Texas Rose

about me

I love to garden and it is a real challenge in our climate. At any given time you will have heat, drought, wildfires, floods, tornadoes, straight-line winds capable of taking your roof off, remainders of hurricanes, ice storms, hail storms, snow, or any combination thereof. Our soil is terrible and the bugs, armadillos and other critters are always out to destroy your plants. It's also a constant battle fighting weeds, brushy over-growth and unruly Bermuda grass that wants to creep into your flower beds.

I like to cook, but it has to be simple; I don't like fussy, extensive projects. I cook mostly from scratch, and try to use as little convenience food as possible.

I love my animals. We have two horses, six dogs and one cat. Dogs and cat are all rescues. Horses are pretty much retired. They are actually in better shape than I am!

Favorite Foods:

My favorite restaurant is Thai Ruby located in Flower Mound, Texas. It is a small, quiet,locally owned establishment. It has great atmosphere and wonderful authentic food. If you ever get the opportunity, you must go there!!

http://www.thairuby.net/site/

I only give 5 star reviews. Just because we don't care for something, doesn't mean it should get a poor review. If we don't like it, I just don't make it again. Food is like art, it's all in the eye of the beholder. It amazes me that people praise a recipe to high heaven and then only give it 3 or 4 stars. I don't get it at all. If it was that good, then for Pete's sake, give it 5 stars!!

After years of baking, I never understood why some baked goods recipes had a distinctly strange taste to them. I have an article gleaned off of the net by a food science guru, that states using baking powder is always preferable to baking soda (because of it's more balanced chemical properties). The ratio should be 1 teaspoon baking powder to each cup of flour. Baking soda should only be used if there are acidic ingredients such as chocolate, brown sugar, sour cream, and/or buttermilk. If baking soda is used, it should be in much smaller proportions to the baking powder, like 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon. If your item has an odd taste, or sinks in the middle, chances are the leavening is off. I am going to be re-visting some of the of the recipes I have rated, and see if changing the leavening makes any noticeable difference.

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