Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Summer Strawberry Pie

Summer Strawberry Pie



This is a wonderfully fresh pie and the crust is rich and crumbly. Don't fear the crust. It's super easy to make and you don't even have to roll it out. It's like playing with Play Doh.

The crust recipe is from an ancient Church lady cookbook from Oklahoma so you know it's good. Some of the recipes are credited to women who go by 'Mrs.' and then their husband's name (like Mrs. Joe Smith) and some of the recipes call for 'oleo'. There are lots of jello salad recipes. Yuck.

Pie Crust:

1 1/2 c flour
1 1/2 tsp sugar
2 Tbsp milk
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 c oil

Combine flour, sugar and salt and mix with a fork. In a separate small bowl combine oil and milk and then add the liquid to the flour mixture and mix with a fork. Press into pie pan with your fingers as evenly as possible. This is kinda fun. Flute the edges and bake at 450 for 10 minutes. Take it out and cover the edges with foil and put back in oven for 5 more minutes. Let cool.
Pie Filling:

1 Qt strawberries, washed, hulled and cut in half if they are large (save one for garnish)
1 1/3 c water
1 c sugar
3 Tbsp cornstarch


Combine 1 cup of the berries with the sugar and 1 cup of the water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to simmer for about 15 minutes. Squish them a little while they're cooking.

Combine the other 1/3 cup of water with the cornstarch in a small bowl and stir until smooth. Add to berry mixture in saucepan and cook over low heat until it thickens and clears (about 5 minutes). If it doesn't get really clear, it will still be good, so get over it and move on with your life. Remove from heat and stir occasionally and let it cool for a few minutes.

Arrange fresh berries in pie shell so they are all standing up and pretty. Like this:


Pour berry mixture over the pretty berries and refrigerate until chilled. Add strawberry garnish and serve with fresh whipped cream.

Submitted by Mrs. Johnny Depp

Thursday, July 4, 2013

Isla Mujeres - February 2013 - Part One

This trip was all about celebrating my best friend's birthday and cramming as much fun as one possibly can into 6 days. I was up to the challenge.





Leaving me in charge of Happy Hour at the Sky Bar at Casa Sirena? Stellar idea!


Isla is fantastic in February. Don't get me wrong, I love it year round - even in the dead of summer when it's so hot you have to stay in or near the water, I don't care. February brings cooler temps, Carnivale, and Pam's birthday.

Miss Pamela -Photobombing the ocean

Sliders at Qubano....Oh, Baby. It's hard to decide what to eat here because all of the food is amazing and so is Vivian.


The Vivian Salad at Qubano. One of my favorites.
 

I could hang out here all day...read...nap...ahhh

This guy had an interesting tat. Good people watching on the beach

Late lunch at Barlito...The 'One Eyed Cajun' panini in the foreground. WOW! Pulled pork, three kinds of cheese...and yes, I had beets because Tiffany said if I eat them all, my pee would be pink and that's called Princess Pee. Like I wouldn't go for that.

Enjoying lunch at Barlito. Love the food...love sitting outside...love Brad and Tiffany. Total Love/Food Fest

We stayed at Casa Sirena the first few nights and room hopped between room 1 (my fave!) and room 5. Casa Sirena is so comfortable and makes me incredibly happy. Everything from the delicious breakfasts to the evening happy hours are the best. I always meet fun people while staying there. And of course...there's Steve. Steve is the magic behind the perfection.

Towel puppy at Casa Sirena

We were lucky enough to score an invite to Bruce and Kathryn's Anniversary party. It was so nice to see them and everyone else. Kathryn looked amazing, don't you think? 

Brian and Brenda - gorgeous as always

Lovely Ladies -Jackie, Ann and Maggie

The always handsome and charming Daniel and Manuel. The lady in the background was obviously swooning from being in the close proximity of these two. Who can blame her?

Here comes trouble...Carmita and Inge. Queens of Isla

The Couple of Honor, Kathryn and Bruce with the Carnival dancers.
Fantastic dinner at Olivia with Pam, Lolo, Steve, Dennis and the "Terrible Ten" from Florida. That's shy Chef Chris in the foreground. That's right....we had dinner with twelve men and Lolo. And one of the guys is a Food Network Chef. Yeah...I know.

We ditched the guys after dinner and went to La Terazzo with Lolo, where we met THE creepiest guy on earth, Chet. After we recovered from the skeeziness, we continued to laugh about him for the rest of the trip and now use the term 'Chetty' to describe something totally heinous and repulsive. Sample of conversations - he just walked up to the bar and started talking to us like this - this was not after an evening of hanging out. This was opening line (and it got worse) Chet: So, you having fun? Pam: Yep. Chet: You wanna make out? Pam: Uh...NO!. We also ran into the lovely and extremely unChetty Nicole, who was there classing up the place.

That was pretty much the first day or so...stay tuned for more adventures and the food...oh, we're going to get a little crazy with the food.



My Jewelry on Etsy

My Blog

Some of these entries are vintage travel reports and have been restored from a lost blog. I hope you enjoy them.