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Texas Size Chocolate Dessert By Sandra Scott |
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We are always
surprised at how flowers are such an integral part of the Texas
scenery. We would love to visit Texas when the Blue Bonnets are in
bloom. We understand the fields and roadsides are
The cafe has a giant Christmas tree on display year round decorated according to
the season and a purple wall displaying works by local artists, and
an ever changing
Visit www.funkyartcafe.com,
www.birthplaceoftexas.com, |
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The Republic of
Texas was declared on March 2, 1836, at Washington-on-the-Brazos.
While Washington-on-the-Brazos must have been a tension-ridden place
in 1836 as the Mexican army was approaching the Alamo, today it is a
serene, bucolic Texas State Park, located in Washington County
between Houston and Austin. It is the best place to learn about the
Republic of Texas.
full of them. But
we are never at a loss to find something flowery. At Ellison’s
Greenhouse they were growing, among other things,
poinsettias—Texas-sized poinsettias, of course. Their trademarked
Texas Sized Poinsettias are to 6 feet high and 6 feet wide. Walking
through the greenhouse most of the poinsettias we saw were nearly
two feet high making us realize that Christmas was fast approaching.
Ellison Greenhouse is located in Brenham, now the population center
of Washington County.
Brenham has
managed to maintain its historic center with a variety of unique
shops and eateries. One way to keep the historic area vital is
to
create new uses for old places. Such is the case with the Funky Art
Cafe located in the historic Schuerenberg Blacksmith Building. Built in 1916, the
building was originally a shed where the smithies worked. Horses
were shod, wagon wheels made and farm equipment repaired. The
building is still in the family and Connie Wilder has transformed
the building where her great-grandfather once built wagons into the
Funky Art Cafe.
menu. Funky Art, some of the artworks are
really funky and some not, is
displayed on the walls but we were drawn to their gift shop with a
special Christmas room before checking out their “funky” menu. John
and I both had a salad of spinach with mandarin oranges, red onion
slivers, dried cranberries, and pecans and dressed with the café’s
specialty handcrafted maple balsamic dressing. Afterward we could
not pass up the dessert called Drowning Mexican Chocolate Cake.
Elizabeth delivered the chocolate-covered chocolate cake in a pool
of chocolate ganache. It was topped with whipped cream, caramel
drizzle and a dash of cinnamon. Like the poinsettias, it was Texas
size and Texas awesome.
There was
nothing funky about our accommodations at Texas Ranch Life where we
got a taste of cowboying. We stayed in a lovely cabin that was built
in 1949 and just one of several unique accommodations on the
Texas-sized 1800-acre ranch. John and I watched the owner, John Elick, demonstrate
cutting. Working as one, he and his horse, Rebel, separated one of
the cattle from the herd. Everything was Texas size: the history,
flowers, cowboys and chocolate. What more could one ask for?