Barefoot Hippie Girl: Bazillion Brazilian

BigB fan

Hello, All!
It's the end of a weekend, and beginning of a week. Again.=)
We had a much more laid back weekend this time around.
Friday we headed to south-central MI to scope out the new facility we are using for our guy's retreat this year. I should clarify that this is a classic case of "new to us" not "new-new." It is a rather rustic facility. But, it has a very modern kitchen with a dish washing station, walk in cooler and commercial stove. And it is on a nice lake-that has a five mile road around it. This should hopefully make up for the spartan bunk houses. I don't know how I am going to survive with out my tempur-pedic mattress. And I will probably have to visit my friend, the chiropractor, after. But, I think it is going to be great.

the aftermath of Aunt's chocolate donuts.
first one thumb...

...then the other.

It was raining on Friday, and Mr. Hippie wasn't working. We decided to add about 30 minutes to our trip, and visit that "Mecca of Amishness"-Shipshewana, IN. We had a great time. We arrived about lunch time, so we took care of eating first, and then we spent well over an hour in the furniture store next door. Shipshewana Furniture Company specializes in handmade furniture pieces. Each one a work of art. We aren't really in the market for any furniture right now, though our next big house purchase will be a dining room set. And I found a beautiful table. It was an almost black finished walnut, rectangle, wide and long. It had individual slats instead of a solid surface. And it was distressed. Which is probably a good thing. Someday...

tuckered from Shipshe

Saturday we didn't run. Chiropractor's orders. But I finished my second book of the week. And I started another. My online book club just started The Tapestry, the life and times of Francis and Edith Shaeffer. Edith wrote it, and she is a story teller. My favorite saying about storytellers is, "storytellers don't just want you to see the trees, they want you to see the leaves on the trees." That is obviously Edith's gift. She is not just telling their story, but she is weaving in other contemporary happenings. This is what I like to refer to as "connecting the dots." When I tell a story, I like to tie in all kinds of facets of history. And I am just an amateur. She was a pro. I just got through the first three chapters, but I think it is going to be a great book.

Flan pan

ready for the oven

Saturday also brought the preparation and consumption of our Brazilian meal.=) We prepared five dishes, all of which were very good. Mr. Hippie did the pork spareribs for me. These were cooked on the stove top with rosemary, lime juice, soy sauce, oregano and garlic. They were tender and delicious. I also made flan. Simple and smooth. First I caramelized sugar to coat the baking dish. Then I blended egg yolks for a few minutes, added milk, sweetened condensed milk, and egg white. Pour into the dish, bake about an hour. And wow! I am not a big fan of pudding desserts. But I am going to do this again. I served it with kiwi and mango per recipe instructions. Ascetically pleasing on numerous fronts. I also made a black bean stew. Beans are a staple in Brazil. The recipe had ham, chorizo sausage, green pepper, tomatoes, onion, chili peppers, and other things I can't remember-plus mango and cilantro. It was surprisingly spicy, and good. The adults especially seemed to like the beans. I also made rice that I toasted and then cooked. It was a good filler. The last thing was a kind of rubbery, cheesy, biscuit like bread. These were also great. I made a FB invite for anyone to share our meal. No one took us up on it. So, we called my bro and sil who live down the street. They were free, and were happy to come. It was good to reconnect with them. Meres and my niece were born two days apart last June. They both have filled our respective lives, and we haven't seen each other the past 10 months as formerly.