Friday, September 29, 2006

Michaelmas Play Date

Today we had breakfast, clean up, put in a load of diapers to wash and then circle. We played a bit, and headed out to the store to buy WW Flour for Dragon Bread! Then Dylan and I made the bread dough while Molly took her nap, and just as I was finishing kneading the dough, our friends Erica and Kai (almost 3) showed up for Dragon shaping and play.

Kai and Dylan had fun playing with the dough for a while, I read the Michaelmas Story from All Year Round, and then Erica and I shaped the dragons. :) We put the dragons in to bake and the kids played while Erica and I had tea. Well, Erica had tea--Dylan tripped over my tea, which I had so thoughtfully placed on the floor. :( The recipe said that the dragons should bake for 15-20 min, but maybe that was for smaller dragons. Our dragons, 1/2 the dough each, took about 30 min. I had to put them on the lower shelf of the oven so that they wouldn't burn on their ridged backs.

After playing for a while, we lit the cadles on the table and had lunch--vegetable soup and some Oat Bread that I had already made since the dragons weren't done yet. The boys really enjoyed spreading butter on their bread with the spreaders from Michael Olaf!

When we were finished eating, Dylan washed up his dishes and then the boys played for a while and Erica and I cleaned up the rest of the kitchen. We also talked about getting a weekly Waldorf Play Group going--I would love to do a little preschool day with imaginative play, lunch and hand work for the mamas, just like the Preschool at Sierra Waldorf School that my sister Maggie and her son Julian attend. Dylan enjoyed showing Kai the sweeper from Michael Olaf too. :) Then we cleaned up, I put Kai's dragon in a bag for later, and they went home. I'm already looking forward to the next play date!

The kids just woke up from their naps, and my parents are on their way to visit. We're going to go have story time while we wait for them, and then have "tea time."

Dragon Bread

In celebration of the old festival of Michaelmas (Sept. 29), it's fun to
make Dragon Bread, bread made in the shape of a dragon and decorated with
green sliced almond scales, raisin eyes, poppy seeds and sunflower seed
teeth. The ancient legend of St. George and the Dragon tells that St.
George, a noble knight, slew a dragon and saved a princess.

You'll need:

a.. 1 cup warm water
b.. 3 Tblspns. honey or sugar
c.. 1 Tblspn. yeast
d.. 4+ cups whole wheat pastry flour (or whole wheat flour)
e.. 5 tsp. baking powder
f.. 1/2 tsp. baking soda
g.. 1 tsp. salt
h.. 1-1/2 sticks of butter, warmed
i.. Slivered and sliced almonds
j.. Sunflower seeds
k.. Raisins
l.. Green, yellow and/or red food coloring
You'll need:

1.. Combine water, honey (or sugar), and yeast.
2.. Combine 4+ cups flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
3.. Cut in the butter.
4.. Add yeast and water and stir till stiff.
5.. Knead 5 minutes.
6.. Place dough on a cookie sheet, and shape into a dragon lying flat
(side view).
7.. Decorate dragon with sunflower seeds or slivered almonds for teeth and
spikes, a raisin for an eye, and dyed yellow, green or red sliced almonds
for scales.
8.. Bake at 450 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes...probably longer! Check with a skewer or knife for doneness.
9.. Serve him for dinner!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Did you quit?!?! Please don't quit your blog! I am very interested in what you are doing and would love to keep learning more! I would love to chat with you. My name is Carrie and my email is carrierpi@hotmail.com