Some thoughts on recent movies and Pug's "non-chili chili"

The last couple of days I have been getting my "Lord of the Rings" fix!  About once every year or two I have to borrow the set from Thomas or back awhile ago from Brendin and Darcy to see it again!  I read the book before the series came out and have to admit that I cried at the end--in front of students!  Here's what went down.  Our school had a policy of every Wednesday in every class we spent the first 15 minutes reading.  I was strict about it and for several years I devoted my reading time to the whole Lord of The Rings!  After several years I came to the end.  It was sad but also I cried because it did end!  Some of the kids noticed so I had to explain.  I loved the movies (which doesn't happen a lot after I have read the book).  The scenery is absolutely outrageous and I have a goal to go to New Zealand to visit the areas where they filmed these movies!   I am jealous of Paul who did just that a year or so ago!

 Since we have been up in Casper I have seen some more recent movies.  Here are my thoughts on them.  The new True Grit :  I liked it and would watch it again.  I tried not to make comparisons to the old one with John Wayne.  The photography is great.  I especially liked the starry night scenes toward the end as Rooster was taking the girl for help after the snake bite.  I liked the stilted way Rooster and some others spoke like it was real "old timey".  By the way, I heard some young men discussing the movie as we were leaving the theater.   One said the snake scene wasn't as good as the old one; but I must say the snakes were much scarier!

Inception:  We watched this one on a DVD that Carla had.  It is a mind blowing, must see movie!  You have to stay with it the whole way.  No talking, leaving for a break or anything like that!  Very riveting. The ending will be a topic for discussion for years to come! I'm guessing there will be some Academy Award nominations on this one--especially for the screen play!

 

Gulliver's Travels in 3-D: This was the first recent 3-D movie I have seen.  The movie features Jack Black as Gulliver.  It is a fun movie but does not follow the book!  It is updated to make it identifiable with the younger group of viewers, and only covers the Lilliput part of the book although there is a very short part with the giant people.  Some good laughs and lots of fun!  I have to say the 3-D did not come out and grab me.  It would have been just as good without it, but I did like this movie.

Looking out the front door on a -17 degree day.  I just stuck my camera out so I didn't get as cold!

It has been very cold here lately.   Below zero and not getting any warmer even in the sun!  We have had Carla's chili which is delicious and I may have to give you that recipe another day because today I need to do the following recipe!  This is Pug's recipe that we grew up on.  I never experienced true chili until I went off to college!  Don't get me wrong, I LOVE spicy chili but that was never an option in our house!  Dad had ulcers when he was quite young and Mom was a dietitian and took her job seriously.  By the time we all came along Dad was healed but Mom continued to cook with no spices including pepper!  This is her version of chili as we knew it.  My sister still makes it and sent me this "heritage" recipe.

Pug's Chili 

Here's Pug's chili. You can do it with dried kidney beans, but for  quickness, and her method was always canned. Also, she just put everything in the pot and cooked it. No browning of onions and celery with the meat (which I usually do), but it tastes about the same. So here goes.  Lynn

Ingredients:

1 pound ground beef
2 or 3 cans of kidney beans (never had any proportions, so just use more of what you like)
1 #10 (I think she means #2 1/2 can--#10 is like a gallon!) can of tomatoes
3-5 stalks of celery - chopped
1 large onion - chopped
salt to taste (remember, she Never used pepper.)

Pug's Method

Cook the beef in a little oil in the bottom of a pot large enough to accommodate all the ingredients. Dump everything else in on top. Stir. Bring to boil on high, stirring occasionally. Turn down heat and simmer till it's the right consistency.

You should just try it once as is. It should tickle your memory buds. Of course we all add favorite ingredients, but that's the real recipe. 

I never made it this way--too bland-- but maybe it is good for a change or when you can't eat spicy foods!  Lynn used to serve it to guests when she lived in New York City!

Izzy's squirrel tree in the back yard.  It was -17 degrees when I took this!

An "Old School" Recipe

Carla gives me advice

An "Old School" dinner with a twist.

I just felt like I had to add a recipe today and asked Carla which one she remembered most.  She said she supposed I'd already put on Porcupine Meatballs.  Oh my gosh, no I haven't!  This brings back a lot of memories.  It is the first recipe Mom (Pug) had us make and so I followed her example and taught my children to make them, too.  I guess JJ followed my example and had Micah making them when he was young.  Now he has to call me to get the recipe every so often!

Here's my story of the first meal I ever cooked.  Mom had a meeting that was going to be late so she decided I finally was old enough to cook a whole dinner for the family.  I guess I must have been around 9 or 10 but I really don't remember.  She suggested the menu and told me how to do everything so I was psyched to be the cook!  I was making porcupine meatballs and baked potatoes.  Everything went according to Pug's plan.  The potatoes went in the 400 degree oven 1 hour before we were to eat and I got the meatballs on the stove to cook at the proper time.  I set the table and all was ready.  Pug came home and I proudly opened the oven door to get out the potatoes and I discovered a disaster!  The potatoes had exploded all over the oven!  I guess I had forgotten one of the cardinal rules of potato baking.  You must poke them with a fork so they can let the steam out and won't blow up.  I then had another lesson in how to clean the oven.  Never again did I forget this rule!  The meatballs turned out perfect so they became a standby for me.  Here is the recipe:

PORCUPINE MEATBALLS

Ingredients:

An easy inexpensive menu idea.

1 egg beaten

1 10 3/4 oz. can condensed tomato soup*

1/4 Cup long grain rice--I use Uncle Ben's

1/4 tsp. onion powder--I use about 1/4 C.finely chopped onions

3/4 tsp. pepper

1 pound hamburger

Directions:

Combine egg, 1/4 C. of soup, uncooked rice, onion, and pepper.  Add hamburger and mix well. 

Adding all the ingredients except the sauce.

Shape into about 20 meatballs.  Put into a large pot or skillet* . 

I don't need this big of a pan!

Mix the rest of the soup with 1/2 C. water or enough to cover meat balls and pour over them.  Bring to boiling, cover and reduce heat to a simmer.

Ready to cover and cook.  I added the Argyle sauce to the tomato soup to give it a "twist".

I cooked it 25 minutes instead of the 20 set on the timer for Casper.

  Cook for about 20 minutes or until all pink is gone from meat and rice is tender.  (takes longer up in North Park!).   Skim off any fat and serve.

*Hints:  I use a pressure cooker up at the cabin and cook for about 12 minutes.  You can use tomato sauce instead of soup, add some Italian spices to your sauce before cooking and serve with Parmesan cheese.  You could also add a teaspoon or so of Worchestershire sauce instead of Italian seasoning for a little zip or maybe some chili powder or cumin.  Now that I am thinking about it, I think I will use some of my Argyle Sauce**   instead of the soup!!  That sounds yummy!

** See my blog for recipe: 9/29/10

All set for a nice dinner when we get home from the matinee at the movies.

Pictures that go with the New Years Letter from Yesterday

Photo album personalized with Smilebox Actually there are more pictures on this  Smilebox than were on my page.  I might even make another one before I am satisfied.

My New Years Letter

Another big snow picture.

Hi All!  Happy New Year!

As usual I am sending out my Christmas cards as New Years cards, again.  I am also posting this letter on my blog so I can use whichever computer I happen to be near to get it done!  In case you want to check out my blog to get all the details of our life in 2010, here is the sight (apologies to those who are reading this at meemointhemountains):  meemointhemountains.blogspot.com

Here is a summary of our year, the good, the bad and the ugly!  We started out in January at the cabin.  It was a bit snowy but nothing we couldn't handle with the Argo.  In fact we could use the road that Hughie had plowed open for Christmas to take the Argo back and forth.  We could not drive on the road with the pickup, however.  We left the cabin in late January headed for the south and warmer weather!

We spent February with Micah and Kim and the great grand children in San Antonio.  We had great fun and many adventures with them.  Then it was on to Florida to visit my sister, Lynn and her husband Bill. We spent a couple days driving down and spent a fun two days in Biloxi, Mississippi visiting its casinos and the beach.

In Florida, we had a a nice time with Lynn and Bill watching classic films and just enjoying the semi-warm weather.  Oldtimers said it was the coldest winter they ever had!  It was warmer than our cabin winters so we were fine!  I got to visit my friend, Laura, in Vero Beach.  We had a great get together with our Struble cousins who live or spend time near by in Lehigh Acres.  We hadn't seen any of them in over 20 years!  Bob and I even drove over to see where they lived after we dropped Lynn and Bill off to head back to France!  

We left Florida in early April to head back to San Antonio where we had a date to watch Micah's 3 little girls while he and Kim went on a cruise with Kim's family.  Erin came down with her friend Eric from Dallas and JJ flew in from Elko.  We had a great time spoiling the girls and starting new Easter traditions!

We arrived back home in mid May just in time for Bob's Dr. appointment for a check up with the Urologist and Nephrologist..  Good news on the kidney, bad news on his prostate (which had been removed 11 years before).  It seems a cancer cell or two  had remained and now was growing exponentially.  After consultation with the tumor board, the Drs. at the Urology Center decided he should have radiation therapy.  We visited with the Radiologist and he also recommended hormone therapy to enhance the radiation.  On May 15  Bob's journey into cancer treatment began with the hormone shot!  The radiation treatments would begin in late July but there were a lot of preliminary things to be done.

In June we attended Thomas's graduation from High School in Casper.  The rest of June and most of July we spent at the cabin or going to Denver for prep work for the cancer treatments.  Finally the last week of July we moved down to Denver and Bob began his radiation.  We spent 7 weeks five days a week in Denver and the weekend at the cabin.  We stayed at the VQ hotel next to Invesco field and less than a block away from the Urology Center where Bob had the treatments.  The radiology team was wonderful!  They all were upbeat, lots of fun and very caring.  Bob had some side effects but was mostly tired.  He did not lose his hair or have nausea and was able to have physical therapy, attend 4 baseball games, go to the Zoo with JJ, her friends, and I, attend a preseason football game and drive back and forth to Walden during this time.  I spent a lot of time at the pool, reading, going to the 16th St. mall, and picking crabapples which I made into jelly when I got back home on weekends!  The seven weeks went by (I won't say quickly) and soon we were back at the cabin.

  In October I did the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in Denver and we did go to CSU Homecoming activities in Ft. Collins. We spent Thanksgiving with Marianne's family after a trip that never ended to get there (see my blog).  We had a great time picking holly, shopping, doing volunteer work for the Christmas fund, attending Big, the Musical and a Christmas party for Marianne's womens church group, making Santa hats for the Christmas tree farm, and eating! 

In mid-December Bob had his 3 month checkup for his cancer treatment.  He is doing well, although he still has some side effects of the hormone and radiation therapy.  The Dr. is optimistic but cannot say whether the radiation was completely successful for maybe 6 more months.  He did say, “Well, at least you are still here!”   I’m taking that as a good sign!

The whole family except Marianne's family and Micah's family were at the cabin for Christmas.  Kathi's son Chris also missed the fun because he was watching the farm and had to get back to work.  We had lots of fun sledding, doing How Do We Look for Christmas Eve, How to Host a Murder, Pass the White Elephant Gifts and eating, of course.

The kids decided Bob and I could not stay at the cabin due to big snow so we all left  on December 29 and here we are in Casper for the next month.  Then on to Elko to stay with JJ for a month and finally on to San Antonio for awhile.  I have a hope to go to Florida but that might not happen and we do plan to visit Danny at the farm while we are staying here with Carla.

Best wishes to everyone for a happy and prosperous New Year!  Keep us posted on what's going on with you!

Penny and Bob

Carla and Erin get the hot tub ready to drain in preparation for our closing down the cabin.

Paul is trying to set up a siphon to empty the hot tub.  It only worked halfway.  JJ and Ozzie had to bail out the other half!

Why We are in Casper instead of the Cabin

An unusual sight at the cabin!  The snow didn't blow!

 I took a lot of pictures in December of moose and of snow!  My snow pictures are because I never had seen it pile up like it did without blowing into huge drifts and then bare spots.  It just stayed on the level.  We had several adventures during this time that caused our kids to worry about us and finally to insist that we leave the cabin when they did after Christmas.  Here's what happened.

The snow just kept piling up!

Event #1:  Bob had a Dr. appointment in Denver.  We had to drive down over Cameron Pass due to big snow and ice and closed highways going over Berthoud Pass.  It was a bad drive but we made it.  We planned to see his Drs. and go up to Ft. Collins to stay and do Christmas shopping.  We did and added 1 more day to our stay since we didn't get finished .

When we got home we noticed that a big piece of the roof cap had blown off.  I guess there were some pretty big winds while we were gone.  That night we got some more big winds and we could hear a big rattling and banging going on over our heads.  Bob had to plow with the Cat the next day to keep the road open (since we had decided to drive all the way into the cabin in the pickup to unload all our stuff for Christmas).  He could see our roof from the top of the hill and it was not a pretty sight!  A big piece of the metal was ripping off and would need replacing or fixing.

Hughie watches the "boys" working on the roof.  The lift was a "roof saver!"

Discussing how to proceed with roof repairs.

Our "roof heroes" ascend to the top!

Bob decided he needed to have me help him get the ladder and go up (2 stories) and help him fix it.  There was no way either of us was going up there but he insisted, so I had to call Hughie and ask for help!  Harry had a big lift and so Hughie and 2 of Harry's employees (Jamie and Pete?) came out and fixed it for us.  It was a good thing they did it immediately because the next day the snows started and didn't quit for 2 weeks!  At least there was no wind.

Bob plows snow before the big snows hit.  See the bare ground by the house?  That disappeared a few days later.

Event 2:  As I mentioned we drove the pickup into the cabin and did not immediately drive back out when Hughie and the boys left (a big mistake).  Bob continued to plow snow everyday as it continued to pile up but it finally became obvious that there was getting to be too much and nowhere to go with it even though he had plowed a fairly wide trail.

Pickup at the cabin.  A big mistake.

So we finally tried to drive it out.  I followed him in the Argo in case he didn't make it.  It was so beautiful that I took tons of pictures as I was following.  He made it up the first big hill coming out of the draw so I thought we would have it made.  He had to back down and try 3 or 4 times on the next hill up around where the big pine tree used to be (pre-pinebeetle) but he made it!  We were going to make it!  Oooops a little curve right after the big long barbed wire gate got him!  The pickup was sideways in the road with snowbanks blocking him front and back!  We would have to go get the Cat.

Snow on the gate posts.  This is the sight of the stuck truck. 

Stuck truck.  The whole back is filled with snow!

After several tries of pulling him out and then Bob trying to spin on the ice underneath the snow, he decided to do a lot more plowing ahead and then give it another shot.  That resulted in making it about 10 feet further and stuck again!  By now it was dark so we gave up for the night.  Mind you, it was snowing this whole time!

Bob is trying to get the road opened better so the pickup will get some traction on the dirt.  Not successful since there was a layer of ice under all that snow!

The next morning we were back trying again and it seemed strange that the pickup just kept sliding and spinning and not getting anywhere. Finally after 3 or 4 hours I  said just hook on the front and tow it out with the Cat!  Bob was stubborn and said he wanted to try one more time.  I stood there and watched as he spun and went sidewards yet again!  I did notice that the front tires were not spinning and I mentioned that to him.  I got in the pickup ( major task since it was wedged up against the snow banks) and discovered it was not in 4 wheel drive!  I knew it was in the night before because I saw it and even asked questions about it.  What must have happened was that Bob had to climb over to the passenger side to get out in the dark the night before and must have kicked the gear shift as he was crawling out on accident!  Our next attempt was perfect and we got out .

Stuck truck.......Again!

Pick up is ready to give it one last try!  It didn't work!  But I did discover the problem.

Clint had come out and was snow blowing from the metal gate out to the county road.  He also had had some adventures while we were still trying to get to the gate so he was not finished blowing.  We waited and finally by late afternoon we made it out and were back home!

Final events:  Ozzie, JJ and Erin were coming in from Nevada and the road reports warned of feet of snow on the way.  They were on bare roads so they just kept coming hoping to beat the snow.  I had to go out in the Argo at 2 AM to pick them up.  Each day Ozzie had to make numerous trips in the Argo to bring in all the rest of our family.  Some trips--especially Carla's outfit--looked very Grinch-like with Argo and sled piled high.

Danny's family comes in on the Argo with Ozzie.  Seven people with all their stuff!

Getting unloaded.

Paul, Thomas, JJ and Ozzie with whoever is on the sled behind are headed up to the sledding hill.

Bob had parked the pickup across the cattle guard so no one would try to go further, since there was nowhere to turn around and snow had slid off the barn roof and buried where Clint had snow blown.  Someone going up to the lodge tried to go around the pickup and made a "$300 hole".  They had to call a wrecker from Walden to come pull them out!

Bringing in the Christmas tree on the Argo

 That was it, our fate was sealed!  We had to get packed up and on the road when Carla and the boys did.  It took us 3 trips with the Argo in blinding snow to get out but we did it!  Now if it would just warm up  here in Casper......

Casper in the snow.  4 days and a lot of wind and cold later!

Looking up the street.  Just beyond where we can see is a plowed up drift higher than the pickup!

One Year Anniversary of my Blog! My Bucket List with Comments!

Today I need to look back over the year and see how I did with my bucket list and if I need to add or subtract anything!  It was an eventful year with its high and low points!  I guess every year goes along that way.  If any of you have been following my blog you know pretty well how it went this year so I am not going to give a summary--you can just go back and read about it.  I do think I will put up my bucket list and comment on and/or delete and add to it.  That should do it.  I may have to comment on several major life changing things that have happened to us, though.

My Bucket List for 2010 and Beyond

I was going to write down my New Year's resolutions but saw a neat post by a teacher friend who is doing 40 by 40. I can't see listing 75 by 75 for me so I'll just kind of make a bucket list. Some things will be short term and some sort of long term although at this age I need to keep them not too long! Some are definitely pipe dreams, but who knows what tomorrow will bring!

1. Start a blog sight and try to keep it up to date. I have a lot of ideas to write down so it will have a lot of variety to it. (Already started)  Check!
2. Lose 10-15 lbs. during this year--hopefully by June but I know me and I rarely hit my target date. I am going to use Judith Becks method again because it seems to work well for me.  Weigh the same as I did last year at this time.  I guess I'll give it another try this year!
a. Count calories--use fitday.com (700-900/day) Did for less than 1 week.....
b. Plan meals ahead and write them down here? Ditto
c. Exercise regularly--walk away the lbs. on dvd, snow shoe, sweat to the oldies.  Sort of did but not too regularly.
d. Use her psychological tips and find a coach (Carla?)  Did not do!
3. Walk in a 5K event this spring and definitely the Race for the Cure next October in Denver or San Antonio if I am there.  Did the October one--May get to do the San Antonio one with Kim this year.  Definitely want to do the Denver one in fall this year again.  May want to do the Blue Shoe one for Prostate Cancer the week before the Race for the Cure.
4. Finish 3 quilts this year -- Bob's snowball quilt with embroidery in the snowballs, pink log cabin earmarked for Carla, and the generational quilt. Quilt the Christmas one sometime in the near future. Quilt or tie the Owyhee HS one soon.  Ha Ha!  I looked at the generational one several times and said to myself "I must finish this, but my machine is in Twin Falls being worked on." (You may remember this was not a good year for the embroidery machine, but now I am hopeful it is in good running order so I will again try to work on these quilts)  I am going to downsize this list to at least finishing the generational quilt this year!
5. Redo Carla's jacket by fall.  Another Ha Ha!  See note about my machine above!
6. keep up with my speed cleaning  I actually did do this for the downstairs!  Now I need to work on keeping up with the upstairs and getting our bedroom done!
7. Deep clean red room and our bedroom before going south for the winter.  Red room=yes; Bedroom is on the list again!
8. Get together with Mike and Sandi Struble and Maryann and Bob Durake while in FL. Also visit Linda Cox and Laura Atwood while we are there.  Check, except for Linda.  I would love to see everyone again this year but we may not make it to FL , but I can hope......

The next part of this list is more long range but I still hope to do some of these things!

9. Visit New Zealand and Australia while I am still able to enjoy it--see where Lord of the Rings and Man from Snowy River were filmed.
10. Visit Ansuya and Leonie in Great Britain.
11. Visit Dana and Ron in MD and Tip, Barb and Jennie's families at the same trip.
12. Stop to see and visit with Jenni Currie in Mobile and/or see her here in CO.
13 Go to a Struble family reunion in PA
14. Go to Mexicali for dental and to have a lapband checkup and visit with Dr. Aceves and his team.

These next ones are definitely planned for this year

15. Visit my friends in Wendover, Elko, and Owyhee (also relatives).
16. Go to Laughlin and Las Vegas with Annie and Katie. Visit my friends and former students in Vegas (Francisco, Becky--Have them organize the others who are there)
17. Visit all my children--Marianne, JJ, Carla and Danny at their homes. Check, except JJ's house but did visit with them several times this year at cabin and Denver!  Plan to do it all again this year, too.
18 . Do some more watercolor painting Nope, but still plan to
19. Paint some more trays with acrylic paints. Bought the paints--I think Carla took most of the trays to do and didn't get them finished either--I might do this while I am in Casper this month.

 20. Try to make soap again but study up on it before trying. Check and it worked so well I even sold some and used the rest for gifts.  Made embroidered soap!

 21. Continue to try doing innovative new things on the embroidery machine and use more of the options on my machine. Use the tutorial to experiment.  Nope, see note about machine above.

 22. Go to a beach and spend time there with family or friends.  Still hoping to do this--Maybe Corpus Christi with Micah's family?

 23. Have a family gathering dinner or BBQ like we used to do with all the Walden relatives here at the cabin in summer or at the Wattenburg building or Soil Conservation building.  Made plans with Jane to do this around President's day and now we won't be there!

 24. Do something for charity. I need ideas possibly organize a run/walk here in North Park or some type of quilting thing or cookie bake or SOMETHING!  Hoping for some suggestions or maybe helping Kim with garage sale for Haiti orphans counts?????  Still want to do some chairitable things this year too.

 25. Take another cruise--maybe for Carla's 50th birthday?  Carla has the plans in the works!

 26. Spend a vacation in Hawaii  Still hoping....

 27. Read Paul Richard's book about North Park.  Need to get the book from the Star office!

 28. Remodel the bathroom  Still desperately needs it!

 29. Tear out the blue sweater I knitted and was too big and long armed and knit another sweater with the yarn.  I have the sweater with me to tear out--need a pattern!

 30. Knit an ear flap hat with really cool yarn like the Opal yarn I'm using to knit a pair of socks.  Bought one at Walmart.  Am knitting socks with Opal yarn and they are beautiful.  Need to finish them this year!

 

I think I will write my new list on another blog so I can review it again next January!  I think I did pretty well on this list considering all the unexpected things that happened this year!  Especially the seven weeks we spent in Denver for Bob's radiation and my malfunctioning embroidery machine!  These caused us to have a lot of unplanned adventures that were quite interesting, too.

A Winter Campfire Complete With a Sensual Treat

Our High Impact Fire

 The last night we were at the cabin for this winter, Erin and Ozzie had a "Bonfire" planned.  Ozzie had informed the kids that they had to gather wood if they wanted a fire but the snow was so deep that all our wood was covered!  He finally went to town and bought wood!  How outrageous is that when we have been working so hard to give away all our pine beetle wood! 

Brrrrrr!  Do we really have to do this?

As the afternoon wore on and the temperature kept dropping I decided we probably wouldn't have our fire.  ( I didn't know Ozzie would buy wood he was so determined to do this thing!)  We had lots of leftover chili for chili dogs and I figured we could grill them outside and it would work well.  But no!  Erin insisted that was not a bonfire.  As it began to get dark she,  Paul and Thomas went out and got the fire going on top of the burm just off of our porch. 
When all was ready, they carried out folding chairs and got the hot dogs, buns, and marshmallows out.  We realized that we had only a few graham crackers and some chocolate frosting and some homemade 1-2-3 fudge sauce (see recipe at end of this story) around for somemores.  I put the chili on the stove to heat up thinking they would not last very long outside since the temperature had dropped to 16 degrees. 

Thomas is roasting a hot dog!  Can you see beautiful Izzy behind JJ and Paul?

 About that time the grandkids insisted we all had to come out and enjoy their "High Impact Fire" with them!  We had to don the whole snowpants, boots, sweaters, gloves or mittens and scarves equipment before going outside.  JJ and I wondered if anyone had cut willow sticks to use to roast our hotdogs and marshmallows.  Of course no one had, so we got out the metal skewers from the barbeque. 

Smoke gets in your eyes!  That's JJ and Ozzie all bundled up.

We all (except Bob, who does not attend our summer fires either) assembled around the "High Impact Fire" with our BBQ skewers and hot dogs.  Erin even sat in the snow to roast her hot dog!  We had to get so close to the fire that the smoke really did a number on our eyes and I kept warning people to be careful not to melt their gloves, snowpants, or boots.  Unfortunately, Erin thought the funky smell was her hot dog roasting and melted a big hole in JJ's $45 motorcycle gloves!

Erin roasts a marshmallow and a mitten!  Paul and Izzy are in the background.

 The hot dogs tasted great.  Some of us would roast the hot dog, run inside and put chili on it sit down at the table, eat it and then go out again!

Bob's chili dog that I made for him after roasting the hot dog over the fire.

 The marshmallows were great too.  I went in and melted the 1-2-3 fudge sauce so we could dip the marshmallows in it.  Yummmm!  Then Erin remembered a friend telling her about toasting Starbursts over a campfire and she just happened to have some so she got them out!  Everyone LOVED them and we added a few new twists to the sensual experience, which has prompted me to add the recipe for them to this blog, too.  We sat around the "High Impact Fire" until we got all the wood burned up and then came inside for some card playing.

Here are the recipes for the 1-2-3 fudge sauce which can be used on ice cream and as a dipping sauce for anything your heart desires and for the Sensual Starbursts.

	1-2-3 Fudge Sauce Description: This is a really quick and easy recipe when you want hot fudge sundaes.   It is truly fudgey.   I think it is one of Pug's recipes that I have used for many years. Ingredients: 1 can evaporated milk or equivalent 1/2 & 1/2 2 C. sugar 4 Tbsp. cocoa 1 tsp. vanilla Directions: Mix sugar and cocoa.   Add milk and boil for 15 minutes.   Stir in vanilla and let cool or put over your ice cream while it is hot! Number Of Servings:1 1/2-2 C. Preparation Time:a few minutes plus boiling time

Sensual Starbursts

Ingredients and equipment: 

Several  packages of Starbursts (depends on how many people are gathered for this event)

A small bowl filled with hot 1-2-3 Fudge Sauce

Small sharp pointed sticks or skewers for roasting

Hot Coals to cook over

Procedure:

Unwrap and place a Starburst on the end of your stick.  Hold over coals and rotate gently until 1 sacrificial drop of Starburst drips into the fire (be careful not to make it 2 drips!).  Quickly take your prize over to the bowl of chocolate and dip it in to coat the Starburst.  Let cool a bit before popping it into your mouth!  Mmmmmmmm!  Be careful not to eat too soon or you'll burn your tongue!

Carla roasts the Starburst.

Then dips it in Fudge Sauce

Cooling a bit is important! Doesn't that look Sensuous?

Carla prepares for a bite of paradise!