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I love weekends that include a little adventure, but are balanced with getting things done and just enough relaxation squeezed in.
On Saturday, I drove Paul, Dante and our friend Jesse to my dad's ranch in Chowchilla (Camp Haze). My dad is under doctor's orders to take it easy for awhile longer since the stent procedure. Heading down to help around the ranch is something all four of us had been looking forward to.
Jesse is a mechanical wiz and was there to change the carburetor in dad's tractor.
Paul and I moved some corral panels for the horses and unloaded bags of cubed hay into the barn.
Dante, enjoyed the afternoon getting a chance to hang out with "Grandma and Grandpa Haze". In fact, Dante did his first solo horse back ride with grandpa leading and Paul and I on either side of him. I'm not sure who enjoyed it more, Dante, me or my dad. He had been asking to ride on a horse ever since he saw us ride in the Chowchilla Stampede. My dad is thrilled that he is interested in the horses. Very soon, all three of us will be able to ride together.
The only downside of the trip is that it was one of the first hot days of the year. We ended up cutting our visit a little short as the heat started to get to all of us. Still, it was a wonderful visit and I look forward to heading back down again in June.
On Sunday, I had a lot of grocery shopping to do. Dante opted to stay home with Paul so I was able to power through hitting:
- Target – toilet paper, dog food.
- Costco – milk, butter, eggs, Greek yogurt, chicken
- Farmer's Market – carrots, beets, peaches, oranges
- Trader Joes – cereal, cream, goat cheese, a wedge of parmesan cheese, beer, wine
- Safeway – a handful of basics like tuna, broccoli (it was cheaper and better looking than at the farmers market), strawberries (also cheaper than at the farmers market) whole wheat crackers, chicken broth
I managed to hit all five places in two hours. I really enjoy shopping for groceries and supplies, as long as I have the time. I hate doing it when I am in a hurry so Sunday's shopping was a treat. I started just after 11:00 am (after working for a few hours on the book) and the stores weren't too busy. The crowds must have still been asleep or at church.
When I got home I relaxed for a few hours and then spent the rest of the afternoon cooking. With the two pounds of carrots that I bought at the farmer's market for $.75 per pound, I made Curried Carrot Soup. It's a recipe I pulled from an old issue of Oprah and it is one of my favorites. I made enough for the entire week to enjoy after getting home from Fearless.
I had planned to make a loaf of bread to serve with dinner but remembered too late. Luckily, while I was lounging around, I watched an episode of Ten Dollar Dinners with Melissa D'Arabian where she baked popovers. They looked easy to make so I tried it. While the popovers baked, I cooked two chicken breasts in olive oil and started the water for whole wheat tortellini. I made a goat cheese sauce for the ravioli, but must have missed a step because it didn't thicken as much as I would have liked. It was still good as were the popovers.
I must have been in a forgetful mood because I also forgot to cook the broccoli that I had planned to include with dinner. We had plenty of food so it might have been for the best.
We served an Alexander & Fitch Cabernet which is from the Alexander Valley (near where Paul's family cabin is) for dinner which went well with the chicken and pasta. I picked it up at Trader Joe's for $6.99. We drank half the bottle and will enjoy the other half next weekend.
For dessert, I made strawberry shortcake with Bisquick and homemade whipped cream. The shortcake was a perfect way to end a fantastic weekend!
Dante on Turlock
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