Month: June 2023

Ginger and Lemon Infused Honey

Welcome back friends! I find homeopathic preventative care and remedies absolutely fascinating, and I am more than willing to give them a try!

This lemon and ginger infused honey is deliciously healthy for you! Ginger contains anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties that have been known to help remedy stomach issues, combat cold and/or flu viruses and improve brain and heart health. Lemon is a natural detoxifier and contains antibacterial and antiviral properties. It’s also full of antioxidants and vitamin c to help boost the immune system. Raw honey has (you guessed it) even more antibacterial, antiviral, and antioxidant properties! It also contains enzymes that promote healthy gut flora and can help boost immunity and fight infection.

So many preventative and cleansing properties and it’s so easy to create and implement into everyday use! I personally create and use it to sweeten my tea. But it can also be taken by the spoonful or incorporated in to dishes!

Let’s make some!

INGREDIENTS
  • Fresh ginger, peeled
  • Lemon, sliced
  • Unpasteurized raw honey
  • Wooden spoon
  • Jar
INSTRUCTIONS
  1. First, sterilize the jar and lid. Wash them thoroughly with hot, soapy water and rinse well. Then submerge the jar lid in boiling water for 5 minutes and the jar for 10 minutes.
  2. Wash the ginger and peel it with a spoon, then thinly slice it into rounds. 
  3. Wash the lemon and thinly slice it into rounds.
  4. Add 2 to 3 tablespoons of honey to the jar, then begin alternating layers of ginger, lemon and honey until you’ve used all the ingredients and the ginger and lemon have been fully submerged (leave a small space at the top for the gases to build up).
  5. Use a wooden spoon to gently stir and move the ingredients around. This is to make sure the honey fully reaches all of the ginger and lemon with no air bubbles.
  6. Seal the lid and leave it to ferment for about two weeks in a cool dark place. During this time you will need to “burp” the jar daily. This means you must open the lid briefly to allow any built up gasses to release, then close it back up!
  7. Once fermentation is done and the honey has reached your desired taste, move the whole jar into the refrigerator to halt the fermentation process.

*Like most fermented foods, just keep an eye out for bad smells, mold, and other signs of spoilage. This doesn’t happen often, but if it does, it’s time to start a new ferment.

How to Play – Save the Bee

Part of the fun in raising Zoey is finding things that delight and educate her; I want to find fun, creative board games to play with her during our family game nights! This week I found a game called Save the Bee by Gamie. Which is essentially a Jenga-type game with a bee atop a honeycomb. Each player takes turns removing pieces of the honeycomb and whoever drops the bee, loses.

Zoey loves this game and has pretty much contributed to the bee falling every time we’ve played, but that does not stop her from enjoying it! Or requesting that I stack the honeycombs back up immediately to play again. My only gripe would be that it is slightly inconvenient to re-stack the honeycomb, but other than that, it is a wonderful game to play with children!

IN THE BOX
  • A base
  • 2 sides
  • 45 honeycomb pieces
  • A cardboard honeycomb shape
  • 2 wands
  • A spinner
INSTRUCTIONS
  1. Snap the 2 sides of the honeycomb into the base.
  2. Slide the honeycomb shaped cardboard piece into the base behind the sides and lay the whole thing down.
  3. Arrange the individual honeycomb pieces within the base and sides until they reach the top, then gently stand the whole thing upright and carefully remove the cardboard piece.
  4. Gently set the bee on the top center honeycomb and you’re ready to begin!
  5. Each player gets a wand and then takes turns spinning the spinner and removing a honeycomb piece of the same color they land on. If they land on space with multicolor honeycombs, they can remove a piece in the color of their choice. If they land on the prohibition symbol, they lose a turn.
  6. There are no rules that mention what happens if a player accidentally knocks out more than one honeycomb piece, we’ve just decided to let them fall and keep playing!
  7. Enjoy!

DIY – Bee Watering Station

Whether you keep a garden or not, bees are so essential to the plant life around us! They need water too, and sometimes sources of water are too deep for them to safely reach. To aid the bees while they are pollinating our plants, let’s create a decorative water dish for them to safely get a drink and keep moving!

SUPPLIES
  • 1 plant saucer
  • 1 plant pot (smaller than the plant saucer)
  • Small, foam paint brush
  • Paint palette (or a tray for your paint)
  • Non-toxic acrylic paint
  • Mod Podge
  • Glass gem marbles
INSTRUCTIONS
  1. Wipe the plant pot and saucer clean with a damp rag and allow to them to dry.
  2. To prime and seal the plant pot and saucer, spread an even layer of Mod Podge on them with a small foam paint brush. Allow them to dry before switching sides and/or applying new layers.
  3. Once the Mod Podge is dry, begin painting the plant pot and saucer with whichever color of non-toxic acrylic paint you prefer! Allow them to dry before switching sides and/or applying new layers.
  4. Apply the paint in layers until you’re happy with the color and texture.
  5. Once the paint is dry, seal the plant pot and saucer again with even layers Mod Podge. Allow them to dry before switching sides and/or applying new layers.
  6. Once the Mod Podge is dry, flip the plant saucer over and find its center. Place the bottom of the plant pot centered on the bottom of the plant saucer and use a pencil to trace around the edge.
  7. Remove the plant pot and carefully apply an even trail of glue just inside the traced circle on the bottom of the plant saucer.
  8. Immediately place the bottom of the plant pot on the bottom of the plant saucer over the circle of glue and press down gently. Leave the assembled water dish as it is, upside down, for at least 24 hours to dry before moving it.
  9. Now, Mod Podge should be left to fully cure for at least 3 weeks before filling the dish with water. Allow the Mod Podge to fully cure before moving on to the next step!
  10. Once the Mod Podge has fully cured (you will know it is when it is no longer tacky to the touch), fill the water dish with glass gem marbles and then with water.
  11. Place the Bee water station outdoors to hydrate those bees!
  12. Enjoy!

DIY – Felt Pie

What child (or inner child) doesn’t love preparing toy food in a play kitchen? 

I had a play kitchen when I was a little girl and loved preparing pie for myself, my sister and my parents. Now that I’m grown and have a daughter of my own, I want to make her some handcrafted play food so she can enjoy making meals for everyone during play, or while we cook in the kitchen next to her!

Please feel free to use these patterns to create some play food for you and yours! This pattern will make one slice of pie. I made 6 slices total to create a whole pie. You can duplicate it as much as you want to make multiple pieces of each food!

SUPPLIES
PiePatternsDownload
  • Pie patterns (see above) 
  • Paper scissors
  • Light tan felt material
  • Red felt material (or whichever color you want for the pie’s interior)
  • Fiberfill stuffing
  • Sewing pins
  • Sewing scissors
  • Sewing needle
  • Embroidery floss (light tan and red or whichever color you choose for the pie’s interior)
INSTRUCTIONS
  1. Print out the pie pattern I’ve provided, then cut the patterns from the paper.
  2. Pin the patterns on the appropriate colored felt, then use sewing scissors to cut the felt.
  3. Thread a sewing needle with red embroidery floss to sew the pie filling together.
  4. Using a whipstitch, begin sewing along one of the short edges of the pie filling, conceal the knots in between the two pieces of felt.
  5. Pin the red vent piece to the top crust piece and use red embroidery floss to whipstitch the vent “hole” in place.
  6. Thread a sewing needle with light tan embroidery floss and whipstitch the triangular shape of the pie filling to the triangular shape of the bottom crust. Conceal the knots inside.
  7. Continue using light tan embroidery floss to whipstitch the triangular shape of the top crust to the triangular other side of the pie filling. Conceal the knots inside.
  8. Align the back crust to the open back end of the pie we’ve already stitched together. This piece will be taller than the main pie structure and that’s perfect! We are going to fold the excess down to create the edge of the crust!
  9. Beginning at the top of one side of the filling, whipstitch down the filling, along the bottom crust then up the other side of the filling. Stop here to stuff the pie.
  10. Stuff the inside of the pie with fiberfill, then continue stitching the back crust to the top crust. Conceal the knots inside.
  11. Fold the extra felt down to create the edge of the crust and stitch along where the end meets the back of the pie. Conceal the knots inside.
  12. Stuff the edge of the crust with fiberfill and then sew the sides shut to keep the stuffing in. Conceal the knots inside.
  13. Repeat steps 2 through 12 five more times for a full pie!
  14. Enjoy!

DIY – Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Peg Dolls

Part of the fun in raising Zoey is making things that delight her; I want to create lasting, meaningful toys for her that are made with love and will be loved! Wooden toys are classic and beautiful, when created and treated right, they can last a lifetime; so let’s make some!

It’s no secret that Cameron and I love Disney. We’ve begun showing Zoey the classics, starting with the first full length animated feature that started them all! Snow White!

This week I’ll be sharing the steps I took to create a Snow White peg doll, along with her friends, the seven dwarfs.

SUPPLIES
  • Blank peg doll(s)
  • Small, flat & fine tip paint brushes
  • Paint palette (or a tray for your paint)
  • Non-toxic acrylic paints
  • Non-toxic varnish (I used Duraclear Ultra Matte Varnish)
INSTRUCTIONS
  1. With a pencil, lightly sketch Snow White onto a blank peg doll.
  2. Begin painting your peg doll with the base layers first. I started with the yellow of her dress and the white of her collar. Allow this paint to dry before moving on to avoid smudging, then apply a few more layers of each until you’re happy with the colors and textures.
  3. Paint the very bottom and its edges of the peg doll black to signify her slippers. Also take this opportunity to paint the black of her hair. Allow this paint to dry and apply a few more layers until you’re happy with the colors and textures.
  4. Move to painting the dark blue of her bodice, the light blue of her sleeves and the red of her cape. Allow this paint to dry and apply a few more layers until you’re happy with the colors and textures.
  5. Paint the red of the accents on her sleeves and the red of the bow in her hair. Allow this paint to dry and apply a few more layers until you’re happy with the colors and textures.
  6. Finish up with outlining and/or adding small details, including a small thin yellow line down the middle of her bodice. Allow this paint to dry and apply a few more layers until you’re happy with the colors and textures.
  7. Taking something small and round (I used the opposite end of one of my smaller paint brushes) dip it in black paint and dot the two eyes. Using the finest tipped paintbrush you can find, give her an eyelash or two on each eye.
  8. Using the same method as the eyes, dip the opposite end of a slightly larger paintbrush into light pink paint and dot the blush under each eye.
  9. Allow for all paint to completely dry, then apply a varnish and allow it to dry. You can apply as many coats as you want for the finish you want, just allow them to dry in between applications and before handing her over to your child.
  10. If you want to paint the dwarfs too, lightly sketch them on blank peg dolls. I used different characteristics to define each one. For example, Grumpy has scowling eyebrows, Bashful has large blush spots on his cheeks, Sneezy has wrinkles above his nose, etc.
  11. The dwarfs are a colorfully dressed bunch! With different colored hats, shirts and pants it may take awhile to paint them all, but take your time and reference the picture for color. Allow each layer paint to dry and keep applying layers until you’re happy with the colors and textures.
  12. Using a fine tipped paintbrush, paint each dwarf’s white beard (except Dopey of course)! Allow this paint to dry and apply a few more layers until you’re happy with the color and texture.
  13. Taking something small and round (I used the opposite end of one of my smaller paint brushes) dip it in black paint and dot the two eyes.
  14. Using a fine tipped paintbrush, paint each dwarf’s nose and cheeks light pink.
  15. Finish up with outlining/and or adding small details like buttons and buckles!
  16. Allow for all paint to completely dry, then apply a varnish and allow it to dry. You can apply as many coats as you want for the finish you want, just allow them to dry in between applications and before handing them over to your child.
  17. Viola! Snow White and the seven dwarfs are done and ready to be played with! Enjoy!

Take a Look – Wholesome Game Direct!

Change into some comfortable clothes, get a yummy drink, drape a soft blanket over your lap and maybe even cuddle with a pet; the Wholesome Game Direct aired this Saturday, June 10th!

Here is the full presentation:

I am pretty excited to play most of the games presented, but if I had to choose my top five (in no particular order):

What games piqued your interest? I’d love to know!

Snow White’s “Gooseberry” Pie Recipe

INTRODUCTION

Welcome back friends! This week we’ll be baking Grumpy’s “Gooseberry” Pie from Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs!

This recipe is featured near the end of the film when Snow White is warming Grumpy’s heart through is stomach by baking him his own pie.

But Gooseberries are hard to track down! They were federally banned in the early 1900s due to a fungal disease called “white blister pine rust”, but the federal ban has been lifted and is on a state by state basis. They are legal here in California, but I haven’t grown any and apparently not many others have either! I found several canned options online, but the most affordable option would have been almost $30.00 for one ingredient! So we are substituting with green grapes! Hence the quotations on “Gooseberry” pie.

I found these illustrated instructions created and shared by Disney and followed them! I wrestled with the idea of making my own crust, but opted for store-bought. The finished pie had good flavor, but the texture was not what I prefer. Try it for yourself and let me know what you think!

INGREDIENTS
  • Pie crust
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 1/3 cup of sour cream or greek yogurt
  • Zest of one lemon
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla
  • 1 cup of sugar
  • 1/3 cup of flour
  • Pinch of salt
  • 4 cups of gooseberries (or green grapes), whole or sliced

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 400 F. 
  2. Roll out the pie crust and press the bottom layer into a 9” pie dish.
  3. Beat the two eggs in a bowl, then add the sour cream, vanilla and lemon zest.
  4. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, sugar and salt.
  5. Gently incorporate the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients a little at a time.
  6. Once fully mixed, gently fold in the gooseberries (or green grapes).
  7. Pour the gooseberry mixture into the pie crust, distributing evenly.
  8. Lay the top layer of pie crust over the filled pie plate and use a fork to seal and design the edges. Cut a few vent slits through the top crust.
  9. Cut the excess pie dough off of the sides and roll it into a thin cylinder shape. Use this to write “Grumpy” on the top of the pie.
  10. Place the pie in the oven and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until golden brown. 
  11. Allow to cool and enjoy!