Tie Dye with Hollyhocks & Beets

Last week Gammie and my cousin Blair (12 years old) visited and we set to crafting. Raise your hand if you agree that crafting is better with others?!

I've been wanting to try dying something with beet juice (and we've got a fair amount of beets this year) so we dug out a white t-shirt for Sweet P, a onesie for Sprout and two head bands (one for me and one for Blair). In the midst of planning, the Farmer mentioned using hollyhocks. I was skeptical, but gathered dry dark purple hollyhocks from the flower patch in the front of the house.

It took a bit longer than we thought because you need to prepare your items before you dye them. When using natural dyes it helps set the dye.

Here are the steps:
Place items in a large pot of 4 parts water, 1 part vinegar. Simmer for 1 hour. You can begin dying right away or allow items to dry a bit. We let ours dry quite a bit before putting the rubber bands on.

For Beets: Peel and chop beets. Place in a sauce pan with 4 cups of water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until beets are soft. Turn off heat. Strain beets and set juice aside for dying. Eat or compost boiled beets.

For Hollyhocks: Place 1 cup of dried flowers in a small pot with 1-2 cups of water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Turn off heat. Strain flowers and reserve juice.

Place rubber bands on the items in various places.

Dip sections in the dye or place the entire item in the dye.

Allow to dry before removing rubber bands.

Remove rubber bands and admire your work!

NOTES:
The hollyhocks were AWESOME! They created a dark purple hue that I loved. We were really surprised by the golden beets and the color they created. The pink of the regular beets wasn't quite as dark as we were hoping for, but it still came out pretty neat.

I can't wait to do this again!

Sweet P wasn't awake when we did this project, but I definitely think it's something she'd love so we'll be doing it again so she can experience the dying process.

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Wordless Wednesday: First Strawberry

Happy Easter!

He is not here, He has RISEN! ~Luke 24:6

Happy Easter from the Iowa farmer's wife and family!

5 Days of Outdoor Play: A Day at the Farm

A few weeks ago we had some amazing winter weather and headed out to the farm to walk around. Because of the way the crops are planted it's been awhile since we've been able to walk in the fields so we took advantage of the day to walk through the fields down to the pond. Sweet P really wanted to get closer, but there's a fence around the pond so we got at close as we could.

After we walked out in the fields, we handed her a shovel and she got to digging in the dirt. We found some of Grandpa's old horseshoes so she threw a few of those, too.

It was Baby Brother's first trip to the farm, but he wasn't really interested (he slept most of the time).

We checked out the gardens and showed Sweet P the compost piles. I think she's going to be a huge help at the farm this summer and warm weather can't get here fast enough.

Outdoor Play: Digging in the Winter Garden

My great aunt Betty was trying to get rid of some leftovers from a garage sale while we were in Texas so we went over one afternoon to see what she had. My favorite find was these tiny garden tools. They are for an indoor garden, but PERFECT for Sweet P's little hands. She also had 2 sets of child gardening gloves!

The weather last week was unseasonably warm for Iowa so me and my girl set out for the raised garden beds and did some digging. Just because digging is fun. I think I may go out and hide some things in one of the garden beds and we'll do this again!

We found pecan shells, sticks, leaves and rocks, but no worms. We also dug far enough down to find frost on the dirt! Again, one of those times I was more impressed than Sweet P! We also did some raking and talked about the grass on top of the garden beds. So glad she inherited the Farmer's love for gardening.

Our First Farmer's Market

Our goal this summer was to sell our produce at a Farmer's Market and I'm excited to say we finally did on Saturday at the Indianola Farmer's Market! It's a small market (perfect for the amount we had) and very low frills. We knew the Des Moines Farmer's Market was WAY out of our league and since the farm is in Indianola it made the most sense to do it there.
The Farmer got up bright and early and woke this tired mama to draw on our chalkboard sign. Sadly the sign had some sort of oil in the wood and the words disappeared before he got there! Sad, but true. He tried to fix it, but it just wasn't happening. He set out early to get some supplies from the farm while I waited for Sweet P to wake up.
It was SO much fun and while I worried about Sweet P, she had a great time. The booth next to us sold shabby chic stuff and some children's books so we bought a few from her (and she let Sweet P bring over a child's rocking chair to sit in) and she read, snacked and played most of the time. The Farmer and I took turns taking her for walks to see the other booths. Anyway, here's what we sold!
Yellow watermelon, red watermelon, 2 different varieties of pumpkins (none of these sold, but most people said it's too early for pumpkins), poblano peppers, jalapenos, fish peppers, acorn squash, butternut squash, buttercup squash, fingerling potatoes, garlic and chocolate bell peppers.
Our best sellers were the garlic and winter squashes, and we're hoping to head back up in 2 weeks (the Farmer is busy next weekend). We can't wait to do it again and if you're in Indianola on a Saturday morning, come see us!

Simple Summer Salad

Remember how I said July was super hot? Well, I wasn't kidding. And some nights I just didn't want to turn on the oven so the Farmer and I came up with a super yummy salad. The best part? The lettuce and cucumbers were from our garden!

The Recipe: Simple Summer Salad

What you need:
Lavash chips (or another type of cracker)
3 cups Fresh spring mix or lettuce
1 large carrot
1 stalk of celery
2 marinated artichoke hearts
2 small mushrooms
1 small cucumber
parmesan cheese
toasted sesame seeds

Chop mushrooms, carrot, celery, artichoke hearts and cucumber. Layer chips/crackers in a bowl and top with veggies. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and sesame seeds. Toss with dressing.

The Recipe: Olive Oil Dressing

What you need:
4 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp lemon juice
sprinkle of:
garlic salt
Weber's Kick N Chik'n
basil
paprika
oregano

Mix all ingredients in a small bowl with a whisk, pour on top of salad.

Both recipes make 2 servings.

Wordless Wednesday: Snow Peas

A few words: This picture is from June when we still had snow peas on the vine. Sweet P LOVED picking them and was pretty sad when the Farmer cut them down when they turned yellow and died.

Earth Day Indoor Garden

Yesterday the Farmer and I helped Sweet P plant an indoor garden. Auntie Rosita sent me this link as inspiration, but I skipped the eggs and went straight for the carton. This was the perfect activity for a cold and rainy day like yesterday.

The Farmer has TONS of grass and flower seeds so he picked out a few for Sweet P to plant. He put dirt in a terra cotta pot (but we ended up moving it to a smaller container) for her to scoop out of into the egg carton.

What you need:

egg carton

potting soil (organic if you can find it)

grass or flower seeds

spray bottle with water

spoon and a pencil

plastic liner

plant markers (optional)

Sweet P scooped soil into each hole of the container and then we poked a hole using the pencil to make a place for the seeds.

The Farmer labeled each area so we'd know what was what. We planted seeds according to the directions on each seed packet. Sweet P sprinkled the seeds in and then we covered the holes.

With my help she sprayed each hole until saturated with a spray bottle of water. Place the egg carton on a plastic liner (we used the lid of a bin of spinach) to catch any water that may soak through the carton.

Here's what we planted:

Cosmos

Yellow Marigolds

Orange Marigolds

Little Bluestem

Big Bluestem

Switch Grass

My daughter LOVES dirt so she loved this activity and scooping the dirt. At one point she just started digging in the pot of soil with her hands, while we finished the planting.

I'm SO excited to watch these grow. I'll post the progress of the plants over the next couple of weeks!

This is a simple activity that involves sensory play, gross motor skills, recycling and making the earth a more beautiful place! We hope to transplant these to a garden (like this one!) for Sweet P once they get too large for the carton.

Linking up here, here and here!

Wordless Wednesday

This is why I'm not a huge fan of gardening.

Sweet P's Pizza Recipe

Have I mentioned how much I love pizza? I just looked through my archives, and I don't think I've ever told you how much I love, love, love pizza (more than I love hummus). In fact, if I only had to eat one thing for the rest of my life, pizza would be it. Hands down. That's why I never suggest where to eat if we eat out. The Farmer knows I'll always say pizza. But this isn't about me loving pizza, it's about me teaching Sweet P to love pizza (and she does, by the way), too. So here's a healthy recipe for a toddler pizza (or a personal pizza for you!).

The Recipe: Sweet P's Pizza

Pizza dough:

What you need:

1 cups organic whole wheat flour

1 1/2 tsp yeast

1/4 tsp sugar

1 tbsp olive oil

1/2 cup (or more) water

Place yeast and sugar in a mixing bowl with 1/4 cup warm water. Allow to sit for 5 minutes (the yeast feeds on the sugar and will start to foam). Add 1/2 cup of flour and stir (I use my hands). Add olive oil, remaining flour and water (more if you need it) and continue to form into a blob of dough. Flour the counter and remove dough from the bowl. Knead about 20 times, forming the dough into a ball. Place the dough back in the bowl, drizzle olive oil on the dough and then cover with a towel for about an hour.

Once the dough has doubled in size, pull off a piece the size of racquetball and roll out on a floured surface.

The toppings:

What you need:

Homemade or jarred organic tomato sauce

mushrooms

spinach

organic grated cheese

any other toppings you'd like

Preheat oven to 350˚. Spread tomato sauce onto the pizza, add mushrooms and spinach, then top with grated cheese. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes. Slice with a pizza cutter to create 6 pieces.

The first time I made the pizza, I used just cheese to see if she'd even eat it. Oh, she ate it all right. Then I added mushrooms. And the last time I made it, I stuck some spinach in the mix. She gobbled it all up every time. Well, first she ate the toppings and cheese off and then went back for the bread. The dough makes around 3 small pizzas. Keep the unused dough refrigerated. It'll last up to 4 days in the refrigerator.

Basil Pesto Recipe

Pesto is, in a word, scrumptious. I love it. Love it on pasta, on pizza, on sangwiches (yep, with a g, just say it to yourself to get the full effect). So when we started growing basil, obviously, we knew we'd make pesto. After reading about storing it, I came up with a plan for freezing it. Here is the recipe, and the directions for freezing it.

The Recipe: Basil Pesto

What you need:

2 cups basil

1/2 cup pine nuts, walnuts or black walnuts

1/2 cup shredded/grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 fresh garlic cloves

pinch of salt

Combine basil and nuts in a food processor until chopped, use the pulse button. Add garlic and pulse a few more times. Pour in olive oil while the processor is on, using a spatula to scrape the sides every so often. Add the cheese until blended and resembles a pesto consistency. Throw in salt and pulse a few more times. Serve right away or store in the freezer for up to 3 months.

To store:

Line a mini muffin tin with 12 small dixie cups. Fill the cups 3/4 full with pesto. Put a strip of plastic wrap over the cups and place in the freezer overnight. In the morning, peel dixie cup away from frozen pesto. Place frozen pesto cubes (won't really resemble cubes) in a freezer baggy. Put them in freezer for a later date. While I don't have a picture of the finished product, we've use our frozen pesto on pasta and a pizza and it's fabulous.

I've made 2 batches of pesto, one with pine nuts, one with black walnuts. There's a slight difference in the taste, but not much. The basil is too powerful. You can also either use shredded parm or the kind that you sprinkle on pizza. There is not really a difference.

So there ya have it! Pesto for the winter!

Jala-Jalapenos

We have jalapenos out the wazoo in our garden and if you've ever had a fresh jalapeno you know they aren't a snack food. So with all those jalapenos, I knew I needed to learn how to pickle them. And can them. So I did. And it's not hard. So here we go:

Pickled Jalapenos

What you need:

mason jar or other container

1/2 cup white vinegar

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

1/2 water

1 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

4-5 medium jalapenos (sliced)

Wash your mason jar(s) thoroughly with hot water and soap. Allow to dry. Pack the mason jar with jalapenos (I used about 5 jalapenos). Place the vinegars, water, salt and sugar in a small sauce pan and bring to a boil. Allow to cool. Pour mixture on top of jalapenos.

Screw lid onto jar. Use a canner or large sauce pan to complete the canning process (I used a sauce pan and let it boil for 5 minutes).

Remove the jar with tongs and allow to cool completely.

We let ours sit for 4 days and when we opened them I was shocked at how soft they were. I later realized that I didn't let the mixture cool, I just poured it while it was hot and I'm pretty sure I boiled those jalapenos. So next time, I'll definitely be waiting. Don't get me wrong, they're still yummy, just not what I'm used to!

You can experiment by adding bay leaves, peppercorns, garlic, onions, carrots or other items to your jalapenos. We stuck with just simple jalapenos for our first batch, but we'll definitely be making these again judging by how many jalapenos we still have.

Have you made pickled jalapenos? If so, please feel free to share your tips.