Actually, that should be WE came, We saw, We conquered Iowa. My mother, one of my nieces and I visited a niece in eastern Iowa this week. It was a totally unstructured weekend. We ate, and shopped, and scrap-booked, played Spite and Malice, quilted, knitted, chatted, ate, drank, ate, and generally had a wonderful time.
My nephew and his wife live in a small Iowa town with their two sons. The boys are one and four in age. Their dad signed on to take the boys for the weekend so that the “girls” could get together and veg out for a couple of days.
We left home close to one o’clock on Friday, and rolled up the drive about four in the afternoon. We unloaded the car, and settled in, and then all seven of us had dinner before the boys departed. We chatted after dinner, played some cards, and headed for bed early when everyone started yawning.
Saturday morning we had a late breakfast and then went into town to visit the shops. I found some lovely gifts for sisters and friends, and we stopped at a new wine bar for a glass of wine and their cheese and fruit plate. We found Red Hat Lady items, and Scottish shortbread, coasters and all sorts of gifts.
It was chilly and overcast and VERY windy all weekend, so after our snack, we went home for a bit. I hate to report that I was the big looser at Spite and Malice. Even when I win a game, I win so late in the hand that it does my score no good. I’d made a dip to take to our gathering that I’ll describe in more detail in another entry, and collected Gouda and chevre and tapenade and crackers from Trader Joe’s. We snacked and talked our way through the afternoon and then went to dinner at a tiny caf
Welcome back, Buffy. Glad that you made it OK and that you had such a good time. It is always nice to get the women of the family together! I think, however, that I gained three pounds just reading about the food!! *grin* Especially the recipe that you gave for the dip. Do you think that the dip would be good with fresh veggies (broccoli, cauliflower, pepper rings, etc)?
You know, I hadn’t thought about that, and one of my nieces would have LOVED that. The spread is pretty firm when you first take it out of the fridge, but it gets very soft and spreadable as it sits out. I think if you cut your veggies in pieces that can take a little handling as you spread the spread, it might be wonderful! The basil/spinach/garlic/Parmesan part is really yummy, and the cheese keeps it from being too overpowering.
Think that I’ll try the recipe, without layering it, as a dip. Don’t cringe, but what I’m thinking is to omit the cheese and use low-fat sour cream as the medium (or pureed cottage cheese that is low/no fat). I’m salivating!
Cop Car, that would work. You could always use fat free cream cheese. When it’s room temperature, it’s easy to dip into. When it’s right out of the fridge, you have to use a spreader.