road to sorrento, day one

DMP and I hit the road at 8 AM Friday, after one stop to buy folding “pickin’ stools” at the Big R.  No one at the sporting goods store calls them “pickin stools”, of course, because they’re for perching upon while hunting, I think; they have camouflage seats.

The Bluegrass camp brochure suggested we have them for jamming.  You know, because we are such fine musicians.  And jamming is what we do.  Because we are so cool.

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Speaking of cool, here’s DMP posing next to a Harley on a ferry in British Columbia.  Note:  I cannot tell you where we are or what body of water we are crossing.  The GPS system guided us north to Revelstoke (more about that later) and we simply followed the pink line on the Garmin.

Next time we will have a map.

We stopped at the Duty Free store before crossing the border and bought our “one bottle per person” booze (more about that later).

Here’s a photo to make Banjo Man nervous.  I cannot believe I drove our new-to-us car onto a packed ferry.  The ferry parking man kept yelling “Pivot!!!”

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I still don’t know what he meant by that.

About 8 hours of driving through mountains and past lakes, rivers and forests brought us here:

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Revelstoke, BC is a cool little town.  They have an Avalanche Center.  And a billion miles of mountain bike trails.

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We ate in a pub with chairs made out of skis.

I forgot my camera.

The main street was blocked off for a nightly live music performance, so we listened to the band and watched toddlers dance until it grew too cold.

We left our pickin’ stools in the car, but DMP practiced her mandolin before she went to bed.  That’s what musicians do.

We’re revving up for camp.  We really hope we’re not too old for this.

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off to camp

No, I’m not off to go camping (never, ever, ever again).

I’m off to Camp.  Bluegrass Camp.

Have you ever been to camp?  Everyone I ask says “yes”.

I haven’t.  I think I spent a couple of weekends at Girl Scout camp, but that wasn’t really “going to camp”.   I wasn’t the kind of child who wanted to leave my familiar home.

Actually, I didn’t want to camp, either.  My parents, brother and I once spent 2 weeks in a campground due to my father’s work (something about contaminated seafood in upstate NY).  I brought 28 library books (two books a day for 14 days) and rarely left the tent the first week.  On day 8 I made friends with the caretaker’s dog and discovered the camp store sold ice cream.  Things got a little better.

Now that I’m sixty, I think I can handle a week away from home.  So I’m gonna pack up the fiddle, rosin up the bow and head north, with Dancing Mandolin Player riding shotgun in the Highlander!

Banjo Man will have to take care of things here all by himself.

See you next week. 

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annual oyster party, part 1

setting the stage

elk kabobsfood and conversation

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special raspberry pie recipe request

I made three of these Raspberry Cream Pies  last summer.  In fact I made them at 5 AM one Wednesday morning before I went to an exercise class, slipped and fell on my face.  I came home with two black eyes, a smashed nose and one heck of a headache, but my kitchen looked worse than I did.

Beware, this is messy, so double or triple the recipe and get it all over at once.  The results are worth it and everyone will be so happy to have a fork and a plate and a chance to eat a piece or two or three of this.  I made three more this week and several people asked for the recipe, so here it is.

Thank you, Pioneer Woman!!!

Raspberry Cream Pie

by Ree on August 1, 2010 in Desserts, Pies

August 1, 2010DessertsPies

Preparation Instructions

To make the crust, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Crust cookies in a food processor (or smash in a Ziploc bag with a rolling pin). Stir in melted butter until all combined. Pour into a regular pie pan and press crumbs all over the pan and up the sides. Bake for 3 to 4 minutes—just long enough for it to set. Cool crust completely.

Place raspberries on a plate or in an empty pan. Smash them with a fork, then sprinkle on 3 tablespoons of sugar. Stir together and allow to sit for 15 minutes.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine raspberry yogurt with the instant vanilla pudding mix (just the powder itself.) Beat on low until combined, about 1 minute. Pour in heavy cream and whip on low for 30 seconds. Stop the mixer and scrape down the bowl with a rubber spatula. Turn mixer on medium-high speed and beat for two minutes, or until mixture is thick.

Turn off mixer, then fold in raspberries until just combined. Pour into cooled pie pan and spread evenly. Freeze for two hours, or until very firm. Cut into slices and top each slice with cookie crumbs, dollops of whipped cream, and extra raspberries. Keep in freezer, allowing time to thaw before serving.

Ingredients

  • 25 whole Oreo Chocolate Sandwich Cookies
  • 4 Tablespoons Butter, Melted
  • 1 cup (generous) Raspberries
  • 3 Tablespoons Sugar
  • 2 containers (6 Ounce Each) Raspberry Yogurt
  • 1 package (3.4 Ounch) Instant Vanilla Pudding Mix
  • 1 cup Heavy Whipping Cream
  • Extra Raspberries For Garnish
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old dog new tricks

out of the kitchen and into the kayak

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the omg! peach pie cake dessert recipe

This is Award Winning Peaches and Cream Pie, from allrecipes. com.  I like recipe sites that let you read comments by other cooks, don’t you?

I made this last year by doubling the recipe and baking it in a 10 x 14 pan.  Banjo Man raved about it, but I was in the middle of peach pies and raspberry pies and blueberry cakes and didn’t pay much attention to his comments.  The dessert went to a pot luck and I never thought about it again until last week.

This time I doubled the recipe and used  8″ and 9″ springform pans.  I also cut out circles of parchment paper and lined the bottoms of the pan.  I wanted a fancier looking dessert, one that I could put on a cake pedestal after a special dinner.

So here’s my version:

BOTTOM LAYER:

3/4 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 (3 ounce) package non-instant vanilla pudding mix

3 tablespoons butter, softened

1 egg

1/2 cup milk

PEACH LAYER:   6 fresh peaches, peeled, sliced and drained in a colander (save the juice).  I sprinkle lemon juice (1/2 TBS) and 3 TBS sugar over the peaches, toss and let sit while I make the cake.

TOP LAYER:

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
3 TBS peach juice
1/2 cup white sugar

SPRINKLE:   1/2 tablespoon white sugar,  1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon (this is half what the original recipe calls for, and next time I make this I may omit it).

As you can see, this is a 4-bowl cake and makes a kitchen counter look like Hell’s Kitchen.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease sides and bottom of an 8″ or  9″ springform pan.  Cut parchment paper in a circle to fit, and grease.

Mix together flour, salt, baking powder and dry pudding mix.  Add butter, egg and milk. Beat for 2 minutes. Pour mixture into pan. Arrange the peach slices on top of the pudding mixture.

In a small mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Add 1/2 cup sugar and 3 tablespoons reserved peach juice . Beat for 2 minutes. Spoon mixture over peaches to within 1 inch of pan edge.  Optional:  Mix together sugar and cinnamon, and sprinkle over top.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes, until golden brown.  Cool on a rack, of course, then carefully (you may need to use a knife if the sides stick) remove the sides of the pan.  Chill before serving.

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just another tuesday evening

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maiden voyage

This is how Lewis and Clark did it.

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will is coming

“Will is coming” is something my oldest son tells me he can’t say in front of his dog or his toddler.

General mayhem ensues, with barking and excitement and leaning on the front door waiting for “Uncle Will” to arrive and play and wrestle and tease.  “Will is coming” in never said out loud unless he is within three blocks of the house.  The anticipation is just plain overwhelming.

We’re feeling a little like that ourselves.  I’m not leaning against the car door waiting to leave for the airport, but I have filled the refrigerator with lots of good stuff.

Like bacon.

And barbecued ribs.

These guys are tired of waiting for the plane to land, so they have gone off to buy a kayak or two.

We already know there will be campfires.

And fishing.


He will bring new songs for us to listen to, new books for us to read, archeaology news to discuss, college football predictions and movie reviews.  I suspect the conversations will be unending, because this particular son is a chatty guy.

“Will is coming”.

There.  I said it out loud.

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raspberry buttermilk cake

I can’t wait to make this.  It’s fresh raspberry season here!

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The above link will take you to the Tasty Kitchen website and lots of recipes posted by very talented bloggers and cooks.

Enjoy.

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