time, I'll have more details and pictures!
Thanks for reading...
Restaurant reviews from the Oklahoma road.
My new job has me traveling the state fairly often, many times in small towns that don't have chain restaurants (yay). I'll try and leave an account of these road trip eating experiences here, as well as some of my favorite places around Norman/OKC.
Coming Soon:
Casa Soto (Weatherford)
Eaton Hole (Stigler)
Cazadores (Atoka)
Pig Out Palace (Henrietta)
The Queen of Sheba (OKC)
The Korean House (Midwest City)
Sometimes, though maybe not as strongly in the past. Maybe it's the holidays. Maybe it's because he'd be the age of my students.
Mostly, it's probably because I don't want to forget about him. I want him to stay close to my memory. I want to be abl eot share his memory with my own family some day.
He would be 11 now. What would he want for Christmas? Books, a phone, or a baseball glove, or possibly a fishing pole? It's hard not knowing.
Love you and miss you still Dakota, my precious nephew.
Christmases Past
My last day as a TEACHER, at least in the traditional sense. I am ready to move on, but I also feel these ropes holding me back. I know it's what I need to do, but sometimes question if its what I want to do. I'm excited by the opportunity before me, yet wondering how to hold on to those little moments of today.
I'm torn, but I know my kids will be fine. Will I?
I made the soup below again tonight. It's very cold and windy, and I started thinking about this soup around 3:00 today. It is the perfect thing for a cold wintry night!
I did add about 3/4 cup cooked chicken and served it over brown rice. It makes it much heartier and filling, though is just as good without.
I have cooked more lately. I am also preparing for the holidays.
I have make the Mixed Nut Spiced Toffee several times this season--it's always a hit. I use whatever nuts I have on hand, or sometimes not at all. I think I will make some to take to work next week.
Sunday, I made these Chocolate Peppermint Sandwich Cookies. Well, I didn't make the filling yet. I doubled the recipe and just made the cookie part and they are in the freezer. I remembered that the cookies were fairly large (IMO), so I made some of them smaller. I think I'll have about 42 sandwiches when I am done. I have thought about these cookies often since the last (and only) time I've made them. I hope they are as good as I remember!
I made these Peppermint Meltaways for Thanksgiving. I think I must like peppermint more than the rest of my family. I want to experiment some by adding some cocoa to these.
I am still deciding what else to make. I think this year I will go with more tried and true. I just don't have the energy to try much new.
On that note, I think it's time to have some Chai-Spice Snickerdoodles. YUM. It seems like I tend to like the things that are a little bit "different". All-spice in toffee? White pepper in cookies? You get the picture. Seriously though--these cookies are amazing.
I also think I will try the Maple Spice Walnut Cookies again. I liked them the first time, but was talking while preparing them and didn't add all the flour needed (darn ADD). If you love maple, you'll love these! Plus they are a cooking light recipe.
I may also make the Gingerbread Truffles that I made a few years ago. However, when looking up that recipe, I saw this one for Caramel-Dark Chocolate Truffles with Fleur de Sel. So maybe I WILL try something new.
I think that sounds like enough for one person (to make, not to eat!) for one year, don't you?
ETA: A Review is below the recipe.
What is it about soup? Why does it just call my name? Is it because I'm lazy and prefer one pot meals? Is it my ultimate comfort food? Or is it because it's usually economical, freezes well, and is easy (again)?
At any rate, I came across this on the CLBB today and it's on my to try list, though I need coconut milk and cilantro. I think I should make a run to the asian grocery on southside to stock up on coconut milk and some asian condiments.
Peanut Soup, Senegalese-Style
Vegetable Soups, by Deborah Madison
1 to 2 tablespoons roasted peanut oil
1 large onion, cut into 1/2-inch dice
1 large garlic clove, minced
1/4 cup chopped cilantro stems
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cayenne or hot red pepper flakes, to taste
2 tablespoons curry powder
1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
2/3 cup peanut butter, preferably organic and unsweetened
1 cup coconut milk, or more to taste
Sea salt
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
Yogurt
Lime wedges
1. Heat the oil in a soup pot, then add the onion, garlic, and cilantro stems. Give a stir, then cook over high heat for a few minutes to warm the onion. Lower the heat to medium and cook until the onion has softened somewhat, 10 to 12 minutes. Stir in the cayenne and curry powder.
2. Add 3 cups water and the tomatoes. Stir well and bring to a boil. Drop in the peanut butter and simmer until the onions are soft and the peanut butter has dissolved, about 15 minutes. Stir in the coconut milk. Season the soup with salt.
3. Just before serving, add the chopped cilantro. Serve with a dollop of yogurt in each bowl and a wedge of lime on the side.
________________________________________________________________________________
I finally made this and WOW! Possibly a new favorite? It made 6 generous servings.
The only changes I made were to use Low-Fat Coconut Milk, and only half an onion. I also used more curry powder.
This was a soup that tasted better by the bite. I think it'll be even better left over for lunch tomorrow. I am freezing the rest--this will be perfect on a cold wet day!
I *heart* my kids. They continue to make me smile, to make me glad for my job, to make me sad to know I'll soon be moving on. They make me laugh, they frustrate me, they inspire me.
Last week, one of my students had a rough end to the day. She hit another student (loud tears ensued), she calmed down, I walked her to the bus area, turned my back for just a minute to talk to a parent, and then she went after another student (not mine) who is in a wheelchair and defenseless. She got her pretty good 2x. I intervened once I realized what was going on. She sat on the ground and then went after me! I still have 4 scabs on my hand and 2 on each leg (I was wearing a skirt) to show for it! She calmed down, a parent had to come get her because we couldn't put her on the bus with the way she was acting. This was 3 days ago.
This morning, she arrived at school and immediately apologized. We started working and she then saw I was wearing slacks and said, "Oh, I'm glad you are wearing pants today. Remember how I scratched you last time?" Ummm, yes I do! I asked if she wanted to see where, and of course she did. However, she didn't really notice because her thoughts were interrupted with, "Oh, those boots are really cute." Giggle. It really just cracked me up that her thoughts seemed to be, "Thank goodness you wore pants in case I have a bad day again--that way I won't scratch your legs again."
Later today, another student went to the bathroom, came back, and was very serious. She asked me if I had any baby wipes. Of course, I don't. She said she had to poop, and it was (Held hands out far). I said, "Big?" She agreed, "Yes, it was big and I don't think I got it all. I want baby wipes so I can get clean."
We decided to go to the nurse to see if she had anything we could use, but she didn't. Deep breath. I asked her if she needed me to help clean her, and of course she said yes. (I changed diapers the first 3 years I taught--2 of those were for middle schoolers. Some were girls. Some had reached puberty. So, while not pleasant, this is something I can do). We went into a faculty bathroom. I put the gloves on. She looked at me and said, "Drop them?" I said, "Yes, drop them." Let me tell you--those are not words I ever thought I'd hear in my teaching career! She then said, "I'm sorry to have to make you help me with this." Awwww, so sweet. After all of that, her bottom was clean as clean can be! Now THAT confused her. Whew, crisis averted.
With Thanksgiving fast approaching (how in the heck did it get to be NOVEMBER already?), I've been mentally preparing a menu, or at least the part of the menu I will be making. I came across this recipe on the CLBB and it piqued my interest. Sweet and spicy, utilizing fresh cranberries, and versatile--I HAD to try it. So, I made a half recipe today to take to a friend's house to watch the OU/Texas A&M game.
So far, I have only licked the spoon (and I DIDN'T double dip), but I think I will like this! I am serving it with cream cheese and organic blue corn tortilla chips. I hope I have none left to bring home, because I know me--I would eat it with a spoon!
Cranberry-Chipotle Fruit Compote (link to Epicurious).
The only sub I made was to omit the dried peaches and use double the amount of dried apricots.
I recently found an old web page of *MINE* circa 2001-02 or so. I had many recipes from my supper club on it, including a tried and true one for baklava! I'm going to post them here more for my reference than anything.
Baklava, bieroks, Tom Ka Ghi soup, sauerbraten, and more.
YUM!
How did I find it? I googled a recipe I was looking for. One of the hits was for an angelfire site. I ignored this, as it didn't seem like a reputable source (unlike cooks.com, recipeczar.com, etc.) After not finding what I wanted in other links, I clicked on the angelfire link and realized it was MY page I had just shunned! Shame on me.
