How to BBQ 500 Chicken Halves-Western Weekend Style

It's BBQ time.  Only 500 chicken halves at once!  Sunday was final day of Western Weekend in Pt. Reyes Station and Marin County Farm Bureau , of which Dominic is the current President, puts on it's largest fund raiser of the year.  A chicken BBQ. 

Remember the BBQ pit burning party at deer camp we had last week?  Well Sunday, Dominic and crew put all of those pits to use.  The deep pits were lit at 6 a.m. with mesquite briquettes and by 7 a.m. the chicken halves were put on. 

The kids and I drove over to Pomi's deer camp, Red Hill Gun Club (where the BBQing takes place) at around 10 a.m. to check on the progress and snap some photos and maybe score a little sampling :)

When we arrived, one pot was completely done.  At this point, some of the 'special sauce' is poured into the pot and it is left to simmer over very low heat creating steam in the pot which produces a very moist and tender chicken half.

The combined process of the 'special sauce', barbecuing technique and steaming is a long time family recipe between some of the ranch families in the area and has been used for decades.  The chicken is not marinated in the sauce, but used during the cooking process as a baste and in the steaming portion of the process as well.

The kids and I did score a sample.......finger licken' good!

Ron Pomi (right) and Matt Field (left) are flipping 24 (or so) chicken halves at once with two grates.

Matt, Ron and Petie Ielmorini are placing some chickens in one of the huge pots to simmer and steam.

Dominic is finishing up the last batch by basting some of the chicken halves with the special sauce using a homemade basting brush made out of bay leaf branches.

The chicken is then driven out to Pt. Reyes Station where the event takes place.

We arrive in Pt. Reyes Station just in time to put the finishing touches on the 4-H "Three Little Pigs" float.

The three little pigs are SO cute!

Camilla Taylor as the Big Bad Wolf.

The chicken BBQ  is set up in theToby's Feed Barn parking lot.

The parade begins at noon.

The Nave group has been around for at least a decade and performs quite the comical routine.

The teddy bear line.

Palace Market float.

Every parade needs an antique tractor.

Bonnie and Clyde made an appearance.

Bryce was so excited to ride on the float and throw out 4-H stickers to the spectators.

Our float driver, John Taylor with his son, Billy Joe.

This is where we watched the parade from.  Perfect seat!

Cowgirls. 

Horse and Carriage #1.

And #2.

Native American dancers.

Even a fire shooting snail.

Top of the snail.

This was my favorite float.

It's a rolling saloon.  Complete with band on one side,

and kitchen on the other side and dancers all around.  It just made you want to join in!

After the parade, we walked over to the BBQ and along the way, I had to check out the home baked goods. 

Tomales FFA volunteers serving up the chicken.

Regina Pozzi serving salad.

The dining area.

Clover Stornetta donates all the milk, ice cream and butter to Marin County Farm Bureau for this event.

Mike Griffen, from Clover, along with his crew also donate their time cooking beans as well.

Happy diners.

Raspberry pie was calling my name.  SO GOOD!

Bryce wanted a bite.  I think it was a bit too tart for his taste, but perfect for mine.

Happy Monday!

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Ribbons and Floats

Wow, what a busy day we had yesterday!  Fair time is always a busy time.  I think this summer is going to be super busy for us.  We drove back out to Pt. Reyes - West Marin Fair yesterday afternoon to pick up Bryce's fair entry. 

I think I'm going to have to find out how to become a judge for the baking entries at these local fairs......don't these look yummy?!

I loved this creative cake............

A table full of goodies to be judged.

There is a category for almost anything you can think of at local fairs.  Here are some of the sewing entries.  I love the homemade pin cushions!  And the pajamas were sewn by our little friend Camilla Taylor......which won 'Best in Show' in the sewing division!

Ceramic dragon entry.

Back outside, we found some chicks.....

Color guard on an amazing draft horse.

Look how big this draft horse is!  A gentle giant.

Some geese and a busy goat.

Time to leave the fair.  Bryce received 100% on his entry and received a gold ribbon.  He's a happy boy!

After the fair, we drove over to our friend's house, the Taylors over at Bivalve Dairy (the same friends who invited us to their house for the Temple Grandin luncheon) to help work on the float for the parade on Sunday (today).

The Taylors are members of the Pt. Reyes-Olema 4-H Club who are putting the float together for the Western Weekend parade. Their club has invited the other local clubs to help decorate and ride on the float.  Bryce will be one of the Tri-Valley 4-H Club members riding along. 

The theme is "The Three Little Pigs" so the float was made out of brick, straw and sticks.  So fun to build!

Stay tuned for the parade and BBQ update tomorrow!

Happy Sunday!

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Chicken Escapee at the West Marin Fair

The time has come, once again, to celebrate Western Weekend in Pt. Reyes Station.  The weekend begins with the West Marin Fair today.  This is where 4-H members from various local clubs can exhibit their individual 4-H projects they've been working on all year.  Bryce entered his Educational Poster, remember, the one he put together for Marin County 4-H Presentation Day.  He'll be entering this poster display in three of the local fairs this summer....West Marin, Marin County Fair and Sonoma-Marin Fair in Petaluma.

After we set up the poster board in it's designated place, we ventured out to check out some of the entered exhibits.

As we were looking at the rabbit exhibit, we heard a bit of a commotion going on just behind us.  A chicken had escaped from it's cage.

Running loose in the parking lot.

One of the owners tried to throw his sweat jacket down on top of him, but it missed the mark.

Oh Dear!

A group formed a circle around the chicken to try and corner our flustered, feathered friend, but he was too quick.  ( I was also part of this group and not just standing on the side lines taking photos, I'll have you know )

Finally, the little speedster was caught!

And contained. 

You never know what will occur at a 4-H fair!  You just hope it all goes smoothly.

My niece, Morgan was interviewed by the local radio station, KWMR, about the rabbits she and her brother had entered.  I was so proud of her, she spoke and interviewed SO well on her first 'live' and spontaneous interview.

This is one of the things I LOVE about the 4-H program.....it teaches kids the tools they need and begins to build the foundation required to be able to speak confidently in every situation.

By the way, the three bunnies in the cage on the right are the babies that were born just before Easter.  Remember how tiny they were?!  They are now three and a half months old.

Peek-a-boo bunny.

Megan with her rabbits.

Okay, we are now heading back out to the fair to collect Bryce's poster and to find out if he's won any ribbons.

I'll update you tomorrow!

Happy Saturday!

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Healthy Black Bean Dip & End of School Pool Party

So, we were recently in San Luis Obispo for Dominic's godson's First Communion and I needed to come up with an appetizer that was easy and quick to make AND  tasty too.  Most everyone likes chips and dip so I wanted to try a healthy dip recipe.  Healthy Black Bean Dip was what I made.

Everyone LOVED it.  Great for graduation parties or any back yard summer parties coming up too!

Healthy Black Bean Dip

 

Ingredients you'll need (list below)

Mash up the black beans to where they are still chunky.

Ingredients

1 can black beans

1 tsp. oil
½ cup chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
½ cup diced tomatoes (I use onion & garlic canned diced tomatoes)
1/3 cup salsa
½ tsp. cumin
½ tsp chili powder
¼ cup Monterey Jack Cheese, shredded
¼ cup chopped cilantro
1T fresh lime juice

DirectionsMash beans in bowl until chunky. Heat oil in skillet over medium heat. Add onion and garlic, sauté for 4 minutes. Add beans, diced tomatoes, salsa, cumin, chili powder and cook for 5 minutes or until thick. Stir and remove from heat. Add cheese, cilantro and lime juice. Stir well.

Serve warm or at room temp.

Enjoy!

Today was Bryce's End of School Pool Party at his teacher, Mrs. Doyle's house.  All the kids really look forward to this at the end of the school year.  The weather didn't really cooperate, it drizzled most of the day but that didn't stop the fun. 

We had plenty of food.........

An uninvited visitor that took a dip and didn't want to leave.....

Trampoline action......

Pool time fun.  Paige trying to squirt her brother......

Bryce showing us all his moves......

Thank you Mrs. Doyle for another fun filled day and some great memories to take home!  A great way to end the school year.

Happy Friday!  Cheers!

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Sweet Potato Fries & Chloe's 1st 4-wheeler ride

Have you ever made sweet potato fries?  If not, it's a must try in my opinion.  They are good.  And healthy.  Here's how I prepared them.

You can either cut up sweet potatoes OR buy the pre-cut version right from the grocery store. 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 

Toss into a bowl and coat with olive oil. 

Sprinkle Kosher salt,

garlic salt,

two cloves of minced garlic,

chopped parsley 

Lay them out onto a non-stick sprayed cookie sheet.  Bake for 25 minutes.  Then turn broiler on and let them crisp up for a few more minutes. 

Enjoy!  I eat mine with ketchup.

Earlier in the day, while I spent some time working on the rose bushes and doing a little weeding, Bryce and Paige were playing Rescue Ranger. 

They come around the corner yelling "We've rescued Chloe from the heifer pasture! "  I can't believe the three of them fit on this 4-wheeler.  This was Chloe's first ride on a 4-wheeler and I'm pretty sure she enjoyed it! 

Good thing!

Because Paige had a monster grip on her.

But Chloe was all smiles :)

I'm pretty sure we have one of the most tolerant dogs EVER.

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A Date and a Pig

We were invited to a BBQ last weekend and was scheduled to bring fruit salad and at the last minute, as an extra, I threw together an appetizer. This appetizer was SO good, it was all gobbled up before we left the house!  What an easy appetizer this turned out to be. And as I've said before, everything's great wrapped up in bacon. 

If you like the taste combination of sweet with salt, you will LOVE this dish.  Only two ingredients needed: dates and bacon! 
Portuguese Roll Ups

Ingredients needed:
30 pitted dates
bacon

+ toothpicks

Slice the bacon in half, length-wise. Wrap a date with a bacon strip and secure with a toothpick. Place all on a baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees for 8-10 minutes then turn and bake for another 8-10 minutes. Serve and enjoy!

before they go in the oven

Enjoy!

Happy Wednesday!

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Don't try this at home!

Our new American flag arrived just in time for Memorial Day.  We have really strong winds at our house all year round so our flags become tattered and torn very quickly.

When Dominic went to fly it up on our flag pole the "all weather" rope snapped in half.  The pole is 25 feet high.  Dominic needs to somehow gain access to the top of the pole to string the new rope. I had a feeling this was going to somehow involve me driving the tractor for him to gain access.  I'm not the "smoothest" tractor driver.....poor Dominic.


Annette, (Dominic's Mom) if you're viewing this, you may want to log off now.  You're NOT going to like the first few photos.

Yes, that is a ladder you see in the bucket of the tractor.

"Honey, you don't mind if I snap a few photos while you're up there do you?"

Yikes!

Phew! I must say, this new tractor is MUCH smoother than our old one. A good thing for Dominic.  Very easy to drive and fun too!

Bryce and Paige's job:  make sure the flag doesn't touch the ground.

 And try not to wear it.  Woops!

Up it goes.

Hopefully this flag will last a bit longer than our last one.  It's supposed to be weather resistant.

Happy Tuesday!

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