Champurado

Our Empty Nester's Family Home Evening group does a potluck dinner every Monday.  We're a pretty eclectic group, in age and interests and ethnic "flavors" - which makes for a lot of fun conversation and knoshing!

Lorenza, from Mexico, has a good handle on her English, with a strong accent.  She is helping us all improve our Spanish!  With a large hispanic population in the Buckeye area and at church, it's a good idea to get at least a few pertinant words and phrases on board.

We celebrated our Christmas dinner gathering with some traditional tamales - several of the ladies make them, in various flavors.  Lorenza treated us with "champurado", an authentic Mexican hot chocolate drink.  Oh my - love at first sip!  Not overly sweet, with some thickness that gives a wonderful mouth feel - like drinking hot chocolate pudding! It can be made as thin or thick as you wish.

Champurado reminds me of Starbucks "Drinking Chocolate" - which I swore to only have once a year, it was so rich.  This is better, 'cuz I can drink more of it! 

I was put in charge of getting the recipe on paper, because Lorenza cooks like most of us seniors - "about this much of this" and "about this much of that"! 


From Lorenza's instruction, a bit of help from Google, and tweaking my first batch, here is: 

CHAMPURADO

 Ingredients: 2 1/2 c. water, divided (agua)
                   1/4 c. masa harina (maseca)
                   2 oz. bittersweet  chocolate, chopped (or 1/4 c. semisweet
                      chocolate chips) Quality of chocolate makes a difference...    
                   1 stick cinnamon (canela)
                   1 whole clove (clavo deolor)
                   2 T. brown sugar (azucar morales)
                   1 can (5 oz.) evaporated milk (leche)
                  
Measure 1 cup cold water; slowly sprinkle 1/4 c. masa into the water stirring constantly to form a smooth mixture. Set aside for 15 min. 

Meanwhile, bring 1 1/2 c. water to boil; add 1 stick cinnamon broken into 4 pieces, and one whole clove; cover with lid, simmer until water turns pinkish, about 10 min.  Strain out the spices, return water to boil.

Remove lid, and quickly stir in the masa mixture and chocolate.  Immediately reduce heat, cook on low stirring constantly until thickened - about 8 min.  Stir in brown sugar and milk.  Taste and adjust amount of sugar if needed. 

Makes 4 generous servings.

If you want to be really authentic, whip the hot chocolate frothy with a traditional molinillo about 5 minutes. 

And if you want to die happy, give it a dollop of unsweetened whipped cream!

I served myself in a small Japanese tea cup - the rich chocolate drink was a wonderful treat on a chilly desert morning.

Try a new Christmas treat this year - Champurado!

Road trip with the punks!

Amazing how flexible life can be - in the space of about three days, I got word that I had a car waiting for me in Oregon, schedules were shuffled, calenders consulted, a flurry of calls and emails, and wahlah!  Plane tickets for me, Than, Collin and Lee!

We left Phoenx/Mesa VERY early on Monday, Dec. 3. arriving in Eugene, Oregon at about 9:45 a.m.

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Becky picked us up at the airport, took us home to

 the wonderful Farr B&B. We loved the misty rain, crackling fire, and the glorious Christmas tree!

 Mom came over for dinner, and some nutcracking with Lee.

There's always music with this gang...

The highlight was a little Christmas concert at mom's home, "Sweet By and By".  The five residents and caregivers really enjoyed the songs and joined right in with singing some favorite Christmas carols.

 A visit with mom (great-gramma) is never complete without a couple hands of cribbage.  We played teams, with Collin claiming Gramma G. for partner - he figured it was a sure win...since she had just beat me!

However, the LEE/Gramma Candy team won - yay!

 Cousins were a big part of the trip.  We diverted up to Washington to see Pat and Tonya, and got in some game time with Stephen and Elyse - a spirited contest with lots of laughs!

Then back to Salem, a last breakfast with cousins Paul (soon leaving on his mission to Baltimore, MD), and Kate (returned from her mission in McAllen, TX).  Becky can testify that this is a pancake-eatin' crew!

 Collin, Paul, Than, and Lee  ... until next time.

 Leaving Oregon, entering California, we got some wonderful views of Mt. Shasta - which we had seen from the air on the way up!   Lee was bummed that there was no snow close to the road.  The drivers were happy!

Than was relief driver, officially passing his mom in milage the past three months!  He's a good driver, I was happy to turn the wheel over to him.  He got some unexpected experience driving in fog over the Grapevine into LA!

 One of the most unusual rest areas I've visited - southern California.  Looked like a big open barn, providing lots of shade for weary travelers.

 Affectionately called "the goat's belly", our little home-away-from-home.  Two days of solid driving, with an overnight stop in Sacramento. Not real roomy, but only one to a seat so they couldn't complain.  Too much. 

My last driving stage was through LA.  Oh my.  The guys sang all of Les Mis and all of Phantom, all the way through that wretched traffic. They are good traveling companions, non-stop entertainment.  Every rest area was an adventure!     

Oh, the car?  My mom's van, now mine!

We were glad to have special time to visit with Great Gramma Griffin (85), and Great Gramma Stauffer (91) in Puyuallup, Washington along with a short visit with Roy and Sharon.

 A wonderful trip, short but sweet.  That's what family is all about, those precious bits and pieces of time we spend together, making memories.

Desert is all about textures...

Part of the transition and acclimation from Northwest "webfoot" to Southwest "lizard lips" (my mom used to call me that - yes she did!!) is the incredible difference in plant life.  From fog-shrouded scented cedar and blue-green spruce forests to miles and MILES of seemingly barren terrain hosting stickery, prickly, pokey, leafless things that claim to be plants. 

On the flip side - if you are really really tired of endless lawn mowing - this is the place for you!  NO GRASS (unless you want to bankroll the irrigation districts - water comes all the way from the Colorado River in a series of canals and ditches).  

At first the sandy, gravely yard scaping was rather shocking.  Then I began to get interested in the plants that were dotted here and there in those yards.  No English cottage gardens here - sorry, Anne - but an infinately varied amount of textures and color, nevertheless.

Here are just a few of my favorites, so far...

The Prickley Pear fruit is favored by desert tortoise - there happens to be one living in the Wright's house (tortoise, not cactus...).  We are going to see if the owner will donate one or two for Tuff's Christmas dinner.

I am totally in love with Purple Prickley Pear!!

This Compass Cactus (above) is intriguing - it grows more quickly on the "sunny south side", causing it to twist and actually lean to the south as the weight increases on that side!  They only get about 4 -5' tall before they fall on their face - the south face, of course...

The Strawberry Cactus is considered the most beautiful of the cacti, having brilliant magenta flowers you may often see on calenders. 

Unfortunately, we will have to wait until spring for that event.

 The Teddy Bear, or Jumping Cholla - cute and fuzzy looking - NOT!!  It is very brittle, breaking off amazingly easy to cling with nasty hooks to whatever is close - your pants or shoes, or the dogs nose...eh, Duchess?

More to come - I have a book on the way, for tree identification - you won't believe how many types of palms there are!!

Pool boys...

When one chooses to live in a climate such as the Arizona desert, having a pool is beyond a mere want - it's a NEED, especially with a tribe of energetic boys and their many friends!

When one lives with a swimming pool, you accept that the pool requires weekly tending.  Two choices: you do it yourself - or you hire a pool company and have a POOL BOY. 

This is little luxury is worth every penny.  Saves nagging the husband, buying additives, vacuuming (yes, pools are vacuumed), skimming, and other mundane by necessary chores in order to enjoy the pristine water that cools, soothes, and provides hours of entertainment.

So yes, a pool boy comes every Monday morning at 5 a.m., does all the necessary chores, leaving behind a lovely oasis for the week. 

What he DOESN'T do, is fish out the various and sundry items that mysteriously "fall" into the pool every day! (Recently it was a visiting dog, who had never heard about the "dog paddle" and promptly sank vertically towards the bottom - thank goodness Carrie is quick on her feet, she grabbed and hauled and didn't even get her shoes wet!  Dog was traumatized...)

The following sequence of photos show the OTHER pool boys.  They help out as needed - such as retrieving Happy's toy - a heavy rubber "Kong" chew item; the only thing Carrie has been able to find that the chew-happy mutt doesn't devour right away...

Max and Jayden tag team the Kong...

 ...while Lee enlists the patio broom!

Happy LOVES his Kong!

Arizona patio garden

Eureka!  A closeout sale on pots, got them for 50-cents each!  Max helped pick out the flowers, I chose the herbs and tomato (Sugar Sun - the sweetest yellow "cherry" variety I've ever had).

The watering pot was a garage sale find, another 50-cents!

 This wonderful tuned wind chime has been with me for many years, many moves.  Thank you, dear Marilyn!

Makes a pretty patio!  And just the right size for quick and easy watering. I have breakfast out here every morning - what a way to start a day! 

 I also spend a fair amount of time here reading, bird watching, and enjoying sunsets, along with my little garden.  Can I just say - SPOILED?