4.03.2014

The Outdoor Kitchen and a Spring Feast

The girls' outdoor kitchen is in heavy use these days. It's not fancy... a 100% kid-made workspace, consisting of a cinderblock oven and a "campfire." And stocked with pots and pans from Goodwill. But oh, the creations that come from this simple space and the imaginations of children!
Using a bamboo stick and some garden twine, they've even fashioned a water-fetching bucket!
The girls and some friends recently cooked up a spring feast with all locally-sourced ingredients (everything came from our yard and gardens). There was a fresh mint appetizer, flower tea, "meadow stew," and two kinds of lasagna, made with pounded aloe plant noodles and a rainbow of hand-foraged flowers and berries. A bird's delight, which is exactly who enjoyed this feast, ultimately!
Watching the kids play in this space reminds me of being a kid, making orange-blossom-frosted mud pies in my Florida yard. It fills my heart to know they too will have special backyard memories. And as a mama, I love witnessing their deep level of concentration as they work together, solve problems, create systems, and really exercise their creativity and imagination.
What are your kids' favorite backyard activities? Do you remember your's as a kid?

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

My boys seem to be a lot like your kids--they'll use anything they can find outside to make a feast--their favorite being "mud soup". Right now, we still have snow in the forecast so there isn't any fun stuff like that going on yet, but we are making maple syrup from the maple trees in our yard. :)

Through the winter they built stick shelters, snow roads and who knows what else. They're always creating and imagining.

I can remember making the sweet clover and water mixture when I was a kid. We did everything outside; just like my kids do now. I think it's great that your kids get to enjoy it, too. :)