City Slickers

Remember that moment in the movie, "City Slickers",
when Billy Crystal, 

uses a battery powered coffee grinder 

to make his morning espresso, 

thereby setting off a stampede of cattle? 

The cowboys wanted to kill him...

  Yeah, well, 

that kind of happened to us 

this weekend...

  You see, it all started 

when I decided the family needed to unplug the electronics 

and to get back to nature for a few days...  

After much persuasion, selling and flat out begging, 

I convinced my sweet, technology-addicted husband 

and my TV/IPad/IPod loving kids 

to spend a weekend in a tent, on a farm... 

Mind you, this was no spartan, raw Outward Bound experience.  

This was "Glamping", aka glamour camping...

Feather Down Farms is an international association

of fabulous farms that offer camping accommodations 

around the world...  

We are fortunate to have one of those sites, 

Kinnikinnick Farms, 

in northern Illinois...  

Opened to the public three years ago, 

Kinnikinnick Farms has five tents for guests to stay in... 

These are not your kid's Cub Scout pup tents; 

they are cabins with canvas roofs and sides...  

There are wood floors, interior walls 

and enough beds in two rooms
and a cubby to sleep six... 

There is a sink with a pump, 

a wood fired stove and a table and chairs...  

The beds are comfortable and almost luxurious...  

This is not lying on the ground in a damp sleeping bag, 

 batting away mosquitos, 

hoping the rain does not leak onto your box of provisions...

There are separate mens and womens bathrooms 

that are a far cry from those things called latrines... 

No need to bring provisions because the "Honesty Shop" 

contains everything from paper towels to fresh cow's milk 

and just picked vegetables from the farm's gourmet gardens...
  

Kinnikinnick Farms is known for
selling its heirloom quality produce 

to many of Chicago's finest restaurants... 

You can also purchase their veggies and eggs 

at the Chicago Green City Market 

and the Evanston Farmer's Market...

The whole weekend stretched ahead 

like a dream of familial paradise...  

The weather was hot, but gorgeous...  

The families in the other tents all had kids of similar ages 

and dinner was just being delivered to our tent 

as we broke open our first frosty bottle of prosecco...  

BYOB, Baby....

Families mingled and laughed 

as the kids explored the property, 

flashlights in hand, shrieking with delight...

Peacocks trilled mating calls
in the nearby wood..
No kidding... 

Over bottles of IPA beers we learned
 that although we traveled far from the urban jungle,
all of the other guests were from Chicago, too.
One couple lives less than a mile from us
 and our boys play hockey together!

Oh, and Tom and the other dad are fraternity brothers....

There is nothing like a "secret handshake"
to strengthen a new bond....

The next morning started early 

with the raucous reveille 

of various roosters on the farm...

Paw, I mean, Tommy, built a fire in the outdoor cookstove 

as I prepared pancakes, 

thick cut bacon 

and fresh eggs from the farm...  

We boiled water for the French press 

and Kate hand ground the coffee
in the antique coffee grinder...  

All we needed were bonnets and petticoats 

and we could be cast in "Little House on the Prairie"....

  Thank God we were in shorts 

because it was hotter than Hades by ten a.m... 

First on the "to-do" list for the kids 

was to collect the eggs,

milk the goats,

and hose down the pigs.  

By then the temps had climbed 

to nearly one hundred degrees...  

When you have committed to no electricity, 

you are really missing that old A/C.  

You can understand why people
move so slowly 

when it's hot...  

We hung out in the shade most of the day 

and watched the mayhem unfold...  

The farm turned on the irrigation system 

which the kids deemed the world's largest sprinkler...  

Once the timer turned off the sprinkler, 

a war of water guns ensued 

and that is when the trouble began... 

Looking for a place to refill the weapons, 

the boys opted for the irrigation system...  

 Note to the kids out there.... 

Don't touch something that,

A: is not yours, 

B: looks complicated to operate and

C: keeps crops alive in drought conditions...  

Let's just say there were some tense moments 

as many male persons organized a repair committee 

to fix the irrigation system...

Thank God it was mended just in time 

for the pig impersonation contest...  

Can you spot the little pig who belongs to me?  

If there were rare, skin enhancing minerals in that mud 

you would have seen all the moms dive in, too...  

Yeah, it would not have been pretty....

Women wrestling in the mud...

On second thought, the guys might have liked it...

You are looking at childhood fun, to the max....  

Memories, I tell ya...

Soon it was party time and the patio was readied, 

the pizza oven was fired up 

and the kids un-mudded.... 

(well, sort of...)
 

  

Inside the netted  kitchen, 

the kids created pizza masterpieces...

How good does fresh food taste outdoors?  

There is no comparison...  

Dessert was s'mores, 

roasted in the newly built fire pit, 

followed by some fireworks in the driveway...

  A hometown parade of red, white and blue tricycles 

would have been gilding the lily...  

Was it an idyllic escape 

from the mad rush of our city life?  

 Yes.

Did the kids miss ICarly, 

Sponge Bob and A.N.T Farm?

No.

Would I do this again?  

Yes, in the fall... 

You almost want the warmth of the down comforters, 

the wood fired stove 

and that little sleeping cubby 

in the crisp, fall air...  

There is no glamour in sweating 

and we did a lot of that...  

Susan and David, owners of Kinnikinninck Farm 

are a delightful, hard working couple 

who have created a lovely, welcoming getaway 

not far from the madness of the big town...

  

Summer 2012 is fully booked, 

they say, 

but think about a fall 

 or a Summer 2013 weekend
for your family...

It's good for a city slicker to shed the familiarity 

of the Four Seasons now and then 

and to get eye to eye with a goat,  

to eat eggs still warm from the chicken

and to just sit for a spell...

And, mostly to watch the kids play
"Ghost in the Graveyard"

as the fireflies light the way....

I brought these cookies to share
with our new friends....
They were well received....

The New York Times Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 cups minus 2 tablespoons (8 1/2 ounces) cake
flour

1 2/3 cups (8 1/2 ounces) bread flour

1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt

2 1/2 sticks (1 1/4 cups) unsalted butter

1 1/4 cups (10 ounces) light brown sugar

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (8 ounces) granulated
sugar

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 1/4 pounds chocolate chips

Sift flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt
into a bowl and set aside.

Using a mixer with a paddle attachment, cream
butter and sugars until light and fluffy – about 5 minutes. Add eggs. Stir in vanilla. Reduce to low speed and add dry ingredients slowly,
mixing until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips.

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350.

Drop spoonfuls of dough
onto baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes.