Monthly Archives: July 2012

TRY SOME FUN NEW RECIPES TO STAY COOL INSIDE AND OUT!

With really high temperature during the summer,what better ways to cool down than trying out some fun and easy recipes from WholeLiving,one of my favorite magazines.I am sure you will enjoy them!

Whole Living
Melon, Mint, and Cucumber Smoothie

Melon, Mint, and Cucumber Smoothie

Whole Living, July/August July/August 2012 http://www.marthastewart.com/180976/melon-mint-and-cucumber-smoothie

  • Yield Serves 2

Ingredients

    • 2 cups chopped honeydew
    • 1 cup chopped English cucumber
    • 12 fresh mint leaves
    • 2-4 tablespoons fresh lime juice, to taste
    • 1 teaspoon honey

Directions

  1. Puree ingredients in a blender until smooth.

Creamy Summer Squash Soup
  • Photo: Con Poulos

Whole Living, July/August July/August 2012

  • Yield Serves 4

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 medium onion, diced
  • 3 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro stems, plus 1/4 cup chopped cilantro leaves
  • 1 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 5 medium yellow summer squash (2 1/2 pounds), chopped
  • Coarse salt
  • Lime wedges, for serving

Directions

  1. Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat and cook onion, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, cilantro stems, and coriander and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add squash and 2 1/2 cups water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, until squash is just tender, about 15 minutes. Let cool slightly, then season with salt.
  2. Puree soup in batches until smooth. (If too thick, thin with a little water.) Adjust seasoning if necessary and let cool slightly. Garnish with cilantro leaves and serve with lime.

July 4- Independence Day

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Independence Day was first celebrated on July 8, 1776 when the Declaration of Independence was read to the public in Philadelphia. By the 1880’s, the Fourth of July had become the most significant patriotic occasion in the United States. The holiday is presently celebrated with parades, fireworks, picnics, sporting events, and music. An estimated 150 million hot dogs are eaten in the U.S. on Independence Day!

Check out your local newspaper to find out what activities are planned in your cluster!

Craft ideas:

Paintings of fireworks:

Idea #1Use a large piece of paper. Let children drop small amounts of paint (different colors works well, or just use blue and red for a patriotic look. If you can, get black paper and use red, white and blue for fireworks in the night sky). Have the children swirl the paint out with a spoon, let them keep swirling from the center, in all directions around the drop of paint. Some of them may overlap, and that is fine, too. When it is finished it looks like fireworks bursting in the sky.

Idea #2 Give the child a straw and have them blow into the pools of paint to make their own free form painting of fireworks.

July 1-U.S Postage Stamp Day!

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Can you believe Cats were used to deliver the mail! Hundreds of years ago, Belgium employed cats to carry bundles of letters to villages. This service didn’t last long as cats proved to be unreliable.

Summer would be a good time to start your own stamp collection and visit the National Postal Museum in DC (http://www.postalmuseum.si.edu/)

Have fun!