About 25-30 years ago, I remember hearing people buzzing about Pesto. Pesto with this and Pesto with that! I could eat it every day, etc. When I found out that Pesto was green and it was ground up leaves and olive oil, and a few other things, I decided that I definitely would not like it. Finally, someone said just try a little on some noodles. We tried it and we have been hooked ever since. This is the first recipe given to me for Pesto by the person that convinced us to try it. I have used this recipe as my base, changing it here and there to suit our taste. One of our favorite meals is Chicken and Mushroom Pesto with Cashews. We loved to go to Pastaworks on Hawthorne Blvd. in Portland on Saturday to choose a homemade pasta and a great loaf of bread. The kids wouldn't touch it, didn't like the smell or sight of it, so we would fix it for ourselves on Saturday nights, after the kids were in bed. We still love our Pesto nights!
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Friday, February 19, 2010
Sweet English Garlic
We moved in Walla Walla, Washington in June of 1995 from Portland, Oregon. We made many trips between Walla Walla and Portland during the 2 years that we lived there. We made many stops at Cousin's Restaurant in The Dalles, Oregon. They had a salad that I really liked and usually ordered every time we stopped for a meal. It was the salad dressing that I thought really made the salad so good. I asked our server what the name of the dressing was and she said it was their house dressing and it was called Sweet English Garlic. It sounded great, but I wasn't sure where you would ever find english garlic. So I settled for enjoying it at their restaurant.
When we moved away from Walla Walla and headed for Southern California, I knew that I wouldn't be eating there in the near future, so I asked our server if they gave out their recipe for the salad dressing. She talked to the head cook who told her to get my address and he would try to get the recipe cut down to a workable amount and send it to me. To be honest, I didn't think that would ever happen. Several months later, I actually received an envelope from Cousin's and I couldn't believe it. The only problem, the recipe made a gallon of dressing. At that time, I was working about 60 hours a week and I wasn't cooking much so I didn't take the time to try to reduce that recipe to a smaller quantity. I was still amazed that the chef had taken the time to write me a note and had written out the recipe for me so I sent him a note thanking him for taking the time to do that.
A few months later, I got another envelope in the mail from Cousin's Restaurant. The chef had sent me another personalized letter with with a recipe that made about a pound of dressing, a more reasonable amount. Again I sent him a note, thanking him for taking the time to get this to me. My only disappointment was that the only garlic was a 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder. So much for the exotic "sweet english garlic" that I was expecting to order from some far away place.
The bottom line, Cousin's is a great place to eat and the employees are very helpful and friendly. As long as you don't mind being called "Cousin" by everyone that works there, it's a great restaurant.
When we moved away from Walla Walla and headed for Southern California, I knew that I wouldn't be eating there in the near future, so I asked our server if they gave out their recipe for the salad dressing. She talked to the head cook who told her to get my address and he would try to get the recipe cut down to a workable amount and send it to me. To be honest, I didn't think that would ever happen. Several months later, I actually received an envelope from Cousin's and I couldn't believe it. The only problem, the recipe made a gallon of dressing. At that time, I was working about 60 hours a week and I wasn't cooking much so I didn't take the time to try to reduce that recipe to a smaller quantity. I was still amazed that the chef had taken the time to write me a note and had written out the recipe for me so I sent him a note thanking him for taking the time to do that.
A few months later, I got another envelope in the mail from Cousin's Restaurant. The chef had sent me another personalized letter with with a recipe that made about a pound of dressing, a more reasonable amount. Again I sent him a note, thanking him for taking the time to get this to me. My only disappointment was that the only garlic was a 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder. So much for the exotic "sweet english garlic" that I was expecting to order from some far away place.
The bottom line, Cousin's is a great place to eat and the employees are very helpful and friendly. As long as you don't mind being called "Cousin" by everyone that works there, it's a great restaurant.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
My Favorite "Old" Recipes
I have spent several hours posting my families old "favorites" and now I'm going to start posting mine. This could take a while, but I will be glad to have them in a printable format. I've been wondering if after I have them entered, am I going to keep my old recipe box with all of the recipes, or am I going to toss them? Hmmm... I think I need to watch another episode of Hoarders before I answer that question.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Wiley's Lizard Adventure
Wiley had a big day today. He spent his first morning at preschool without his mom. After school, they came over to Gramma's house to eat their lunch. We had lots of fun after lunch. We played hide and seek, we did the Hokey Pokey and we played chase around the house. It was time to go home but Wiley wasn't quite ready to go.
. 
We went outside to take a little walk.
Wiley found something really interesting in the grass.
It must have been some kind of bug
He was so happy to see that his friend was waiting for him on the rock
He picked up his favorite lizard
and brought it over to Gramma
He moved it to another rock for a better place in the sun
Wiley and his lizard saying goodbye until next time
We crammed a lot of fun in a couple of hours!
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