that old picture of the Alamo

THE FRONT PORCH

one fine lookin' old house

QUESTIONS, COMMENTSQUOTES, TALES and LIES !!

Pull up one of those rockers over there and I'll get us some iced tea...

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DID YOU KNOW....

That Texas has an official State 'Insect". And it's not the mosquito or the cockroach!!
It is the the Monarch Butterfly which became the Texas state insect by a 1995 resolution
of the state legislature. The resolution was introduced by Representative Arlene Wohlgemuth
on behalf of students in her district. The Monarch is unique among butterflies in that it is the
only species of butterfly that does not hibernate, but migrates in changing seasons.
(Source: Lone Star Junction) PHOTO

That "Texas, Our Texas," is the official State song.  The song was adopted by the Legislature in
1929 after being selected in a state-wide competition. It was composed by William J. Marsh of Fort Worth. The lyrics were written by Marsh and Gladys Yoakum Wright THE WORDS

Topaz is the Texas state gemstone as well as the birthstone for the month of November. It occurs naturally in many colors including blue, orange, brown, green, pink, beige and red. Colorless topaz, a common variation, can be treated by irradiation to produce a wide range of shades of blue. Thus treated, blue topaz is one of the most popular and widely used of all gemstones. Blue topaz was adopted as the state gemstone as the result of legislation approved March26, 1969. The same legislation also named petrified palmwood as the state stone.  PHOTO

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FACTS

Flour tortillas are a low-fat food and contain iron along with other B vitamins. They have about 115 calories with 2-3 grams of fat per serving. (Source: American Tortilla Association)

According to Mayan legend, tortillas were invented by a peasant for his hungry king in ancient times. The first tortillas, which date approximately 10,000 years before Christ, were made of native corn with dried kernel. (Source: American Tortilla Association)

Tortillas are more popular today in the U.S. than all other ethnic breads, such as bagels, English muffins and pita bread.  (Source: American Tortilla Association)

The Tortilla Industry Association (TIA) estimates that Americans will consume approximately 75 billion tortillas in 1998 (not including tortilla chips). Based on the 1990 census populationof 258 million people, that is roughly 290 tortillas per person each year. If 75 billion tortillas were laid end to end, they would stretch across the U.S. 1178 times or circle the earth 338 times.*

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QUESTIONS ??
Q. I wish to purchase some of your products, but live in the United Kingdom.  Can you ship
your products to me? Gill D., United Kingdom
A. Absolutely !! The freight will be slightly higher, but we will give you an exact amount based on
the items you choose.

Q. I love your site and I really want to learn to cook Tex-Mex type foods. The problem I have is I am trying to lose weight. Isn't this type of food very fattening?     Kathy S., Spokane, Wa
A. No, not necessarily. I say this because I feel it is like anything else we eat in our diets, use moderation, not excess. Tex-Mex foods are actually quite healthy as most all indredients used are from fresh foods(no preservatives) and most of the peppers contain very high amounts of Vitamin C, which helps our bodies immune systems.

Q. I used your recipe for FLOUR TORTILLAS and everything went great-except they were very brittle and cracked after cooking. Any ideas? Chere T., Denver, Co.
A.Chere, sounds like the heat is not high enough. Flour tortillas need to cook very fast, about 15-25 seconds per side. By letting them cook any longer, they "dry" out and become brittle. Also, are you using a comal or at least a cast iron skillet? In our "Secrets to Cooking TEXMEX" Cookbook, under  FLOUR TORTILLAS, we address this at length-temperature, type of cookware, etc. as this is definitely one of the "secrets" to making great flour tortillas.

HUMOR
".....It is better to have a sense of humor than no sense at all."
                                                   Anna Marie Dobbyn
                                                            1944-1998

DIARY OF A SUCCESSFUL NEW BRIDE/COOK

Dear Diary,

Monday;
Now home from honeymoon and settled in our new home, it's fun to cook for Bill.
Today I made an angel food cake and the recipe said, "beat12 eggs separately."
Well, I didn't have enough bowls to do that, so I had to borrow enough bowls to
beat the eggs in. The cake turned out fine.

Tuesday;
We wanted a fruit salad for supper. The recipe said, "serve without dressing".
So I didn't dress. But, Bill happened to bring a friend home for supper that night.
Did they ever look startled when I served the salad.

Wednesday:
I decided to serve rice and found a recipe which said, "wash thoroughly before
steaming the rice". So I heated some water and took a bath before steaming the rice.
Sounded kinda silly in the middle of the week. I can't say it improved the rice any.

Thursday:
Today Bill asked for salad again. I tried a new recipe. It said, "prepare ingredients,
then toss on a bed of lettuce one hour before serving." I hunted all over the garden
by my moms. So I tossed my salad into the bed of lettuce and stood over there one
hour so the dog would not take it. Bill came over and asked if I felt all right. I wonder why?

Friday:
Today I found an easy recipe for cookies. It said,"put all ingredients in a bowl and beat it."
Beat it I did, right over to my mom's house. There must have been something wrong with
the recipe, because when I came back home again it looked the same as when I left it.

Saturday
Bill went shopping today and brought home a chicken. He asked me to dress it for Sunday.
I'm sure I don't know how hens dress for Sunday. I never noticed back on the farm, but I
found a doll dress and some little shoes. I though the hen looked real cute. When Bill saw it,
I wondered why he counted to 10.

Sunday:
Today Bill's folks came to dinner. I wanted to serve roast, but all we had in the icebox,
was hamburger. So I put it in the oven and set the controls for roast. Must be the oven,
because it still came out hamburger.

Monday:
I was going to bake bread today. The recipe said, "mix well and knead well. Then stand
in a warm place until double in bulk." I just won't bake bread if I have to double in bulk.

Goodnight Dear Diary. This has been an exciting week. I am eager for tomorrow to come,
so I can try a new recipe on Bill.



MEXICAN BUNGEE

Two guys are bungee-jumping one day. The first guy says to the
second. "You know, we could make a lot of money running our own
bungee-jumping service in Mexico."

The second guy thinks this is a great idea, so the two pool their
money and buy everything they'll need -- a tower, an elastic
cord, insurance, etc.

They travel to Mexico and begin to set up on the square. As they
are constructing the tower, a crowd begins to assemble. Slowly,
more and more people gather to watch them at work.

The first guy jumps. He bounces at the end of the cord and when
he comes back up, the second guy notices that he has a few cuts
and scratches. Unfortunately, the second guy isn't able to catch
him, so he falls again, bounces, and comes back up again.

This time, he is bruised and bleeding. Again, the second guy
misses him. The first guy falls again and bounces back up. This
time, he comes back pretty messed up -- he's got a couple of
broken bones and is almost unconscious.

Luckily, the second guy catches him this time and says, "What
happened? Was the cord too long?"

The first guy says, "No, the cord was fine, but what the heck is
a 'pinata'?"


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