Santa and the Parade of Lights 2011

Friends know how bonkers I can go over a parade. And I'm a nut when it comes to Santa. I had such good experiences with Santa as a child. Not because he brought us scads of gifts, because he did not. He came to our house every Christmas with a few gifts, the biggest oranges and fifty-cent pieces. Sweet memories for me.

Here are a few (poor quality) of photos of Santa and his two helpers astride horses in the staging area for the 2011 Parade of Lights.

SANTA 2011 IN PARADE OF LIGHTS STAGING AREA

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Photos taken in the staging area - 28 floats, many with generators crowded into a parking lot - talk about an exhaust buzz! It was exhilarating waiting for the start of the parade - and duct taping and re-duct taping connections on the float.

And then there was the crowd downtown. Note how close they stood to us. We were in a pick-up towing a car trailer. Several semis had to navigate that crowded street!

It was fun. Made me want to go home and bake cookies and sweet breads to share.

PARADE OF LIGHTS 2011

End of the Season

Spent an evening attending the end-of-the-season performance by Uncle Roy and the Boys. Cool night with breezes blowing in from the Missouri River. It has been enjoyable to attend these outdoor performances this summer and to sit at the table with family and friends of the band. Already looking forward to next year's performances.

Cultural Event

Here's a reposing of an article written in 2008 and posted on another of my blogs.  Made me smile when I read it, so I want to share it...again. Links to photos have been removed as they were sadly outdated and I have no other photos to post.

Wow! What an incredible day at the local farmers and artisans market - just imagine one of the largest farmers markets in the area coupled with a car show! Two dynamite events.

My friend J, a Hmong man who came to this area as a teenaged refugee over 20 years ago, sells egg rolls in the booth next to ours. He was surprised to see the turn out at the car show and asked me if I knew the anticipated attendance. I was surprised to hear him use the word "anticipated". I was unaware he knew the word - obviously his English skills have improved greatly in the past few years. So, we chatted about the anticipated attendance, and then he asked what is the purpose of this "car show" gathering?

I stumbled around just a bit trying to explain just what is a car show. J wanted to know if there was a money prize for the best car. At Hmong festivals there is frequently a cash prize for the best soccer team, or badminton team or dance team. He seemed puzzled when I told him no cash prize at this event.

Well, I thought I'd try to explain why the car show was such a big deal that hundreds of classic cars would show up along with thousands of admirers. So I pointed out a 60-something year-old lady who was dressed as a bobby soxer - hair in a pony tail held in place by the folded scarf, white shirt - untucked, of course, blue jeans rolled up into big cuffs, white socks and tennies. I said - that's how she would have dressed as a teenager in 1957 - and that car she's standing next to would have been a popular car in 1957. Ah, J said, nodding that now I get it head-nod. He said, "This is a cultural event - you are showing your children how you used to live."

Ah, yes. Although I've never quite heard of a car show referred to in that manner, J did indeed get it right - it's a .....cultural event

Freezing Tomatoes

Freezing is an easy way to preserve tomatoes, and it takes much less time than canning tomatoes. There is no need to blanch or remove the skin before freezing.

Frozen tomatoes retain their fresh picked flavor, and make a tasty ingredient in any recipe calling for tomatoes - tomato sauce, marina sauce, soups and stews.

For best results use vacuum seal bags, plastic bags or rigid plastic containers designed for use in the freezer. 

Equipment:

Knife – used to remove core and any bad spots

Cookie sheet

Freezer safe containers

Ingredients

Fresh tomatoes

Method

• Wash tomatoes.
• Remove the core and cut out any bad spots.
• Place tomatoes on a cookie sheet and place in the freezer for 30 minutes or until the tomatoes begin to freeze. Note: Taking this step will prevent tomatoes from sticking to one another, making it easier to use just one or two tomatoes rather than having to thaw a block of frozen stuck-together tomatoes.
• Remove tomatoes from freezer.
• Insert into freezer safe container.
• Return to freezer.

How to remove skin from frozen tomatoes:

• Remove desired number of tomatoes from the freezer.
• Place the tomatoes in a bowl of cold water.
• Allow to sit for up to 5 minutes – the skin will begin to crack.
• Use a knife or your fingers to remove the skins.

Freezing Beans - Green, Wax and Snap

A quick and easy way to preserve beans is by freezing.  A few easy steps can make it possible for your family to enjoy beans throughout the winter months. Use fresh picked beans from your garden or the local farmers market.

For best results use vacuum seal bags, plastic bags or rigid plastic containers designed for use in the freezer.  Package according to your family’s needs: pint bags or containers hold 2 cups, quarts hold 4 cups.

The beans should be blanched and cooled before freezing. Lacking a blancher, use a kettle.

A handy chart provided by National Center for Home Food Preservation shows blanching times for various vegetables.

If you are new to blanching or need a refresher, read Blanching How-To

Freezing Beans

Equipment

Blancher

Large bowl of cold water

Freezer safe containers

Sharp knife for cutting beans to length

Ingredients

Fresh picked beans

Method

• Wash and drain beans.
• Remove stem end and the little “tail” at the opposite end with a sharp knife, or by snapping them off with your fingers.
• Cut or snap the beans into 1” or 2” pieces.
• Blanch for 3 minutes.
• Remove from blancher and put into bowl of cold water.
• Drain and put into freezer container.
• Put containers in the freezer.

Canning Action

With help from Tyra, Alysha and Alex, WOOFers at Muddy Pumpkin Farms, this is what went into jars in a five hour period. The final shot is short a few jars. One batch in the canner, and another waiting to go in. Hal and Mark were kept busy bring stuff in and checking on us.

We're going to call it a good day's work.

Farmers Market Action

Action at the farmers market. Particularly like that Bijou Hills Grassfed Meats posts their Mission Statement for all to see. Watch for LeAnn Werner of Muddy Pumpkin Farm showing off a double goldie heirloom tomato - 3.5 pounds - and a "pinocchio" eggplant. Happy Hydros' "Buy Fresh Buy Local" signage is almost as awesome as their hydroponic produce!