As most of you know, I have hosted the MO Midwest roundup for 3 years. I am very lucky to have had the privilege to meet the people that I have and to become friends with them. This year not everyone that wanted to come to the roundup could. When the mini MI roundup was posted for October I thought maybe I should do a mini MO one then too. Any excuse to get together right? Hey, I had the best good fortune to go to the October IN mini and surprise the heck out of 2 dear friends. Even though I wasn't sure how many there would be for my mini I figured it didn't matter. I was serving 3 soups, bread, my now infamous cheese crackers, my wannabe Boursin cheese spread and salad. I had a bottle of Mad Housewife wine so even if no one could make I would be happy and the poor DH, BBQ Dude, could always go to Sonic. Which he did while we had our luncheon, he doesn't eat soup.
So I cleaned house, worked some in the yard and got food prep underway. The 26th was our anniversary of 22 years. We had planned to go out to eat but my dear spouse noted that I still had much to do. He suggested pizza and a quiet evening. We would go out the next evening after my guests had left. The dear man even remember to get me flowers.
So off he went to pick up pizza as I scurried around. Not long after he left my cell phone started ringing. Thank heavens I found it before it went to voicemail. It is my dear friend, Magnolia Blossom, wondering how far behind I am. She knows me well! After all she knows where the vacuum and various other assorted things are stored here because despite my best efforts I am NEVER done on time. She says she feels bad there is no one to help me. Being of the suspicious nature that I am and the fact that someone really got me good at my June roundup, I look out the window at my driveway. Just in case you know, because while weeding one day the odd thought bubbled up, "Hmmm, Lora is not going to let me get away with getting her in IN. Nah, an 8 hour drive for lunch, she wouldn't do that." Oh, yes she would! I had stepped away from the window but Bane was still looking. Sure enough! There was my dear friend sitting at the end of the driveway waiting for me to open the gate. Much squealing and many hugs later, Lora was back manning the mop and helping get things ready for the next day. She even brought me flowers which I turned into 2 centerpieces.
I sawed a hole into the birdhouse gourd & painted it on Thursday and thought I would shove some of my chrysanthemums in it and call it good.
It was a small gathering of my nephew and his family, Magnolia Blossom, Perri Pender and Heidi S. My niece in law has perused AR so I figured she counted as an AR peep :) and family is always welcome to come to these roundups. Perri and Heidi had wanted to come to the summer roundup but Life got in the way. Lora is always up for a roadtrip and her DH is quite understanding.
I figured since there was a chill in the air soup would be perfect. I just had one glitch my niece and her daughter have a wheat allergy something I am not used to dealing with. Again the peeps on the Buzz came through for me with suggestions and recipes. I've saved those threads to forward on to her too. So what did I make for her? Vegan gluten free pumpkin black bean soup. I made my own vegetable broth. Something I have never done but again I looked on AR for recipes and tweaked a couple. Ended up emptying a bunch of veggies into a pot of water with herbs & wine and ended up with a very tasty broth. The ladies seemed to enjoy it. It also made a good base for later tweaking on Sunday because my guys couldn't handle vegan. I turned the soup in to a hearty Taco soup that was well received by the race car watching guys.
I didn't get many pictures this time even when I thought I had and I even forgot some food items. Stop laughing those of you that have been here before, I know I ALWAYS forget something! On the right are the bean, afalfa and broccoli sprouts I grew just for the salad we were having. Left them in the fridge. Deep sigh. But hey, Magnolia Blossom and I high fived because we did have lunch ready when I said it would be! Woot Woot that was a first!
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Oh well, as dear Lora said they couldn't miss what they didn't know they were supposed to have. Like the wine poached chicken veggie soup, forgot to put the pureed cauliflower in it to thicken it. No wonder it wasn't as thick as the soup I served Mi Being Mi on our recent roadtrip. Remembered that Sunday morning when checking emails. Again deep sigh.
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Oh, but what does it matter? The food was good and everyone seemed to have a good time. That's what really matters. As I said the laughter flowed like a good wine into your favorite glass. New people were met. We had fun talking and just look at this Buttermilk pie Heidi brought.
I didn't get any of it. Lora and I went on a mini roadtrip after everyone left to a local winery. While we were gone my son came home from work and polished it off. He says it was good.
Mother Ann, if you get to come in June we are busy looking into the local wineries for you to tour. The wine MB & I toured was pretty good but I must say the dog there was more welcoming than the owners. There is more than I thought to do in MO so for anyone that is thinking about coming to the next Midwest MO roundup add a couple of extra days in your schedule for sightseeing. Yes, the date is already set for the next one, June 21st thru the 23rd 2013. Again everyone is welcome to come. Don't worry about fitting in. It is easy even if you are shy. Some of us might be seasoned roundupers, but that doesn't mean newbies should feel like outsiders. Heck no! Lora and I, after everyone had left, enjoyed a delightful conversation with Heidi. Look, she brought the neatest planter!
As always with us AR peeps, we talked about all kinds of things. Everyone can feel at home. That's the best thing about these roundups be they big or small, you are getting to know other people and building friendships. Who else would drive 8 hours just for lunch?
Hugs,
Cat
To those of you on the East coast you are in my prayers. Stay safe from the storm!
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