Tag: outdoor kids

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Berry Season

One of my favorite things about summer is the berries. While it is definitely the best season for fruit, berries really jump out as a real seasonal treat. We are spoiled these days with berries being available year round, frozen or shipped in from warmer locations where they can be grown year round, but these pale in comparison to the fruits of summer.

These last two years, I have realized there are buckets of wild berries growing all around us here. There are the blackberries and wineberries along the bike trails, there are blueberries and huckleberries in the woods. Mulberries (usually the non native white mulberry) drip from the trees leaving the sidewalks stained purple. 

Last year, I read M. Kat Anderson’s “Tending the Wild” about how California’s native communities had a cultural relationship with the ecosystem that fostered many of the plant communities in the state while simultaneously providing the resources their communities needed. This got me thinking about my relationship with the berry bushes in my life. I may collect arrow shafts from the blueberry bushes, but I am also pruning them, removing dead wood that may harbor disease, keeping vines off them, making sure they don’t get too shaded out which encourages them to produce more fruit the following year; I might not be able to beat the birds to them but the plant and I both benefit from the relationship. 

While the time of year for pruning and fostering your local berries is past, you can still get out there and enjoy the bounty of the season.

I am going to share my general recipe for berry ice creams. I’d encourage you to go out and forage some berries (especially if you get the wineberries to reduce their spreading) but it works almost as well with store bought berries  If you do not have an ice cream maker, I have successfully made this ice cream by using one large bowl (material doesn’t matter) with ice and salt, a smaller metal bowl nestled inside and a spatula. I will keep it in the freezer and every few minutes scrape the sides of the bowl. I have also heard of people making it in 2 ziplock bags or inside metal paint cans. You can google or find instructions for those methods on youtube. One good thing about berries in the ice cream is they contain pectin which helps stabilize the ice cream, break up ice crystals and make this one of the better ice creams to make without an actual ice cream maker. That said you can often find used ice cream machines at goodwill stores for very cheap.

Ingredients:

1 pint berries

½ cup evaporated milk (you can use condensed milk but omit any additional sugar)

1 cup heavy cream

3 egg yolks

½ cup sugar

Juice of ½ lemon.

In a sauce pan put the berries, a pinch of the sugar and lemon juice over low heat and allow the berries to break up and cook.

While the berries are getting to simmering, whisk together the remaining sugar and the egg yolks, set aside.

In another sauce pan heat up the evaporated milk and cream. You should be aiming to have them be 140° but if you don’t have a thermometer, stop them before they start to froth.

Once to temp, whisk ¼ of the cream milk mixture into the yolks before gradually adding the rest.

If you are making blackberry or wine berry ice cream you need to the berries through a mesh strainer, you can press them through with a rubber spatula to get ALL the summer berry goodness out of them. Blue berries you can strain too, but it isn’t necessary

Mix the berries in with the cream and place in the fridge until it is under 45° or overnight.

If you have an ice cream machine or are using an improvised freezing method follow the instructions from here using your ice cream base instead of theirs. https://www.youtube.com/shorts/oIWAtN4x92Y

Once you have the mixture churned and ready to go in the freezer, this is the time to add any add additional things into the mix. for example a fudge swirl or chocolate chunks which pair super well with berry flavors.

Enjoy beating the heat with your sweet berry treat!

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Walnuts and Seeds of the Future

Summer is the season for berries, but fall is the season for nuts. All summer long the nut bearing trees of our forest have been pumping energy into their next generation. In a way I relate, all summer I have been working and putting in the effort to foster the next generation who have been attending our summer camps. Like the trees, not every camper is going to be a full instructor of these skills and knowledge which Ancestral Knowledge strives to pass down, but each of them carries that seed and you never know which one or when that seed will germinate and grow to carry on its ancient line.

A young black walnut growing behind the cabin. No nuts yet, but in the future it should bear fruit.

The oaks have been raining acorns here at the cabin. Just yesterday we collected 10 gallons of acorns for processing with one of our Teen Apprentice groups. There are plenty of culinary uses for acorns from flour for pancakes to a thickener for soups and stews. One of the nuts I love is the native Black Walnut. Like many trees and particularly nut trees, they give us many gifts. The wood is gorgeous, they provide great shade all summer long, the husks of the nuts give us a dye, but the actual nut is a bit overlooked. Black walnuts are a bit like Maryland’s beloved blue claw crabs in that they take a bit of work to get the meat out. They do not taste like the commercial walnuts you buy, which are english walnuts, black walnuts have a more robust taste and in my opinion a bit of a fruity quality to them. I love to work them into my seasonal ice cream rotation and make a maple and black walnut ice cream. Below is my recipe, if you don’t have an ice cream maker, no problem, there are plenty of videos on YouTube or you can google “ziplock bag ice cream”. It is a great way to teach kids about chemistry if you are so inclined.

For a quart of ice you will need:

1 1/4 cups heavy cream

1 3/4 cups whole milk

The nut meat out of a dozen black walnuts this should be about a ¼ cup.

½ cup maple sugar (maple syrup is easier to find, if using add an extra teaspoon and reduce the milk by ¼ cup. Alternatively if you don’t have ready access to maple sugars or don’t like that flavor you can use table sugar)

3 egg yolks

¼ tsp guar gum (optional, but it helps with the texture)

Pinch salt

Collect your walnuts using gloves to dehull them. I like to let them dry before processing them further. Beware the squirrels may try and snag some.

Crack them open. If you don’t have a nut cracker that can handle it, channel lock or big vice grip pliers can be used as well as carefully using a rock or hammer on a concrete sidewalk or slab. A pointy tool can be helpful for getting the meat out of the hull. If the nut inside is black, gray, bright yellow or moldy don’t use them.

A bad nut, don’t try and scavenge from this one.

For the ice cream base, add the cream and milk and walnut bits to a pan and heat up to 140°f.

Whisk the maple sugar and the guar gum before adding them to the yolks. If using maple syrup you may choose to omit the guar gum as it will just get clumpy when it hits the liquid or you can mix it with the salt and a teaspoon of table sugar to prevent it from clumping up.)

Add ¼ of the hot cream mixture to the egg yolks and sugar mixture and whisk. This will temper the egg yolks making it safe to eat. Add the remaining cream mix and finish whisking.

Pop this in the fridge overnight.

If you have an ice cream machine, follow the freezer instructions. If you do not you can google instructions for “ziplock bag ice cream” or get a quick overview here: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/oIWAtN4x92Y

You can eat it straight out of the churn as soft serve or you can pop it in the freezer for a few hours to let it set up.

Bon Appétite!

One of our Summer Day Camp instructors Nic enjoying a cold summer treat.

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Are you Prepared to Get Out and Play this Winter?

We encourage everyone to get out and enjoy the outdoors during the winter time.  However everyone responds to cold temperatures differently. Keeping feet, hands, and clothing dry is very important because toes and fingers are most susceptible to damage from the cold. Whenever possible carry an extra pair of socks in case your feet get wet and a couple plastic shopping bags to put over the dry socks to avoid the boots saturating the dry socks. Wet feet, hands, and clothing need to be addressed in a timely fashion because wet clothing will cause you to lose warmth. If you get wet its best to get indoors or change those layers. If that’s not possible build a fire to warm up and dry out those wet clothes.  Being prepared and dressing properly will allow for hours of winter fun and exploration!

The follow descriptions will help you dress for various cold weather conditions.

The Base Layers – The first layer of clothing closest to the skin should be a type of long underwear or base layer. They should be lightweight, comfortable and cozy. Try to avoid cotton because it holds moisture and can become heavy and cold if wet. Wool or synthetic blends of clothing are the best materials. You’ll find long underwear available at various prices and styles. One trick is to use synthetic sweat pants or tights if you don’t have a base layer available.

The Extra Insulation Layers – The insulated layer of clothing is worn over long underwear for extra warmth. Materials such as a fleece jackets or wool sweaters are great. Again avoid cotton if you can because its fibers soak up water and become heavy making you feel wet and cold. During the coldest temperatures multiple layers may be necessary.  The best thing about layering is that you can add or shed a layer depending on your comfort level.

The Outer Layer (Outer winter coats and Snow pants) – The outer layer or shell should be waterproof, providing protection from wind, rain and snow. Waterproof shells typically have minimal insulation so they can be worn over the inner layers without being too balky . You’ll find outer shells in both jackets and pants, making them ideal for a number of cold-weather activities. Your winter coat should have a hood, be wind-resistant, water-repellent and breathable. Down jackets, filled with goose feathers, are excellent for warmth but need to be protected in wet weather with a rain jacket.  Fleece-lined ski jackets are excellent also. One-piece snowsuits might be appropriate for kids who spend all day outdoors in the winter. Snowsuits are highly water-resistant and provide the maximum protection from the wet snow.

Winter Hats, Neck warmers, and Face-masks – Half of your body heat is lost through your head. Traditional scarves, neck warmers, hats and face masks help keep your face and body warmer by stopping valuable heat loss from the head and neck. Wool, synthetic or fur are the preferred materials.

Gloves and Mittens – Cold hands can ruin a day. It best to have water-resistant mittens, which keeps hands warmer than gloves.   Gloves, however allow for more dexterity. In wet snow or rain water resistant material is important. Fleece and wool mittens become useless when wet.  Wet gloves don’t keep hands warm unless you dry them out.  Insulating your wrists aids dramatically in keeping you hands warm. Old wool socks with the toes cut out and a thumb hole added make great wrist gators.  Wearing water proof mittens with a glove liner gives you the ability to have both warmth and mobility when needed.

Socks and Boots – Instead of cotton socks opt for polyester and wool-blended socks that keep toes insulated even when damp with sweat or wet from snow. You want waterproof or resistant boots. Make sure they are not too snug. Go up a size when buying winter boots to compensate for thick wool socks.

REI has a good reference page on layering.

Most of these items can be found at thrift stores. If you wish to purchase new items, REI, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Hudson Outdoor, Gander Mountain, and other outdoor and camping stores all sell these items. Target sells poly-pro long underwear in kids sizes.