JANUARY COMES TO A COLD, COLD END – BOERNE, TX

It’s 9:30 am, and the temperature here in Boerne has just risen above freezing: 32.2 degrees.  Up here on the hilltop, we are in a cold, wet fog.  Odel went out to see if we could switch from the water tank/pump (which we use at night when temperatures fall below freezing) to the water spigot/hose… nope, that water spigot is still frozen.  Inside, we are toasty warm, thanks to our wonderful new Kozy World heater.

Looks like it will be a lazy day today… as have been the last few.  Once the skies cleared from the heavy storm that passed through early in our stay, we got out to do a little sightseeing and walking, though the temperatures have been very low.  We still haven’t explored the small town of Boerne – I intend to do that this afternoon, waiting for it to warm up a bit.

Cooking has been my entertainment these past few days, and I have several new recipes I will to add to the blog (soon).  Last night I tried a recipe sent by my cousin Donna, who lives in Wisconsin – so knows what COLD means.  She commented that it was a great meal to warm you up on a cold night, and she was RIGHT. 

“Peanutty Chicken Stew” is thick, spicy, nutty and delicious.  It uses white rice, which I don’t keep on hand – but it just so happened that I’d seen a pound of Louisiana Popcorn Rice at the great H.E.B. store (one of the best things about Texas!) when we were picking up groceries in Boerne, and I added it to my cart.  It was perfect in the new dish (which I think would be delicious WITHOUT the chicken, too, if you prefer vegetarian).  Recipe coming soon.

I’m also experimenting with my blog a little bit.  The photos I use aren’t always explained by the text, so I commonly use “hover text” to caption the photos – but I have the feeling that many readers don’t know/remember that they can hover their cursor over the photo to read that caption.  I haven’t found a good way to caption photos yet  - but I’m still trying.  :)