Outdoor Challenge ~ Day 2

She asked if she could pick from the garden with me and I said, "Sure!"

Proud of a stroller full of fennel

Hmmm... what to do with all that fennel?

Why cut it up into small pieces of course, while Mama makes edible flower salad.Take a picture of your child outside everyday this month
(what's left of it) and join the challenge at 5 Orange Potatoes!

Love Your Yard, Outdoor Challenge Day ~ 1

... our young people are more aware of threats to the global
environment than they are of the natural world in their own backyards.

- David Elkind author of the NY Times article Playtime is Over,
in reference to Richard Louv’s book Last Child in the Woods

This door leads directly outside. Now this may seem like a simple idea, but we live in a condo and there are three doors we must pass through to get out to ground and grass. This simple pleasure has been our way of life for the last two weeks while we house-sat. In honor of April being Children and Nature Awareness Month, a few reasons why I adore having a door that leads directly outside:

• Little Ita can walk the dog all by herself. She has never in her life been able to just walk out the door with the dog on leash, whenever she wants. A delightful independent pleasure indeed. Even if it's 6:30 at night and she wants to sit quietly for a while and watch the sun set behind the trees... while I do dishes at the sink. (I now fully understand the genius behind communities that design kitchen sink windows to look out at childrens' play areas.)
  
• Once outside, there is a yard. Not just any old yard, but a safe, fenced in, beautiful, large yard with room to play and run. If you have one, please give it some extra love from us today. Yards are good for children and we are loving this one all up for a few more days.
• Whenever the feeling arises, Little Ita can put her bare feet in the grass.
• There's even a cob pizza oven for the grown-ups to play with!

Take a picture of your child outside everyday this month (what's left of it) and join the challenge at 5 Orange Potatoes!

Kubota Garden

These sun-filled spring days are reminding me of some of my favorite places to wander with my child. If you haven't been here yet, I can't recommend it enough for a beautiful walk, Kubota Garden. There are a number of little bridges and secret stepping stone pathways that are sized just right for tiny feet. Prepare to have some magical moments in this fairyland of color, texture and shape.

It is located in South Seattle at Renton Avenue S. and 55th Avenue South in the Rainier Beach neighborhood. Click here for directions

My Holly Hobby Moment

Anyone remember the Holly Hobby Easy Bake Oven circa 1975? Did you have other Holly Hobby gagets? I've been having some strange holly hobby moments lately. Specifically, I remember making super-sugary concoctions in this little oven when I was a little girl and loving it. Then, of course, needing to re-create the moment for my daughter. (It's so strange what pops up out of my subconscious from my own childhood now that I'm a Mom.)

Although it's not the same as the Holly Hobby oven, I put our toaster oven on the table, put all the ingredients out and let her make her muffins. This last part being the tricky one. Let her make her muffins.

I love her Holly Hobby fashion sense

stir


wait

test

cool

yum

Okay, my Holly Hobby need has been satisfied.

We made our favorite gluten-free mini muffin recipe from my friend Lara and the Seattle Waldorf School.

Mini Muffin Mix ~gluten free
Makes about 12 small muffins

Tips:

• These muffins are a great way to get more protein (replace the brown rice flour with garbanzo bean flour or coconut flour) and healthy stuff (adds nuts, sunflower seeds or shredded beats) into your kids.
  
• Only turns out well in small muffin tins, or small amounts in regular muffin tin.
  
• I have been using milk and butter, and like it better, but water and oil are fine too, and cheaper. Frozen blueberries and mashed old banana are recent fave additions. Shredded carrot/apple is good too.
  
• I always double it.
  

DRY: 1 cup brown rice flour, ¼ c tapioca flour, ¾ teasp xanthum gum, ¾ tsp baking soda, ¼ tsp salt, cinnamon and nutmeg.
WET: ½ c milk or water, 1/3 c olive or coconut oil or butter melted, 1/3 c maple syrup, shredded apple or other additions.

Very important: 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar, *****add apple cider vinegar just before spooning into small muffin tin. Stir to blend in vinegar.

Mix dry. Blend in wet. Stir all together. Bake in preheated 375 oven for 10-15 minutes.

Enjoy!

I must admit, Spring is Here!

Our nature shelf/cabinet is full of flowers. We picked most of them (the tulips were a gift from Papa.) It must be spring!

Culture

There's a bit of kraut-making happening around here, which I was elated to see illustrated in my favorite local artist's yearly calender, Nikki McClure of Olympia, WA. If you're not familiar with her, please check out her fabulous prints and other works.

Now back to the fermenting cabbage. I've been reading about the amazing probiotics and digestive enzymes available in cultured vegetables. With the plethora of cabbage from our CSA last year, I tried homemade sauerkraut. It took a few tries, we had a lot cabbage to spare! Finally, the bitter flavor I kept getting went away and now it's pure salty sour deliciousness. My daughter gobbles it up and I watch in amazment, since I know this is not just food, but medicine.

I invite you to let these college kids inspire you!

I feel so progressive and handy in the kitchen when I crack open one of these jars. Which has not always been the case! Especially my summer time attempt at pickling: cucumbers + brine in jars left inside the cooler for a few days (who knows why) = very moldy pickles. For successful sauerkraut, I follow the directions from this site. She explains lacto-fermentation and how to use the whey from store bought yogurt. The process is about patience. Just let the ingredients sit on the counter for a week and watch as it bubbles, froths and overflows. Fermentation is happening! I make my sauerkraut in quart jars placed on a plate. Be sure to keep all the pieces of cabbage submerged in the brine by filling a tall glass with water to weight it all down. Once a day, check the sides of the jar for loose pieces of cabbage and push them back down to be submerged (cabbage that is partly out of the water will mold.) This is one of those things that I NEVER thought would work. Letting something ferment on my counter was really a process in me letting go. If I can do it, you can do it.

Scrumptious recipes for kimchi and more...



Nourishing Traditions: the cookbook that challenges politically correct nutrition and diet the dictocrats by Sally Fallon with Mary G. Enig

They definately look like dryer lint

Lately, our art projects have been of the paper and markers variety. In order to bring some more interesting crafting into our lives, but limit the mess. I decided to do one in the bath tub and I really love felting. I love the feeling of the roving in my hands. The roving I used for this project was like silky blue hair with pink highlights. I thought it was so pretty...


Our project was inspired by these fabulous felted pebbles. As well as this detailed tutorial.



So we collected some pebbles and got to work. with soap and water


We rubbed and rubbed the wool as it felted around the pebbles.
Then I prepared them for their washing machine and dryer treatment, using a produce bag and some hair ties.


I thought they were going to be so cool and modern and fun for some home decor until...
I realized they look just like glorified lint balls. They definitely need another layer of color added. More attention is needed indeed. However, my initial goal of spending time crafting with little ita was met and I loved that. If you're interested in exploring your own lint ball extraordinaire the materials are available locally and online!