Summertime fun -out and around

Some mysterious force in summertime, even in the very hot desert Southwest, calls us to venture outside for entertainment.  Yes, the temperature is now officially scorching hot in my home town of El Paso, Texas, but where's the fun in sitting inside under the air conditioner?  Outdoors is where life is happening - plants blooming, lawns turning a brilliant green, and puffy white clouds decorating a serene blue sky . Here are a few outdoor activities that my husband Wayne and I have been enjoying recently.

Alfresco! Fridays in the downtown area offers free concerts in a variety of musical styles.  On a recent evening Rod Crosby and the Intruders entertained the crowd with old time rock and roll sounds.  And our longtime friend, Skip Clark (white shirt), joined two other music fans to provide back-up singing. Rock and Roll has a long tradition in the El Paso area, and concert attendees (admittedly a slightly older crowd) showed their support by dancing enthusiastically to the rhythmic music.

Another enjoyable outing was a short hike and picnic in Franklin Mountains State Park, the largest urban state park in the nation. An upward walking path led us to expansive views of the surrounding area.

A laid back lizard kept us company.

And these native Little Leaf Sumac bushes with bright red berries added color to the desert landscape.

If outdoor activities become a bit much as the mercury hovers around the 100 degree mark, air-conditioned Mexican food restaurants provide a cool respite along with fiery food.  Nachos are our favorite late afternoon snack (as long as they are not those fake nachos made with liquid cheese! Ugh!)

So grab sunglasses, water bottles and sunscreen and venture out to enjoy the Desert Southwest!  It may be hot, but it's a dry heat, or so they say!

Tasty oatmeal for a hot Southwest morning

It didn't take long for spring to turn into blazing summer in my home town of El Paso, Texas.  The mercury has already hit 100 degrees this year, making us believers that it is indeed really, really hot in the American Southwest in June.

The rising temperature may be why the thought of heating up the stove or oven for meal preparation drove me to reconsider using my small kitchen appliances for meal preparation.  I searched under the counter and located the old family crock pot.

This family appliance may qualify as an authentic antique. I have no recollection of its origin. The lid was broken many years ago, but my husband rigged up a temporary wooden lid we have used for probably the last ten years.  Numerous searches in second-hand stores for a proper glass lid replacement have yielded no results, so here is a picture of what the crock pot still looks like today.

The pot has no fancy inserts or warming settings.  You fill it up,  plug it in, choose low or high setting, and ignore it for the time specified by the recipe. The first recipe I attempted was oatmeal. Why oatmeal, you may ask, when it can be cooked in less than ten minutes on the stove?  Because this crock pot oatmeal is truly special.

Here is the basic recipe.  First spray the inside of the pot for easier clean-up. Then add one cup of steel-cut oats.  (I have read that steel-cut oats are healthier because they have a lower Glycemic index than regular oats,  but I seldom choose steel-cut because of the longer cooking time required on the stove top.) The liquids come next - four and a half cups of water and one-half cup of milk.  Then the seasonings - two tablespoons of maple syrup and one-fourth teaspoon salt. Stir and let cook on low for seven hours. Before serving, add one-half teaspoon vanilla.

You can of course get creative with the recipe and add dried fruit, like figs, raisin, or cranberries during the cooking time, or toast a few walnuts to add to the serving bowls along with butter, heated milk, and brown sugar.

One of the benefits of crock pot oatmeal is walking into your kitchen in the morning with breakfast already prepared. It's almost as if someone else is serving you breakfast. You can have that second cup of coffee and read the morning paper at your leisure.

My husband, the oatmeal hater (I think his mother served oatmeal too often!) has only words of praise for this crock pot oatmeal recipe.  He says the oatmeal is smooth and creamy with a taste not at all like regular oats.

Now I'm ready to experiment with more crock pot recipes! Does anyone have a heat beating recipe I can try this summer?