Looking on the bright side

"Looking on the bright side" goes to a whole new level 
when I see what's going on around here.

Here?  I mean Texas...and the record breaking heat.  

We are on track to break the unbelievable heat records

set in the summer of 1980. 

source: wfaa, dallas-ft.worth

We have had 40 straight days of 100+ degree highs and no rain.

The last few days have averaged 107 degrees F.

The record is 42 days in a row of 100+ temperatures 
and we'll pass that at the end of this week.

One local town ran out of water.  Yep, the whole town has no water.

Ponds have dried up and lakes are disappearing.

source: Associated Press

So, what's the bright side? 

Well, according to the local paper, bugs don't like the heat either.

So, we have no mosquitos or fire ants which routinely ruin summers here.

 

Those searching for a silver lining to the nonstop burning heat need look no farther than the sky above or the ground below.

Mosquitoes are missing. Fire ants are hiding.

"There are no mosquitoes to speak of, and the fire ants are so deep underground they're not evident," said Rodney Beaman of Fort Worth Pest Control in Arlington

Read more: http://www.star-telegram.com/2011/08/05/3272725/dfw-has-fifth-straight-record.html#ixzz1UIUEqv6R

Now, contests are popping up.

Guess the date when we don't reach 100

or 

guess the date when we finally have rain.

Welcome to Summer heat streak!
How does it work?
It's been one of the hottest summers on record in DFW. Think you know when it will end? Predict the day we'll snap the 100-degree streak at DFW Airport and win. If more than one contestant predicts the correct day, we'll use a random draw to choose a winner.Are there prizes?
Yes! Winner gets bragging rights and four tickets to NRH20 in North Richland Hills

Read more: http://contests.star-telegram.com/upickem/registration/login.asp?contestid=36135#ixzz1URpjpILp


Needless to say, with this heat, I am behind on projects.
It's too hot to paint outside or in the garage 
and even though the AC is on, you can 
work up a quick sweat working inside the house.
I'll have a few new things to show you hopefully
in the next week or so.

best tacos ever

Occasionally (2? maybe 3 times? in a year and a half), I've shared a recipe.  

I like to cook and I frequently make recipes I grew up with from my parents and other family members.  

I thought I would share our taco recipe with you today.

I've adapted it a bit to fit our busy lives but it's still the same basic recipe.

My entire family makes tacos like this.  

They are the BEST!

As I go through the recipe, I'll share the original way my dad made them

and how I've updated it so you can choose. 

You will need:

Original version: 

a pound of lean ground beef or other meat of your choice (chicken, turkey)

a tomato, chopped

an onion, chopped

salt and pepper to taste

butter or butter substitute like margarine

soft corn tortillas

toppings of your choice (lettuce, cheese, salsa, etc.)

updated version:

3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

one jar of your favorite picante or taco sauce

(we use Joe T. Garcia's, a local favorite and the best ever!)

butter or substitute like margarine

soft corn tortillas

toppings of your choice (lettuce, cheese, etc.) 

Step 1: cook your meat.

Original version:

If using ground beef, cook beef, chopped onion and chopped tomato, salt and pepper 

in a skillet until well done.

Pile it all in the skillet and occasionally stir around until it is all well cooked and looks like taco meat.

updated version:

If using chicken as I do, cut into chunks (for faster cooking)

and cook in a skillet until done.  

Step 2: Once the chicken is done, chop or shred it into small pieces.

The chicken (or if you are using ground beef) should be about the consistency of the picture below.

Note: you could use ground chicken but for some reason we just like the shredded chicken better.

I don't know why but we think it tastes better.

updated version:

Then, add the taco or picante sauce to the chopped chicken.

You do not need to do this for the original version because you added tomato and onion.

Turn the burner down to warm just to keep the meat warm while you cook tortillas

and assemble the tacos. 

Step 2: cook your tortillas

both versions

It doesn't matter which version you choose, the tortillas are the same.

The rest of the recipe is the same whether you make the original recipe or the updated version.

My dad made these tortillas one at a time using a cast iron skillet.

I  did that for years until my cousin showed me a quicker way to make 3 or 4 at a time.

Using a pancake griddle, heat the griddle to medium-medium high heat.

If you use a skillet to make one at a time, each the skillet to the same.

Drop a dollop of butter for each tortilla and kind of spread it around a bit as it melts

so that you have melted butter all over the griddle.

Add the tortillas.  Depending on the size of the griddle and the size of the tortillas,

you should be able to cook 3-4 at a time.

Cook the tortillas for about a minute and then turn over.

Cook them on the other side for about a minute or two.

They will start to bubble a bit but will still be soft.

That's when they are done.

If you cook them longer, they will be a bit chewy.

Transfer the tortilla to a plate.  Add a large spoonful of meat to it.

Fold the taco over and hold for a second.

Continue until all you've made all the tacos.

That's it!  2 steps!  Cook the meat and cook the tortillas.

They may look simple but they are sooooo good.

Let each person add their toppings; shredded lettuce, shredded Mexican cheese or feta, salsa if you made the original recipe, whatever you like.  We often eat them plain just like this,

maybe adding a side salad or something.

Remember, each time you begin your next group of tortillas, add more dollops of butter.

My dad would do this: dollop of butter to skillet, cook one tortilla, dollop of butter to skillet, cook next tortilla and so on.

One tip: Arrange your first batch or two of tacos on a plate lined with a paper towel.

Cover the tacos with another paper towel and add your next layer of tacos. 

Continue layering tacos and paper towels until you finish with the last batch of tacos on top.

This "layering" will help keep the tacos warm until they are served.

This is my son's favorite meal.  He would eat them everyday.

We use left over turkey from holidays to make turkey tacos the same way.

Give them a try and let me know what you think!

Adios!

I'm not here today

I'm not here today.  

I'm guest posting over at Grace's blog, 

Sense and Simplicity.

Grace is in Bangladesh training students in how to better provide

speech-language therapy services.  She has a series of posts

by guest bloggers she's sharing this summer while she's gone.

I was so excited when she asked me to participate.

As a fellow speech-language pathologist, I am grateful for

what she is doing in Bangladesh and was glad I could help

in some tiny way by helping her out with a guest post.

You'll see a few things in this post that you haven't seen before on my blog.

I hope you take a minute and stop by to visit Grace's blog and check out my post.

While you do, I will be enjoying record breaking heat today

(yes that is sarcasm you hear).  

We are supposed to hit 109 or 110 degrees F today 

and I can't even imagine with the humidity index what it will feel like.

I'm ready for autumn.

can you be in love with a chair?

I bought this chair.

I think I'm in love with it.

Simple.

Vintage.

Industrial.

A little leather and a little burlap and sweet.

As I was doing my duty of walking the antique mall for 2 hours

(booth owners have to donate 4 hours or pay a little fee)

I can't help but shop.  I have a few booths that I head to first and 

one of them is the beautiful booth, Bountiful.

I spied this chair.

Look at all that industrial vintageness on wheels.

It's adjustable and it works.

It looks just as good from the back.

She had covered the seat in a little burlap.

I didn't pay much for this sweet little thing

which makes it even sweeter.

I just love this little chair.

cottage mail

My cousin, Gale, has added a little something to her Austin cottage.  It's clever and so cute.

Gale took some photos of her new addition, had them printed and then sent them

to me by mail; you know, post office mail...hard copies.

I still love getting mail in my physical mailbox in the front of my house

but it makes it kind of hard to share the pictures with you.

I have to scan them into the computer and it's almost impossible to edit them.

I like what she's done though and really wanted to share it with you 

so here are the pictures she sent me.

Do you remember my cousin's cottage?  A few months ago, I shared

a lot of pictures of her house and gardens.  It was a cool spring day

in the early morning when I took the pictures.

If you missed the posts about the cottage, you can visit them

by clicking on the link on the upper right sidebar of my blog.

Here is her house on a hot Texas summer day.

Do you see her little addition near the road?

She's changed her mailbox.

She used an old sewing machine base (all perfectly white and chipped up, 

added a board to the top, a couple of smaller pieces of wood on each side

of the mailbox for support, nailed it all together and there you go!

How cute is that?

transformation thursday at theshabbycreekcottage

vintage, red and metal

A couple of weeks ago I hinted to you in this post that I had bought something vintage, red and metal.

I said it was bigger than a breadbox and asked if you had any guesses as to what it might be.

You all came up with some great guesses but nobody actually figured it out.

So what could it be?

How about an adorable vintage red metal bed?

I saw this in Ruby Grace's "red booth" at Lonestar Antique Mall.

Denis who owns the booth along with two other really cool booths 

let me have it for such a great deal that I couldn't say no.  

That cute bed was just begging me to give it a good home.

When I made over my sunroom into a project room,

I had this great bench in there for seating.

Then I decided to move that bench to the front porch

and when I did, I decided this was where it belonged.

Moving that bench to the porch created the cutest seating area but

left a huge void in the sunroom.

Enter cute vintage metal red bed.

It's going to be my new daybed/lounging sofa.

It has remnants of a sweet floral decal on the headboard

and awesome little wheels.

Those 3 little pots need some greenery, huh?

I added some bedding and pillows

and a comfy cotton throw

and presto, a daybed.

I am not a formal person.  I love the comfy slightly disheveled look.

What a great place for friends to hang out in the sunroom.

I guess it wouldn't be such a bad place to take a nap (if I took naps)

or even let a guest use if we need an extra bed.

Maybe I will go take a nap.  There's not much else we can do down here

in Texas right now.  We've had 3 straight weeks of 100+ temperatures, 

ridiculous humidity and not a drop of rain.  When you step outside,

you immediately start sweating...even before you feel really hot.

Hope others experiencing this heat wave are staying cool!