Neighborhood Fall Fest 2016

It's Fall and it's time for our neighborhood to celebrate.  In previous years we have gathered for a fun dance party in someone's converted garage.  We watched each other limbo, break dance, conga, and all sorts of other fun and funny dance moves.

This year we thought we would change it up a bit and have a street fall festival.  It was a total blast!  Number ONE priority was to bring our neighborhood friends together before the snow puts a damper on our outside activities.  Number TWO priority was to allow the youth to earn some money for their summer youth conference trip, girls camp and scout camp.  

One of our talented young women water-colored this flyer for us.  The same young woman led the group in preparing the back drop for our selfie station.

All of the youth were involved in one way or another.  We also delegated responsibilities to the different auxiliary groups within our church organization.  That shared the prep work among a lot of willing people.

We throw wet sponges at the clowns in our neighborhood!

Booths- each of the youth volunteered for shifts

Bake Sale

Silent Auction Baskets

Hot Dogs and Lemonade (free for all)

Popcorn (1 ticket)

Sno-Kone (2 tickets)

Cotton Candy (1 ticket)

Clown Sponge Toss (1 ticket for three throws)

Pumpkin Decorating (3 tickets)

Bobbing for Apples (1 ticket)

Donuts on a String (2 tickets)

Storytelling (professional storyteller)

3 legged race (1 ticket for 2 people)

Potato Sack Race and Pumpkin Bowling (1 ticket for 2 people)

Jail (1 ticket to put someone in jail-2 tickets for bail)

Cupcake walk-(1 ticket)

Food Eating Contest (4 tickets)

Scarecrow Updos (2 tickets)

Selfie Photo Station (free)

Facepainting (2 tickets)

Pie Throwing Contest (1 ticket)

All tickets were $1 and purchased at the ticket booth.  The "cost" of each booth depended on the materials needed for the booth. 

The activities were a lot of fun.  The free hot dogs and lemonade brought in the crowds!

If you didn't have your fill of free hot dogs you could enter the hot dog eating contest...now that was fun to watch!

Another great money maker for the youth were these silent auction baskets.

Each Auxiliary gathered and donated one basket

The Bake Sale had a lot of repeat business.  Lots and lots of amazing donated baked goods.

Everything was gone by festival end.

It was a beautiful evening and everyone, young and old, had a great time.

We couldn't leave out the traditional dance party so when the sun went down we headed for our neighbor's tennis court and for the next few hours DANCED!

Happy Fall Ya'LL

Fall Bucket List-Apple Cider Tag

Happy October!

Just visited my favorite little Amish market and thought these little jugs of apple cider had that fun FALL feeling.

I thought my neighbors (and visiting teachees) might like a little surprise on their doorstep this morning.

Added this fall bucket list tag from simplykierste

and attached to the cider jug with jute.

Right click on picture of tag to copy and paste.

And Happy Fall Y'All!

Mom's Infamous Split Pea Soup

Have you ever been to Buellton, California?  If you are driving up the coast (101 freeway toward the central coast) you must stop for lunch at Andersens, especially if you have children!  It just happens to be a great childhood memory of mine, and many others.

Hap-Pea and Pea-Wee, the friendly mascots of Pea Soup Andersen’s were my reasons for stopping.  I'll tell you more about them in a minute.

Check out this post that tells you all about Split Pea Andersen's and shares their famous recipe.

One summer my grandparents invited me to spend a couple of weeks traveling around California with them.  I remember being in 4th or 5th grade and was so excited about a trip with Grandma and Grandpa.  My Grandpa taught me how to dive in the hotel swimming pool.  He was so cool.  I saw beautiful country with beaches and redwoods.  So many great memories.  

On this trip they insisted that we stop for a bowl of pea soup at Andersens.  As a kid that didn't sound very appealing.  "Pea Soup...I hope they have lots of crackers!" I thought to myself.  Once in the restaurant I became a little more excited about the place.  It was quite charming.  My grandparents ordered the obligatory bowl of pea soup for me and my next thought was, "I hope it's not a very big bowl."

When the server placed the bowl of split pea soup in front of me, my Grandparents said, "There is a surprise at the bottom of the bowl.  You must eat all of your soup to see the surprise!"  The suspenseful thrill of a surprise at the bottom encouraged me to dig in.  

The more soup I ate the clearer the surprise was.  The cartoon characters of Hap-Pea and Pea-wee decorated the bottom of the bowl!  I remember being so proud of myself for first; eating a bowl of pea soup and second; for uncovering those lovable pea soup guys. 

I learned later in life that this pea soup was one of my grandmother's favorite meals.  She came to the United States as a child from Holland.  This soup reminded her of home.

She had a recipe from "home" that was very similar to Andersen's pea soup.  The only difference in her recipe was a Danish difference...potatoes.  Small diced potatoes were always added to her soup.  And I love it that way.  Gives the soup a little more texture and flavor.  She also adds very small diced carrots and bits of ham.  I think that Andersen's also offered soup with those ingredients as well.

My mom now makes the famous split pea soup and I'm always grateful when she shares.  She has agreed to let me share our family recipe, very similar to Andersens.

Ingredients

2 cups green split peas

1 stalk celery, coarsely chopped

1 large carrot, peeled and coarsely chopped

1 small onion, peeled and chopped

1 tbsp. Bon Appetite

2 to 3 potatoes, peeled and cubed

2 tsp. salt (to start with, add more after tasting)

pepper to taste

3 to 4 slices of ham, cubed in small pieces.

Sort the peas in mesh strainer, removing any stones or impurities.  Rinse them clean.

Combine the peas, celery, carrot, and in a soup pot and cover with 2 quarts (8 cups) of water.  After 10 min. of boiling add potatoes.

Reduce heat to a low simmer. Let the mixture cook for another 25-30 minutes till the peas are completely tender. Towards the end of cooking, add the Bon Appetite, then add salt and pepper to taste. I use about 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp of pepper. Use less if you're sodium-sensitive.

Skim the foam off or add 1 tsp. butter to dissolve (another danish secret).

Strain the peas through a food mill or a fine mesh sieve, if desired.  I prefer texture to my soup so I leave out this step.

If you strained the peas bring the soup to a quick boil once more on the stovetop.  Add more ham pieces for flavor, then remove from heat immediately. If the soup seems too thick, add some hot water to thin it out to the desired consistency.

Serve hot.  I like to garnish with crackers or croutons.  Keep leftover soup in a sealed Tupperware container.  When the soup is chilled, it will solidify.  Adding a little water and stirring as you reheat will help the soup to heat up more smoothly.

I enjoyed the soup and the walk down memory lane!

Pumpkin Bars-MMMmmm Monday

Ingredients

Bars:

o    4 eggs

o    1 2/3 cups granulated sugar

o    1 cup vegetable oil

o    1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin

o    2 cups all-purpose flour

o    2 teaspoons baking powder

o    2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

o    2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

o    1 teaspoon salt

o    1 teaspoon baking soda

Frosting:

o    1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened

o    1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

o    2 cups powdered sugar

o    1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

1.    Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2.    Using an electric mixer at medium speed, combine the eggs, sugar, oil and pumpkin until light and fluffy. Stir together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, salt and baking soda. Add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture and mix at low speed until thoroughly combined and the batter is smooth.

3.    For a thick cake-like bar: Spread the batter into a greased 13 by 9-inch baking dish. Bake for 35-40 minutes. Test the center with a toothpick to check for doneness. For a thinner bar: Spread batter into a greased jelly roll pan and bake for 18-20 minutes, checking for doneness with a toothpick.

4.    Let cool completely before frosting.

5.    To make the frosting: Combine the cream cheese and butter in a medium bowl with an electric mixer until smooth. Add the sugar and mix at low speed until combined. Stir in the vanilla and mix again. You may need to add a little milk to make it spreadable if your butter wasn't soft enough. Spread on cooled pumpkin bars and cut into squares or cut bars first and frost individually.  Original recipe found here.

     These were so delicious that I decided to share.

Pumpkin Cheese Loaf....er....Bread MMMmmm Monday

This is one of my favorite fall treats to make. I just have one big problem with it....The name. The recipe comes from my mom. Not sure where she got it, but it is the perfect fall goodie to give away or snarf up yourself.

 

It's called Pumpkin Cheese Loaf.... I know, right? Terrible name. I think for the sake of saying it over and over I will now call it "Pumpkin Cheese Bread"

 This recipe does have several steps, but it is very simple to make.

 

Pumpkin Cheese Bread

 

Ingredients:

3 1/3 cups Flour

4 tsp. Pumpkin Pie Spice

2 tsp. Baking Soda

1 tsp. Baking Powder

1 1/2 tsp. Salt

2 2/3 cup Sugar

2/3 cup Oil

4 Eggs

1 lb can Pumpkin

2/3 cup Water

 

Cream Cheese Filling:

8 oz Cream Cheese, softened

6 Tbsp. Sugar

1 Egg

1/2 tsp. Vanilla

 

Topping Mix: (I double this)

2 Tbsp. Brown Sugar

2 Tbsp. Flour

1 tsp. Cinnamon

1/4 tsp. Pumpkin Pie Spice

1 Tbsp. Butter

Directions: 

Sift flour, pumpkin spice, baking soda, powder and salt. Set aside. Beat together sugar & oil until light. Add eggs, one at a time. Beat in pumpkin. Add dry ingredients alternating with water to sugar. Mix until all is well blended.
Grease 2 large loaf pans. Spoon 1/4 of batter in each pan. Spoon layer of cream cheese filling over each. Sprinkle with 1/4 of topping mix in each pan. Add rest of pumpkin batter. Finish with the rest of the topping.
Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until tester is clean. 
TOPPING MIX: Mix dry ingredients. Cut in butter until mixture resembles corn meal. Set aside.  CREAM CHEESE FILLING: Mix cream cheese until smooth & creamy. Add egg & vanilla and beat well.

As you can see from the picture below, I didn't divide it as well as I should of so the filling is up a little high, but it still tastes just as great!
Enjoy!