Granola

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(or watch the video)

Homemade granola is one of my favorite foods to make. It’s easy, it’s yummy, and it saves so much money. Granola found at stores usually either contains extra ingredients I’d rather not have or it is super expensive and comes in an itty-bitty pouch which I’m never quite sure is recyclable. 

I’ve been making this granola for years. It’s from one of my favorite cookbook authors, Alana Chernila.  I highly recommend all of her books.

I buy the ingredients in bulk from a Natural Grocers store and recycle the bags with grocery bag recycling or the bottle with glass recycling. I love that you can make this recipe your own and the lovely Alana encourages this. It makes a big batch of granola that takes very little time. I put the granola in Pyrex containers in our freezer and use as needed. It also makes a simple and easy gift if you put it in a large Mason jar!

Tips

Lately, I’ve been using the leftover almond pulp from making almond milk (after drying it out) to supplement the almonds.

Instead of using a maple syrup, I use an agave maple blend, which is usually cheaper.  And once, when I was ran out of syrup partway through measuring, I supplemented with honey, which seemed to work just fine.

You can make it to suit your preferences, which is awesome.  I omit the sesame seeds, coconut, and almond extract.  And instead of canola oil, I’ve been using olive oil or sunflower oil.

I also make our vanilla extract from scratch to add to the savings.

I hope you consider giving this recipe a try!  It is so yummy as a cereal or on yogurt (with some chocolate chips or blueberries). 

 

 

 

Play Dough-Homemade

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Homemade play dough is a fun, easy way to cut down on all those plastic containers the store-bought ones come in, and it’s also really great for gifts.

Play Dough is so much fun and such a part of childhood. Unfortunately, the widely known “Play-Doh” brand, upon further research, wasn’t exactly something I felt great about for our kids or the environment. While the exact ingredient formula is a secret, ingredients do include things like petroleum and surfactants, both of which can be harmful to the environment and to one’s health. I’m also extremely wary of manufactured dyes. The original use for Play-Doh was actually as a wallpaper cleaner, which didn’t exactly thrill me to read. So, with all that information in hand, and considering all those plastic Play-Doh containers entering our environment, I decided to opt for the homemade route.

I always love trying the homemade/do-it-yourself route, but I’m never quite sure what I’m getting into when I start a new project. Fortunately, in this case, homemade play dough is easy and fun. I love that the kids can be involved in making it, and there is little else more wonderful than kneading warm, fresh play dough. 

Normally, I can be pretty particular about where our ingredients like flour and oil come from, but with play dough, I am more relaxed. I keep a stash of the cheap, generic ingredients in bulk in a high cupboard just for crafts like these. (The cream of tar tar ingredient can seem a bit much, but I’ve sometimes found it in bulk sections at natural food stores for cheaper, and once, I stumbled across a mega sale of these and stocked up.)

I know there are tons of recipes out there, which are probably all pretty great, but the first one I tried was this one, and I LOVE it!  (I think it’s always nice to have someone narrow down recipes to ones that are tested and good, so you don’t have to.) We usually make a single or double batch, but you can easily make a half batch or times it by four or five even. Occasionally, I’ll use natural dyes, if we have some in the freezer. And once in awhile I’ll make scented dough too. I keep the play dough in glass jars or Pyrex containers in the fridge when the kids are done playing, and it lasts quite a long time for us.  You can also just reuse Play-Doh containers you might have on hand.

Play dough is fun to play with all on its own, but if you’d like accessories for it, don’t worry about buying a big kit. You can collect cookie cutters, garlic presses, rolling pins, and the like from garage sales, thrift shops, or your kitchen cupboard. Play dough “stamps” can be really anything you have lying around–corks, Legos, spools, and so on.  I’ve also come to love having a small plastic “kid” knife in our collection and a pair of very kid-friendly introductory scissors. Play dough is a great opportunity for little ones who are ready to practice cutting!

If you’re looking for a simple gift for a kiddo in your life, a jar of homemade play dough with a couple of cookie cutters attached with a ribbon is a perfect idea. The cookie cutters can be added to any collection the kiddo might already have. The play dough will be enjoyed until its time is done, and the jar can be cleaned and reused for more play dough or something else. For families who seem to have more than enough toys already, this is a great “consumable” gift.  You might also consider attaching a printed copy of the recipe and even a stash of the ingredients as the gift or part of it, so the family can make their own batches.

And, I have to say, even if you don’t have kids around and you aren’t planning on this as a present anytime soon, I do highly recommend everyone give this recipe a try at least once. There’s something very relaxing and grounding about holding and rolling this dough.  I recommend closing your eyes at least once while kneading the warm dough.   

Thank you for being here, as always!  Wishing you peace and calm at this time.

Over the River and Through the Wood: A Holiday Adventure

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Over the River and Through the Wood: A Holiday Adventure
Words by Linda Ashman, Pictures by Kim Smith

This modern take on the “Over the River and Through the Wood” poem is so much fun.  All four of “Grandma and Grandpa’s” adult children get invites to spend Thanksgiving together.  The book follows each family as they make the journey, coming from very different places using cars, public transportation, and even a hot air balloon.  But as each family unit gets closer to Grandma’s, they each run into a bit of trouble.  A beautiful horse and sleigh arrives at just the right time to pick up each group though and bring them together for the holiday.

Rhyming books can be very hit or miss, but this one definitely works, especially if you’re singing it to the classic tune as you go.  I can feel the excitement and also the very real mishaps that go along with having a family gathering.  It feels cozy and fun and messy and real.  And while nothing is mentioned in the new lyrics during the book, the illustrations do a beautiful job of representing families of many types, which I think is so wonderful to see, especially in a picture book.  Great job on this one!

 

 

Stuffed Animal Solution

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Our kids have more dolls and stuffed animals than I’d care to admit.  But, as much as I’ve been tempted to downsize the collection in the past, they truly do love each and every one of these dolls very dearly.  The problem isn’t so much the darling dolls, it was the constant mess of them ALL OVER the floor.  I’m more ok than most are with untidiness, but there are breaking points.  I tried every solution I could think of.  And every solution I could find on the Internet.  I tried stackable bins and big baskets.  Shelves, drawers.  I knew the hammock thing would never work, but I thought it looked cute.  These animals are a part of daily life around here, and when our daughter wants one, she will dig to get it, with no second thought whatsoever to the other ones she’s thrown every which way in the process.  (I know you non-parents or those with “neat” children are thinking, “Just make your kid clean up the mess.”  Spend a day with our creative whirlwinds, and then we’ll talk.)

But, finally, one day a couple months ago, I woke up with a solution.  Huzzah!!  We have a ton of moving boxes in our garage.  I know we’ll need them again soon, but hopefully, hopefully, we won’t need as many when the time comes.  So, I grabbed six (was it six?) medium-size U-Haul boxes and set to work.  It was important to have the dolls be at a level the kids could reach and see easily, so I knew I wanted them off the ground.  The bonus benefit to this design is the storage for all those miscellaneous trucks and doll houses underneath.  I was so excited about this solution finally being “the one” that I didn’t take many photos along the way, but hopefully these give an idea of it, if you, too, have been looking for a stuffed animal storage solution.

  

I folded the side flaps inward on the three base boxes for support.  The top flaps went up to form the barrier for the animals.  The bottom flaps were cut and taped to the far side barrier walls, if that makes sense…

We were lucky to have a free corner in the room where this could go, but it could definitely work as a straight line too.  I think I used extra boxes laid flat across the top for more support.  Then I covered the doll area with fabric.  And, for good measure, I laid down some old baby blankets as well.  I am NOT a “Pinterest-perfect” type person, so the basic idea was more than enough to make me happy, but I suppose this idea could be taken to the next level by those up for the task.  Since these photos, I’ve taped some scrapbook-type paper on some of the bottom sections for less of a cardboard look, but that’s sort of an afterthought.

Dolls and stuffed animals are blissfully simple to put away now, and when the kids want a specific one, it’s fairly easy for them to look through without dragging all the others out.  I love LOVE this solution.  I get to REUSE cardboard, it’s simple and portable when we move, and best of all, it works!  So SO glad I figured out what works for us.