Prize-winning Peppermint Patties

Nora entered these in the county fair and came home with Best of Show and a ten pound bag of sugar. They are delicious and easy to make. When we went to pick up our things the judges were very interested in obtaining the recipe. The original recipe is from the kitchn.com, we leave out the shortening.2 cups powdered sugar
1.5 tbsp softened butter
2 tsp peppermint extract
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp cream
8 ounces (about 1-1/3 cup) semi-sweet chocolate, chopped

Line a cookie sheet with wax paper. With a mixer, cream together the sugar, butter, extracts, and cream on low speed. After the ingredients are combined, raise the speed to medium-high and beat for an additional 1-2 minutes until mixture holds together very well and is creamy, not powdery.

Using a teaspoon, roll the candy into small balls and flatten them on the wax paper with the palm of your hand into patty shapes. When done, put them in the refrigerator to chill for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, melt the chocolate in the microwave or over a double boiler.

Using dipping tools or two dinner forks, dip the patties into the chocolate one by one. Drag them across the lip of the bowl to remove any excess chocolate. Return them to the wax paper, and place back in the refrigerator to set the candies. They should be ready to eat in a few hours.

These need to be kept in the refrigerator. Layer the patties between sheets of parchment in an airtight container. They will keep for a month if you can keep from eating them.

Small spaces

Penny loves to crawl into little nooks and crannies. One of her favorite places to hang out is the bottom shelf of the bookshelf. She also likes to empty the board books from their basket and sit in it.

The County Fair

Both Henry and Nora had entries in the fair this year which made our visit that much more exciting. The Fine Arts building was our first stop. Here is Henry with his picture of a rocket headed to the moon. Nora and her goldfinches. Grace and Ian had artwork entered too and Ian won Best of Show and the People's Choice awards for his picture! Yay!
Next we toured the animal barns. There were ducks, chickens, rabbits, goats, and sheep to pet and admire. There was a magnificent white turkey that was a favorite.
We saw Henry's Lego models and eventually found Nora's peppermint patties hiding under the Best of Show ribbon! There was a BBQ cook-off that day and we sampled a few of the entries. We had lunch and then had snow cones for a treat while we watched some mutton busting. This picture makes me laugh. I'm not sure what has earned Nora's disapproval. It was a great morning with our friends!

Roadtrip with Grandma : Portland

While Grandma was here we put the extra seat in the van and hit the road. Penny liked having company and she loves the snacks.We stopped for lunch at a British pub in Hood River. Mark finally got to try bangers and mash. Penny thought the ice in Daddy's cup was great. We stopped at Multnomah Falls and climbed up to the Benson bridge. Those railings are a little bit far apart. We went swimming as soon as we got to our hotel. Ikea was a nearby and perfect spot for dinner.
Saturday we went for a swim first thing and then drove to Vancouver to see Mark's Great-Aunt Veta and her sons. We had a picnic lunch at a lovely park. They had sticks there, and a pile of wood chips which Henry liked as much as the expensive equipment.Maryann and Liisa spent the afternoon with us shopping in Vancouver while Grandma got some family stories and genealogy information from Veta and Steven. We stopped for everyone's first frozen custard to refuel. Steven knows how to ride a unicycle! We all had dinner together before heading back to Portland for bed. Sunday we swam in the morning and brunched at our hotel before Maryann left for home. We took Grandma to Ikea to show her the whole store and the kids had their first experience with the play-land there. The escalator was a bigger hit and the kids made everyone ride it several times before an ice cream cone and the road home.

Grandma visited!

Grandpa had to go to Florida to keep an eye on the battery for the Mars rover so Grandma came to see us for a few days. We had a great time and made her read lots of books.