Finishing up Pioneer Week

I forgot to post about the rest of our Pioneer adventure. The pioneers had to grind their own corn on the Oregon Trail and I thought it would be fun for the kids to give it a try. We have a cast iron morter and pestle but we don't keep corn in the house. I also couldn't find any dried corn (but then I didn't go to a feed store).

Driving home I spotted a partial ear of feed corn on the side of the road across from our neighbor's house. The huge corn field across the street was harvested a while ago so I don't know where this ear came from or how old it was. So I deposited the kids with daddy and walked back to get the ear. My neighbor just nods and smiles now when she sees me. I like to think we provide a little entertainment to help break up the monotany of her day.

So here is Hank giving hand grinding a whirl. He declared it 'berry hard.'

Ella didn't care if it was hard to do as long as she looked cute doing it. Mission accomplished.

Venison stew in a cast iron dutch oven cooked on an electric stove

Dipping sliced apples in lemon juice so we can hang them up to dry. They're still drying so we haven't tasted them yet.

Running the string through the slices so we can hang them up

Another fun week of learning while playing. This week we're talking about Westerners in China and, if the weather cooperates, we're having a Chinese New Year party Friday.