Good Friends and Too Short Visits

Nothing is better than having wonderful friends come visit after a lengthy separation.  But having my wonderful sweet special friend Priscilla come in and spend Wednesday through Sunday with us here in Prescott, leaving hubby Bill in Santa Cruz to hold down the fort and get some needed chores accomplished prior to their leaving for their summer place in Silverton, BC Canada in June, was a very very special occassion.

I picked her up at Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix on Wednesday, and we proceeded North on I-17 to Rock Springs, where we had lunch. I was sad to see a change in menu—both in prices and in offerings--seems they are concentrating on pies these days and lots of fried and heavy food when I was looking forward to the hand dipped fried zucchini that I have often enjoyed there. But we had a leisurely lunch with more catching up and sharing, and then back on the road to Prescott.  We arrived and were greeted by Roy & Guayo, both happy to see us.

During the next few days, we played, shopped, saw the sites of Prescott, and enjoyed being together and talking, catching up on our lives since the last time we had been together.  We went out to Willow Lake and hiked around the lake, taking in the outrageous rock formations. They absolutely look alien to me!  She also helped with some gardening chores—as if they ever end whether you have company or not!  And gave me some valuable information for the garden. The biggest being, if I want a bunch of pesto in the freezer for the winter, I’d best plant more than the 7 basil plants that are in the garden. So, off to Home Depot, and 8 more plants came home with me, along with large planters to put them in. When we stopped at Mortimer earlier in the day, I finally found tarragon and purchased 3 plants, putting them into new pots also.  We sat in the garden in the warmth of the sun, talked, and just relaxed and enjoyed being together on Thursday as I was a bit under the weather.

But Friday and Saturday I was my old self, so we took off leaving Roy & Guayo to keep the home safe from marauding burglars and javelina. We scoured the nooks and crannies of the Habitat For Humanity shop, Yavapai Humane Society Thrift Shop, Edelweiss, antique shops, mini-malls downtown, walked around the beautiful shaded Courthouse Square, went to my favorite consignment shop, Under The Eaves (whoo hooo...I found an arbor that is even more spectacular than I'd been dreaming of..thanks Laura & Jean!), and of course I spent more than Priscilla!  She did purchase a gorgeous linen blouse with flower cutouts on the side in front that looked adorable on her at Sam & London’s, along with some fabric and a little glass bluebird. Did I say Priscilla and Bill and fantastic birders, loving sightings and findings of our little furry friends while treking here in there in a number of wilderness areas around the U.S.?  Well, they are!

Guayo Jane & Roy in dining room

We ate at LaBruzza’s on her last night with us, enjoying the good food and the fact that we could walk there and back with no problem, thus avoiding the ever burgeoning parking lot. But the rest of the week  meals at home.  One breakfast was an omelete with goat cheese and chives along with crispy croissants; we had a homemade Chicken Pot Pie, filled with chunks of chicken that had been marinated in Agua Negra marinade and grilled whole on the grill outside and in which I used rice flour to thicken the sauce. The addition of some Herbs de Provence and Fines Herbs gave it a richness that everyone truly enjoyed.

Using the rest of the chicken, I made Crunchy Chicken Salad on croissants from Pangaea Bakery that I had crisped up in the oven. Yum!!!   These are the best croissants. And even though the wheat gives me a bit of a stomach ache, I just HAD to have some!  Both Roy and Priscilla enjoyed the chicken dishes, so recipes are included.

Roy & Jane in front garden

But tonight she’s back home in her wonderful house with her best guy Bill, sitting in front of the fire listening to the rain on the roof; glad for the visit but happy to be home.  I miss her already, but friends forever withstand distance and the test of time, and that’s what we are and will always be. Thank you for a lovely visit my dear friend…there will be more in the future!  

Crunchy Chicken Salad on Crispy Croissants

3 cups diced cooked chicken

3 ribs Celery--diced

½  c.  Radish sprouts, chopped

½ c. Sunflower sprouts, chopped

1/3 c. chopped Walnuts

1/3 c. Dried Cranberries

1/3 c. Mayonnaise

1/3 c. Miracle whip

1/3 c. Trader Joe’s Champagne Pear Dressing

½ t. Fines Herbs

2 T. chopped Chives

Salt

Pepper

4 large croissants

Mix all ingredients together.  Bake croissants in oven until crispy. Cut in half horizontally, remove top portion and pile high with chicken salad. Put top back on.  Makes 4 large sandwiches or 8 regular sandwiches, if you cut the croissants in half vertically after filling.

Francesco & Kaileena for Lunch—Not Cannibalism

           We miss the Sacred Bean, a quaint little coffee shop serving organic coffees and teas and delightful coffee drinks, along with some coma-inducing pastries. Team that with local artwork,  Psychic Sunday, open mic nights, poetry slams, local musicians, singers, and songwriters playing harmonicas, drums of all variety, guitars, saxophone, pan flutes…you name it and you can see it at the Sacred Bean. Or at least you could, but alas New Year’s Eve 2011 never happened as The Bean closed on December 30.  It is a loss to the community, and a great loss to Roy and I.  But the friendships we made there continue.

          Two of the best, owner Francesco and barista extraordinaire, musican, singer, songwriter Kaileena, are still in our lives and hearts, so their coming to lunch was a significant event.  And to commemorate the homecoming, a proper luncheon was served.

          Homemade Cream of Mushroom soup, loaded with chopped white button, crimini, and shitake mushrooms, sautéed in bacon renderings (bacon being crumbled into the soup), with tarragon, thyme, onion, garlic, butter, and cream, started the meal off with a round of moans of delight from all.

          Also served were deviled eggs with thyme & capers; Chicken Salad on toasted bagel slices; boiled red potatoes quartered and seasoned with butter, sea salt and dill; an assortment of pickles and olives; and for a sweet ending Pumpkin Cranberry Pecan scones. After filling up on the eats, everyone retired to the front porch for cigarettes, relaxation, digestion, and more conversation. Francesco is looking for a location for the reincarnation of the Sacred Bean, and at this time it looks like that reincarnation will take place in Tucson in the up and coming 4^th Street area. Patience is the word now. Gentrifying, the 4^th Street area is now hot property, and to get the location and ambience he demands, he will have to wait for the proper opening. So now it’s the waiting game, but someday soon The Bean will have a new and hopefully better home in Tucson. Great for Francesco (and Marcello his beautiful Italian Greyhound who HATES being cold), but sad for me and Roy as we live in Prescott and not Tucson. But with our friend living there, and Goddaughter Olivia, and friend Robert Prater, visiting should be easy enough to do!

          Kaileena says the scones are perfect.  Not quite so dry as many she has eaten, but spicy and delicious. So when you make these, think of Francesco and The Sacred Bean…and in a few months, check out 4^th Street in Tucson and see if you can find this delightful establishment. And if you do, tell Francesco Jane says hi!

PUMPKIN SPICE SCONES

2 cup flour                   7 Tablespoons sugar                1 Tablespoon baking powder

½ tsp salt                     ½ tsp cinnamon                       ¼  tsp ground cloves

¼ tsp ground ginger    6 Tablespoons cold butter       3 Tablespoons half n half

½ cup pumpkin—fresh cooked & smashed or canned     1 large egg

Powdered Sugar Glaze—

            1 c. powdered sugar    1 Tblspoon powdered sugar    2 Tbspns whole milk

Spiced Glaze—

            1 c. powdered sugar    3 Tblspns powdered sugar      2 Tbspns milk

            ¼ tsp cinnamon           1/8 tsp ground nutmeg            1 pinch ground ginger

            1 pinch ground cloves

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Lightly oil a baking sheet and line with parchment paper.

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and spices in a large bowl. Using a pastry cutter or food processor, cut butter into the dry ingredients until mixture is crumbly and no chunks of butter are obvious. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, whisk pumpkin, half n half and egg. Pour into dry ingredients and mix well. Form dough into a ball.  Pat dough out on a lightly floured surface and form into a 9x3” rectangle. Use a large knife to slice the dough across the width into 3 equal pieces.  Cut those rectangles into halves diagonally so you have 6 triangular pieces (you can cut them into 4 triangular pieces for smaller scones). Place on baking sheet previously prepared.

Bake for 14-16 minutes. Scones should begin to turn light brown. Remove from pan and cool on rack.

Make plain glaze—mix the powdered sugar and 2 Tbsp milk together until smooth. When the scones are cool, use a brush to pain the glaze over the top of each scone. Let dry for at least 1 hour before completing.

Make Spice Glaze—when the plain glaze is completely dry, mix all the ingredients for the spice glaze together. Put into small sandwich zip bag, snip off a tiny piece of one corner of the bag, and drizzle the spice glaze back and forth over the top of the scone.  Or you can use a squirt bottle to do this portion. Let dry again prior to serving. 

January 29, 2011---Happy Birthday to Me!

What a day—what a week. Turning 60 isn’t as bad as I’d thought…so far.

So far I’ve had emails and cards and calls from tons of friends; received not only a fabulous new lens for my Canon (whoo hoo more telephoto capacity), but a  night out to Japanese dinner, both from my hubby; had my dearest long time friend spend the night; and today wa a whole new celebration.

It was one of those fabulous warm blue-skied mid-winter days we can have in Central Arizona. The kind the C of C advertises & people who visit from MN immediately go out and buy ahouse so they can secure it for themselves.

After making a batch of Gluten Free all purpose baking mix and trashing the kitchen,m Roy wanted to get out and savor the day. Me too…plus needed to run a couple of errands. SO we took off, leaving the kitchen a mess and things undone. What the heck…more important to cease the day. We stopped at work, stopped at Honeyman’s, filled the car with gas, took a drive up to Thumb Butte and checked it out; took a walk around courthouse square with Guayo. He and Roy shared some frozen yogurt while I went to the Shoe Box and bought a new pair of shoes. They were having their semi-annual shoe sale so I went in and found myself a great pair of Clarke’s; then proceeded to Olive U for bottles of Tuscan Herb and Wild Mushroom and Sage olive oils.  It is the coolest place….great flavored olive oils and balsamic vinegars that you can taste before buying!

        

Winding down, we headed toward home, but Roy wanted to prolong the time out in the gorgeous weather, so we took Guayo to the dog park. I love all the dogs that show up at the park…they are as interesting and diverse as their owners. Big ones, little ones, sleek ones, fuzzy ones, fat ones, barky ones, aggressive ones, playful ones, sweethearts and silly puppies…they are all so cute.  Guayo was playing away having a great time as usual. We were talking to Mark, one of the regulars with a huge chocolate colored, fuzzy labradoodle named Buster.  He was telling us of the Arizona Burning Man coming up in May. Guayo had found found a friend and while they were playing like crazy, this guy was a bit too rough for my liking, giving Guayo some pretty hard nips, so I gathered him up and said “let’s go”.

I guess Roy was still in a celebratory mood, so we stopped at Starbucks, now that our beloved Sacred Bean is no more, and spent another 45 minutes chatting and laughing and enjoying being together and relaxed.  After 52 hours at work this week & more to come tomorrow, I wasn’t objecting.

So about 6:00 p.m. we finally headed home. As we came around the corner, I noticed lots of cars in the driveways. I’d been had!!  The whole “it’s a beautiful day so let’s get outside in it” routine was a rouse to keep me away from the house. Seems Carly and Roy had conspired a 60^th Birthday Surprise Party!

The house was rearranged, balloons (100 of them) were all over the ceilings, food, cake gifts, and wonderful friends were there in high spirits.  Terri & Paul, Carly, Bev & Steve, Sally, Kelly & RJ, and Less & Marge filled the house with wonderful wishes and great surprise energy. It was a fantastic party. There was great food, lots of hugs, tons of laughter & too much fun…if one can have too much fun.  As gifts were opened, I proceeded to sing my infamous Sonny & Cher “I got you babe” after inhaling helium from a balloon and nearly lost a couple of people who were gasping from hysteria.

As things came to an end and clean up began, Roy put on Pandora R & R and we were dancing to Eric Clapton’s “Cocaine”; the Stone; Steve Wonder…and singing along.  A little ripped, a lot happy, we all decided the old folks homes will never be the same once we get there.

So, 60 be damned. I’m going to keep inhaling helium and singing and dancing and listening to the Stones, Beatles, and Clapton; drinking Tuscan Lemonade until the final beat of my heart sends me to the giant rock concert in the sky.  Bring on the 7^th decade…I’m ready!

A huge thanks goes out to my wonderful friends and my fantastic hubby for going to all the trouble and treachery to pull this off and usher me into and through my 60^th.  Next month….back to the protein shakes and yogurt!