I had the opportunity to go meet my husband in Italy as he travelled on business this last weekend. We spent the bulk of our time in Venice with a short stop in Verona for lunch. The following are just some pictures that may help tell the story of our trip.
And just since we always need some comic relief, pushing the leaning tower on Burano over instead of the usual “holding up the leaning tower of Pisa” picture.
Muaaahahahahaha!
HOLY WOW!
The bluebonnets here in Texas are in full bloom and boy is this a banner year.
It was November of 1999. We were 26 years old and we had been married only about 3 1/2 years.
In a word, we were “Babies.”
And I was thin. (Not that you could tell for the overalls. What was that about?)
And you know that prominent gray streak I have now…. yeah, you can’t even see it in this picture.
But I digress.
Mike had a training conference for work to attend that just so happened to be held at the Walt Disney World resort. Of course, I had to work, but I made a way to swing a few days off to fly down to Florida and join him so that we could make a long weekend of it. We did, after all, want to “do Disney World” before we had kids.
As I always do in these situations, I began to research what to do while we were there and how to do it. I found out that part of the resort was set aside for what they called, at that time, the Disney Institute. If my memory serves me correctly, the Disney Institute was a place where companies could send staff and management level employees to receive specific training. However, in addition they offered enrichment courses of study in everything from photography to the culinary arts. What a perfect idea for the days that I would be there with Mike while he was still in his training classes and meetings. So I registered and filled up my itinerary with photography, wine appreciation and, of course, cooking classes.
I spent two full days at the Disney Institute and on the grounds there. It was a beautiful and very tranquil setting right on a small pond across from the Downtown Disney area. I spent break times just sitting outside in the quiet and taking pictures of the local birds. I ate at least one meal at the restaurant there and I remember to this day how my waitress warned me, “If you notice a bunch of staff walking past your table, it’s because I told them about your hair.” Yeah. That streak that doesn’t even show up in photographs was clearly visible even at age 26.
I know that was a long lead-in, but it was in this setting that I was introduced to what has become one of my favorite dishes to both cook and eat.
One of the cooking classes that I had on my schedule was “A Taste of the World” and on this particular day, we were covering “Italia Cucina,” But not just your ordinary pasta and such. Northern Italian country cooking. And that meant Osso Buco.
This was our classroom, complete with about seven student stations and a chef’s station at the front that was outfitted with overhead cameras and screens at the front so that us students could follow what the chef was doing. It was pretty darned hi-tech for 1999.
We spent our morning class time preparing our own lunch of veal Osso Buco with Risotto alla Milanese and a dessert of strawberries with balsamic vinegar and Zabaglione. I had never had such a delicious lunch before. And I had made it with my own two hands.
I also took a Pastries and Confections class in this same studio that was focused on Christmas Cookies as the holidays were approaching. Each member of the class made a different recipe of cookie under the watchful eye of our chef instructor. As we mixed and baked we talked about each individual recipe and some of the science behind each of them. In fact, I have talked on this blog about some of what I learned about baking cookies in that class (see this blog post). We then were able to sample all of our handiwork at the end of class. Rewards are sweet.
I have come to realize that it was in this very same studio, in the process of taking both of these classes, that I said, “Hello, Lover.” I said hello to the world of really cooking for the first time. I said hello to understanding much of what food, cooking, and baking were about. I said hello to what I believe is a passion that will also be a life-long pursuit.
In a word (or three), it was heaven. Bliss. Euphoric.
I think I realized for the first time that even I could create something in the kitchen that tasted every bit as good as those things I had eaten in fine restaurants. All it required was the “know how.” I may never do it as efficiently or neatly as a professionally trained chef in a 5 star restaurant. But I could do it.
And that may be why Osso Buco is my very favorite dish to cook and eat. I have a connection on a level that is so much deeper than just sustenance. And the fact that it is like velvet in your mouth doesn’t hurt. But each and every time I eat it or make it, I am taken back to that moment in time at when I realized…
I love to cook.
*******
Recipes mentioned in this post:
Veal Osso Buco
Risotto alla Milanese
Peppered Balsamic Strawberries and Zabaglione
We went on a little trip last week and I still can’t believe we got to be there.
And I got to experience it with some very special people.
If you follow me on Twitter or on my Facebook page, you might have seen that I was on a bit of a road-trip last week. Actually, “a bit of a road-trip” might actually be the understatement of the year.
Our church has a partnership with a church in North Dakota and ministers to their community alongside them. A group from our church makes the two day drive every June to do a VBS and in August to do an Operation Back to School carnival for the kids on the Standing Rock Reservation.
Earlier this summer, I decided that it was time for us to begin introducing Sarah to such mission endeavors, so she and I went with our church group to North Dakota to do Operation Back to School then decided to take a little side trip afterwards.
We drove for two days to get up there. And saw a lot of this.
Sarah and a couple of other girls around her age did face painting for the carnival that we did for the kids at the elementary school as they came to meet their teachers. Clearly she needed to practice and since both my cheeks and arms and hands were full, our pastor donated his forehead to the cause.
We enjoyed the fields of sunflowers as we drove through South Dakota. I know that Kansas is supposed to be the sunflower state, but we saw WAY more in SD. Sometimes the fields of yellow went as far as the eye could see.
We made it to Mount Rushmore on Wednesday night in time to see the lighting ceremony. It was so moving as they played a movie that was very "Rah! Rah! America!" I cried as the faces lit up at the end of the movie while “America, the Beautiful” was playing. Then they had the former and current military personnel go up on stage to take down the flag, fold it and pass it among each one of them. As the woman who was directing the program thanked them for their service, she got choked up which just added to the poignancy of the moment.
We went back to Rushmore the next day and did the audio walking tour that was really good and very interesting. I took WAY too many pictures.
(As a side note, you only pay for parking and your parking pass is good for the entire calendar year. So we only paid for parking once. Therefore I highly suggest going to the lighting ceremony the night before then doing the walking tour the next morning before it gets too hot.)
It was the week of the Sturgis Motorcycle rally and people tried hard to talk us out of our trip to Rushmore, but I am glad they did not. The presence of the bikers was not a big deal at all. It was comical, even, as we just heard this low rumble of Harley Davidsons echoing among the Black Hills almost the whole time we were there.
We stayed in Hot Springs, SD which is due south of Rapid City on the south end of the Black Hills. In town, there is a mammoth excavation site that was really interesting. This is Sarah holding a cast model of a mammoth jawbone.
We also toured the Wind Cave, which was really interesting. It was about 1 1/2 hour long tour and we went about 200 feet below the ground by the end of it. The Ranger that was our guide turned out the lights for just a few minutes at one point just to demonstrate how dark it really is down there which can be a little scary for little ones. But overall, it was really neat.
I also took her swimming at Evans Plunge in Hot Springs one afternoon. It’s an indoor/outdoor pool with about 3 water slides. It was the perfect break in our day after touring Mount Rushmore.
There was so much more even still we could have done in the Black Hills. But alas, our time was up and it was time to head home.
On our drive up, I saw a sign for a Wizard of Oz museum. My one thought was, “We can’t be here and NOT do that.” And after seeing a Wizard of Oz alarm clock in a truck stop in Salina, Sarah was dead-set on having one. I put her off and told her they would have one at the museum. However, they did not. So we went back out of our way again to go back through Salina and find that truck stop. Ahhh, the things we do, right?
I will say that the one thing I was not prepared for on this trip was the spotty cell phone coverage. I had been warned that I would not have any service while we were in North Dakota, but I was not prepared for the same situation the rest of the trip. Just a word of advice… if you decide to take a road trip up through the mid-section of the country, please take a pre-paid long distance phone card with you. You will be glad you did.
The two things I wanted for this trip to accomplish was to a) introduce Sarah to missions with something tangible that she could get her mind around; and 2) have some good quality mom/daughter time with her for an extended length of time before the dreaded pre-teen stuff really hits over the next year or two.
In my opinion, both objectives were accomplished. And I would highly recommend doing something similar with your daughter if you have the opportunity.
So you may be thinking, “That sounds like an awful lot of driving just to do those two things.” Well, you ain’t kiddin. Just to prove the point I took two pictures of the odometer. The first at the beginning of the trip on Monday morning and the second after we pulled into the driveway Saturday night.
The Monday morning picture was taken after we were on the road for about 15-20 minutes, so for the sake of argument, I’m going to take about 15 miles off the odometer at that point. So we would have started the trip at about 108,400 miles. We ended the trip at 111,426 miles.
All told, I drove 3,026 miles.
And each was totally worth it.
Instead of taking a big huge vacation this year, we opted to instead stay closer to home and save some money. We didn’t want to do a “stay-cation” because we really felt like we needed to get out of town. So when we thought of where we could easily go from the DFW area to get away from it all, we thought of Turner Falls (near Davis, OK).
We took the kids to Lake Murray a couple of years ago because of a gift certificate that my parents gave us. We went in the fall and had a wonderful time that included a day trip to both Arbuckle Wilderness and Turner Falls. So as we discussed going camping with some friends for our vacation this year, Turner Falls immediately came to mind.
So, if you’re looking for a close to home (for DFW) getaway that is full of family fun and pretty inexpensive, look toward Turner Falls and look for these fun things to do.
1. Swim in the river. Just be sure to wear water shoes.
2. Visit The Toy and Action Figure Museum in Paul’s Valley. This place was a hoot. It was totally nostalgic for us adults and the kids had a great time
I guess I’ve seen Toy Story and Night at the Museum a few too many times because we walked in and I immediately wondered what went on in there after closing and who was “in charge.” I finally decided that it had to be this life sized Yoda.
3. Climb up a hill away from some of the lights, lie down and just take in the view of all the stars. You’ll be glad you did.
(There is no picture that I could take that would possibly do the night sky justice.)
4. Make s’mores and Jiffy Pop over a campfire. (Disclaimer: the Jiffy Pop container said to NOT do it over an uneven heat source like a campfire… but we tried it anyways.)
5. FRIED PIES. ‘Nuff said.
Find these delicious fried pies at the corner of 77 and I-35 (north of Turner Falls).
6. Swim in the pool close to the falls and get close enough to feel the spray of the water from the falls hitting the water below.
7. Go crawdad fishin’.
Just bring some extra bacon for this endeavor.
8. Explore the Castle.
9. Eat at The Cliff. We knew we wanted to go out to eat one evening but had no idea of where we would go. We happened to see a billboard for this place and passed by it on our way to Paul’s Valley. We stopped in to just check it out and I have to say, we were pleasantly surprised by what we found. It’s a little bit of refined civilization in a very unrefined place. We ate at a folding table on the terrace but had beautiful and delicious food.
10. Enjoy some shaved ice. This is some of the best shaved ice I have ever had and the Arbuckle Rock flavor really does rock.
11. Hike around and explore the rocks and caves.
12. Go down the slide and dive off the board at the Blue Hole Pool.
13. Enjoy a Turner Falls “spa” treatment like a mud bath.
14. Visit Arbuckle Wilderness. We didn’t do it this trip, but we have been before and Arbuckle Wilderness is definitely worth a visit if you have time.
15. And please, for the love of all that is good, please rent a cabin if you’re going in July. Seriously. “Camping” as in sleeping outside in 90 degree heat (at11 pm) and 200% humidity with not a breeze to be had in the entire state of Oklahoma… well, it’s for the birds… and the raccoons.
Have you been to the Arbuckle Mountain/Turner Falls area of Oklahoma? What are your favorite things?
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