Popcorn Rocks

Hey guys, this is Little Man. This is a crazy cool science craft we did that I think is worth sharing. We found these rocks at a local gift shop. Two rocks for 6$. At first we thought it was just a crazy gimmick. Mom was a little hesitant to spend the money on rocks. However, reading where the rocks came from convinced her otherwise. Mom is from Utah's Great Basin and has loved the geology there for years.

Simple enough instructions said to place the rock in white distilled vinegar.

Oh...and don't eat rocks. They will break your teeth. In case you didn't know that.

The vinegar started to have a chemical reaction to the rock right away!

Now, ten days later, we have crystals growing all over the place. It's so crazy cool!

So, rambling review of Popcorn Rocks...YES! Get the rocks! They are awesome! They can be found online here: Unique Crafters - Popcorn Rock, Rock Garden That Grows, Pop Corn Rock

Bakeroose Buttermilk Doughnuts

The bakeroose got together for some crazy doughnut making cooking class time with the home school group. It was wild! Here are some highlights...

Make sure if you decide to do doughnuts that you have adults help. It's dangerous...but fun!

The recipe for these is at the end of this post...

After we eat...then we post.

Buttermilk doughnuts:
yield 4 dozen large or 10 dozen doughnut holes

Combine wet ingredients:
2 cup buttermilk
4 eggs
1T vanilla

Combine dry ingredients:

2 cup sugar
1T plus 1 tsp baking powder
1T plus 1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp salt
7 cups all purpose flour

Pour wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and knead until a soft dough is formed. Roll out to 1 inch thickness and cut into doughnuts. Cook in hot frying oil in a deep pot. This needs to be done with an adult...3 minutes on each side. Remove from oil with a metal scooper and place on paper towel to drain. Coat with powdered sugar or frosting.

small batch:

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 egg

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 3/4 cup all purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

Okay guys...shake your doughnuts in a paper bag with some powdered sugar or cinnamon sugar!

There you go!

Whole Grain Kids Can Make Crumb Cake or Waffles

This recipe is a good one for kids who want to make waffles or crumb cake. We bake it in a solar oven, especially during the summer. It just gets so hot here in Arizona. We make the big batch of mix and it lasts a few weeks. If you make it, be sure to use the whole wheat cake flour (or you can use all purpose flour instead of the whole wheat). If you don't know where to get whole wheat cake flour, you can also make that by just using eight cups of regular whole wheat flour and one cup of cornstarch in place of the nine cups of whole wheat cake flour.
A while ago when we shared the recipe for Whole Grain Waffle Mix we started goofing around with it in other things. In the course of the last few weeks we've added a little more spice to it:

Fluffy Fat Free Whole Grain Waffle Mix
9 cups whole wheat cake flour
1 cup sugar or crystal fructose
1/3 cup baking powder
1 T LorAnn Buttery Sweet Dough emulsion ( it's vanilla, butter, cherry, orange and hints of spice)
4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground clove
1 tsp fresh ground nutmeg
1 tsp fresh ground cardamom
2 tsp ground cinnamon


Combine all ingredients well, slowly drizzling the flavor emulsion into the mix and whisking well. Store in an airtight container.

We're happy to report that it makes a really mean Buttermilk crumb cake.

Bakeresse Buttermilk Crumb Cake

crumb topping:
2/3 cup sugar or granulated fructose (or Splenda)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup melted butter (or you can use extra virgin coconut oil)
1 3/4 cup Whole Grain Waffle Mix

Cake:
1 1/4 cup whole grain waffle mix
1/2 cup sugar or granulated fructose
1 large egg
3/4 cup buttermilk (or 1 cup any flavor yogurt...Homemade yogurt works great!)

confectioners sugar for dusting if desired (that's the fancy name for powdered sugar)

Directions: Preheat oven to 325 degrees ( solar baking works great!). In a medium bowl, combine all the ingredients for the crumb topping until a nice crumble mass.

In a separate medium bowl, combine the cake ingredients, mixing just until moist. Do not over mix. Spread the cake batter into a greased 9 inch by 11 inch cake pan. You may dot the cake batter with fresh berries or a thin layer of jam if desired. Top with entire amount of crumb topping spread over the cake. Bake 25-30 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Remove from the oven and cover with foil. This will help the cake to hold together and remain moist. Cool completely. Cut with a sharp knife. Dust with powdered sugar or cinnamon if desired.



There you go.

Solar Bakeroose

Alternative cooking methods are alive and well here with our Bakeroose!

Home baked bread and rolls...

Baked by the sun in three solar ovens!

Today the Bakeroose got together for some basics in solar baking and some fun hamburger patty making. We think it's wonderful to cook with the sun. Arizona is the perfect place for it...and the kids get a real appreciation for the natural resources we have. Hopefully we're raising a whole new generation of earth friendly kiddos.

For hamburgers, we added half of a large chopped onion that the kids chopped. Mixed it into 3 pounds of hamburger along with sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper. Some of the girls didn't like touching the meat. Two jumped right in along with Little Man and his friend Q.

Dolphin Girl played Flipper and grilled the burgers while the buns baked.

We had so much fun making these mini burgers and learning some basics on how to cook with the sun.

The mini hamburger buns are made of the 5 day bread dough . This dough is great because it's good in the fridge for five days. You can make the dough Monday and use a portion everyday for whatever you are making. Bread, pizza, bread sticks...you name it.

When the hamburgers and buns where ready, we started in.

Get a Global solar oven here: Preparing Wisely . Special Thanks to Troy and Tracey Adair for the use of their personal and store floor model sun oven we used in the making of this class. It was so fun!