I will give up saying how hot it is...suffice to say...nothing has changed on the weather front.
Waz has never eaten at IHOP (International House of Pancakes) before, so we decided to venture forth down to the local kemah branch for a tall stack.(6 pancakes vs short stack =3). I knew what to expect, so ordered hash browns and sunny side up eggs with toast..which i didnt eat. It didnt look that apetizing, to be honest.
We marvelled at the syrup choices with Waz choosing the classic (maple flava). He wasnt impressed by the pancakes, deciding we make better ones at home.
Today being a 'kind of' day off for us, we then went tiki touring with our cameras to take some tourist-type pics..seeing y'all want to see what and where and how.
We returned to the Seabrook side of the highway (this sign is just 100 yards from where the boat is) and went out along the Galveston Bay.

The sign to the right is on the highway just down the road..Fireworks at the Kemah Boardwalk every friday night, June through July. We enjoyed them last Friday night, and look forward to sitting on the flydeck, watching again, this friday night.

 

These Fishermen are sitting almost opposite the entry to our Marina...which is just behind those metal pilings on their right. The waterway they are fishing in, is the channel which takes you from Galveston Bay, into Clear lake.

 The photo below shows just how shallow it is  50 yards from the waterfront. The fellow in the water didnt have a floatation device on, so we wonder what happens when he catches a big fish??? The poles sticking out of the water are the remains of a pier that was torn apart by Hurricane Ike. The aftermath and remains are all along the coastline.

 

 

Baking:
I hadnt used the new little convection oven for anything other than last night's Turkey Enchaladas and bagels a couple or mornings ago, and thought it time for me to try some muffins and see if it is efficient and the product comes out well. The oven being only the end part of any baking, of course.
Fresh raspberry muffins....Well, the end result of these is hard to describe. Im usually pretty good at detecting flavors and what is wrong with something, but this almost has me stumped. Let me try to explain the results.
Firstly, I had bought some organic plain flour at Marshalls. the use by date was a way off, so thought it might be fine. It is obviously high gluten content, because the muffins are VERY elastic. I also used unsalted butter, though added salt to compensate. The melted butter didnt look like NZ butter, of course, but looked different enough for me to remark on it. I also noted that I need to add Canola oil to my shopping list, as I sometimes like to back muffins with that.
The only thing I can describe the muffins tasting like, is Mochi cakes. These little 'cakes' are made with pounded rice. they are made for japanese celebrations with sweet azuki beans in the middle..yumm! but these muffins are 'nothing' kind of food. Back to the drawing board. I will toss the Marshalls organic flour in favor of some cake baking flour from the supermarket, I think.
Although I lived in Hawaii for 20 yrs, it is 8 yrs since I left, and my knowlege of all things food is a little rusty. I also didnt recognize a good many brands in the Texas supermarkets, so will have to ask some questions of those who know, me thinx.