homemade glue

We go through a lot of glue here.  I usually pick up several bottles of it when I find a good sale, but even so, there are a few issues I have with bottled glue.  First of all, it can be really challenging for little people to use it – the bottles are sometimes really hard to squeeze, they accidentally twist the top closed, and get frustrated, it is tricky for the twos to apply the glue exactly where they want to, and with clear glue the 2′s have a tough time seeing where they’ve applied it.  Now I know all of these challenges provide opportunities for learning, and for fine motor development, and that’s great, but when you’re sitting in a circle of four or five 2′s and 3′s, the frustration can put a bit of a damper on things.

Remember those little bottles of clear, amber glue when we were kids?  The ones with the rubber duck-beak kind of nozzle, that we would simply stamp on our paper to apply the glue?  Can you get those any more?  Man, I’d love some of those.

Anyway, for a while now, I’ve been thinking it would be nice to have a good sized pot of glue that they could just dip craft sticks or paint brushes into to make their crafting a little easier.  I tried making glue a while back with flour and water and a couple of other ingredients, and I stored it in the fridge in a dish soap bottle, but it quickly separated, and I wasn’t thrilled with the consistency.

I found the following recipe the other night, and thought it might be better as it calls for cornstarch (corn flour in the UK) instead of flour.

We tried it out yesterday when we made our Easter eggs with coloured rice, and I’m happy to say it worked really well for that project.

Here’s how you make it:

3/4 cup water

2 tablespoons corn syrup
1 teaspoons white vinegar
1/2 cup cornstarch
3/4 cup cold water

Mix water, syrup and vinegar in small saucepan. Bring to a rolling boil. In small bowl, mix cornstarch and cold water. Add this mixture slowly to first mixture. Stir constantly. Let stand overnight before using.

*I will say that I had a moment of fleeting disappointment when I checked my glue after letting it stand over night.  It had kind of solidified into a thick gel.  I just added a tbsp or so of water, and gave it a stir until it was back to the consistency I was happy with.  Maybe I should have put a lid on it when it sat overnight instead of leaving it uncovered?

I added a bit of blue food colouring, so the youngest Hooligans would be able to tell where they’d applied it, and I thought a bit of colour would look fun.  If you’re going to do this, you don’t need much colour.  I probably added too much, as the colour is still noticeable when the glue dries.  Start with a drop and add more if needed – until your glue is just barely tinted.

I’m storing mine in a little tub with a large opening so it’s easy to dip into with a craft stick.  When we used our glue yesterday, to decorate some eggs with our rainbow rice.  It had been about 4 days since I’d made the glue, and the consistency was still great.  I just shook the tub before I opened it.  This glue doesn’t dry as quickly as store bought glue, but we always craft in the morning here, and it was dry by afternoon, so that works for us.

*I’m sorry that I can’t tell you how long this will keep for.  I would recommend keeping it in the fridge to prevent it from going mouldy.  Someone mentioned to me that it should keep 6 months if you refrigerate it, but I don’t know for sure.  I do know that within a week of keeping mine at room temperature, mould developed around the lid, so I’m refrigerating my next batch.

 

orange-oatmeal-raisin muffins

I think these are our very favourite muffins around here.  They’re moist and delicious, and this recipe has never failed me.

• 1 c. Quick Oats
• 1/2 cup orange juice (from the jug in your fridge – not fresh squeezed, although that might work too… I’m not sure)
• 1/2 cup boiling water

Mix these 3 ingredients above in a small bowl, and let sit 15 minutes

• 1/2  cup butter
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup raisins
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt

In medium size bowl, cream butter and sugars.  Beat in eggs and vanilla.  (I do it all with a wooden spoon).  Add raisins and dump in oatmeal mixture.  Stir together.

Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt, and gently stir into the butter/sugar/oatmeal batter. (do not over stir).

Pour into muffin tin (I use paper liners, but I guess if you don’t you’d want to grease your muffin tin).

Bake 350 degrees for 20 minutes.  Oven temps may vary, but they’re done when you stick a knife in, and the knife comes out clean.

Enjoy!   (makes 12 muffins)

rainbow water

Just a quick little post from me tonight!  The Hooligans aren’t here this week –  it’s March Break.  I’m sure most of you know that the Hooligans are the kiddos in my home daycare, but what I haven’t mentioned before is that all of the Hooligans have Moms and/or Dads who are school teachers.  This means that when Christmas break, March break and Summer break roll around, the Hooligans stay home with their Mom and/or Dad,  and I’m on holiday too, with my boys!  It’s a beautiful thing!

Anyway, because the Hooligans haven’t been here this week, I’ve had a little blogging break.  My brain never truly stops thinking of crafty/creative ideas though, even when I’m on holiday, so the other night, I thought it would be fun to prepare some coloured ice cubes so my boys could have rainbow water to drink on St. Patrick’s day.   I grabbed the Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, and Violet (otherwise known as purple) and I mixed up a batch of rainbow ice-cubes.

Ok, so you may have noticed that ROYGBV = six letters and my ice-cube trays have 7 sections in each row.  I mixed some blue and purple gels together to make an extra colour that we’ll call Indigo, so I could fill the tray.

I popped the tray in the freezer, and fast-forward to today.  Happy St. Patrick’s Day!  March 17th is always extra special at our house because in addition to celebrating all things green and Irish, we’re also celebrating my hubby’s birthday! 

We had an awesome day celebrating!  We headed out of town and to a near-by city for an afternoon of laser-bowling.  They turn out the lights, and you bowl with glow in the dark pins, disco balls, neon lights, music playing etc.  It was a first for us.  We’ve bowled before, but never in the dark, and we all bowl fairly horribly, which made it even more fun.  It was a great afternoon.   Then we went out for dinner, and came back home for cake.  In all honestly, I’d completely forgotten about the rainbow cubes, and I didn’t remember them until I went into the freezer to get out some ice cream to serve with the cake!  

Woohoo!!  Isn’t it great how sometimes the simplest things make the biggest impressions?  Everyone thought this was the COOLEST water EVER.   Doesn’t it look awesome?  Whip some up!  Your kids will think you’re THE BEST!

My advice?  Don’t wait until next St. Patrick’s Day to try this.  Surprise your kiddo with a glass of rainbows on a dull or gloomy day “just because”.  It really doesn’t get much easier than this.  Go on!  Brighten their day!!

strawberry-applesauce

Do your kiddos like applesauce?  Do you ever make your own?  I never even buy applesauce anymore, because we always have apples kicking around here, and it’s so quick and easy to make.  Not to mention, it’s so much tastier than anything you buy in a store.

Kinda like making banana bread when the bananas go black, this is one of those things I make as soon as our apples start to soften.

I had a bag of strawberries that I’d tossed in the freezer after picking them this summer.  I love to freeze a few bags after picking them fresh.  They’re great to add to sauces like this.   And the house smelled SO good when they were cooking!  Just like summertime!

I’ll give you the how-to in a minute, but first I wanted to share some pics.  Today I decided to hand out some dinner knives, and let the Hooligans cut up the apples.  I sliced the apples first, and had the kids cut the slices up into smaller pieces. To make sure this wasn’t too risky, I tested the sharpness of my knives.  We’d be safe as long as no-one started frantically “sawing” their fingers.  It was all good.  The children were very careful.  Just look at the concentration on this face!  The tongue says it all.

And look at the way this little one is holding the apple while she cuts.  She’s 2.5 years old.  

This two handed approach was very popular among all three children.

They did so well!  I was kind of proud of myself too.  We’ve never played with knives before.  

Ok, here’s how you make it:

• Peel and core several apples.  We used 4 small reds and a large green today. (entertain the troops by attempting to remove the peel in a single twirly strip).
• Chop apples into pieces (approx. 2 inch cubes).
• Put pieces in a pot (add frozen berries now if you have them) along with a tbsp or two of water, and simmer until soft and mushy.
• Pour off most of the liquid, and with a potato masher, mash until smooth.
• Add sugar to taste.

Mmmmm, mmmm!  Wasn’t that easy?  Snack-time!!

cinnamon-sugar-french-toast-mittens

If you saw yesterday’s post, you’ll know that we got SNOW yesterday!!! It was really quite blizzard-like here.  It was very exciting, with little people running from window to window, hollering updates every few minutes.  To celebrate, we had a little mitten theme going on here.   Our mitten-match up was a great activity.  It was super-simple to prepare,  and all of the Hooligans (from 2 right up to 5) really loved it.   Check it out if you’re looking for something that’s fast and easy to whip up, and a great exercise in fine motor control for your little one.

For lunch, the Hooligans knew we were having French Toast, but what they didn’t know was that with all the snow coming down, and the mitten matching going on in the next room, I’d decided to jazz things up a bit.

I went through my Christmas cookie cutters and found a mitten cutter.  Perfect!

By gently stretching the bread, I was able to cut two mitts out of each slice of bread.  Don’t throw out the left overs and the crusts!  I added mine to a bag that I keep in the freezer.  I freeze all of my bread crusts, stale bread, buns, etc. and I use them for making poultry stuffing.  If you’re not big on that idea, at least tear your crusts up and let the kids toss them into the yard to feed the birds.  Why not put them to good use?

While I was cutting my mittens out, I had my George Foreman Griddle warming up.  I LOVE my griddle.  I am typically NOT a fan of “gadgets” that take up a lot of storage room, but I couldn’t live without this griddle.   It’s big enough to cook up LARGE batches of eggs, bacon, pancakes etc.all at once, it heats up quickly, and after 4 years, it is still competely non-stick, which is more than I can say for any of my teflon pans.  As for storing it, I keep it on top of my fridge.  

Ok, back to lunch.  Melt a generous gob of butter on your griddle, and while that’s melting and getting bubbly, dip your mitts in a mixture of egg and milk (I don’t know exact measurements here – I just guess when it comes to french toast).  Toss your mitts on to your griddle and flip them when the underside starts to get brown and crispy.  Let the other side do the same, and then move them to a plate, and sprinkle them with a mixture of sugar and cinnamon. 

A little syrup on the side for dipping and you’re good to go!

cinnamon-sugar snowflakes

Ok, super simple snack today.  Scott from Brick by Brick shared a recipe for Cinnamon Snowflakes yesterday that he’d passed along from cometogetherkids.com.  We’re all about snowflakes here right now, even though we haven’t seen any real ones in a while.

We used small tortillas for ours snack, but you could use larger ones too.

Microwave your tortilla for about 10 seconds so it softens up and doesn’t rip.

Then fold it in half, and then in half again, and cut it as if you were making a paper snowflake.

Place your tortillas on a baking sheet (I used my baking stone), brush with melted butter, and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar.

Bake at 350 for five to ten minutes until they start to turn golden brown.  I had mine in the oven for about 7 mins and I think they could have been in longer.  I let them sit on the stone for about 10 minutes after taking them out of the oven and they crisped up during that time.

That’s it!  Aren’t they pretty?  They’re tasty too!  We ate ours just as they were but ComeTogetherKids dipped theirs in pudding.  I’m thinking some real maple syrup would be awesome to dip into!  And if you’ve ever had a Canadian “Beaver Tail” (Oh My Heavenly Scrumptiousness), you might agree that a little squeeze of lemon juice would be a nice addition too! Mmmmm-Mmmm!

festive winter bark (a.k.a. coral reef)

Here’s an all time Holiday favourite of ours.  I couldn’t imagine not making this bark at Christmas-time; it’s just one of those things that signifies Christmas at our house.  My oldest son dubbed it ‘Coral Reef’ several years ago because of the way it looks.  It’s a little bit silly, but it stuck, and that’s what we all call it now.  I often make 2 batches; one for us, and one to package up for teachers, friends and neighbours.

Ok, here we go.  4 ingredients, folks.  It’s SO SIMPLE!

• 1 c. flaked coconut (toasted)
• 1 c. slivered almonds (toasted)
• 1 & 1/2 lbs (3 cups) white merkins disks
• 2 cups Rice Krispies

1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or waxed paper (let the paper hang over the ends of the baking sheet).
2. Toast nuts and coconut until light golden brown.
3. Melt white discs in microwave in 30 second increments, stirring well after each 30 seconds until fully melted.
4. Combine nuts and coconut, and set half of the mixture aside.
5. Stir Rice Krispies and half of the nut/coconut mixture into the melted discs.
6. Pour and spread all of it over your baking sheet, and top with the reserved half of the mixture.
7. Sprinkle the reserved nuts/coconut over the bark, and gently press it in a bit with the back of a spoon or your fingers.  If you’re using your fingers, wet them with cold water first to prevent everything from sticking to them.
8. Refrigerate 20 minutes until set.  Break into pieces.

Mmmmmmmm.  Hope you love it as much as we do!

chocolate chip-cranberry cookies

These are one of my favourite cookies to make for the holidays.  When I make them at other times of the year, I leave out the cranberries.  At Christmas time, I like to use white chips with the cranberries.  They look and taste a little more decadent.  I completely forgot to pick up white chips for these though, so the teachers are getting the cranberry/milk chocolate chip version (which is still delicious).

Ok, here we go:

• 1.5 cups softened butter
• 1 cup each brown and white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp each baking soda, baking powder, salt
• 2 cups flour
• 2 cups quick oats
• 2 cups Rice Krispies cereal
• 2 cups white chocolate chips
• 2 cups dried cranberries

1. Cream butter and sugars in a very large bowl (I use my huge caesar salad bowl)
2. Add eggs and vanilla and stir well.
3. Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl
4. Add dry ingredients to wet and mix well.
   

   dough when completely mixed

5. Scoop a spoonful of dough and kind of press it into your hand to flatten it and place on a baking sheet (I use a baking stone which doesn’t require any spraying or greasing, but you’ll prepare your baking sheet the same way you do for other cookies).
   

   ready for the oven

6. Bake at 350 for 10 to 12 minutes.  Mine take about 11 mins on the stone.

they're done when the edges are just starting to brown

These cookies don’t really “brown”.  They’ll look pale with just a hint of brown on the edges.  Let them sit on the stone/baking sheet for a few minutes before moving them.  They need to flatten out and firm up before you transfer them to a cooling rack.  They’re a little delicate until they’ve completely cooled.

This makes a big batch (about 6 dozen med. sized cookies), so it’s great for the holidays, but you can easily halve the recipe  (although they’re always gone too soon when I do).

I’ve always wanted to experiment with add-ins like coconut, toasted pecans etc., but these are so dee-lish as-is, that I’ve never gotten around to actually doing it.  If you make them, and add some extras, drop me a line and let me know how they turned out!

Mmmm-Mmmmm!  These are going to school with Andrew tomorrow, for his teacher and our wonderful school secretary.

homemade dinner rolls (bread-machine)

These are to. die. for.  I’ve been meaning to post this recipe on my blog for a while, and today a friend asked me to send her the recipe, so what better time than now, to put this post together.

Ok, I’ll just say it again.  To. die. for.  And dead-easy.  I don’t even bother buying dinner rolls anymore.  If I want buns with dinner, I throw the stuff in the bread machine after lunch, and let it do its thing.  Try ‘em, you’ll see.

Alrighty, here we go:

• 1 c. warm water
• 2 tbsp margarine
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 egg beaten
• 1/4 c. sugar
• 3 c. flour
• 3 tsp quick rise yeast (also known as instant yeast)
• melted butter for brushing buns with

1. Add all ingredients to bread machine in the above order, and choose dough setting.
2. When done, (my dough setting is 1.5 hours), remove dough to a lightly floured counter top, shape it into a ball.
3. Cut ball in half, and then those two pieces in half and so on, continuing to halve the dough until you have 16 pieces. (sprinkle more flour on your counter if dough starts to stick)
4. Shape your pieces into round buns, and place in a sprayed 9 x 13 baking dish.    You can use a couple of dishes if they don’t all fit in.  Leave a bit of room (like maybe an inch) between buns.
5. Brush buns with melted butter, and cover with Plastic Wrap. Set in warm spot (about 80 degrees Farenheit) until doubled in size – about 40 mins.  (I usually heat my oven to about 200, and then turn my oven right OFF, and place the dish in there with the door open a crack.
6. Once doubled, remove plastic wrap, and bake 12-15 minutes at 375 degrees.

If you don’t want to bake the buns right away, you can place the covered baking dish in the fridge.  They’ll do a slow rise in there.  Take them out the next day, an hour or two before baking, so they finish their rise, and then bake as directed above.

Oh MY!  A little bit of heaven right here, folks!  And…if you want to make it even MORE divine, grab a little container of whipping cream, and make yourself some homemade butter!  Mmmmmm-Mmmmmm!

big soft ginger cookies

These are a favourite at our house.  If you like Gingerbread, but like your cookies soft, these are for you!

• 2 & 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground cloves
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3/4 c margarine
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tbsp water
• 1/4 c molasses
• 2 tbsp white sugar (or more) for tossing dough balls in.

Preheat oven to 350.

1. Sift together flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and salt.  Set aside
2. In a large bowl, cream margarine and 1 cup sugar.
3. Beat in egg, and stir in water and molasses.
4. Gradually stir in dry ingredients.
5. Set covered in fridge for at least 20 mins so it’s not too sticky to form balls.
6. Shape walnut sized balls and toss in a small bowl of white sugar until lightly coated.
7. Flatten cookies to about 1/4 inch with bottom of a drinking glass. (if your dough sticks to the glass, press the glass into a bit of white sugar first)
   

   I love using this glass because of the design on the bottom.

8. Bake 8 to 10 mins (I go for the full 10 in my oven on my baking stone).

Store in an air tight container.

Enjoy!!