Category: Summer

Pencil Pool Noodle Garden Markers

8/17/2017

I love pool noodles! They’re bright, colorful, and make great garden markers after a summer of playing with them in the pool!

Since we’re all heading back to school I thought it would be fun to upcycle the noodles into pencil garden markers! Cute right?

What’s Needed:
•   Pool noodles
•   Serrated knife or small saw
•   Black Permanent marker
•   Silver and black duct tape
•   Sticks or stakes

Directions:
1.   Use a knife or small saw to cut the main pencil out of the pool noodle. Yellow is best but you can use any color. I made mine about 2 feet but you can do any length you’d like.
2.   Cut an eraser out of a red or different color noodle. I usually cut it about 6 inches, but again it’s up to you.
3.   Create the pencil lead with another color. Use the knife or saw to cut it at an able to create a point.
4.   Attach the pieces together with duct tape.
5.   Use the marker to write the names of your plants on it and stick them on a stake and right into the ground.

0 Comments

Give a boost to your average lemonade stand: Add freshness from the garden!

7/20/2017

0 Comments

There’s nothing that helps beat the heat of summer better than a glass of fresh ice cold lemonade. Oh wait, there actually is. It’s a fresh ice cold glass of STRAWBERRY MINT LEMONADE made by kids straight from the garden!

Kids today are extremely savvy and smart when it comes to marketing so differentiating their product these days by adding extra surprises to a traditional lemonade recipe helps elevate the “typical” kid’s stand to a great lemonade spectacular!

First ingredient of course is still lemons! The key to helping kids squeeze fresh lemons is let them press down on the lemons and roll them around the table. Yes, we get to play with our food. This loosens up the insides and makes it easier for small hands to twist on the juicer.

Now comes making the lemonade. A lot of times we’ve just thrown sugar, water and lemons into a pitcher to make lemonade. However, when you do that the sugar sinks to the bottom and takes forever to dissolve. (There definitely is a science lesson there in figuring out why- Keep reading for a cool experiment! )

If you have the time, heat the water and sugar together first to make a syrup mixture and then add the lemon juice to the syrup and mix it all together. Here is LISA's LEMONADE RECIPE:

INGREDIENTS
Yield: about 2 quarts

1 ½ cups sugar
1 ½ cups water
1 ½ cups freshly squeezed lemon juice (strained to remove pulp and seeds if you like)
4 cups of cold water

Boil sugar and 1 ½ cups of water to create a sugar/water syrup. Let it cool and then mix in lemon juice. Add cold water and you’re ready!

Now, comes the fun part! Creating different ways to make the traditional lemonade different.

STRAWBERRY SYRUP RECIPE
Basic simple syrup is made by using one part solid and one part water. Begin your recipe by adding 2 cups of water to 2 cups of sugar in to a small pot and give it a stir with a wooden spoon. Show your kids how when they add the "solid" sugar in to the "liquid" water that it doesn't dissolve right away. In science, the liquid is called the 'solvent". Turn the heat on a medium low and begin stirring every minute. (This can also be done in the microwave using a heatproof bowl and using 30 second intervals.)

Let your kids watch as the sugar slowly dissolves until it completely disappears. You have just created a "solution"! Allow your sugar water "solution" to cool completely. Show your kids how the mixture doesn't fall out of suspension, meaning the sugar doesn't separate from the water. Tell them that's because the water and the sugar have similar molecular properties. Pretty cool, huh?

Now for the strawberry part.
Using 6-8 large strawberries, clean and hull them by removing the stems. Placing in a small bowl, and allow your kids to mash them with a fork or a potato masher until they are almost like apple sauce. Add them to the simple syrup and stir to make your lemonade stand add-in syrup.

Place 1-2 tablespoons of strawberry syrup per glass of lemonade to make Strawberry Lemonade and ENJOY!

0 Comments

Giant Flavored Ice Cubes

7/20/2017

0 Comments

Having ice cold lemonade on a summer day is incredibly refreshing, and when the kids decide to have a lemonade stand, it's even sweeter.
We used to make our lemonade stronger than the recipe called for because when we poured it over ice it would get diluted or watered down. I loved the day a light bulb popped into my head and said “just make the ice cube stronger!” Wow! These are my favorite to include because they add to the flavor, they look really cool, and they’re fun to make.

Grab a package of disposable round containers.

I prefer GLAD brand because they’re circular and a slice of lemon fits perfectly inside!

Use the containers to create giant ice cubes. Fill them up ¾ of the way with pre-made lemonade. Drop in a slice of fresh lemon. You can add mint leaves as optional flavor. Squeeze the lid on tight and place them in the freezer. Do this the night before and when you make the lemonade for the stand drop in a few of these ice cubes to keep the lemonade cold without losing its sweet flavor!