Beautiful Blessings - 7/27/15

~ Seeing the Hudson River just outside of North Creek, NY.

~ Cooling off after I got overheated with cherry ice cream, lemonade, delicious homemade iced tea, and my wonderful window fan.

~ Making Lil' G's day with a leopard/jaguar print hair-tie.

~ Bacon and eggs for a mid-morning snack ;~)

~ Singing my heart out with some hymns!

Science Saturday: Raspberries, Snapping Turtles and Bullfrogs, oh my!

Winslow LOVES raspberries! He was so excited when he heard that it would be one of the topics for Science Saturday! T-Tot actually picked some to go with dinner today! Mmmhhhhmmm good!

A few interesting things about Raspberries, Snapping Turtles, and Bullfrogs:

• Raspberry bushes have a 2 year growth pattern. The 1st year the canes grow. The 2nd, they bear fruit. After they produced their berries, the 2nd year canes die.
• Raspberries (and Blackberries) are actually not berries. A true berry has seeds in the center. Some examples of true berries are oranges, lemons, grapes, and tomatoes.
• Raspberry prickers aren't as sharp and poky as Blackberry prickers.
• Most turtles are slow, but comparatively Snapping Turtles are "fast". Their neck and head move quite quickly. Which is an advantage for when they are snapping at people or things.
• When Snapping Turtles are in the water they are not as aggressive as if they are on land.
• Snapping Turtles' shells grow to be about 1ft long. Occasionally they will be larger than that. They also range from about 10-20lbs. In a few select cases they've gotten up to 80lbs. 
• Bullfrogs usually don't awaken from hibernation until late spring.
• Bullfrogs are well-known for their deep resonating vocal calls they make. 
• Bullfrog tadpoles hatch in about 4-5 days after they are laid. It takes 2 years for them to become an adult, and another 2 years for them to mature and repeat the cycle.

Pavlova!

We've been talking about Australia in T-Tot's school work, so we decided to try making one of the famous Australian deserts.

Pavlova is named after Anna Pavlova, a famous ballerina from the turn of the century. This desert is believed to be named after her while she toured in Australia and New Zealand in the 20's.

 Ingredients:

3 egg whites
1 pinch of salt
1 cup of white sugar
1 tablespoon of cornstarch
1 teaspoon of lemon juice or lemon flavoring
1 1/4 cup of heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup of confectioner's sugar

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Draw a 9 inch circle on the parchment. An easy way to do this is to draw around the outside of a 9 inch pan with a pencil.
2. In a large bowl, beat egg whites on high speed until soft peaks form. Add 3/4 cup of the sugar gradually, while continuing to whip. Make sure sugar is completely dissolved. Mix together the remaining 1/4 cup sugar with the cornstarch; lightly fold into meringue with lemon juice.
3. Spread a layer of meringue to fit circle on parchment, approximately 1/4 inch thick. With remainder of mixture, pipe or spoon swirls around the edges to form a shallow bowl shape.
4. Bake at 300 degrees F (150 degrees C) for 1 hour. Turn off oven, but leave meringue in oven for an additional 30 minutes. When cool, the meringue should be hard on the outside, and slightly moist on the inside.
5. In a large bowl, combine the cream and half a cup of confectioners sugar, and whip until thickened. Decorate with fruit of your choice; strawberries are excellent.

We used dried pineapple, kiwi and strawberries on ours. :~)