K5 Learning Trial/Review

K5 Learning has an online reading and math program for kindergarten to grade 5 students.  I've been given a 6 week free trial to test and write a review of their program.  If you are a blogger, you may want to check out their  open invitation to write an online learning review of their program.

Demos at the Farmer's Market

This year at the Taylor Farmer's Market I tried doing a couple of demonstrations to show people some of what I do to make soap and other bath products. One of the demos was making Bath Bombs. They are really fun to make and since there wasn't a huge crowd involved this time, I let some of the kids that were standing around the table participate and take their creations home. It was really lots of fun to get people involved in the process instead of me standing there doing the demonstration and just explaining each step. I think everyone involved had a good time and it looked like the people that participated were really excited about what they made. Bath Bombs are a relatively simple project that really anyone can do once you get the feel for it. The ingredients are very simple and safe, and there are so many things that can be done to make them your own creation. It is all up to your imagination.



If you are interested in trying yourself, here is a simple recipe that can get you started.

Basic Bath Bomb Recipe

1 cup Baking Soda

½ cup Citric Acid

Witch Hazel (or water) in a spray bottle

Color*

Scent (essential oil)*

The most important step is mixing the baking soda and citric acid. Make sure that it is well blended this is what creates your fizz.

       Add your color and scent and mix well. If you are using a food coloring that is water based mix it in quickly because it will make your mixture fizz.

       Now for the difficult step…Begin spraying while mixing with the other hand. Don’t let the mixture get too wet. When you can squeeze the mixture in your palm and it stays together without crumbling it is ready to put into molds.

       Tightly pack the mixture in your molds. You need to work rather quickly so that the mixture doesn’t dry up on you. The harder you pack the molds, the heavier, denser, and more durable your final product will become. Let your molds set for a while and unmold on a sheet pan that is covered with a towel. Let them air dry for a few hours or overnight. When dry place them in an air tight container.

*Note: because of sensitivities in our family, color and scent only comes from natural sources. I try to use only colorants that are a natural material(vegetable, clay, etc.), and scent only comes from essential oils. Fragrance oils and dyes can be used if you like.

Cabbage Casserole

This recipe has always been one of my favorites as a kid. It is really easy to fix and can be done on the stove, in a slow cooker, or in a rice cooker. It is warm, hearty, and great because it is a one pot supper that includes everything.

Cabbage Casserole
1 lb ground meat(pork, beef) uncooked
1/2 lb smoked sausage
1 onion chopped
1 bell pepper chopped
2 stalks celery chopped
3-4 garlic cloves
2 cans chopped tomatoes
2 cups rice uncooked
1/2-1(depending on size of cabbage) head of cabbage shredded really fine.
1 cup water
Seasoning to taste with salt, pepper, basil, oregano or others of your choosing.

Take everything and put it into which ever pot you decide to use. Mix it all well and cook until rice is tender. Sometimes you need to check and make sure there is enough water and add a little if it looks too dry.

So that is the recipe that I usually follow. One other change that I did make was to cut back on the amount of meat used. If you feel like you want more in the recipe you are welcome to put more in The other day I wanted to test using the outer leaves of the cabbage...you know the ones you never see in the store that are left out in the field to waste. Okay, so here is the adjusted recipe that I tried.


Cabbage Casserole 2
1/2 lb ground meat(pork, beef) cooked
1/2 lb smoked sausage
1 onion chopped
1 bell pepper chopped
2 stalks celery chopped
3-4 garlic cloves
2 cans chopped tomatoes
1 can of tomato sauce
3-4 cups rice (cooked left overs from gumbo)
3-4 large outer leaves of cabbage shredded really fine and chopped
add a little water if necessary since the rice is already cooked and will not soak up liquid like above.
Seasoning to taste with salt, pepper, basil, oregano or others of your choosing.

Just like the other recipe add everything together and stir until combined. This time most of it is cooked so basically it is just re-heating and wilting the cabbage. It should be the consistency of a Jamabalaya. Ham, chicken, or shrimp could possibly be substituted, or no meat at all. Mushrooms, or carrots would be a great addition also. We really enjoyed this dish this way also. Everyone had seconds and one of my boys even ate thirds. Which was pretty impressive to me considering cabbage was involved. The large dark green leaves are not as strong as regular cabbage. I used the cooked rice because it was in the house, the recipe is so much better if you make it using the uncooked rice so that it soaks in the liquids.