photo h1_zpsac84397a.png  photo h2_zps4198f83b.png  photo h3_zpsfb878775.png  photo h4_zpsb401ec6b.png

Friday, August 22, 2008

cure for a muggy day


after a few days of glorious rain, yesterday was muggy and hot. my pumpkins are very happy, but my sissy self does not like being out in high humidity. not so much a frizzy hair issue, more of a mosquito thing. so to counter the effects of being cooped up inside all day, we invited a friend over and made play-dough. we have a drawer full of partially dried play-dough, but there is no better play-dough than the kind you make yourself. it's all warm in your hands and you get to mix your own colors. very fun!
there are hundreds (or at least 10, i've been known to exaggerate such things) of variations of this play-dough recipe, but i promise you, this is the best:

2 cups flour (i use white for a smoother texture)
1 cup salt
1 tsp cream of tartar
2 tablespoons oil
1 tsp food coloring
2 cups of water

mix ingredients in a saucepan. cook over medium heat, stir constantly, until dough leaves sides of pan.

remove from pan. when cool, knead in your favorite color(s).

very easy! very fun! very salty (just ask buddy- after a mouthful he can testify to this)!

7 comments:

Amy said...

Hey, that sounds fun. And I actually have a bit of food coloring from Zach's mom that probably shouldn't be edible, or makes men sterile, or who knows.
We're going to Austin tomorrow for the day. Do y'all need anything?
Also, sorry I gave your kids a store bought ginger snap the other day before dinner. (You may not know about it; I'm confessing.) :)I must be delirious. When Laith asks for things at the end of the day I'm like a robot, submitting to his every wish. Just kidding. We bought them for Zach to make this dessert. Then I realized I could make ginger snaps (miracle of miracles!), and I did, following the ingredients on the back, sans the soybean oil hydrogenated mumbo jumbo. Anyway, mine were fiery hot. I overdid the red pepper. So now I just have a bunch of BURNING ginger snap crumbs that are basically unedible. Laith helped me make them and was crying as he licked the beater, but still going after that buttery, molasses taste. "I don't like these snappy gingers!"
Happy weekend.

Amy said...

inedible.

Coby said...

next time you should make your own fireworks. They too are warm in the hand.

Steph said...

Ooooh! Thanks Mandi!!! We may give this a try THIS week!!! That'll be fun.

Funny comment Amy!!!

Mandy said...

This might have to be our next project for Bear. We play lots of playdough, but I usually just go the easy route and buy it. This will be a fun experiment for her.

Rachel said...

We made this playdough today--it was a lot of fun and made quite a bit. Our playdough had gotten really dry, so this was the trick to making all kinds of things we hadn't been able to make--and there was so much of it! Thanks for sharing.

Mandy said...

you didn't tell me i was going to get my arm workout in today. what a bonus!