More Easter Dinner

(from David's camera)

Easter weekend

We were anxious to get out of town.  John has been working too much, we both have been sick.  So - despite my unrelenting fever and John's unrelenting cough, we headed across the state of Pennsylvania for something different. 

As we approached NYC, our GPS kept trying, as usual, to route us to the Tappan Zee, warning of terrible traffic delays ahead.  We always seem to be hitting the George Washington Bridge during rush hour on a Friday before a weekend holiday.  But we ignored the warnings, and look at this!  Clear sailing across the bridge, through NYC, all the way to New Rochelle!  Who would've imagined that?!

 Ooma took us out to eat at the "Modern Pizzeria", which used to be the quaint little pizza place next to the diner.  Still a good place, just a little fancier.  I had an arugala salad and John and Ooma had pizza.

 The weather was much warmer and sunnier than it has been in Western PA.  Jubilee still doesn't know how to turn around and face the door in an elevator - she faces the back wall until the door opens, then she turns around.

 This was on one of the very few walks we took over to the College of New Rochelle.  I peaked into the window again of the house that intrigues me ...  One of these days I'll have to knock on the door.

 This is the very first blooming daffodil that I've seen!

 After this my fever got so bad that I kind of conked out and just stayed in bed.   John and Ooma and Jubilee went to church and to Easter dinner.  They were supposed to take photos, but this is the only one that they came home with ...

After being anxious to get away, we were actually glad to get home again!  It snowed here some today and is still cold ... but the good news is that we are not so sick and my fever is gone, finally!  I haven't had a fever for 6 days straight, ever.  I don't even think that I was this sick with childhood illnesses.

So, we're back to buds ...

 I believe that this is the real deal swamp cabbage ...

 Some interesting things growing in the curl of a tree trunk ...

 ... and another one a little distance away ....

Xmas dinner 2012

Our Xmas dinner with the Barans ... without John (but with Jon) below ...

 with John but without Jon below ...

Xmas Eve - Aunt Mil's Homemade Ravioli

Even though it is warm in Florida today, and Aunt Mil would have said that you should make ravioli on a cold day, we made them anyway.

First, we gathered all the supplies.  I know that we haven't used the ravioli machine and forms for more than 10 years.

 I made a pot of "gravy", like Helen Cioffoletti taught me.  (I can remember calling Helen one Christmas to ask her if she was sure that I needed to add 1/2 cup of water to each can of tomatoes.  Yes, that's right.  It cooks down when you leave it on the stove all day.  A little sugar and lots of fresh basil.)

 This is Aunt Mil's recipe:

Aunt Mills
RAVIOLI

Dough

2 C. unbleached flour
1 egg + water to equal 2/3 cups
Mix and knead.  Put in bowl and cover.  Let stand about 5 Min or so.

Filling

1 lb. lean chopped round
2 lbs. Ricotta (Pot Cheese)
2 eggs + 1 yolk
Chopped parsley
1 tsp. salt or less
black pepper (if desired)
1 1/2 Cubs Grated Locatelli or Romano Cheese

Put chop meat into fry pan and keep stirring until redness is removed from meat.  (a few min.)  dran fat if any and cool.  When cool add the remaining ingredients.  Tastes better if mixes a few hrs. earlier or the night before.
----

This is the ravioli machine we used.  We decided that it would be better if we had a wider machine (or narrower form) because the dough we made with this one just barely covered the ravioli form, and if we stretched the dough, it tore (not good).  Anyway, we figured it out and by the 3rd batch the ravioli we made were not falling apart.

 This is our filling.  Yum.  We did without the meat.

 Preparing the dough:

 Running the dough through the machine

 Rolling the ravioli form:

 Perfect ravioli!

This is Aunt Mil in the summer of 2009, probably the last time we saw her.  She died in 2010.  But we remember her so often!

Grassy Waters, Xmas 2012

Some photos from Eric and Dawn's visit this last weekend before Xmas, which included a walk at Grassy Waters.  It was a bit cold and almost no one else was there.  I guess everyone was at the mall.  

This is one of our Xmas photo shots, taken with my little camera on a tripod.  My Charlie Brown Xmas tree doesn't show up so well.

around the house

I went to Costco the other day and got these giant poinsettias.  Even though they are impressive (huge), they don't seem especially sturdy or healthy to me.  The plants are just stuck in the dirt with no root structure.  I hope I can keep them alive ...

Also picked up this little Norfolk pine, which I may (or may not) use as a Xmas tree ...

 Noticed this little frog on my way over to look at the bananas ...

 ... which should be ripe by Xmas.

Thanksgiving 2012

FA worked long and hard to pull together a Thanksgiving celebration here, pulling all the momentos of my mother out of the "magic cupboard" as well as adding a Fiji flair to it all ...

We used the plates and silver that my mother (and her mother) used many years ago.

 In Fiji they put hibiscus on the back of the toilets - so we did that too...

 John arrived on the Tri Rail ...

 Jon and Heather came down from Fernandina Beach ...

 Jubilee anxiously awaiting ...

 Facebooking with Joe who is in Fiji!