Tag: kids

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Winter Farmer’s Market Finds

Did you know that there is an indoor winter Farmer’s Market in Carbondale? You can find a great variety of local food and products on Saturdays from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at the Carbondale Community Farmer’s Market. The market is located in the movie theater entrance of University Mall. It runs from December through March and makes it a bit easier to still get fresh, local produce, dairy and meat products. There are wonderful locally made food products, baked goods, and beverages as well as handcrafted and artisan items.

You can enjoy local musicians as you shop, and there is a Kids Club with a different activity each week. On January 27, there is a cooking demonstration, and February 2 is the yearly seed swap. Ellen Esling, CCFM Indoor Market Manager, does a wonderful job with the weekly event.

Fresh Local Produce

My new favorite product by Glaciers End is the Winter Solctice Shrub. (A shrub is a drinking vinegar that has been used by many generations as a beverage. ) Although some people drink it by itself, I prefer adding a little splash to a glass of ice and seltzer water (or club soda) for a refreshing drink. I’ve also used their shrubs in marinades and vinaigrettes. Glaciers End is usually at the Winter market.

Glaciers End
Winter Solctice in Seltzer Water

If you like mushrooms, Flyway Family Farms has a wonderful selection of gourmet mushrooms. Although I tend to like the shiitaki or gourmet mix, I recently used their Black King Oyster mushrooms in a vegetarian stir fry. A great way to try a variety is with the Gourmet Mix.

Flyway Family Farms

Black King Oyster Mushroom Stir Fry

You can usually find lettuce and salad mixes at the winter market. Kale is one of favorites. If you like zuppa toscana, kale is one of its ingredients.

Kale

Those with a sweet tooth can find a variety of wonderful treats.

Get Dipped’s Vanilla Cream Pie
Eagle Point Emporium’s Freeze Dried Candy

You can also shop for great gifts or yourself!)

Eco Friendly Makeup Remover Pads

Beautiful Gourds and Dream Catchers
Lapis and Blue Lace Agate Earrings
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Chase Helicopters in the Wind. Pick Bananas in the Sun

As kids, my brother and I were fortunate to grow up on a farmette. Seeing the maple seeds fly off the trees and into the wind this week has brought back fond memories of creative play in the country.  Spring and summer outdoor play as a little kid in Southern Illinois was very special.

Those maple seeds, sometimes called whirlybirds or helicopters, were created by God as a brilliant twofer. Not only are they seeds that may grow with nurturing into solid trees, they are natural toys for kids, fur babies, and perhaps some adults. They look like little helicopters invading in a strong wind. There were actually so many landing hard and fast on our dogs’ deck the other day that they wanted to stay inside to play until their makeshift maple seed helipad had cleared…

As a kid, the maple seeds also doubled at playtime as banana bunches. My mom had an old,  long, white potting table in our backyard. We sometimes played mud bakery or restaurant there. We were pretty good at sourcing play food from the yard and large garden area. Salad was pretty easy to create from bread leafy weeds in the grass. Bark might be bread, and the dried, flaking mud in what were puddles became potato chips…

That type of creative play and outdoor activity in nature was healthy for us and our development. We were actually learning problem-solving skills out there debating the best way to make mud cake. I am sad that kids today do not seem to have as many opportunities to play unplugged as we did. I pray that during this time of sheltering at home that kids, and adults, who have not been able to experience the simple joys of nature and creative play will be able to do so. May we all experience the simple joys of chasing helicopters in the wind and picking bananas in the sun.

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Impromptu Picnics

Some of my earliest family memories of road trips and adventures involve picnics. My parents were great at them.

When my brother and I were really little, our parents had a Pacer.(For those who dont know the car, it’s what Garth and Wayne drove in “Wayne’s World.”) This was before the days of expensive booster seats. The back car seat would fold down, and we could look up at the stars as we traveled through the state or country. It was handy for picnics if it rained or other conditions were unfavorable.

I still remember one hot, muggy summer, that we went to Horseshoe Lake in the Shawnee National Forest. Unfortunately, millions of mosquitos also were vacationing there that day. We had our picnic in the Pacer. Although it may not have been ideal outside the vehicle, but it made for a great memory.

Recently, my brother and I were discussing mushroom hunting, something else we did with our parents at a very young age. We seem to remember a picnic on a field in the woods on one of our earliest family morel hunting adventures. Priceless family time together that means even more to us as we get older.

I can also remember picnics in Giant City State Park as a kid when my dad was doing some post-graduate work at SIU-Carbondale one summer. We would all get up early for the drive down to campus. Then my mom would drop my dad off for his class. She would take my brother and I on some type of adventure in Carbondale before we picked my dad up for lunch. That might be shopping at the mall or searching for frogurt on the north end of town. Sometimes she would bring a picnic. Dad was usually able to join us on lunch break to eat.

When my children were pretty young, I started having picnics with them. This was a way to have a family meal together once I picked them up from daycare and headed on to their soccer practice or VBS (Vacation Bible School.) Sometimes I was able to plan these ahead, and sometimes life intervened. That’s when we went with the impromptu picnic option.

An impromptu picnic can be pulled together from treats at a roadside stand, carry-out from your favorite restaurant, or fresh food from a farmer’s market or roadside stand. We are blessed to have these options in Southern Illinois. For the VBS version of the impromptu picnic, it often meant grabbing something on my lunch hour that I could refrigerate and then assemble after work, if needed, in time to grab the kids before practice or church. Sometimes it was a trip through a drive thru. We also also have some wonderful local delis and markets that can either make sandwiches or help you pick out some easy picnic treats. Oh, and don’t forget the wineries and breweries (if you are of age, of course.) Some of those may also have picnic goodies.

If you opt to pick up an adult beverage for your impromptu picnic, please be conscious of where alcohol is allowed and be safe. Not all picnic areas allow alcohol, and some only permit specific containers. You may need to hop online and do a bit of quick research to make sure you stay legal.

Another option is to fix something at the picnic site. In the picnic pictured, we had decided to grab some groceries to fix and head to the Natural Bridge at Pomona. There is a little picnic spot by the parking area. After hiking to see the bridge, Mijo fixed some tuna salad for our sandwiches. It made a nice family outing without a lot of planning and prepping involved.

Be creative this summer and enjoy time with your family and friends. Head to a favorite spot, or explore a part of Southern Illinois (or anywhere) you haven’t seen before. You might even grab some muffins, donuts, or fruit with juice or coffee and have an impromptu breakfast picnic. Watch the sunrise someplace beautiful. Now go, make some delicious memories!