Back to school in style....(I think)

Okay, so its back to school next week for Oregon residents even though some schools actually started this week. What types of memories do you have of going back to school or what have you done to make going back to school memorable for your kids?

With 6 children in school, my mother had enough trouble just getting everyone ready and out the door for school let alone having time to make any memories.

As a single parent, going back to school for my one daughter was an important ritual I started when she was only 5 years old. To prepare for the big day, I'd always take her shopping a few weeks before school started getting those precious styles "just right". My daughter back then even at 5 years old knew what her style would be and the deal was that if she didn't wear her new clothes within 2 weeks, they would go back to the store. Of course after the first week of school, she knew exactly what styles were in or out. This one daughter remains my fashionista expert to date and helps me decide what's in or out when we go shopping. We laugh a lot and have a system of trying on clothes that would make most people laugh!

After shopping, we would go on one last camping trip together, go to the beach and Mo's, go up to Silver Creek Falls one more time and of course go visit Grandma and Grandpa on the farm. The first day of school would be spent getting ready and then standing outside in front of the door getting her "first school day picture". This was a ritual that happened every year until High School and even then, I would make anyone who was going back to school get their picture taken. I know the kids got tired or it, but I still made them do it.

One more memory I would try to make for my daughter was to take her out for breakfast where she and I would share a large cinnamon roll and slices of bacon with milk and orange juice. During those breakfasts, we would talk about life, boys, and expectations of school. I smile remembering all those first days of school and special breakfasts together.

If you want to treat your family to some "quick" cinnamon rolls that are easy and simple, follow this recipe. Take time to make some memories with your children as they go back to school.

Simple quick cinnamon rolls

1 box of puff pastry
1/2 cup brown sugar per sheet of pastry.
2 tablespoons of softened butter for each sheet of pastry.
1 teaspoon cinnamon for each sheet of pastry.

Follow the directions on the puff pastry box making sure to keep the pastry cold as you work. Roll out the dough just a bit and spread with the butter, brown sugar and sprinkle the cinnamon on top. Roll the long end of the sheet and cut the roll into 6 cinnamon rolls. Place on parchment paper on a baking sheet and back again according to the box of pastry sheets until the tops are golden brown.

Each sheet of pastry will equal 6 cinnamon rolls. Frost with your favorite buttercream of eat them without. These rolls are light and airy and so full of good layers of buttery goodness.

Memories of precious saints....

This last week brought back some memories of when I was a little girl and my family spending time with cousins, aunts and uncles and friends of my parents. My parents believed relatives should get to know each other so it seemed like every event or holiday, our family either hosted or spent time with another family at our house or their house.

Of course coming from a German background, my family believed in providing a huge dinner or potluck. When I was young, you could hear the older relatives speaking a form of low German. My grandmother was a formidable woman and she would state, "You are now in America, and you must speak Enlish." My dad related it drove him nuts as a young boy because he only knew German, and didn't like to speak English. Looking back, I wish they would have continued to speak both languages but that never happened.

During these gatherings family members never made just "one" dish, but would make four or five dishes including making a dessert. I think this has carried over to myself and siblings because whenever we get together, we always bring our share of food and the table is always over-flowing. If you ever come to a potluck where I'm invited, you'll find I've made several dishes because I don't want anyone to go home hungry. If there are leftovers, I send the leftovers home with friends.

As I mentioned earlier, the memories flooded back because our family lost two more older saints this last week. The loss reminds me that my siblings are now the older "it" generation. One of these saints regularly hosted Father's day events either in Dallas, Salem or Portland, and again, there was an abundance of food. Chicken seemed to show up in some form or another at every potluck.

My mother made this chicken dish using raisins and prunes. Yes, I said prunes. They provide am amazing addition to this chicken dish, and the recipe I'm sharing today is my mother's baked chicken with gravy.

Baked Chicken with raisins and prunes with gravy

1 cut up chicken, cleaned and washed
salt to taste
pepper to taste
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup prunes
1 onion sliced into four pieces

Place the chicken in the bottom of a roasting pan and salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle on top the raisins and prunes and onions. Cover the chicken and bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour. Take the top off the chicken and continue to bake and additional 30 minutes. Remove the chicken and place on a platter and cover with foil to keep warm.

Deglaze the pan with 1 cup water. Mix together a "slurry". We traditionally used some type of shaker jar. 1 cup water with 2-3 tablespoons flour. (The water should be cold). Shake the jar until there are no more lumps. Add the slurry to the deglazed pan with the fruit in it. Cook to gravy consistency. Taste for salt and add it if needed. We had the gravy over mashed potatoes but you could use rice or even pasta if you wanted. Enjoy.

What is age? "Happy Birthday to you."

Okay, so I had a birthday yesterday and am one year older. In honor of my birthday, I decided to delay the story of my grandfather a few more weeks and give out another recipe and memory of growing up on the farm.

What is age???

* Age is something God has given us
* Age - is better than the alternative (lol)
* Age doesn't dictate how we really feel inside (My hair looks younger than I am)
* Age is not something to be afraid of (embrace it....maybe - I still remember turning 40
* Age is something we can laugh about or not
* Age is something to be proud of, you've earned it
* Age is to be celebrated with those you love

So, on August 14, 1949, my mother relates she had been picking and canning peaches on the day of my birth and my father had been in the field working with his father on the summer harvest. Mom related she had labor pains and they decided to head to the hospital where I was born. Of course I remember being born.....Not!

Birthdays my house growing up were quiet. We didn't have a lot of money, but there was always a gift or card and of course the ever present birthday cake.

After having a child come into my world, I wanted her birthdays to be special and I would try to make each birthday memorable. One birthday, I had a clown come to my home with a bunch of balloons. Another birthday, I made sure family celebrated with a big party.

When I remarried, I drove all the kids nuts by singing "Happy Birthday" to them all day - many times a day. This means I would sing multiple times until they would go, "Mom, STOP!!!! Alright, already." Every year, it would be the same thing. So now when all my children are gone, I get these goofy phone calls with my kids singing back to me, you guessed it, "Happy Birthday". What special memories it brings and of course, I smile.

So do I still sing all day long to my family and kids??? Wellllll......Yes, in some form,the "Happy Birthday" song shows up in emails, texts, and even phone calls. I think the kids secretly still love to hear that goofy song on their birthday.

On my birthday, I usually make my own cake and yesterday was Sunday. As many of you know, I usually make something for our church crew for their breakfast. I made my famous cinnamon scones (this recipe was given out in a previous post), and one of my own creations, a spicy Cinnamon applesauce/Walnut cake with an icing made with cream, vanilla and maple. So without further ado....

....Happy Birthday to you....Happy Birthday to you....Happy Birthday to Everyone....Happy Birthday to you...Do This about 10 times and you'll know what my family sent through.

Spicy Cinnamon Applesauce/Walnut Cake

1 cup butter softened
2 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 eggs
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 cups flour
2 cups unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup ground walnuts and 1 cup chopped walnuts
2 Tablespoons cinnamon

Cream the first two ingredients and then add the eggs, one at a time, followed by the salt, baking powder, soda and cinnamon. Gradually mix in the flour with the applesauce, starting with the flour and ending with the applesauce. Fold in the ground nuts and chopped nuts. Pour into a bundt pan and bake at 350 degrees until the cake is done. This takes about 30-40 minutes.

Icing
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon maple flavoring
1/4 cup cream

Mix all items together and pour the icing over the cooled cake.

Enjoy....Happy Birthday to you....Happy Birthday to you....Happy Birthday to Everyone....Happy Birthday to you...

Sind das die knabel alle. (Is that all of the Boys?)

In the next few posts, I will be retelling the story of my grandfather who came to America when he was 13 years old and the adventures he had getting here. The story was first published in a Mennonite periodical. I will be breaking up the story into segments and of course finish with a German Mennonite recipe.

Sind das die Knabel alle - A story of Pete and Cornelius Reimer

It is always with great interest, as one looks back upon our lives to see how the Lord has led us along our way. Looking ahead, father saw many testings and obstacles in the way for his family of 5 boys and 3 girls in Russia. This prompted him to weigh carefully the possibility of moving to the United States where three of his brothers were already living. Talking it over with his wife, they decided to have a public auction selling their farm implements, livestock and household furniture and goods and then move to America.

In the spring of 1910 father sold all of his belongings but only received a small part of the money making down payments for the trip. After all arrangements were made, a date was set to start. Two other families decided to also move to America. The date to leave All-Atta, now named Dushanbe, was set as May 22, 1910. From Alle-Atta to Tashkent they made the trip via covered wagon because no railroad was in the area. This journey took 1 week. They traveled by day and stopped at night in lodgings. The lodgings generally were a large one room affair and meant sleeping on the cold floor, bedding had to be taken along, as well as things to cook and eat. The children remember getting hungry and begging mother for something to eat. Finally she got out a large flour sack full of roasted bread she had prepared before leaving their home.

In the family were, David D, mother Anna and children, David 15, Isaac 14, Mary 13, Peter 12, Jacob 10, Anna 8, Elizabeth 6 and Cornelius 4.

After a week of a rough wagon ride, they arrived in Tashkent where they purchased a ticket and left for Bremen, Germany. This trip went well and without any complications. Arriving in Bremen they wasted no time getting tickets and passage on an ocean liner for America. While waiting for the ship to arrive, they all stayed in a large one room affair close to the docks especially built for the purpose of families to stay while waiting for their ship. In due time, they arrived in Philadelphia and from there after a number of hot days, they arrived at their destination, Galveston, Texas. Galveston was the closest port to Hillsboro, Kansas, their final destination, where father's three brothers were living. But Galveston was to be their crucial place, for here it was where trying events began to happen..........Next post will continue the story.

Scripture cake

1 1/2 C Judges 5:25 1/2 C Judges 4:19
2 C Jeremiah 6:20 2 teaspoon I Samuel 14:25
4 1/2 C I Kings 4:22 2 teaspoon Amos 4:5
2 C I Samuel 30:12 6 (whole) Jeremiah 17:11
2 C Nahum 3:12 1 pinch Leviticus 2:13
1 C Numbers 17:8

Season to taste according to II Chronicles 9:9. Follow Solomon's prescription for making the cake, Proverbs 14:23. Bake at 325 degrees for 50 minutes.

Now, if I told you what the ingredients were, it wouldn't be a challenge. Enjoy and yes, this is an old world cake.

China, glass crystal wine glasses....White Water rafting....recipe for disaster.

Summer time is a time to celebrate the warmth of the sun and in our family, White Water rafting.I had never been white water rafting in my life until I met my husband back in 1991. He is an accomplished river captain and spent most of the summer weekends on the river camping and running the white water.

The first time he asked, "Want to come came and run the white water with me?" I said, "sure", even though it scared me. Now I'm not one who is afraid of water because I was a lifeguard and water instructor at one time in my life, but watching rafts go down a "Class 4" rapid is a bit frightening. (Rapids are classed from 1-5 with 5 being the most difficult rapid to manuever in.

Okay, so I'm getting ready for my first camping trip and I pack my crystal, china and wine so that we could have a romantic dinner next to the river. I couldn't figure out why my husband would pack water along since when I used to camp with my daughter, I would pitch our tent next to a water faucet in the campground and next to the bathrooms and showers.

Camping near the river we were rafting was considered "dry" camping and that means there is no water unless you bring it in. Plus on the high desert, the winds come up in the afternoons and the sand and dust is incredible. How did my romantic dinner come off? We laugh about it now, because the crystal and china remained packed and we ate off paper plates and drank out of paper cups (of course my husband was sensible and packed the right type of things for this type of camping). I still smile when I think about our camping trips with our family over the years and once our girls started rafting with us, they eventually stood at the bow of the rafts going over "class 3" rapids. But that's another story for another time.

Since that first rafting trip, I've learned to pack the right way so instead of a recipe with this post, I'm giving you hints on how to pack for a multiple day rafting trip and how you can keep your food cool even in the hot heat on the river.

Tips for white water river camping:

Plan your menu ahead of time
Pre-cook all your food except pasta and/or instant potatoes
Place all the pre-cooked food in double zip-lock baggies
Freeze the baggies flat
You can even freeze breads and milk

The day of your trip, take the zip lock baggies and place them in the order of how you will eat the meals. If you use multiple coolers, once the coolers are packed do not open them until the day you eat your meals. (This keeps the items frozen longer).

Use the river to wet some towels and place these over the coolers. This also keeps them protected and they stay cooler as well

Once you're ready to eat a meal, empty your baggies into a skillet or saucepan and heat through. You may need to add a little water, milk or oil to get things reheated.

If you follow these simple rules, your camp kitchen will be smaller because you won't have to pack so many saucepans and skillets and clean-up will be easier.

Happy White Water Rafting this summer!!