Cranbery Butter

Every once in awhile your parents are right.  This is few and far between when you are a pre-teen or teenager.  Let me tell you the time my parents were right.

My parents love the coast.  Oregon, Washington, doesn't matter.  We would go to an area called Willapa Bay.  Very very small.  The local town, Oysterville, gives you a hint on what went down in Willapa Bay.  There was a restaurant there that my parents fell in love with. The Ark. This restaurant was around for 25 years and the owners/chefs, Nanci Main and Jimella Lucas set the bar high and early for using only local ingredients, become it became such a fad now.

The Ark was able to do what so many restaurants can't do: be good at many things, while staying in business for a long time and never comprising the integrity of their food. There are cranberry bogs not far from The Ark. And those bogs made what my mom considers what dreams are made of. Their Cranberry Butter. Mom has an (un)healthy relationship with cranberries. She loves them in and on anything.   She once got for Christmas a 5 pound bag of dried cranberries. I kid you not.

The Ark Chef's put a out a few cookbooks, and my mom, bless her heart, had Nanci and Jimella autograph them. To put in perspective how amzing Nanci and Jimella are, read this article.

http://www.oregonlive.com/travel/index.ssf/2013/08/washingtons_long_beach_peninsu.html

JAMES BEARD declared it his "favorite seafood spot" JAMES BEARD!!!  If you are saying to yourself " Who is Jams Beard?" No worries. Read about him here. If you are jumping up and down, saying "No Way, James Beard!" You are welcome. He is only a God among true foodies!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Beard

Like I said previously, my mom loved their Cranberry Butter. I have the recipe.  A photocopy, from one of her Ark cookbooks. Today I made it. And it is glorious!!  I let the kids help, and even they wanted to stick their grimy fingers in and just eat butter.  So here is a pic of the finished product and the recipe.

Doesn't that look amazing?  I *may* have eaten a spoonful. I

It was a hit for Thanksgiving. Speaking of which..........
We had a pretty full house. Us 4, Andy's parent's, his mom's sister, Aunt Terri, his brother Matt and his friend Heather, plus Andy's BFF Rick and his wife Steph and their son Joseph! We had lots of vegetables and some non-traditional dishes.  Since Thanksgiving was also the beginning of Hanukkah I wanted to incorporate that.  I have Jewish friends, and have always appreciated the dishes  so with some help from a website I whipped up a few.  Cranberry Applesauce (supposed to be put on Latkes, but was pretty good on Turkey) and Horseradish Mashed Potatoes. The potatoes were sooooo yummy.  A little bit of kick (don't use horsey sauce from Arby's as a substitute) and very creamy. 

In the last picture you can see the cranberry butter all done.  Mmmm, may have to and have some soon. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I even went out on Friday and went shopping with Terri (at 5:30 am no less)! 

Jelly and Jolly!

The day after Halloween the kiddo's went to the dentist. Terrible timing right? Not for us though.  We don't really let them eat candy, and if we do, it's once in a great awhile.  We had a dentist appointment,their very first one, back in April and it was terrible. Small waiting room, no toys, you could hear children screaming and crying, and the Dr. didn't even examine, he just glanced in there mouths, and said see you in 6 months. And this was a Pediatric Dentist!!!  I was not pleased.  But in the world of insurance, you have to wait exactly 6 months before you can get your next appointment if just for clearing and exam.

At the time, our insurance only covered one pediatric dentist, but starting in September I began to look to see if another was covered, and we were in luck, there was! Although it would end up being 7 months from the previous appointment, I wasn't too worried about their teeth health. They take fluoride drops every night and eat pretty healthy, don't suck thumbs, got rid of the pacifier at 11 months, and bottles at 12 months. 

Their Dr. couldn't stop saying how well behaved they were, how they sat there quietly, and followed the directions. I am sure they will lose their minds next visit. Their new dentist is just amazing. Patient, kind, friendly, informative. I was almost in tears with how awesome she was.  She seriously made the kids so relaxed and happy to be there. 

Verona as loving the cleaning. She wanted to do it herself. 

That afternoon my mom and I made grape jelly.  My dad had picked grapes, peeled them, juiced them, and had the juice in a container that they brought down so we could make jelly.  I haven't made jelly with my mom since I was in Camp Fire! 

Unfortunately, it didn't turn out.  Not sure if we didn't cook it long enough or what.  I'll take the blame. We had 24 jars, and only 8 of them got anything close to solid.  So, we put those in the freezer for freezer jelly. The rest, I had to dump. But it was fun.  Usually Andy and my mom make jelly or jam together, but this time I wanted to do it. 

The next day, Saturday, my parents left to head home.  We were so glad to spend so much time with them and the kiddo's were sad to see Oma and Opa go.  But, we know we will see them in January!

Halloween!

*****Warning***** There will be a picture over load here.  I am going to just descrobe the day then load you up on pics. Sorry?  Not really.  ; )

On Halloween, the down town businesses get together and partner with the local Rotary club to do Treat Street.  We have done this every year since they were born.  Treat street allows kids to trick-or-treat during the day with their families at local businesses. It is super fun.  Some business choose not to participate, luckily, we don't' patron those places because they tend to be snobby anyways. Rotary members put on vests and run the cross walks so it is pretty safe.  The downtown plaza has music playing and does  a costume contest.  Andy was working, so my parents and I got the kids dressed and headed down town. We found an awesome parking spot (that never happens), and were there for an hour and it was perfect. 

I asked Trent if he wanted to walk or ride in a stroller. He asked for the stroller. Ha ha. Made it easy for us. Verona refused to wear her cape, and would not take off her mask ever.  Finding Miss Chico and Miss Runner up Chico (?) was her highlight. 

After we got done, went home put them down for a nap, and then we got ready for Halloween.  Andy and I LOVE Halloween.  Andy, myself, my mom, his brother Matt, and his Dad came with us to Trick-or Treat, while my dad and Heather, Matt's GF stayed behind to hand out Candy.  The very fist house they ever trick-or-treated at was at Rick and Steph's.  I did that on purpose, they are our best friends and neighbors and the kids knew them so they wouldn't' get too freaked out.  

The weather was nice enough that we all hung out on our porch,drank beers, and I handed out candy to kids. It was fun all of us together, laughing, joking, checkout out costumes.

 We have this window next to our front door, I have to put the curtain up because the kids love to stand there and look out. 

 Steph had 2 costumes that night! She was Daenerys
 from Game of Thrones when we stopped by earlier, then she came over as Tinkerbell! Verona couldn't stop staring at her and loved her costume.

 I pickedup these masks at a local party store. The kids' costumes were made by my mom.  I went all out last year, but wanted something they could keep wearing since they love dressing up.  I found this pattern for capes and after buying all the fabric, I sent it to my mom to have her make it. HA! Trenton's cape is Gold witha football on the back, and the other side is Red, with a Gold T, colors of the 49ers!  V's cape is purple, with a bejeweled crown on one side, and pink with a Purple V on the other.  Trent was a super hero 49ers fan, and V was  "Ballerina Super hero princess" her words.  Also, she loves unicorns, like, a lot.  I wish I could say this is her only Unicorn shirt, but it's not. 

 Heather putting stickers on their fingernails.

 Our neighbors did this cool thing with their car.

 Bear, Heather's dog.

 Trent with Grandpa Andy

Prankster!

My dad is a HUGE prankster.  He has been playing on me since I was  kid.  From the "snake" in an envelope. This one involved a coin with a hole in it, 2 paperclips, and a  long rubberband. Scared the crap out of me as a 9 year old. So much, that I STILL HAVE THE PRANK in my desk at my parents house.

Here is a list of his best pranks:

1. Dona Forgetabutus. When Andy and I became engaged, I was still living at home.  I received a letter in the mail from a county office stating that I had to take a special class because I was marrying someone from outside Washington State, and had to pay a $150 fee for the class. I was freaking out! I mean, there were these old rumors of blood tests when you applied for a marriage certificate, so I didn't' know, maybe there was a class! It was signed from a Dona Forgetabutus.  I wasn't getting it.  When my dad got home from work, I told him about the letter. It was typed, signed, mailed, and on official letterhead and had an official county envelope. (My dad worked for the county for over 34 years).  He kept asking my who it was from. I kept saying the name over and over. He finally said say it slowly, Dona (Don't) Forgetabutus (Forget about us) I was dying. Such an awesome prank.

2. Deep Forest.  In the early 90's there was this electronica band, called Deep Forest. Here is a sample of their music.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPPsS4-Dsxg

Dad was REALLY into them. Had multiple tapes and listened to them all the time. In this video the voices/singing our high pitched. My dad told me that this band was actually a couple guys who had gone to Africa and recorded African Pygmy's chants and singing, and incorporated it into their music.  I was floored. How amazing!!!!!  I told everyone I knew for the next 20 YEARS this fact!!!! 20 years!!!!!!!!!!! No one corrected me. Probably because they were in on the joke, or they didn't know and went along with me.  Then I met Andy, told him how much I like Deep Forest, dropped my Deep Forest fun facts on him, and he laughed in my face. He told me the truth. I was crushed. I mean, this had been going on forever. I called my dad and told him I found out that Deep Forest was not actually African Pygmy's. He just howled with laughter that after all these years I still believed that. Well played dad, well played.

3. Reverse Psychology.  I hated lettuce on my sandwich as a child. Nothing worse then opening up your lunch, which has been sitting in your backpack all warm and taking the first bite, only to find a slimy piece of ice berg lettuce attached to the roof of your mouth. YUCK! In first grade I always peeled the lettuce off, and threw it away, and resumed eating my sandwich.  One day I came home from school, and that evening my dad said to me " Why didn't you eat your lettuce on your sandwich?" I was floored. HOW DID HE KNOW??????  I was pissed. I went to my best friend Jennifer, who also happened to live 3 houses down why she told on me.  She swore she never said a word.  For the next 11 years, I never figured it out.  Finally on the day I graduated HS, my dad told me. He used reverse psychology on me because he KNEW I hated lettuce on my sandwich and probably always took it off. Sneaky dad!! To this day, I don't really care for lettuce, of any kind, on my sandwich, unless it is cold. 

This leads me to the prank my dad pulled on our neighbor/friend Steph. Steph is married to Rick, who was best man in our wedding, and Andy was best man in their wedding. Back in January my parents were visiting and my dad decided, all on his own, to prank Steph.  This is the note he left on her truck on a Monday night.

There are many

leaves on your lawn

& driveway. The Neighborhood

would be appreciative if

you would remove them.

Thanks.

(Smiley Face)

 

Steph didn't find it until Tuesday evening when she and Rick went to leave to go out to dinner.  She freaked the EFF out.  HAHA!!  She thought it was girl hand writing due to the smiley face.  I won't go into details, but the note drove her crazy and pissed her off.  She finally texted me, hours later, and asked if I had left a note on her truck. I told her no, but my dad did. Comedy ensued.  She has been planning her revenge ever since.  That revenge happened on the Monday we went to the pumpkin patch.  Steph  has a key to our house, mainly because I am an idiot, and forget to lock doors sometimes, and when we go on vacay she sends their son over to make sure our house is ok . This is what happened while we were gone:

 My dad loves scotch.  He had a bottle he brought with him, not to mention the one we keep in the house. 

 The first clue was found on the back of a frame we have from when Andy and I went to the Eiffel Tower.

This hint was in our butch block.

 

 And finally in our guest bathroom was the final note!

BWHAHAHAHA!!  We were dying.  Andy had fallen asleep,the kids were napping, so it was my parents and I doing this "scavenger hunt". The red sauce is Siracha.  I wasn't sure what it was, it smelled spicy though!

Steph out did her self.  This was the best prank that I think has ever been played on my dad.  He is still talking about it!