Wesley Chapel, Florida (high 84, low 59)
We’re enjoying the fall weather. It’s cool enough at night to keep the windows open and snuggle under the blankets.
We met Frank and Phylanne a few months ago. We met when we were seeking shelter in the laundry building when there was a threat of a tornado.
They both work, so we didn’t get to spend much time with them. We babysat their kitty when they had to leave Florida for a while, and we’d catch them out once in a while, but we never could seem to get together very often. They were leaving Saturday, so we made plans to get together Friday night.
It might have been a mistake….
Phylanne works out of town and apparently Frank has had way too much time on his hands.
Frank recently discovered how to make flavored martini’s……and he’s become quite good at it. He’s been stocking up on all kinds of liqueurs and flavored vodkas. He’s afraid he won’t be able to find all this good selection in their home base (New Orleans)
So…..Friday night we brought some chips and dip and our lawn chairs and had a martini party with them.
Al doesn’t drink vodka, so he was content with beer.
The first “sample” Frank made us was a grapefruit martini. Yummy. I just had a little bit though. It was good and tasted very much like a pink grapefruit.
The next one was a mango martini. Really yummy. Again, I only had a small sample.
The next one was a chocolate raspberry martini. I had a full glass of that one. Boy was that good! I might have even had two of them. I can’t be sure.
The last one I had was a Lemon drop martini……another yummy one. It was made with Lemoncello, lemon vodka, and a few other things.
I took the following picture so I could re-create it myself…..since I just happen to have a bottle of Lemoncello that we made several years ago. It was so strong that we could never drink it. I think I may have found the solution to that problem though!
We got a kick out of all the bottles Frank has stockpiled in Phylannes’s absence.
Frank was showing off some of his stash.
Phylanne wasn’t aware of all these pretty bottles!
Sorry about the quality of the pictures. I forgot my good camera and had to use my phone.
We had a great time with them and Frank even played a few tunes on his piano. Yes, they have a piano in their motorhome. You gotta have your toys, don’t you?
We overstayed our welcome and didn’t get home until 11:30! Boy we felt bad since they were leaving the next morning. I guess they were too good of hosts???
Saturday morning, I woke up and immediately noticed I had a bit of a headache. Uh-oh. It took a minute to notice that I also had a bit of a queasy stomach. Uh-oh. It took me a while to realize I might have had a tiny bit of a hangover! Hadn’t one of those for a while! Didn’t miss them either!
I also wanted to post a recipe for a bean dip that I invented. I am not a good cook and I can barely get something to turn out if I have a recipe, so I rarely try something on my own. I liked this one, but wasn’t sure anyone else would. Phylanne and Frank got to test my invention and Phylanne loved it! Not sure about Frank.
Before we became vegan, we would occasionally make the cheese dip with Rotelle tomatoes and cheese whiz. It was not on our new diet but I wanted something warm and gooey like that.
I mixed up a can of refried beans, a can of rotelle tomatoes and a handful of vegan mozzarella cheese. I heated it up in our little crockpot and added some cayenne pepper per Al’s request. It was warm, gooey and good. It is vegan, but yummy!
I have decided I am giving up martinis….at least for a while!
