WHEN MOTHER NATURE GIVES YOU HEAT......

When Mother Nature gives you the heat that we had yesterday, what do you do with it? Well, as they say, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em, so Cori fired up the oven and we decided to bake inside as well as outside.

As everyone in the Pacific Northwest as done over the last week, we complained about the heat wave, and watched as the temperature gauge gave us the readings as the morning turned to afternoon and it read...100....103....105....still climbing upwards with no signs of stopping, until it finally reached 110 degrees. We tried to keep our minds off the heat while trying out yet another new recipe.After venturing out early Saturday morning to the local Farmer's Market downtown in Walla Walla, WA, we left with 6 pints of handpicked juicy blackberries. I had stored in my file of "things I want to bake one day", a recipe for Blackberry Coconut Squares, which were just screaming to be made with the berries we just purchased. I have to apologize for the quality of the pictures, as I couldn't muster up much excitement for leaving the main house to walk the 30 yards to the guest cottage to get my good camera in the sweltering heat. I could have made the presentation a bit better, but honestly, these really speak for themselves. The tartness of the berries are great for those who don't like an overly sweet dessert, and the yummy coconut topping is just right for those of us who prefer things on the sweet side. Cori's husband had to have a second helping, because after all, who could have resisted? Craig was happy to know that a care package of these yummy treats had been prepared for him. With yet another successful recipe under our belts, I had asked Cori to make the infamous S'more cookies which had been the talk of the week, as Cori had shipped these little devils to family back in California. If you are a fan of S'mores, I guarantee you will absolutely love these chewy, gooey treats. The only thing missing is the campfire and the sticks for roasting them on. As with the squares, we made another care package for Craig and after being informed of the treats that awaited him upon his arrival in Spokane, I know it will make the last leg of his trip well worth the effort.

Speaking of which, Craig made it into the drop yard in Pacific, WA yesterday for his 5am delivery of the bananas this morning. As I type this, he is still in the dock waiting to get unloaded. He does have a preplan for his next dispatch which will have him picking up the load tomorrow and delivery tomorrow night. We are looking forward to being reunited after a very long 3 weeks apart, and almost 9 weeks out on the road for Craig. No doubt all of those goodies will help to ease the weariness of having been out on the road for so long!