...route 66



" A stop in one of the small towns most anywhere along old Route 66 offers evidence that life begins at the off ramp. Away from the super slab, you can still order a piece of pie from the person who baked it, still get your change right from the shop owner, still take a moment to care and to be cared for, a long way from home."

Tom Snyder ~ Founder, route 66 Association

Back in the summer of 2010, our family took a road trip down to Texas. The route down was an impromptu one: we knew the "where" we needed to get, but the "how" was all up in the air. Some of the fondest and dearest portions of this trip took place on the old route, once well-known as Route 66.
Here is a brief glimpse of some of the samplings we encountered on the Mother Road.

So we left Michigan and headed into Indiana; then the long journey down to the deep-southern part of Illinois.

Day 1 ended as we stayed there for the night.

                                                                    

Springfield, Illinois

[The Great Western Railroad]

[Abraham Lincoln's tomb. Rub his nose for good luck..I guess]



[Maid-Rite..home of the original loose-meat sandwich]

[Frank Lloyd Wright~ The Dana-Thomas House]

[Cozy Dogs]

...Continuing on from Springfield on old Route 66 can be challenging at best. A lot of the "old road" no longer exists; forcing one to continue back on the highway. Bits and pieces of roadside America still lives and breathes on, though, in the tinest nooks and cranny's along the way...

                                                  [Our Lady of the Highways - Raymond, Illinois]

                              [The old Soulby Shell filling station ~ Mount Olive, Illinois]

 

 [Rabbit Ranch ~ Staunton, Illinois]

 [a defunct filling station ~ somewhere in Illinois]

                                           [St. Louis (and the arch) kindly greets us into Missouri]

 [Oklahoma here we are!]


Once we hit Oklahoma, we went one way and Route 66 went the other way.
I would love to continue on further; continue with the Mother road of the past.
One day...







For some good books on Route 66, check out Route 66 The Mother Road

 and The Route 66 Cookbook.

One recipe from the book is Murphey's Slip Slide Custard Pie. Bill and Wanda Murphey owned Murphey's Restaurant in Baxter Springs, Kansas until the mid-1970's. Today, there are different owners, but Wanda's pies are still the rage. It was said that customers would come in to the restaurant just to see Wanda put her Slip Slide pie together.

Murphey's Slip Slide Custard Pie

3 eggs

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 cups milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

sprinkle of nutmeg

Beat eggs slightly. Add sugar, salt, milk and vanilla.

Stir well to blend.

Grease a 9" pie pan and set it in a pan of water.

Pour custard mixture into pie pan and sprinkle with nutmeg.

Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 35-40 minutes or until custard is firm to touch.

Cool thoroughly.

Loosen custard around edges with knife and slip into baked crust.



home made coffee creamer...

Somehow mornings are just not the same around here unless I have my morning cup of coffee (...or two!)
In the past, I have bought those fancy store-bought coffee creamers; in all sorts of flavors and such. They are good, but I was never really crazy about all those extra-added ingredients...you know, the ones you can't even pronounce.
Just recently I came across a recipe for a home-made coffee creamer recipe. Needless to say, I was very excited and eager to try this out! Well, I did... and I love the results!
Now, I know this is not a fat-free, health food...but, at least I know what is in my coffee!

My usual store bought french vanilla coffee creamer has the following ingredients:

Water, Sugar, Palm Oil, Corn Syrup, Contains Less Than 2% Of Each Of The Following Ingredients: Carrageenan, Mono And Diglycerides, Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate, Salt, Dipotassium Phosphate, Sodium Caseinate (A Milk Derivative), Natural And Artificial Flavors. *Sodium Caseinate Is Not A Source Of Lactose.


My home-made french vanilla coffee creamer has the following ingredients:

sweetened condensed milk
milk (cow or soy/almond/coconut)
vanilla extract

Home-Made French Vanilla Coffee Creamer

 

* 1 can of sweetened condensed milk

* 1 1/4 cup of milk (soy, rice, coconut can be substitued)

* 3 teaspoons of vanilla (more or less to suit your taste....I added less)

 

Mix all ingredients and pour into lidded container(s). Can be refrigerated for up to 2 weeks.

 

Enjoy!

the Pickers...

Last summer, weaving our way back from Texas through the midwest, we had the fun opportunity to stop and see where the American Pickers have their store, in Le Claire Iowa.

Hugging the Mighty Mississippi river is the tiny town of Le Claire. The population couldn't be more than a couple thousand, at best. Greeting us right off of highway 80 was a very friendly welcome center. There, I got my courage up -and sound like a major geek tourist- and asked where we could find "the pickers". Surprisingly we were not the first to ask this; for we were each then presented with a rather lovely color photo of Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz... AKA...the Pickers! Next, the nice lady pulled out a map of the town. She took her pen and circled the right spot to find Antique Archeology, their shop. BINGO!

With photo's in hand and a spring to our step, we headed out the door and down the windy road headed to the small, yet vibrant, downtown area of Le Claire Iowa. When we got to the gas station, that the nice welcome lady told us the shop was behind, we turned left and there it was! Ah, really?! Was THIS the same shop that I have seen oodles and oodles of times on TV? It looked so small! Basically the shop was smushed between two rather ordinary older homes. In my mind I was expecting to find the store on a large parcel of land, somewhere near an Iowan cornfield. No, instead it was shoe-horned in a space that seemed to not be quite right.

 We got out of our cars and proceeded to the shop, hoping to just get a glimpse of Mike or Franky. Well, a rather blunt woman told us that the store was closed that day. The guys were filming and that we should come back tomorrow. Tomorrow?! Um, no! I told her that we are driving back, cross country, and cannot come back tomorrow. We will be home tomorrow! She said sorry and also told me I couldn't take any pictures. Well, that was NOT about to happen. Are ya kidding!? I came all this way here, maybe never to be back again, and trust me! I WAS taking pictures...thank you very much!

  Cool red car...

 a Franky sighting! I really wanted to see Mike too...and Danielle, but no.

 a view from the side yard...

a view from behind the store. I guess a lot of people think that their junk is the Pickers junk!


Overall, despite NOT being able to enter the store to check things out and get autographs, it was a fun, random experience. It was a total unexpected side-trip in a otherwise rather ordinary day.
I do hope to go back one day, again.

a Lentan Friday family supper...

Always on the lookout for new recipes (especially during the meatless Fridays of Lent) I came across this
recipe with a twist on your Mama's traditional tuna casserole.

The Family Kitchen is where I found this recipe for Caribbean Tuna Casserole.
I find it extra appealing with all the added yummy veggies that are added!

                                    Enjoy!


Caribbean Tuna Casserole
Ingredients

3 – 6 oz cans tuna in water, drained and flaked

1 – 14 oz box shell pasta (I used whole wheat)

1/2 red bell pepper, chopped

1/2 green bell pepper, chopped

1/2 yellow bell pepper, chopped

1/2 large onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, chopped

1/2 lb frozen chopped spinach

a large handful cilantro, chopped

the juice of 2 limes

1 cup light sour cream

1 cup finely shredded mild cheddar cheese

1 small jar pimentos, with juice

olive oil

salt and pepper

1 cup panko bread crumbs



Method



1. Preheat broiler. Prepare pasta according to package directions. Preheat a large skillet. Drizzle with olive oil. Add bell peppers, onions and garlic. Add spinach and saute until spinach is thawed and onions and bell peppers are tender crisp. Add sour cream and stir to combine.



2. Add vegetables and sour cream to a large bowl. Add cooked pasta. Add pimentos and juice, cheese, lime juice, cilantro and tuna. Mix well and pour into a large casserole dish.



3. Top with panko breadcrumbs and place under broiler for a few minutes to lightly brown.

me and my shadow...

I still hear you humming, Mama. The color of your song calls me home.

The color of your words saying, "Let her be.

She got a right to be different.

She gonna stumble on herself one of these days.

 Just let the child be."

 And I be, Mama.

~Sonia Sanchez

I had the great joy of spending the entire afternoon, yesterday, with just my oldest daughter.

 Just me and her - her and me.

 A rather rare treat - by why?

Why don't we do this more often - I thought, as the beautiful-sunny-February afternoon swept us away. We need to!

We are!

You see, my daughter is growing up. Her wings are starting to spread.

The time we spend together is important - vital!

I love her so much.

 ...my beautiful daughter of mine.