Out of town visitors were on the way! I live in El Paso, Texas a mid-sized city on the US-Mexico border. My home town has its attractions, but it is not New York City by any means. What could we do to entertain our Canadian visitors to repay the hospitality they had shown us during a visit to Quebec province?
My husband Wayne and I sat down to plan, trying to see our city as visitors might see it. We brainstormed activities in several categories- outdoors, history, and dining.
Mother Nature was kind in mid-February and favored us with several days in the 70 degree range and, most importantly, calm winds. The first activity with our visitors was a picnic in Hueco Tanks State Park and Historic Site, located a few miles east of El Paso. I warned our visitors that this park did not fit the more usual image of a park, with trees, flowers, and grassy areas. But the spectacular rock formations and natural rock basins were new and intriguing.
Next, a dose of old El Paso. Our city and the surrounding area are rich in more than four centuries of history that include native Indian tribes, Spanish conquistadors, the establishment of missions, the arrival of the railroad, gunfighters, madams, gamblers, and the Mexican Revolution of 1910. We visited the Magoffin Home State Historical Site in downtown El Paso.
I never tire of this historical site that is beautifully restored and decorated with many original furniture pieces of the Magoffin family from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The thick adobe walls and images of graceful living found here always bring a peaceful feeling to my soul.
Our next stop was for more panoramic view of history provided by Digie, the digital wall located at the El Paso Museum of History. It is a collection of images and videos of past and present El Paso that are presented on 3D touch sensitive TV screens. We clicked on our personal interests, be they sports, dance, or music.
We hope our Canadian visitors liked spicy food, because as we considered our menu options, chile kept popping up as a main ingredient. Wayne cooked and served his favorite breakfast dish called migas in his outdoor kitchen.
Migas are eggs scrambled with onions, garlic, tomatoes, jalapeño chiles, and tortilla chips. And they are delicious.
We also wanted to have a bread on hand for tea and coffee breaks. Wayne remembered an old recipe of his mother's called Hobo Bread, baked in coffee cans.
I tweaked the recipe for more modern tastes.
Combine two cups of dark raisins, two cups of boiling water and four tablespoons of soda. Let stand overnight. In the morning, add the following ingredients.
two cups sugar (I used one cup sugar and one cup Splenda)
four tablespoons oil
one-half teaspoon salt
one teaspoon nutmeg
one teaspoon cinnamon
four cups flour (I used three cups regular flour and one cup whole wheat flour)
one cup chopped pecans.
Then comes the fun part. Grease and flour three one-lb coffee cans (or other similar cans), fill
one-half full, and bake at 350 degrees for one hour. Let cool for 30 minutes. You have a cake that can be sliced into rounds for serving. It has a taste similar to gingerbread and freezes well.
We gained a new respect for our home town and all it can offer, using an open mind and a little creativity. Now I'm inspired to seek out some more hometown adventures as winter slowly turns into spring.
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