Six Tips for Planning Summertime Fun

May 21, 2012 Rachel

Today is the Ohio Blogging Association's All State Blog Swap where bloggers from all around the state are swapping posts. My guest is Danielle from Find Time for Fun...in Northeast Ohio, a great resource for parents looking for fun family activities in the Cleveland area. Visit Poise in Parma today to read the rest of the All State Blog Swap posts and check out my post about how to Find Time for Fun in Columbus. Summer is right around the corner, and for many families the break from school combined with the warm weather and additional daylight hours provides a great opportunity for family outings.

As you look forward to the upcoming months, here are 6 tips for planning summertime fun.

Get out and Enjoy Nature

Because of the warm weather summertime lends itself to outdoor activities, and there are many ways to enjoy the great outdoors.

Hike the trails at an area Metropark
Grab a kite and head out to your backyard or neighborhood playground
Join a sporting league (Baseball, Soccer, Running Club etc.)
Participate in a nature based educational events offered by area Nature Centers
Spend the afternoon at a dog park
Get a GPS device or a GPS enabled mobile phone, and go Geocaching

Explore Local Farmer’s Markets

Support local farmers and purchase high quality locally grown foods at area farmers markets. One of my favorite aspects of farmer’s markets is getting to talk directly with the farmers. They are often passionate about their profession and are always extremely helpful. Bring along your children so they can learn about various fruits and vegetables too.

Visit Summer Festivals

On any given summer weekend there are typically a half dozen or more different festivals taking place. With themes ranging from Hot Air Balloons, Strawberries, Duct Tape, Music and Ethnic Cuisine, there is sure to be something for everyone.

Festivals can also be an affordable option as many are free to the public. Find out details on upcoming Ohio Festivals here.

Beat the Heat at area Spraygrounds and Swimming Pools

Don’t spend the hot summer days indoors with the air conditioner on full blast! Instead find an area swimming pool or sprayground. Many offer one day admittance, but if you plan to visit often, save money by purchasing a season pass.

Be prepared with Snacks and Beverages

It’s inevitable that someone will get hungry during your outing, so be sure to pack some snack items like granola bars, fruit, or trail mix. Having healthy snack options readily available can provide a pick me up when it is most needed.

In addition, I always recommend bringing along drinks, and it is especially important to do so during the hot summer months. Invest in some insulated reusable bottles or thermoses for your drinks. They will stay colder longer and can be easily refilled during the outing.

Dress for the Weather and Don’t Forget the Sunscreen

Always remember to check the weather forecast before heading out. Use the forecast and these considerations when deciding what to wear.

Will there be a lot of walking? If so, wear comfortable shoes. You may even consider bringing along a second pair of socks. Changing into a fresh pair halfway through the outing makes a big difference.
Does the activity involve water, or is there a chance you’ll get dirty? If so, pack a change of clothes and shoes for the drive home.
Will you be exposed to the sun for a prolonged period of time? If so, consider bringing along some sunglasses or a hat to shield your eyes. Always apply sunblock before leaving home and bring along the bottle so you can reapply throughout the day.
Will you be out after the sun goes down? If so, you may want to bring a light jacket to keep warm as the temperature drops.

As you look toward the summer months, I hope these ideas help you plan your family outings. Summer truly is a great time to be with family and friends, and I hope you make fun outings a priority in your schedule. I promise that you’ll be thankful you did.

Do you have any other suggestions for planning memorable summertime activities?

Blue Rock Station says 'Thanks for Nothing'

January 16, 2012 Rachel Tayse

Today, I have a guest post from Annie Warmke, resident farmer of Blue Rock Station Green Living Farm. Annie announced an intriguing project in the fall: Thanks for Nothing, a month of no spending. Now that she's half way through the experiment, I asked her to write a bit about how it's going.

As a business owner, a woman farmer, and a grandmother I tend to not be conventional about some of the things that people just seem to take for granted. About a year ago I had this realization that the stock market report had nothing to do with me. The next realization came in the form of wondering about happiness factors and how inspiring it would be to have a daily report on just how well all of us are doing with our health, our expectations, our families, and the whole picture of our lives. That led me to wonder what it would be like to not spend any energy (money, electricity, gasoline) for one month during the year. I told you I tend to be pretty far out…

Jay, my husband and business partner, came up with the idea of calling our month-long experiment “THANKS FOR NOTHING”. Our 18-year-old granddaughter, whom we call Miss America during the month, did not want to participate. We call her room “America” because she is still using up energy with not much thought, although we’ve been quite surprised at her mixed message that ranged from, “I am NOT participating” to “Last night I used the flashlight instead of turning on the kitchen lights.”

About two months before we began our experiment, one of our former engineering interns from France, Nans Thomassey, telephoned to say he’d like to do the experiment with us from his home in the Rhones-Alps with his partner Fanny Gonnet. What a novel idea - two generations living without money in rural Ohio and France during January. We hope to write a book together after our experiment.

Nans and I came up with some guidelines that would apply to how we cooked, and traveled. We have lots of food preserved – they do not. Fanny and Jay both need to drive the car (both families live in the rural area of their region) a couple of days per week to get to their job commitments. All of the fixed expenses for our households are automatically taken out of the checking account so it is easy not to spend money.

I felt like it was important that stay on the farm and only leave if I had a ride with someone else – ride sharing is not new. I do not use electricity except during the day, and that is only to run my computer. I use an old-fashioned cord phone for everything. At 5:15 PM, the time the US weather service declares is sun down; we turn off all the electricity (except for Miss America’s room), and live by candlelight, solar lights, postage stamp-sized LED lights for reading, and go to bed early. Since we tend to get up super early (Jay at 5 AM to write) this has not been a problem.

One of the first planning strategies was a menu for 31 days. It’s not unusual for me to generate menus for one or two weeks at a time, sometimes for 15 or 20 people, but it was a bit more of a challenge to generate three meals a day for such a long period of time, and include variety, healthy food, and know that all of the ingredients needs to exist prior to the beginning of the project start up.

Another challenge for me was the commitment I made to Nans that I would tell people who visit, and we’re hoping lots of folks will join us for an afternoon or even a couple of days, that they need to bring something to contribute to the experiment – candles, firewood, a bale of hay, or food. It’s my hope that folks will come for tea, and bring us their “good humor”, as Nans would say. I’m used to being the one who gives the food, and it was with a cringe that I asked my first luncheon guests to bring something. My friends arrived with candles and food telling me that it was about time they reciprocated since I was the one always feeding everybody. That was a relief to hear.

So far I’m having the time of my life. I’ve been writing a blog, documenting the daily happenings with photos, and enjoying the company of lots of visitors. This week several former interns will be here for two days and I’m hoping we’ll manage to play some hearty games of euchre by candlelight.

My friends think it would be impossible for them to not go shopping, or not to go anywhere or to cook every meal at home. For me, this life is such a gift, and having an excuse to say “no” to going to town, or thinking about money is like a restful vacation.

One thing I’ve discovered is what an under utilized resource the woodstove is for cooking. I’ve often used the top of it to heat things, or warm bread but during January I’m using it every day to keep the teakettle water hot, and to cook soups or bake potatoes. Yesterday I remembered that I have an old-fashioned canning stove that I used for cooking before we lived in the house. I spent the morning looking through the barn for it, but to my surprise it was still in tact and ready to work for us. Right now I’m baking a butternut squash soufflé in it.

Another realization is that we have so much food – I’m big on preserving food and the menu centers around mostly the food we’ve produced here at Blue Rock Station. Jay went up to the freezer this morning to bring back some butter and remarked that it seemed like it is just as full as when we started the THANKS FOR NOTHING MONTH. He’s probably right because when I make soup or pizza crusts or other items on the menu I often make extra to freeze for “fast food” when I’ve been too busy to get the meal started early enough in the day, or I’m tired and don’t want to make something from scratch.

On February 1^st (I’m saying this at day 10 of the experiment), I think we will be talking about how we can incorporate some of the things we’re doing right now into our everyday habits. Of course we’ll still be using up the food we’ve preserved, and definitely thinking about what we want to grow during the spring, summer and fall growing seasons.

I’m reading several cookbooks rights now – my favorite being A Great Bowl of Soup edited by Christine Byrnes. It’s my plan to have made some of the recipes in that book during one of the days I can’t be outside much (we’ve had such great sunshine for several days) so maybe I’ll be thinking more exotic and wild at the beginning of the next month – you never know.

To learn more or follow my blog visit www.bluerockstation.com

MORE ABOUT ANNIE WARMKE: Blue Rock Station is a sustainable living farm located in southeast Ohio. Annie Warmke is the resident farmer who raises and milks goats, tends llamas and has a flock of rare breed chickens. She’s currently raising a stray bull calf that was found near an oil well (amazing to think about), and she was the contractor that built Ohio’s first Earthship, a house made of re-used materials including cans, bottles and rammed-earth tires. Annie and her husband, Jay Warmke write mini-books on their work with topics including constructing a straw bale garden chalet, creating walls with rammed-earth tires, solar cooking, natural gardening, and natural health for goats, and also natural health for cats and dogs. Their textbook, Green Technology: Concepts and Practices, is the first of its kind. They’re currently finishing up a book called WHEN THE BIOMASS HITS THE WINDTURBINE. To visit their farm or attend a workshop register on the Blue Rock Station events page.

Kefir from the Land of B

March 31, 2011 Rachel Tayse

Today is my final guest post as my time as a teacher at Franklin Park is winding down. Fellow chicken-lover and charcutier Rachell Bernhardt from Land of B contributes a post today about kefir. Kefir is one food we have never made for ourselves but I am inspired by her words to get started soon! kefir grains and kefir Cliff and I have a variety of things bubbling on the counter and in the fridge. One of those things is kefir. I took a yogurt, kefir, and butter class at Whole Foods offered by Snowville Creamery. We had already taken a great butter making class at The North Market offered by Snowville. Warren who teaches the classes has business cards that say he's a dairy evangelist and he truly is. We had a thorough lecture on milk and milk fat, patuerization, and homogenzation.

Kefir is a fermented milk drink loaded with probiotics and other great stuff for your insides. It is made from what are called grains, that really look like cauliflower. The grains are cultured at room temperature in fresh milk for 24-36 hours. Then the grains are strained from the kefir. The kefir goes in the fridge and the grains get more fresh milk to start the process over.

One of the cool things about kefir is that the grains grow each time they are cultured. So, there's always some to share with friends! The grains we got from Snowville have been in use since 1978. If you are interested in getting some grains comment below to let me know and I'll contact you when we have more. View the picture slide show with descriptions.

I Grew Up In The City - Guest Post by Cookerati

March 30, 2011 Rachel Tayse

I am so grateful for another guest post today while I teach at Franklin Park Conservatory. This musing on City, Country, Urban, Rural - How Do You Tell the Difference? is by Diana Hayes of Cookerati. Thanks Diana!

I grew up in the city - a very long time ago, but I went to college and moved away and now live in a semi-rural area. My sister in law likes to say we live in the city because we are close to Columbus. I don't consider myself a city mouse though I drive into the city almost every day. I like the space between me and my neighbors but there are other things to consider. When my sister in law says you live in the city - I go over my checklist with her - Do you have city water? She does, I don't. Does she have street lights? She does, I don't. Does she have gas lines, water and sewer going to her house? She has all of those, our gas is propane, the water comes from a well, and sewer is our own aeration system. She has chickens though and a cow. She used to have a goat, but so did my neighbor who has horses too.

Rachel (the host of Hounds in the Kitchen) considers herself an urban homesteader. Urban means city, right and I live in a rural area which means country, right? Or is it? What are the things that define the city and the country. Are we city mice or country mice? I grew up in Queens, we had our own compost area behind the garage and we grew our own vegetables in our yard like tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, and lettuce. Our neighbors had a few fig trees, and grapes as well as their own vegetable garden. However, grass was a commodity worth gold. Really. There were signs up that said, "Keep off the grass!!!!!!!!!". People put up fences and walls to keep kids from walking on their grass. Then there were those that cemented over their yards in order to park their cars. So do our yards define us as city or country? I have a bigger yard now than I did when I lived in the city, but I have a friend who has the same size yard living right smack in the middle of Columbus.

What defines us as City or Country, rural or urban? My sisters came to visit once and said she couldn't sleep because it was too quiet and then couldn't sleep when she went back because home was too noisy. Is it the noise level? One person stopped my sister when she lived in Queens and told her that he always knew when it was summer because he could hear my grandmother's tv down the street. She was almost deaf, so she turned the television way up. Of course, she didn't have grain silos blowing fans or tractors plowing way past midnight to get the corn picked before a storm rolled in. Don't tell me it's the gunfire, because we are near a gun range and we hear guns a lot more often than anyone in the city - plus there is my neighbor with the semi-automatic that likes to shoot for fun. Lawn mowers? Yes, well when you have a couple of acres, the lawn mowers go more often than a little plot. In fact, when we lived in Queens we used lawn mowers that were people powered, not gas or electric. And since we are in the Rickenbacker flight path when we hear planes, they are very loud.

Is it the amenities? We couldn't get cable because we were too far from the road - but our neighbor who's house was closer to the road had it. So after twelve years, we dug our own trench and now we have it, but our neighbor on the other side is jealous. The power in our neighborhood used to go out all the time, so the electric company put us on a double grid. When the electric goes out it usually comes back on rather quickly, while Columbus may be out for hours. I will say that if you are in the city, you can usually get fine reception without cable and we happen to be in a totally dead spot without any reception. The same with our phones. We can hear a tornado siren from two counties though.

So what defines us as being urban or rural? Raising, and butchering your own meat? - Rachel, not me. Living next to corn fields? Me, definitely. Knowing your shopkeepers? That might be both of us. The real definition has to do with the number of people living in an area. That's it. Anyone can be a homesteader - urban, rural, small town or big city. What you make of your little or big piece of property is up to you (though it may be regulated by some silly laws). Next time my sister in law mentions my living in the city, I'll count all the houses along her road and mine. We're about even, I think.

City, Country, Urban, Rural - How Do You Tell the Difference?

Anyone can be a homesteader - urban, rural, small town or big city. What you make of your little or big piece of property is up to you (though it may be regulated by some silly laws). Next time my sister in law mentions my living in the city, I'll count all the houses along her road and mine. We're about even, I think.

Real Mom Nutrition Weighs In On Fat

March 23, 2011 Rachel Tayse

I am delighted to publish this guest post from Sally Kuzemchak, the registered dietitian behind Real Mom Nutrition. When she asked if I had anything specific in mind, I pounced with my standard question to nutritionists: 'What do you think about fat?' what follows is her reasoned and helpful response. An occupational hazard of being a dietitian is that people love to tell us we’re wrong. Anytime a research finding flies in the face of conventional nutrition wisdom—Beer is good for you! You can eat Twinkies all day and still lose weight!—we’re on the receiving end of a certain amount of “gotcha!”

And a report last year seemed to do just that: After analyzing 21 studies involving nearly 350,000 people, researchers concluded there was no proof that saturated fat raises the risk for heart disease or stroke.

So everything we’ve been telling people—buy low-fat milk, eat leaner cuts of meat, lay off the butter—is way off base? And the Wise Traditions folks (and even the Atkins dieters) are right on target? Well, at last year’s national meeting of the American Dietetic Association, even a panel of heavy hitters from Tufts University and Harvard Medical School couldn’t reach a conclusion.

But I can tell you this much: Most people’s fat intake isn’t coming from a grass-fed steak with a side of kale. It’s coming from McDonald’s cheeseburgers and DQ Blizzards and Olive Garden Alfredo sauce. And this highly processed diet also happens to be crammed full of sodium, nutrient-poor white flour, added sugar, food dyes, and preservatives. So could a higher-fat diet without all this extra junk be good you? Maybe, but I’m not ready to start drinking tall glasses of full-fat raw milk just yet.

While the research is still evolving—and the major players in the field are still fighting it out—here’s what I’ve settled on for myself and my family when it comes to fat:

*I buy local, organic eggs and wouldn’t dream of throwing the yolks down the drain to save fat grams (the yolk contains nutrients you won’t find in the white).

*I cook beef every week, from a share we bought of a grass-fed cow.

*I buy full-fat cheese because it tastes better. I bake with real butter.

*I buy conventional, skim milk because I like the taste (and because frankly, I’m not ready to make the financial leap to organic yet since we drink three gallons a week). If I did buy organic, I’d choose one or two-percent since it contains omega-3 fatty acids.

*I use liberal amounts of olive oil in cooking and eat nuts or nut butter every day.

*I limit processed meats. I love wonderful, delicious bacon as much as the next person, but it doesn’t have much nutritional value—and the American Institute for Cancer Research says any amount of processed meat raises cancer risk—so it’s an occasional splurge around here.

*I’m trying to cook more meatless meals. I’m convinced that eating a plant-based diet is important for health and the planet. Plus, it’s more economical. And my Paleo Diet-following friends will have to pry the (whole wheat) pasta out of my cold, dead hands.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on the topic.

Guest Post: Homespun Sundays from Off Her Cork

July 15, 2010 Rachel Tayse

As the Hounds in the Kitchen are actually paddling across a lake in Canada right now, we've invited some of our favorite bloggers to come fill the space here. Today's guest post is from Andrea, a fellow Columbus food lover.

Hi guys! My name is Andrea and my little home on the web is over at Offhercork.com. I talk about various things, but mostly about food because I love it so much! Food is one thing that everyone has in common. We all need to eat and every one of us could describe a favorite meal if asked.

One thing that I really try to focus on regarding the food that I eat, serve my family, and serve others is making sure it is as clean as possible. Clean eating to me means:

Local Foods: Something that is raised, manufactured, created, or made close to where I live. I try to make sure that the majority of our food intake comes from local sources. Produce from Farmer’s Markets and other local suppliers. Local eggs, poultry, and meat. If I didn’t live in the Midwest, I would be looking for local seafood as well!

Fresh Foods: I try and make sure that what we are eating is supplied to us fresh and not something that has been sitting on a shelf or at the store for very long.

Whole Foods: Not to be confused with the grocery store! Whole Foods mean real wholesome foods as opposed to processed and factory made foods. I try to keep our intake of processed foods down to a very serious minimum. Microwave meals? Nope. Boxed cake mixes? Nope. Refrigerated cookie dough? No way!

Unfortunately, the majority of foods that people eat in the U.S. are processed. We all know that fast food is bad for you, but those “lean” microwave meals, canned soups, and boxed mac ‘n cheese aren’t a whole lot better. Those are all processed foods. Processed foods contain chemicals, additives, and preservatives along with tons of sodium. Stuff our bodies do not need. As an individual you should be the one deciding what goes into your body and what doesn’t. Don’t leave that choice up to a big corporation who’s main goal is to make money ,not supply you with quality food.

If you make food at home, you are the one who is in control. You decide what goes into the meal, what seasonings to use, and how much to make. It’s fresh and you know where it came from. With processed foods, you have no idea when it was made, where it came from, and what all happened to it before it hit your counter. Why put that into your body?

To help promote the benefits of meals made at home, I’ve created Homespun Sundays on my blog. The idea behind Homespun Sundays is that one day out of the week (Sunday), every meal eaten is something that is made at home and from scratch. If you want pancakes for breakfast, set aside the icky boxed pancake mix and make the pancakes yourself! If you are going to have a lasagna dinner, don’t heat up a family sized frozen box, instead make it yourself!

Making meals at home is easy and does not have to be time consuming. They are healthier and they put you in charge of the ingredients.

One day a week, no processed foods. Want to join in? Just let me know!