Into the Woods

I promise my interest in this blogging thing isn't already fizzling out. The fam took a little excursion to Upstate New York, via NYC to pick up Auntie Lester. I've been offline, unplugged, and out of order - so to speak. Maybe that's why this post is so long. Hey, at least I'm giving you fair warning.

The original idea was to go to Palmyra for the annual Hill Cumorah Pageant. (For those reading this who are not members of the LDS church, Palmyra is where the church was founded. Every year there is a show on the Hill Cumorah acting out the major stories of the Book of Mormon. Learn more here if you're interested.)

Rather than doing only the church history tour thing, we decided to camp at Lake Cayuga and do the Finger Lakes thing, taking an afternoon and evening to visit Palmyra (which, by the way, was plenty). And since we were up there anyway, we thought may as well go to Niagara Falls. 'Cause, hey, it's just two hours away and when will be up there again? Seriously. Two. Hours. Each. Way. It ended up being a long drive out of our way, but well worth it. The falls are AMAZING!

Camping was great fun. The girls did really well, Ott got to play with fire, and we had Auntie Lester time. Here is a collage to document the festivities.

My dad has mad Dutch Oven cooking skill. I've done it a few times, but not so much in years. To keep it easy, we make a stew. Unfortunately I don't have a picture, but rest assured, I did my dad proud. Here's the recipe.

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Dutch Oven Beef Stew
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion chopped into large pieces
1 clove garlic
1 Lb Beef Chunks
2 cups broth
2 cups water
Potatoes cut into large chunks
Carrots sliced
Salt
Pepper
Italian Seasoning
Paprika

Start a fire with several charcoal briquettes in the center of the wood pile. It will take about 45 minutes before the coals are ready. They are ready when white and orange in color.

Heat the dutch oven over the fire until hot. Saute the onions and garlic in the olive oil. Add beef chunks and brown with spices. Add the broth, potatoes and carrots. Add water as needed. Bring to a boil and cook until potatoes are soft. If you prefer a thicker broth, mix some corn starch in a bowl with water and slowly add to the stew.

After the stew is boiling, stir the fire to get out some of the coals and help bring the fire down. Place about 8 coals on the lid. Cook this way for 20-30 minutes.

Super simple.

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To top off a great trip, we came home to a 20 lb box of blueberries from an Amish farm in PA. (THANK YOU CYNTHIA, if you read this). Here come the pies, muffins, cobbler, smoothies, syrup, jam, and anything else I can think of to do with these berries.

Stay tuned.

P.S. We stayed overnight in NYC to pick up my sister, but to also break up the trip a bit. Lucky for me, there was a Mates of State show in Brooklyn and my sister had an extra ticket! They are fabulous. Check this out.