Thanks CB!

[jkfaria]

Truly magical!!!

 

I offer you my most humble CONGRATS!!!

[NY Scraps]

Congrats!

[DragonFlyer]

Thanks everyone! We are in NYC at the moment...having a blast! Yesterday we spent the whole day in the company of a movie director that actually has a movie in theaters now. Amazing guy...amazing plans! We were honored to have him on board on our project.

 

It's a totally different world here in the big city compared to where we moved to. LOL Back home we drive through mountain canyons. In NYC we drive through concrete canyons. HA!

 

Thanks again for all the kind words. We worked really hard to get here...but it's just going to show that hard work pays off. Happy New Year everyone!

Edited January 3, 2010 by DragonFlyer

[butterflywings]

DF seriously.....it's just so beautiful out there. How did you find that place? What made you go out that way? Do you already know someone who lives near there and they told you to come check out the view? I am so happy for you!

 

What is the project and how on earth did you get a current movie director to get involved. It must be on heck of a thing you have going on to get anyone like that to return a call! Congratulations!

[DragonFlyer]

DF seriously.....it's just so beautiful out there. How did you find that place? What made you go out that way? Do you already know someone who lives near there and they told you to come check out the view? I am so happy for you!

 

What is the project and how on earth did you get a current movie director to get involved. It must be on heck of a thing you have going on to get anyone like that to return a call! Congratulations!

 

We fell in love with the area when we visited it in October. We went home and called a realtor and contacted the local bank about financing. Six weeks later, we were closing on the house we picked out on the internet. LOL It was more than we expected, actually. We got the house for $160K LESS than the asking price, and bought it for much less than the appraised value. Now was the time to buy...and we got a WELL BUILT new construction home fully furnished for less than what we would have paid to build it ourselves. The kids attend school only four days a week in this area, which gives us plenty of "off" time for more mountain activities.

 

About the other project...they called us so it's not even something we planned to do in the first place...so it's been a complete honor to have this going in our life. The director is currently filming another movie in Canada... with one already in theaters (he's done a lot of movies that are worth watching), so having him entertain us for the weekend and give all the time he gave us was really amazing. We are also in good company with the script writer...he's pretty well known having written one of the top 20 movies of all time.

 

We've been very blessed to have had the chance to move forward with the plans of showing how ordinary people can overcome extraordinary circumstances and have amazing things happen if you just keep trying and never give up. Thanks again for your kind words and support!

[DragonFlyer]

Ohhhhh.....mygoodness. I found gold today. LOL

 

Took a walk today along the property line and up the ridge to see more of our view, only to find the adjoining land to our property is up for sale. That means we can add more acres..with more view, and increase our property value even more. Yessss!

[DragonFlyer]

Some of my new adventures...."Off the Grid Cooking"...I thought you all would appreciate the adventures I am now having.

 

 

"Off the Grid" Girl Scout cookie recipes - Chapter 1 of my new cookbook coming soon!

 

So..I was minding my own business when this notification comes up that I need to review some recipes on Facebook. Crap. Recipes? You have no idea how worthless recipes are to me now that I've moved! My BFF sent me this note, seemingly to torture me, using recipes that incorporate Girl Scout Cookies into them. This, after telling her about my need to learn how to cook all over again, and how NOTHING cooks at this altitude.

 

That's really great that she shared these with me, except:

 

A) I don't need to have GSC's in my diet. At. ALL.

 

B ) In a county with a scant population of 455 PEOPLE, elevation 9017'...my options to get GSC's are slim to none. It's not like I can just go down to Wal-Mart (1.5 hours to nearest one!) and buy a case off the tables set up out front. Even if they did have GSC's on tables in front of the Wal-Mart...they'd be buried in snow. You'd see little brownie hats sitting on top of 4' tall snowbabies, which won't melt until July. I'd have to get a search dog just to FIND the Girl Scouts.

 

C) She has no idea how hard it is to make any ingredient work at high altitude versus that at sea level (where she resides with sea-faring NAVY husband and four adorable and properly-oxygenated children.)

 

D) Peanut butter is considered a lethal ingredient in our home.

 

E) She was on the phone laughing hysterically when I tried to bring home ice cream, only to find the entire tub had exploded everywhere. That was NOT.FUNNY.

 

So. Let's do some modifications, shall we?

 

Here's the original recipes, but the BOLD font will be my modifications/additions/suggestions:

 

To choose from:

* Samoas Ice-cream Truffles

* Trefoils Ice-cream Truffles

* Do-Si-Dos Ice-cream Truffles

* Peanut Butter-Chocolate Tagalongs Milk Shakes

* Chocolate-Peanut Butter Sauce

 

 

 

Samoas Ice-cream Truffles

 

Prep: 25 min., Stand: 15 min., Freeze: 30 min.

 

Prep: 4 hours of driving time to and from Wal-Mart, after waiting 6 months for the snow to thaw, Stand: 15 minutes, after ice cream explodes on the counter, Freeze: Just put them on the porch at night, regardless of the month you prepare them, and let the coyotes and bears enjoy the finished product!

 

Yield: Makes 16 truffles

Ingredients

 

* 1 pt. vanilla ice cream

* 8 coconut-chocolate cookies

* One bottle of oxygen

* One bottle of wine, any kind

 

Preparation

 

1. Let ice cream stand at room temperature 15 minutes to soften.

 

Put ice cream out on counter, and watch it expand and get your entire counter full of frothy goo. It's okay, though... It will become dehydrated goo in about 12 minutes because the moisture will be sucked out of it immediately. From there you just need to get out an ice scraper from your car and chip the mess off the tiles.

 

2. Meanwhile, line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and place in freezer.

Meanwhile, line a baking sheet with wax paper, because no one out here knows what parchment paper is....and take the tray to the porch as long as it's after 6pm on any calendar night, as the temps dip below freezing year round...

 

3. Process cookies in a food processor 1 minute or until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Pour cookie crumbs into a shallow dish.

 

Process cookies in a food processor, all the while placing your hand on the counter to ground yourself from the static electricity produced by hitting the "on" button on any appliance. After jolting your heart with electrical shocks when you forget to ground yourself (because you are reaching for the wine to keep yourself warm), then add one teaspoon of water to the mix to make them crumbly and course again. (This is because there is no moisture in the air out here, and if there was you'd have no worries about getting shocked!)...and then put that awful mess in a baking dish...and drink some more wine. Take oxygen bottle and inhale contents deeply. The air is thin, and you need your strength to get through this.

 

4. Scoop ice cream into small balls using a 1 1/4-inch ice-cream scoop, and roll in cookie crumbs.

 

Using a spoon, because even our rural Wal-Mart doesn't carry something so "particular" like a 1 1/4 inch scoop, just scoop the top three inches off the ever-expanding ice cream and try to fashion a ball out of it...then roll it into the cookie mess.

 

Arrange on prepared baking sheet in freezer. Freeze truffles at least 30 minutes or up to 24 hours.

 

Open kitchen window and throw exploding ice cream balls out on the porch, never minding the need to aim for any wax-papered tray. Even if you did reach the tray with good aim, the coyotes will be sitting there waiting for their new treats and they can "bat cleanup" before it even hits the ground.

 

Note: For testing purposes only, we used Girl Scout Samoas cookies.

 

Note: For entertainment purposes only, you can throw a few of these out to the bears and watch them rip the coyotes to shreds fighting over them. They don't give a crap what kind of cookie you used, and they have stomachs that can handle exploding ice cream!

 

Trefoils Ice-cream Truffles: Substitute 1 sleeve (21 cookies) old-fashioned shortbread cookies for coconut-chocolate cookies. Proceed with recipe as directed. Makes 22 truffles. Prep: 25 min., Stand: 15 min., Freeze: 30 min. Note: For testing purposes only, we used Girl Scout Trefoils cookies.

 

Do-Si-Dos Ice-cream Truffles: Substitute 1 sleeve (11 cookies) peanut butter-cream cookies for coconut-chocolate cookies. Proceed with recipe as directed. Makes 22 truffles. Prep: 25 min., Stand 15 min., Freeze: 30 min. Note: For testing purposes only, we used Girl Scout Do-Si-Dos cookies.

Southern Living, MARCH 2008

 

 

 

Peanut Butter-Chocolate Tagalongs Milk Shakes

 

Prep: 15 min. Freeze the cookies before crushing to prevent chocolate from melting and making the crumbs stick together.

 

Prep: 15 minutes. Put the cookies out on the porch before crushing to prevent chocolate from melting and making the crumbs stick together. Add 5 minutes if you have anyone allergic to peanut butter in your home in order to call 9-1-1 and inject an Epi-Pen into their thigh, as directed.

 

Yield: Makes 4 servings

Ingredients

 

* 1 qt. chocolate ice cream

* 1 cup milk

* 1 (7-oz.) package chocolate-covered peanut butter cookies, frozen and crushed

* Chocolate-Peanut Butter Sauce

* 1 Epi-Pen

* 4 capsules of Benadryl

* 1 call to 9-1-1

* Latitudinal and longitudinal directions to home, copied and placed via magnet to fridge.

 

Preparation

 

1. Process ice cream and milk in a blender 15 to 20 seconds or until smooth, stopping to scrape down sides, if needed. Remove and reserve 1 cup crushed cookies. Fold remaining crushed cookies into ice-cream mixture.

 

Put milk and ice cream into blender for 5 seconds before it explodes. Scrape up mixture and insert back into blender. Try again. Repeat. Give up. Dump the cookies in, regardless of their texture. Blend again, and repeat cleanup off cupboards and counters. Reserve remainder in bottom of blender for actual distribution to family members.

 

2. Pour ice-cream mixture evenly into 4 serving glasses. Drizzle each with 2 Tbsp. Chocolate-Peanut Butter Sauce. Sprinkle with reserved crushed cookies. Serve immediately.

 

Pour expanding ice cream mixture into a plastic Chuck-E-Cheese cup. Drizzle with Chocolate-Peanut Butter Sauce and garnish with Benadryl Capsules. Give to youngest son, who is not allergic to peanut butter. Watch him "share" with his big brother, who is deathly allergic to peanuts. Call 9-1-1 and administer Epi-Pen injection into child's thigh. Pray the medics can find your house way out in the middle of nowhere, and give them your latitude and longitude to be sure they'll find you by Springtime.

 

Note: For testing purposes only, we used Girl Scout Tagalongs cookies.

 

Vanilla-Banana Tagalongs Milk Shakes: Substitute vanilla ice cream for chocolate ice cream. Proceed with recipe as directed, processing 1 banana with milk and ice cream.

Southern Living, MARCH 2008

 

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Sauce

AKA: "The Kiss of Death Sauce"

 

 

Prep: 5 min., Cook: 2 min.

 

This recipe goes with Peanut Butter-Chocolate Tagalongs Milk Shakes

 

Yield: Makes about 1/2 cup

Ingredients

 

* 1/4 cup milk

* 1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate morsels

* 1 1/2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter

* 2 teaspoons sugar

 

Preparation

 

1. Combine milk and morsels in a small saucepan. Cook over low heat, whisking constantly, 2 minutes or until smooth.

 

Combine milk and morsels in a small saucepan. Cook over low heat, whisking until you notice it's burned in less than 2 minutes because liquid boils about 20 degrees lower than at sea level. Cuss.

 

Remove from heat, and whisk in peanut butter and sugar until well blended.

 

Remove from heat, and whisk in peanut butter and HALF the sugar. If you add the other half, it will crystallize and make your sauce crunchy. Get latitude and longitude of your location off the magnet on the fridge, give sauce to your children, and call 9-1-1. Wait until Spring for anyone to find you...and then you'll have the rescue squad over for company to see your disaster!

 

 

Southern Living, MARCH 2008

 

[DragonFlyer]

Warning! Exploding ice cream ahead!

 

That pic in my last post was taken at our "local" grocer, nearly 2,000 feet below us in elevation. "Expand" is a delicate word for what happens to ice cream up here...you'll note the tubs are wrapped in eleventy hunnert square feet of Saran Wrap to keep them from ess-plodin' on their shelves.

 

[ProfessorMom]

I am lmao @ your exploding ice cream! I think I'm happy enough being a relative flatlander, hahaha!

[DragonFlyer]

I am lmao @ your exploding ice cream! I think I'm happy enough being a relative flatlander, hahaha!

 

You are in serious competition with that view of yours, lemme just say...flatlander nothin! I see hills, trees, streams, and ...well, your home is gorgeous! (and I bet you don't have to worry about exploding ice cream...a real plus! LOL!)

 

I was so glad when you closed on your home last year, and extremely happy you are now settling in and enjoying it.

[TheBanker]

That looks like an AWESOME view/home!

 

I was on a business trip to Denver last fall, and took a side trip out to the Rockies and loved the whole area. The Rockies and surrounding area is an awesome place! I fell in love with it the week and a half I was out there!

 

And LMAO! @ the exploding ice cream.

 

[cb_opus]

I missed this whole thread over the holidays, so...

 

Congratulations, DF! Way too belatedly!

 

Wow, it looks so lovely and peaceful. (Grizzlies, bobcats, cougars, and wolves notwithstanding

 

I hope you have a pressure cooker or three on hand.

I don't know if I could handle not being able to boil water for spaghetti.

 

All the very best to you and your family!

[DragonFlyer]

March 21, 1835

Charles Darwin, Voyage of The Beagle entry:

 

"At the place where we slept water necessarily boiled, from the diminished pressure of the atmosphere, at a lower temperature than it does in a less lofty country; the case being the converse of that of a Papin's digester. Hence the potatoes, after remaining for some hours in the boiling water, were nearly as hard as ever. The pot was left on the fire all night, and next morning it was boiled again, but yet the potatoes were not cooked. I found out this, by overhearing my two companions discussing the cause, they had come to the simple conclusion, "that the cursed pot [which was a new one] did not choose to boil potatoes."

 

So...it's not just potatoes. Spaghetti just is a gummy mess, no matter WHAT you do! LOL

 

Thanks for the kind words! I am learning the basics of using a pressure cooker for the first time in my life. Wish me lots of luck. Those episodes, recipes, and epic failures will probably be published too.