Green
by Laura Vaccaro Seeger
Mother Nature has decided the early March weather in Kentucky should be more winter than spring and refuses to even look at the calendar and show the peeks of spring we usually seeing by now. We know somewhere under all the snow and ice the many vibrant shades of springtime green are waiting to emerge but will continue to stay hidden until the warmer spring temperatures arrive.
To help us get through the last of the winter doldrums, we are featuring Green
To learn more about the story behind the story, check out this guest post written by Laura Vaccaro Seeger on Teaching Books.
In This Issue
- Green Weaving
- Breakfast: Lime Smoothie
- Lunch: Green Wraps
- Dinner: Broccoli Cheddar Pie with Cheesy Rice Crust
Green Weaving
Basic paper weaving is an activity children have been enjoying for generations. Excellent for development of fine motor skills, as well as pattern recognition, it also has an almost magical appeal to young weavers as the simple paper strips come together to form a symmetrical achievement. To celebrate Green, we invite you to enhance basic weaving by introducing ribbon and even strips of green plastic along with several shades of green paper to allow young readers to explore the color green.
Green Weaving
Supplies
- Large sheet of green construction paper
- Smaller sheets of green construction paper, cut into strips
- Green ribbon
- Green plastic bag, if available, cut into strips
- Scissors
- Glue
- Fold the large sheet of construction paper in half. Cut several slits in paper from the folded side to about an inch from the open edge.
- Open folded paper and lay flat.
- Weave strips of paper, ribbon or plastic over and under the slits in the large piece. Repeat until the page is filled.
- Place a small dot of glue on each end of strip to secure.
A Day of Green Eating
Green foods are probably one of the least appetizing to entice young readers to eat. Instead of trying to hide the goodness of green in other foods, take a day to celebrate Green and eat it all day long!
Breakfast: Lime Smoothie
Lime Smoothie
Serves 2.
- 3 tablespoons lime juice, from about 2 limes
- zest of 1 lime
- 1 1/2 cups unsweetened vanilla almond milk
- 1 banana, sliced and frozen
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon peanut butter
- 2 cups spinach
- Graham crackers, for serving
- Combine all ingredients except graham crackers in a blender and blend until smooth.
- Pour into glasses. Serve with graham crackers.
Lunch: Green Wraps
Previously featured with the book Inch by Inch, these Green Wraps make a delicious lunch. Try any combination of the green ingredients listed, or enjoy the Celery, Green Apple, and Green Grape Wraps recipe, pictured below.
Dinner: Broccoli Cheddar Pie with Cheesy Rice Crust
Broccoli Cheddar Pie with Rice Crust
Serves 4-6. Adapted from Broccoli Rice Cheese Pierecipe.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup uncooked brown rice OR 1 1/2 cups cooked brown rice
- 1 /2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 3 eggs
- 10 ounces frozen broccoli, thawed and drained
- 1/4 cup chopped onion
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- If cooking rice: Combine rice and 1 1/4 cups water in a small or medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, stir, reduce heat to low, and cover pot with a tightly fitting lid. Simmer until tender, about 30 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool.
- Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-inch pie plate.
- Stir together cooked rice, 3/4 cup cheese, and 1 egg until evenly combined. Pour mixture into pie plate and use a rubber spatula to press into a thin layer on the bottom and up the sides.
- Combine broccoli, remaining 2 eggs, chopped onion, salt, and flour until evenly mixed. Pour into rice crust.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes, until egg is set in the center and the top is golden brown.
Related Recipe: These Monster Mashed Potatoes are green thanks to spinach mixed throughout.
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