In honor of Abbott’s upcoming journey South of the Border and the arrival of Friday, I present to you:
The Road to the Perfect Margarita
Our journey starts with …
1. Fill shaker with broken cubed ice.
2. Squeeze TWO fresh lime wedges into shaker.
3. Savor the fresh lime aroma (AAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!)
4. Add 2 oz. Cuervo 1800.
5. Sniff the cork.
6. Add 1/2 oz. of Jose Cuervo White if ya wish (white for bite!).
7. Add 1-1/4 oz. of Roses Lime Juice (accept no substitutes!).
8. Add 1/2 oz. of Bols Triple Sec (nothing but the best!).
9. Add “a splash” of Bols Orange Curaco (shh… secret ingredient).
10. Cover shaker tightly!
11. Shake vigorously.
12. Flip shaker in midair twice (three times if you’re a pro).
13. Uncover shaker and savor the flavor!
14. Rim glass with Lime peel (outside only!).
15. Salt the outside only.
16. Add fresh ice.
17. Strain mixture over ice.
18. Squeeze in 1 lime wedge and toss rind over left shoulder.
19. Now kick back, turn up the tunes and enjoy!
>
And we need an appopriately themed appetizer to go with our ‘ritas, don’t you think? How about this tex-mex style culinary delight (thanks for digging up the recipe I misplaced, mom!):
2 Tbsp oil
1 medium onion. chopped
1 12-oz jar of salsa (medium)
1 10 oz pkg frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
2 c. grated Monterey jack cheese
8 oz cream cheese cut into ½ inch cubes
1 c. half and half
1 c. sliced black olives
1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
Saute onions in oil, add salsa. Cook until liquids are reduced somewhat.
Add remaining ingredients and mix well.
Place in shallow baking dish and cook at 400 degrees until bubbly.
Serve with chips, pita wedges, crackers, whatever you like.
So, what’s new with you? Any big plans for the weekend?
Feel free to recommend, and as Sven says, may the 4’s be with you!
Sorry I’m so late opening up the cafe! I was away from my computer this morning!
I’m looking forward to seeing everyone, since I haven’t been around much this week, and I want to catch up on the latest antics of the FBC crew!
Cool recipes! Thanks! TGIF!
To answer your question from last night, no we still don’t have an offer on the GA house. Hell, I’ll probably post a Free-At-Last Diary when it does sell!
Yesterday, just because my hubby is masochistic we went and looked at a farm that’s up for auction on Saturday. I didn’t like it — too hilly and the only level space for a garden was shaded by huge ancient oaks. He’s going to the auction anyway just to see what it sells for. I told him I think this is a bad idea. Suppose the place sells for $80K; won’t he feel bad about not being able to bid $85K. But, he assured me that he didn’t like it either. “It isn’t suitable for our purposes.” So, he says he won’t feel bad but, I still think he will.
I’m not going because tomorrow afternoon I do my first craft demo at the local Michael’s. I’m kinda nervous because I don’t know what to expect. They are supposed to provide all the materials and paints but I’m taking my own just in case. Heck, no one’s even shown me where the time clock is yet and folks in Lynchburg are so laid back it almost borders on incompetency.
Well, I’ll keep my fingers crossed that this weekend, someone falls in love with your place and buys it!
Good luck with the craft demo tomorrow!
I remember you said you had, or have, some Araucana chickens and I’m wondering: When you boil the eggs do they lose their blue/green color? Do they have a different flavor from brown and white eggs?
You see, I’ve thought of a good way to present them: Soft boiled, served in the shell with the top chopped off, in a dainty egg cup, topped with fine herbes or a dollop of red caviar and with some thin slices of ham, of course, laid out on the plate below. But the whole thing depends on the shell staying green/blue…
And another thing: I forgot to mention that I got accepted as a student in the Bedford County Master Gardener Class that starts in Sept. This is a cool deal for a mere $100. I get 50 hours of classroom instruction from the owners of local orchards, herb farms, etc., professors at VA Tech and Ag colleges. Then I do 50 hours of community service with my newly acquired knowledge and ta-da get a Master Gardener Certificate to hang on the wall. The service will be stuff like maintaining the gardens at Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest Retreat. I figure that this is a great way to meet people and become involved in the area.
The shells actually stay blue for the duration…we actually tried dying them diffrent colors one year for easter, and weren’t too successful.
The gardening class sounds wonderful, and a steal for $100! You’ll have to share your stories from class with us.
Good luck with everything sj. I felt just awful for you when I read of your infuriating situation with the home sale. The more I read, the more I found myself mumbling “How DARE you” to your real estate agent. (I have no tolerance for crappy service and lies)
I’d also like to wish you the best with your craft demo. That’s way cool – and I’m sure you’ll do a fabulous job. I had to smile when I saw that you had duplicated all the materials. Just. In. Case. (A woman after my heart) Just get there early enough to be really comfortable with your surroundings, and sister . . . it’s Game On!
my other home.
What are you teaching? I’m on the left coast, but my local Michael’s store knows me on sight.
It’s been a hella hard week at work this week, all 16+ hour days. To say I’m exhausted takes to much effort. I’m at the grunting out answers stage, with 2 3/4 hours until the duty free weekend.
Can somebody bring me a Margarita? Or a cold Corona and a shot of the good stuff? I’m gonna lay back in the FBC lounger here. Don’t let me drool on myself, and DON’T take any funny pictures if I drift off to sleep.
Ummmm, guacamole and chips, thanks
Don’t know the real estate story, sjct, but I’m on your side….the FBC family is together with you.
Tommorrow it’s faux finishes so I’m going to show off my skill at simulating marble. Next Saturday, it’s decoupage. The following week I get to do a workshop — A Wedding Keepsake Cabinet. As a denizen of the craft aisles, I’m sure you’ve seen the little 99 cent cabinets. Well, we’re going to paint and decorate them, line them with scapbook paper and fill them with wedding favors to give back to the newlyweds. Then next month, I start giving classes on how to create landscapes to display your Lemax collectibles.
I love the $.99 bins, and the clearance section.
You are a woman after my own heart. Love faux finishes, and just did a faux stone fireplace surround.
I use the Michael’s brown paper mache stacking boxes, painted white & hot glued on top of each other to make a wedding cake that can be decorated, then filled with gift cards, money, and other small items.
I’m making the brides garters (2- one to toss and one to keep), the dollar dance bag, and all the bridesmaid jewelery. WHAT? Me worry…I’m now in panic mode due to my paying job work load.
Wish I could attend your classes. Now I need another drink!
Now this is a fantastic e-sendoff! I’m going to REI to get some sandals at lunch and then it’s off to Margaritaville!
This weekend should be quiet, packing, and getting ready to move (a week after we get back)… playing some baseball Sunday, and generally taking it easy the rest of the way.
Happy Friday!
If I don’t see you, have a great trip! We’ll be expecting photos and a full report when you return!
Happy going away Abbott, (you will be right back, won’t you???)
What is the temperature where you are right now… it’s screaming hot here in the land of Greenwich Mean Time.
El Jaleo
May I please have an Irish Mist, a hefty one with just a few ice cubes, if you would.
Thank you. Must unwind a bit before it’s time to check in with the Loved One….. hmmmm.
Is it self-serve… have you still got that bottle of Irish Mist hanging around? Oh shit, I’ll get some graphic expression….
BRING THIS MAN A DRINK, PLEASE.
And one for me too, if you don’t mind.
I’m lookin’ fer the bottle, don’cha know? Now where did that zander put that…
Geez, I guess I’ll just have a whiskey and soda…. I’ll bring you a bottle from home. (Loved One still missing in action… geez)
The last one is because I get in these black moods, you know? And I came in during the era of black and white TV….. and sometimes it’s just all shades of grey…..
Anyways, set em up again, Cabin Girl.
Have another, relax, I’ll put on some music…maybe you want to spend some time in the sauna?
Who’s in there already??? Sven??? Is that where all the “sex on the beach” crowd disappeared to?????
Oh geez, Jimmy Buffet and a sauna???
Wow…. you really do cater to every need.
Thanks! I’ll attempt relaxation now. Breathing in to the count of eight…… breathing out…. to… the….
Shirlstars gave us all a great lesson on breathing for relaxation here!
Hope it helps!
The minute I heard my first love story,
I started looking for you, not knowing
how blind that was.
Lovers don’t finally meet somewhere,
they’re in each other all along.
Rumi,
13th Century Persian Poet
Feel yourself being quietly drawn by the deeper pull of what you truly love~Rumi
Shams!! The moon tonight. Your nature, feminine and concealed….. Shams… the beloved coy behind the clouds… The beloved calls me and I run, only to find you have left, you left at dawn… It is not you I embrace, it is just the scent of your perfume amongst the bedlinen…….. Shams!!
Cabin Girl, can I please have a Gin & Tonic… I’ll wait on the Marguerita for later…
Nice to meet you, I’m sort of a workaholic that has found great rest and relaxation in the FBC… nice to know you’re on deck.
I miss our trusty barmaid, zander!
trabajan trabajan trabajan !!
relaharse por todos!
(bad at this: work work work !! relaxation for everyone!)
Now there’s a gentleman/woman with taste?!
I am just enjoying a non-virtual one on this Friday evening after another superb sunny day in Helsinki.
Been out in the garden making new mosquito frames for the windows and installed a Casablanca-style bead curtain to the patio.
Took the car to the wash earlier and had breakfast at our little cafe, leisurely reading in the sun about our prime minister’s peccadillos (2 year sex-only relationship revealed today)
More news from today: A local drunk idiot dragged his girlfriend violently out of an ambulance after she collapsed, then returned with a molotov cocktail. He used a plastic bottle. Education not all that it is cracked up to be here.
Another couple were having intercourse on a local beach in broad daylight without cover surrounded by families. This is third case in as many days around Finland. Unusual cases of sunstroke, I suppose.
Sex, sex, sex. We Finns certainly have our priorities in order…
Sorry mike – I now notice your gender 😉
We’ll push her drink mixing powers now, Sven!!
Sex on the beach, sounds good. Oh, you mean the drink. 😉
I was saving sex on the beach for my live vacation happy hour blogging!
that didn’t quite come out right…
I thought it sounded perfect (assuming the beach isn’t in the Arctic).
Or really push her with a ‘Ruuvimeiseli’ 🙂
Umm…Is it time for Screwdrivers there in Finland, and would you like it with that fancy-pants Finnish vodka?
<Dammit I knew she was clever but..> 🙂 lol
Hey, I knew you’d find the clue. We’re all detectives here. Or was that an ‘F’?
is that I was lucky to find websites with pictures, ’cause my Finnish isn’t so good!
:^)
http://www.boomantribune.com/?op=displaystory;sid=2005/7/15/161940/686
to scare me????
It worked…now I need another drink; make mine a double!
There are downsides to this powerful tool we have here that joins us all together.
For this reason I belong to as few organizations as possible that produce hard facts about me, even though I am quite well known in Finland.
I don’t much care about the ‘facts’ about me here; there is no software (yet) that could analyse my content cost-effectively – since I am such a long shot.
I’m surely on the books of SUPO – the Finnish secret police – due to my historical involvement with some outrageous persona. But my file gathers dust somewhere, crammed with ever-increasing conflicting information that nobody could ever interpret.
I don’t even understand my life myself 😉
I take mine tall with two lime wedges.
Ahhhh, the best summer drink I know
Today’s vacation countdown (5 days to go) hike is in the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park, our favorite place to hike because it is geology at its most gorgeous, the hiking trails are imaginative, compelling and challenging* and there are numerous wonderful places to each lunch (the ultimate goal of all hiking).
The hike to Druid Arch is a 10 1/2 mile round trip from the Elephant Hill Trailhead over slickrock, through narrow defiles, down into Elephant Canyon, up onto a high bench above the canyon, finishing with a scramble up a steep slope. Awestruck by the beauty of the Cedar Mesa Sandstone formation, you forget about your destination and lose yourself in the huge spires and beckoning canyons.
Okay, okay, for those of you who are terminally goal-oriented, here’s Druid Arch.
* Exposed, sheer dropoffs, steep friction pitches, and slickrock scrambling are typical hazards for trails in the Needles District.
Great pictures! (Why do I find myself looking for blue dots in them?)
Stare at the sun first – then you’ll see the blue dots 😉
that one of the tops of the spires is me waving at her. Nah, that would be mean.
Hey kansas, I’m laughing with you, not at you (and Rove didn’t out Plame).
You guys are so funny. You will always be AndiF BlueDot to me.
Compared to some other nicknames I’ve acquired during my life, that’s pretty innocuous.
Actually, I like it. I’ve decided it needs a better story to go with though, so I’m inventing one about how I got it — I’m a little girl and my Russian grandmother is creaming me at cards* as usual and she says to my sister, “Andi ef blue dot gim bed”*.
* pisha paysha
*
Translation: “Andi has blown that game badly.”
“Why do I find myself looking for blue dots in them?)
lol. Me, too. Nice relaxed atmosphere in the cafe today, Cabin Girl. IIt’s nice to read everybody’s news. Now to read more.
I’ve been to Canyonlands a couple of times and loved it. I’m hoping to drive the dirt road loop at some point. Enjoy. Thanks!
Are you talking about the White Rim Trail (the road below Island in the Sky)? Or the some of the 4WD road in the Needles?
We rented a jeep and drove a bit of the White Rim Trail. I think I’d rather bike or hike it than drive — it is really hard on your kidneys. Make sure you have a vehicle with really heavy suspension. However, we did see our first bighorn sheep down there and the road is fascinating.
We’ve hiked on several of the 4WD roads in the Needles district and you couldn’t get me to drive on most of them or even to ride with someone else — most of them are way too rough for me — huge rocks, wildly uneven surfaces, steep inclines combined with turns so sharp that people have to make them in multiple tiny increments.
OMG, it looks just like me!
Want some wallet-sized photos for your family?
I already have some.
Lolling very much! I don’t know how you did that, but it’s hilarious. This should go in some kind Classic Cafe Moments Album. The Dot That Will Live in Infamy. No offense, of course.
Just needed your blue dot, my picture, a scanner, and paint shop pro.
No offense taken or as we say around here “Dot’s okay by me.”
lost shaker of salt.
Salt! Salt! Salt!
will you be having this fine afternoon, Brother Feldspar?
Rum, neat, leave the bottle. Y’know, it’s a shame I already posted my Milton bit, it’d be appropriate here.
Perhaps we should begin coordinating these behind the scenes…
;^)
I believe it’s the one below island in the sky. We actually watched vehicles travelling on it. Thanks for the advice.
because that’s the only one you can see from overlooks. We drove it as far as the Shafer Trail and came up that way. I hope I didn’t sound discouraging about driving the trail because even though it beat us up royally, we certainly don’t regret doing it (don’t know that I could take the entire 100 miles, though).
Shaken?? I need it FROZEN, baby
How I abuse my blender – Part 1 of many.
Empty one can of frozen/slushy Hawaiian’s Own Passion Mango Orange concentrate into blender
Best flawors:
Raspberry/Strawberry
Raspberry/Guava
Orange Mango
Passion Mango
then fill empty concentrate container oh… about 3/4’s full of Rum. Spiced of otherwise.
empty that into blender
splash about a wee bit of a shot of orange juice into the blender
add two cups of ice
BLEND
Makes two jawafa-sized glasses for two.
Experiment, create and come up with your own and enjoy.
For a lovely Lime daq
I use the same idea with limeade concentrate, rum and ice.
I’m coming over to your house! It is so humid and sticky here, and my new central AC (I finally broke down and upgraded my heater too) won’t be up an running until the beginning of next week.
Will you save me one?
First off, I want to thank you for all the wonderful Froggy Bottom Cafes you’ve created for us all. Brav”O”!!
Secondly… we haven’t had AC since we returned to the states. It’s been wicked hot here in Northern Calif.
(count fingers)
and thirdly, this house has been a house of bugy critters which cause the flu and high fevers. Not. Good. Finally eating and UPright.
I had a shot of coffee and just about blew out my mind! LOL. Can’t go from broth to caffeine I guess LOL.
But… I will save you TWO 🙂 Do try them
I come from a family of cooks. Where my “job” was to cut or stir. I didn’t learn how to cook till I was married and on my way out of the country and decent time zone to call my mom… I finally discovered that cooking wasn’t so hard… it’s just about experimenting and sharing. I felt the same way about those shi-shi-fru-fru drinkiepoos. Then I discovered, after numerous “tries”, that they were also easy if you tilted your brain around a bit and found shortcuts that non-bartending people could grasp.
My drinks are so good they don’t need garnishes. Try one of em 🙂
Glad everyone’s feeling better at your house!
I like the Bacardi pina colada mix where you just add rum and ice in a blender. Have you tried those?
I have tried those. And those Kahlua mud mixes too. But they can get expensive after awhile.
I forgot – those daiquiries can easily be made into margies. That’s how I orginally started making them.
Just replace tequila for the rum and add a shot or two of triple sec. Voila! Medicinal Margaritas too soothe the soul.
you when I lived in the Bay Area too (San Leandro)? You sound like a perfect Bev-Mo buddy. Oh, the fun we could have! If you ever get to San Diego…
A bit off topic, but I’d like to propose a toast.
Everyone pick up your glass, and I’ll fill it with a nice 2001 Fat Bastard wine. Here’s to that Fat Bastard Karl “traitor” Rove. May he be indicted, tried, found guilt, and sent to a prison full of hard core felons who hate snitches and liars. Skoal!
(clinking of glass)
To better days ahead!
San Diego? Where abouts? I’m in Del Mar. ANd skoal? Are you a Dane too? We alsways say skoal!
I’m in an area on the border of North and South Park, called Alta Vista. I’m not to far from Balboa Park and Downtown. We’re within 30 minutes of each other!
I always enjoy your comments on many of the same sights I visit. You, like me, seem to cut to the chase and talk straight.
No, not a Dane, I’m quarter Cherokee and Heinz 57. I just know how to toast in many languages. So in honor of my Scottish roots…..Here’s lookin’ up yerrrrr kilt, mon!
Shal we try to do a BooTribe meetup?
Do to an insane schedule, and my step (<- hate that) daughters wedding in Northern Ca., I am long on desire and short on time. I have no time until after August 12th. We are leaving for 12 days to send time in Northern Ca., and help with lots of wedding chores.
Would sometime mid-August work? Where would you recommend meeting? Oh, this is very exciting! I can rant face-to-face to another liberal who dislikes this administration as much as I do. Happy, happy, joy, joy!
Where can I get Hawaiian’s own concentrate? Is it a brand specific to CA? (some of my favorite grocery stores were in Ca…)
Crap.. Hawaii’s Own. There I go on names… I butcher music lyrics, too.
http://www.hawaiisown.com/
http://hawaiisown.com/availability.html
(yes, I sent them my recipes and haven’t heard back… nada.)
But you can try raspberry lemonade concentrates… with great success… rum or tequila – makes a wonderful summertime frozen, blended drink!
doesn’t have to be Hawaii’s Own – there are several brands that make mixed juices concentrates.
Good luck 🙂
Thank you CabinGirl. A margarita will just hit the spot right now. I’ve had a frustrating day at work with the server that hosts our catalog where I do my manipulations going up and down and in and out all day long. I’m ready to pack it in and go home. I hope to get a hike in at the Marin Headlands this weekend. Not quite as spectacular as Andi’s wonderful southerwestern vistas, but the Headlands have their own charm. It’s quite dramatic where the edge of the continent meets the Golden Gate.

hmm did I upload that image right?
Have a wonderful weekend everyone!
and it looks pretty spectacular to me.
Hope you have a great hike. And find the perfect place to have lunch.
Looks great to me…have a nice hike!
You’re in good company. That’s where Anne LaMott and Amy Tan spend time.
I’m back! Where’s the booze???
You packed yet?
kinda, but Hurricane Emily is threatening to postpone our vacation. BOOOOO!!!!
Wah! I’m late again! A rough day trying to fix irrigation at work-ended up breaking more than I fixed. Believe it or not we only had to start watering a few weeks ago, a nice wet cloudy summer, my favorite! Now it’s off to a shift at the food co-op, mine own alternate universe. But maybe a small snort of hard apple cider before I go…?
How about a hard lemonade?
Puget Sound held another Californians-Go-Home day today:

We bundled up Florida Mom in all the woolens we could find so that she could come with us 2 Gooserocks to tour Bellingham. Seen is a section of some highway, heading east, north, south or perhaps west.
We came home to curry salmon & red snapper, a nice nap, and a bit of evening sun through the mist.
wind-shield wiper blades were rifle barrels.
I thought-Damn, they really take the Californians-go- home thing seriously! Is there a border check point we have to pass through?
Hope the Gooserocks and the Momrocks had a wonderful day.
The spouse’s blood pressure is running higher than it’s supposed to, especially for a transit worker (they don’t want any heart attacks while driving), so tomorrow morning we’ve got to go to Urgent Care at the clinic and see if they can temporarily adjust his medication until he can get in and see his personal care physician (PCP). [Prayers, good thoughts, or whatever appreciated…]
It may also mean that he might end up on disability for a bit, but that’s not as disasterous as it would have been a few months ago, since the money from Mom’s house sale came through overnight. We’ve made it through work crises before…we’ll make it through this one. It’s good incentive for both of us to start getting into better shape. Now that I’m finally over that stomach bug that seemed to last forever, I can try to get back into my exercise routine, or at least crank up the iTunes and dance around my clean living room!
Have a great evening, folks…
Looks like the bottom…<crickets>
Peace