Sooo behind the times!

I know I know I'm so behind in posting!

Stay tuned ...Coming soon...!

A Bite of Venezuela !

OMG! The boys (Jerry, Dad, and Rob) the 3 stooges were fortunate enough to have one of their nicest customers ever (Sonja & Frank), and invited all of us over for dinner. Not just any dinner, but a Venezuelan Paella dinner. The boys were able to experience Sonja's country's cuisine throughout the job. If I was lucky enough Jerry would bring me home a tidbit, and from that I knew we were in for a treat. Sonja and her family are originally from Venezuela until she married Frank and they eventually moved to the United States. Sonja and her mother (Gladys) made some delicious Sweet Roasted peppers on toasted bread it was to die for. She also makes her own infused oils with Habaneros and Serrano's. As you can see in the slide show below not only were we going to experience a fabulous dinner but a great show too. The Paella had Saffron, Rice, Shrimp, Scallops, Crab, Mussels, Clams, Pork, and Chicken. Can you imagine it was soooo good. I bet you think it couldn't get any better? We'll we had Venezuelan Quesillo (similar to Flan) covered with a Caramel dome. Muy Muy Bueno! Then to top that off Frank poured us some Cherry Brandy that they made and it was awesome! Gee does anybody know someone who could supply them with a few cherries this year? Hee Hee! The evening was all I could've imagined and more. We were in good company, and to think we were able to taste Venezuela without even leaving Oakdale. It doesn't get any better then that! Fun Fact: Sonja and I have something in common, we both have two different color eyes ;)

6? years Old

Go, go, go, go, go, go
Go, shorty
It's your birthday
We gon' party like it's your birthday
We gon' sip Bacardi like it's your birthday
And you know we don't give a ?!*!?
cause it's not your birthday!

50 Cent

Well it's my mom's birthday she's 62 and now she will getting her itty bitty social security check. Watch out Red Lobster here they come! I cooked my Mommy: Perfect Fried Chicken, Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Corn, Garlic Cheddar Biscuits, Homemade Country Gravy, and a Claim Jumper Banana Cream Pie (it was sooooo good). I AM NOT A BAKER! I'm still trying to conquer the baking thing, stay tuned!

A is for Alley

Once upon a time 3 years ago Jerry and I bought the ranch from my parents, and on the pillars out front were big concrete B plaques (B for Birch). One day Jerry decided it was time to take down the B's. Little did he know the mold had been misplaced and those plaques were very important to keep in tack when removing. Well that didn't go so good and they came off in many, many, many pieces. Fast forward to Christmas 2008. My dad finally finished Jerry's A's. I know, how hard could it be it sounds like this should be a piece of cake, but after trying to find the right shape and size mold, then he melted the mold to a wad of plastic and many other mishaps it took every bit of 3 years to get this done to his satisfaction. So on Christmas Day 2008 Jerry got his A's and believe it or not it was down to the wire. They plaster still wasn't dry. So the following weekend the Alley Ranch finally got it's A's for Alley.

Gobble Gobble

Well, Jerry and I hosted Thanksgiving this year. Jerry's parents were out from Texas. Jerry had a full schedule between dinners, meet and greets, sightseeing and Thanksgiving all within 4 days it was nut's. I on the other hand didn't have it so bad. I was very very organized having meals made and frozen before hand so all I had to do was worry about prepping for the big day, T-day! Gotta hand it to those working folks who have to have T-day it's a pain, but I love it! I was lucky enough to take Wednesday off from work. I'm definitely not trying to give myself a pat on the back, because I enjoy cooking. Anybody that's been over to the house on Sunday Football can attest to that! We had my Mom, Dad, Jerry's Mom, Dad, My Uncle Denny, good friends Lyndalee, Tony and Jay. Anyway we had: A Deep Fried Turkey, A Old Fashioned Roast Turkey,Spicy Creamed Corn with Bacon and Scallions, Easy Crescent Rolls, Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Spicy Cornbread Stuffing with Red Peppers, Chipotle Chiles, and Andouille Sausage, Mom's Spinach Casserole, Mom's Gravy, Petey's Italian Sausage Stuffing, Mom's Cranberry Cream Cheese Disks, Make-Ahead Green Bean Casserole Cranberry Apple Crisp, Easy Crescent Rolls, Blueberry Muffins and the surprise hit of the night Pumpkin-Bourbon Cheesecake with Graham-Pecan Crust Oh by the way we also deep fried a Turkey Breast, and another whole Turkey for some friends of ours and out of 3 Turkeys only 1 crashed and burned. Lucky for Jerry it fell right into the pan beside the fryer. Thank goodness T-day only comes around once a year! Gobble Gobble

Miyagi's or Bust!

Finally, we're taking a road trip to Miyagi Bar & Sushi in Sac! After a couple of years of Tony inviting us to his restaurant we went we saw and we conquered. The sushi was awesome, and Tony is also the sushi chef and made sure he took care of me (the sushi virgin). Sure I've had some spider rolls, California rolls, and veggie rolls, but never any sashimi. OMG! I don't know exactly how to explain it, but some of the sashimi was marinated in different flavors it was delicious. I was eating RAW FISH and I LOVED IT! I don't know how brave I would have been if Tony wasn't such a great friend of our family for so long. Tony and my Uncle went back to Japan this spring to visit his family during the annual cherry blossoms, and the pictues were beautiful. I hope our cherries will look that pretty. Anyway a few Saki's and a Saki bomb or 2 later I looked up and noticed my little friend Puffy. He was the cutest little blow fish. Him and I became life long friends. What can I say, but SAKI! Oh, and for those who don't like sushi Tony made a cowboy roll and it was really good, Travie!

Our 2000 babies

Here are some pictures of our babies. There are 2000 cherry trees. The majority of the trees are Rainer's. The others are the pollinators; Bings and Brooks. This year we should actually have a few cherries. Jamie and I will be out on Hwy 120 selling "Jerry's Cherries" in our bikini's. JUST KIDDING!