Monday, August 10, 2020

This' N That.. and dumpcake......

Hi all... well guess I'll try this new Blogger interface. I've heard rumblings about it but just kind of ignored it. And now it's (automatically) here! So here goes......

Today is Sunday, August 9th. I can't believe it (I know... everyone says that!)..... but really, was July even here?  (My son and his fiance DID come for a visit in July, and we took a road trip up to the mountains and walked the trail along the Metolius River - that was the highlight of July!)



My son and I at the Richardson Rock Ranch, 12 miles north of Madras. They are just that - a "rock" ranch! They have some of the world's largest "thunder eggs" right on the property, besides many other exotic rocks in the raw, and gems and stones. My son and his fiance love visiting there, every time they come to Madras.

My hubby and I went to a town last week (Redmond), about 25 miles from us..... and we decided to stop at the produce stand, or even see if it was still there this year... and it was...... so we bought fresh peaches, blackberries, strawberries and (non-GMO) corn on the cob. I won't buy just regular corn at all, it HAS to be non-gmo.

Everything was delicious! We have a few peaches left. We've eaten them fresh, made a peach cobbler and I've had them for breakfast twice now. So sad they're almost gone. We don't have a produce stand in our town unfortunately. 

We had two boxes of blackberries left, so I decided to make a "dump cake" today. I also had a few strawberries left, so mixed those in too. It turned out just perfect and so delicious! We've already sampled it and it's not even dinner time yet. Oh well... it's a good afternoon "snack".

So easy! Recipe below..........

Hot out of the oven..........

This was so Heavenly! I tried a peach dump cake, but used gluten free Bisquick instead of a cake mix, and it was pretty "doughy" so we didn't love it so much, but we did manage to eat it all!

Can you tell which one is my hubby's????

It was good even without whipping cream or ice cream........... well.. maybe there will be one of those for our dinner dessert tonight.....

Here's the recipe I got from a video on YouTube (of course I tweaked it a little bit):

BLACKBERRY DUMP CAKE

3 cups blackberries or a mix of berries (I used 2 c. blackberries and about 1/2 c. strawberries)

1/2 cup water or juice - I used 1/2 c. of a blackberry ginger ale soda

1 box of lemon or yellow cake mix - I used a gluten free yellow cake mix

2/3 cup sugar - I used 1/2 cup of coconut sugar

2 sticks of butter - I used 1-1/2 sticks (or 3/4 cup) melted

1 cup chopped nuts (I didn't use any nuts)

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly spray or grease 9x13 inch baking dish. Pour in the berries and juice, smash them up a little bit, then sprinkle the sugar over them. Pour the cake mix over the berries and spread evenly. Melt the butter and pour it over the cake mix evenly.  Sprinkle chopped nuts over the top if you use nuts. Bake at 350 degrees for 50-55 minutes.  Mine took 55 minutes.

I LOVE that you don't even have to use a bowl to mix things up. 

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So far, this new interface is just fine. It's very similar to before, but the icons are just in different places (and some of the photos don't want to mind me and be centered! Now though, I don't know if when you look at my blog, if you will see the pictures and information that I had on my sidebar (to the right). Could someone let me know if they still see that? Don't know why Blogger had to change a good thing!!!

I've been doing a little crafting in between yard work.

Sweet little mini album using scraps of paper - from a video by Septeria18 on YouTube. She is so talented!
This is my "prototype" so you can see all my little notes! I'm definitely going to make more for my Etsy shop!

I made a pretty card using a "Friday Freebie" from Gi Kerr on YouTube. Every Friday, she puts up a free printable on her Facebook Group, and then she shows us how to make something. I love this pretty vintage card:

If  you would like the link to her Facebook Group or her YouTube video for this card, please let me know.
I tried my hand at some of Gi Kerr's origami dresses. She has had several videos on making origami clothes for ladies - such as the dresses, a sweet little handbag, a fan (seen on the vintage card above), a corset and a dress form. She also has an origami man's shirt! Cute!
Isn't this vintage paper just gorgeous??? I purchased it off of Etsy. If you want the name of the shop, please let me know. I made a cute folder from two #10 envelopes, that opens up and has a large pocket on each side.. to hold receipts, or cash or notes, money.... something to carry in my purse. Again, this idea came from a lady on YouTube named Posh Paper Lady. She used a smaller envelope and only had a pocket on one side. I wanted pockets on both sides.


Here's a darling little "tag notebook" I made using a digital printable from My Porch Prints on Etsy. She has so many darling printable projects to choose from, and usually a video tutorial to go along with it. Her digital set includes some ephemera and some little words also. If anyone would like the link to her shop, please let me know.



Well friends, I guess that's all for now. I really was just popping in to say "hi" and show my yummy dump cake!  See? I watch so much YouTube by ladies from England and Europe, that I'm starting to use phrases like "popping in" and "bits and bobs". 

Have a great week everyone!

~Marilyn~


9 comments:

  1. Good Morning Sweet Friend!
    Marilyn your post is wonderful . . . I enjoyed every bit of it and looks like you have a much better handle on the new Blogger format than I do. I was stressed to bits trying to get things centered the way I wanted them.
    Loved touring Central Oregon with you . . . Always love seeing your paper crafting projects . . . you deserve a double gold star for all the gorgeous work that you do. Then, last but certainly not least, thank you for the dump cake recipe. As you know I have blackberries growing in my garden. I bake pies but never thought of making a dump cake. It's so nice to get a fresh idea for using them.
    Here's to you dear sister, wishing you a marvelous week filled with love, kindness and all things good. God bless you,
    Connie :)

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    1. Good morning Connie! This new blogger format was OK.. just had to figure out how to center the photos and put captions on them! Once I figured it out, I was fine.. .but some wouldn't center for some reason either.. so I just left them! Thank you for the words of appreciation.. that always makes my heart go pitter pat! I hope you do try the dump cake.. it is SO good and SO easy! I wish we had blackberry bushes like we used to have up in Washougal, WA. They were so bountiful there. our raspberries didn't do much this year either.. very small and all the berries seem so dry.. I don't think the water has been soaking into our soil. And thank you for the good wishes for a good week... I pray and wish the same for you too! Loved your recent blot post with the finished quilt! Blessings to you.... Marilyn

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  2. You sure have been busy between working in your yard, and creating such lovely things! I just love all the little albums and creations you have made, you pay attention to the finest of details! I always love the beautiful papers you use as well, but I need to find out what printer you use for the digital papers, as my papers don't seem to print as nicely as yours do. How wonderful that you were able to find a great produce stand, but it's too bad there is not one in your town! We dearly love blackberries here, and I have planted 2 bushes, but I understand they take several years before they are very productive. Your dump cake looked soo good, and I can imagine it was so nice to eat a gluten free yummy dessert! I hope you are having a great week, it has been a bit cooler here this week, and hopefully it has been that way for you too! Many blessings to you dear friend!

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    1. Marilyn... yes very busy but fun things! I wish we had local wild blackberries, but there is only one place and that's 12 miles north of us, and it's in an area where there are alot of rattlesnakes! My hubby won't go with me and doesn't want me to go either. I want to pick those berries, but don't want to get bit either! I was so spoiled in SW Washington where we lived, as they grew profusely EVERYWHERE. Yes cooler weather this week and I'm doing more fun crafting. I'll send you an email about my printer and the paper I use. They do come out really pretty, but I'm having a problem with the color, as it doesn't seem to want to print out a true pink. It always looks peach or salmon colored, when my computer monitor shows pink! I'm researching it and so far no luck. I'm LOVING digital papers, and using more and more of them rather than my pads of paper, although I can only print 8-1/2 x 11 and some projects call for 12x12 papers. Etsy has so so so many GORGEOUS vintage and shabby papers that I just go nuts looking at them and want them all! Hope you try the dump cake.. could make it with a regular cake mix too! Have fun! Hugs.. Marilyn

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  3. THe cake sounds delicious and easy. I may have to try it and take some to my daughters. xo Laura

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    1. Yes Laura it was VERY good! Wish I had a place here to pick blackberries but there are none around where we live. Too dry and hot I guess. Take care! Marilyn

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  4. Hi Marilyn. Cake looks so good as all of the fresh fruit does too. I haven't had any for awhile. Those little dresses are the cutuest things going and your son sure looks like you. It is so hot here and our power was off for about an hour this morning. BYW, it looks like all of your stuff is on the side of your post that I can tell..Stay well..xxoJudy

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    1. Thank you Judy for letting me know that my sidebar is still there! Yes... fresh fruit is so so good. I LOVE fresh peaches! We don't get to Redmond that often, which is 25 miles south of us, to go to the produce stand. I would like to go once more just to get more fresh peaches, which are about my favorites for fresh fruit. I hope you are not being affected by the fires there. I looked at a map and looks like you are south and east of the fires? such a horrible thing happening there, every year and it makes me so sad. We have quite a few wildfires here in Oregon too and our area is so smokey it's not even healthy to go outside. For that reason, I hate this time of year. Hope you week is good. xoxox Marilyn

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  5. Just came back to have a second look, like I said before wonderful post.
    You are so creative :) I sure wish we lived closer. If you are ever in my neck of the woods, know that you are always welcome to come visit.

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