Fall in Flip-Flops

Fall in Texas is very different from NY.  Palm trees line the streets instead of maples and elms dressed in autumn colors.

At "Pumpkin Patches," you are unlikely to find growing gourds... rather, you discover a field with scattered pre-picked pumpkins, from which you can "re-pick" a pumpkin of your choice for fall celebrations (Pumpkin photo courtesy of "The Express-News/SA").






And, fall drinks like spiced teas and coffees come in more cold varieties than warm.  You might as well add a paper umbrella to top off your favorite fall beverage.

Despite feeling a little at loss in our typical fall traditions, Tony and I agree that the perfection of the weather more than makes up for it.  Most days are in the 80's, with beautiful blue skies, sun shining, and a perfect light breeze.  Outdoor sports are at their peak, and there are many opportunities for visiting parks and exploring festivals.  Flowering bushes and trees bring a different sort of color to the fall season.  And, trading in our heavy fall jackets for tank-tops has been a welcomed change.

However, an unseasonable "cold front" made its way to San Antonio this weekend, bringing with it chilly temperatures into the 60's.  Tony and I seized this opportunity to return to some of our favorite autumn traditions: fall foods and beverages

Feeling nostalgic, Tony and I crafted our first true fall Crock Pot meal: Irish Stew.  In Batavia, NY, there is a cute Irish pub named "O'Lacy's," a favorite and frequented place of Tony and mine.  We used to meet my parents there halfway between Albion and Buffalo on chilly fall evenings.  Most of us would get "the regular:" draft beers with their famous lamb stew, seasoned to perfection with ample helpings of Guinness for flavoring.

The smell and warmth of our own version of the stew filled the house throughout the day

Butters also seemed to approve of the Irish Stew.  He spent most of the day sitting dutifully next to the Crock Pot, ready to help us sample the food.  And, when the meal was finally served, he was first in line to try to get his bowl too.

We were so pleased that our first try at this recipe came pretty close to the perfection of O'Lacy's.  Tony added some cheddar cheese as a finishing touch.

Although fall beers are my favorite, Baby Bean made me have to skip out on that side of the fall festivities.  However, Tony graciously told me how great the Oktoberfest beer tasted with the meal.

And, the fresh-baked bread made a perfect side to the tasty stew.

To complete our fall weekend, we added the finishing touch: Warm Cider.  Adding mulling spices (something I learned from my mom), I warmed up some fresh apple cider as a special treat to end the weekend.

Butters also seemed to approve of the apple cider...

...as did Mummy

The weather is set to go back up into the 80's this coming week, but Tony and I were happy to make the most of our special fall weekend!  We are looking forward to Halloween celebrations this coming week.

World's. Worst. Beggar.

Last weekend, Tony and I celebrated the end of March break with a surf-and-turf night.  This was something we had planned all week, and we had so much fun preparing this delicious meal as a couple.  The table was set and the wine was opened.  The lobster and steak were cooked to perfection.  We were all ready to sit down for a romantic dinner, just the two of us.

But then, there was this…

Worst. Beggar. EVER. This little dog has a lot of great qualities, but his bottomless appetite is not one of them.  And with TWO meat options that night, he was especially on his worst begging behavior.  We make a habit of not feeding Butters at the table, but he seemed to have forgotten all of his training that night.  He gave multiple attempts to convince us he was worthy of a few table scraps.  He tried sitting patiently…

When that didn’t work, he went to his crate hoping we would award him with just one… or two… or three samplings of lobster.

And when these attempts didn’t work, he really put on the charm…

Who doesn't want CRAZY puppy eyes staring over the table?!  

Needless to say, while Tony and I didn’t have the peaceful candle-lit dinner we had imagined, we got a good laugh out of Butters’ desperate attempts at sharing surf-and-turf night with us.

And, we topped it off with Tony's favorite dessert... Strawberry Shortcake!

But, sorry Butters.  Your treats come later.