kids and a veggie box

just relaxing

2007-07-16T21:42:00.001-05:00

just relaxing
Originally uploaded by carschwarz

new life for old calendars

2007-02-16T14:03:00.000-05:00

This a super simple project and a great way to repurpose images from old calendars (and keep the table clean too). Turn your old calendar images into placemats. All you need are pages from old calendars, a pair of scissors to cut them to the correct size and laminating sheets. Tape or glue two calendar images together so that the sides you want to view are facing out. Cover the images on both sides with laminating sheets, cut, and voila! Instant gratification. For the past hree years we have repurposed our Unicef kids calendars this way for both home use and as take home birthday party favors. Of course other calendars will do too!

Happy Valentines to you and yours!

2007-02-14T09:44:00.000-05:00

A little colored sand and double tack...

and you have quick and fun valentines for the masses! happy day to you!
with this wonderful day off from school we are going out to cut some ski tracks.
cheers!

winter has finally arrived!

2007-01-31T11:02:00.001-05:00

new outfit for the doll from some old felted sweaters
Originally uploaded by carschwarz.

yes, the weather in central PA is finally wintry! hopefully the temperature will remain below freezing and we can get out this weekend for some cross country skiing and nighttime owling.
Speaking of wintery, how about a pic of a wintry doll ensemble? This doll was our gift to Klara for Christmas. It was immediately decided by miss K that her dollie was way too cold outside in the outfit she came in so I concocted a more wintry outfit from some scraps of old felted sweaters in the basement and a skirt in reindeer print from some other fabric scraps. yes, the order was given that she must still be in a skirt. maybe we should work on some tights or legwarmers now that winter has truly arrived?

klara's quilt

2007-01-29T14:53:00.001-05:00

klara's quilt
Originally uploaded by carschwarz.

my dear klara, my heart is bursting with pride right now. klara, i wish i could tell you how special the time spent helping you on this quilt project was. to see you initiate a project like this and take it from start to finish was amazing. the moments in between were grand - watching you choose the fabric for this quilt (and how did i know that my colorful child would pick every single piece to be different?), lining them up on the rug in just the order you wanted them to be, picking out the fabric for the edges, and working on the sewing machine with you. my squiggle bean, this quilt embodies - colorful and wild on the inside, bursting at the seams, constantly in motion, and on the outside shining like a rainbow. It was an honor to be a part of this project with you, but more than anything it was an honor to step back and watch you. I only hope that you will allow me to be a part of your next project - whatever that may be!
love
mama

been sewing!

2007-01-17T12:47:00.001-05:00

been sewing!
Originally uploaded by carschwarz.

This past weekend was Klara's birthday party (I can't believe she is already 5!). Heavily influenced by good friends of ours who recently moved back to Japan she asked to have an "origami and karaoke" birthday party. and that she did! unfortunately the microphone broke that morning, but the kids belted out some of their favorite tunes and / or danced. I found some wonderful origami books for smaller kids at our library. they are published by Usborne and are really excellent.
As is tradition in our household, there was a tresure hunt in the backyard for the goody bags. This year a samurai in search of a missing empress led the hunt and helped the kids find the series of clues hidden in the yard. The picture posted is of three of the goody bags I sewed up. The pattern is from an old issue of Martha Stewart Kids. It was an incredibly easy and fast pattern for a bag that can also be worn as a bakpack (and hopefully get some use other than as a goody bag). Inside the bag? origami instructions and origami paper. hopefully the guests will have some fun folding the paper or using it for other creations/ cuttings!
we missed our walk in the woods this past weekend because we had some relatives come up and stay for the weekend, and we spent some wonderful time just chatting and catching up. But next weekend we will be out again and posting a pic to the "sunday walks in the woods" group. If anybody out there is reading this blog and knows how to make buttons for a Flickr group, would you mind sending me a note about how to do this?I would like to make a button for the walks in the woods group. thank you!!
cheers!
c

a new year

2007-01-05T14:38:00.000-05:00

enjoying a piece of chocolate at the top of the mountain
Originally uploaded by carschwarz.

am i really giving this blog another chance? yes i am damnit all!
but the focus is going to change a bit. Nope, no veggie box recipes, for now that is. this blog will focus on family, making things from recycled clothing or scrap fabric, and hopefully on kids and science/nature. I am not sure quite where I will be going with this so please bear with me, but I am very interested in science education and science writing for children at the moment and am hoping to make a shift in career from research into something in science education/ writing for children. I hope to start posting some interesting project and articles about kids and science or kids in nature here.
My goal is to post at least twice a week on the blog (hopefully more as time, family, and the interest of others allows). so please stop by from time to time and provide me with feedback as I journey out into the blog world. I really will appreciate getting the feedback.

and since it is a new year, why not a new flickr group? "Sunday walks in the woods" http://www.flickr.com/groups/86631340@N00/.

what better way to reconnect with your loved ones, be absolutely inspired, get a bit of exercise, and perhaps a fresh perspective on things in your life than a walk in the woods? of course it does not have to be sunday and you don't need to be in the woods either- just get on out and enjoy your surroundings!

makin' stuff

2006-05-04T08:57:00.000-05:00

There has been quite a lull in posting on this blog....sorry! things have been a bit busy. we welcomed our second child into the fam on April 5th - Christian Theodor Schwarz. Besides that our household has been plagued by infection after infection - nobody went unscathed!! Tomorrow will be a recipe post (promise) - one to help get rid of those potatoes that still might be showing up in the spring veggie boxes or hanging out in cold rooms. until then here are a few pics of the new arrival and the stuff I made for the use what you have group challenge.
cheers!

food entry: eggs

2006-03-21T15:18:00.000-05:00

Ok, so here is the first food related entry that actually includes a recipe. This recipe is from a book we have at home called "Kochen mit Pettersson und Findus" - "cooking with pettersson and findus". It is a wonderful kids' cookbook based on food items in the series of Findus and Pettersson books by Sven Nordqvist. These are really wonderful books with great illustrations. I am not sure whether they are available in english, but they are definitely available in German and I would think Swedish as well since the author is from Sweden. The cookbook is a delight and the recipes are split into the four seasons. The recipe below is for "Pfannkuchentorte" (or pancake torte/cake). If you need a recipe that uses a good number of eggs, then this is a good one! Plus, regardless of what time of year you prepare it, the ingredient list has no real "out of season" items in it.

For the Pancakes:
5 eggs
400 mL milk
3 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
250 g flour
100 mL water
2 Tbsp butter

For the Filling:
200 mL heavy cream (for whipping)
Jam (whatever flavor floats your boat!)

Directions:
(1) mix together the eggs, milk, sugar, salt, and flour. Make sure that you mix until smooth (without any lumps)
(2) let the mixture sit for about 15-20 minutes
(3) put some of the butter in a pan. add a bit more butter between each pancake batch
(4) add enough dough to fill the base of the pan
(5)bake pancakes on both sides until golden.
(6) take out of pan and allow time to cool
(7) whip the heavy cream with a mixer until thick
(8) spread jam over one of the pancakes
(9) stack another pancake on top and spread whipped cream on this one
(10) follow pattern of steps 8 & 9, alternating between jam and whipped cream until last pancake is on the stack
(11) put whipped cream on top of last pancake
(12) garnish with fruit that are in season or a bit of maple syrup or almonds or whatever you please
Enjoy!!

and here is a picture of Pettersson and Findus enjoying their Pfannkuchentorte in the garden:

UWYH-button

2006-03-21T14:18:00.000-05:00

UWYH-button
Originally uploaded by suzy @ floating world.

I just joined this group on Flickr. I have quite a few baby projects I would like to wrap up before number 2 arrives (which could be any day now) and had been hoping to make everything on the list with supplies that I already have. Hopefully joining this group is the fire under my butt to get the projects finished and also use just what is on hand.

karaoke queen

2006-03-20T16:40:00.000-05:00

karaoke queen
Originally uploaded by carschwarz.

I started this blog with the intention to make it somewhat useful and focus on cooking for and with kids from items grown locally and in season (e.g. food from CSA shares). That really is still my goal, although so far I have failed horribly at meeting that goal. I think I started this blog prematurely. In that sense I mean in the middle of big life changes such as finishing up my thesis and defending it and getting ready for the addition of bean number 2 to our family. Even though nobody is really reading this and so perhaps is not seeing me fail horribly at my blog attempt, it still feels like a failure to me at this point. My hope is that by mid april there will be more of the content that I was originally hoping for. the time between now and then will give me a chance to tie up loose ends and do a bit of research/ brainstorming about how to best approach the food+kids topic. If anyone is reading this blog, please bare with me - the proposed content will come. until then, how about a few more pictures?
cheers!

march 06

2006-03-20T16:27:00.000-05:00

march 06
Originally uploaded by carschwarz.

The First Challenge

2006-02-16T10:07:00.000-05:00

I'm still not sure exactly how this blog is going to function - especially in the the first few months as I will mainly be using this time to explore recipe ideas and also since it's still winter here in central PA and the produce is still not as diverse as it will be in the upcoming months. So, I thought I would just take this time to pick a single product out of the winter share of our veggie box for each week and concentrate on it and possible recipes that (a) involve the help of children in the food preparation and (b) might taste good to kids as well. It seems from past experience that one of the best ways to make a new food item appealing to a child is to make them part of the food preparation process. That said, some days work out better for this than others. My helper, who is now four years old, really loves to spend time in the kitchen and cook and bake with my husband and I, but there are also days where it is the last thing on earth she wants to do. Those days tend to be the ones where she just needs to squiggle and participate in an activity that does not require much concentration. It is best not to push a child to help cook on days they are not interested - otherwise you might end up with a child that never wants to help again because it becomes a chore rather than a fun event.
So now to introduce the challenge of the week: butternut squash.

And of course my helper (with her interesting morning face)!

First Post

2006-02-14T16:46:00.000-05:00

Hi! I am probably the only person who will read this test post, so I suppose I am just saying hi to myself.
My hope for this blog is to use it as a journal of sorts for exploring and concocting recipes for locally grown/produced and seasonal foods that are kid friendly. I feel like there have been just too many times that I have looked at the items in our veggie box and just had no idea how I could make that appealing to a four year old. I have found some good sources for preparing the "odd" items for adults, but there really does not seem to be a good source out there for cooking for children from the standard veggie box items.