Meaningful Work
Asher and I are spending more time together lately, which means I have to come up with things to do for us to enjoy the days. Meaningful work is one of the keystones to happy preschoolers, so I’ve been roping Asher into some household activities for some fun and frolic.
That’s his own dirty clothes that he’s washing. The novelty of this activity was very appealing to him, and he likes that he got them clean. It didn’t take long for him to figure out the best way to have fun was to stomp the clothes clean. I showed him how to rinse them and then hang them up on the patio chair backs to dry. Presumably he did that before he sat in the basins to splash and play because when I came back to him (I was gardening), he had hung all the items up to dry.
Earlier this week, we decided to bake some muffins together. I have a lovely strawberry bread recipe that works well as muffins, too. And since we have zucchini from our garden we grated some to add to the recipe. Asher took to this task beautifully as well.
The muffins are yummy, and now I know to cook them 22 minutes instead of 25. We ate some right away, as soon as they came out of the oven and were cool enough to eat.
Strawberry Zucchini Bread
1 c. strawberry puree (2 10-oz packages of frozen berries or two pint baskets)
1 c. grated zucchini
4 eggs
1 c. vegetable oil (my next task is to figure out if I can substitute coconut oil)
3 c. flour (all-purpose or a mix of all-purpose and whole wheat)
1 1/2 c. sugar (you can use less if you want)
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 c. chopped nuts (optional)
Note: If you want to make these muffins extra healthy, you can add a couple of tablespoons of ground flax, protein powder, or a 1/2 cup of rolled oats. These all make good additions.
Combine strawberry puree, zucchini, eggs, and oil. Blend in sugar, cinnamon, and baking soda. Add flour(s) and nuts, if using. Batter will be pinkish! Pour into greased and floured loaf pans (9 x 5 inch). Bake 40-50 mins. at 350 degrees. Cool completely before removing from pans. Makes two loaves.
Muffin variation:
Pour batter into greased muffin tin (or use papers). Bake at 350 degrees for 22 minutes. Watch closely. Makes about 18 muffins.
July 22, 2011 at 7:57 pm
yum! now I want a muffin!
July 22, 2011 at 8:56 pm
these lessons of meaningful work stay with them…even at 15. =)