Author: lonestarry

Best Ever Angel Food Cake

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I am a lover of everything cake! Chocolate cake, pudding cake, pancake, crab cake. Angel food cake is one of my all-time favorites. I have been using the same recipe for the last few years with two tweaks that I think you might want to test out.

  1. Regular, all-purpose flower instead of cake flour. I know your what you are thinking, but its supposed to be light fluffy angel food cake. I promise you will enjoy the slightly more dense cake.
    The glamour shot on the left is the linked recipe’s cake that uses cake flour. My all-purpose version (middle and right images) show that regular flour still gives you nice height and texture!
Cake Flour
All-purpose Flour
All-purpose Flour

2. Lemon Zest. I use the zest of one lemon. Don’t worry if you are not a fan of lemon deserts, it is just a hint of lemon that brightens up the cake. If you like lemon, add a little lemon juice or zest of two lemons. I have added two tablespoons of lemon juice in the past and the cake comes out fantastic.

For topping we usually skip the strawberries and whipped cream and go for Alden’s Strawberry Ice Cream. Oh yeah, its worth it! Unfortunately Alden’s Strawberry Ice Cream is hard to find lately. Hey @AldensIceCream …please tell me you are NOT discontinuing strawberry!!!

So, for today we whipped some heavy whipping cream and sugared up some strawberries! Egg slicer comes in handy!

Strawberry Slicer
Easy Button!

Now that you have used 9 egg whites, what do you do with all the yolks?

breakfast chicken cholesterol cooking
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

 

News for Happy Campers in Texas

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We just booked our campsite reservation for Thanksgiving weekend at Guadalupe River State Park through the Texas Parks and Wildlife website. After reviewing several state park options we chose Guadalupe River because it was less than a 5 hour drive from DFW, the available tent sites have a fire ring (hopefully no burn ban), water, and do not permit generators. Just love it when you are out enjoying nature and you get to listen to a generator! We are looking forward to planning a fun and unconventional menu, some great hiking and of course my husband will be taking some beautiful pictures.

Let me get to the NEWS. As I read through the reservation confirmation I found that FINALLY,  Texas State Parks will move to a new reservation system where yes, you can select a specific site!  Happy Camper? YES! See below.

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We’ll be sure to share photos, recipes and our review of the park! ♥

 

 

I LOVE CHURROS, DON’T YOU?

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I love churros and chocolate sauce and coffee…and Saint Sofia is where you find them bundled for your enjoyment! This adorable boutique of deliciousness is located on Magnolia Street in Fort Worth’s gorgeous Fairmount Historic District where there are so many good eats!  You can enjoy a breakfast, lunch, dinner, and top that off with a stroll (or drive) through the neighborhood to love on the area’s time capsuled architecture. There is even a driving tour on the Fairmount Historic District’s website. 

churro

And you thought peanut butter & jelly had it all locked up!  Go get your churro on!

Lost and Found

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Are you looking for something special that no one else has? You are likely to find it among all the treasures at Maine Barn & Attic Antiques in Azle, just west of Fort Worth, Texas. It has been a very long time (or maybe never) since I have seen such an amazing collection of Americana. The best part (aside from the smell of your grandmother’s basement) is that the entire place is organized and grouped so that if you are looking for something particular it can actually be found.

Vintage Boxes
Music to your ears
That’s Life

If you are like me and can’t deal with digging through piles, the vignettes and collections make it very easy to enjoy walking through, even if just perusing.

Only open on Saturdays which is great; you can take your time!

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Millions of Peaches

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Need a little road trip with a tasty treat or two or three?  Try Ham Orchards in Terrell, Texas this summer. Nope, they don’t have “orchards of pigs” they have orchards of peaches silly!  All summer long they will be harvesting 30 different varieties on approximately 10,000 trees. We were given the hot tip that July has the crowd favorite varieties!

Ham Orchards has a fantastic market store where you can purchase the fresh picked peaches that are in season. They have many delicious jarred goodies like jams and salad dressings that you can not find in the corner supermarket. Wait, there is more!  Fudge, fresh baked goods and the fan favorite…PEACH ICE CREAM!

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The best surprise for us was the Peach Pulled Pork. This pulled pork by Eddie Deen and some sweet peach tea will put you into a food coma that you never want to come out of. Except for maybe to get more peach ice cream.

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On our visit we were able to pick black berries right of the vine. Funny how fresh berries last a longer than those from the grocery store. Check the Ham Orchards website to see if the berry pick’n is still an option when you plan you trip. #ExploreEatEnjoy 

 

Hike the North Shore Trail?

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After hiking a beautiful 9 mile section of the North Shore Trail on Lake Grapevine with a group of gals, I thought I would share a few things I learned.

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  1. There are 5 main trailheads to enter the 22.5 mile trail that is made up of two large loops, then broken down into smaller loops.
  2. These ARE actually bike trails so expect to be jumping off trail to let them pass. No one wants to be permanently branded by a bicycle tire.
  3. The bikes run counter-clockwise, therefore hikers and walkers should go clock-wise. Just like on the street, you want to see the bike coming! 
  4. The trails are closed when muddy – for your safety.
  5. The trail has lush vegetation for some good cover from the sun. The lushness does contain poison ivy so watch your step!

See the map, trail rules and more on the Dallas Off-Road Bicycle Association Website. Enjoy!

Start Your Engines

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A night at the races for the Verizon IndyCar Series at Texas Motor Speedway, home of Big Hoss, the world’s largest HDTV screen that is nearly a half-acre in size and nine stories tall.

There is an abundance of patriotism going on at this 248 lap race. The race doesn’t start without a prayer, a fighter jet flyer, the fireworks at the end and as you leave the track you see Big Hoss’s backside, our country’s flag.  God Bless Texas!

Laps upon Laps
FIreworks
Figther Jet Flyover
Upper floors are condos!

Oh, and the best corn dog I ever had – never new there was a corn dog worth mentioning.

 

There is a Name for Us

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Yup, that is what I was told as we were packing up and moving to Texas. “There is a name that native Texans will call you,” said a coworker to me. This was one of many comments I heard, not all were supportive sounding either. I guess that was jealousy speaking.

Why did we choose Texas?  I might say that our 2016 adventure to Waco and the 2nd Annual Silo Bration had something to do with it…

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Magnolia Silos 2nd Annual SiloBration

In reality, God answered hubby’s prayers with a wonderful work opportunity, so here we are!

Now that we are here, I can honestly say that we couldn’t be happier. The only thing I have heard native Texans say so far is “Welcome to Texas”  and “Yes ma’am”. The person handling my car registration, the servers waiting on us, the cashier at the grocery…they all seem happy to have us!

In being new to Texas, I feel it’s our responsibility to get to know the Lone Star State, so that is what LoneStarry.com is going to do. Get out there and share what we find. I hope you Explore, Eat and Enjoy with us!

EXPLORE   |    EAT    |     ENJOY    –  #ExploreEatEnjoy