With all the celebrating and visiting over, it was time to head home to Texas. We made breakfast at Marilyn & Lee’s place (Thanks, folks! We owe you.), a breakfast casserole that we’d put together the evening before. While the casserole heated we loaded the car and chatted with our hosts. Peeps, the peach-faced [...]

1. Road Trip! Los Angeles, Here We Come The American Chemical Society is holding their annual Spring...
2. Scattering to the Winds: California Pizza Kitchen, then Home By early this morning, the Symposium gang had scattered...
3. Florida, Day 5: The Great Warbird Hunt and Home Again Grumpy wasn’t so interested in bouncing off the walls...

With an ongoing surfeit of prickly pear juice (and more fruit inbound this weekend, I hear), I decided to try some variations using the deadly-purple liquid. Over the past few days I’ve taken a bunch of ripe Serrano chiles from the bushes in the [...]

1. Jessica, Your Prickly Pear Cactus Jelly is Ready This entry is part of a series, Pepper Jelly Chronicles»...
2. Prickly Pear Jelly Redux: Juice, Juice Everywhere… This entry is part of a series, Pepper Jelly Chronicles»...
3. Hunting the Wild Prickly Pear in South Texas This entry is part of a series, Pepper Jelly Chronicles»...

It’s August, and that’s open season on wild prickly pear. The jelly I made recently for daughterperson came out so great we’re going down South for the weekend, long tongs in hand, searching for the best in red fruit. We know it’ll be hot, [...]

1. Jessica, Your Prickly Pear Cactus Jelly is Ready This entry is part of a series, Pepper Jelly Chronicles»...
2. Pear Clafouti, the Tasty Dessert With the Funny Name This entry is part of a series, RdJ Marathon» In...

When it’s this hot, we don’t get out and move around a lot. Oh, we grilled sausage for lunch (it was very good). I say “we” because it’s polite. However, it’s also a Royal “We.” I stayed inside and made sure the margarita machine ran on schedule. (It’s particularly tough duty, that; but we [...]

The residents of Round Rock, Texas are blessed with several opportunities to “go loco” with their vegetable-shopping. They have two farmers markets in town, you see, and they’re not far from Pflugerville and Georgetown, which each have a farmers market as well. They’re all on [...]

1. The Great Saturday Morning Vegetable Hunt: Cedar Park Farmers’ Market This entry is part of a series, Market Days» The...

Grumpy wasn’t so interested in bouncing off the walls this morning. (Sometimes I wake up Grumpy, and sometimes I let her sleep..) Indeed, she wasn’t really interested in getting up after yesterday’s long day of fun and frivolity. Besides, it’s hard to get motivated when you know you’re on your way home from a [...]

1. Florida, Day 1: Flying, Three Birds Tavern, and Apple Pork Chops Saturday morning, way too early, we oozed out of...
2. Florida, Day 2: Way Too Many Fishies, and an Unforgettable Spanish Meal Image Courtesy Kari Sheppard, ShepArt Studio The original Sunday...
3. Florida, Day 4: Harry Potter, Archaeology Gone Bad and Seuss Madness All I wanted to do was sleep, just a...

One of the sellers at the Cedar Park Farmer’s Market this week was unique. They were selling a new meat. Well, new to Texas, anyways. The protein source? Yak. Yep, the shaggy dog of a cow shown above. Apparently they do just fine here, although some sources claim they shouldn’t do well in the [...]

My wife and her best friend had a bad day at work, and I didn’t feel like cooking. PJ and I were cruising around looking for a good eatery to raise the coolness quotient of with our presence where we could enjoy a relaxing meal, [...]

Extreme-sized foods are more and more the fashion these days. Witness the rise of shows like “Man vs. Food Nation” and “Glutton for Punishment.” The events shown on these programs don’t explore the behind-the-scenes support crew, including the medical transport personnel with well-lubed defibrillators powered [...]

1. Friday Follies: Eating Like a Monk During Lent This entry is part of a series, Follies 2011» Living...
2. Friday Follies: Beer, It’s What’s for Breakfast This entry is part of a series, Follies 2011» In...