Makes Me Happy: A Day at the Beach

First-day-of-school Lunch Survey

We are sad to see summer holidays go. It's with mixed feelings we are counting down the days for school to start. Seven more sleeps! Eep. I've been busy with a number of back to school projects. Posts coming soon! I'm even guest posting somewhere that I'm VERY excited about ... to be revealed later.

In the meantime, I posted about some "first day of school" ideas at ohdeedoh and was smitten with June Pfaff Daly's lunch survey idea. I whipped this up the other night in front of some trashy TV after the bub was asleep. It's going to be a first-full-day-of-school surprise.

It's Hammer Time

OUTDOOR / CAMPING ACTIVITY TO DO WITH THE KIDS

This is a classic kiddie activity that Spud took to right away. He picked up some great hammering skills and at the same time we found something interesting to do with those silly bands.

Hubs cut these pieces of wood to 8" x 8" and then I made a couple of different templates with the same dimensions. 

One template had dots in a circle shape and the other more linear.

Each creation came with elaborate stories which literally kept him busy for hours.

Grilled Cheese, Please

Look what came in the mail! I won a contest with our Pound Cake Grilled Cheese Sandwich that we made on our last camping trip. I won this beautiful book full of 50 grilled cheese recipes! 

Who should I thank? Well, the Grilled Cheese Social! It's where we found the pound cake recipe in the first place and where I won the contest. If you like melted cheese, you will love her blog. I should also thank the Wisconsin Cheese people. They sent the book and other swag to me. Love them. Thank you!

Makes Me Happy: Learning New Skills

City boy goes camping:

Dutch Oven Breakfast Pie

This a great recipe to use near the end of your camping trip because it uses up leftovers from your previous meals.

INGREDIENTS

1 can crescent rolls

1 C. sharp cheddar, shredded or sliced

2 C. leftover cooked sausage / bacon

4 eggs; beaten

1/4 - 1/2 C. diced red bell pepper (or other leftover veg such as zucchini or broccoli)

1 C. leftover potato, chopped (or other leftover veg such as cauliflower or yam)

3 T. milk

1/2 t. salt

1 t. ground black pepper

3 T. parmesan cheese

METHOD

Lay out the flattened crescent rolls on the bottom of the Dutch oven. Sprinkle evenly with meat, veg, potato and finally cheese. Whisk together eggs, milk, salt and pepper and pour evenly on top. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Cover and bake with 8-10 briquettes bottom and 12-14 briquettes top for 20-30 minutes until eggs are set.

Playful Learning — The Book

I had this exciting opportunity to take Playful Learning on a test run with Spud and then do an interview with the author, Mariah Bruehl. I posted it on ohdeedoh yesterday, if you want to learn more on the subject. I found it truly informative and inspirational myself.

Here is the result of the first project we tackled in the book: Spud's heart map. We both had the best time doing it too. As you can see Spud's heart is filled with: chrismiss, billdings, TV, mining and tunels, Lego, books, Harry Potter, piano, mom, and dad. It's really the arteries with all the goodness flowing in and out that gets me every time. I can't wait to frame it and find it a proper home on the wall. And to do it next year too to see where the passions have changed.

Blueberry Freezer Jam

With 25 lbs of blueberries in the fridge, we just had to try this out ... it was SO easy. No cooking even.

This jar is for the fridge. I have two larger plastic ones in the freezer. Yum.

I found this one on Canadian Living ...

INGREDIENTS
3 C. blueberries, crushed
1 T. lemon juice
2 T. sugar
1 box (49 g) light pectin crystals

METHOD
In large bowl, stir blueberries with lemon juice. Add sugar. Mix in pectin crystals; let stand for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Pour into clean airtight containers, leaving 1/4-inch (5 mm) headspace. Let stand, undisturbed, until set, 24 hours. Store in refrigerator for up to 3 weeks or freeze for up to 8 months.

Makes Me Happy: Lush, Cool, Green

Fishing at Rice Lake, North Vancouver, BC.

Photo Friday #48

JARDIN MAJORELLE, MARRAKECH   |   TRAVELS WITH KID

Jardin Majorelle: first the gardens of French painter Jacques Majorelle, then the gardens of Yves St. Laurent, now a memorial in which the public can roam, explore, and escape the urban, busy nature of Marrakech. Oh, and the colour! Yves St. Laurent said that it was actually Marrakech that taught him about colour. But first go down this street ...

Pass by the calèche ...

... then pass by some very cute shops with beautiful, non-touristy handmade items. And you are there.

For more of our posts on Morocco, click here. Thanks to Delicious Baby for hosting Photo Friday!

Makes Me Happy: Camping Centrepiece

While Hubs was scavenging firewood he stumbled across this beauty which inspired him to nail it to a base. Voila! Dramatic, woodsy centrepiece for our camping table. I hope the subsequent tenants of our site appreciated it as much as we did.

(Images: Kiley Redhead)

Photo Friday #47

PATISSERIE DES PRINCES, MARRAKECH   |   TRAVELS WITH KID

A unique combination of sweet and savoury this pastry, pastilla, was stuffed with chicken and spices and topped with sugar and cinnamon. Sounds odd but surprisingly yummy.

I'd like to say that the kid bravely tried one of these. But he did not. He enjoyed a chocolate cake treat that reminded him more of home. Originally we planned to go to a higher end restaurant and try pastilla in its pigeon carnation but we never got around to that. Next time.

Thanks to Delicious Baby for hosting Photo Friday. Pop over to share your own travel pics or to just get into some serious armchair travel with others.

Dutch Oven Salmon and Corn

Oh yah. Salmon and corn AND bacon. It IS camping after all. This meal is dead easy to make once you have the ingredients. I think bacon and corn were meant to be together.

But first, let's get the briquettes into the chimney. A little bit of newspaper at the bottom (below the inside grate) and all the briquettes we need in the top. Apply match. Voila!

You can see these coals aren't ready yet. Maybe another 5 or so minutes and they will be all aglow.

Ah. That's better. Here they are on the lid working their hot hot hot magic.

INGREDIENTS

1 whole salmon (minus head and tail), 10" long

6 Corn on the cob

Salt

Parmesan cheese

6 – 8 bacon slices

Serve with lemon wedges

METHOD

Place husked corn in bottom of dutch oven with a cup of water. Season inside salmon and place it on corn. Criss cross the bacon on top of the salmon. Cook for about 30 minutes with 16 coals on top (to crisp the bacon) and 8 coals underneath. Check the progress about half way through and sprinkle parmesan cheese on top of the salmon. The salmon is done when the flesh flakes and is no longer translucent.

Makes Me Happy: Eating Raspberries We Picked

Especially with a splash of organic, locally produced cream. And a sprinkle of sugar. Happy summer.

My Fruit Bowl — New Fabric Design

I've been working on this idea for some time now and it feels great to finally be done. Inspired by summer fruit and our old trusty wooden fruit bowl I played with shapes and colours until I finally got the pattern I was looking for. Spud's contribution? All the hidden hearts. I can't wait to get a sample of this printed at Spoonflower!