Dispatch from Dog Bar: TFADBBBTPB is a Big Hit

Layla coloring (Darby photo in background by Grace Chon)

Labor Day weekend ushered in The First Annual Dog Bar Bocce Ball Tournament and Plum Bake (TFADBBBTPB) at my house.  And although the event was small, just my sister Sheila, her husband Greg, and their girls, Layla and Sabrina, it was wildly successful — the one-day event spread into the whole weekend.  Unfortunately, we had so much fun we forgot to take lots of photos.  With the help of Google Images I've pieced together this report…

First things first.  Sheila, Layla and I went next door to Pauline's to pick plums.  We wore our boots (I got to wear my red Wellies for the first time, thank you Allison) to ward against the burrs and Layla carried the basket.   The tree was so heavy with tiny French plums, Layla could pick them without a boost up.  Sadly, once we filled up the basket, she tried to lift it and was knocked off balance into a thorny bush and scratched her arm.  Not too bad, but there were tears.  Sheila hoisted her up piggy-back-style and we walked up the hill to the apple trees and picked some more fruit before heading home.

To distract Layla from the gash and the little drops of blood on the back of her arm.  We skipped the plum bake portion of the day and went out back to figure out Bocce Ball.  We raked the enclosed pit next to my deck and absorbed enough of the rules to give it a go.  Let me tell you, Bocce Ball is FUN.  Again, no pics, but this groovy Italian family getting their game on gives you the idea…

Bravo!       

…see how there are several generations playing?   It really is a game that is fun for the whole family.  But when the girls got bored and we set them up with crayons and paper, giving us an "Adults Only" round, I felt the true pull of Bocce.  It could get very addictive and I began to see why several countries outlawed it at various times throughout history because their people were just too distracted by it.  In fact, supposedly  English Admiral Sir Frances
Drake was playing Bocce when he was told
that the attack by the Spanish armada was
imminent.  His response: “First, we
finish the game, then we have time for invincible
armada.”

 

"Just one more game," Sir Frances Drake

I also found this image of miners playing, appropriate for the Gold Country I now call home…

 

And, I guess once the kiddies go to bed and the wine keeps flowing (yes, you can drink and play), things could get interesting…

 

"Bocce Ball" by Gary Ruddell via Gregg Chadwick's blog.

Anyway, we played a few more rounds then had dinner.  I made tomato and cucumber salad, cole slaw with carrots and corn, and farfalle with portobello mushrooms and sage.  Yummy, I must say.   And that was it.  No plum bake.  Luckily, I had baked two plum tortes the night before, so the Bocce Ball didn't prevent us from having dessert.

So, Layla and Sheila came over the next morning (top photo) and we got baking.  Here's me making sure I have doubled the recipe correctly…

"Two sticks of butter equals one cup."

"Plum Blossom" by Eizan, c. 1820

Sheila turned her attention to chutney (more on that in another post).  And Layla and I played cooking school.  I taught her word like batter, offset spatula, and springform pan.  Then, I showed her how to place the plums just so…

 

my plum torte

Layla had other ideas…

 

Layla's plum torte

    Regardless, they both turned out great…

ta da!

If you have any plums, I highly recommend this recipe.  It's from the New York Times, passed along to me by my mother.  We grew up on it.  It's a classic, because it is deceivingly simple for how good it turns out.  In fact, we gave a plum torte to Pauline as a thank you for her generosity with her fruit.  The next day she was raving about it and begging for the recipe.  "Don't forget!" she said.  "If you do, I am going to call you."   Now, when an 87 year-old woman who grew up in an orchard demands a recipe, you know it's good.

So that was the inaugural TFADBBBTPB.  Can't wait for the second annual one.  Or the next round of Bocce.  Anyone up for a game?

P.S. I am getting my first CSA box today (community supported agriculture or farm share).  Wonder what the farmers will give me.  It feels kind of Christmas-y, without the stress.  Stay tuned to find out what I got…