FORE! GOLFING IN THE RGV!
This week features McAllen’s beautiful Palm View Golf Course!
UPCOMING EVENTS!
Check out this week’s listings of what’s happening in the RGV!
Executive Chef Bettina Tolin shares her mom’s favorite blueberry scone recipe!
Welcome Home See details on page 4.
See calendar starting on page 17.
VOLUME 3 • ISSUE 2 • October 25, 2017
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RECIPE CONNECTION! Try this recipe on page 15.
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WINTER TEXAN
• • • your official connection to the rio grande valley • • •
T
his is my favorite time of year! The excitement in the air is undeniable. Our Winter Texans bring a breath of fresh air to the Rio Grande Valley each winter. Not only do you stimulate our economy, but you add a dash of color and whimsy to our everyday world. It’s hard to believe, but this year, Welcome Home, RGV will be celebrating 10 years of service to the Winter Texan community!! They say time flies when you’re having fun. Well I can attest to that! It seems like just yesterday I made the decision to go ‘all in’ and immerse myself in the Winter-Texan world. Everyone thought I was crazy! And I do mean everyone, including my family and close friends! But I do remember the exact day, almost 10 years ago, when I realized the Winter Texan community needed me. Winter Texans needed someone to help pull everything together and to advocate on their/your behalf. (Some of you were around when it all happened!) I have been guided through the process, gently nudged (and sometimes shoved) in the right direction. It hasn’t been easy, but it has been a whole lot of fun. It’s the overwhelming support from YOU, the Winter Texans we serve, that has kept us going. Ten years is a big deal. We’ll be celebrating throughout the season, and y’all will, of course, be invited to the parties! • We’re just connecting the dots,
Kristi
The Story behind Cappadona Ranch Mesquite Bean Products by Victoria Barrera Cappadona
Cappadona Ranch Mesquite Bean Jelly is created in Linn, which is in Northern Hidalgo County. My name is Victoria Barrera Cappadona, and I am married to Justin Cappadona. We have three sons: Cayetano, 15, Federico, 13, and Vicente, 10. Our boys have helped pick mesquite beans for my jelly for the past several years. We live in a rural area surrounded by brush, trees, and cattle. When I look out my window, I see thousands of mesquite trees. Many of them produce soft yellow flowers. During mid to late summer, our mesquite trees begin to produce beans that eventually develop into pods that can grow anywhere from four to nine inches long and produce a sugar content of up to 30 percent. When pods turn a golden reddish color, they are ready to pick and are delicious to chew. I find myself chewing on them all the time, especially to find out which tree produces the sweetest pods. In the summer of 2012, I asked my father-in-law, Fred, “What happens to all these mesquite beans after they fall off the trees?” He told me, “Cattle and wild animals like to eat the mesquite beans, especially during a drought. Sometimes they eat them from the
ground and sometimes they pull them off the tree.” Fred also mentioned that Native Americans use mesquite beans for cooking because they are high in sugar and protein. My father, Cayetano Barrera, confirmed Fred’s message by recounting how back in the 1940s, he and his siblings would chew on the mesquite bean pods during the summertime for their sweet flavor. He told me they tasted like candy. Genuinely interested after hearing all of these stories, I began to do my own research about the mesquite tree in an attempt to discover what could be made from the mesquite bean pods. I found that mesquite bean jelly and
honey were two of the more popular items to make from the pods. I also discovered the most popular mesquite tree in Texas is the honey mesquite, and that out of all the mesquite trees in the United States, 90 percent are located in Texas. I decided I wanted to try making some mesquite bean honey and jelly. My boys and I gathered mesquite beans from the back yard, ultimately trying a couple of mesquite bean jelly recipes from a cookbook we had found and two others from the internet. I ended up making my own mesquite CAPPADONA RANCH MESQUITE CONTINUED ON PAGE 22 >>
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