Friday, May 16, 2008
Field Day
Today was Timmerman's Cook-out and Field Day. Dad and myself met Gavin for lunch and then enjoyed watching Gavin in the different games.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Tonight Dad invited the kiddos to go on a bike ride while mom cooked dinner. Mom was happy to cook in peace and quiet (and actually took a power nap before cooking!) We bought a trailer for our bike so that Brenna could ride along. The big wheel just wasn't keeping up!
So Brenna prepared for her ride by getting a bowl of grapes and a bottle of water, because you know, being pulled along on a bike ride is exhausting!
They ended up going on a 4 mile bike ride! Apparently during the bike ride, Brenna said to Dad, "I am really tired!" They came back happy and ready to eat! Mom was well rested and dinner was nearly ready, (oh except for the fact that we had stale taco shells so Dad had to run to the store!)
So Brenna prepared for her ride by getting a bowl of grapes and a bottle of water, because you know, being pulled along on a bike ride is exhausting!
They ended up going on a 4 mile bike ride! Apparently during the bike ride, Brenna said to Dad, "I am really tired!" They came back happy and ready to eat! Mom was well rested and dinner was nearly ready, (oh except for the fact that we had stale taco shells so Dad had to run to the store!)
To a friend...
HAPPY 7TH BIRTHDAY!
To our Friend.....Luke!
Gavin has been waiting for a long time for this to happen! Luke's birthday was yesterday, May 14th.
To our Friend.....Luke!
Gavin has been waiting for a long time for this to happen! Luke's birthday was yesterday, May 14th.
Using our produce
So yesterday at our first CSA pick up, we got some romaine and red sail lettuce as well as some rhubarb. I love eating salads, but I really want to find ways to use the produce that the kids will enjoy! So the kids and I brainstormed how we could use the lettuce. One of the kids recommended using them in a smoothie. Now, I know that sounds gross, but we have used spinach in our smoothies for quite sometime, and you really can't taste it at all! So I took just a couple of leaves, and threw them in with the frozen berries, bananas and milk. They tasted great and you couldn't taste the lettuce. Gavin has also took a sandwhich to school today with some lettuce on it. He doesn't normally eat lettuce on his sandwhiches, so I was afraid he wouldn't like it. But he said he loved it and he "gobbled it up".
They were very excitied about making some rhubarb pie. I had found some other rhubarb recipes I wanted to try, but they were stuck on the pie and I did know it would be easy to make. I found a recipe on allrecipes.com and Brenna and I made it together. I have never worked with rhubarb before, so I was expecting it to be difficult to wash or prep, but it couldn't have been easier! Why haven't I used this before??
Here are the kids anxiously awaiting the pie to be done. Yes, Gavin purposefully made sure his butt was in the picture.
Here is our finished product. Isn't it pretty?
We happened to have some vanilla ice cream too which was nice. It was piping hot, (Zack found out the hard way) but I thought it was good!
So the verdict is:
Produce: Rhubarb
Recipe: Rhubarb pie
Dad: couldn't taste much after he scorched his mouth
Mom: Delish
Gavin: LOVES!
Brenna: did not like
Produce: Romaine/Red Sail
How we are using: sandwiches, smoothies
Dad: hasn't tried yet I don't think
mom: smoothie tasted great, hasn't had sandwich
Gavin: loved his smoothie and sandwich
Brenna: protested loudly at mom throwing lettuce in her smoothie but reports she couldn't taste it at all! She keeps reminding me that she does *not* want any lettuce on her tacos tomorrow!
They were very excitied about making some rhubarb pie. I had found some other rhubarb recipes I wanted to try, but they were stuck on the pie and I did know it would be easy to make. I found a recipe on allrecipes.com and Brenna and I made it together. I have never worked with rhubarb before, so I was expecting it to be difficult to wash or prep, but it couldn't have been easier! Why haven't I used this before??
Here are the kids anxiously awaiting the pie to be done. Yes, Gavin purposefully made sure his butt was in the picture.
Here is our finished product. Isn't it pretty?
We happened to have some vanilla ice cream too which was nice. It was piping hot, (Zack found out the hard way) but I thought it was good!
So the verdict is:
Produce: Rhubarb
Recipe: Rhubarb pie
Dad: couldn't taste much after he scorched his mouth
Mom: Delish
Gavin: LOVES!
Brenna: did not like
Produce: Romaine/Red Sail
How we are using: sandwiches, smoothies
Dad: hasn't tried yet I don't think
mom: smoothie tasted great, hasn't had sandwich
Gavin: loved his smoothie and sandwich
Brenna: protested loudly at mom throwing lettuce in her smoothie but reports she couldn't taste it at all! She keeps reminding me that she does *not* want any lettuce on her tacos tomorrow!
Our CSA experience
CSA is “community supported agriculture”. This is the farm where you can buy a seasonal share and you get fresh produce every week and you can buy other things as well such as lamb, chicken, turkey, honey, eggs, sorghum, popcorn etc. A lot of times CSAs are based out of Farmer’s Markets but this one is just this farm.
Yesterday was our first pick up. They have people from Emporia, Manhattan, Topeka, and Lawrence etc that are share holders. Most of the cities have a pick up spot in town. One of the share holders volunteers to bring all the food in to town and then people pick it up. I told Farmer John that I would like to come to the farm to pick it up. I just think it is a great experience for the kids to see the food growing and get a more hands on experience. My mom split my share with me so her and dad came out with me and the kids.
It is about 5 miles west of Americus. It is a beautiful drive! It is about 3 miles away from Kahola, so it has those beautiful green rocky hills. Really nice drive. So we get there and I am hoping we can at least look around, but I didn’t want to put them out. But they offered right away to show us around which is great. It is a husband and wife team and they are the nicest people.
The first thing they showed us was the large garden area. They showed the kids all the plants and what they were, what they were doing to help them grow. They are passionate about organic farming and humane treatment of all the animals. It was really cool. No chemicals are used. I loved the kids seeing produce growing that they would later be eating! What a connection for them to make.
Next were the chickens. They have probably 5 or 6 or so chicken “tents”. I don’t know what they are really called but they are open air tent looking things. The bottom is open so the chicks eat the grass below. They move each tent twice a day so that the chickens have fresh grass to eat and so that they are moved off their own manure. They have lots of room to move around and you can tell those chickens are loved! They talked about since they get so much fresh grass to eat, their eggs and meat are much higher in Omega 3s and other nutrients than store bought stuff. They had some chicks that were a couple of weeks old and some meat chickens and “layers”.
Next was the fruit orchard. They have several fruit trees and several blackberry plants. The blackberry plants looked scrawny, but he says once they bloom, they will get “bucketfuls” of blackberries!
Next was the barn area. We walked right in to the outside part and there were a lot of sheep and lambs running around. The lambs were 2 months old and adorable! Some twin lambs ran up to nurse from mom and the farmer talked to the kids about how lambs get their milk from mom (of course, my kiddos already know that! Ha!) but it was neat to see it up close. I have been in plenty of petting zoos with sheep, but it was neat to see them in this environment. The farmer showed the kids how thick their wool is and they will sheer that later. They got to stick their hands down in the deep wool and got to pet the sheep and lambs.
Next we walked by the “processing area”. Gavin didn’t quite know what that meant, so he was asking a lot of questions. Farmer John explained it very well about how he helps turn the animals into food so that we can all eat. I talked with Gavin about the respect that we give the animals since they help provide us food. I just loved it! I don’t think the kids will look a chicken breast the same way ever again!
We walked back to behind the farm right next to Kahola creek. Gorgeous creek. They have several bee hives. Gavin asked what they were doing to “help the bees”. I was beaming with pride that Gavin was discussing this with him. Farmer John explained to Gavin what they are doing to help and that by not using chemicals on his farm, he is helping the bees not die. They also well help move hives from other people’s personal property so that they hive is not destroyed. They sell honey and bee pollen as well.
Next was this wooded area where he was put all kinds of fun things! There is a tree house that is *three stories above the ground*. With a skinny ladder going up! Farmer John asked Gavin if he wanted to go up and Gavin was like, “sure” and headed right up! (with farmer john close behind). I thought I may have a panic attack. But he did great! Next was a log that you have to walk across while holding on to a rope. There was a big tire swing that went so high it scared Gavin! Also a fire pit. Farmer John says that shareholders often time camp out there.
He also said that shareholders can work on the farm for part of their share. In fact, a family from Manhattan had work all day at the farm. I think Gavin would live out there if I let him!
We picked up our produce which was romaine lettuce, red sail lettuce and rhubarb. Gavin wanted to start eating the lettuce straight out of the bag, but I had to tell him we had to clean it first! The kids and I talked all the way home about what different ways we could use this produce. The farmer’s wife also gave us a sample of two dozen eggs. They are all different shades of speckled brown (one green one) and just beautiful! I may start to get those weekly when I go out as well.
It was just more of an experience then I could have ever have hoped. I love the kids getting this experience and I think it will be great for them.
Anyway, I thought you may be interested in this story. It was so much fun!
And no, I didn't get any pictures! Will try to do so next time!
Yesterday was our first pick up. They have people from Emporia, Manhattan, Topeka, and Lawrence etc that are share holders. Most of the cities have a pick up spot in town. One of the share holders volunteers to bring all the food in to town and then people pick it up. I told Farmer John that I would like to come to the farm to pick it up. I just think it is a great experience for the kids to see the food growing and get a more hands on experience. My mom split my share with me so her and dad came out with me and the kids.
It is about 5 miles west of Americus. It is a beautiful drive! It is about 3 miles away from Kahola, so it has those beautiful green rocky hills. Really nice drive. So we get there and I am hoping we can at least look around, but I didn’t want to put them out. But they offered right away to show us around which is great. It is a husband and wife team and they are the nicest people.
The first thing they showed us was the large garden area. They showed the kids all the plants and what they were, what they were doing to help them grow. They are passionate about organic farming and humane treatment of all the animals. It was really cool. No chemicals are used. I loved the kids seeing produce growing that they would later be eating! What a connection for them to make.
Next were the chickens. They have probably 5 or 6 or so chicken “tents”. I don’t know what they are really called but they are open air tent looking things. The bottom is open so the chicks eat the grass below. They move each tent twice a day so that the chickens have fresh grass to eat and so that they are moved off their own manure. They have lots of room to move around and you can tell those chickens are loved! They talked about since they get so much fresh grass to eat, their eggs and meat are much higher in Omega 3s and other nutrients than store bought stuff. They had some chicks that were a couple of weeks old and some meat chickens and “layers”.
Next was the fruit orchard. They have several fruit trees and several blackberry plants. The blackberry plants looked scrawny, but he says once they bloom, they will get “bucketfuls” of blackberries!
Next was the barn area. We walked right in to the outside part and there were a lot of sheep and lambs running around. The lambs were 2 months old and adorable! Some twin lambs ran up to nurse from mom and the farmer talked to the kids about how lambs get their milk from mom (of course, my kiddos already know that! Ha!) but it was neat to see it up close. I have been in plenty of petting zoos with sheep, but it was neat to see them in this environment. The farmer showed the kids how thick their wool is and they will sheer that later. They got to stick their hands down in the deep wool and got to pet the sheep and lambs.
Next we walked by the “processing area”. Gavin didn’t quite know what that meant, so he was asking a lot of questions. Farmer John explained it very well about how he helps turn the animals into food so that we can all eat. I talked with Gavin about the respect that we give the animals since they help provide us food. I just loved it! I don’t think the kids will look a chicken breast the same way ever again!
We walked back to behind the farm right next to Kahola creek. Gorgeous creek. They have several bee hives. Gavin asked what they were doing to “help the bees”. I was beaming with pride that Gavin was discussing this with him. Farmer John explained to Gavin what they are doing to help and that by not using chemicals on his farm, he is helping the bees not die. They also well help move hives from other people’s personal property so that they hive is not destroyed. They sell honey and bee pollen as well.
Next was this wooded area where he was put all kinds of fun things! There is a tree house that is *three stories above the ground*. With a skinny ladder going up! Farmer John asked Gavin if he wanted to go up and Gavin was like, “sure” and headed right up! (with farmer john close behind). I thought I may have a panic attack. But he did great! Next was a log that you have to walk across while holding on to a rope. There was a big tire swing that went so high it scared Gavin! Also a fire pit. Farmer John says that shareholders often time camp out there.
He also said that shareholders can work on the farm for part of their share. In fact, a family from Manhattan had work all day at the farm. I think Gavin would live out there if I let him!
We picked up our produce which was romaine lettuce, red sail lettuce and rhubarb. Gavin wanted to start eating the lettuce straight out of the bag, but I had to tell him we had to clean it first! The kids and I talked all the way home about what different ways we could use this produce. The farmer’s wife also gave us a sample of two dozen eggs. They are all different shades of speckled brown (one green one) and just beautiful! I may start to get those weekly when I go out as well.
It was just more of an experience then I could have ever have hoped. I love the kids getting this experience and I think it will be great for them.
Anyway, I thought you may be interested in this story. It was so much fun!
And no, I didn't get any pictures! Will try to do so next time!
Welcome to our blog!
Hello to all that are here reading about our family! I figure this is a good way to let all of our friends and family know how we are doing and share lots of pictures! We are just getting ready for the summer and I am sure we will have lots of fun things to post!
I will try to update frequently and let everyone know what we are up to!
I will try to update frequently and let everyone know what we are up to!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
