9 out of 10 people in my immediate family would argue that this post title is my motto in life.....whether or not this can be construed as a compliment is still a debate but the point is.....
today we made a little play dough.....well, actually, alot of play dough. it was raining all day. i had been banking on more snow. we have yet to have any snowman snow this winter and i really thought today would be the day. then again, maybe not. so play dough it was. and here it is:
i told you it was alot.
this is my moms recipe; its what i grew up playing with. its so simple. and its the perfect thing for little ones to help with because they just can't go wrong. here it is:
2 cups of flour
1 cup of salt
1 TBSP cream of tartar
2 TBSP vegetable oil
2 cups water
food coloring - one color per batch
throw it all in a pot:
then give it a good stir to help it out a little and get the color mixed in nice, if you threw it right on the stove without a thorough stirring, the lumps could take over. this is where the kids come in, let them stir to their hearts content!
but don't get me wrong, stir as you may, there will still be lumps and you will think that there's no way the flour will incorporate.......but just watch! throw it over a medium high heat and stir constantly and you shall be surprised. it happens pretty quickly. you just want to keep stirring and mushing (it can become somewhat of an upper body work out....assuming of course the only exercise you've been getting lately is the short walk to the mail box each day, such as myself). you want to keep going until it not only pulls away from the pan, but appears to be drying out and darkening a little as well.....you will see what i mean. don't be fooled by this stage:
this is about 15 seconds too early to be pulling it off of the heat. you want it to be completely pulled away and formed into a ball thats darkened on the outside and that you can't stir or easily push the spoon through. when you see this you know you are ready to dump it out and knead it until smooth.....
but please.....its HOT, really hot, so be careful......after that just let it cool for a little bit, kneading occasionally so the surface won't dry out, and then just let the kids go to town. and go to town they will, i assure you.
ps- store in a plastic baggy with the air squeezed out or in an air tight container of your choice.
