Brown Flour

Several years ago the Island King discovered 'Brown Gold' and from that day forward we've had the best luck making gumbo, gravy and other sauces.

One of the secrets to a good gravy or sauce is the flour. But the flour has to be cooked just right or it will clump or give off a raw taste.

Browned flour is the answer.

We take one cup of flour and sift it into a heavy skillet. For some reason, cast iron skillets won't work for this so don't waste your time with that.




Putting the flour through the sifter gets rid of all the clumps and gives it a soft, powdery texture.


The browning process takes about 30 minutes but you don't need as much brown flour for cooking as you do white flour so this cup of flour will last for quite a while.

It also smokes as it's cooking so we usually brown it outside over the gas cooker. I've done it inside before and it still works out fine but you'll need to open some windows first.

We put the skillet over medium heat


And then, using a whisk, stir constantly.


The key is not to let the flour get too hot or it will burn. If it starts getting really hot just lift the pan off the heat, keep whisking and as it cools a little put it back on the burner.


Continue cooking until the flour turns a nice golden brown color.


Once the flour cools, store in an airtight container and it will keep for several months.


It sounds like a lot of trouble but trust me when I tell you that once you start cooking with brown flour you'll never want to go back.

This stuff is pure magic.

Wordless Wednesday

Congratulations Island Girl!

This morning there was an awards ceremony at the Island Girl's school and my girl was invited.

Because...

She earned an Academic Letter and an Academic Achievement Award.

I am so proud of her! I've always known she was smart but she continues to amaze me every day.











The awards were presented by the Superintendent of Schools, the School Board Chairman, and the high school principal.

The ceremony lasted about an hour and then she went back to class and I came home to find that every picture I took is a blurry mess.

Which is not surprising since the ceremony was at 7:30 this morning and I am NOT a morning person.

I spent the first few minutes after I arrived sitting there hoping none of my clothes were on inside out and then it took a little while longer for me to get the camera out and fumble around with it.

As the pictures show I obviously had all of the settings wrong.

I guess when she grows up a blurry picture will be better than no picture at all.

Mornings like this make me pretty sure that not all of her smarts came from me LOL

We're very proud of you Island Girl - good job!

Sunday At My Parent's House

My aunt came in from California on Saturday so Sunday afternoon my parents had a small party and invited some of the family.

There was a little visiting while waiting for everyone to arrive.


My cousin has started growing her hair into dreadlocks and she had to answer a million questions. How do you do that? How do you wash it? Can I touch it?


I know she must have been more than ready for all of us to stop asking about her hair LOL

Another cousin bought an American Indian flute earlier in the day so she brought it out for everyone to see.


She can actually play it a little too.


The Island King took this picture of the kids.

After we got home I was looking at the pictures and I asked the Youngest Island Boy why he looked so mad. He said he wasn't mad - that's his "I'm cool and chillin" face LOL

My Dad cooked up a big pot of crawfish




My BIL tried to terrorize the kids with one but they weren't scared at all LOL


My husband couldn't resist messing with the kids either so he lured them into the basement


And then locked the door.


My Mom started yelling at him to let them out but as soon as he did they begged him to do it again LOL

They love that space under there. They call it the dungeon and spend hours crawling around in there. When I was a kid that space terrified me, but that might be because my cousin Frank locked me and his sister in there one time and then went back inside. It was about 10 minutes before my grandfather heard us yelling and the first thing he asked us when he opened the door was if we'd found the snake that lived in there. Needless to say, I'm not a fan of the "dungeon"!

Along with the crawfish there was shrimp and lots of other good food to eat.






The Island King brought his famous gumbo and spent a little time warming it up.


My Dad said the Blessing




And just as he finished he said "And help us all stay friends" - which brought a good laugh because in a big family that's important LOL

There was lots of eating and as my cousin grabbed a handful of shrimp she said "Ohhh, this is gonna be good!" She was absolutely right!


The Island King fixed his plate


And then we had to laugh at the Youngest Island Boy because he wouldn't eat anything but a hot dog and some mac-n-cheese.

The boy obviously doesn't know good food when he sees it!

The Oldest Island Boy however dove right into the crawfish




He couldn't get enough and ended up staggering away from the table saying that his stomach was going to pop. He did manage to make room for some chocolate cake later on though.

My parents are always happy to spend time with the grandkids.


And we were happy to see my aunt from California.


This is my Aunt Chris and Uncle Nick.


Uncle Nick is 99 years old and never ceases to amaze me.
He's as sharp as a tack and you'd never know how old he is by talking to him. I hope I'm still going that strong when I'm his age!

We had a nice time and really enjoyed visiting with everyone. Hopefully we can do it again soon!

I Can't Believe He Said That

We were looking at some pictures tonight and I said "I look as big as a house in that picture!"

He looked at me and said "Well you are"

As I sat staring at him with my mouth hanging open he said "I'm just kidding honey, you're only as big as a motor home"

He claims to be joking but I'm not buying it.

I'll let you know when the funeral is.

The Bridge Chronicles - No Spear Fishing

Did you know that in Florida it is illegal to spear fish within 100 yards of a public swimming area or a bridge where fishing is allowed?

It is but not everyone knows it.

Last Saturday, we were sitting at the beach when we saw the Fish and Game guys pull up under the bridge.


One of them jumped out and followed some divers that had just come out of the water up to their truck.


I guess the Fish and Game guys saw them carrying a spear gun out of the water.

While that officer was checking their IDs and cooler, the guy in the boat pulled around in front of us and talked to some different people who were snorkeling around the pilings.


And then pulled up to the beach - right in front of us. A big stretch of beach and he pulled up directly in front of us.

I mean seriously, right in front of us.

I took this picture sitting in my beach chair.


And since they were right there it meant front row seats for the Getting a Ticket for Spear Fishing show for us.

The officer had them come down and get on the boat and he wrote them a ticket.


It seemed like it took a LONG time and I'm sure it felt even longer to them.


And the whole time these guys were getting their ticket a group of people next to us were singing Folsom Prison Blues. Loud. And the louder they sang the more embarrassed the guys getting the ticket got.

The whole incident took about half an hour but finally they were finished.


The Island King wanted to ask them what the ticket was going to cost but once they got off the boat they literally ran back to their truck and drove away. I guess they'd had enough attention for one day.

A little later I was talking to one of the women sitting in the group that sang the Folsom Prison song and I said something about it being funny that they all knew the words to that song.

She smiled and said "Oh we sing that song whenever any of our friends get arrested"

Oh.

I think I'll pass if they invite me to go out partying with them LOL

The Bridge Chronicles - How It Started

We spend a lot of time at the beach. A lot. And the majority of the time we go to the same spot. We call it Bridge Beach.





Years ago, when the kids were little I didn't like taking them to the Gulf to swim. Little ones playing along the shore of the Gulf are constantly being knocked down and end up not having any fun. And then neither does Mom.

So we tried Bridge Beach one afternoon and we were hooked.

Just inside the Pass and on the edge of Choctawhatchee Bay it's the perfect spot.
The water is emerald green and calm with a nice sloping bottom so the kids can play in shallow water or swim around in the deeper areas.

Being right at the foot of the bridge also offers lots of snorkeling and fishing around the pilings and there always seems to be an abundance of shells to find.


This is also a favorite spot for dolphin and we see them almost every time we go.






There are always Great Blue Heron's wandering up and down the beach and if you're fishing, they'll steal your bait while you're not looking.





Looking at these pictures might lead you to believe this is a quiet, serene spot.
At times it can be.
But that's rare.

This spot is a magnet for the strangest people. Very rarely do we go there not have at least one story to tell.

Bridge Beach proves that fact is always stranger than fiction so I've decided to write the Bridge Chronicles.

I think you'll enjoy a look at Destin's strangest beach.