MAJOR milestone - the first grandchild to graduate college (in May) - has just accepted a job offer from Lockheed Martin (where she has been interning for some time) at a figure that made our eyes pop. Then again, anyone who could survive the agony of getting a degree in Astro-Engineering is likely worth the salary offered. As mentioned before, you'd never guess just by looking at her! Our extended family got together at Kobe Steakhouse for a celebration dinner. Below, Hailey getting Kobe's "birthday cupcake" as I doubt they have many Job-celebration dinners. P.S. It's one of those jobs to which the question of what will she be doing can only be answered by that classic: "If I told you, I'd have to kill you."
Gramma Grace got into the act, telling a story with a surprise Lockheed Martin twist. Thank you, Tim Hanes!
Although Cassidy was back from her trip to Costa Rica, she was not able to make the long drive from Florida Tech to Longwood & back in the middle of the week. But here she is in the pic below.
Terry Baber, who used to play in a band with Mike and whose girls played with the grandgirls, moved to the West Coast quite a few years ago, but he has kept in touch through Facebook, with both musical posts and belly laughs. Below, "Couch Potato."
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Below, the last of three recipes that come under the category of "Recipes My Mother Never Taught Me." My mother, whose background was several generations of mid-Westerners, with an ancestry of English, Welsh, Irish, and French, was an excellent cook, but from the era of fried chicken, fried pork chops, baked ham, pot roast, etc. All her spare time was used to write children's books, so where I got my fascination with recipe books, recipe books, and more recipe books I have no idea.
My last two blogs have featured recipes with Spanish and French origins. Today's is just as "foreign" to me (born in Nebraska but raised in New England). Hoppin' John is evidently a New Year's tradition in the South, allegedly bringing Health, Happiness, and Long Life. Though its flavor is not quite as exotic as Picadillo or Cassoulet, it's a one-dish meal that is easy to put together. It's tasty, reheats and freezes well. So why not give it a try?
This recipe is from Taste of Home's Cast Iron Cookbook, March 2022.
Grace Notes: Cast iron skillet not needed. But, as with other recipes with a good number of ingredients, it's less hassle if you "prep" the actual assembly: cut up bacon, pepper, celery & green onions (refrigerate); lay out all the spices, so you're not rummaging through the spice cupboard while the water boils away!
HOPPIN' JOHN
*I use no more than a ¼ teaspoon
In a large skillet, cook the bacon over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon to paper towels. Discard drippings, except for 2 tablespoons. Sauté pepper, celery & onions in drippings until almost tender. Add rice, water, and seasonings. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Add black-eyed peas and bacon; simmer, covered, 10 minutes longer or until liquid is absorbed. Discard bay leaf.
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Featured Book of the Week:
The subject of Brides of Falconfell, my first Regency Gothic, came up at Hailey's party, so I'm making it my Book of the Week. This is the result of my missing that staple of the fifties and sixties, as well as realizing that Gothic novels did not have to be Victorian or Contemporary. The combination of Suspense, Mystery, and Romance could be placed in any setting or time period. Hence the creation of what became my specialty, as well as favorite genre—the Regency Gothic.
Miss Serena Farnsworth, spinster, is a managing female, the crutch
for her extended family, for whom she functions as nurse, companion,
and household organizer. In short, she lives a life of service, devoid
of romance. Until she is invited to attend an invalid at a gloomy
Gothic-style estate in Northumberland, where she encounters two
suspicious deaths, personal animosity, a needy child, and even needier
father. Add witchcraft, shake (sink) holes, Mid-summer Eve revels, and a
variety of odd characters, as well as the certainty someone is trying
to killer her, and Serena finds herself surrounded by a miasma of evil.
The lord of the manor should be of help, but he, alas, is a prime
suspect in the murder of the Brides of Falconfell.
Author's Note: "Brides of Falconfell" is a tribute to the great era
of Gothic novels, written by Victoria Holt, Jane Aiken Hodge, Mary
Stewart, Phyllis Whitney, and other talented authors of that time. The
books—more "Jane Eyre" and "Rebecca" than "Pride and Prejudice"—have
several common elements: they are told in first person, as both heroine
and reader must be isolated, unable to know what the other characters
are thinking. Frequently, the heroines are married and begin to suspect
their husbands of murder. There is often a child, usually the hero's
from a previous marriage. A large, gloomy mansion is a must, where
murder, madness, and evil abound, with the heroine escaping death by the
skin of her teeth. I have put all these conventions in Brides of
Falconfell and chosen an isolated location at the very "top" of England
as a setting. I hope you will enjoy my personal attempt at "Gothic
Revival."
Blair Bancroft
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