Oh. My. Goodness!! These kale chips are amazing! We had these at a local restaurant, but I knew they couldn’t be that complicated to make. They aren’t. They’re so easy. But…they take some time to get crispy. The recipe says about 45-60 minutes. Ours were in far longer than that, and even still, I feel like I should have turned the oven off and left them inside to get the crispiness they deserve. But, if you plan ahead, these are such a great snack.
Author: keepinthesunlightblog@gmail.com
Easter Egg Hunts-Reducing and Reusing
I love spring! Especially this one, when a feeling of hope is slowly settling in. I loved Easter as a child–wearing a special dress, being outside, having exciting egg hunts full of clues written by our Easter Bunny. As a parent, I’ve worked hard to make the holiday special without indulging in some of the wastefulness or excessive treats. Our bunny fills our eco-friendly eggs with a variety of alternative items, depending on the year. But, thinking about Easter events in the community gives me a bit of a shudder…
I cringe at the thought of fields of egg hunts–plastic eggs, that, let’s face it, most parents end up tossing in the landfill (AHHHHH!) and cheap trinkets that end up with the same fate. Many of these “hunts” aren’t even hunts; they are just grab fests. Which kid can run out there and grab the most-type of situation. To me, there is no redeeming piece to these hunts. Sure, I’d love for our kids to have a fun celebration of spring with the community, but if it means participating in this environmentally-horrific, greed race, then I’ll have to pass.
I did ask our local community member in charge of one such event if they had a plan in place so that parents could place the plastic eggs in a bin to be reused the following year. The answer? – No. They buy their eggs pre-stuffed (with cheap, plastic toys) so there was no way she could make this work.
I have been to some small-scale hunts that were more conscious. Instead of cheap, throw-away trinkets, the eggs held papers for collecting to choose from a table of more quality items. The hunt was an actual hunt and the eggs were collected at the end to be reused the following year. Huzzah to that.
Since we don’t do many mainstream sweets, our Easter Bunny had some thinking to do. We picked up some Eco-eggs years ago at our local natural food shop. They’re great! Large and sturdy and beautiful colors. We’ve still somehow ended up with some of the super cheap kind too, and the difference between the two types of eggs is incredible. When our first-born was young, each egg held a tiny sticker on Easter. As the kids have grown, the eggs sometimes hold pieces of Lego from a small set that needs to be built. I’ve also heard of Bunnies who put puzzle pieces in each egg or seed packets. Our bunny puts picture clues in each egg so the kids can each find a trail of eggs.
The kids’ baskets don’t contain much–just the first clue, really. (And definitely NO plastic grass! But sometimes fun, shredded old magazines.) This year, Easter Bunny may include some homemade bath bombs (by request). I think the fun of the hunt is really at the heart of everything, not so much what’s inside. Our kids make their own egg hunts throughout the year–sometimes just because or sometimes on each other’s birthdays.
Here’s a picture of our Eco eggs and the felt eggs I made as well. There are also hollow wooden eggs out there and many crafty ideas online or to buy on Etsy. We just leave the eggs out a couple days before Easter for the Bunny to come pick up.
Visit my Pinterest page for a visual of some ideas!
Frappuccino-Homemade
Ok, so this isn’t as decadent as the Starbucks variety. But it is A) WAAAAAY cheaper and B) WAY less bad for ya.
We made an embarrassingly large number of these drinks last summer. eepS! I changed things a bit, sometimes using less milk and more water. Not always adding the coffee. Using chocolate chips, instead of chopped chocolate. Never adding any whipped cream or topping. But, it was always super delicious and a good way to curb a sweet craving without indulging too much. (If you aren’t adding coffee, or you’re adding a powdered espresso, you may need more liquid than the recipe calls for.) It feels light and more “water-y,” if I may, than the coffee shop ones, but in a good way. To me, anyway. Try it!
Once in a rare while, we do add a homemade “magic shell” topping, but I seriously think it detracts from the experience usually.
Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star
First published in 1806 as “The Star,” this poem (or at least the first stanza) is one of THE most well-known children’s songs. The poem was part of a collection of poems called Rhymes for the Nursery written by Jane Taylor and her sister, Ann. The melody that the words are set to is the French tune “Ah! vous dirai-je, maman,” which was first published in 1761. It was first paired with the poem in an 1838 publication.
The French tune (translated to “Oh! Shall I tell you Mama”) is a familiar one. It is also the tune of the Alphabet Song and Baa, Baa, Black Sheep. Many classical composers also used the melody in their works. The one I’m most familiar with is Mozart’s variations.
I hadn’t read the full poem until last year, but I fell in love with it. How beautiful. I read it during the beginnings of the Covid shutdowns, and the symbolism of this shining spark in the dark hit me. It is definitely a poem I’d like to memorize for reciting to my children.
Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are!
Up above the world so high,
Like a diamond in the sky.
When the blazing sun is gone,
When he nothing shines upon,
Then you show your little light,
Twinkle, twinkle, all the night.
Then the traveler in the dark
Thanks you for your tiny spark,
How could he see where to go,
If you did not twinkle so?
In the dark blue sky you keep,
Often through my curtains peep
For you never shut your eye,
Till the sun is in the sky.
As your bright and tiny spark
Lights the traveler in the dark,
Though I know not what you are,
Twinkle, twinkle, little star.
As with any popular work, there are many variations and parodies as well. This variation is found in Mildred J. Hill’s, Song Stories for the Kindergarten. (And in case that name doesn’t ring a bell for you, Mildred wrote the music for “Good Morning to You,” known to the rest of us as the famous “Happy Birthday” song.)
Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How we wonder what you are.
Up above the world so high,
Like a diamond in the sky.When the glorious sun has set,
And the grass with dew is wet,
Then you show your little light,
Twinkle, twinkle, all the night.When the golden sun doth rise,
Fills with shining light the skies,
Then you fade away from sight,
Shine no more ’till comes the night.
How we wonder what you are.
Up above the world so high,
Like a diamond in the sky.When the glorious sun has set,
And the grass with dew is wet,
Then you show your little light,
Twinkle, twinkle, all the night.When the golden sun doth rise,
Fills with shining light the skies,
Then you fade away from sight,
Shine no more ’till comes the night.
Then, of course, Lewis Carroll has this famous parody of “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star”:
Twinkle, twinkle, little bat!
How I wonder what you’re at!
Up above the world you fly,
Like a teatray in the sky.
How I wonder what you’re at!
Up above the world you fly,
Like a teatray in the sky.
And recently, I found this Ringo Starr version from a book about children’s street games from the 1970s:
Ringo, Ringo, Ringo Starr
How I wonder what you are
Underneath that mop of hair
Ringo, are you really there?
Ringo, Ringo, Ringo Starr
How I wonder what you are
How I wonder what you are
Underneath that mop of hair
Ringo, are you really there?
Ringo, Ringo, Ringo Starr
How I wonder what you are
I think many of the famous nursery songs we know today tend to be thought of as having anonymous authors or having always been a part of our society. But with these ones that we can trace back to an author, I think it’s important to acknowledge. So many women throughout history weren’t recognized for their work. And here, we’ve got what is probably THE classic children’s song with words written by a two women – That is definitely something to note.
(And, of course, the side-note above about Mildred J. Hill with “Happy Birthday” as well!)
Cinnamon-Sugar
It’s always helpful to have some cinnamon-sugar mixture on hand. In the past, I’ve just poured a little of each into a spice jar. But I think the sugar ratio is supposed to be quite a bit more than the cinnamon. Now I do about a 4:1 ratio of sugar to cinnamon.
My favorite way to use cinnamon-sugar is as a treat on a buttered piece of toast. We’ve also used it when making homemade churros. It can be sprinkled on fruit or French toast or sprinkled on top of cookies or popcorn or muffins or nuts. Yum!