A Common Shepherdess

I have started a new blog at https://creativeinstinct.blog/ and moved my State Dinner and information there. Come visit my new site! Wild Rice Soup Lefse Milk (official state beverage) Blueberry crumb bars Wild rice is Minnesota's official state grain. For many years, Minnesota produced almost all of the world's wild rice. It was a staple food for the Ojibwa, Cree and Menomini Native American tribes. Lefse is a traditional Norwegian flat bread and still a popular treat among Minnesotans. Milk is the official state beverage. Blueberries can be found wild throughout Minnesota. This dinner is very white. I lived in Minnesota from about age 5 until I was married. I remember after having dinner at someone's house, we remarked how everything on the plate was white. Growing up with parents raised in the South, we were more used to sweet tea with dinner than milk and definitely used to more spices! My kids loved the wild rice soup, lefse and blueberry bars t...

I'm a sucker for a good deal. This past week I was able to purchase four cans of Pillsbury Grands! Biscuits for only $0.70 total! My kids aren't that fond of them plain however. I managed to come up with an easy recipe that guarantees the biscuits will be eaten in a flash. My kids love these for breakfast with strawberry smoothies. Apple Sticky Buns Topping: 4 Tbsp butter 1/2 cup brown sugar 2 Tbsp light corn syrup or honey 1 small apple, peeled and diced Combine ingredients in a small saucepan. Cook over low heat until butter is melted and sugar is dissolved. Pour into a buttered 9" round pan. Place one biscuit in the center and place six more around the edges. (There will be one biscuit left over. I'll coat that with butter and cinnamon sugar and bake that on a small baking sheet.) Spread some softened butter over the tops of the biscuits and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Bake at 350*F, until biscuits are golden brown. Remove from oven. Place a large pla...

Nature study is an important part of Charlotte Mason's philosophy of education. It doesn't really feel like nature study to talk a walk around a city block though. We love the opportunity to escape the city and enjoy a more rural setting. Today we took the chance to visit the Hassayampa Nature Preserve. A guide took us through a couple of trails and encouraged the kids to make notes in their nature journals. One exercise that I will use in the future was to divide blank page into four sections by drawing a cross in the middle of the page. Then devote each section to four senses: touch, hearing, seeing, and smell. Our guide asked the kids to sit for 1-2 minutes, concentrating on one sense and then to write or draw. We came across this little fellow. His scales shone iridescent and yet he still blended in well with the tree. "Hassayampa" comes from a Yavapai word meaning "upside down river." Most of the Hassayampa River flows underground. It is an u...