Sweet Texas "Tea"

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Wow, we have now been in Texas for a whole month. We have been unemployed, employed, unemployed and employed again in that time frame. And that is all with one employer, the same one we came down here to work for. They are really struggling as to what and how they want to run a business in Texas, while micromanaging it from Colorado! We are currently just working two days a week, but I anticipate that will increase in the next couple of weeks.

In reality, the two days per week is actually perfect for me. I love having the rest of the week off to explore the countryside. This is an area of small towns and communities with lots of activities going on weekly. We have been to fairs, carnivals, street dances, chili feeds and auctions. We have seen the traveling Viet Nam Memorial Wall, tried several different restaurants, seen armadillos, wild hogs, deer, and oil rigs set up in peoples back yards! The lakes and back roads remind me of being in northern Minnesota, only in the summer time, year round.

At work I am developing recipes and menus. The owners want everything from scratch, (my kind of cooking!) This has actually been a lot of fun, as they let me experiment with their ingredients and equipment as well as order in any product that I want. I have increased their food sales by 75% just with my soups, salads and deli sandwiches, and am now working on fried chicken and biscuit recipes. I have a huge pressure fryer to work with. There is also the grill, a regular fryer, ovens, broiler, a holding oven and a commercial wok! I have ordered in hamburgers from several different sources to find the best. I have a great source for pork and bacon products. I am sure my kids are all very relieved that they no longer have to be my guinea pigs! Gene is working with me, mostly running the store and taking care of the bait, but will also come in and do dishes for me on occasion, as well as sweeping and mopping the kitchen floor as well as the store's. I will be teaching him how to scrub a grill next. He takes care of the tough stuff! Sweet tea is very big down here, so I am also experimenting with different versions of that as well.

This will do nicely for now! Life is good. Until next time......