4th of July Party Ideas

The 4th of July will be here before you know it. Can it be? I remember when I thought summers lasted forever. What happened? Don't tell me, I really don't want to know because I suspect it has something to do with that aging thing.

Every year our family, it seems, tries something different for the 4th, not by design, more happenstance. As I am contemplating this year's celebration, I jotted a few notes down and thought I would share them with you.
4th of July Party Ideas

Old Fashioned (My favorite, actually)

Activities - Gunny sack races, 3-leg races, wheelbarrow races, croquet, baseball, Annie Annie Over, Capture the Flag, Frisbee Golf. And for those inside games: a puzzle table, checkers, Old Maid -- any non-electronic game that is quickly played.

Food:  Hot Dog Bar (served with a full array of condiments - chili, pickled onions, relishes, chutneys, cheese, salsa, etc), Ice Cream Sodas, unshelled peanut baskets, watermelon triangles on popsicle sticks, macaroni salad, fruit salad, bottles of coke, ice tea, s'mores.

Friendly Cook-off

Choose a dish, or condiment, or even a barbecue dipping sauce, something that everyone in your group seems to like and suggest a friendly cook-off. Assign cooks and judges. Set up a tasting station, providing judging scorecards and blindfolds. And of course, a prize. A chef's apron would be fun. Then provide the necessary accompaniments so that everyone can enjoy the delicious food.

Backyard Camp Out

This is something we've done several times and it is always a favorite of the kids. We set up "camp" in the afternoon and position the tents so that they all open up to a fire pit. We always grill on these nights and look forward, after fireworks, to star gazing, stories around the campfire and of course, roasted marshmallows. Evenings like these are memories your children will never forget.

Historical 4th Tours

Spend some time prior to the 4th scouting out local history venues; museums, living history centers, old military forts, train stations, etc. Your local chamber of commerce or state historical museum could help you find historical sites in your area.  One activity our family particularly enjoys is visiting a Civil War reenactment, and local chapters are hosting these living history events all over the country. It brings history alive. No longer does it just reside on the pages of a long-forgotten textbook, a connection is made to those long ago events and people that can still teach us things to this day.

Heritage Potluck

I love this idea ... and it spreads the work of food preparation around, and that's a very good thing. Smile. Have everyone bring a favorite dish from their childhood. This could be anything from store bought pinwheel cookies to grandma's famous potato salad. It's important for the host family to supply some kind of meat, unless you are aware that someone else is bringing that dish, a salad and condiments. You never know what will show up at your table and the stories that will accompany those dishes. What you learn about your family and friends through their food choices will provide fodder for future storytelling. And if you end up with three or four dishes of grandma's famous potato salad, you'll never forget the experience!

Enjoy the 4th and take a moment to recognize the greatness of this place we call home.

For more ideas, see our Pinterest page.

RECIPE | Focaccia Bread of Julia Bakery

One of my favorite things to do is walk through a local mall we have in this area that specializes in international cuisine. This mall gives new meaning to food courts everywhere. Yes, you can find a hamburger, but oh so much more; Korean, Thai, Indian, Mediterranean, Russian ... and the list goes on. For those who live on the east side of Seattle, you probably already know that I'm talking about Crossroads Mall, a tiny place yet it's flavor makes up for its square footage. You have to visit just before the noon hour ... the aroma is absolutely divine.

The following recipe is from a Slavic bakery in Vancouver, Washington, called Julia Bakery. It has many loyal customers as well. Their bakery is well known and well loved. This is one of their requested recipes. Enjoy.

FOCACCIA

3 cups water
3/4 oz instant yeast
2 pounds plus 1/2 cup of white flour
3/4 oz of salt

Mix water and yeast for a few minutes.

Add flour and salt

Let dough rest for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Preheat Oven to 350 degrees

Roll into thin dough and fill with your choice of cheese, meat, olives, sundried tomatoes, etc.

Bake for 10-12 minutes.

Recipe Courtesy of Nenad Indic, owner of Julia Bakery in Vancouver to FOX 12 in Portland, OR.

RECIPE | Civil War Camp Bread

Every year our family loves to attend one if not several Civil War Reenactments. One of the most fascinating aspects of these events is touring their camps ... and especially their food preparation. That is just me ... the men in our house love to tour the armament and cannons and horses. The recipe below is an adaptation of a recipe a living historian gave me last summer. It had been in her family for a long time. It is absolutely delicious and so easy! The texture is wonderful ... and truly, there is nothing like making bread outside! While they bake their bread over an open fire, we used briquettes.

Civil War Camp Bread

3 cups warm water
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
2 1/2 teaspoon salt
4 1/2 teaspoon active-rise yeast (2 packages of yeast)
9 cups flour

Combine water, butter, sugar, salt and yeast. Let proof for 15 minutes. Add half of the flour and incorporate. Stir in remaining flour and turn out onto floured board. Knead bread for about 10 minutes or until elastic and smooth. Add up to 1/2 cup additional flour if needed.

Place dough into greased large pan, cover with plastic wrap and let rise until double.

After dough has risen, remove from bowl and deflate. Shape into ball and place into a 12-inch, 8-quart, cast iron dutch oven. Let rise until double, about an hour.

Place dutch oven over hot briquettes -- 10 underneath the dutch oven and 16 on the top. Bake for about 30 minutes. Remove from the fire and let cool in pan.

To make removing the bread easier, we used a parchment dutch oven liner and was able to lift out the bread with a spatula.

ENTERTAINING | Ice Cream Party with Homemade Toppings

I have ice cream lovers in my house. There is absolutely not a night where my two men are not digging into the freezer for the yummy creamy stuff.

School is almost out, summer is quickly approaching, and summer entertaining will be the order of the day.

One of my favorite parties for this time of the year is an ice cream party. It's simple, it's fun ... and nothing says summer better than ice cream.

For a quick Friday night party, set up an ice cream bar, complete with plenty of ice cream, syrup toppings and candy. Use a variety of jars, I love to use canning jars, to display all of the sugary choices. I also like to make candy skewers to add a fun element.

For the skewers, simply thread favorite candies; marshmallows, Oreo cookies, chunks of favorite candy bars, or any favorite soft candy or confection, onto wooden skewers and place upright in a piece of foam, a glass, basket or even a covered coffee can.

It's also fun to set out a plate of cookies, chocolate chip is always a favorite, that can be made into quick ice cream sandwiches.

While we love to make homemade ice cream, it's not always feasible. Vanilla is always a favorite, but including strawberry and chocolate is always a plus.

One of the things I love to do for these parties is make homemade toppings.  Here are three of our favorites.

Dulce de Leche
(my husband's favorite)

5 cups of whole milk
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 vanilla bean
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda

Combine the milk, sugar, vanilla bean and salt in a medium saucepan and place over medium heat. Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved. Once the sugar has dissolved, add the baking soda and whisk to combine. Reduce the heat to low and cook uncovered at a bare simmer. Stir occasionally, skimming off any foam. Continue to cook for 1 hour. Remove the vanilla bean after 1 hour and continue to cook until the mixture is a dark caramel color and coats the back of a spoon, approximately 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Strain the mixture through a fine mesh strainer into heat-proof bowl. Store in the refrigerator in a sealed container for up to a month.


Strawberry Sauce

1 lb fresh or frozen strawberries
Juice of 1 lemon
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup sugar

Combine all the ingredients in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring occasionally. Reduce the heat and let the sauce simmer for 5 minutes.

Transfer the mixture to the food processor and purée, or mash some with a fork or potato masher.

Strain the sauce and store in the refrigerator in a a sealed container.


Chocolate Sauce

1/2 cup 2% milk
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa
dash of salt
1/2 cup chocolate chips (I love dark chocolate chips)
1/4 teaspoon vanilla

In a small saucepan, bring the first 5 ingredients to a boil, stirring constantly with a whisk. Remove from heat and stir in chocolate chips. Let stand one minute.

Cook again over medium heat for 1 additional minute, or until sauce is smooth and slightly thickened. Remove from heat and add vanilla.

Store in covered container in the refrigerator. Yield: 1 cup.

CRAFT | Summer Knit Tote

I think it is impossible to consider a summer without an additional all-around tote. From extra water bottles to sunscreen, to that perfect novel you're still finishing, summer totes are a seasonal necessity for me. This tote is extra roomy -- perfect for the beach, the farmer's market ... or just carrying around in the car.

This tote is subtly striped, using four colors. The pattern calls for twice as much yarn as I actually used, and I did use the suggested colors. I love the cotton yarn woven into the 2-strand knitting.

It's not too late to spend a couple of hours knitting your own perfect summer tote.





Lion Brand All-About-Town Tote

YARN: (Pattern calls for 2 balls of each -- I only used 1)


• 860-145 Vanna's Choice Yarn: Eggplant balls (A)

• 860-141 Vanna's Choice Yarn: Wild Berry (B)

• 830-113 Cotton-Ease: Cherry (C)

• 830-145 Cotton-Ease: Plum (D)


GAUGE:
14 sts = 4 in. (10 cm) in Seed st with 1 strand each of A and C held together. BE SURE TO CHECK YOUR GAUGE. When you match the gauge in a pattern, your project will be the size specified in the pattern and the materials specified in the pattern will be sufficient. If it takes you fewer stitches and rows to make a 4 in. [10 cm] square, try using a smaller size hook or needles; if more stitches and rows, try a larger size hook or needles.

STITCH EXPLANATION:
Seed Stitch (over an odd number of sts)
Row 1: K1, *p1, k1; rep from * across.
Row 2: K the purl sts and p the knit sts.
Rep Row 2 for Seed st.


STRIPE SEQUENCE
Stripe I Work in Seed st with 1 strand each of A and C held tog.
Stripe II Work in Seed st with 1 strand each of B and C held tog.
Stripe III Work in Seed st with 1 strand each of A and D held tog.
Stripe IV Work in Seed st with 1 strand each of B and D held tog.

TOTE FRONT
With 1 strand each of A and C held tog, cast on 15 sts.
Row 1: Work Row 1 of Seed st across.
Row 2: Work Row 2 of Seed st to last st, k into front and back of st (inc made) – 16 sts.
Rep Row 2 until piece measures 3 1/2 in. (9 cm) from beg.
Change to 1 strand each of B and C held tog and rep Row 2 until you have 51 sts, then work even in Seed st until piece measures 7 in. (18 cm) from beg.
Change to 1 strand each of A and D, and work in Stripe III until piece measures 10 1/2 in. (27 cm) from beg.
Change to 1 strand each of B and D, and work in Stripe IV until piece measures 14 in. (35.5 cm) from beg.
Change to 1 strand each of A and C, and work in Stripe I until piece measures 15 1/2 in. (39.5 cm) from beg.
Shape Strap
Next Row: Continuing in Stripe I, work 8 sts and place onto holder, bind off next 35 sts, finish row.
Work in Seed st as established on remaining 8 sts until Strap measures 2 in. (5 cm), then change to 1 strand each of B and C.
Work in Stripe Sequence as follows:
Work in Stripe II until Strap measures 6 1/2 in. (16.5 cm), work in Stripe III until Strap measures 10 in. (25.5 cm), then continue in Stripe IV until Strap measures 12 in. (30.5 cm), AT THE SAME TIME, dec 1 st at outer edge of Strap every 3 in. (7.5 cm), 3 times – 5 sts.
When Strap measures 12 in. (30.5 cm), bind off.
For second half of Strap, place sts from holder back onto needle, rejoin A and C, and work as for first half of Strap.

BACK
Work as for Front.

FINISHING
Sew Front and Back together along lower edge. Sew sides, continuing side seam along edge of Straps (seam will run along center of finished Straps). Sew ends of Straps together. Weave in ends.

MY NOTE:  This pattern could easily be knit in the round. I will do this if I knit the pattern again. Simply cast on 30 sts instead of 15, use double-pointed needles, join the round. Place a marker at the beginning of the round and another one after st 15. Increase as pattern indicates. Switch to a circular needle to finish the bag.

Download Pattern pdf

Source: Lion Brand Yarn

ACTIVITIES | Free Admission to National Parks Saturday, June 9

In celebration of the 5th annual National Get Outdoors Day, all 397 parks within the national park system will be free to the public on Saturday, June 9th. While the vast majority of national parks never charge an entrance fee, the parks that do will waive their fee on Saturday, June 9, 2012. GO Day replaces the first day of summer which was a free entrance day in 2011.


Participants from federal agencies, nonprofit organizations and the recreation industry participate in this annual event to encourage healthy, active outdoor fun at sites across the nation.

Each GO Day event will offer a mix of information centers and “active fun” areas – places where guests, and especially kids, can use a fishing pole, go geocaching, help pitch a tent and more. The sites will provide photo opportunities with characters like Smokey Bear, Woodsy Owl and other interesting creatures. Many sites also feature areas that focus on other aspects of healthy living, including sustainability and good nutrition. In addition to the GO Day events, participants will be invited to nearby follow-up activities called EchO events occurring throughout the summer, which include introductions to mountain biking and fly-fishing, hikes with rangers to see wildlife, kayaking and rafting and much more.

Additionally, there are 124 locations besides the national parks that will be participating.

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Other 2012 Free Entrance Days at U.S. National Parks are as follows:

January 14 – 16 (Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend)

April 21 – 29 (National Park Week)

June 9 (Get Outdoors Day)

September 29 (National Public Lands Day)

Nov. 10 – 12 (Veterans Day weekend)

FAMILY ACTIVITIES | $1 Summer Movie Express at Regal Theaters

 

Summer Movie Express sponsored by Regal Theaters. Moviegoers of all ages can climb aboard the Summer Movie Express to enjoy a great selection of films. During this 9-week festival, participating Regal Cinemas, United Artists and Edwards Theatres will offer selected G or PG rated movies for only a dollar on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings at 10:00. A portion of proceeds from the Summer Movie Express will be donated to the Will Rogers Institute.

Search for a participating theater near you. 

Good Living Classic Books Reading List

June 1st is here and summer is just around the corner. In my house, we've come down with an aggressive form of spring fever. As of today, there are 13 days left before school is out. My calendar is quickly filling up with all kinds of fun activities, trips, and vacations.

However, amidst the fun of camps, activities, sports and gatherings ... we all need a little down time. What a more perfect way to spend that down time than with a good book. In fact, I've just left Amazon.com where I've placed the first of our summer reading orders.

Studies show that kids can lose a lot of what they've learned the previous academic year. Summer is a great time to keep the mind active. It is also a great time to pour into them your own ideals and values and time.

As a family, we've decided to read through the classics. Good Living has created a Classic Book list of our 50 favorite classic books. While we have done our best to choose books that have little objectionable material for kids and adults alike, we always urge readers to use discretion when choosing books for themselves or especially their children.

Download a copy of our Classic Book Reading List, complete with suggested reading ages.