Fruit/Cake

In my dad’s version of things, my mom has never followed a recipe all the way through in her life. Instead, she starts out along the directed route but veers off about halfway through. Her recipe rebellions are regularly successful but difficult to recreate. The trick is to begin with a simple recipe that happily entertains variations and additions. Here’s her standard point of departure:

Mom’s Cake

• 1/2 c. butter, room temperature, in chunks
• 1 c. sugar
• 1 c. flour
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp. baking powder

Mix the butter and sugar together until they are smooth and creamy. Add flour, eggs, and baking powder. Bake at 350 for about an hour.

The Variations

• little less sugar, add some honey
• little less flour, add some oats
• add fruit: frozen berries, fresh berries, peaches, plums, nectarines, etc.
• add spices: nutmeg, cinnamon, etc.
• add yogurt if you like the texture
• just put in whatever you have kicking around, basically

Car Songs

Great playlist from KUT last night: http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/kut/guide.guidemain?action=viewPlaylist&playlistID=680221&eventID=1083

Lone Star

T.R. Fehrenbach’s history of Texas, called Lone Star, has been a great help in catching up on the complex history of my new state. Texas has some incredible stories and characters. Beyond the fascinating Texas history, I’d also recommend reading the book for the parallels to modern politics and current events, like this sentence about the buildup to the Civil War:

The extreme stand against change – wrapped, as always in America, in a Constitutional cloak – was clearly the mark of a badly insecure and intellectually tortured society.

May?

Little chilly in northern New Mexico last week… woke up to frost on the windshield and a pack of coyotes howling by the lake.

Memorials and Graveyards

I’ve seen many roadside memorials along the highway during this trip, most of which have a cross and a variety of flags, beads and bright plastic flowers. I love the colors, especially in the desert, where neon pink and green and yellow look spectacular. The roadside memorial seems like such an American phenomenon. In the same vein, there are some fabulous graveyards, especially in northern New Mexico. I think they’re beautiful – especially that motorcycle. What a way to be remembered!

Santa Fe

I was relieved to get out of the endless desert and into the trees in Santa Fe. The horizons in southern New Mexico were just a bit too expansive. I started to get a little antsy after a few days when the only shade was directly underneath the car. Hiking through these forests outside of Santa Fe was more comfortable – shade and topography were both improvements.

Carlsbad Caverns

The Carlsbad Caverns were unbelievable! They’re huge! I walked down through the natural entrance, rather than taking the elevator, and got to experience the spooky transition from daylight to darkness (although they have installed lights so that you can find your way around). Who knew that there could be something so strange and  wonderful under that big, barren desert?

Guadalupe

I camped at Guadalupe Mountain National Park on the way out of Texas. Guadalupe Mountain is the highest point in Texas, right near the New Mexico border. The mountains down there come up out of nowhere, so the campsite had a dramatic view across relatively flat land around the mountain.

There was absolutely no chance of rain during the night so I left the rain fly off of the tent and looked up at the stars. Burrito was extra vigilant during the night, growling and muttering at any little noise. It wasn’t very restful, but it was beautiful.

McDonald Observatory

The McDonald Observatory  has been one of the highlights of the trip so far. It’s way up in the Davis Mountains in West Texas, where there’s hardly any light pollution. The research telescopes are so sensitive that the tour guides asked everyone to drive out of the parking lot in such a way that the car headlights pointed away from the telescopes.

Marfa Panorama