Putting the Fun in Fundido

In the interests of multiculturalism, the Thinkers did a little investigation and discovered that, among the citizens of Latin America it is common to have an afternoon fiesta every day.  We were so thrilled by this discovery, that we went right out and made a delicious pan of Queso Fundido (recipe to follow) and a batch of frozen margaritas.

Imagine our surprise when, upon further investigation, we found that Someone had got their consonants a little mixed up.  Slithey Tove will not be competing for Wheel of Fortune anytime soon.  While we had been musing with delight on the happy habit of our Southern neighbors to party the afternoon hours away, the truth is that all they do is nap.  They call it a siesta ("s" as in STUPID instead of "f" as in fun).  Disappointment reigned for a while, but, after all, government-funded studies must go on even when the premise has been found completely in error.  So, we had some delicious enchiladas today.  Viva la fiesta!

Mome Rath's Queso Fundido (adapted from Bobby Flay)

1 T. butter
1 T. flour
1 c. milk
12oz grated Monterey Jack
Salt and Pepper
8oz goat cheese, sliced into 8 rounds
2 T. chopped cilantro
Salsa Verde
Tortilla chips

  Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat.  Add flour and cook, whisking for 1 minute.  Whisk in milk and cook, whisking, until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in Monterey Jack and salt and pepper to taste.  Turn on broiler.  Scrape cheese mixture into an 8" baking dish and arrange goat cheese rounds on top.  Broil until golden brown in spots.  Drizzle liberally with salsa verde and sprinkle with cilantro.  Enjoy with chips!

Providence House is falling down...my fat lady?

Following up on our previous post.  It appears that perhaps we are thinking too much about food.  For example, consider this:

Homemade ice cream sandwiches

and its relation to this:

Slithy Tove's unfortunate event this morning

Now it isn't just Slithy Tove who is having trouble.  Recently, the Providence House Think Tank purchased an appliance from that all-too-reliable-and-definitely-honest free market known as Craig's List.  In the past, purchases from this consumer forum have been great deals.  However, our good luck had run out, something this unfortunate washer attempted several times.  There are few home appliances more miserable than a run-away Maytag.

Unfortunately, it didn't qualify in weight for the Derby this year.

For the optimist in all of us, it was a great bargain; a washer and dryer set, lightly used, for only $320.  Moreover, we weren't aware that this washer came with a new cycle that was unique to this model only: the Bull  Ride Spin Cycle.  Slithy Tove holds the current record for staying on the longest.  Mome Rath and Jub Jub were not amused.  Mome Rath, in a "rit of fealous jage", cursed it and smashed its control knob.  Lesson to be learned: do not trifle with Mome Rath when dirty diapers are on the line. (ba-dum.......cymbal noise)

This washer has now been sent to the That Big Range Up in the Sky.  So long Hoss!

You are how you eat.

We are now called the Providence House Think Tank.  Our mission is to think deep thoughts so you don't have to.  To give you an idea of our ruminations we designed, with the help of several government-funded studies (thank you tax payers!), an accessible pie chart to show our diverse and non-discriminatory thought topics.

Clearly, food is an important topic.  We think about it pretty darn near constantly.  Some of us even dream of new recipes at night.  Food is, after all, one of the things that makes life worth living, right? and the Think Tank is all about finding new ways to live the Good Life in all its aspects, so that we can share it with you.  

    So we devoted an entire evening to food.  

We didn't exactly plan it that way.  It all began when we went to Fort Worth to visit our friend Joe, the Historian from the lost city of Atlanta, and we ran into some difficulties about where to dine.  Most of the difficulties arose because of Beamish Boy and his persnickety attitude toward evening engagements.  After mulling over several options, we decided that Central Market would be our best choice.  Yes, it's a grocery store, but it offers the best grazing in town (Sam's Club and Costco don't quite fit the bill for a special occasion).

     We arrived a little early for fashionable dining, so we had a delightful cocktail hour wandering through the different food departments and sampling the diverse fare.  Our beer list comprised an entire refrigerator section of malted glory.  After a while, the samples proving only to arouse rather than appease hunger, we moved toward the round plate glass shrine of foods, circling like hungry pilgrims in a cathedral ambulatory.  We had to circle a few times, due to the great variety of tastiness on display, before deciding on sandwiches.  A few minutes later, we were outside, happily enjoying delicious sandwiches and the newest thing from the New Belgium brewery.  Many great conversation points later, we re-entered the market and emerged with refreshing gelato in a rainbow of colors.  All this was sans waitstaff, which was even better.  Sure, we had to bus our own table, but it was well worth it not to have to deal with lackluster service.  

   Many people at this point would have considered it a job well done and returned home.  Not so the Thinkers.  The night was young.  So, we went to the newest nightclub in town, a place run by people in Hawaiian shirts.  That's right, you guessed it: it was that hip happenin' hangout, Trader Joe's.  We stayed till closing time; the music was just that good, and the strawberry lemonade samples flowed freely.  Unfortunately, Beamish Boy is a party pooper in the fullest sense of the word, and our evening was dramatically cut short.

On reflection, we realize that our Night on the Town mainly consisted in a form of legalized petty shoplifting.  We know this is generally frowned upon as a characteristic of a certain class of society who dwell in homes distinguished by their mobility.  Our conclusion to this profound thought?  Maybe there is double fun in a double wide.

Check out our favorite realtor.  

Update: breaking news!  Jub Jub got caught!  JK, we don't like Redi-Whip THAT much.

The 24 Hours of Earth Day

We know that every 7 minutes that we don't post, we lose 284 followers.  Our blogposts are read less often than people watch Barney reruns from the 90's.  So, we have put fingers to keyboard to distill for you the essence of the vast amount of raw thinking that goes on in Providence House Think Tank.
  First, we shall begin with a joke:

    Knock knock.
    Who's There?
    No one.
    No one who?
    No one reads your blog!

  And now, for breaking news.

As you know, we are all great lovers of the earth here at Providence House. While some of you restrict Earth Day to April 22, we celebrate it year round by returning a wealth of slimy, decomposing vegetables, coffee grounds, and all manner of foods so furry as to be unrecognizable to the earth in a daily ritual.  This is the Circle of Life.  And it had been going on uninterruptedly for some time until Earth Day observed, when it was rudely disturbed.  On this day, which happened to be the day when Slithy Tove was home alone, S.T. looked out of the window and saw a gang of children running around in the side yard.  At first, feelings of indignation against trespassing urchins reigned.  They were picking up the trash that,  thanks to the strong Lindsay winds, collects in that area.  Suddenly, with cries of disgust, they stood aghast beneath the kitchen window.  S.T. drew closer to see what had caused this consternation, and saw that they were gathered around the compost heap.  Apparently, they had never seen real recycling.  In their confusion, they attempted to remove the offending matter, which they identified as "trash," so that it could be taken away to a landfill.  While they were in the midst of stealing our precious compost (one man's trash is another man's treasure) a teacher pointed out their mistake.  Meanwhile, Slithy Tove attempted to keep out of sight while laughing.  It would seem that we are too earthy for Earth Day.

  And now for a confession (collective sigh of remorse):

Once upon a time, Slithy Tove, Jub Jub, and Mome Rath, (and occasionally Beamish Boy) sat themselves on the couch for an idle hour of vegetating.  Through no fault of their own, they were sucked into a time vortex and emerged 24 hours later with 20% fewer brain cells and a haunting fear of counting down digital clocks.  Like millions of other Americans, they had suffered through Season 1 of the show "24".  It was the longest day of their lives.

The premise in a nut shell: 

My name is Jack Bauer (cue action music), terrorists are plotting to assassinate a presidential candidate.  My wife and daughter have been kidnapped, and people I work with may be involved in both.  In the next twenty four hours my voice will get extremely annoying because it's dry, my wife and daughter will act like complete ditzes, the writers will debate how to wrap up loose ends, and the day will come to a completely dissatisfying conclusion. 

And yet, as frustrating as the show was (Jub Jub and Slithy Tove became Delphic Oracles of each character development), the ticking clock ending each episode seemed to draw them on inexorably to the next. As the show heaved its last melodramatic sigh, JJ, MR, and ST were left in complete exasperation...

So they started Season 2

Left behind...

I woke up one Saturday morning.  It was cloudy and dark. Emma was not in bed; Leo was not in his crib.  All was silence.  Something in my mind told me they weren't in the house.  At first, I rejoiced at the prospect of a silent morning sipping coffee and reading the news online while planting virtual vegetables.  I quickly went downstairs to make my aromatic brew.  I ground the beans, I boiled the water; all was ready.  At that moment, a calling came upon me. A calling that all feel after a long night of vivid dreams.  A calling that has only one fulfillment of which society approves yet cares not speak of.  I made a bee-line to the lavatory.  Upon arrival, I threw open the door...

THE RAPTURE!!!!!!!!!!

At first, a change of pants we necessary.  Secondly,  I knew that I had been left behind.

Passiontide: Week Two

Happy Palm Sunday to you all.  Here are a few photos of Passiontide here at St. Peter's.  The veils were made by Emma last year. 

The altar is rather tall and it's difficult to get to the statues. Last year, we had a seminarian climb up to put them on the statues.  This year, no such luck.  However, we did have a 6'4" college student. 

I hope to have more pictures soon.

Our Beamish Boy

The Legend of the Frumious Bottom Squeezer

Once upon a time (maybe) there might have existed three persons (let's call them Jub Jub, Mome Rath, and Slithy Tove).  They lived together happily in a red brick residence that might been called Providence House, but, as with all good legends, facts are heavily mixed with fiction.  Anyway, Jub Jub, Mome Rath, and Slithy Tove were enjoying a meal around the table one day when the gripping subject of toothpaste came up.  Their conversation may have gone something like this:

    Jub Jub: "Why are people so hung up on the condition in which their spouse leaves the toothpaste tube?  You would think it was the sand in the spinach of marital bliss!"

    Mome Rath: "Well, it just doesn't make sense when the toothpaste is all spread out--it can be quite frustrating to the more perfect among us."

    Silence.

    Jub Jub: "True, I had noticed that you don't squeeze the toothpaste tube in the middle."

    Slithy Tove: "Well, I have always considered myself to be a Bottom-Squeezer."

    Paralyzed silence while this revelation sank in.

BOTTOM-SQUEEZER !!?

Hide yo' wives, hide yo' kidz...they're squeezing everybody down here!

*Any resemblance to persons living or dead or events past or present is purely coincidental.

Conclave Collation

Hello, avid followers of our life at St. Peter's!  It has come to our attention that there is, perhaps, a dearth of literature on what one does to celebrate the accession of a new Pontifex Maximus.  This is most likely due to the fact that it is a rare event, but we choose to cite global warming as the cause.  Be that as it may, such an event as this demands great joy and celebration, and we at Providence House Think Tank (your source for scathingly brilliant ideas of all kinds) are pleased to bring to you some thoughts on the proper way to throw a Papist Party.  Here are some things you cannot do without:

Habemus Pope-corn

Papst Blue-Ribbon Beer

Goldfish Crackers, Swedish Fish

Pope-overs

Smoked Meats (whether smoked by white or black smoke is irrelevant.  The Catholic Church intends no racial preference by her use of white smoke to indicate election)

Gaudium Magnum (for the champagne afficionado)

Peppermint Bark of St. Peter

Cigars and other smokables

Pope-sicles of all kinds

Ring Pops

...and finally, be sure to have a large bowl of Popery, preferably incense scented, somewhere in your house

Interim

So with the recent blog post, I realized that I need to bring you all up to date with what has happened since the last post blog post that was dated back in 2011.

First let me explain....no there is too much.  Let me sum up.

January 2012

Sushi!

 First crayfish boil.

 Steak!

 Altar veils made by Emma

 Palm Sunday at St. Peter's.

 Frank Buck Zoo in Gainesville

Our first attempt at a garden.

Easter Sunday!

Vacation trip to Washington D.C. for a wedding.

St. Andrew's Cathedral in Little Rock, AR 

Driving in Memphis

Wedding Attendees

Pesto!

Emma's first Mother's Day!

Not to be confused with our child.  Genevieve Marie, daughter of Joe and Molly Kenney.

Genevieve with daddy.

So far, the garden is doing well.

Best birthday cake ever!  Would you believe that it's gluten free?

The garden in all its glory!!

Birthday meal.  Hannah's off the Square in Denton, TX.

Em's Shrimp 'n' Grits

Rock fish over cheddar mashed potatoes. 

Emma's Pork Saltimbocca over romano stuffed canoli. 

7-mile Latte. 7-mile Cafe, Denton, TX

Two Babe's at Babe's Chicken House

Preparing Dinner

Leo Francis Kenny.  Born 10/11/12

Advent 2012

St. Nicholas 2012.  I made these for all of the kids in Children's Choir

North Central Texas Chorale rehearsing Part I of Handel's Messiah.  Daniel Banke conducting.

Christmas 2012

January 2013

Can't remember who gave this to him, but needless to say, it is awesome. 

In honor of His Holiness, Benedict XVI,Pope Emeritus on his last day in office.  

German Egg's Benedict. Complete with sausage over potato pancakes. 

There's a storm a comin'

That's about all that has happened since you last tuned in.  Please keep checking and hopefully I'll keep posting.