Camp Quin

Tonight Anna and I went on a bear hunt. We attended "Camp Quin" w/flashlights and blankets over folding chairs and sang camp songs around the electric fire in the gym of Anna school. It was just the best to sit next to her and watch her copy what the teachers were doing and what everyone was saying as we left the house walked down the road, through the tall grass..and so on. Now if I remember correctly when I was a kiddo we took a gun on the bear hunt. These days we take a camera...and in any case we get scared and run back home. That school does such a great job of thinking up fun, seasonal parent/child activities. On the way home I was thinking we might have to have Camp Hamel this friday night...maybe I can find a fire DVD for the TV...and we have a ton of books to read w/flashlights and maybe Tom could tell a spoookkkyyy story.

Tomorrow I'll be helping w/Bryce's school book fair. It's always fun to see the kiddos in their school environment--they look either more mature than at home or so small...

Today I made a pizza experiment. I took a Pilsbury Pizza Crust, topped it w/Roasted Tomato Salsa and black olives and sprinkled on the cheese and baked it. But I baked it too long...and the crust was too hard. Maybe I'll try it again, maybe as pizza bread?

This weekend I am going to try this recipe from the Chicago Tribune, doesn't it sound really really good??

Pan-seared scallops with Honeycrisp apple and celery leaves

Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 6 minutes
Yield: 2 appetizer servings-
Adapted from a recipe by Jonathan Harootunian, executive chef at Courtright's in Willow Springs.

2 large sea scallops
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 medium Honeycrisp apple, cored, cut into thin strips
2 tablespoons celery leaves

1. Season scallops with 1/4 teaspoon of the salt and pepper to taste; set aside. Heat butter in a medium skillet over medium- high heat; add the scallops. Cook until evenly browned, about 3 minutes per side. Remove from heat.
2. Place 1 scallop in the center of each plate. Drizzle each with olive oil. Season with the remaining 1/4 teaspoon of salt and pepper to taste. Top with apple strips; garnish with celery leaves.