Archive | July, 2012

the best peach cobbler in the south.

if you didn’t catch this last year, you get a second chance

the fuzzy truth

by suzanne holzwanger,

ah texas.

gorgeous sunsets, hot summers and swimming pools. and nestled snugly in the backyard of our far north dallas home, peach trees. thanks to my dad who filled the backyard with peach trees instead of a pool.

while the entire neighborhood was cooling off in their refreshing, glistening pools, my siblings and i were picking peaches. from the trees. from the ground. every peach went into the basket. everybody else (and in a young mind means everyone on earth) had a pool. they swam in their pools, ate by their pools, slept in their pools. not us though-we had peach trees and someone had to pick them. i was convinced my parents had the 4 of us only for this purpose.

and we didn’t just pick, we sorted.

it was usually punishment for chores not done or fights we got into. a far worse punishment though was hearing the sounds of “marco polo!” and “cannonball!” from our friends while we were stuck separating good and bad peaches in the heat (what? she invited her??)

i remember my great aunt Viola, who happens to turn 99 this month, driving down from sherman to visit. I thought she was coming to see us but it was really for the peaches. she and my mom would sit and peel, jar and bake with a kitchen full. boxes and bowls and all fruit ev-er-y-where. i loved the end result of their cobblers, pies, and jams though. such a bitter sweet relationship.

flashing forward a few years,

okay maybe a lot of years, i met the sweetest southern belle from Alabama, emily. emily and her mom jane are only a handful (my in-laws included) of women whom I consider the epitome of true southern charm. and as all southern belles, emily and jane are fabulous cooks! i love going to see them in birmingham or at their beach home in destin. always plenty of good food, wine, and champagne. you may leave a little hungover but never hungry.

the last time I was in florida with emily and her family, jane made peach cobbler. peach. fuzzing. cobbler. i took a bite and it was simply amazing. i have to be honest and tell you truthfully that as much as i roll my eyes and curse peaches, i love them even more.

jane’s recipe is from a well worn and well read 1960’s Alabama County Junior League cookbook.

i don’t bake this cobbler often – have to wait til peaches are at their peak and i happen to know when this is. please see above for references. mostly though, i don’t bake it often because i want it to remain as special to those i’m serving it to as my memories are.

it’s a peach cobbler that fills me with rolled eyes and warm memories from backyard and beach filled days. i’m happy to share it with you so you can make your own memories. maybe enjoy it under a texas sunset, sitting by the pool listening to the summertime chimes of marco polo.

jane’s peach cobbler

2 cups sliced, fresh peaches (4-5 but often 5-6. and on a nostalgic day, 7)

2 cups sugar, separated

½ cup butter or margarine (I’ve never used anything but unsalted butter)

¾ cup flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

¾ cup milk

preheat oven to 325

peel and slice peaches, mix with one cup sugar and let stand. put butter in a

2 quart casserole dish; place in the oven to melt.

combine remaining sugar, flour, baking powder, salt and milk. pour over melted butter. do not stir. spoon peaches on top of batter. do not stir.

bake 325 for one hour or when you see a golden top and bubbles. let stand to cool. serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or non-fat vanilla yogurt.

Cook’s hint: white wine and/or champagne go very well with this cobbler

Tags: peach cobbler, suzanne holzwanger, texas recipes

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Categories EATS + DRINKS

appreciating: sarcasm

12 Jul

so i’ve jumped on the bandwagon

with these e-cards where super sarcastic comments are juxaposed with old fashioned etchings. they are quite the giggle on Facebook, if you’re into that. which i am. you can email these to your friends.

check them all out here or I’ve picked out some good ones below.

Tags: ecards, esomecards, random, sarcasm

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Categories DEEP THOUGHTS

appreciating: the free ride

10 Jul

i travel a lot for business. like, a lot. and i have to share with you one of my favorite things.

it’s the people that drive the rental car buses and the hotel shuttles.

it’s a wide range of people that do this but i typically run into older, retired folks and for the past 20 years, i’ve always thought the same thing – someday i will be them. maybe not driving the bus, per se. but older. and hopefully content. suddenly, you realize that you’re working so hard to… drive a shuttle bus someday! if that isn’t enough reason to slow down and smell the roses, i don’t know what is. this puts things in perspective for me. here i am all stressed and stuff, yapping on the phone, texting, emailing, face booking, tweeting, on conference calls, juggling a suitcase and a briefcase, sweating, swearing and worried that things that i can’t control will come to fruition.

i used to fly from love field into houston intercontinental airport. you can’t do that anymore, by the way. but i did it every month for about 5 years going to visit the houston area chevy dealers. there was the nicest man who used to pick me up in the hotel shuttle and drop me off. and it was such a kind interaction. we’d chat about where in africa he was from and how it differed from houston. we’d talk about what was going on in and around houston and texas. it made me remember to slow down and enjoy the process and not always be seeking the finish line. talk to people, learn about someone else.

yep, i appreciate you mr or mrs shuttle bus driver.

Tags: amy fulford, national rent a car, shuttle drivers, the appreciator, travel

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Categories DEEP THOUGHTS

appreciating: family and keeping it real

9 Jul

“the strength of a family, like the strength of an army, is in its loyalty to each other.”

MARIO PUZO, The Family

there is nothing more loving and more heartbreaking than the dynamics behind families. and everyone has a story. no family is without defect. sure, families love to portray a perfect picture – especially around holidays or weddings but the truth is not one family is perfect. not one – no matter how many pictures you post on facebook, your not fooling anyone. the key here is: the goal is not to strive to be perfect. it is in that striving that a lot of hurt happens. you never measure up to this leave-it-to-beaver existence and it hurts. it is only by being vulnerable about your family’s imperfections that you find (maybe) the purpose in which you probably are going through them in the first place. to help others. to be able to offer your learnings of getting through a particular situation to someone else going through the same thing. you can extend words that hit home because you know what it’s like.

it is kind of like death or divorce or cancer. if you haven’t gone through it, you don’t know. and (please) don’t pretend you know. and don’t offer advice. however, if you have gone through it – your insight is priceless. it could be one of the reasons we go through what we do. who knows.

i remember being in my office after hours about 7 years ago. i thought i was the only one in the office and decided to have a good cry. my dad was dying of cancer and there was nothing i could do but be with him until the very end. hold his hand. tell him jokes. tell him i will always love him. i thought i was alone in my office but i wasn’t. a new girl whom i didn’t know very well was there too. her name was yareli. she came in my office and hugged me and told me that she knew what i was going through because her mom had died in a car accident just 3 years earlier. she didn’t tell me her whole story then and there but the empathy she showed in her action and her words told me that i wasn’t alone, i wasn’t stupid for crying in my office late at night. i had a friend who knew how to say more than “i’m sorry”. i will always love my friend for reaching out that night and not just slipping out or writing me an email.

it’s the same with families. speaking of families, this past week ROF and i got to spend some extra special time with ROF’s sister, susan and his brother-in-law, mike. susan has written some awesome articles for this blog which you can read here, here and here. susan and ROF have a wonderful relationship that i know means so very much to both of them. we had a blast this past week starting with the 4th of july and going until yesterday. here is a photo diary of the past few days.