New thing

I really don't try too many food things. I mean I try new dishes but the main ingredients I've had them. For example, I think I may the only person in Miami who has not tried Dulce de Leche ice cream. See, my logic is I don't need to like that because its not good for me and only going to be another thing to add to the list of things that I shouldn't eat so why try it in the first place. But fruit is a different category. Its in the good for you category and therefore they should all be tried and I discovered I LOVE passion fruit. I had never had it. I didn't even know how to eat it. This weekend I went to a farm in The Redlands to pick up some items that a friend of mine and I had ordered (not passion fruit) and I say a pile of these round things in a box. I asked what they were ever trying to expand my knowledge and they were passion fruit. She told me she had an extra bag that she could sell me. I wasn't going to buy any because well I've never tired it and so didn't want to waste my money. She asked me if I liked tart things as she was cracking one open and got a spoon and handed it to me. QUE RICO!! I loved it. She explained how to tell if they were ripe etc. as I fished out the 3 bucks from my purse for that extra bag she had. I split them with my friend because she tried it when she got to my house and liked it too. But man I could eat a bushel of them and if I start to get bored of eating them straight I can think of umpteen uses from salad dressings to marinades. Que Rico!! I have GOT to get more of these. Comfort and Joy baby! YUM!

Let's do lunch

If you are a regular reader then both of you know that not that long ago I took 18 out to dinner to the Melting Pot. It was very nice to have one on one time with him and a nice meal that we can't really afford to do all 4 of us. That, plus the fact that the other 2 members of the foursome wouldn't like fondue. Anyway, I suggested to hubby that he take 18 to lunch to Christy’s. Again, it's pricey so not a place we'd go with the kids. But they were having a Sneak Peek Miami Spice Menu and it was really a deal. Dinner was I think $35 and lunch was $22 per person. So, on his Friday off hubby and 18 went to lunch at Christy's. They had a great time. Hubby shared his favorite Miami restaurant with him and they chatted about all sorts of things and spent some good quality one on one time before 18 takes off for college. I'm glad they took advantage of the opportunity.

Quick list

I haven't had time to properly blog but have things to put out there so here's a quick list of bullet points.

* Why am I busy? Because next week if the banquet for 18s football team and I am the coordinator and it's for like 200 people and I haven't got the food set yet and so far I really only have tablecloths and plates and we need to finish 30 scrapbooks for the Seniors and I don't even have all of the collages yet or enough refill pages for all the scrapbooks and and well you get the picture.

* After living in Miami since 1983 I finally went to Knauss Berry Farm. Friends took me on Saturday morning. It's a lovely ride to a fresh fruit, veggie, baked good stand open only for a short season run by what a friend endearingly calls quasi-Amish. I bought their famous and delicious sticky buns, key lime pie, cherry pie, raisin bread, 9-grain bread, strawberry jam, hot pepper guava jam, strawberries, tomatoes (red & green), scallions, zucchini, yellow squash, green & red peppers, oregano, cilantro and a bag of mixed salad greens. I think that's everything. It's all yummy! and I so enjoyed it and now I know where it is and can go whenever I want. YEAH!!

* I had to send my sewing machine back because it was missing some accessories and apparently its a bundled package and they can't just send me the missing parts but have to get this one back and resend a whole new one! Whatever, they are paying for the shipping since it was their mistake.

* I went to a book reading. The book was "The Geography of Bliss". The author is a friend of a friend. The subject sounds fascinating and I can't wait to read the book. I have been thinking about it a lot - being happy that is and I think it will be interesting. Granted he told us one of the things was to not over think it but I think I need to think about it. I'll let you know how that works out.

*18 has now been accepted at 3 universities, Xavier University in Cincinnati, Loyola in New Orleans and FIU in Miami. AND Union College in upstate NY is going to fly him up to see the school. They are interested in him playing football. Catholic University in DC is also interested in him playing football but they told him they didn't have budget to pay for a visit. We shall see what happens with all of that.

* I have talked about learning to cook Cuban food for a few years. I have wanted to learn all the home recipes from the moms and grandmas but it never happens. Well this year its going to. I've gathered a small group of friends and we are going to use our moms and inlaws to teach us their recipes to pass them on to the next generation. I am so looking forward to it. We are starting with croquettes. Trust me you will hear much more about this.

* I recently saw the movie "Zodiac". Obviously, the topic is uber-scary as it's about the Zodiac killer. The movie is very well done. The camera work is excellent. It starts in 1968 and goes well into the '80s and maybe even '90s I forgot already but it is really well done. They were never able to convict anyone or even arrest anyone for all those murders but it shows you how it haunted and affected so many how were investigating it. How they were convinced of a suspect but frustrated at not being able to prove it. I don't know what's up next on the Netflix queue.

* I'm excited about Masterpiece Theater airing all of Jane Austen's novels. I Tivod the first one Persuasion. Who knows when I will be able to sit and watch it but I'm looking forward to it.

That's all for now....