The Little House

 While we were in George, Washington for the family reunion we stayed at 78 in The Little House .  One part of the farm is on the other side of the highway and it is referred to as 78.  I didn't know why the family called it 78 and I assumed there were 78 acres.  Nope, it is because it is weir #78 in the block, part of the Columbia Basin Bureau of Reclamation Project.  The Little House  is on 78.

Hubby and I walked around the farm on the ditch bank in the mornings(trying to get a little exercise before another day with the ice cream machine) and he taught me a lot of things that I had no clue about.

I learned about ditch riders, ditch banks, weirs, circles, corners and coyote runs.

The farm behind The Little House  was planted with sunflowers.  I love how they all "look" to the sun.

 The grapes on the patio were not quite ripe, pretty small yet.

My father-in-law purchased The Little House  from someone in Soap Lake. It was built by the government for workers to live in while they were building the Grand Coulee Dam.  He moved it to George and the rest is history.  It is always referred to as The Little House , so I guess that it's name. 

The Little House  is little but it was just right for Hubby and I and Kassie.  I brought some camping chairs, a table, beds, linens, the keurig and a corkscrew.  Really, what else would we need?  The farm rents out The Little House  but it just happened to be between renters so we moved in for the weekend.  It is hard to believe that his folks lived there with four children!  They built a new house and moved to the home place when Hubby was three years old. 

Some of the aunts and cousins came over on Saturday for a home tour.  They all have good memories of when Grandpa and Grandma R. would come up from California and spend the summers in The Little House .  It was fun to hear the stories.  It's a little place with big history!

Reunion Almond Berry Dessert

Besides those super rich brownies, I made an almond creamy fruit dessert for the reunion.  I got the recipe from Karen.  It's been in our church newsletter as we have a family with four girls in our church that used this recipe instead of wedding cake at three of their four weddings.  They serve it on cake stands and put one on each table for self service.  It makes for a pretty centerpiece too.

I made this dessert because Hubby's family comes from Ripon, California, almond country.  They had an almond farm in the family at one time.  So, to honor the past I went for something almond.  I say "allmond", they say "aahhhmond", anyway you pronounce it, they ate it.

*I made 1 1/2 of the bar recipe for two 9 inch pans- perfect!

ALMOND BARS
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 cup melted marg.
4 eggs
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp almond extract
1 pinch of salt
1/2 cup sliced almonds (for bars only, please do not use for the wedding cakes)
Grease a 9x13 pan or a 9 inch round for the wedding or for a round pan.

Combine all ingredients except almonds.

Pour into pan.  Sprinkle with sugar and almonds for bars only.  Bake @ 350 for 30 minutes.  I had to bake mine much longer to get them done, Karen said that she did too.

*For wedding cakes use a 9 inch round cake pan.  Do not use dark cake pans.  They tend to bake the cake too dark and taste a bit dry.  Each recipe makes 4 cups of batter.  Use 3 cups of batter for 1- 9 inch round pan, so 1 1/2 the recipe for two cakes.

Cream Cheese Frosting/Filling
1-16 oz. package of cream cheese- I always use low fat.
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 1/4 cup heavy cream
(1 tsp. vanilla optional)
Beat cream cheese, powdered sugar and heavy cream on high for 1 to 2 min. until medium  soft peaks form.  Do not over beat.
*I made the filling at home and then put it in a ziploc bag in the cooler for the trip.  On Saturday I frosted the cakes with the cream filling.

I brought berries from Lynden, blackberries, raspberries and blueberries.  I gently washed them and let them drain on paper towels.  Then arranged them on the cakes.  I love berry recipes.  Aahmond recipes too!

More Reunion Fun

On Saturday evening one of the reunion traditions is to have a pinata for the kids.  Shelby is one of the youngest and was checking it out before it got broken for the candy.  At this point I'm not sure she really understands what is going to happen.

After it was smashed open and the mad dash for candy was on, Shelby was underneath the rush raking it in. She used her arms instead of her hands and cleaned up.

Her mama didn't know if to be embarrassed or proud of her survival skills.  Shelby got a bag for her loot and wore it like a super hero cape.  Super hero, indeed!

Her sis, Schyler did well too.

On Saturday Eric put it together that I was Max's Mom.  This can be dicey for me as I never know if that is going to be a good thing.  It was good, apparently Eric loves Max.  Eric told me I looked nothing like Max and asked if I knew that Max may be on vacation on Sunday?  And did I know that if Max was on vacation that him and Eric were going to go swimming, to play foosball, jump in the bounce house and other stuff?  I told Eric that Max might want to spend a little time with his girlfriend, Kassie.  Eric said she could go with them too.

Uhmm buddy, I think you MAY get to go with Kassie and Max.  And yes, he went everywhere with them.

 One of the best things at the reunion is the soft ice cream machine.  One year Karen mentioned to her husband that it would be nice to have an ice cream machine at the reunion, the next day Mike found one in the classified ads for a super price, he bought it and the rest is history.

We transition from breakfast to ice cream, coffee time to ice cream, lunch to ice cream etc., for three days.

Max is enjoying a bowl of ice cream and you can still see the pancake griddles are still out from breakfast.

 Charlie is making a cone, but there are dishes, toppings for sundaes, root beer for floats, it's vanilla and sometimes chocolate.  It's crazy addicting!  Every family should have an ice cream machine.

There are so many great kids at the reunion.  I loved crafting with the girls, visiting with the boys, and just watching them have a good time.  Later I'll share another reunion recipe and more photos.

Family Reunion

Hubby and I and Kassie drove to George, Washington on Friday night for the annual family reunion and of course, to visit Max.  Hubby's dad's family has a reunion every year at his parent's farm.  This year I counted 65 people over the weekend.  Everyone pitches in and helps but I'd like to give a shout out to my parents-in-law who host every year.  Court grills the burgers and hot dogs for Friday evening and the tri-tip beef, the ribs and the chicken for Saturday evening.  

And Esther has a full house, a trailer park and tent city on her lawn.

Court is the oldest of seven children and six of them were there this year along with their kids and grandkids.

Wyatt was the youngest in attendance, but on Saturday evening Travis and Michelle had a new baby girl, Kara.  I'm sure we'll see her next year.

Max was working but most of the other kids that were at the reunion are on this picture.  It's all about the kids!  Everyone does a great job of making sure the kids have fun.

 There are some fierce pool and foosball games in the basement.

 Bottle rockets are assembled all weekend and shot on Sunday.  It involves a compressor and water and creative rockets.

 The littles have their own swimming pool located by tent city.  This year there were a lot of Olympic events with announcers.  The older kids go to the canal to swim.

The pinata gets broken on Saturday evening, with the youngest getting the first swing. 

The bounce house gets a lot of use and burns up some energy.

There are crafts too, I just didn't get any pictures of the craft tables.  Probably because I was at the craft table crafting and visiting with Nery, Kate, Mia, Kassie, Brooke and Bella.

There are volleyball games.

A big quilt with mega blocks in the shade for some quiet play.

There is a lot of eating, getting caught up with everyone and lots of laughs too.

I post more later...  A recipe, some close ups, where we stayed, and some pictures from a photo walk.

Ultimate Pretzel Crusted Peanut Butter Cookie Candy Brownie Bars

Sometimes I see a recipe on Pinterest and it consumes my thoughts.  This cookiebarcandy did consume me, I just had to bake them.  This is not diet food.  This is a decadent treat, folks.

I baked them to bring to the family reunion.

One of the first years at the reunion I heard the AUNTS ask, "who made these bars?"  I looked over and realized they were eating the jeans bars I'd brought.  Should I claim them or slink outside?

I decided to claim them and asked if something was wrong with the bars.

"uhm, no, but next year bring a double batch!"

I feel as though the aunts expect something big from me and this year I went with...

Ultimate Pretzel Crusted Peanut Butter Cookie Candy Bar Brownies

 2 1/2 c. crushed butter pretzels

1 cup melted butter

5 T. sugar

Crush the pretzels, not to dust but leave some chunks and then mix with the sugar and melted butter.

 Pat the crust into a 9 x 13 pan that you've sprayed with Pam.

 Mix up one peanut butter cookie mix according to the instructions on the package and then pat it on top of the crust.  Obviously, mine isn't perfect.  I pat with slightly wet finger tips so it doesn't pull up the crust.

 Then unwrap 24 Reese's snack size peanut butter cups and set them on top of the cookie dough. 

They fit perfectly!

 Then mix up a batch of brownies from a mix, following the instructions on the package.

Pour/spread the brownie batter over the top of the candy bars.

Bake at 350 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes.  Cool.

 Then realize that you have made a big ol' mess in your kitchen.  Shed a few tears.  Buck up princess, because the reward in in the oven.

 I cut out a little taste this morning because I would not want to bring something bad to the family reunion.

Oh, why yes, they're good.  I just feel like they need chocolate frosting though, so I'm going to go ahead and frost them.  Because... well, you know me, I can't just bake a recipe and leave it alone.  There is always room for improvement and frosting!

I baked another treat too and I'll share that recipe when we get home.

I'm busy packing and gathering today.  I can't wait to see Max and of course, everyone else!

Berry Season

We are in the berries, the blueberries, raspberries and a variety of blackberries are all ripe.  Right now.

Since we are going to a family reunion this weekend I feel compelled to bring something with berries to share.  I have some baking, some shopping to do and lots of packing to do today.

I hope to post my dessert recipes before I leave but if not, I'll get them to you when I return.  In the meantime, if you are in need of good berry recipes, the museum gift shop has some great recipe books.

The Joy of Series includes raspberries, blueberries, apples, rhubarb and strawberries.

Yum!