Homemade Lemonade!

Making Memories: Nature Kidz’ First Lemonade Stand

It has been frightfully hot recently in Nature Kidz Land. Over 100, with heat indexes above 110 some days. We have often promised the Kidz that they could have a lemonade stand . . . someday. Well, last night when I spied a bag of organic lemons at Earth Fare, I decided that day would be today.

Not being one to do things halfway, I decided the lemonade we sold would have to be all natural—none of that powdered junk for us. I had some Trader Joe’s frozen lemonade as a backup, but making homemade lemonade seemed like a fun project for the Kidz.

OK, it was mostly my project, but each Kid plus a sleepver guest Kid tried her hand at squeezing the lemons. And the result was quite good!! It was probably too hot outside for people to even do yard work, but we did have some neighbors and other folks come by to purchase the wares. And the Kidz were rewarded with a trip to the pool and a few extra bucks in their pockets.

Here’s my recipe:

2 cups organic lemon juice (probably 8-10 lemons, juiced and strained)

2 cups water and 2 cups organic cane sugar to make sugar syrup

8-10 cups water to taste.

To make sugar syrup: Bring 2 cups of water to low boil; add sugar and stir until dissolved and mixture is clear. Set aside or refrigerate.

Mix lemon juice, sugar syrup, and water in a pitcher, stirring well to combine. Add water or lemon juice to suit your taste. Serve over ice. Options: make lemon-limeade by using 2/3 lemon juice to 1/3 lime juice.

How did you spend Mother's Day?

I spent Mother's Day at Vollmer's Farm in Bunn, NC. The farm is an off-the-beaten path location with all the trimmings for a fun family-friendly outing. Complete with "horse" swings made of old tires and an adorable "train" ride in mini cars designed to look like cows, the main attraction is the produce--right now, organic pick-your-own strawberries are in season. Yummy. This farm is the only one in the state of North Carolina with certified organic strawberries. Kidz can eat them right out in the strawberry patch as they pick. We picked 7 pounds in very short order, only nibbling one or two each in the process. For $12 per basket, we get fresh berries and the basket is ours to keep.

This is a lot of strawberries. How do we plan to use up these nutritious (1 cup has 49 calories, more than a full day's vitamin C, and lots of fiber) little gems? Well, Nature Kid the Younger gave me a chocolate melting pot for Mother's Day, so I served some up to be dipped in chocolate (you can use organic chocolate for this task). Some will grace cereal, and the rest will be frozen for smoothies and winter oatmeal in months to come. I might even bake a few loaves of strawberry bread for summer cookouts (it can be frozen and thawed later).

Now is the time to seek out local farms for produce-picking fun. You can find the places closest to where you live at Pick Your Own.org.
What fun.

Creating a Raised-Bed Organic Veggie Garden

Here's a great idea for fun and educational summer activities for your nature kidz. My Kidz and I have planted an organic veggie garden with the help of Nature Dad, who built the frame for us. Because our soil is rocky clay and therefore not so good for growing things (and really, really hard to dig), we decided to go this route--and we also got to choose the soild we'd use, which is a nutritious mix of compost, peat moss, and topsoil. The entire investment was less than $100, much of that taken up by materials for the wooden frame and the fill dirt, which can be used year after year, so future years should be very inexpensive. And well worth the effort if all goes as planned!

Here are the directions if you want to make one of your own:

1. Build a wooden frame. We made ours by cutting an 8-foot piece in half, and using two 10-foot pieces. Screw them together with deck screws and install metal l-brackets for extra security. Place where you want to plant. You'll need a spot easily accessed for watering and weeding, and which gets at least 6 hours of sun per day.

2. Line bottom with newspaper to prevent weed growth. Fill with a soil mixture that's equal parts compost, peat moss, and topsoil. Stir to mix before filling (I put a pile of each part on a drop cloth, stirred, then shoveled in).

3. Add plants. I recommend Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew. It's an excellent resource and even gives some good ideas for keeping pests out of your veggie garden.

We planted carrots, corn, peas, two kinds of bell peppers, watermelon, and tomatoes. We chose two varieties of tomatoes--one that matures in 60 days, one in 80 days, so hopefully our harvest is spread out a bit. We also planted a blueberry bush a month or so ago and hope to reap that harvest this summer, too!

I also recommend getting your veggie plants locally. If you have a farmer's market you have a great resource. We got ours at the State Farmer's Market in Raleigh, NC.

Treadmill vs. Hike Outdoors

I knew I needed some exercise today (ok, every day). I thought about getting on the treadmill. I cleaned house a bit, argued with my steam vac for a while (and I lost the argument and ended up hand-cleaning the sofa), and thought some more. But here's the thing: the treadmill faces the wall/window (it folds up to save space and it's too heavy and pointless for me to turn it to face any other way) and my only entertainment is a magazine or two. That's usually enough, but I have read all my magazines for now.

So, Nature Kid 1 and I decided to take our 2 Nature Dogz to William B. Umstead State Park instead. There we had a good 2-mile hike over hilly, occasionally tough-going, dirt, with a canopy of leafy trees overhead and a babbling brook alongside us. The rocks in the water were large and made nice stepping stones, and the water was so enticing that one of our dogz, who's not really a water loving kind of guy, climbed right in and lay down in the cool water.

It may have been in the 90s today but the hiking trail stayed relatively cool, and we even found a shaded picnic table for the lunch Nature Kid 1 assembled (turkey sandwiches, Kashi cereal, and apple, grape juice, and potato chips for us; water for the doggies).

When we got home we bathed the dogs and decided our next outing would be to the Morrisville Aquatic and Fitness Center for an afternoon splash. I love summer!