The beautiful weather we had this week was just perfect for the cross country camp we hosted on our farm.
Our son-in-law Bill is the coach, and he brought nearly 50 kids for the three-day camp. Besides running, the kids had a great time playing volleyball, cornhole, ultimate frisbee, and basketball. They also used the time together for some team building activities. The boys pitched their tents in the yard and some even slept in hammocks in the trees. Several years ago one of the dads built a portable propane shower that hooks up to the hose — for the comforts of home!
Our daughter Jill does all the food planning, and some of the parents come to help her. It was a good time to be outside so we did lots of grilling. The kids had fun creating their own pizzas and cooking them in the outdoor pizza oven. Jill and her friends do all the work providing good healthy food, but she did give me a couple of “special request” dishes to make — my grandmother’s chicken and noodles, and sausage gravy, and biscuits! Since I love to make desserts I made a hot fudge pudding cake that we served over Young’s Dairy vanilla ice cream. I also adapted my old recipe for Elaine’s buttermilk brownies and added a peanut butter frosting. It was a real hit with the kids!
The kids also spent a lot of time watching the Olympics. We put a TV on the porch so they could enjoy the games outside. Before they left Thursday, special guest Olympian Julie Isphording came up from Cincinnati to tell the kids about her 1984 Olympic marathon experience. She shared some segments from her personal journal and showed the kids her Olympic jersey and Olympic torch. She motivated the kids to live their best lives — as athletes and as individuals.
Elaine’s Buttermilk Brownies with Buckeye Frosting
Sift together:
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
Bring to a boil:
2 sticks butter
4 Tablespoons cocoa
1 cup water
Mix together:
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
Add cocoa mixture and buttermilk mixture to dry ingredients. Mix together (don’t overbeat). Pour into greased 11 1/2 x 17 1/2 inch jellyroll pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes.
Buckeye Frosting
(This is very similar to the buckeye filling in buckeye candies.)
1 stick butter
1/4 cup milk
1 cup peanut butter
3 cups confectioner’s sugar
Melt butter and milk together in Pyrex cup in microwave.
Mix together butter mixture, peanut butter and confectioner’s sugar in mixing bowl. Add a little more milk if it is too thick to spread. Spread over chocolate brownies. Freezes well.
