Imagine Childhood : Magic & Memories That Last a Lifetime

. . . merry may

One of the things we love most about May is all of the wonderful garden play. If you're looking for something fun to do with the littles this weekend outdoors, we've got you covered! Here are a few of our favorites:

 

Merry May Garden Play

1. Bug & Butterfly Garden Markers
2. City Planning Garden Markers
3. Wish Gardens
4. Wild West Garden Markers
5. DIY Garden Chess
6. Hand Stamped Waxed Canvas Garden Banners
7. Seed Tape Flowers
8. Hand Stamped Garden Aprons

 

Happy Gardening!

xox

~i.c.

. . . ratatouille casserole

Now that we're deep into the month of May our thoughts are on the garden. . .

. . . on all of the beautiful veggies that will come from it. ..

. . .and all of the wonderful things. . .

. . . we can do with them. . .

. . . like this one dish casserole version. . .

. . . of delicious ratatouille.

Ratatouille Casserole

For Polenta:

• 1 Cup dry corn grits/polenta meal
• 3 cups water
• 1/4 cup Parmesan (can add more to taste)
• 1/4 cup Mascarpone cheese 
• 1 tablespoon of butter
• Salt and pepper to taste

For Tomato Sauce:

• One 28 oz can whole tomatoes, pureed 
• 1 medium yellow onion diced
• 4 clove garlic
• 1 Tablespoon fresh chopped basil
• 1/2 Tablespoon fresh chopped thyme 
• Salt and pepper to taste

 

For Vegetables: All vegetables sliced to 1/16 inch thickness 

• 1 Zucchini 
• 1 Eggplant
• 1 Red bell pepper
• 1 Yellow bell pepper 
• 1/2 - 1 cup grated parmesan (for top)
• 1/4  cup chopped basil
• 1 tablespoon chopped thyme 
• Olive oil for drizzling 
• Juice of 1/2 a medium lemon 

Preheat oven to 375.

Begin making the sauce by sauteing the onion until it becomes translucent. Add the garlic and continue cooking until it becomes fragrant. Add the tomato puree, basil, and thyme and simmer until reduced by one third.

While the sauce is reducing, bring 3 cups of water to a boil in a small sauce pan. Next up add the polenta meal slowly while stirring with a whisk. Continue to stir on low heat for 5 minutes. Next, add in the butter, Parmesan and Mascarpone cheese. Stir to combine and remove from heat. Season with salt and pepper to taste. More Parmesan can be added if desired.

Transfer the polenta to a casserole dish and smooth into a 1" layer. Layer half of the reduced sauce on top of the polenta. Arrange the vegetables on top of the sauce. Drizzle olive oil and lemon on the vegetables and sprinkle with the herbs over that. Finish with the Parmesan and bake for 45-50 minutes.

Serve on a bed of tomato sauce with more basil and shredded cheese if desired.

 

With the Kids: Ask the kids to talk about their favorite vegetables and learn more about how to plant them and how long they take to grow. Invite them to help you stir the polenta and arrange the veggies on the casserole. While you're waiting for it to cook, make some garden markers for your garden or play a game of garden chess! Encourage your kiddos to invite a few friends over to share your Ratatouille Casserole and spend some time out in the garden!

 

Happy Cooking!

xox

~i.c.

 

 

nature walk: echo park, ca

This week's lovely nature walk comes to us from the urban Los Angeles neighborhood of Echo Park, CA. There, Virginia wandered through the streets capturing all the beautiful spring blooms and fruits. Thank you Virginia for sharing your colorful walk with us!

We love to share! If you would like to contribute to our weekly Nature Walk series simply email us at [email protected] or tag us on Facebook or Instagram with the hashtag #icnaturewalk.

Thank you again Virginia for sharing! 

 

*Last time in Nature Walks: Tahoma, CA

. . . weekend links

 

Here are a few things that kept us curious this week. 

• New to the United States this week, our very own mammal... three cheers for the American Bison!
• You may have heard of this remarkable pre-school where the elderly and the very young learn from each other. What a beautiful idea! 
• What life looks like when you live in a 2003 Land Rover Defender... traversing across the world... with two kids! 
• When character, flexibility, and laughter are at the center of kindergarten. 
• We know this all to well. Being too busy may just be a disease. 
• The mindful child may be a very productive and happy one. The effects of meditation on elementary school aged children. 
• We want these wood-like prints of conceptual toys to be real toys so badly. 
• We have a great recipe and a fun activity to get your weekend rolling!

 

Happy Weekend! 

 

xox

~ i.c.

. . . fairy playground

For many years now, we've made new fairy houses of all different shapes and sizes, so this year. . .

. . . we decided to decorate with a few new additions . . .

. . . like a cozy spot for fairies to rest. . .

. . . and a fun place for them to play!

Who knows, perhaps we'll see a fairy party in the garden this spring!

 

Fairy Playground

Materials:

• Scrap fabric
• 3/4" cotton ribbon (or any ribbon)
• String
• Sticks
• Needle and thread
• Fairies (wait for them to appear or invite them in with some flower fairy friends like these)

The great thing about making a fairy playground is that it can take any shape or size that you'd like.  The hammock and swing pictured above are just two options of many. The jumping off point for countless hours of fun imaginative play with your kiddos out in the backyard.

To make the hammock, cut a piece of scrap fabric to 8" x 5".  Fold the first long edge over 1/4" once and then once again so that the frayed edge is hidden. Sew the edge in place with a simple back-stitch. Do the same thing for the other long edge.

With the patterned side out, fold the short end like an accordion so that it gathers the end together and creates the pleats that will unfold and make room when the fairy sits in it. Secure with a stitch.

Tie a know in the end of a 12" piece of string and stitch that to the folded end as well.

Wrap 1 1/2" of ribbon around the string and the end of the hammock with the open end facing the bottom side. Use a blanket stitch or something similar to secure it around the bottom edge of the ribbon where it meets the blanket. Then fold the open edge in so that they make a cone shape, wider at the bottom and smaller at the end where the string comes out. Stitch the opening together and tie off the string (see images above).

Repeat these steps to finish off the other side.

To make a swing, find a twig or two and bind them together with string. tie off to secure and leave about 18" of string on either side to attach to a tree (see images above).

 

With the Kids: Ask the kids what their favorite things at the playground are. Invite them to draw up their designs and make a list of the materials they will need. Go on a nature walk together and collect the twigs, leaves, flowers etc. that are necessary for making the fairy playground. Make the elements of your fairy playground together and then have a fairy tea party with these lovely lemon cookies! Try out some of these fun Fairy Houses too! Make your own special fairies to populate your beautiful fairy kingdom

 

Happy Crafting!

xox

~i.c.