The Belle Of The Ball

I certainly didn't think that would be a lake, but sure enough, Pena Blanca Lake was called the Belle of the Ball when it was completed in 1958.  It's a reservoir with 45 acres surface area, although at one time it was larger, and one of the oldest and smallest near the Mexican border.  Take Highway 19 down towards Nogales.

For over forty years there was a resort facility here, but we saw no evidence of it.  It's just you, wildlife, hiking trails and nature.  There are picnic tables, benches for your sitting pleasure and lots of fish to catch.  You will even find two camping areas.

In 1993 they discovered a minor crisis.  Sadly, they did not catch the problem sooner.  Rains had washed over mine tailings in the surrounding mountains, contaminating the water with mercury.  In 1999 mine tailings were dug up and over 1,000 tons of contaminated soil removed.  It will take some time to completely return to normal, but in the meantime, they have the biggest bass in the country for your fishing pleasure.  

It's all catch and release at this point since it's probably still not a good idea to eat the fish.  We sat and had lunch here at one of the picnic shelters.  It was quite and an absolutely gorgeous setting.  There are even concrete walkways around some of the areas and steps down to the water's edge.

Who knew there were lakes in the desert??  The mercury is receding and they hope to be back to eating the fish you catch very soon.

Here's my latest acquisition in my quest to become a better Chef.  Jeffrey Eisner is not a chef at all.  He's just a nice Jewish boy who took to the Instant Pot like a pro.  He had so many Facebook fans and so many good recipes, he was encouraged to write a cookbook.  

It just came out for $15.98 on Amazon, so I ordered a copy.  I'll let you know how it goes.

In the meantime, while scrounging around the kitchen looking for something to do, I discovered I had all the ingredients to make another cake.  THIS time the frosting came out MUCH better.  Dark chocolate chocolate with a shot of chocolate!!  I even made a half size version for the Chance household.  Half size because they are not as addicted to sugar as I am!!

Here's the prince of the ball as far as I'm concerned.  They are so sweet and angelic when they are sleeping.  Then he wakes up and wants to be entertained for the next four hours!  Throw the ball Mom!!!

I did something silly last night.  I volunteered to cook dinner for the Chance house and myself after watching Chef Simon (Food Network) on Facebook.  Many of the TV Chefs are doing this for free from their homes.  AT&T thinks I'm on my phone constantly and has sent threatening messages.  They are right, but sadly for them, I have an unlimited cell data account.  Let the megabytes add up!!!

At any rate, he cooked a beautiful sort-of-Italian beef dish that I'm going to try and create.  It's an experiment, right?  I have pizza on speed dial, just in case.