Pickin' n Makin' n Lip Smackin' Good Day!

 Well, summer is coming to an end around these parts. I took the kids to school today to find their classrooms and meet their teachers. They are ready for school...but I'm not sure I'm ready to be without my boys....especially when we've been out having so much fun together!

Last week we went:

Pickin' !

 We took off as a family to my dad's Christmas Tree Farm up in the hills here in the Pacific Northwest.

Blackberries grow like weeds around here, so we decided to make the best of it and go reap the benefits of the hedgerows.

It was a warm day, and the buzzing of bees mixed with the chirping of birds was nearly enough to make you want to go back in time to when life was a bit simpler.

We travelled a bit down the road to my dad's blueberry farm (yeah...my dad seems to be turning into a gentleman farmer in his older age, he actually owns an equipment dealership...but he loves everything about the farming industry!) He has recently purchased some cattle to keep the grass down around there, and might even decide to breed them for calves too! Now, wouldn't that be a great experience for our boys to be a part of... the calves part that is! ;)

Anyway...

The blueberries were thick on the bushes there & we scored big time!

Just take a look at the ginormous amounts of berries we took home!

You aren't even seeing all of them in this photo....there are more in the background!

Mmmmm.....fresh berries are the best!

Couple them with other fresh items...like farm fresh Eggs...

....and you can have something...

Magical!

Like fresh home baked bread with homemade berry jam!

YUMMO!

:)

I'm leaving my favorite new EASY NO KNEAD bread recipe here for you to utilize:

OATMEAL BATTER BREAD

1cup wam milk (not too hot, just really warm)

1/4 cup honey or brown sugar

1 pkg. active dry yeast

1 & 3/4 cup all purpose flour

1 egg lightly beaten

1 T. veggie oil

1/2 tsp. salt

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup oats (quick cooking ok)

In a large bowl combine milk, honey or sugar, stir till dissolved. Let stand for 5 minutes. Meanwhile grease bread pan. Add white flour, egg oil, and salt. Stir till combined and then beat 3 minutes with mixer. Use wooden spoon to stir in wheat flour and oats, then transfer to bread pan. COVER and set aside to rise for 45 minutes or doubled in size. Bake for 25 minutes in a 350* oven, & then cover with foil and bake for 15 minutes more. Cool on rack and enjoy. Preferably with fresh homemade freezer jam! :)

Wishing you a little bit of the country from wherever you reside!

Cheers to you & happy back to school too!

:)

T.