Spring Break Files: Day On The Farm + Strawberry Pie Recipe

Momma Told Me: Sometimes you need to get a little dirty...

Well, Spring Break is about to wrap for us here. Just one day off left, on Monday (which is technically a staff day), and then back to school and back to my regularly scheduled program. I'll admit, we've been having a blast these past 2 weeks, and I'm generally sad to see it end, but this will just be a preview of Summer, so I am okay with knowing that. Wednesday I had planned, what I called, a field trip. I let Sabrina pick out her favorite Lunchables, and a side of fruit from Fresh & Easy; packed a couple of bottles of water with some ice packs in a backpack and we headed out of town with the top down. In all, the pick-your-own farm we planned to visit, the very same one from my own childhood memories with Momma, is a short drive through the rural part of the county. (I know, it's hard to believe we have rural here in Southern California, but our home town is actually the Strawberry Capital!) Within 25 minutes we were windblown and wide eyed to experience all this family run farm had to offer.

To be honest, I don't recall a full on petting zoo and, well, farm zoo, from my childhood. I would always go to the farm with Momma, who didn't have much interest in 'childish' activities, or wild animals. It was nice to be able to lazily walk the exhibits and experience them for the first time in my memory. To set foot on the farm, with the option to head into the fields to pick your own produce, it's a flat $3 a head. In all, not bad considering we killed a good hour laughing and gaping in awe at the gorgeous animals. We first spotted the donkeys, and pony rides, then came the humongous Turkey and beautiful Peacock, followed by the alpaca. I didn't have to convince 10 year old Sabrina to visit the petting zoo. She may have been the oldest in the corral, but she also may have been the happiest with a kid (baby goat) nestled in her lap. After several playful arguments as to why he couldn't come home with us, we decided to call it lunchtime and headed to the car to recharge and refill with water.

It's still fairly early in the rowing season, so much of the available produce was picked towards the middle of the crops. I still managed to find some beautiful radishes (I'm the only one who eats them here), and there were row upon row of Strawberries almost a mile hike back. We literally got to walk through the orchards of Valencia Oranges and Avocados to get to them! Now this was what I remembered from my own childhood; leaning over the rows of leafy green to spot that one 'perfect' berry 3 rows over. We picked until our containers could hold no more, a modest 5lbs and I was tickled to discover our cart full of produce cost less than $20! It doesn't get much better than fresh from the farm, and at an amazing deal too. Of course we perused the actual produce stand before leaving. There was this curious Purple broccoli- I suppose it's quite common to some, but I was captivated by it's unusual eggplant color.

When we got home Sabrina exclaimed it was 'one of the best days ever,' and begged for a fresh Strawberry Smoothie. In typical form I insisted she make it herself, to learn how. My basic recipe is Vanilla Yogurt, 1/2 Can of Sprite, Ice, and Strawberries. It was tart perfection, and the perfect cure to my slight dehydration (Note: take more water next time). No sooner had the produce been sorted and washed, and our exhausted bums plopped on the couch than we heard a rustling from the floor by the couch. Sabrina has placed her bag of berries on the floor and Truffles was in love. This cat must've spent a solid 15 minute period rolling and nuzzling the carton of berries. In honesty, we eventually took them away, as I fear she would have gone on for hours if allowed. I read up on this a little and it seems more common than not. Cats are carnivores and cannot tolerate fruit/veggies well, but love to smash and roll on berries (much like catnip). Who knew?

Of course I wasn't going to let several pounds of berries go to waste- On the drive home all I'd been thinking was "I must text Jay and tell him to bring home crust and dipping chocolate." It turns out we only had enough berries, once cleaned and processed, to make a pie. I've promised all parties involved we will go back to the farm real soon (June is blackberry and raspberry season) to make use of the dipping chocolate. I was a bit bummed when I actually read the tips on the pre-made crust box and decided to defrost the dough to room temperature before handling it. This made it stick when unrolling and really turned into a mess for lattice work. Oh well- it may have not been the prettiest Strawberry Pie, but it was delicious! Jay agrees but he tends to put more Cool Whip than pie on his plate, so it's hard to say whether he tastes it at all. Monday I have planned a very relaxing day for Sabrina and I with an afternoon showing of The Croods at a theater with recliners for chairs, and in-film meal service. Until then, have a wonderful weekend everyone!

What Daughter Says: A visit to the farm fosters value of everyday foods.

Strawberry Pie Filling

***click here for printable recipe

Ingredients:

* 1 C Mashed Strawberries (Food Processed is Fine)

* 4 C Sliced Strawberries

* 3/4 C Water

* 3/4 C White Sugar

* 3 TBS Cornstarch

* 1 TBS Lemon Juice

* 1/4 TSP Salt

Directions:

1.) Combine mashed strawberries and water in saucepan and bring to a boil. Simmer for 3 minutes. Strain juice from pulp. Ensure you have 1C of Juice, add water as needed.

2.) Combine remaining ingredients with Sugar Mixture. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, until semi-translucent and thick (3-5 minutes). Remove from heat and cool slightly. Stir in strawberries and add to pie crust. 

***This filling may be served in a chilled open top pie, or baked lattice crust as shown above. To bake with pre-made crust, heat pie at 350F for 8-10 minutes, or until crust begins to turn golden brown.

Spring Break Files: Orb Factory Plush Craft Giveaway~ 4/25

Momma Told Me: With my own 2 hands.

For the better part of a decade, of my childhood, I was enamored with craft projects and creative kits. I must have patiently colored over a dozen full size fuzzy posters (you know the ones with the black velvet printed on white paper?), and painted enough clay pottery to open my own booth at the local craft fairs. Of course, this came from my desire to emulate Momma, who always came across, in my eyes, as a Jack of All Trades, and creative Wonder Woman. She was constantly jotting down craft ideas from HGTV shows and parenting magazines. There was always a project underway in our house, and usually more than one. Can you imagine if Momma had had Pinterest when I was a child? Sabrina (10) is much more mellow than I was at her age. She can sit on the couch and watch Netflix for 8+ hours without a single complaint of being bored. Regardless, she does enjoy actually doing something much more; I simply have the option whether to entertain or not.

We're just about through Spring Break- Monday next week happens to be a 'staff day,' so we will be indulging in a movie (The Croods) at a local luxury theater where all seats are recliners and waitstaff serves gourmet food and sundaes at your set! But that is merely a reward for a very active Spring Break. I'll be sharing more of our baking and Clay-work endeavors in the upcoming week, but today is about another wonderful Orb Factory product. It's my personal believe that creative projects, and do-it-yourself crafts are especially important to a child's development. There are many categories of creative (from baking or gardening to literally painting and building), and each child is certain to have their own niche. The constant in this is that all children desire pride, attention, and praise. An understanding of patience and accomplishment is something I see some of Sabrina's classmates lack. And it's a shame, really, because every child deserves their painting to be stuck on the fridge.

Whether the creative outlet is structured, like the Orb factory Plush Craft Superstar Pillow, or a free form craft, the key is to celebrate the end result. While many parents may feel inclined to 'jump in' and steer the child to a more aesthetic, or 'natural' approach is is essential we remain guides and not take over the actual project. Remember, children learn from mistakes just as much as they do from their success! This Plush Craft project is considered suitable for children 5+, and may even double as a colors lesson for the younger crowd, with a color-by-number approach to fabric pushing. While Sabrina acted overwhelmed at the site of all the little fabric pieces, and a new concept, this was quickly thrown aside as she snatched the pillow and rubbed it against her face exclaiming how soft it was.

As an adult, I love the Plush Craft line because it is ready out of the box for engaging interaction. No additional materials are needed. There is no sewing, sharp or pointy tools, and Orb Factory includes ample additional fabric squares to account for lost pieces and accidents. While there is a star pattern worked into the number guide, one could theoretically create any design they wanted. Designing the Superstar Pillow is as easy as matching a fabric square to a number then using the included plastic push tool to force a small nub through the center of the fabric into a pre-notched hole. When the stylus is then removed the fabric square has been notched into the guide and is securely held in place. The only downfall with this craft is that it should be done in a single event/location, as the small fabric pieces can and will blow off, or end up stuck to the dog, etc.

I particularly enjoyed how focused and engaged Sabrina (10) was during the project, which took her about 25 minutes. And that was 25 minutes of cartoon free, silence; which was golden enough for me! Of course Sabrina was ultimately proud of completing the project entirely on her own, and happily showed the pillow of to anyone who would give her an audience. We can't wait to go shopping for our next Orb Factory product!

What Daughter Says: Foster confidence and pride in your children with guided Orb Factory crafts.

One Momma Told Me reader will win an Orb Factory Plush Craft pillow kit.