RAINBOW RICE

Rainy day...or break-up in Alaska, making colored rice for the kids to play in is always a great idea!  We've made this a couple of times and worked out the kinks, 
so I thought I'd share!

What you'll need:

a good little helper...mine is picture above :)
a large bag of white rice (we used a 25lbs bag from Costco)

paste or liquid food coloring

gallon Ziploc bags

paper towels

sheet pans

water
a container to play with the rice

First, add 1/2 cup of water in a gallon ziploc bag.  Add about 1/2 teaspoon of food coloring (both paste and liquid work well) and mix it together.

add 6 cups uncooked white rice and seal the Ziploc bag TIGHTLY!

and let your little helper shake shake shake.  I always knead it a little after they are done just to make sure all the rice is good and covered.

It should look like this...all the little pieces covered and sticky!

Cover a sheet pan with a layer of paper towels and spread the colored rice out with your hands.  This step is a bit messy...but it's just food coloring and it washes:)

 Leave the rice on the pan in an open space for about 30 minutes.   
You'll be amazed at how fast it dries! It's the perfect time to work on the next color.
Make sure to rinse out the bag for the next color or use a different bag 
so that colors won't bleed.

Pour all the rice in your chosen container.  We used a shallow rubbermaid tote so the kids could easily play in it...and we could also put the lid on it and put it away!

 And then let your happy little helper play and mix all those colors together!

Hope you enjoy~

It may still be a bit chilly outside, but things are warm and sprouting inside!  I've started about 140 plants inside, but we have about 5 weeks before most things can safely go in the ground around here!  Every year when I start seeds indoors it makes me smile when I see all the different things sprout and start to grow...it gives you the extra encouragement to know that warm weather is ahead!

My little girl and I picked out a bunch of berry plants that I hope we can plant in a month or so.  We're very excited that we have 5 varieties of blueberries, both black and red raspberries, thornless blackberries, white and purple grapes, and 3 types of strawberries...mmmmmm.

I mostly enjoy growing things that we can eat, but I do like to have a couple of flowers as well! Lavatera are one of my favorites because they're a compact plant with tons of beautiful pink blooms.  I started a full flat of them from the seeds of last years flowers (Thanks Dianne...my wonderful neighbor from Ohio who not only showed me how to do it, but saved the seeds for me!)

And here...yes I know it's a little hick:)...are my potatoes...well the first batch.  I like to start some potatoes early inside in grow bags so that by the 4th of July we have fresh spuds!  The rest of the potatoes will be planted outside...but those first ones are sure great!

This is my daughter helping me get potatoes out of our raised boxes last summer...she was loving hunting for them! Hopefully we'll have as much fun this year too!