Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Fun With Veggies

This morning the kids and I stopped by the Farmer's Market to get some fresh produce. Convenient for me, the Farmer's Market is on the way home from Grady Lee's speech therapy so this may become a frequent stop for us.

The boys lit up when they spotted a barrel of peanuts and each took turns scooping some into a bag.
We collected apples and grapes and pumpkins and cucumbers and corn and zucchini and okra. That's right, okra. We live in the South and I figure my boys may as well learn to like the stuff, even if it means it's deep-fried and dipped in cheese or ketchup.
We got home and the boys got busy with a painting project while I washed and put away all the produce. Take a guess what they're painting with...
Okra cut in half makes an excellent stamper and has a fantastic star-shaped print. They decided to make  "jars of candy because Halloween is coming and that means lots of candy!"
Ironic that they're using a vegetable to paint a picture of candy, isn't it?
Grady Lee came up with lots of painting ideas and stayed busy on the kitchen floor for a long time. While he painted, Micah got to work shredding zucchini to put into bread. I learned a long time ago that hiding vegetables in bread is a great idea. Add some cinnamon, honey, or a little sugar and they think they're eating cake with dinner.
Micah took his job seriously and worked his hand back and forth for the longest time until all that was left was a tiny nub on the end. "My arm sure does hurt, Mom. I think I need to take a break and lick the spoon now."
Good reasoning. You earned it. Have at it!
Just about the time I got the bread in the oven and the baking mess cleaned up, Grady Lee decided he was done painting and ready "to do the science experiment with the green stuff we bought at the outside market. You know, the stuff you said we were going to put in colored water?"
Note to self: never mention an idea or a possibility or an option or a thought to Grady Lee unless you fully intend to act on that before the days end.

I had the boys add food-coloring drops to glasses of water and then place a couple celery sticks into each glass.
My fingers are crossed that by this time tomorrow there will be veins of red or blue or orange running through the celery stick. If not, I'll have to do some fast talking to explain why the celery sticks weren't thirsty and didn't want to drink our colored water.
A morning of fun and lessons with veggies. A kitchen that needs a mop and several Lysol wipes. A little girl that took a morning nap and missed out on all the fun. And two boys who think okra is for painting and that celery likes to drink colored water. And my boys have no idea how strange their mother is to do such things...

2 comments:

  1. Is there ever a day that you just do nothing? :-) Fun, fun, fun times! That bread is making me salivate! Minus the colored celery!

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