King Ranch Chicken, or Holy Cream of Mushroom Soup!

My sweet neighbors Verlene and Debbi have been bringing over food all week to celebrate the new baby. Debbi even got her 87 year old aunt to cook dishes for us too, even though we've never met her. Our fridge currently resembles a Southern church potluck - baked ham and beans, ambrosia salad, kinda weird but tasty Frito & squash casserole, pimento mac n' cheese . . . I could go on, because that's not even half of it.

Debbi said tomorrow she's bringing over King Ranch Chicken for us. For those of you not from around here, I must introduce you to this quintessential Texas casserole - I guarantee that every Texas cook has a version of this recipe in their repertoire. It's sort of like a creamy enchilada casserole. My own recipe was passed down from my grandmother to my mom to me. My recipe is scribbled on the inside cover of my tattered a Corpus Christi Junior League cookbook, which I will share with you here:

King Ranch Chicken

1 large fryer, cut up
1 pound velveeta, cut into small pieces
1 small can cut up green chiles
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
2 dozen yellow corn tortillas
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tbsp oil
1 can Ro-Tel tomatoes
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Boil chicken in water for 25 - 30 minutes, and reserve broth. Debone chicken and cut into chunks.
3. Saute celery and onion in oil until tender. Add soups, chiles and Ro-Tel, plus one cup of reserved broth and the cubed velveeta.
4. Cut tortillas into quarters. Dip each piece into chicken broth to moisten and line a 9" x 13" pan with one layer. Put in half of the chicken pieces and 1/3 of the sauce. Then repeat layer. End with a final layer of tortillas and the rest of the sauce. Sprinkle cheddar cheese on top.
5. Cover with foil and place in oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil and cook for another 15 minutes.
6. Serve with salsa and sour cream.

Usually I tend to shy away from recipes involving cream of mushroom soup and velveeta, but I gotta tell you, this one is pure comfort food for me. There are so many different versions of this recipe - even ones that use real cheese and soup from scratch, but this is one case where I think it doesn't matter.

Getting back to normal

(Newborn) + (c-section recovery) + (clingy toddler) + (computer dying) + (sharing new computer with job-seeking husband) = not much time for blogging. But last night as I lay awake feeding my daughter at 3am, new blog topics were swirling in my head. Currently the toddler is napping, the baby is chilling with daddy, and I finally get access to the internet.

My little one is fabulous, by the way. She loves to eat, sleep and poop. She came 2 days before my scheduled c-section (little bugger was breech and not interested in turning, despite all the prep work I put into avoiding another cesarean) and was delivered at Seton Central on July 12th at 6:24 am. I wish I could have had a chance to use Sara Ballard's services as a doula, and try out the Hypnobabies course that I had been studying for 6 months. (Yes, my hippie mama-ness is showing with this paragraph.)

C'est la vie. My mother-in-law was in town for 2 weeks to help out, which meant mainly showering my toddler with attention. Their weekly schedule looked something like this:

• Mondays: Baby Bloomers at Austin Childrens Museum
• Tuesdays: Story Time at Book People
• Wednesdays: Farmers Market at Boggy Creek Farm
• Thursdays: Swimming at our neighborhood pool
• Fridays: Story Time at Family Connections

We also went to Music Under the Star at the Bob Bullock Museum on a Friday night, where Toni Price belted out some Billie Holiday songs as we ate free hotdogs from Mighty Fine Burgers and free Blue Bell ice cream. (Billie Holiday + Blue Bell ice cream is my idea of heaven. Throw in some Thai yellow curry and my head would have exploded.)

And this past Friday we headed to Central Market to listen to some blues under their awesome live oak trees. CM really knows how to do a family friendly night out - though the trick is to eat first so you don't have to spend $30 bucks on their not-so-delicious food.

Well - toddler's up, baby's crying -- looks like this mama of two kiddos has to sign off. Viva Austin and its plethora of fun things to do!

Shopping in Austin

While we are enjoying our new granddaughter and entertaining our grandson, my husband and I are continuing to help out with our daughter’s blog site. Here is another post from a retiree’s standpoint.

It’s all about shopping. It’s not something you will often hear about from our daughter, who only shops when absolutely necessary, but to many members of the female species, it is an all-important part of life. I am one of those females, especially when it comes to resale stores. I don’t often buy very much, but I can’t resist a good resale store, with which Austin abounds.

I especially love to shop up and down Burnet Road, where there are abundant resale and used furniture shops. Furniture Row, off of Research Dr. and Burnet Rd., is part of this area, which extends from Research south to 38th St. It appears to me that Burnet Rd. is the hub of a town that is hooked on resale shops of all persuasions.

I also enjoy South Congress Ave., with all of its quirky shops and restaurants. Another area I prowl when I have a chance is on Lamar around the Whole Foods Market and adjacent cross-streets. I’m sure there are other interesting shopping areas around town that I will discover in the future, so I am open for suggestions.

There are the usual outlying malls, power centers and Big Box stores, of course, but those could be anywhere. They are useful when I am looking for something specific and I probably spend more money at these stores, but I don’t get the same pleasure from shopping in them that I do when I roam through a resale store or quirky boutique. Somehow I think that these, along with the ethnic stores and restaurants, are the heart and soul of a town, defining it in a way that no chain store can ever achieve.

And, believe me, Austin has A LOT of heart and soul—even for us retired folks!

Services for visually handicapped or hearing impaired Austinites

[Ed. note: Another post from my guest-blogging dad]

Much is made of Austin’s music scene, and the scenic Hill Country area. But suppose that someone you love is visually handicapped or hearing impaired. What then? Well... turns out that a move to Austin could be in your future. There’s much to offer, including help. Below are two fine institutions which help deaf and blind children.

Many of the state's resources geared toward adults are also based here in Austin. For links to some of them, see the end of this blog. South Austin is home to the 67-acre Texas School for the Deaf, 1102 South Congress, founded in 1857. Students from age zero through 21 with documented hearing loss who live in Texas may apply. There is a residential program for students five years old and older. Borrowing a quote from their website, “...we have spent over a century leading the cause of deaf education, deaf rights and deaf issues, all in order to create an optimal environment for education, a community of respect and a home for deaf culture.” In other words, this isn’t a place where the handicapped are warehoused, it’s an educational institution with social institution added on that prepares hearing impaired people to cope with life in the “real world.”

There is a Career and Technology Education Department which teaches job skills. The school’s Visual Studio features instruction in the fine arts as well as the latest in digital art, animation, and multimedia. ...and help is given in Spanish, as well. Of course, there are also interpreter services and sign language services. Fumbling around on their website, I found the fascinating Texas Math Sign Language Dictionary, which allows you to specify a written mathematical term or phrase, then shows a person signing the phrase. Obviously the school serves both those who deal with hearing impaired and the hearing impaired themselves.

The Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired (the new, politically correct name) is across the river and north a bit, 1100 West 45th. Their website states their mission well: “...a special public school... for students who have a visual impairment. ...also a statewide resource to parents of these children and professionals who serve them. Students, ages 6 through 21, who are blind, deafblind, or visually impaired, including those with additional disabilities, are eligible for consideration for services...” The School started in 1856. In 1917, they moved to a donated 73-acre site between Lamar and Burnet Road.

In addition to the basic elementary and secondary school subjects, the School also teaches a so-called EXIT program (Experiences in Transition) for students age 18 to 24 which (their website, again) “focuses on these areas of transition: personal management; housing/household management; adult leisure, recreation and fitness; physical and mental health needs; transportation; employment; post secondary education; and age of majority. Also included will be instruction in social skills and self determination skills.”

These people often need help dealing with the so-called “real world,” and here’s a place to get it. An outreach program also “serves as a statewide resource... on blindness and/or deafblindness.” As for the older deaf and the blind, many stay on in Austin. Employers find them to be hard-working and conscientious. Austinites find them to be good neighbors. When I was a college student living in South Austin, I knew several couples who were profoundly deaf. They were, without exception, nice people coping in a world that was not always kind to them. The deaf sometimes have trouble speaking clearly to the rest of us, and the blind sometimes unintentionally endanger themselves and others. People want to help them, but often misunderstand. …for example, those brilliant people who installed Braille buttons on the drive-up Automatic Teller Machines. The deaf and the blind are just as human as the rest of us, and often share our foibles in uncomfortable ways. The blind occasionally “pick” or “scratch,” not knowing if anyone is looking. Occasionally the deaf also feel the need to belch or “pass gas,” and they sometimes forget to close the windows in the bedroom on a warm spring night when, in the heat of passion… Well, you know. But the next time you’re cutting across town on 45th Street, pay just a bit more attention to people with white canes. And the next time that you hear the chirping sounds of crosswalk signals warning that time is almost up, or see the attention-getting strobe flash on a red stoplight, think of those whose world is a little bit better, louder, brighter, here in Austin.

Learn more about the Texas School for the Deaf, at http://www.tsd.state.tx.us/
See the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired website at http://www.tsbvi.edu/
Check the Texas Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services at http://www.dars.state.tx.us/ which handles both of these schools, plus support services for all disabilities, plus early childhood intervention.
Texas Education Agency is also active: see http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/deaf/directory.html for a look at services for the deaf.

A grandma's perspective

[ed. note: Here's a guest blog post from my mother. ]

Our granddaughter has arrived and her mommy and daddy have their hands full, so it’s time for another guest blog, this time from a grandmother’s point of view. So here goes…

Retiring to the Texas Hill Country, especially when we can live in close proximity to both Austin and San Antonio (i.e. within an hour of each), is a delight. Where else can you shop at the Whole Foods “Galactic Headquarters” Market in Austin in the morning (we also call it the “Sacred Food Cathedral”), have barbeque at Fuschak’s in San Marcos at lunch, then shop at San Antonio’s Mexican Market (the Mercado) that afternoon before blowing our diets at the River Walk’s Casa Rio Mexican Restaurant that evening. And we still get to sleep in our own bed that night! Man, that’s living!

The mix of cultures in this area continues to amaze us, even though I was raised in this area. Austin is truly a melting pot, with wonderful ethnic restaurants from all over the world tucked into nearly every shopping strip. The combination of the University of Texas and all the high tech companies north of town ensures that the demand for diverse businesses and cuisines will continue indefinitely. Austin even has its own Asian-American Cultural Center as well as a rich mixture of Hispanic, African-American, Indian and European businesses and activities. Plus it’s only an hour and a half from all that San Antonio has to offer (as noted above) and about four hours or so from the beautiful Gulf beaches.

The Austin area and adjacent Hill Country seem to be festival-happy, because on most any weekend we can find some little town nearby that is celebrating everything from rattlesnakes to strawberries to, of all things, mosquitoes. We can go to regular Market Days (Wimberley’s are the best but Fredericksburg’s are a close second) on their designated weekends (first and third, respectively). Or we can rent a canoe on Lady Bird Johnson Lake in Austin, tube the Guadalupe River or go to the Schlitterbahn Water Park in New Braunfels—all within an hour’s drive of our home!

I could continue, but you get the idea. We moved back to the Canyon Lake area because it is more affordable for retirees, but our focus is still on Austin where our kids and grandkids reside. We figure an hour’s drive ensures both our freedom and the sanity of our kids, and it appears to be working out that way. It’s still close enough to run up for a meal with them or pick up our grandkids for a few days’ visit at our house but far enough away that neither of us can just drop in on the other unannounced.

All in all, I can’t think of a better place to retire. The Austin area has it all as far as we are concerned—except for our other set of kids and grandkids. Now all we need is a high-speed tunnel between the two houses and we would have it made!

Austin's newest resident

Austin's population just increased by one! My baby girl arrived July 12th.

And now a guest blogger - on retiring in Texas

[ed. note: Sometimes a gal's got to call in the troops for some help. The following is a post from my dad, who retired in the Austin area with my mom in 2006 - literally the day after my first child (and their first grandchild) was born.]

While our massive, cranky pregnant blogger-person recovers from that which must not be mentioned, it's time for a guest blogger to step in. Yup- - Granddaddy to the rescue. ...super hero extraordinaire, appearing on command, although usually late and inappropriately dressed. ...according to Grandma, anyway.

I can appear on short notice because, yes, I too moved to Austin. ...actually, moved back to Austin. Grandma and I met at The University, back in the sixties when dinosaurs still roamed the earth and drank from Littlefield Fountain while on the way to their mandatory English Lit classes. All college alumni want to stay in college-town, and this seems particularly true of those of us who went to school in Austin. But in those days, there was a war on, and a career and other silly excuses that lure people away changed our lives. We moved on, thoughts of living in Austin shoved aside.

It took our children to catalyze a move to Austin. One of our daughters and her husband returned to Texas, had a look around, and chose Austin for their home. As they became established in Austin and First Grandson arrived, our travel plans shifted. And suddenly it happened- - Grandma and I successfully got off the upper deck of northbound I-35 and onto northbound Airport Blvd, sighted the Tamale House ahead, and realized that "Hey! We could do this!"

We were living in North Carolina. It's a nice place, and Other Daughter had married a local boy and settled there. They have seacoast there, and hills and trees and lakes... but it's different. We missed mesquite smoked brisket. We missed Tex-Mex food terribly- - nasty stuff from Taco Bell sets the standard, there. Yuk! We missed uncluttered beaches. We searched in vain for a substitute for chicken fried steak. And we discovered that it could be just as hot and humid in North Carolina as in Texas (worse than Austin at times, although not as bad as in Houston or Corpus Christi. Yuk!)

We've traveled. Like French royalty and millions of tourists before us, we had fallen in love with the south of France, the area called Provence. Now we realized why- - it is almost exactly like Texas Hill Country. Nowadays, there's wine production and lavender fields, and they're beginning to plant olive trees. ...all within fifty miles of Austin. That did it. Port Aransas ain't quite the Cote d'Azur, but it sure is nice. ...far more affordable, too.

We met Beverly and Armando, who run a real estate firm. We did what the Beverly Hillbillies did (with minor differences)- - we loaded up the truck and moved to Beverly's. ...Hill Country, that is. ...Penske truck. ...stupid theme song running in our heads.

It's great to be back. Thanks to Miz Massive, Cranky Blogger-Person, we'll have a new baby granddaughter in a few days. This time, we'll be there in 48 minutes instead of 48 hours. Yes, moving back to Austin is great.

Public Service Announcement

This has nothing to do with Austin, or moving.

For the love of God, if you ever see a pregnant woman, do NOT ask her when the baby's due. Don't ask her the sex, don't ask her the name, don't ask if she has any other kids. Don't ask how far along she is, don't ask how she's feeling, and DON'T PAT HER BELLY. Don't say "Wow, you look like you're going to pop!" Don't stroll down memory lane with her and recall your own 4 pregnancies. She really doesn't care.

In other words, don't acknowledge her pregnancy in any way, shape or form.

If you know of a woman who is, say 39 weeks pregnant, don't email her, text her, call her, Facebook her, or any other form of contact her and ask her how she's feeling, or if she's had that baby yet.

Trust me, she's more anxious than you are. She's swollen beyond belief. She doesn't fit into her maternity clothes anymore and feels like a big fat cow. She hasn't had a good night's sleep in 3 months and has to pee every 5 minutes. She is sick and tired of it all.

She feels like a massive pile of cranky bitch and doesn't feel like answering you.

That is all.

Things you might not get when you move to Austin

In every region that I've lived, there's always something that locals are just crazy in love with that makes outsiders shake their heads. I've never eaten poutine or vegemite, and I'll probably keep it that way. I did try scrapple and pork roll in Philadelphia once, unfortunately at the same meal, and I didn't want to eat again the whole trip. Way too much greasy meat in my veins.

(The meal that did us in while visiting Philadelphia - pork roll, scrapple, eggs and potatoes. I get heartburn just remembering it)

Well - Texas has some peculiarities of its own. I know, you're shaking your head in disbelief. As one who has lived in Texas for half of her life, (and the other half deciphering other local cuisines), I'm in a unique position to be your ambassador to our customs. All of these have the common trait of burrowing into our hearts at tender young ages and remaining there for eternity, diet fads be damned. Newcomers just don't have that 12 year old Texan within them, begging his/her host body to stop eating spinach salads and try something fun!

1. Big Red. I can almost guarantee that you're not going to like this Texas treat unless you are 8 years old. Imagine a soda that tastes like weird bubble gum, only injected with 1000 times the sugar than one should ingest in a day. Diabetics should keep this handy if they're ever in danger of going into a glucose coma. Big Red brings back memories of being a kid who has nothing to do all summer except swim, watch cartoons and eat junk food.
2. Luby's Cafeteria. If you ever need a date to Luby's, call me. I am always up for this place. Every other native Texan I know is the same way. To my husband, it's just another cafeteria, complete with old blue haired ladies and watered down iced tea. Not so, I protest. You can get Jello! And fried okra! And this weird bacon and cheese chopped steak smothered in au jus! Luby's was mack daddy of awesomeness when all of us Texans were growing up. It usually meant Mom was too tired to cook and if we were especially good we could get dessert!!! When I was a kid it was still considered affordable, but alas, prices have gone up since the 90's when the original family sold the chain. I don't know if I'll be able to pass on this legacy to my kids. But after writing all this, I MUST HAVE LUBY's SOON.
3. Whataburger. It's a fast food burger joint, which started in my hometown of Corpus Christi, TX but is now all over the state. You might think I'd be a member of the cult, but honestly I can't stand this place. My parents remodeled our kitchen with I was 10 and for some odd reason we ate at Whataburger almost every night for 3 months straight. Barf. Texans who have led a less scarred life than I believe this is the only burger worth eating. For what it's worth, I love their ad campaigns. But that's about it.
   
   
   
4. Frito Pies. These are common at carnivals - bags of Fritos slit open, topped with chili, cheese and onions.
5. Blue Bell Ice Cream - Even though I am now partial to Amy's, which is an Austin ice cream chain, I will always buy Blue Bell at the grocery store, just 'cause. Period.

What I would do on the 4th of July in Austin, TX

...if I could stay up past 9:30pm.

The Alamo Drafthouse's TEAM AMERICA; WORLD POLICE Sing-Along!

From their website:
Sure, you can celebrate your independence the usual way, with a cookout and then fighting for a good spot to set up your folding chair on the pedestrian bridge where little kids will run past you holding sparklers in their hand all night long and you wait for the 20 minute fireworks show that the city puts on. Or you can join us for a midnight screening of TEAM AMERICA featuring sparklers in the theater, American flags for everyone, all of our favorite lines subtitled for everyone to yell out loud, and a triumphant choral walk down Sixth Street afterward with everyone singing, "America! Fuck yeah!" as loud as we possibly can. That's how true American heroes will be celebrating this year, but if you want to let the terrorists win and you're a fan of Kim Jung Il, well then you can just go ahead and skip this show 'cause we don't want you in our theater anyway, you damned commie.

Screenings (click on a show time to buy tickets):
Thursday, July 02, 2009
9:15p
Saturday, July 04, 2009
11:30p