Into the Garden

We are enjoying a fabulous show of flowers, from bulbs which were given to me for Mother's Day
 4 years ago and were planted before the winter of that year .....our very own Floriade , if you like.

Now that the frosts are gone [we hope] it is time to think about planting our summer vegetables and flowers.

It's fun and educational to get kids involved in the garden. You don't have to have a lot of space, even some pots on a balcony will do. It is important, however, to plan your vegie patch or container garden well.

Think about what you would like to grow and how much room it will take up. For instance, zucchinis need a lot of space, but cherry tomatoes grow well in a medium sized pot. As do most herbs and small to medium sized flower varieties.

Climate also plays an important role, as alpine plants don't like the tropics and tropical plants don't like frosts.

Check up on the harvest time for your plants. It is nice to have a selection to choose from throughout the summer months. In the case of lettuces, rocket and herbs, for instance, plant your seeds at different intervals, so there is a constant supply to enjoy.

When gardening with kids, it is important to let them plant varieties they like, and ones that are
relatively fool-proof. We struggle year after year with tomatoes, but carrots and beetroot just thrive. We are always on holiday when broad beans need to be harvested, but are around to harvest and eat other vegetables.

We have a medium sized patch in our Canberra garden and through trial and error we have chosen the following plants, which we like to eat and don't take up too much room  

Vegetables/Fruits

Beetroots, Carrots, Lettuce, Rhubarb, Rocket, Shallots, Snow Peas, Spring Onions, Strawberries

Herbs

Basil, Corriander, Mint, Parsley, Sage  

Flowers

Lavender, Petunias, Sweet Peas

Kids in the Kitchen

Most kids love to be involved  in the kitchen, in some way,. I started my family cooking from a very young age. Although it was a huge exercise in patience, on my part, they learnt how to to bake cup cakes, cook Spaghetti Bolognaise and Shepherds' Pie, and make great salads and yummy slices...here is a recipe for one of our favorites

 Delicious Rocky Road

Rocky Road is one of our family's favourite. It is simple to make and is great for giving as presents and for school fete stalls. The ingredients can vary slightly, depending on which country your recipe comes from, but traditionally the Australian version contains chocolate, marshmallow, jelly sweets, glace cherries, peanuts and Turkish delight. Having said that, we have substituted some of the ingredients and added our own favorite flavours.

You will need:

500g good quality dark chocolate
100g marshmallows
100 g dried cranberries or dried cherries
1 cup dessicated coconut
1/2 cup pistachios
1/2 cup peanuts


Method

Lightly grease a (16x26x3cm) slice tray and line with baking paper.
With a pair of scissors cut the marshmallows into 4s.
Place the nuts into a zip lock bag and wrap in a tea towel. Give it a bash a couple of times with a rolling pin. (just enough to break  the nuts into halves).
In a large bowl combine the marshmallow pieces, nuts, cranberries or cherries and the coconut.
Break up the chocolate into a microwave-proof bowl. Microwave on HIGH for approx 30 seconds, stir. Repeat until the chocolate has completely melted.
Pour melted chocolate into the bowl with the other ingredients and mix well to combine.


Spoon mixture into prepared tray and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. When the Rocky Road has set, lift out onto a chopping board. With a sharp knife, cut into 24 pieces.
Store in an air tight container for up to 10 days (if it lasts that long!)


Rocky Road makes a great gift for friends and relatives. Simply place a few pieces into a small cellophane bag. Decorate with a nice ribbon and handmade gift tag.
*to make sure it is gluten and egg free check the list on the back of your ingredient packets

School Holiday Ideas

With the school holidays just about upon us, we wonder what there is to do, to keep young minds occupied. Over the next few days we will post a variety of  'how to' templates for activities including  Papier Mache construction, simple recipes, art and craft, gardening and drawing classes.

 How to Build a Working Volcano




You will need:

For the Base cut down the sides a bookbox or soft drink box to approx 15 cms high

For the Volcano recycled small orange juice container*

                          recycled 'Borocca' container* or alternative....one must fit inside the other..

Papier Mache Shell

Newspaper

Butchers' paper

PVA glue diluted with a little water

Masking tape

To Decorate

Paint in brown, black, shades of green

Small rocks and leaf matter[optional]

Water based varnish to seal your model

Method:

Place 'Borocca' container inside mouth of juice bottle. Tape the juice bottle to the base, and pack it in tightly, with crumpled up newspaper. Use tape to hold in place,  form a cone around the juice bottle to make yor volcano shape.

Tear the  remaining newspaper into strips.

Fill the T/A food containers to about 2cm deep with glue and dilute with a little water.

Dip the newspaper into the glue and remove excess, by running it between your forefinger and index finger.

Starting from just inside the 'Borrocca' container, overlap the papier mache strips around the volcano shape and across to the edges of the base.... so that you are creating a watertight seal.

Leave to dry for approx 2-3 days.

Repeat the papier mache layer 2  more times....allowing each layer to dry thoroughly.

Make one further papier mache layer with torn strips of butchers' paper.

Your model is ready to decorate now.... we used green, black and brown paint, and small rocks and ferns to create a natural mountain scene..you can decorate your model however you like....maybe add some lakes, or snow....

Seal your model with clear varnish.... so that when the volcano erupts you have a completely watertight model.

Now the fun part.......

You will need:

Warm water

3 tsp Baking Soda [bicarb soda]

Vinegar

Red food colouring

Few drops dishwashing liquid

Fill bottle chamber 1/3 with warm water. Fill bottle chamber to 2/3 with vinegar. Add three drops of each dishwashing liquid and red or orange food coloring to the mixture. Wrap two teaspoons baking soda in a small piece of tissue paper then drop it into chamber full of liquid. As the tissue dissolves, eruption occurs as carbon dioxide gas forces the liquid out of the chamber.

New Season

paper lanterns

Now  that the glorious spring weather is here, it's time to dust off the cobwebs and start preparing for the festival season again.

Hi I'm Kaye from Kids Craftworks....my trusty helpers and I have been very busy  during the winter months, designing and developing new ideas and inventions.

We have made cool, working Volcanos....a cut-out circus....christmas cards....kites and lanterns for the upcoming Canberra Nara Candle Festival ....plus lots more.

Check out some of my other pages and you will find ideas and instructions to make some of these designs yourself.

Over the coming months I will keep you posted upcoming events..share with you cool things you can make and do, with easy to find and recycled materials.... and we may even get some cooking in!

I look forward to your company...