The Mini-Vacation Continues.....on to Crabtree Falls

Since we were planning on staying the night around the Staunton area, we wanted something fun and different to do on the way home on Friday.  Knowing that we would be traveling in the Blue Ridge Mountain area, we thought some hiking would be fun.

We had already booked a hotel in Staunton when we found out about Crabtree Falls and decided that would be our destination. 

 Crabtree Falls features a series of five major cascades and a number of smaller ones that fall a total distance of 1,200 feet. It's the highest vertical-drop cascading waterfall east of the Mississippi. 

We thought that sounded pretty awesome. 

So then I found some cabins for rent just down the road from the trailhead.....and we were able to book one and cancel our hotel.  I mean, who wouldn't rather stay in a place like this? 

I can't even describe how excited the kids were about this cabin.  They wanted to stay for a week.  And quite frankly, if we had the time, Grant and I would have loved that as well.

This is the kind of camping I'll do at this stage of life. 

Yes, I'm fully aware this is not camping.

And I'm perfectly fine with that. 

Cute girl.  See the big mess on her right leg?  That's where she knelt down to look at the broilers at Polyface Farm when I wasn't looking and when she got up, I saw she had been kneeling in a pile of cow manure.   Nice.

The furniture on the deck was so comfortable - and the swing was very popular with the girls.

The loft had no doors.....one double bed at that end.....

And a double futon at this end.  Along with a free standing toilet and sink.  I didn't discover the nice little screens they had for some privacy (hidden under the bed) until we were doing our last sweep of the cabin to make sure we hadn't forgotten anything. 

The ladder/staircase was pretty steep.....the kids thought it was great fun. 

(Do you see the spots on Marissa's pants?  Cow manure also. Just thought you'd like to know.)

We had a nice little kitchen, living room, and dining area - and the door at the back leads to the bedroom and bathroom. 

We spend most of our time outside, though.  The weather was perfect camping weather and we had this awesome fire pit....so we ate outside, built the fire, and had some read-aloud time (The Last Battle, Chronicles of Narnia) before it got too dark and then we ate s'mores. 

My studly man......sharpening some sticks to use for roasting marshmallows. 

The flash he used to take this photo was so stinkin' bright! 

Friday morning - we're on our way to hike!

This humongous tree was outside our cabin. 

Us.  ♥

The girls thought the waterfall was a little loud.  So silly. 

Corban was a great hiker - I don't think he even got tired. 

There were several spots to stop on the hike to see the different parts of the Falls. 

At one look-out deck we spotted this little guy.....non-venomous, but we kept our distance anyways.

Another area.....this is looking down.

We made it to the top - 1.7 miles of strenuous climbing.  Grant carried Ellia nearly the entire way (much to her chagrin). 

Funny story:

At one point, after Grant had explained carefully to Ellia (age 2) why she wasn't allowed to walk on the trail because it was so slippery, steep, and difficult and she could never keep up.....and that in a year or two, when she's older, she'll be allowed to walk more on such hikes - she turned to him and seriously remarked,

"Daddy, I three now.  I had my birthday last night."

I think she really thought she would convince him to let her walk after such a statement. 

You couldn't see much of the Falls from the top, but you could see this...... 

(it was hard to believe how high we had climbed!) 

And this.

How 'bout a close up of that pretty flower?  

Another stop-off point to look at more of the Falls. 

On our way down....which was harder in a way because we were all tired, hungry, and more susceptible to slipping on muddy spots and the rocky terrain.  We made much faster time, though. 

This was a little cave area that you could walk though.....the kids really thought it was cool.

The bridge over the river next to the parking lot.

Another shot of the bridge.

And on the side of the parking lot, there stood this lone telephone booth. 

We thought it was so funny.  You don't see many pay phones anymore.  We figured we'd better take a picture next to it so the kids could remember that they've seen one. 

Actually, it is probably used out there, as there is no cell phone service due to the mountains. 

But we still thought it was funny.

Maybe we were just tired.

Visit to Polyface Farms

Have you watched the documentary, Food Inc?  (if not, the description on Amazon says that it "lifts the veil on our nation's food industry, exposing how our nation's food supply is now controlled by a handful of corporations that often put profit ahead of consumer health, the livelihood of the American farmer, the safety of workers and our own environment. Food, Inc. reveals surprising - and often shocking truths - about what we eat, how it's produced and who we have become as a nation. You'll never look at dinner the same way again.")

Powerful film.  Watch it. 

Anyways, the farm featured on the film that does things the right way is Polyface Farms. It's a family-owned, multi-genenerational, pasture based, beyond organic, local-market farm and informational outreach in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley. 

We went for a tour last week.  (Being home schoolers is so great - this was an amazing field trip for the whole family.)

It was fantastic!!

The tour included about 100 people and was led by Joel Salatin, the farm owner.  We rode hay wagons out to the far pastures of the property so we could see the hens and cows.

A few of the laying hens - out to pasture.

The hens weren't bothered by people at all....Annika was pretty thrilled to check them out. 

This is the farm dog/security system, Michael.  He's gigantic!  Very friendly dog, so sweet and gentle, just laid on the ground soaking up attention from the kiddos when we first got to the farm (we arrived early for the tour and ate our picnic lunch there) - then we came to find out that he roams the farm at night keeping away predators from the free-roaming hens, including packs of coyotes and other varmints, and apparently eats at least a couple of skunks a month (they only know about those because of his scent)....plus who knows what else.  I can't remember the cross of breeds that he is.....but you can tell that his back is just about as high as Ellia's head, so he's a big guy.  

The hens eat maggots in the cow manure - sounds gross, but is really beneficial for both the land and the chickens.  Did you know that the seven enzymes necessary for chickens' digestion are all found in cow manure?  

Yeah, I didn't either.

'

We only got a peek at a few of the cows - they were in a wooded area that day (the cattle and hens are all moved from pasture to pasture every day, the hens following behind the cows) and they wandered off where we couldn't see them much.

Michael met a tiny dog that another lady on the tour brought with her.  I thought their interaction was so cute!

Miranda started out in the Ergo with me but got really mad about it and so Grant took her, and she fell asleep.  So I was left wearing the Ergo with no baby and Grant had to carry her asleep.  He didn't mind so much.

More of the hens gathered around their "Egg mobile", the portable henhouse that gets moved from pasture to pasture every day. 

I had no idea chickens were so loud.  We had to strain to hear Joel speaking sometimes over the din of the clucking, squawking, and chattering. 

Marissa's favorite part of the tour.  She talked the nice lady into letting her hold the puppy, and that was the end of it for her. 

Ellia and me on the hayride.

Grant with Marissa, Annika, and still sleeping Miranda on the hayride.

This is the scenery we saw on the hayride.  Isn't it incredible?  The eight mile drive out of town (Staunton, VA) to the farm was just scenery like this.   

Corban and Ellia hanging out on the wagon.

Marissa and Annika liked the pigs. The pigs are free-roaming, rotating paddocks in the pastures most of the time.

Somebody's awake now....just barely.

Okay, she's perking up a little now.

These are the portable broiler houses - they get moved around the pasture every day so the chickens get new areas to eat.  They're very secure but have plenty of space to enjoy a natural life -  until they're processed.   The design of the little pens was so simple, yet really great. 

Miranda and me at the end of the tour.  Look at that face!

We really loved the farm and the people and everything about it.  It gives us dreams......wild, crazy, hair-brained dreams for city folk like us......

Stay tuned for where we went next on our trip.......hopefully I'll get it up soon!

Petal Cake

I have seen this decorating techinique several times in the past few months and just couldn't wait for an opportunity to try it out.  Mother's Day was the perfect day for it!

I think it is just soooooo pretty - and it's ridiculously simple. 

All you need is a piping bag with a open tip  - I used Wilton 199, which has little ridges around the edges.  You could certainly use just a plain open tip also and have smooth edges to your petals. 

Check out how easy this is.

Start with a layer cake, at least 2 layers high. 

Give it a light crumb coat of frosting - just a thin layer to cover the whole cake. I used just basic buttercream (2 sticks of softened butter, mixed with 4-1/2 cups powdered sugar, a dash of salt, 3-4 Tablespoons of milk or cream, 2 t. vanilla extract, and 1/4 t. almond extract).

Then you get to start piping. 

Pipe four (or more if your cake is higher) dots in a straight line.  Like so.

Okay, so my line was slightly crooked.  It didn't matter much. 

Then you take your offset spatula or a small spoon and just press into the dots, sliding the spatula away from the nice little edge you just made.  Continue piping and pressing the dots in lines all around the cake.

When you get back to where you started, you can't exactly smooth the last petals out, because you'll spoil the first petals.  So it's a little messy.  That's okay - if you put that side of the cake at the back, no-one will ever know.  And you might figure out a better way to make it pretty than I did.  This was my first try.

Then you do the top  - start at the outside edge and pipe the dots around in circles until you get to the middle and the cake is covered. 

Isn't that pretty? 

It made me smile just to look at it.


Linked to Trick or Treat Tuesday, Ultimate Recipe Swap: Birthday Cake Round-up

Blueberry Breakfast Cake

Do you wanna know how to make your kids happy?

Tell them you're making cake for breakfast.

Works for me! 

This cake is just wonderful - it's sweet (but not too much so, although I think I'll reduce the sugar next time by a quarter cup just to reduce calories- we'll probably not even notice) and tender and chock full of blueberries (I always use frozen and they work out great) and I bet it would work just as well with raspberries or blackberries too.

I hate to admit it, but between my 4 (eating) kids and myself, we can pretty much put away this entire thing in one morning.  Yes, those are humongous servings.  I should probably supplement our breakfast with some other fruit or something else so we don't eat so much cake. 

Maybe next time. 

Ha. 
Recipe: adapted from Finding Joy in my Kitchen

1/4 cup (expeller pressed) coconut oil, melted OR use 3 T. softened butter
1/4 cup applesauce
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1 egg
1 cup plain yogurt (or sour cream)
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
2 cups white whole wheat flour
1-2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries

Preheat oven to 375°. 
Cream together oil and sugars.  Add applesauce, egg, yogurt, and vanilla and mix gently.
In a medium bowl, combine dry ingredients, and slowly add into the creamed mixture.
Mix just until moistened.
Fold in blueberries.
Spread into a lightly greased 13x9" pan and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown.  Test for doneness with a toothpick.
Serve warm.

Linked to Trick or Treat Tuesday

Family Update: April Edition

Miranda is such a big girl now.  She takes her baths in the ever beloved ducky tub now, no more infant tub over the kitchen sink.  Whew.  She absolutely loves splashing around, although she's certainly not a fan of water in her face. 

We're full force into soccer - this is Annika's and Marissa's first season - Corban's 4th.  Annika has scored a couple of goals in games already and is really gaining skills and confidence quickly. 

She is a really good goalie and takes great pride in her abilities. 

I haven't gotten any good shots of Corban and Marissa yet - hopefully I will soon!

We got to go strawberry picking on a gorgeous day  - we picked 25 lbs of berries. 

I made freezer jam, ice-cream, puree for 3 more batches of ice cream, a cake, spinach strawberry salad, and froze several bags whole for making smoothies and oatmeal.  And we ate a lot plain.

Yum!

This was Ellia when we got there.  Nice and clean. 

Yeah, I had my hands full trying to get her to actually put berries in her basket.  See the red stained fingers?  Not to mention the face.  And you can't see the trail of juice down her (thankfully already) red shirt.  That girl had some fun in the strawberry patch. 

Annika did a little better than Ellia, but she was very strawberry stained by the time we finished as well.

Little story about this kid:

A few days ago we were sitting at dinner.  It had been one of those "no make-up" kind of days.

Annika says: "Mom, can you put on some lipstick and make your eyes pretty?

Corban instantly jumped to my defense and exclaimed, "Mom's eyes are already pretty!"

Annika loudly retorted, "Not pretty enough."

Sigh.

There's nothing like the honesty of a 4 year old. 

Corban was a diligent and fast picker.  He ended up helping Ellia fill her basket too.

Miranda and Ellia playing ball - well, Ellia is actually trying to make sure Miranda's legs are open enough for the ball to roll to her.  Obviously it was pretty funny to Miranda. 

We took the side off Ellia's crib.

A necessary step to growing up and independence, but something I regret at least once a day. 

Let's just say she is thoroughly enjoying her freedom. 

And training her to stay in bed during naptime and bed time is a little bit of a challenge.

The upside?

She loves having her siblings sit on the edge of the bed to read to her. 

So precious!

Marissa and I got to go to a Mother/Daughter Tea for the K-2nd graders from Wed. night classes at church. 

It was absolutely gorgeous and we had a lovely time. 

 This was one of the tables - isn't that amazing?  I wish I had the gift of decorating. 

 Here are some of the mini-cupcakes I made for the tea - they were really cute and a big hit with the little girls and their moms. 

 The mild temperatures have the kids playing outside for hours every day - and sometimes they even talk me into having picnics out in the yard.  Ellia and Annika chose the wagon for their lunch spot.

Miranda is now a full-fledged participant in the outside play  - the swing keeps her very happy. 

So that's our April in a nutshell.  Looking forward to seeing what happens in May!

Peanut Butter Cup Brownie Cheesecake

Wow, it's sure taken me awhile to get this up here.  Life has just been.....busy.  What can I say?

In fact, as I'm typing right now, there's a writhing, squirming 6-month old on my lap that would like to direct my attention elsewhere.  She's doing a pretty good job, actually. 

One day later....see, I told you she did a good job.  Another day of blogging neglect.  Another day of baby winning. 

So this was my birthday dessert!

Because my favorite flavor combination is chocolate and peanut butter, I dreamed up this creation. 

It starts with a dense fudgy brownie, followed with a delectable peanut butter frosting, then vanilla cheesecake studded with Reese's peanut butter cups, topped with a rich semi-sweet chocolate ganache and garnished with more peanut butter frosting. 

To say that it was rich is a bit of an understatement.

Not that I was deterred in my consumption of it in any way.  

I actually can't think of a dessert I've ever sampled that I thought was "too rich" to finish.  It's a gift, I know.  

So I really loved every single bite of this dessert.  And I'm seriously looking forward some more decadent indulgence whenever we take the chunk we saved out of the freezer.  Yes, we did show a little restraint.   

So obviously there are several steps to this dessert.  I made the brownies and cheesecake the day before, refrigerating the cheesecake wrapped in foil until I needed it.  The brownie was fine left covered at room temperature.  

The day we ate it, I made the frosting and ganache and assembled everything.

Peanut Butter Cup Brownie Cheesecake:  Brownie from  Baker's Chocolate, Peanut butter frosting from Ina Garten 

Brownie Layer: 

4 ounces unsweetened chocolate (I used Baker's), chopped

3/4 cup butter

2 cups sugar

3 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla 

1 cup flour

Preheat oven to 350°.

Line the bottom of a 9" spring form pan with parchment paper and gently grease it. (I place the bottom circle of the pan on the paper, trace around it, and then cut it out).

Heat the chocolate and butter together in the microwave or in a small saucepan on the stovetop until butter is melted. Stir together until chocolate is completely melted as well.  

Add sugar and stir.  Mixture will be grainy.  That's okay!

Add in eggs and vanilla and stir well.  Add flour and stir just until combined.  

Spread in the prepared pan and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out  nearly clean.  Please don't over bake!  Dry brownies aren't good.  

Allow to cool completely.  Remove from pan. 

Cheesecake Layer: 

3 (8 oz) packages cream cheese, softened

3/4 cup sugar

3 eggs, room temperature

2 tsp. vanilla

15 miniature Reeses peanut butter cups (or generic equivalant), cut into sixths

Prepare the 9" spring form pan as you did for the brownies.  

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and sugar together until smooth.  Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing slowly after each addition.  Add the vanilla and stir.  

Pour the cheesecake into the prepared pan and then sprinkle the peanut butter cup pieces over the top.  Gently press some of them into the batter.  

Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until the center is just set.  

Allow to cool completely. Remove from pan and wrap in foil to refrigerate or freeze if making ahead.  

Peanut Butter Frosting:

1 cup powdered sugar

1 cup creamy peanut butter

5 Tbs. unsalted butter, room temperature

3/4 tsp. vanilla extract

1/4 tsp. salt

1/3 cup heavy cream

Place the sugar, peanut butter, butter, vanilla, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment.  Mix on medium-low speed until creamy, scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula as you work.  Add the cream and beat on high speed until the mixture is light and smooth.

Ganache:

4 oz. good quality semi-sweet chocolate (I used Ghirardelli)

1/2 cup heavy cream

Chop the chocolate finely.  Place in a bowl.

Heat the cream just until simmering (not quite to a boil yet) and pour over the chocolate. 

Allow to sit for a few minutes, then stir until the chocolate is melted.  

Cool to room temperature.  

To assemble:

Place the brownie on your serving dish/cake stand.  If you place a dab of frosting in the center of the stand before putting the brownie down, it will help it not slide around.  I forgot to do that and regretted it later. 

Top with a 1/2 inch layer of peanut butter frosting.  

Place the cheesecake on top.  If you notice there are edges of the brownie sticking out further than the cheesecake (mine did), feel free to carefully cut them off to make everything even.  (Hint: Dipping the trimmed brownie chunks in the leftover peanut butter frosting is a great idea.  Just sayin'.)

Pour the ganache over the top of the cheesecake, allowing some of it to drip over the edges if you desire.  

Put it in the fridge for a few minutes for the chocolate to harden a little.  

Put the rest of your peanut butter frosting in a decorating bag and pipe swirls on top of the cheesecake and around the edges if you desire.  

You could even garnish with additional peanut butter cups if you wanted to live on the wild side.  I decided to keep it simple.  Ha.  :)  

Linked to Trick or Treat Tuesday

                 Crazy Sweet Tuesday