Day: May 22, 2020

Roasted Potato Salad

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Roasted Potato Salad

Roasting the potatoes first adds a richness to this brightly-flavored potato salad.

Ingredients:

  • 24 ounces new potatoes
  • 4 tablespoons herb vinaigrette (such as Italian)
  • 1/2 cup diced red onion
  • 1/4 cup vegan Parmesan shreds
  1. Cut the potatoes into quarters, and toss with the vinaigrette. Arrange in a single layer on a baking dish.
  2. Place in a cool oven; turn on the heat to 450 degrees F and roast for 30 minutes, stirring halfway through.
  3. Transfer the potatoes to a bowl and add the onion and Parmesan.

Ooey Gooey Noodle Worms

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Ooey Gooey Noodle Worms (3)

I love activities that introduce new textures to a toddler, even if they might seem a little gross to us grown-ups. Veronika has no qualms about getting her hands dirty, so on today’s menu was mud worms!

I cooked up a batch of linguine for the “worms”, and then placed them on a shallow tray that we could take out to the patio. Now we just needed to bury them in “dirt” a.k.a. chocolate pudding.

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She gleefully began scooping through, using both fingers and a sand shovel

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In retrospect, I would have used a lot more pudding and a lot fewer “worms”, as this wasn’t really hunting or digging. We just had lots of worms crawling all over the tray! But of course the pretend play was a bit advanced for her anyway, and she loved scooping.

Ooey Gooey Noodle Worms (1)

We got our fingers in the mixture together and used words like “slimy” and “goopy” as we played.

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When the noodles landed on the patio, they did sort of look like little worms after a rainstorm.

Ooey Gooey Noodle Worms (5)

Then Veronika decided it was even more fun to scoop them up from the tray and toss them on top of other items on the patio.

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Admittedly that made clean-up a little tougher, but she was having so much fun I didn’t stop her! All in all this was good gooey fun.

Ooey Gooey Noodle Worms (8)

Safari Binoculars

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Safari Binoculars (4)

Here’s a classic craft that I knew Veronika would love because it involves one of her current favorite things: stickers!

To assemble your toddler’s very own binoculars, start with two empty toilet paper tubes. I had bug and fish stickers, both perfect themes for this project, and she loved placing stickers all over.

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I find it helpful to peel up the edges of stickers slightly at this age, so she can then pull them the rest of the way off the sticker sheets without frustration.

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Resist the urge to correct your toddler’s sticker placement; it was just fine if a few overlapped, or if she clustered them in one spot!

Safari Binoculars (3)

I glued the tubes together (or you can use tape if you don’t have time to wait for the glue to dry), then punched a hole near the top of each tube on the outer edge. I threaded yarn through to make a loop so Veronika could wear them around her neck.

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Now it was time to head out into the wilderness! Off she goes for her first safari.

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Honestly she was probably more into them as an accessory than a viewfinder, but they were particularly neat for watching bugs up close.

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Older siblings may just clamor for a turn, too!

Safari Binoculars (9)

If you prefer to have your safaris indoors, consider using these on a stuffed animal hunt instead.