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Pumpkin Spice Play Dough
Pumpkin Spice Play Dough

This recipe offers up the usual fun of play dough, with an added sensory bonus of a warm, inviting scent. Use your favourite combination of pumpkin pie spices or those reminiscent of fall.

Ingredients
- 1 cup organic flour (see below for gluten free modifications)
- 1 cup warm water
- 1/2 cup sea salt
- 2 tablespoons cream of tartar
- 2 tablespoons oil
- natural colour combo to make a deep yellow or orange (we have tried India tree, as well as homemade dyes)
- pumpkin pie spices: 1 tablespoon cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon ginger, 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, and 1/4 teaspoon clove OR whatever you prefer!
- 1 teaspoon or more of real vanilla – this will add a sweet scent that makes the dough smell more like pie
Gluten Free Ingredients
- 1/2 cup rice flour or other gluten free flour
- 1/2 cup arrowroot powder (or, in a pinch corn starch, but I really recommend arrowroot)
- 1 cups warm water
- 1/2 cup sea salt
- 2 tablespoons cream of tartar
- 2 tablespoons oil
- natural colour combo to make a deep yellow or orange (we have tried India tree, as well as homemade dyes)
- pumpkin pie spices: 1 tablespoon cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon ginger, 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, and 1/4 teaspoon clove OR whatever you prefer!
- 1 teaspoon or more of real vanilla – this will add a sweet scent that makes the dough smell more like pie
Instructions

1. Add the natural food colouring to the water.

2. Place all ingredients into a pot.

3. Put on an element and turn to medium-low.

4. Stir, stir, stir! Continue to mix until the dough forms a ball.

5. Remove from heat and let the mixture cool a bit.

6. Take the dough from the pot and knead it on a floured surface until it is the desired texture.

7. Store in a sealed jar for weeks of fun! Our dough, unused, has often lasted a year. Once it starts getting used, it lasts months rather than a year, as it gets dried out and, well, dirty!

Don’t miss our latest FREE resource: Pumpkin Mini Inspiration Pack PDF: A great way to get to know my work (investment free), and lots of fun activities, recipes, poems, and recommended books for pumpkin learning.

This post was shared as a part of Simple Lives Thursday at Real Food for Less Money and Share It Saturday at Natural Beach Living.
October 22, 2013
Guest Post :: Using Beeswax at Home
Written by guest contributor Marlese Hazeu of Candles for Hope.

My journey into making beeswax candles came somewhat unexpected, but I’ve fallen head over heels in love and have never looked back. Here are a few things I’ve learned along the way.

1. Wax source: if you can, find a local apiarist (beekeeper) and ask them what they do with their wax. The other option is to head over to a local supplier. I have used BeeMaid in Winnipeg. Keep in mind, there is no quality control for the wax they obtain. One week you may get beautiful clean wax, the next it may be full of bee parts or sediment.

2. Breaking up the wax: If you end up with a hug slab of wax and you need it to be broken in to smaller pieces, save yourself the headache of painstakingly trying to chisel, slice or chop off a chunk and freeze it instead. Once frozen, beeswax becomes brittle. Place in a bag and smash with a hammer. Kids love this part!

3. Melting: Always melt wax in a double boiler. Be patient, better to do it slowly on medium heat. Wax is best poured at 160F. Too hot and it will crack when cooled, too cold and it will not pour smoothly.

4. Filtering: There are various methods. Some use gravity to let the sediment settle and ladle the pure wax off the top. Others use a water bath, with acidified water using simple vinegar. The particles actually are held in the water, once poured off into a pail to cool, leaving a block of pure wax. The other way is long and tedious. It involved straining melting wax through kleenex and a strainer, one ladle at a time, leaving you an extremely pure, clean wax to work with. Also with the most amazing fire starter to use and give away to all your family and friends.

Things to keep in mind:
- Dirty wax will sputter, smoke and choke the wick.
- If you don’t have a designated pot to melt over a double boiler… the pot can actually be cleaned after use quite easily, contrary to popular belief. Simply use cold water, soap and a metal scrubby. It works amazing. Remember, wax becomes brittle when frozen or cold. This works to your advantage.
- Thrift stores are gold for finding all your beeswax melting supplies (ladle, pots & strainers).
- Pure beeswax will shrink. That’s one way to know it’s real. Even different batches from difference sources will have different shrinkage percentages. Some people add fillers (other waxes) to lessen the shrinkage. It’s better to fill to the brim to compensate for shrinkage.
- Wax can naturally be a range of colors from pale yellow to almost brown. It all depends on where the busy bees have been.
I have enjoyed this process of trial and error and I hope this will help eliminate a few frustrating moments for you with this humble post on beeswax.

Marlese Hazeu loves the bunnytrails life takes; they bring her to many hidden treasures she would not otherwise have discovered. She loves the outdoors and shares that joy with her husband and 4 crazy kids.

Marlese is the founder and operator of Candles for Hope, which exists to provide quality, hand crafted, 100% pure beeswax candles for you and your home, with 100% of the profits being given to Mercy in Action.

Mercy in Action is a non-profit organization that focuses on the crisis in Maternal/Newborn/Child health care worldwide. They have established and funded free birth centers for poor families in the Philippines since 1992, and to date more than 12,000 babies have been delivered free of charge for the poorest of the poor in Mercy In Action’s Birth Centers, and literally tens of thousands of lives have been helped and healed in the medical outreaches. Their current Birth Center is Mercy Midwives Birthing Home outside of Olongapo, Philippines.

This post was shared as a part of Montessori Monday at Living Montessori Now, Natural Living Monday at Modern Alternative Health, Simple Lives Thursday at Real Food for Less Money/My Humble Kitchen, Unprocessed Fridays at Girl Meets Nourishment, Simply Natural Saturdays at The Pistachio Project, and Thank Goodness It’s Monday at Nourishing Joy.
October 21, 2013
Celebrating Halloween Mindfully :: Mini Pumpkin Candles
I want our children’s memories of Halloween to be positive, festive, and warm. We choose to minimally participate (early evening trick-or-treating on our block and to grandparent’s homes, in fun rather than scary costumes), while aiming to create positive and gentle memories for them to carry with them as they grow.

Part of this memory making involves crafts. Below are instructions for a craft loved by the whole family.

Mini Pumpkin Beeswax Candles

This project was so much fun, the favourite part being scooping out the ‘guts’ of the pumpkins. For some reason, the cool factor of this task was upped a notch due to these being tiny pumpkins. We were so thankful to receive beeswax from a friend who operates an amazing candle company, Candles for Hope. Marlese donates all proceeds to a free birthing centre in the Philippines.

Materials
- beeswax
- wick
- metal plates for the base of the wick
- scissors
- mini pumpkins or gourds
- lighter or matches
- double-boiler
- ladle
- spoons
- pliers
- baking tray or other tray to contain beeswax drips
Instructions

1. Cut the tops off the mini pumpkins.

2. Cut a hole in the top, and scoop out the insides. Use a knife to clean up the opening after.

3. Melt the beeswax in the double-boiler (you really don’t have to grate it, just cut it into chunks – ours were in roughly 2″x3″x1″ chunks)

4. Place the wick in the pumpkin to figure out where to cut it – allow for extra and then trim later on.

5. Thread the wick through the metal base and then use the pliers to clamp it tight.

6. Place the wick and base in the pumpkin and secure in the centre by using a clothespin (thanks to my genius husband for this idea – he is the logical-sequential brain behind my crafting operation!).

7. Using a ladle, scoop and pour the melted beeswax into the pumpkin, right up to the top.

8. Once cooled, remove the clothes pins. To make these more halloween inspired, add a jack-o-lantern face using a permanent marker. Light and enjoy!

Don’t miss our latest FREE resource: Pumpkin Mini Inspiration Pack PDF: Fun pumpkin activities, recipes, poems, and recommended stories for your book basket.

This post was shared as a part of Simply Natural Saturdays at The Pistachio Project, Thank Goodness It’s Monday at Nourishing Joy, and Natural Living Monday at Modern Alternative Health, Simple Lives Thursdays at Real Food for Less Money, and Unprocessed Fridays at Girl Meets Nourishment.
October 19, 2013
This Moment

“A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.” {joining Soule Mama today}

If you’re inspired to follow along, please leave a link to your moment in the comments!

October 18, 2013
Pumpkin Pie, Three (Allergy Friendly) Ways
As part of our homeschool baking program for October,we baked a total of seven pumpkin pies. Each week they progressively got better. Even though I was supposed to be teaching our ten year old how to make pie, I had never really baked pie before myself! So, we learned together, which was wonderful.

There are a few allergies in our home, and those who don’t have to worry about them aren’t ready to give up spelt flour, cream, butter or eggs, or whatever combination of those ingredients they each can have. So, we make a few variations. Below is an overview of how we made: Spelt Pumpkin Pie, Gluten + Dairy Free Pumpkin Pie, and Egg Free Pumpkin Pie.

Gluten Free + Dairy Free Pumpkin Pie

One of our little ones has a gluten and casein free diet, and the rest of us join in now and then simply for the sake of consuming less of these foods that can be hard on our bodies.

Super Simple Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Egg Free Crust:

:: 1.5 cups gluten free flour mix (we like Namaste pie mix)

:: 1/4 cup coconut oil

:: 3-5 tbsp water (less or more depending on how it goes!)
1. Combine the flour and coconut oil in a large bowl until crumbly.
2. Slowly add in the water, little by little, until the dough comes together nicely for rolling.
3. Shape the dough into a flattened disc. Place it on a flat surface, on top of a sheet of wax or parchment paper to avoid sticking. Cover with a sheet of wax or parchment paper. Roll the dough out, on top of the parchment. This will stop the dough from sticking onto the rolling pin. Once the dough is slightly larger than the diameter of your pie plate, peel off the top layer of parchment and flip the dough into the pie plate, with the remaining paper on the surface. Peel off the parchment, and press the dough into the pie plate. If it breaks up a bit, just press it back together where necessary.
Gluten & Dairy Free Filling:

:: 2 cups pumpkin pureé

:: 1 cup coconut milk, full fat

:: 2 eggs

:: 1/2 cup unrefined sugar

:: 1.5 tsp vanilla

:: 2 tsp cinnamon

:: 1/4 tsp salt

:: 1/4 tsp each: nutmeg, allspice, clove

Fill the crust with the pumpkin filling, and bake at 450F for 10 minutes, followed by 350F for 30 minutes.

SPELT PUMPKIN PIE

For this crust, we used Martha Stewart’s Perfect Pie Crust recipe, and subbed in spelt flour for 100% of the all-purpose flour. The crust is still delicious with this swap. Honestly, we didn’t even use chilled butter. We’re, ahem, pretty laid back in these parts when it comes to following recipes…

The filling is the same as for the gluten and dairy free version – see above – with the following substitution:

– Cream in place of coconut milk

EGG FREE PUMPKIN PIE

The good news is that most pie crust is already egg free, which just leaves the filling. For the first two weeks of pie-making we used flax-seed egg replacer (1 tbsp ground flax to 3 tbsp water per egg). Our poor little guy’s pie never really tasted great. This week I did some research and found that a lot of egg-free pie filling includes corn starch. While we don’t like to use corn starch, mainly due to GMO content, arrowroot powder is a great alternative. This week, the egg free pie filling had a much better consistency and taste.

To make this pie, we used the same recipe as the spelt pie, but omitted the eggs and added in 1/4 cup of arrowroot powder. We also made them in a mini version this time (second photo).

…………………

The last three weeks of pumpkin-pie making and eating have been great. Our baker-in-training feels fairly comfortable making a pumpkin pie from scratch and the two of us will be ready to tackle thanksgiving next year, now having the details ironed out. And the other littler ones got some practice decorating pie crust – I never would have thought it was so simple that a three year old could do it! As the weather gets even cooler, we’ll be thankful for our next lesson – bread making. Looking forward to a warm kitchen and a home filled with the aroma of freshly baked sourdough.

What is your favourite pumpkin pie recipe or tip? Share it in the comments…

This post was shared as a part of Simple Lives Thursday at My Humble Kitchen, Fight Back Fridays at Food Renegade. and Simply Natural Saturdays at The Pistachio Project, Fat Tuesdays at Real Food Forager, Real Food Wednesday at Kelly the Kitchen Kop, and Thank Goodness It’s Monday at Nourishing Joy.
October 17, 2013
Heirloom Offerings :: Tea + Coffee Cake
This offering to Heirloom Offerings :: The Grandma Project was contributed by Stacy Fuller. Are you interested in sharing? Read our submission guidelines and get started.

Something I remember about growing up were tea parties with my grandma. I would have my half tea/half milk, plus lots of sugar, and we’d always have a yummy coffee cake to go with it…warm out of the oven. Over the past year, I’ve introduced my daughter to tea parties with my grandma… we have tried to have weekly tea parties with her – enjoying our cup of tea, and often, coffee cake.

It has been so wonderful for me to spend so much time with my grandma…and for my daughter to get to know her great grandmother. It has been life-giving for all of us. When we have to skip a week my daughter notices and misses it. I will always be thankful that we had the time to do that with her. I hope that it will be something my daughter remembers and I’m hoping that she and I can continue to have tea parties throughout her life – it is such a great time to slow down and be present and connect.

My daughter and I were both diagnosed with Celiac Disease last year, so we stopped having coffee cake at our tea parties and enjoy other gluten free goodies instead. I’ve recently found an excellent gluten free recipe that we’ve started to make and it is absolutely fabulous! Here’s to many more tea parties!! Cheers!

Almond Coffee Cake

From Love and Lemons

INGREDIENTS:

Cake:
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 cup almond flour
- 1 cup oat flour
- 1/3 cup unrefined sugar (or sugar of your choice)
- 1/2 tablespoon ground flax seeds
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- 3 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/4 cup almond milk (or milk of your choice)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Crumbly topping:
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1/2 cup unrefined sugar (or brown sugar)
- 1/3 cup oat flour (or flour of your choice)
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 chopped nuts (optional)
METHOD:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Combine sugar, butter, almond milk, flax, and vanilla and set aside.

3. Sift together flours, baking powder, cinnamon and salt into another bowl.

4. Gradually combine wet and dry ingredients along with milk and gently stir together. Fill an 8×8 or 7×9, baking pan (or 12 muffin cups) with the batter.

5. In a small bowl combine crumble ingredients with a fork or with your hands. Mix until just crumbly. Add more flour if the mixture is too wet.

6. Sprinkle 1/2 of the crumble mixture over muffins and bake for 25-30 minutes.

7. Sprinkle the last half of the crumble mixture over the muffins after they come out of the oven.

Stacy Fuller is a stay at home mom to three little ones. She enjoys spending time outside, cooking, baking and crafting with her kids.

{Kris}: Thanks Stacy! Tea and coffee cake are also a part of my grandma memories. Always Red Rose tea. It’s so lovely that you are helping your daughter get to know her great grandma in such a beautiful way.

Share your memories of tea and coffee cake with your grandma in the comments…

This post was shared as a part of Wellness Wednesdays and Simple Lives Thursdays.
October 16, 2013
Guest Post :: Fall Cookies
Written by guest contributor Maria Epp.

We had so much fun with these cookies. Iona and I made the dough while Mika was in school. They chilled and after a snack, we attacked the dough. It was hilarious to watch Iona roll out the dough to the thinnest it could be. Also, to see Mika cover the cookies in decorations. I just found this recipe and love it for fall. It is unique because it uses pumpkin purée and has all the lovely spices we crave in the fall.

A special note to moms, do not put the oven on when starting to roll out the dough with your kids because it will take much longer than you think to actually get them in the oven! Also, have something planned for supper or you might be still wondering at 6:00 what you’re going to make. The kids don’t mind! They’re filling up on cookie dough!

Gluten-free Gingerbread Cut-Out Cookies courtesy of The Whole Life Nutrition Cookbook, Alissa Segersten from Nourishing Meals
- 1/2 c Softened Virgin Coconut oil
- 1/4 c Whole cane sugar
- 1/4 c Maple Syrup
- 1/4 c Blackstrap Molasses
- 1/2 c Pumpkin Puree
- 1T vanilla
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 2 c brown rice flour or sorghum flour
- 1/2 c tapioca flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
- 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp ginger powder
- 1/2 tsp ground cloves
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1. Whisk together the coconut oil, sugar, maple syrup, molasses, pumpkin puree, vanilla, and sea salt.

2. In a separate bowl, combine the flours, baking powder, xanthan gum, and spices. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix well.

3. Form dough into a ball and wrap in waxed paper; place in the refrigerator to chill for about 20 minutes.

4. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly flour surface and roll out the dough to 1/4″ thick. Cut out with your favourite cookie cutters.

5. You may decorate the cookies before baking by gently pressing whole nuts and seedssuch as almonds, peans, or pumpkin seeds into the cookies. Bake for about 15 minutes. Then remove from cookie sheet and place onto a rack to cool.

Maria Epp is mom to two beautiful girls, partner to Nathan, and creative explorer with a passion for nature and working with her hands.
October 13, 2013
Heirloom Offerings :: Cloth Diapers + Grace

This offering to Heirloom Offerings :: The Grandma Project was contributed by Beckie Wood. Are you interested in sharing? Read our submission guidelines and get started.

When I was young and pregnant with my first baby (unmarried) it was a “big deal”. The whole family had to quickly transform from shock and shame to joy and excitement. I was most scared that my Gramma would be very upset with the situation. My dad’s sister was appointed to share the news with Gramma. She told her, “Beckie is having a baby and you need to love her and support her!”

My next encounter with Gramma was a day I will always remember. Without words, she gave me a little stuffed animal. We both started to cry. Then she proceeded to pull out a box of cloth diapers. Every Tuesday afternoon from that day forward, Gramma would stop by with cloth diapers, baby clothes and more.

She taught me, that I should always know which day of the week the MCC thrift store puts out their new stock and to go the next day before it opens so that you can find the “good stuff”. More importantly she taught me the beauty of grace!

Beckie Wood is a mother of four, friend to many, midwife, and loves to be in the fresh air!

{Kris}: I was fortunate enough to learn these things from Beckie who was an amazing friend and midwife for our two births. She helped us with breastfeeding, baby wearing, cloth diapering, and also taught us to forego pricey baby products and instead use olive oil for almost everything. Mothering Magazine was a tremendous resource, but nothing like having someone right there with us. Thanks, Beckie!

Share your experiences with cloth diapering and/or grace in the comments…

This post was shared as a part of Thank Goodness It’s Monday at Nourishing Joy.

October 12, 2013
This Moment

“A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.” {joining Soule Mama today}

If you’re inspired to follow along, please leave a link to your moment in the comments!

October 11, 2013
Celebrating Halloween Mindfully :: Treats
We’ve talked to more than a few families with feelings around halloween similar to our own – while we aren’t fans of the sugar and consumerism, we are in love with the community spirit that this holiday brings. So, how can we celebrate halloween mindfully? Our family has tried a few things over the years…

Giving Treats

Rather than joining the masses and purchasing giant bags of candy and chocolate to hand out at your door, consider the following ideas.

1. Fair Trade Chocolate. We have purchased bags of sample size fair trade chocolates made by Cocoa Camino. They are small, and they cost a pretty penny. And yes, Fair Trade chocolate still has sugar in it. However, it is a fantastic opportunity for learning with your children about fair trade. I won’t go into detail here regarding the reasons to choose fair trade since you can check out the following links if you’re interested to learn more.

Fair Trade

Fair Trade Manitoba

2. Healthier Treats.
- Honey sticks – often local honey producers offer these sweet sticks.
- Fruit leather
- Natural gum
- Organic lollipops or other treats – keeping in mind that organic junk food is still junk food!
3. Something Homemade. I only suggest serving something homemade if you are part of a small community and know the majority of the children and families coming to your door. We have served hot cocoa in the past. Apple cider and a baked good would be a lovely offering that could become a tradition and something that your community looks forward to each year.

4. Non-Food Treats. This one is a bit tricky in my mind, as I am all for alternatives to highly processed, high fructose corn syrup laden treats, yet nobody really needs hundreds of halloween pencils or erasers each year either. Brainstorm with your children to come up with some creative ideas. What you’ll choose will of course depend on your community. If you live in a small, tight-knit community, crafted items are a possibility. If you have a hundred kids at your door, purchasing something small for each child is the way to go. Our list is just a start – we’d love to hear your ideas in the comments!
- Stickers
- Pencils
- Erasers
- Tattoos
- Halloween themed mini cookie cutter
- Play dough
- Bubbles
- Finger puppets
- Something small from your local fair trade shop, such as Ten Thousand Villages
Getting Treats

Every family faces the challenge of a giant bag of candy differently. I’ve heard of parents who let their kids binge ONE night and then toss the rest. Others allow their kids to choose a specified number of goodies to keep, and toss the rest. We have tried a few things over the years, the most common being that each child chooses ten items to keep. We place them in a dish, and if they ask for one they can have one (once a day). The rest of the loot is traded in for a certain dollar amount to be spent at the toy store or saved. After a few days, they honestly start to forget about the candy and so usually don’t even eat all ten. Our six year old just asked us a few days ago if he could have one of his candies from last year!

Another cozy fall idea is to have your children leave their candy out at night, and then leave them a gift to discover when they wake up – from you or from the Candy Fairy. This could be a new pair of slippers, wool long underwear, art supplies, or any gift that would be cherished in your home.

Edited October 2014 to add: One of our favourite children’s resources, Sparkle Stories, just released a fun tale about the Halloween Switch Witch! Check it out here.

Share your alternative halloween treat traditions in the comments.

Don’t miss our latest FREE resource: Pumpkin Mini Inspiration Pack PDF: A great way to get to know my work (investment free), and lots of fun activities, recipes, poems, and recommended books for pumpkin learning.

This post was chosen as a featured post for Simple Lives Thursday at My Humble Kitchen, and shared as a part of Unprocessed Fridays at Girl Meets Nourishment, Fight Back Fridays at Food Renegade, Simple Living Saturdays at The Pistachio Project, Wellness Wednesdays at Nourishing Treasures, Thank Goodness It’s Monday at Nourishing Joy, and Natural Living Monday at Modern Alternative Health.
October 10, 2013