Holiday Raspberry Salad

The requests have already started for the recipe for our traditional salad for holiday dinners!  I may have put this up already but here it is again in case you need something to make ahead or to take to someone else's  for a dinner party.

Holiday Raspberry Salad

Description:
This is the salad we all call around to get the recipe every Christmas so now you can just print it out.   I don't have the actual recipe here but here's the way most of us have modified it.

Ingredients:
Top and Bottom

1 large (6 serving) box raspberry Jello
1 1/2 cups water
1-2 bags frozen raspberries (depends on how raspberry you want it)
1 cup apples, chopped (optional)

Filling

1 8 oz package cream cheese
1 cup sour cream
2 cups miniature marshmallows

Directions:
Dissolve jello in hot water.   Stir in frozen raspberries and pour 1/2 mixture into a 9x13 pan.   Set in refrigerator while making filling.   Set other half aside.   Soften cream cheese and sour cream in mixer.   When well blended fold in marshmallows.   Spread filling on top of jello in 9x13 pan.   Spread rest of jello mixture on top of filling and refrigerate until set.

Number Of Servings:

Preparation Time:15-20 minutes

Memories of When We Had The Nation's Capitol Christmas Tree in North Park

Click on pictures to make them larger and hit the back button to get back to the blog.

The first day cover from that special time for all of us North Parkers!

 A friend of mine emailed me that the 2010 National Christmas Tree just went through Cheyenne after traveling all around Wyoming.   Many of you will remember way back to 1990 when the Nation's Capitol Christmas Tree came from Walden.  It was our Centennial and it was part of the celebration.

Bob was on the planning committee for this big event.

It was a really big deal with TV and newspapers from all over interviewing everyone.  Everything was a big event.  I think some Forest Service people went out and chose several trees to be flagged 2 or 3 years before it was our turn.  This part was very hush, hush so no one would know where the trees were and activists couldn't chain themselves to the trees when the time came to cut the chosen one!

Nice wood burning on Bob's plaque.

 When they cut the tree down, everyone was invited to attend the ceremonies.  There were speeches and as I recall they had the manufacturer of the chainsaw up there taking pictures for advertising purposes and who knows what else! I actually didn't attend but that was the story.  I think it was a Husquvarna but I'm not sure!

This was on the back of Bob's plaque.

 Traditionally school children from all over the state have been invited to make decorations for the tree and that was the case that year too.  I was not involved with that.  Our school groups, 4-H and local civic groups were invited to participate in a night time parade.  I'm not sure but I think it was the class I sponsored that had a float and I remember we had lumieres on it and it looked real cool!  Other floats had battery operated Christmas lights and I think my FHA or the 4-H or both had them all over their floats.  It was really very lovely and probably the only big night time parade ever held in North Park!

The logo for that year.

 A few days later they pulled the tree (which was all wrapped for shipping) through town with the Budweiser team. Everyone including me was running out into the street every few yards to get pictures and shake hands with the drivers.  They would stop and wait and then move on a few yards.  It was such fun!  A lot of kids who had graduated and were attending college or working somewhere else came up for this event and it was like the rodeo parade only with even more folks attending!

Of course we had to watch the lighting of the tree with all the children's decorations on it; and all the specials about how they placed and decorated the trees in the White House. You see, we didn't send just one tree but all the trees for decorating the White House and I think other Washington DC buildings as well! A delegation from North Park was there for all the festivities and they had a great time.





The funniest part of the whole deal was when my cousin called me from New Jersey and told us if we needed anything to let them know so they could help out!  It turned out that all the national TV and news coverage kept mentioning how poor our town was and how it was one step from bankruptcy!  We had a good chuckle over that even though it turned out to be very close to the truth.

This was how all Christmas cards were stamped that were mailed from Walden that year.

  They sent the tree back here when they were done with it. One of my students who was going for his Eagle Scout badge made wooden benches from it to put around town with a plaque telling the story of the tree.  The National Post Office Service also had a commemorative stamp made and I have a first day cover of it.  Sadly, there won't be any more trees from here, I don't think.  The pine beetles have really killed a majority of the big ones in our county.

Now I need to go see if I can find those pictures I took of the Clydesdales!  And where did I put that first day cover????

Sorry, I couldn't find  my pictures of the Clydesdales.  This all took place before I owned a digital camera and I'm sure the pictures are stored away in some box from one of our moves!  Or maybe Carla has them at her house where she is doing a lot of scrapbooking.  If I come across them I'll have to post them on this blog later.

Update on Harvest Craft Fair 2010 and Our Snowy Weekend

We are all set for a fun day at the craft fair.

 This year Carla decided to come down from Casper to do the Harvest Craft Fair with me.  I didn't do it for several years and they had moved it back to the old gym again.  We got up bright and early, got the car packed up with all our stuff and headed for town.

We were set up and ready to go by 9 AM and people started coming around.  Meanwhile Carla met up with a classmate she hadn't seen since graduation from high school (Nancy Knox Wattenberg).

Carla and Nancy get caught up on the North Park scuttlebutt.

They started visiting and 3 hours later were still talking!  That is the best part about doing a craft fair in North Park.  It is not about selling your wares as much as it is about getting caught up on all the visiting with friends you haven't seen in a very long time! Our table was between the Senior citizens booth and the Cattlewomen's booth.  That was great for us since I knew most of those people and we had a good time chatting with each other!

Two "crafty" ladies!

We did sell some of our wares and made enough to cover our fee for the table and then some.  Bob, of course, pointed out that I didn't cover the cost of making my Christmas Mix Cones, but then I didn't use up  even half of the supplies I bought and they will make great Christmas presents for the grandkids who are away at school and for all of us to use over the holidays.

In the afternoon it started to snow and by the time we got packed up and started for home the road was very slick with black ice.  When we were stopping to open gates we had 3 to 4 inches of snow and visibility was low!  Good thing we had Carla's Jeep with 4 wheel drive to get up the hill behind the barns.

After unloading the car and getting things put away we felt it was time for some hot tubbing.

Ahhhh!  So warm and relaxing!

Notice the ambiance while hot tubbing!  Nothing like a cold metal shop building to make you feel warm and cozy!

Brrrr!  Carla is braver and hardier than I am!

  It was a long day and after a glass of wine, some delicious cream of cauliflower soup and Red Lobster cheese biscuit clones we called it a night.  But not before Carla made some yummy baked apples with cheese.  It was a very good day.

A snowy evening at Meemo's cabin.

Sunday was a lazy day of watching the Broncos finally play a game worth watching and winning it too!  We were so sure they would win that at the half we decided to hot tub again.  It was still snowing but not really putting down much snow so we did not heed Bob's advice to plug in the Cat so we could get out the next day.  We watched TV, played on our computers and drank some of the chocolate Peppermint Cocoa mix we had left over.

Carla and Izzy are worn out after our busy day!

We finally got to sit down and watch some TV.

  Before I went to bed that night I checked to see if the moon was out but it was snowing pretty hard by then!  Oh well, too late to worry about Carla getting home by then,

It is now Monday and still snowing and not putting too much snow down.  We can probably drive out of here still with the pick up and Jeep but Wyoming roads are a different story!  Carla cannot drive home because all the roads she needs to go on are only "for necessary travel"! She has decided to spend another night here and take her chances tomorrow.  It is supposed to clear up by then so I think she'll finally make it!

Carla checks on the road report for Southern Wyoming.

Here are some more pictures of our weekend.

  Messing around in the hot tub and snow!

Our friends the Stellars Blue Jays have returned.  Notice the 3 waiting their turn at the feed box!

The Edmond Fitzgerald--Remember That Old Song?

The Edmund Fitzgerald

 Every year around November 10, I hear something about the big ore
freighter, The Edmund Fitzgerald.  Some of you might remember that song written and sung by Gordon Lightfoot that went on and on for about 5 or 6 minutes telling the story of how it disappeared in Lake Superior during a terrible storm losing 29 lives.

I always think about our experiences with my dad every time I hear about this story.  When I was young Dad used to take us down to the docks in Milwaukee to look at the big Ore ships and oil tankers.  Even then they were huge and very impressive!  We would discuss how many stories tall those wheel houses were.  I remember us kids laughing about the unimaginative names of those big vessels, and wondering who the men were that they were named after.  It was kind of fun to be down there and I know it sounds pretty dorky but I'm glad Dad thought this was a fun and educational thing to do.

Today I am thinking that one of those huge ships was the Edmund Fitzgerald!  Lake Michigan is right next to Lake Superior up north and it is probable (and I even think in that long song he mentions something about leaving from Lake Michigan).  By the time the tanker went down, (I think 35 years ago) I was married and living in Walden where shipping news doesn't quite make it out to the ranches very quickly.  When the song came out, I was busy with babies and cooking for hay crews, etc. and didn't really listen to the whole thing very carefully.  I did say to myself, though, that it was pretty typical to have such a boring name for the ship! 

Now for the last few years the news stations have a piece on this story every year and it got me to thinking about it and bringing back fond memories of our family time down on Lake Michigan. You can probably tell that I am a history buff and now I am sorry I didn't memorize some of those names so I could really know I had actually seen this famous ship!

THE WRECK OF THE EDMUND FITZGERALD is based on the real-life sinking of a giant ore freighter which went down with all hands on Lake Superior in November of 1975 (Gordon Lightfoot made it famous with his haunting ballad).

It reads like a Greek tragedy: they knew they were in trouble (but didn't know why) and that their only hope was reaching the safety of Whitefish bay.

The story follows three Captains: McSorley, Stigler and Cooper. Captain McSorley was the captain of the Fitzgerald and many have questioned why he did the things he did and what happened. Captain Stigler was his colorful mentor who taught him the survival skills he needed to face the third worst storm of the century.

Captain Cooper was master of the ship Arthur M. Anderson, which accompanied the Edmund Fitzgerald across Lake Superior on its final voyage. Cooper turned his ship around and went back into the worst of the storm to look for the Fitzgerald.

Throughout the fateful evening, the Edmund Fitzgerald began having problems as her radars went out, her ship began filling with water and she began to list to one side.

Nature conspired against her as well shutting down several Coast Guard stations, forcing the evacuation of communications towers and finally shutting down all power in Sault Ste Marie as it grew into one of the worst storms of the century.

In the summer of 1994, the writer, Chris Chabot was invited on an expedition to the ship where they found a crew member and made a lot of news. Word made its way back to the families that he had written this script.

He was tracked down by five family members who asked about the project. Each was sent a copy of the script. One by one they responded. Several said they cried for quite some time after reading it and each said it was a story that must be made!

Embroidery Machine Woes and 2010 Craft Fair

2007 North Park craft fair held in the high school halls.

Two weeks have slipped by without a comment from me!  Where does time go anyway!  I have been so frustrated this fall with a malfunctioning embroidery machine!  On Thursday just as I was gearing up for the fall craft fair here and just hours after I had mailed my check for a booth, my machine mysteriously shut down and only made clicking sounds when I tried to restart it!


I called Larry up at Twin Falls Sewing Center, my guru for embroidery machines and the man who keeps my machine going.  He said it either overheated or the power board had gone out.  By Friday I knew it was the power board.  This was the third time since the first of September that I had to box up my machine and Fed Ex it up to Idaho!  You may wonder why I wouldn't just take it in to my local Bernina dealer--Larry even asked me why that wasn't an option. 

Well, here's the story on that.  First, my "local" dealer would be like in Ft. Collins or Loveland 120 miles away over Cameron Pass.  Second, I have tried both of those dealers plus a dealer in Casper WY while I was up at Carla's, and a huge repair shop for commercial machines near our hotel in Denver this summer.  All of these except the last one would not even look at my machine for at least two weeks (they had to send it out to a repairman somewhere else or were overwhelmed with machines) and then could not say when they could get it fixed!  The commercial place would have fixed it immediately but did not have parts for home machines and couldn't get them unless they were a dealer--which they weren't!  Third, Larry always has fixed my machine the day he gets it or the day the parts get there and shipped it back the same day.  If the parts are there he can get it back to me in about a week.  The cost of shipping it is less than driving down to the valley anymore and Larry gives me great discounts ( I gave him a lot of business when I was teaching in Elko County).

  Although it may sound like he doesn't do a good job (3 breakdowns in 2 months) it really isn't like that.  Each of the problems has been about something else and he has always gone over my machine carefully before sending it back because of my isolation.  I think my machine is getting old and I use the heck out of it, so it wears out parts pretty quickly.  You might think I just need to get a new machine but Berninas do last a lifetime and it is just some parts that need replacing from time to time.  Well, that is enough venting.  It's just that it always happens when I am on a deadline so I have to be resourceful and flexible.

More Christmas decorations from 2007.

 This time it happened a week before the craft fair and I had plans for some great Christmas ornaments and fall(Thanksgiving) decorations and table settings.  Well, maybe next year.  Back to the drawing board......  I have some really great stuff I haven't  sold yet so it will be there and of course my old mainstay, Meemo's Mountain Munch will be back along with our Christmas Cocoa Cones.  I did get some projects finished and they will be there too along with some of my newest project--embroidered soaps!

Still more items.  I have some of these things for this year too!  Obviously not the food items!!!!

Our decorated cocoa and scone cones that can hang on the tree or wall decoration.  I have fresh made cones for this year and of course new Meemo's Mountain Munch, too!

Close up of one of our decorated cones.

Embroidered soap!

Close up of the soap.

When the soap gets down to the embroidery you can use the design for applique, key chains, ornaments or whatever.

Some cute stockings to hold small gifts or cards that can hang on the tree.  I have a few for this year.

FCCLA Caramel Corn and a ghost story sort of......

It is cold windy and snowing today.  A perfect day to snuggle by a fire and watch football with some FCCLA Caramel Corn to snack on.  The best part is it is made quickly in the microwave, the worst part is it is very addictive!  But first, a kind of ghost story or maybe I should say an alien type story.

A few years ago Bob and I were driving down to San Antonio through New Mexico to visit Micah's family.  I think I must have mentioned we planned to spend the night in Roswell to Ozzie, Micah and Jim Shriver.  They all commented that we should watch out for space aliens and I said of course, laughingly.

We stopped in Raton for gas just about dark and I noticed while checking the map that there seemed to be a shorter route than we planned from Raton to Roswell.  Bob agreed we should try it so off we went.  We turned off the main road out in the middle of nowhere but at least the road was still paved.  We drove for miles without seeing another car.  Finally as we came closer to Roswell, I began to notice blinking red lights out my passenger window.  As I looked closer they seemed to stretch out for miles in a huge curve.  I jokingly commented to Bob that I needed him to stop so I could get a picture for Micah but I didn't know how to take a night picture with my new camera!  As we went on it seemed the lights were in sort of a big circle like a huge space ship!  I kept saying we really needed to get a picture of this but Bob never stops for interesting stuff.  His theory is you drive from point A to point B as quickly as possible with as few stops as possible.  Anyway, I kept commenting on what we were seeing until I was sure he would be telling me to "knock off the nonsense".

   About that time I finally realized what we were seeing.  It was a huge, miles and miles, windmill farm on top of ridges all around us!  The blinking red lights were on top of the windmills!  I still wonder what it looked like from an airplane.  Even after I knew what it was it still looked like a space ship.  I'm still sorry I couldn't get a picture of it but I never could have got the whole effect.  It was so cool!

Here is my latest recipe for Halloween.  I know you can't give out home made goodies for trick or treat but it would be great for party snacks or just plain snacking anytime!  This recipe came from the FCCLA (Family, Career and Community Leaders of America--the old FHA) at Elko High School. 

FCCLA CARAMEL CORN

Description:
This is the recipe Erin used every day to make caramel corn at school to raise money to go to Chicago.   They went to school at 6 AM every day and made a bunch of baggies full and sold them for $.50.   West Wendover also used this recipe to fund raise but no one wanted to come to school at 6 AM including me!

Here's all you need for a great snack

 1 C. popcorn kernels (or 2 bags microwave popcorn if doing at home and not trying to make $)

1 C. brown sugar
1/4 C. Corn Syrup (like Karo)
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 stick butter

Directions:
1.   Spray the inside of a large grocery bag with Pam.
2.   Pop popcorn in air popper or Microwave which ever one you use. Pour into prepared grocery bag.

Ready for the caramel

3.   Prepare caramel--in a medium sized microwaveable bowl, place brown sugar, corn syrup,salt, and butter.   Do not stir.  

As you can see, I do cut up the butter and stir it a little.

Cook mixture in microwave for 4 minutes.   Stir in baking soda until mixture looks fluffy.

       After adding the soda, it fluffs up.      

4.   Pour mixture over popcorn in the paper bag and stir well with a wooden spoon.   Be sure to scrape the bottom well.
5.   Fold over the top of the bag and shake well.   Place in microwave for 1 minute and stir again.  Repeat this step once.
6.   Pour into a bowl, let cool or eat warm.   If you don't want it to stick together in a big bunch do the following:
 

I pick out the old maids and it's ready to eat!

Lay paper out on the table (like freezer paper or bulletin board paper) and pour out the popcorn on it and spread it out to cool.   Then bag it for snacks or sit there and eat it all up!
Warning this is very addictive!

Number Of Servings: Depends on how addicted you are to it.

Preparation Time:>10 minutes

Notes:  
1.  It's hard to find large paper grocery bags anymore so I have to use the kind of bag they put ice cream in at the store so it won't melt on the way home. 

2.  This is the basis for Meemo's Munch that I sell.  I add other home made ingredients to it and it is yummy.

I talked myself into it.  I'm going to make some right now!

Yep, it is addictive!

 

Trick or Treating up on the Duck Valley Indian Reservation plus a Yummy Recipe

A work in progress.  I started out to make trick or treat bags with these designs but it is too big.  I guess a wall hanging???  Any other ideas? 

You may think to yourself, "So what's the big deal, we all do it."  But no, not like it's done up there!!!!  The first time Halloween rolled around when I lived in Owyhee in the teacher's compound I was told to be sure and have enough candy.  I asked about how much that would be, having lived on a ranch where only the hired man's kids ever came to our door.  No one could tell me but just said lots and lots!  OK, so I went up to Boise and got lots and lots of bags of candy to hand out, thinking we could always eat the leftovers, hehehe.

I love these designs and I need to use them somehow!

Halloween fell on a school day that year and my first clue (which I wasn't prepared for) was when all the elementary school kids (we were a combined school and the elementary was attached to the high school) came to our classroom doors in costume with their trick or treat bags!  I was not prepared at all for that but my students were, so it worked out.  This was not the "official" trick or treat event, however!  Before school let out we were informed that trick or treating would start at 6PM in the teacher's compound.  I kind of chuckled at that, thinking how precise can you get, especially when we always operated on "Indian time".

Maybe some treasure bags for Micah's girls????

 As the 6PM starting time drew near I noticed cars pulling up all around the compound and parents and kids standing around practically looking at their watches every few minutes!  Other teachers were setting up tables and chairs outside their doors along with some decorations.  The compound was 8 duplexes surrounding a rather nice courtyard with picnic tables.  We were all within "yelling" distance of each other and there was a lot of banter about getting prepared for the onslaught and setting our watches for accuracy.

Individual wall hangings?

At 6 PM on the nose--not a minute earlier--Parents and children poured into the compound and started making the rounds!  We saw all ages from babes in arms who had no teeth yet, to our own high school students, to parents with their own trick or treat bags!  Some made the rounds two or three times!  We had no time for bathroom breaks, phone calls or anything except doling out candy!  I had gotten chocolate so I had requests for more for little sisters and brothers, cousins, etc. even though I am sure they were all going around too!  I realized I would run out so had to be pretty stingy with some of them toward the end.  At precisely 7 PM the compound emptied out and they all moved on to New Town!  We never saw another kid the rest of the night!  What an experience--and this happened every year.  Most of the trick or treat bags were pillow cases.  The older kids would hit us, New Town and then drive 96 miles up to Mountain Home, ID, and fill up their pillow cases there!  Candy is a huge addiction there, for sure!

This is called Halloween Tweet and I love it!

Here is the recipe.  I saw an article in Martha Stewart Living magazine that said instead of eating your kids trick or treat candy, here are a few more adult recipes that mimic the flavors you loved as a kid.  This one really took my eye and I tried it last night and it is wonderful!  It is reminiscent of Whoppers--you know, malted milk balls.

Malted-Milk Creme Brulee

Ingredients

Makes 4

• 2 cups heavy cream
• 2 1/2 ounces milk chocolate, chopped
• 2 tablespoons malted-milk powder
• 4 large egg yolks
• 1/4 cup plus 4 teaspoons sugar
• Salt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Bring cream to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Add chocolate and malted-milk powder; stir until chocolate melts and powder dissolves. Whisk together yolks, 1/4 cup sugar, and a pinch of salt.
2. Whisk hot cream mixture into yolk mixture. Strain into a large measuring cup.
3. Arrange four 6-ounce ramekins in a roasting pan. Divide custard evenly among ramekins, leaving 1/4 inch at the top.
4. Place roasting pan in oven, and fill halfway with boiling water. Bake until custards are set, 60 to 70 minutes. Remove from oven and from water bath. Let cool. Refrigerate until cooled, about 2 hours.
5. Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon sugar onto each custard. Hold a small handheld kitchen torch at a 90-degree angle 3 to 4 inches from surface of each custard, and move flame back and forth until sugar caramelizes and is deep golden brown, or broil until sugar caramelizes. Sprinkle each again with 1/2 teaspoon sugar, and recaramelize with torch or under the broiler.
6. Baked custards can be refrigerated for up to 1 day. Caramelize tops just before serving.

From Martha Stewart Living, October 2010

Read more at Marthastewart.com: Malted-Milk Cremes Brulees - Martha Stewart Recipes

A few notes:  This is kind of pricey but well worth it!  It is easy to make and you do not need a small kitchen torch to make the topping.  Just put them under the broiler and stand there watching until the sugar caramelizes.  I really loved the idea of a second coat of sugar, the crunchy topping typical of creme brulee was great!

I also did not have any milk chocolate but did have a few Hershey bars leftover from our somemores events this summer so I used them instead and it was good!

Just a side note on Whoppers.  When I was about 10 or 11, my parents had a New Years Eve party for the neighborhood families.  All the kids were upstairs playing games while the parents played cards.  Sue and I decided to have a contest to see if we could eat a whole bag (I think it was about a pound) of Whoppers or some kind of malted milk balls.  I ate so many it made me sick and could not eat Whoppers for many years after that.  Nevertheless,  the creme brulee tasted wonderful to me.  

There it is.  Trick or treating at its best.  Everyone have a safe and fun time.  I doubt we'll even have 1 little one this year.......