Tuesday, August 30, 2016

Cucumbers & Zucchini

Cucumbers are technically a type of fruit but because they are more savory than sweet they tend to be referred to as vegetables.  They are definitely the most popular 'vegetable' around here - almost all the past/present children love them.  Even the really picky eaters will usually eat cucumbers.  Salad haters will often eat the bits of cucumber from a salad and leave the rest.  Cucumbers are soft compared to other raw 'veggies' so toddlers find them easier to eat.

Zucchini - also technically a fruit - has proved to be a difficult 'veggie' to get the children to eat raw.  Personally I much prefer raw zucchini over cucumbers mostly because they have a very mild flavour.  I've wondered if that is why the children don't like zucchini.  When served both zucchini and cucumber slices I've noticed that they eat all the cucumber but all the zucchini slices are discarded after just one bite.  Were they disappointed by the (lack of) flavour?  Did they think it was a 'bad' cucumber?

Of course all the children love it when I bake zucchini in a loaf, muffin or brownie yet cucumber cookies failed miserably.  I wonder if the cucumber's stronger flavour makes it less appealing in baked recipes than mild zucchini.  Some children will eat zucchini in a casserole or stir fry but many do not like any cooked veggies.  Raw is usually preferred and 'from our own garden' is the best :-)
In the past we have grown both cucumbers and zucchini in our garden but they use a lot of space.
 
Luckily we get plenty of both in our CSA share from Wild Earth Farms.  A few weeks ago when we were having a picnic lunch I included both zucchini and cucumber slices in the raw vegetable assortment that accompanied our turkey sandwiches.  The children raved about how great the 'yellow' vegetable was.  I told them it was zucchini - a yellow zucchini - and watched as they devoured it all and asked for more. 

I wondered if I finally had a group of children that liked zucchini or if it was just the thrill of having lunch outside that made it more appealing.  I have given them zucchini several times since then and they still love the yellow ones.  The green ones remain on the 'dislike' list - sometimes they get eaten reluctantly but most of the time they get discarded after the first nibble to determine if it is a cucumber or zucchini.  Apparently colour makes a difference when feeding zucchini to preschoolers.

20160823_114631

Tuesday, August 16, 2016

Taco Pie

Today I want to highlight one of our lunch menu items.  A long time ago I used to have chili buns on the menu - they were popular but any meal items that need to be assembled on the individual plates I find are too time consuming.  I much prefer to prepare 'all-in-one' meals like Layered French Toast that can be prepared in advance and are easier to serve to a group.

Taco Pie is like that - essentially a chili bun casserole type meal - perfect.  In the morning I start by making chili;

  • 1 796 ml can diced tomatoes
  • 1 540 ml can of black beans
  • 1 284 ml can of tomato soup
  • 1 lb ground beef, scramble fried
  • 1/4 cup taco seasoning (approximately - maybe more - I don't measure it, I just dump some in until it looks/smells right).
  • salt, pepper, chili flakes, paprika, (to taste)
  • Salsa (optional - sometimes I add some, sometimes I don't, never measure)

These all simmer for an hour or so while I grate cheese, prepare the crust and do any other necessary tasks before the children arrive.  This is the biscuit crust recipe - this I measure;

  • 4 cups whole wheat flour
  • 8 tsp baking powder
  • 1 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup mayonnaise
  • 1 1/2 cups milk

Stir dry ingredients together in a bowl.  Make a well in center and pour in milk and mayonnaise.  Mix to moisten and then press into bottom of a greased 9x13 baking pan.  Bake in a 400 degree oven for 20 minutes.  Remove from oven, sprinkle crust with grated cheese, pour chili over top, cover with crushed corn chips and some more grated cheese.

At this point I suppose you could just bake it a little longer to melt the cheese and then serve it but because I prepare it very early in the morning I cover it with foil and put it in a 175 degree oven until lunch - it is ready for us whenever we are done playing.

DSC02789

Wednesday, August 3, 2016

Indoor Space

My list of summer renovation projects was two pages long – more than 3/4 of the items have already been completed:-) Revamping the outdoor space (see previous post) was the largest project.  Many of the indoor projects just involved sorting and reorganizing stuff but that takes time.

Of course there were some storage units that had to be re-built to fit in different locations but no ‘new’ pieces were necessary.  In fact, a horizontal storage unit became a vertical unit and the items in two other units were consolidated into one so we actually gained a fair amount of extra floor space – bonus!

Much of the work was done to areas that are off-limits to the children so they are completely unaware of the  changes but I am certainly pleased with the results.  When you’ve only got 1200 sq ft to work with and you want to make it usable for a dozen people every little bit helps.

I felt there were several issues with the arrangement of the playroom and I definitely wanted to address at least some of them.  First, this was the old storage space for the workshop tools and musical instruments;

16-08-PR01

The problem I had here is that the floor space allocated for constructive play and music activities was just 6o square feet. When most of the toys are stored on one shelf unit on the longest wall the play space becomes a very narrow rectangle.  I wanted to make two smaller storage spaces – one at each end of the long, narrow space which would result in a more usable almost square play space. So, the above corner now looks like this;

16-08-PR02

Just the tools, puzzles and stuffed animals are stored here now.  The musical instruments are stored separately on the other end of the play space;

16-08-PR03

There used to be a basket of old phones, remotes, and walkie talkies in the space under the cash register.  The children often dumped everything out of the basket when looking for a specific item but no one liked to pick up all the leftovers.  Now the items are stored like this instead;

16-08-PR03a

This is my new view of the playroom from my desk if I was ever inclined to sit down to do any paperwork;

16-08-PR04

And this is as close as I can get to showing the entire playroom in one photo;

16-08-PR07

Housekeeping, dress-up, library and quiet corner on the left, entrance to nature area on far wall, blocks, tools and music on right side.

I’m not particularly fond of the way all the housekeeping toys are currently stored – some items are too high for the children to easily reach. I can’t complain if children climb when I’m the one who put things they are allowed to play with on a shelf that is too high.  Reorganizing that storage space is one of the not-yet-completed items on my list.  I am still not certain how to address all the issues there so until I’ve devised an acceptable plan it will have to stay as is.  Sigh.