Before the new first graders learn how to knit with knitting needles (that they make on their own, I might add!) their handwork teachers teach them about wool and the many stages it goes through to become yarn as well as other forms it is used in. The first week of school K brought home some wool she had drafted (and informed me that the process made her hands sticky because the lanolin was still in the wool), and then on her birthday she proudly showed me the wool cloud she made that was hanging in her classroom window. I had noticed them from outside of school before but didn't realize they were made by the children. The clouds are quite aesthetically pleasing hanging up in the window, in my opinion. They would be such a great project to make at home, too. I think C and I may even make some for their bedroom window. They used uncarded wool in class but if you couldn't find that I bet carded wool would look just as fluffy and soft as a cloud. It's as simple as grabbing a handful, shaping and fluffing it up in your hands and then carefully sewing a strand of thread though the cloud to hang it up.
I wanted to share a family favorite recipe with you, as well. K and I both love anything lemon so of course lemon cake is a must when it comes time for birthdays around here. This recipe is not Forks Over Knives approved because of the oil but I may play with this recipe some more to find a good way to substitute that.
Vegan Sugar-Free Lemon Cake
ingredients:
1 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
3/4 cup maple syrup
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp vinegar
1/3 cup oil
5 tablespoons unsweetened rice drink
juice and zest from one lemon
method:
Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.
Sift dry ingredients together. In a separate bowl mix together the wet ingredients minus the vinegar.
Pour wet ingredients into dry and whisk together until smooth. Add vinegar and mix again until evenly distributed. Pour into a 9" baking pan (we use glass) and bake for about 20 - 25 minutes.
Let it cool completely before removing from the pan.
Top with fresh fruit and enjoy!
We enjoy eating this as a layer cake with fresh fruit as the filling between the layers. Just double the recipe above for two layers. I forgot to double the ingredients when I went grocery shopping for K's cake so we ended up with a small single layer cake instead. Still delicious though!
