Ma and Pa's Blog

We just got home after spending a few days in Virginia with Jean, Bob, Ben and Stephanie at the beautiful Roadruck home in the Shenandoah Valley.  I don’t know what was more fun–touring the area with Ben and Stephanie as our guides, visiting the area wineries, or just hanging out at their house, watching Aida and playing “Cranium”.  It was a fantastic visit, filled with lots of gorgeous Virginia scenery and belly laughs, and we can’t wait to go back.

Here are some pictures of our trip–from samplings at the wineries to the spectacular views on the Skyline Drive.  Missing are pictures of Ben and Steph’s house, and all the improvements and decorating touches they’ve added since they moved in just 6 or 7 months ago–Ben’s been honing his carpenter skills and made a couple elegant luggage racks for the guest bedrooms;  Stephanie has matted and framed some of her amazing photos in many of the rooms; and they’ve both worked on painting and personalizing their home so that it is warm and welcoming.

Thank you, Ben and Stephanie, for being such gracious hosts!

Jeff and Anna Marie know about my obsession with interest in quinoa; I’m really excited to find this super food that is a grain AND is good for me! I love rice, pasta–indeed, all things wheat-y. And my love affair has helped to make me the woman I am today: fat. Anyway, to find a protein packed grain that is so versatile and tasty is a real treat. (I’d even tried Shirataki Tofu noodles as a substitute for pasta–they’re not. Shudder.) So, Jeff, tonight I made a large dish of quinoa/tabbouleh: Quinoa, chopped fresh parsley, cucumbers, scallions and tomatoes with lemon juice and a touch of olive oil. It was a nice salad-y side dish and will be my lunch for the next 3 or 4 days. Very tasty–I recommend it.

Now here’s the part everyone should get excited about: I also made QUINOA COCOA CUPCAKES!!!!! While noodling around for quinoa recipes, I found this recipe:

http://www.vegan-food.net/recipe/1493/Quinoa-Cocoa-Cupcakes and decided to give it a shot. The recipe reminds me of the oatmeal cake recipe that was all the rage in the 60′s. I got 10 very puffy, happy cupcakes from the recipe and Dad is really happy that there are some baked goods in the house. Yum-o ! Caleb and Jeff, you WILL be seeing these this summer! The only modification I had to make was that I had to add about 2/3 c. more water than the recipe called for, but that may be because I used 3/4 c. quinoa from the batch I cooked this evening; perhaps if I had cooked it as written (1/3 c. quinoa to 2 c water) it would have been soupy enough. Whatever. If the batter looks too dry, add water! Now go try it!!

In family news, head on over to http://benandstephanie.blogspot.com to read Stephanie’s account of her latest foray into health care hell. Sounds like she may be bidding farewell to her gallbladder sometime soon. Ben told Aunt Jean & Uncle Bob that Steph’s broken and should still be under warranty, so he was going to send her back to them to fix and then they can return her. So if ya get a chance, send some love her way!

Ben, congratulations on your graduation and your new assignment. Well done!