Summertime is all about the fresh fruits and vegetables. Where we live, we are lucky to have some established fruit trees and bushes, so we can just go outside (with the kids, of course) and pick what we want to eat. If you don’t have such direct access to fresh produce, try the farmer’s market or other markets in your area that carry fresh, locally grown fruits and veggies – there really is a difference in taste.

Our favorite way to enjoy summertime fruit is in a quick and simple fruit sorbet. Fresh peaches, strawberries, cherries, blueberries, raspberries, or a mixture are all delicious – just be sure to adjust the amount of sugar so that the sorbet isn’t too tart.

To make sorbet, you need:

• About 5 cups of chopped fruits or berries. (The juicier the better, such as various berries and stone fruits.)

• Wash and remove any peels

• Chop the fruit so that all are about an inch in diameter.

• Set aside about 1 cup of fruit from the batch, and scatter the other 4 cups onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

• Place the sheet in the freezer and the 1 cup of fruit in the fridge overnight.

When you are ready to make the sorbet, remove frozen fruits from the freezer and pulse them in a food processor until it looks like a smooth fruit puree. Add some sugar as needed to smooth out the fruit even more and sweeten the mixture – about half a cup should be enough, but be sure to add enough so that the sorbet is sweet and not too tart (raspberries, for example, need more sugar than peaches or strawberries). You can also add a little water to further smooth out the fruit. Add the fruit from the refrigerator and blend until smooth, then serve.

If you like to celebrate the religious significance of Easter, try making Easter story cookies! A friend of mine gave me this recipe years ago to share with my now-12 year old son. More of a meringue than a cookie, this recipe is a fun and clever way to tell the Easter story with preschoolers. Make sure your kids are not too young because they may be a little frightened or frustrated! Use your best judgment.

You have to start them the night before and definitely need to read through the recipe before you begin. So grab your apron and a Bible, and have fun!

Easter Story Cookies

• 1cup whole pecans
• 1tsp vinegar
• 3 egg whites
• pinch salt
• cup sugar

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Lay wax paper over a cookie sheet.
*Explain that while you make the goodies, you are going to learn about the story of Jesus. Use whatever words fit your beliefs. Begin with the fact that he was arrested.

Put the pecans in a ziplock bag and give your child a wooden spoon. Beat the pecans until they are crushed.
*Explain that after Jesus was arrested, he got beat up by Roman soldiers.  Read John 19:1-3.

Let your child dip a finger into the vinegar to taste it.  Put the 1 tsp vinegar into a mixing bowl.
*After Jesus got beat up, he was hung on a cross because the soldiers wanted to kill him. When Jesus was thirsty on the cross, He was given vinegar to drink.

Read John 19:28-30.

Add egg whites to vinegar.
*Eggs represent life. Jesus gave his life to all the people of the world.  Read John 10:10-11.

Let your child dip a finger into the salt to taste it. Add a pinch of salt to the bowl.
*Tears are salty. When Jesus died, his followers were very sad becasue he was gone, but also because they had done bad things. Read Luke 23:27.

Ask your child if he wants to taste what is in the bowl. It isn’t very good. Add 1 cup sugar.
*The best–sweetest–part of the story of Jesus is that he died because he loves you. Read Psalm 34:8 and John 3:16.

Beat the meringue with a mixer on high speed for 12 to 15 minutes until the mixture forms stiff peaks.
*Ask your child what color the mixture is (white). If something is white, it is pure. God is pure. So are the people who choose to follow Jesus. Read Isaiah 1:18 and John 3:1-3.

Fold the crushed nuts into the egg mixture. Drop teaspoons of the meringue onto the prepared cookie sheet.
*The little mounds looks like the rocky tomb where they put Jesus’ body.  Read Matthew 27:57-60.

Put the cookie sheet in the oven, close the door and turn the oven OFF. Give your child a piece of tape and let her seal it shut.
*The tomb where they put Jesus was sealed shut. Read Matthew 27:65-66.

Go to bed!
*Is your child sad or frustrated to leave the cookies overnight? The people who loved Jesus were probably sad and frustrated, too. Read John 16:20 and 22.

On Easter morning, open the oven. Give your child a cookie and point out that the surface is cracked. What does she notice when she takes a bite? The cookies are empty! Just like the tomb where they put Jesus. Read Matthew 28:1-9.

I admit it: I am a tightwad. Some of the cheapskate things I have always done, I do in secret, like? well, I don’t want to embarrass myself so I won’t say. In my own defense, I know some inexpensive things just aren’t worth it. For example, I’ve learned that most brands of bargain diapers are no bargain, at least not until we’re done with breastmilk poop. But here’s one place I’ve discovered a real bargain that I’m not ashamed of: I don’t buy baby wipes.

For one thing, when the diaper is just wet, which it is 5 out of 7 times, I wipe her with a washcloth. I have two packs of those really cheap washcloths that get misshapen easily and use them for wet butts. (I have washcloths with a border around them for bathtime, so as not to confuse them accidentally.) The added bonus is that I can run the cloth under warm water and that feels good.

But when there’s a mess, I turn to my homemade baby wipes. A friend of mine gave me this recipe years ago when my then-preschool aged son was learning to clean himself up in the bathroom. I haven’t figured out the cost per wipe, but I know they’re cheap! And they seem to last for weeks.

First you need to buy a suitable container. I use a Rubbermaid Servin’ Saver. (I had to buy a square container for a friend’s baby shower recently because I couldn’t find the round one.) Then you need:

1. sightly more than 1 cup of water
2. 2 Tablespoons of baby oil
3. 2 less than full Tablespoons of baby wash

1 giant roll of select-a-size paper towels, cut in half (I always used a bread knife to cut them until my husband said, ‘You know that would be easier with the miter saw?’)

Put the paper towels in the container. Mix the water, oil and wash in a jar then pour evenly over the paper towel. Seal it up. Let it sit for 5-10 minutes and then pull the cardboard out of the middle of the roll. That’s it! Pull them out from the middle.

They sound rough, but they are actually pretty soft on the skin, and depending what scent of oil or wash you use, they smell good, too.

Trust me, it was hard to fork out for the expensive paper towels, but you can believe I tried to use the discount kind at first. Don’t skimp! You need the giant roll, select-a-size. Smaller rolls tend to collapse in the container when you get near the end, cheaper brands separate into layers, and if you don’t use select a size you get strangely oblong wipes. Even with name-brand paper towels, these are still way cheaper than the $3.99 I handed over for a box of gentle baby wipes the day my daughter was born! (She was a little earlier than expected and I wasn’t prepared.)

So far, we haven’t had a real diaper rash, and I am a little happier knowing there’s no alcohol or anything that irritates her skin. You can use whatever brand of wash works for your baby’s skin and even buy unscented mineral oil if necessary (it’s with the laxatives).

Just pull out several and fill a ziplock (generic, of course) for the diaper bag. Off you go!

In my previous blog, I talked about six ways to alleviate morning sickness. You may have noticed one time-tested method missing from my list: Ginger ale. The truth is, commercial brands of ginger ale are so loaded with high-fructose corn syrup and empty calories you’re better off avoiding them. Besides, the trace amounts of real ginger in these soft drinks is so small, it doesn’t help nausea. If you feel better from drinking supermarket ginger ale, it is probably the placebo effect brought on by memories of drinking it as a child when you had a belly ache.

If you want a real ginger cure, make your own ginger ale!

• 1 cup peeled, grated ginger (use a cheese grater)
• 2 cups water
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/8 cup honey
• 1 cup water
• 4 cups club soda
• Freshly squeezed juice of lime

In saucepan, bring 2 cups water and grated ginger to a boil. Let boil for 5 minutes, then remove from heat.

In separate saucepan, bring sugar, water, and honey to a boil until the sugar is dissolved to create simple syrup. Add lime juice.

Place metal strainer on top of simple syrup mixture and strain ginger pieces from water, combining ginger water and simple syrup into one saucepan.

Divide ginger ale mixture evenly into four glasses and add about one cup of club soda to each. (You can also make one serving now and save the rest for later, just reserve ginger ale mixture in a covered container and refrigerate.)

An additional benefit of homemade ginger ale? The very scent of the ginger boiling made me feel better! If you want a quick fix and don’t feel like waiting to prepare ginger ale, keep some fresh ginger simmering on your stove and inhale whenever you feel queasy. After preparing this tasty drink, the scent of ginger permeated the house and I felt better for about three days!

My husband and I came up with this recipe during our first year of marriage. It’s super easy and our 2 year old loves it. It’s much better than ordering take-out when it comes to cost, taste, and health. Try it out on your family instead of ordering out next time!

Sweet and Sour Chicken with Rice

Prepare white rice according to package directions and how many servings you need.

2 eggs, beaten
1 cup flour
1 1/2 lbs cut up chicken breast or tenderloins
1 jar of sweet and sour sauce (we use La Choy)
Canola or vegetable oil for frying

1. Pour about 1 1/2 to 2 inches of oil in a deep skillet and heat on medium high heat. Beat eggs in a shallow bowl and place flour in another shallow bowl. Warm sweet and sour sauce in a saucepan on low heat.

2. Cut chicken breasts or tenderloins into bite size pieces and dip into the eggs first and then the flour. Place flour-coated chicken into oil carefully. Turn pieces so they cook evenly, about 4-5 minutes per side. Don’t crowd the skillet; otherwise the pieces will not cook as quickly or evenly. Remove chicken pieces and place on paper towel to absorb oil.

3. Serve completed chicken over white rice with sweet and sour sauce on top.

This recipe serves about 4 people.

We love this easy Chinese meal and usually add egg rolls from the freezer section to complete the meal. Dessert is fortune cookies, which, of course, is my son’s favorite part!

Do you have an easy meal that is an alternative to take-out? Share it in the comments section!