Dec 31, 2010 | Uncategorized
Sounds like the title to a Sci-Fi novel…
But here is what we did in 2010 (in a nutshell!)
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
Hope you have a wonderful New Year’s Eve and a Happy 2011!
Dec 31, 2010 | Green Living, Uncategorized
I really want my family to take the “Not Buying It” challenge for at least half of 2011,but haven’t worked out our specifics yet. Thinking we’ll do an exception for shoes (I’m sorry, used shoes are not my thing, especially for kids) and we’ll see what else. Might have to do exceptions for some home things as we’re still working on the rent house and who knows if I can find what I need at Habitat for Humanity Restore or Freecycle. I’ll keep you posted after our meeting.
*On another note, does anyone have any idea why my right sidebar won’t show up? I have done all I want to and nothing. I think I’m going to wait and just redo it all when I do my revamp sometime soon.
Dec 29, 2010 | Appetizers & Snacks, Panameña, Recipes
Patacones are what we call them in Panama. In some places (Puerto Rico for example) they call them tostones.
Nothing brings back memories like a good plate of patacones.
Yummy grilled chicken and patacones on the beach…
I remember saving my money to ride my bike to the KC (Knights of Columbus) in Margarita to get a hamburger and patacones. Later I found their sancocho was the bomb and had that and patacones instead.
We have always had problems in Arkansas finding good green platanos (plantains.) Usually the stores have them, but they are maduros (ripe) and I despise ripe plantains. (I know, most people love them.) When mom moved to Puerto Rico she discovered the island secret of using green bananas, which are much cheaper in PR (and Arkansas.) So, now I use green bananas if I can’t find good platanos. They really taste almost the same if they are very green although maybe a little silkier in texture. They are easier to peel and cheaper.
Patacones
- Peel plantains or green bananas. You have to do this quickly and right before frying or they turn black. Be careful as they will also turn your fingers black if you don’t wash right away!
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| Score on several sides and peel skin off |
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| Cut into thumb sized pieces |
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| Fry one time and drain |
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| Put between waxed paper or brown paper and squash! |
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| Fry again til golden |
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| Drain and salt! |
Dec 28, 2010 | Green Living, Uncategorized
For Christmas my chickens got a new house!
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| Cole and his pets |
This was a long time coming. We had hired a man to come build a coop from plans… he said it would be done by Thanksgiving. (Two weeks after Thanksgiving he showed up and built the frame, roof, and brought the rest of the materials then never came back.) Scott finished it in about two hours. We still have to stain it and fix the roof (the man put the tin roof on going the wrong direction!)
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| Sorry for the bad pics but this shows the walkway to house |
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| Side view so you can see the nesting box (opens to collect eggs) |
Dec 24, 2010 | Uncategorized
My youngest turns 6 tomorrow and guess what kind of cake he wanted???
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| Hint: What do whips, golden idols, treasure maps, and snakes have in common? |
The kids helped me shape some cool stuff from fondant and tootsie rolls (you just heat up the tootsie rolls about 12 seconds and they get soft enough to mold!) We painted with petal dust and paint pens (food coloring.)
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| Answer: Indiana Jones! |
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| The Crystal Skull! |
Hope the party goes well tomorrow!
