Peppers Plus, 2115 Santa Fe Drive out here in Blende on the Mesa.

Right here in the heart of all the action, yet out on the Mesa, is a mecca of fresh vegetables, yard art,  heavenly smelling flowers, a couple cats, and a dog to keep them in line.  When I first moved out here in 1983, Kenny took me out on the highway to Prutch's farms.  That is where I bought all my peppers, tomatoes, onions, fresh corn and what ever else we required to make the shelves of the food storage area full.  The trip out was always worth it, but then they moved into the heart of the Blende area.  I do not remember what year that was, but here they are.  It had to be more than 15 years ago.

The little pond in the corner of the yard has gone from just a little pond to thisaA place to relax and enjoy a little bit of piece and quiet along the Highway 50 bypass through Blende.  I think I heard a frog chirp.  Might have been my imagination though.  

This is absolutely the best use I have found for a 3 tiered fountain and it requires a lot less water and smells so good!

All kinds of veggies inside and how I got out without a picture of the corn is beyond me!

I bought 2 eggplants, 3 peaches, 3 pablo (?) chiles to stuff and something else.  My purchase was sanctioned by the cat,

and the dog

and my friend, Cheri, who is the head honcho.

And I headed on into town to do a few errands.  You can see all the goodies at the store on my youtube link click here

I may need to turn the music down a little on this one, but later on that.  Got to show you the heart of Mesa Gardens.  It is this!

The mighty Chile Pepper rules our world out here.  Every fall it is required that everyone freeze at least one bushel of chile.  Right now the roasters set idle.

Don't they look harmless there?  Soon they will be spinning bushels of the chile peppers over the propane torch and the aroma will fill the air.  Peppers, garlic, smoke....makes my mouth water to think and talk about it.  Chile roasting time in Pueblo, Colorado is an expeience that can not be explained, but rather has to be lived.  Peppers Plus is open every day until 6:00.  They are located at 2115 Snta Fe Drive, Pueblo, Colorado.  The phone # is 719-546-3137.  Give them a call and they can tell you when the peppers are ready.

Prutch Farms has been out here in business since Pueblo came to be.  They are a very respected business, honest, caring and always happy to see a new face.  They will make you feel right at home.  And as always, tell them Lou Mercer sent you.  (Has not got anyone hung yet!)

                                           

The High Tea at First Congregational United Church of Christ is now in the record books.

Don't these look like happy people?  They were.  Please meet Nancy Martin, her son Ross Barnhart, her daughter in law Terri Barnhart, and  Gail Barnhart.   They arrived in all thier finery at exactly 2:00 PM because that is what time the High Tea always starts.  Teresa and her friend Patty had arrived the day before and Mayflower Hall was festooned and beautiful.  Course my camera was at home through the whole thing, thus forcing me to go on facebook and steal pictures.

The tea was hot and the food at least looked good.  

This is a scone with lemon curd and yes, I made that from scratch.  Same with the dollop of clotted cream  getting ready to end up on that strawberry.

This was my first attempt at something this fancy, but I have been told that it was great.  Of course, I did not do this alone.  Jill arranged the tables.  Teresa and Patty decorated.  And when the High Tea was in full swing Pastor Jeannine was slinging tea like a trooper.  And plates were flying out of the kitchen thanks to the three of them along with my daughter, Sue. Amy manned the ticket table and sold tickets for the raffle.  Any great event is the result of a lot of hard work by a lot of people.  This one was our first, but it is not going to be our last by a long shot.  We will just be more organized next time.  

First Congregational United Church of Christ is going to be a force to be reckoned with in the very near future and  we would love to see you pop in our door next Sunday morning at 9:30 AM.    228 West Evans. 

Southwest Grill November 13, 2013

I am inside, looking out the window from our table.  That is my little car parked beside the sign. 

This is my dining companion and guess what is in her hand and against her ear?

But nonetheless, we soon had a cup of hot coffee in front of us served by a very friendly waitress who I did not get her name nor picture. 

I could almost have bought a lottery ticket without leaving my seat, but I chose not to do so.  Aren't you proud of me? 

Our food arrived very quickly which was no surprise since we both ordered Biscuits and Gravy.  I fell to eating and neglected to take a picture of the fare.  I have my own scoring system on food of this nature.  It was not greasy, which is good in my books.  It was tasty.  The gravy was creamy and the sausage was sausage as oppose to some of the stuff I have bit into.  Very shortly my plate and that of my friend looked like this:

As you see, I managed to do justice to it.  The biscuits were just a tad bit on the dry side and the meal was not quite as hot as I would have liked, but it was a cool morning and I was not eating right off the stove, so that is understandable.

 

I have been to the Southwest Grill before and enjoy thier food.  Will I return?  Most definitely!  The atmosphere is casual, the staff friendly, the resturaunt clean, the food good and reasonably priced.  Lots of parking.  All kinds of good things to say about the place!

If you pop in, tell them "Lou sent you!"