Category: Dear Dad

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making your own cookbook

Here I am (I need a shave) with my little cookbook for my daughters CLICK on the picture to see how you can make one of your own or save other family memories!
Here I am (I need a shave) with my little cookbook for my daughters CLICK on the picture to see how you can make one of your own or save other family memories!

 One of the things I really would have enjoyed was a cookbook from my grandmother. Alas, she was one of those wonderful chefs that had literally everything in her head. I have to confess to seeing a small address size book that had all kinds of pen scratchings in it… but it didn’t LOOK to my young eyes as a cookbook… but it was! Her book was covered with all the abreviations that frequented some of the wonderful cooks from the ages. I look back and wish I had it today!

So with a lot of proding from my adult children, I produced a mini-cookbook ( primarily to see how it looked and how it works) for them using the tools from mypublisher.com. Fortunately for you, they just updated their software making it much easier.  I will work on a more larger and complete book with all the little details that I omitted from this book… but it will take me a year ladies, so be patient.

flipping through my little cookbook
it's fun to flip through the little book and see all the fun things we have enjoyed over the years.

Obviously, I left out a lot. Laura commented that it contains only manfood… you know, desserts and entrees. Well, I did have one recipe for a marvelous salad dressing. The next book will have much more.

So, before your grandmother or the chef in your life moves on… capture some of those memories in a book!

Roger

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summer fun

Going to the mid state fair in paso robles!
Going to the mid state fair in lovely Paso Robles! CLICK on the picture to visit the fair!

 And what are you doing this summer? Well, for us going to the fair is always a fun time, I have to admit that beating the guesser ( who tries to ‘guess’ your weight) is always fun, but I always enjoyed slamming the sledgehammer down and ringing the bell ( unfortunately now gone).

This year marks Laura’s and my 40th high school reunion and our 38th wedding anniversary. Hard to imagine it has been that long. I remember one of my favorite people once tld me as a child that it surprised him so when he looke dinto the mirror to find an old man staring back at him!

Summer heat is also a great time to try on those funny hats!

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California Mid State Fair

Karla having fun at the mid-state fair.... is that a Croc or an Ali?

The California Mid State Fair is something most locals look forward to each yea and no one enjoys it more than Karla. She particularly loves riding the carousels endlessly, so we bring plenty of loot. She also practices all year for the dart exhibits and raises a few eyebrows as she threw three darts hitting two baloons each! She won a lion and a cloth rose!

Just to show her sisters that she was brave, she held a ‘gator.’

As for me, I was happy it just wasn’t over 100 degrees this year!

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first apple pie of the season

first apple pie of the season
first and maybe only apple pie of 2010!

Here in our part of California we had an early spring followed by a quick freeze. This was problematical for the apples here this year as all the blossums were distroyed and the crop reduced. To be honest, I really wasn’t looking forward to the daily harvesting and prep for pies and sauce!

This goes a long way to say that I made my first apple pie today… with a nice topping. yum!

Here’s the recipe.

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surfs up on flipboard

flipboard for ipad
Flipboard for iPad is UNBELIEVABLE! CLICK on the picture above to read about it!

My daughter Karen  first turned me on to FLIPBOARD; but unfortunately for me, at the time, flipboard was swamped!  It was like a million people trying to rush through a very small door… and they put me on their waiting list! Today, I was sent a kind email saying that my turn came up… and I rushed to the iPad to log it all in!

With Flipboard you can read all of the social media sites you wish to keep up on! For me that is twitter and facebook! On facebook, I can keep up with friends and family… and then follow a small group of friends and other culinary folks on twitter!

reading facebook on flipboard
zooming in on a picture or a message is easy! Here I am reading a comment of Laura's

However, iPad jealousy is a sad thing! The critics of the iPad sound all too much like the folks who originally dissed the personal computer, the lap top and the smart phone. Some people just hate technology and the social connectivity that it offers all of us. Some understand that information is power and they really don’t want us to share and connect… let’s face it, some folks just don’t want you to have fun! In the meantime, flipboard for ipad is a wonderful addition to the social media experience!