Note that 1912 was a Leap Year, too.

This is the first of notes from a “secret sweetheart” who used to send notes to my maternal grandfather one hundred years ago. The front of the card is referencing the custom where, during leap years and on February 29, gals could propose to guys.

So much for the idea that only us modern gals are brazen, eh?

Thanks so much for your visit today. You’re invited to subscribe to the RedWhiteandGrew.com feed and to follow me on Facebook and Twitter.

This card is remarkable in that it was sent on this date in 1911 to my maternal grandfather from his paternal grandmother. Note that this post was set to publish at 4pm–exactly 100 years to the day and hour that it was first postmarked in Coolville, Ohio. Amazing, eh?

Thanks so much for your visit today. You’re invited to subscribe to the RedWhiteandGrew.com feed and to follow me on Facebook and Twitter.

Fresh vegetables--delicious and oh-so-nutritious!

Related: RW&G Recipes

This recipe is a great one for hectic weeknights, especially during the holiday season when there’s a sugary treat at every turn.

You can serve this dish as a side with my Savory Stuffed Sweet Potatoes. Or you can serve it with a splash of soy sauce on top of whole grain brown rice for a healthy bit of Chinese-style cuisine. (Because of our son’s peanut allergy, this is the closest that we can safely get to Chinese takeout.)

Ingredients

2 cups broccoli florets mixed with julienned carrots
1/4 cup diced onions

Method

Lightly mist the top and bottom of the panini maker grill and turn it on. Note that I keep our panini maker adjacent to the stove so I can work the burner and the panini machine at the same time.

Rinse broccoli and carrots. Steam the vegetables until the just start to turn tender. (You can use a fork to test, but watch out for escaping steam.) Remove from burner.

Meanwhile sauté onions on panini grill using a plastic spatula. Cook them until they begin to turn translucent. Then, carefully using tongs, move the steamed vegetables to the panini maker. Using the plastic spatula, stir the broccoli and carrots together with the onions.

Close the panini maker. Since every machine is different, check on the vegetables every 45 seconds or so, giving them all a stir.

The vegetables are ready when the broccoli begins to char. Be careful… everything can burn if you don’t keep a close eye on it.

Photos

Sometimes I use a steamer basket, sometimes I just use 1/2 cup of water at the bottom of the pan.

Veggies on the panini grill top. You can just do this in a wok or large skillet, but some sort of magic occurs when that lid comes down.

More recipes…

Thanks so much for your visit today. You’re invited to subscribe to the RedWhiteandGrew.com feed and to follow me on Facebook and Twitter.

Dolores Castañon

I love Christmas. It truly is the most wonderful time of the year!

One of my favorite things about the holiday season is passing down to my children a tradition that has been in our family a long time – tamale making. The tamale recipe that has been handed down from my great grandmother, Dolores Castañon, is still being made each Christmas with a few tweaks.

I remember being in my grandma’s kitchen on Christmas Eve and watching from the dining room as they made tamales in the kitchen. My grandma spiced the meat, while Aunt Linda spiced and mixed the masa. When it was time to spread the masa on cornhusks, everyone helped. I will always remember Aunt Virginia sitting on the far side of the table spreading masa.

Hermina "Mina" Ramirez, my friend Pam's maternal grandmother

After my grandma died, Aunt Linda made tamales but it wasn’t the same. There was no Christmas Eve gathering and it wasn’t in my grandma’s kitchen.

After my grandma died, there were several years where we did not make tamales, and I thought that the tradition had died with her. But my mom and dad dusted off the recipe one year and made several dozen and the tradition began anew.

Now tamales are made in their kitchen each year. I make sure my boys see the tamale-making. They enjoy helping spread the masa on cornhusks. I am learning all I can about the intricacies of the tamale-making process. I ask lots of questions and take notes on my photocopy of an old, yellowed recipe page.

One day it will be my turn to make tamales in my kitchen, but not this year, and I hope not for many years to come!

Explore More:

• If you crave tamales and aren’t lucky enough to have a family recipe, then check out this story that I wrote last year about Mi Casa Tamales.

• Sur La Table at La Cantera is hosting a tamale class this weekend. Call the store for details: 210-978-5580.

All images in this post copyright 2011 Pam Humphrey. Used with permission.

Thanks so much for your visit today. You’re invited to subscribe to the RedWhiteandGrew.com feed and to follow me on Facebook and Twitter.

First someone told me that there’s a “boy from Paris, Texas” in one of the Fancy Nancy books. Then I re-encountered this gem on the menu at Kerbey Lane (the “old-fashioned” one–that’s what my son calls it–in Austin):

Ah, the strange wonders of having grown up in the second largest Paris in the world!

Thanks so much for your visit today. You’re invited to subscribe to the RedWhiteandGrew.com feed and to follow me on Facebook and Twitter.

Then I scored 100 MiniCards from Moo.com via Klout.com. (I only paid shipping and handling.) They arrived just before Thanksgiving, and I adore them! They’re small and memorable–perfect for tucking into my wallet.

I was able to chose up to 5 photos to showcase the primary themes of this blog: gardening, cooking, home education, vintage goods, and family.

Wanna see? (The colors are sharper in real life.)

Thanks so much for your visit today. You’re invited to subscribe to the RedWhiteandGrew.com feed and to follow me on Facebook and Twitter.

Every Yuletide season, I try to carve out time to indulge in a little fiction.

This private tradition began several years ago when I set out to read the collected works of Jane Austen. Last year I worked my way–again–through all of Lauren Willig‘s historical romance/spy novels. (Think Blackadder meets Jane Austen and Bridget Jones in the Regency period and has a romp… that’s the best way that I can describe her books. I’ve just finished reading Ivy & Intrigue on my Kindle app, but you can read it online for free  here.)

In honor of my holiday custom–and hoping to encourage RW&G readers to set aside some room this next month for a cuppa and an old school lap read, I made a RW&G holiday bookmark over on Picnik.com!

Just click on it, then print and cut:

Thanks so much for your visit today. You’re invited to subscribe to the RedWhiteandGrew.com feed and to follow me on Facebook and Twitter.

Ugh.

And on Thanksgiving Eve.

Double ugh.

Everything still *exists*–thank you, WordPress.com, for that–but now I have to rebuild the layout.

Sigh.

If you are looking for something in particular and can’t find it, try the search box up top. Or leave me a message.

While I rebuild…

Update: Sweetcheeses but I located the right theme… it’s a little better now. Actually a lot better than the BRIGHT blue theme that I had earlier. In the words of my 8th grade computer teacher, Garbage In/Garbage Out. (My stupid mistake, in this case, being the garbage.)

Guess who is also in it, via video? Me!

Mr. Pennington (or Mr. Pennington’s staff, whichever) graciously included the 2010 TEDx San Antonio speech that Holly and I delivered. Considering that my son loves Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, this was a seriously cool development in our casa today.

And to think that much of our script was written in a Chick-Fil-A.

Coincidence? I think not.

P.S. Holly homeschooled her own kids, too. Just sayin’.

More bottle cap inspiration

Update: It occurred to me hours after this posted that it’d make a great header for my TEDx talk page.

Thanks so much for your visit today. You’re invited to subscribe to the RedWhiteandGrew.com feed and to follow me on Facebook and Twitter.