The Mountains are Calling! *Jackson Hole Hoodie Giveaway*

We're outside of GTNP, and dang happy to be here!

 I have absolutely no idea whose these people are.

Lucky, lucky me... R* and I are on the edge of Grand Teton National Park.

The Tetons

It's always an adventure getting away with Rustic Man.  He proves to be pretty entertaining when he sets his mind to it.  For instance, tonight I asked him what he would like me to call him when referring to him on my blog. "Rustic", he said.  So Rustic it will be!  Never dull I tell ya.

In illustration;  shortly after we arrived at our condo, Rustic Man swaggered over to the fireplace to make sure the flue was open as we planned to have a romantic evening by the fire.  Ha!  RM pronounced the flue was CLOSED and being rustic and a MAN, he OPENED the flue.  Can you guess where this is going?  

My manly man stacked the firewood expertly, lit 2 Backyard Outlaw fire starters and away she went!  He stood back and admired the blazing fire and felt happy for his efforts, let the evening begin.  Uh, every smoke alarm in the place went off, the flue was open and he had CLOSED it.  I smell like I've been sitting around the campfire for 2 days but thank the good Lord, the Fire Dept. never showed up.  And tomorrow's another day...

And...

And...

I want to celebrate the road trip, the adventure of getting away, the magic of wandering and, not burning down this condo, by giving away a souvenir from me to you!

The classic souvenir:  A Jackson Hole hoodie, size XL

All you have to do is be awesome and... just 2 other things: "Like" Camp Wander on Facebook!  There's a handy "Like" button at the bottom of this post. 

AND, now this step is very important, send an email to schifflower@gmail.com and tell me why you want this hoodie :)

Entries need to be in by 8pm, Sunday March 11th!

The adventures of R and R continue!  Stay tuned for more rolicking mishaps, pictures and whatever else we stumble into :)

XOXO!  


R & R of GNTP

Amish 6 Week Bran Muffins

Dang good with morning coffee or afternoon coffee or car coffee or ...  ok so I like caffeine.

You had to know this was coming after yesterday's blog episode, because a plate is not a proper plate until it's filled with something to eat, right?  I know!  


I found this recipe many moons ago when my kids were in school and I was a frazzled Mom.  I loved anything that I only had to make every 6 weeks.  Sadly, the batter never lasted that long because 5 kids love fresh bran muffins before school.  


I also had cuter recipe cards back then.

These old recipe cards come in handy...saves me a lot of typing.

Note:  No idea what the green smudge is and please don't analyze my handwriting style.  Cursive and print have always been mixed together and will remain so until my hands dry up completely and fall off.

Take em camping.

Ok, basically you dump everything into a big bowl but there are a couple to steps to follow.  

First of all, combine the first 4 ingredients as well as the Raisin Bran.  Stir together and then, combine all the liquid ingredients and eggs in a separate bowl and whisk together.  Next, add to dry ingredients and stir with spoon to combine.  See sorry, sad photos below. 

(man it's tough making batter look colorful)

These are the liquid ingredients.  Just whisk them all together and pour into dry mix.

Now your muffins are ready to go into a preheated oven at 375 for 20 minutes!  And very soon your kitchen will smell wonderful and you will be enjoying a warm, moist bran muffin if you get to them first!

XOXO!

Rebecca and her bran.

The Red Plate *AND* a Red Plate Giveaway! (details below)

Our time-worn, beat up, well loved, 30 year old, wonderful Red Plate.

The wonderful thing about The Red Plate is this...

...the family tradition it evokes.  The Red Plate is meant to help families celebrate successes, struggles and milestones.  We always brought out The Red Plate to celebrate birthdays, our kids loved, loved, loved getting their dinner served on The Red Plate (they still do!).  Good grades earned the Red Plate treatment, merit badges, any special accomplishment or even a good deed done was rewarded with a special meal on The Red Plate.

At Christmas time, two years ago, I wanted to get our married kids Red Plates of their own.  I wasn't sure if they were still in production but to my happy surprise, there they were on Amazon.com.  German-made by Waechtersbach, the plates are still high quality stoneware. Ours has been through the dishwasher a few times but, I wouldn't recommend that because it dulls the shine a bit.

Don't overlook these as great presents for lots of different occasions!  Weddings, bridal showers, baby gifts, birthdays.  I found a sweet poem to give along with the Red Plate as a wedding gift that explains it's charm and purpose.

A Red Plate Tradition

May today be one of many red letter days

Times you will remember in so many ways

This gift is a tradition for you to start 

A gift of love, straight from the heart

On days that are special that you will want to recall

Set out the Red Plate to celebrate it all

Honor the person and their great feat

On this special plate, let them joyously eat

It may be a birthday, promotion, good grade

A Little League win or wise choice that was made

May your years together as husband and wife

Bring you countless special days throughout your life

These wonderful times will come and go

Keep the red plate at the ready as your blessing flow

I think this should be our family crest.
A plate of chocolate chip cookies, with nuts.  Get it?

To this day, our Red Plate still holds a place of honor in the kitchen.

We love our well worn Red Plate.

It's been a fun tradition for our family and part of our celebrations for almost 30 years now.   I'm certain our "grown up" kids will keep the Red Plate tradition alive in their own families.  I can't wait to watch them grow up with The Red Plate cheering them on!  

Because I love a GIVEAWAY and I love my Red Plate, I want you to have one too!  All you have to do is LIKE me on Facebook (handy "like" button below).  And, Follow me by Email.  Good luck!

*contest ends March 9th, 8pm MST*

XOXO!

Rebecca and her old Red Plate :)  

Granola, the Breakfast Kind

The Breakfast Kind.

Urban Dictionary: Granola:  A person who dresses like a hippy, eats natural foods (granola), and is usually a Liberal, but in all other ways is a typical middle class white person, and is likely to revert back to being straight when they finish college. Did you see that granola chick at the farmer's market buying bean sprouts?  Yeah, her new Volvo was parked next to me. I digress, I can't help it!  Now let's focus on the edible kind, shall we? Ingredients:  5 cups rolled oats,  3/4  t. salt, 1 1/2  t. cinnamon, 1  1/2 cups chopped almonds,  3/4 cup coconut shreds, 1 cup honey, 1 cup brown sugar,  1/2 cup hot water,  1/3 cup extra virgin coconut oil.  Bake @ 325 for 45 minutes. Rough chop makes for a crunchy bite! It's best, in my opinion to melt your coconut oil this way.  I'm not a fan of the microwave. Butter a large cookie sheet generously, a large roasting pan would work well too. Spread the granola mix evenly over your well-greased pan.  Place in preheated oven and stir every 15 minutes.  Bake 45 minutes total.   When your granola is filling your entire home with scents of oats and cinnamon, you will be that much closer to some of the best granola of your life, trust me. After I take my granola out of the oven, I learned NOT to let it cool on the cookie sheet because it WILL stick.  Take my word for it and transfer your batch to a very big bowl for the cooling process.  As it cools, give it a stir now and then to keep it from clumping.  But don't worry, if it gets clumpy in the cooling process you'll be able to break it apart easily enough when in fact it is cool. This granola really is just so delicious, I can't buy store bought granola anymore and there's no need now for you either now that you're armed with the means to make your own. Note:  It's a great neighbor gift too.  Fill up a trusty mason jar, tie with ribbon and personalized tag and you will make someone's week with this yummy treat that's GOOD for you.  Don't forget your college students, or out of nesters...they will appreciate a homemade treat from home too! Enjoy your day my friends! XOXO Rebecca of the Urban Dictionary ;)

Backyard Outlaw Fire Starters

You may or  may be an Outlaw if,

 you have one of these in your backyard.

It was a House Warming Present, We're Innocent I tell You!

Let's chat about starting fires, shall we?

We recently were given a gift from my sister.  Incidentally, she has a blog too.  Check out "Riches to Rags", by Dori when you get a chance, it's awesome...like her :)

Her kids made us a big batch of DIY fire starters to which we have fallen in love with and never want to be without....ever.  These little gems are just a big mess of egg carton, dryer lint and candle wax.  The beauty of it?  We all have this stuff laying around in our homes.  Why not re-purpose the goods to light your fires, wherever they may be.

Places use our Backyard Outlaw Fire Starters:

In our fireplace (use 2, place on fire grate, add kindling, and light).  

    Note:  we no longer use newspaper and lighting fluid - big yay!

In our "gifted" firepit in the backyard.

Summer camping & Fall elk hunt - we now keep a bag in our campbox.

Instructions are simple!

Candles, egg carton and dryer lint.

Keep your eyes out for cheap candles to melt, the thrift store or those dollar stores are great sources.

I'm proud of my lint, it's just so pretty...hair and everything.

Next, we melt the candles...

To save your nice pans from getting wax all over them, simple put a large glass jar in hot water, heat on medium/low and simmer away until wax is melted.

Pour over the lint filled cups, near to full and let sit to harden (see photo below).

I love these fire starters so much I let them hang out with my heart rocks.

As I mentioned, we were first given these as a gift.  Below, is a couple of ideas for giving your own Backyard Outlaw Fire Starters to your favorite people...

Wrapped up in a pretty bag tied with a string...for all the pyros in your life.

Fashion up a Camp Basket complete with granola, travel cup, Dove chocolate, a travel journal, Backpacker magazine and......a pretty bag chock full of......................................... 

Backyard Outlaw Fire Starters!

Now get busy and light some fires, of all natures :)

And at the End of the Day...

"Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life."  
Mary Oliver

Goodnite.

Aunt Betty's English Muffin Bread

"How can a nation be great if its bread tastes like Kleenex?"

Julia Child 

English Muffin Bread getting a rub down.

Yesterday was a lazy Sunday afternoon at our house.  For once, the wind calmed and the temperature rose (a little), it turned out to be a beautiful day in WY, nice enough outside to open doors and windows!  

My heart was so happy about this, I made bread.

First of all, I am not a bread maker.  Let me make that perfectly clear.  However, this recipe makes me feel that I am, because it's ridiculously easy.  Any recipe like that should be passed down from generation to generation like this one has, and let me tell ya, it's stood the test of time!  Family, correct me if I'm wrong but I count at least 3 generations that this recipe has graced.

In honor of lazy Sunday afternoons and because I like you, I've pulled my original recipe card from the Rebecca Archives to share with you.  Awwww, now I'm feeling all nostalgic, family recipes are so wonderful and special, cherish em!

Ok, this recipe my friends is very simple.  The bread dough only has to rise once, love that!

5 1/2 C. warm water or H2O (I might have been a dork back in the day)

3 pkg Yeast or 3 T. if you buy by the jar

2 T. salt

3 T. sugar

11 C. flour

Here we go!

Mix your very warm water and yeast together first.  Give it a stir and leave it be for a few minutes.

Combine all of the dry ingredients in a very big bowl.

...and mix with a big old wooden spoon, any big spoon will do.  See how easy this is????

Ok, you're doing great!  Now just cover up the bowl and let the dough rise until it's doubled in size.  Takes about an hour.  


Did I mention this bread makes the BEST toast in the universe?

Here we have "double in size".  So pretty.  Please note:  The dough will be sticky!

Now all you have to do is grease your bread pans really well and divide up your bread dough accordingly.  Dive in with both hands!  As I mentioned before, the dough will be sticky but that's good.  Fill each bread pan a little more than halfway and if one is short some dough, grab a handful from another pan and even out.  As you can see, this is a rustic bread and there will be no smoothing out do you hear me??  The bumpier the better!


For some reason, I have gigantic bread pans so one batch only fills two pans for me.  But, if you have normal pans, you should get three to four loaves.


The beauty of this bread?  It doesn't need to rise in the pan too.  These rough hewn dough babies are ready for the oven now.  350 for 35 min.  


After 35 min, slide the pans out so you can brush each one with melted butter!  Oh how I love the stuff, it makes everything pretty but my thighs.  

Now, put the mountains of divinity back into the oven please for 10 more minutes.  Now the golden loveliness will deepen in color and all will be amazed at your culinary skills.

Holy Mother of Bread!  Notice how they're practically screaming at you for butter and honey.  My DIL's, Ashley's Honey Butter is pretty darn good on this bread too, but that's her story to tell :)


I leave you with this little nugget of profoundness...because Mr. Fisher is correct, the smell of bread baking is a reverent moment when all seems right with the world.  Your men will fall at your feet in gratitude, always a plus.

"The smell of good bread baking, like the sound of lightly flowing water, is indescribable in its evocation of innocence and delight."

M. F. K. Fisher (1908-1992)

XOXO


Rebecca 
...of honey and butter.