Governor Rick Perry at the "Mayor's Prayer Luncheon"

The Honorable Governor Rick Perry

It is a tradition in the city of Mission, Texas for our mayor to host the "Mayor's Prayer Luncheon". It is sponsored by local businesses, but it is organized by the city, local churches and various volunteers. This year's event took place on Friday, May 7, which I believe is the World Day of Prayer. My husband and I attended along with several members of our church. There were about 800 people in attendance. Several ministers and church leaders spoke briefly as did our mayor, Norberto Salinas.

I was so proud of our governor as his speech encouraged everyone to pray fervently for not just our city and state but for our country and our world. His plea clearly bespoke his personal Christian beliefs.

One song the we sang that day was, "How Great is Our God". It was new to me and I know that from now on when I hear it I will remember the Mayor's Prayer Luncheon and the goal to pray daily for our leaders in this country.

I'm always proud to be an American, but on May 7th, I just felt a little extra proud... and so very thankful.

My husband and I are on the left.

Chocolate and Cookie Gooey Pie

As I was waking from a rare afternoon nap (could it have been that Mimosa from the brunch buffet?) I awoke to a show on the Food Network. A chef had baked a pie that was basically a chess pie with crumbled up chocolate cookies in it. He claimed that really the filling for a chess pie is basically a binder and you can mix almost anything with it. Ok.. no chocolate cookies in this house but I did have a sleeve of Girl Scout shortbread cookies, plus a huge package of Toll House chocolate chips and some walnuts. Hmmm.... so I whipped up the filling for a chess pie.

1 stick of oleo (that is a clue as to how old this recipe is) - I used a stick of soft butter
1 1/2 c. sugar
3 eggs; one at a time
1 Tbsp. flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
2 tsp. white vinegar
   Mix in order listed. Do not overbeat. Use unbaked pie shell.

I used a Pillsbury pie crust... the kind you unroll.
I mixed up the filling for the pie, but I added about 1 1/2 cups of chocolate chips, 1 sleeve of Girl Scout shortbread cookies (crumbled a little.. not too small)  and 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts. I poured it all into the pie shell and placed the pie in a 400 degree oven for 10 minutes. I then lowered the oven to 325 degrees and baked the pie for about 25 minutes. I did check for doneness with a toothpick... not wanting it undercooked.

Oh my goodness!! I tiny sliver is all you need. It is sooo rich. Now I am wondering what other cookies could be used in this recipe to make it a little unique. So much fun!!

My Mother

 Rosemary, my mother

This is the way I like to remember my mother.. and it's the best picture I have of her. She was a woman full of adventure. She married my father and could have her bags packed to a foreign country in no time.

My mother loved to cook and entertain. My parents entertained often. They were both on the faculty at Texas A&M University.  Some evenings in our home were similar to a meeting of the United Nations. Researchers from all over the world sat at our dinner table, enjoying wonderful Italian food and great conversation.

Mother was active in her church when living in the States.

The church my parents attended was predominately Italian-American. The church spaghetti dinners and St. Joseph's Altars were carefully planned and executed.

She love family and family research, not only for her family but for others. Her compilation of interviews from Italian-Americans living in Brazos County was published.

My mother had many other accomplishments, but I know that most of all she was proud of her children and loved us

all dearly. I truly miss her.

January 3, 1926 - June 15, 2008

Happy Mother's Day, Mother!

Foodie Friday: It's rattlesnake at our "casita" at the ranch

A reminder of the "catch" -

the rattlesnake is 5' long

I will spare you the picture of the acquistion of the backstrap.

I cut the rattlesnake backstrap into 2" pieces.

I then marinated it in orange juice and nutmeg

for about 4 hours.

I dipped the backstrap pieces into beaten and lightly salted egg. I then dipped them in corn meal, seasoned with salt, pepper and garlic powder.

I then fried the strips in canola oil until crisp.

I served the backstrap pieces with

salsa.

A friend eats my fried rattlesnake with gusto!

                                  http://designsbygollum.blogspot.com/

Sergio Bustamante in Tlaquepaque, Jalisco, Mexico

Sergio Bustamante is so well - known...

even in Texas.

His jewelry is to die for!

Turmeric for the mind and for your morning coffee

As I was reading my latest AARP magazine (I know.. this tells my age ... I found an interesting article, "A Well-Seasoned Mind". It described the benefits of turmeric. A study showed that people in India have one-fourth the U.S. rate of Alzheimer's. Interesting, I've been using it since September for arthritis... as recommended by my doctor who is East Indian. She highly recommended it also for the skin. I will confess that i drink almost four cups of coffee in the morning... if you include the half-cups I toss because I do not care for nuked coffee.. and I seem to lose my coffee cup in the the mornings. Anyhow... I sprinkle turmeric in my coffee and I mean liberally. I love it. It's a great spice.

Here is a recipe from the AARP article:
2 c. cubed raw chicken
2 tsp. curry (which has turmeric in it)
Saute in olive oil until cooked and then cool
Add raisins, diced apples, chopped almonds, chopped celery, and low-fat yogurt to taste.
How healthy can you get?

I am linking to Cole at All the Small Stuff for her

http://allthesmallstuff-cole.blogspot.com/