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Jul 24
2008

Learn to Teach - All are invited!

Posted by PlacerNatureCenter in volunteerteachsuccessSierra NevadaRosevilleRocklinrecreationPlacer CountyPlacerparentsparentingNevada CountyNevada Citynaturemountainsmental focuslifeleisurekidsinspirationhuman potentialgrowthGrass ValleyGranite BaygrandparentsgrandparentinggrandparentGold Country FamiliesGold CountryfunFolsomfeeling goodfamily-orientedfamilyfamiliesenjoymentcultureCommunityColfaxchildrenchildcampauburn

PlacerNatureCenter

 Many people today, are concerned about the environment and wishing that they could do something to help stop climate change, species extinction and more.  We are all conserving electricity, cutting down on our driving and driving more conservatively.  But many people want to do MORE to protect the world for future generations!

Placer Nature Center DocentsPlacer Nature Center has a great suggestion.  Community members that want to DO something about the environmental challenges ahead can make a big difference in the quality of our environment by teaching thousands of children each year -  how to make choices that help heal our environmental wounds.  In addition, they will teach children science concepts and make them more scientifically literate - contributing to better academic performance for the children.

Placer Nature Center invites concerned citizens to become Placer Nature Center docents.  A delightful 6-week training culminates in a festive graduation after which simple community members become official Placer Nature Center docents and take their place as an environmental leader.  Connecting children and adults with nature makes both people and then environment healthier. 

Through Docent Training, participants learn hoe to teach the natural history and cultural science programs offered to school children who visit our site on school field trips. Docent training takes place every Monday and Wednesday. Participants are encouraged to dress for the weather! For more information, call Linda Desai at 530-878-6053

Fall 2008 Docent Training Schedule:

September 8, 9AM-11AM Orientation & Tour of Placer Nature Center

September 10, 9AM-12PM  Curriculum:  Senses of Wonder - Preschool, Kindergarten

September 15, 9AM-12PM Curriculum:  Habitat/Life Cycles - 1st, 2nd Grade

September 17, 9AM-12PM Curriculum:  Maidu - 3rd  Grade

September 22, 9AM-12PM Curriculum:  Food Chains/Ecology - 4th, 5th  Grade

September 24, 9AM-1PM Curriculum: Watershed - Paddlers/Stream Swimmers 12PM-1PM:  Graduation/Potluck

Placer Nature Center, a private 501(c) (3) nonprofit, is open to the public and maintains miles of trails on their 60-acre campus.  Programs offered for preschoolers to adults, scouts and other groups, astronomy classes, environmental lectures and seasonal workshops.  For information please visit http://www.placernaturecenter.org/ or call 530-878-6053. To date Placer Nature Center has served nearly 180,000 students and 200 teachers.

Placer Nature Center is located at the end of Dry Creek Road at 3700 Christian Valley Road, Auburn,

Jun 29
2008

Baking therapy for the whole gang

Posted by Specialtslisa in trauma resolution skillsRosevilleRocklinrecreationrecipesplaceropolisphotographyparentsparentinglifeleisurekidshuman potentialholiday specialshobbiesgrowthgrandparentsgrandparentinggrandparentGold Country Familiesfunfoodfeeling goodfamily-orientedfamilyfamiliesentertainmentenjoymentdiningCommunitychildrenblogsblogauburnArts

Specialtslisa
With the fourth of July approaching the planning is underway for a family get together and for me this means great food which equals lots of play time in the kitchen for chefs of all ages.

We have much to celebrate, and some wounds to lick as well. So, I am going to soak up all the baking therapy that I can. Here are a couple of our favorite recipies. These are great for little helpers as well.

Before the baking can begin We will set the mood. I like to make the kitchen as bright as possible, letting in lots of sunshine. In the background low up-beat music on. I have a table in the sort of breakfast nook where I put out any pictures and momentos along with all the material for scrap booking. I also place lots of disposable cameras around the area so eveyone can join in. (I really love the candide shots that get snapped this way) With the stage set these are a couple to the recipes we will be making this year.

Grandma's everyday cake, with a fruity 4th inspired topping and Pineapple and Cake kabobs.

Grandma's everyday cake.

1/3 cup Crisco Shortening
1 3/4 cups Sifted cake flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1 egg
3/4 cup milk
1 1/2 teaspoons real Vanilla

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees
Place Shortening in mixing bowl. sift in dry ingredients. Add egg and half the milk; mix till flour is moistened. beat 2 inutes at medium speed on electric mixer. Add remaining milk and vanilla; beat 2 minutes longer. Bake in greased and lightly floured 9x9x2 inch baking pan at 375 degrees for about 25 minutes.

Cool on wire rack.

While the cake is cooling it is time to mix the topping.

clean and rinse all fruit under cool running water.

Add 1 cup slice strawberries, 1/2 cup blueberries, 1/2 cup rassberries and 1 meduim slice banana. gently toss in large mixing bowl with 1/4 cup sugar. place mixing bowl into refrigerator.

Make sure the cake is fully cooled and then cover with enough whipped topping to completely cover cake in about 1/2 inch of whipping. gently fold fruit mixture on toppin. serve imedietly.

This next recipe is fun for younger cooks to assemble

Pineapple and Cake kabobs.

Cut one meduim fresh pineapple and 1 pound cake into 1 1/2 inch squares.

Marinate the pineapple in 1/2 cup maple syrup and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon. set aside.
melt 1/2 cup currant jelly, dip the pound cake cubes in melted jelly and then roll in flaked coconut until fully coated. assemble on skewers in everyother fashion. (one cube cake, one cub Pineapple) Toast over very hot coals until turning often until golden brown.


Do not forget this is the perfect time to talk and laugh, to cry and hug, or just stop the hustle and bussle of modern life and enjoy some quality family time.

Have a happy and safe 4th of July everyone.

Lisa Sabrina Fults

Special Ts and Sports.

Jun 25
2008

Wine, Cheese, And Chocolate: One woman's Journey

Posted by Specialtslisa in wineRosevilleplaceropolislifeinspirationgrowthGold Country Familiesfunfoodfeeling gooddiningcultureCommunity

Specialtslisa
This Journey of re-awaking my senses is starting to push the limits of my comfort zone. After all at 39 my tastes aren't going to change, are they?
My trepidation began this morning when I listened to my partners voice mail. You see I like to be in control, and today he gets to chose which direction the journey winds. In a voice that sounded all most gidy he tells me "to get ready for a day of sweet wine and stinky cheese." So, you see this is where my goose bumps get goose bumps.
I have a very sensitive olfactory organ. I have never been one to try and get past the smell of something. Oh yeah and about sweet wine, I am more of a Merlot or Cab kinda woman.
At this point I am starting to wonder if he even knows me at all. After all these years together did he ever notice that I have never ordered a port or willingly drank a glass of white wine? Could it be he has no clue from the overwhelming supply of air fresheners, order guard garbage bags, and deodrants in our cupboards that I am sensitive to smell?

Well, in the spirit of adventure, I did not make up an excuse to work late. Joining my partner in a culinary vacation to a small granite ensconced mediterranean isle. We are going to dine on "shepard's cheese". With a smirk, almost as if he knows something I don't, my partner begins to unpack our feast. Little did I know I was about to be amazed by the rich historical insights my partner had made. He proceeded to educate me about how shepard's cheese came about.How the monks being diligent washed developing mold spots from their young cheeses for the sake of purity and cleanliness, only to find an unusual sticky, bright orange surface layer develop. Unbeknownst to the well meaning brethren, they had cultivated a bacterial culture on their cheeses, known today as Brevibacterium Linens. The fact that they used the only sanitary liquids around, booze or boiled salted water, and the regimented way they organized their day further served to consistently select these ripening microbes – which prefer the resulting pH and salt level.

The particle cheese he has chosen for today was Tomme du Berger, this cheese is made from raw sheep and goat milk products and aged up to 4 months. The sticky rind barely contains a bulging, intensely fatty paste. For all its buttery richness, salty assertion and animal aromas, the cheese is mercurial, and remarkably fruity. (I really did taste the ripe pears.)

The pefect pairing for this cheese according to Chris Munsey or Murray's Fine cheeses in New york, ("The wine to pair up with this pungent farmhouse fromage is an equally vivacious and original partner, an Alsatian Gewürztraminer "Harth-Cuvee Caroline" 2005 from Bernard Schoffit. Schoffit's tiny 10 hectare vineyard is perched delicately on a slope so steep it had been abandoned as impossible to harvest, until he came along. This master winemaker has managed to wring an unctuous, heady perfumed gem from the unforgiving slate, a Gewürz with rich linenol, gardenia and honeysuckle aromas, a wonderful concentration of fruit and well-balanced acidity.") So that is exactly what we did.
Finding the right wine to pair with strong, stinky washed rind cheese like Tomme du Berger is difficult. Typically dry wines are overpowered by the strong salty flavor disappearing completely after the first bite. Not so with this match, which finds a dynamic combination of salty and sweet, barnyard funk tamed by the flowery aromatics of the wine. I would especially recommend this wine and cheese pairing for those who think they don't like sweet wine and stinky cheese - you will be converted! I have been!!!

Feeling full and wonderfully aroused, I looked over at my partner and thought maybe he knows me in a way I have yet to know myself.

Find out what he made me eat for dessert next time.

Lisa Sabrina Fults
Special Ts and Sports
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Jun 24
2008

Baking therapy

Posted by Specialtslisa in RosevilleplaceropolisPlacer CountyPlacerlifeleisurekidsholiday specialshobbiesGold Country FamiliesGold Countryfunfoodfeeling goodfamilyfamiliesentertainmentCommunitychildren

Specialtslisa

My quilty pleasure........

Ever since I can remember the process of baking cookies made it all better.  If I was sad, heart broken or lonely my mom would bring me into the kitchen and we would bake.

 We sometimes did not even talk. My mom did things from scratch. I love organizing the bowls, spoons, all the ingredients. Feeling the oven warm.

By the time the mixing started whatever was weighing my heart down do not seem so big.

Our favorite Cookie Reciepes :

Spicy Hermits: 1/2 cup crisco shortening, 1 cup brown sugar (firmly packed), 1 large grade a egg, 2 tablespoons water.

cream shortening and sugar, mix in egg, then water, set aside.

1 1/2 cup all purpose flour, 1 tablespoon instant coffee powder. 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teasoopn ground nutmeg, 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves, 3/4 cup raisins, 1/2 cup broken walnuts.

pre-heat oven to 375, sift together dry ingredients, add to creamed mixture, stir in raisins and nuts, Drop from teaspoon 2 inches apart on lightly freased cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes. Make about 40 cookies.

Our kitchen was a focal point not just for bad or sad times but celebrations as well.

Ever year my Dad had Pie frenzy. He would bake so many flavors all from scratch. all pie dough had to be done by scratch.  Apple, pumpkin, chocolate, pecan, peach, banana cream, and on and on.

We had so much joy in that space, the gang all chipped in. Neighbors, family, friends from near and far.

My Dad past away in 1991 and my mom moved to O.K. to be close to her sister, my brothers and sisters are all scatter about , even my kids are grown and off doing thier own thing. So now it is just me, but I still bake.

 My sister, Sheila, has kept the pie frenzy going but she renamed it pie fest and all the nieghbors in Scottsdale can't wait to dig in.

Coming up next issue our favorite fourth of July cake and drinks.

Lisa Sabrina Fults 

Special Ts and Sports