Pumpkin Cheesecake – Absolutely to die for!

Posted on October 11, 2013 by Carmen

It’s coming… Thanksgiving and all things pumpkin! Big feasts, meals with friends and did I mention pumpkin? I love pumpkin and all things related to it, especially pumpkin pie. And Thanksgiving seems to be the only time of year that I make or get some.

Of course with any pie you can make any kind any time you want. But I seem to fall into the times of the year when they are most prominent, as I imagine do many of us. So though I love pumpkin pie and it is my favorite, I do only get it once a year.

Every year at Thanksgiving I decide I am going to try a new pumpkin recipe, as my sister often makes things like pumpkin ice cream, pumpkin tarts and pumpkin cheesecake. And though I love to branch out and try new things I tend to fall back to my pie. What can I say? It seems just wrong to not have it.

This year I truly did branch out and I made a pumpkin cheesecake for the first time. Not specifically for Thanksgiving, because of course I will make pie, but around the right time 🙂 I found a recipe on Pinterest that looked really good and thought that I would try it.

Being dairy free I thought that I would just have to avoid cheesecake altogether. During the summer my friend decided to try a tofu chocolate cheesecake, which gave me hope. I thought that it would prove to be quite good. Not so much. Though not terrible we both agreed that we would not make it again. Then, I remembered that they make non dairy cream cheese and I had tried it before and liked it, so why not just substitute that into a regular cheesecake recipe? This got me very excited so I went to work.

After I got over just how much cream cheese this recipe called for; I went out got the ingredients and looked at what other substitutions I needed to make. The crust was a bit of a challenge as it called for graham wafers, but I came up with a solution using almond mash leftover from making almond milk, as I had done something similar making a pie before. I substituted coconut sugar for the sugar and then of course the non dairy cream cheese and sour cream (yes this recipe called for sour cream which was another reason why this particular cheesecake recipe intrigued me).

Now this recipe is not one that you can just whip up and have ready in an hour. In fact when I finally went to make it I looked at the recipe, and in reading it more closely almost aborted the whole idea. It was a lot of time, a number of steps and would not be fully ready until the next day (as when it was finished baking you had to let it sit in the fridge overnight).

Let me tell you it is totally worth it! This cheescake is absolutely fabulous, moist, creamy and flavourful. All the kids asked for a second piece and D’Wayne looked like he was in heaven. It was absolutely delicious! I think Matthew even licked his plate and then asked for a third piece of cheesecake (to which of course I said no).

So if you are a fan of cheesecake and even a remote fan of pumpkin this recipe is worth the time and effort put into it. And the nice thing is, dairy free, sugar free, gluten free all equals guilt free and will impress every one of your guests this Thanksgiving.

Or you could just go with plain old pie…

Pumpkin Cheesecake

Crust:

12 tablespoons Earth Balance vegan spread

2 1/2 c. almond mash (leftover from making almond milk)

1/4 c. coconut sugar

dash of salt

Cheesecake:

4 – 8 oz. vegan cream cheese

1/4 c. vegan sour cream

2 1/2 c. coconut sugar

15 oz. canned pumpkin

6 eggs, lightly beaten

1 tbsp. vanilla

1 tsp. sea salt

2 1/2 tsp. cinnamon or 2 drops of Cinnamon Bark essential oil

1 tsp. ginger or 1 drop Ginger essential oil

1/4 tsp. cloves or 1 drop Clove Bud essential oil

Postion rack in center of oven. Preheat to 325 F.

Brush a 10 inch springform pan with 1 tbsp. of Earth Balance. In a bowl, stir the remaining Earth Balance in with almond mash, coconut sugar and a pinch of salt. Press mixture into bottom of pan and up the sides. Bake until golden brown about 15-20 minutes.

Cool on a rack, then wrap outside of pan in tin foil and place in a roasting pan.

In a large mixing bowl beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add coconut sugar and beat until just light. Add sour cream, then pumpkin, eggs, vanilla, 1 tsp. sea salt and spices and until just combined. Pour into cooled crust.

Gently place roasting pan into oven (do not pull the rack out). Pour boiling water into roaster until water is about half way up springform pan. Bake until the outside of cheesecake is set but the center is still loose, about 1 h 45 min. Turn off the oven and open the door briefly to let out some heat.

Close oven door and let cheesecake sit for 1 more hour. Carefully remove from roasting pan and let cool on rack. Run a knife around the edges, cover and refrigerate for at least 8 hours or overnight.

Autumn Leaves

Posted on October 9, 2013 by Carmen

One of my most favorite things about Fall is leaf jumping! I absolutely loved it as a kid, making a big pile in the yard, jumping and playing in them. We would create huge piles and run and jump. Or we’d bury each other in them and sometimes just lay there.

It’s hard to describe but there’s just something comforting about laying in the leaves, being surrounded by them. Both leaf jumping and lying in the them is something that I still enjoy and love as an adult!

Of course I was super excited to introduce this activity to my kids. Except in our backyard the number of leaves we had was small, being in a newer neighborhood. They loved it too.

On the weekend the kids went to Parkland Park with their Dad, which is an older community in Calgary where the trees are huge and the leaves are abundant. Luke, Chloe and Matthew all enjoyed playing in the leaves, Chloe even laying down and having a ‘sleep’.

I think this weekend we will all have to go and find some more leaves to jump in 🙂

It All Happens for a Reason

Posted on October 8, 2013 by Carmen

I find that in this day and age when someone says yes to you that it may not always mean ‘yes’. It may mean ‘yes for now, yes if nothing better comes up, yes if I feel like it that day’, etc. The meaning of yes which used to mean ‘yes I will regardless of what obstacles cross my path’ seems to be missing.

For me, when I say I am going to be there, or will help you or will do something, I will. You don’t have to ask me twice or remind me, you can consider it a done deal. I am not sure why today a lot of people don’t feel that way.

This past weekend was a prime example of this. I had hosted an Open House to promote my other business Your Inner Light, where I do Angel Readings, Dream Interpretation and Reiki. I had done so last year about this time and it was a great success. I cleaned my house top to bottom, did energy clearing and setting new, preparing food and treats (all homemade) in anticipation of my guests.

Now I realize with an open house that people do not have to RSVP but I had had 8 people who had given me a definite yes that they would be here. 1 pm came, 2 pm came, 3 pm came….not a soul turned up, not one. And no one had called, emailed or sent any other form of communication that they could no longer make it. I was thoroughly disappointed and felt like I had gone to all that work for nothing.

But nothing is for nothing (if that makes sense). In the end I had a beautiful clean house to enjoy for a while. And everything happens for a reason. I believe that my house really needed a good cleaning, both physically and energetically and that I needed a little motivation to do so. What we sometimes fail to realize is that the energy in our homes can get stuck and take up space, blocking other things that we want to come into our lives, whatever it may be, a child, a new love, car, friend, etc. If we don’t move it then that energy will just continue to block what it is we want.

That’s why they say it is good to move your furniture around or change the way you display pictures, etc. as it shifts the energy, frees things up and gets things moving again. The same goes for physically cleaning and getting into all those nooks and crannies that don’t normally get cleaned. I dusted picture frames, washed walls and outlets, windows and window sills. I drummed, I smudged. As I was cleaning and clearing I could feel the difference in the room. In fact it felt so good in here I wanted to cancel my date with my girlfriend this morning to just enjoy my house!

It is also healing for us physically to do that kind of thorough clean. It is like clearing our own energy, releasing things that we no longer need, whether physical items or energetically. I find it kind of like a ritual, I like to do it alone (usually with fantastic tunes) and I like to do it until I am done. I had offers of help so I could be done sooner, but I politely declined, because I knew what it would do for me.

It felt so good when I was done. I could notice the difference on the main level, how good it felt. I could see my entire kitchen table for the first time in months, having finally sorted through and put all the papers away. It was absolutely awesome!

Sometimes in our busy lives we need a purpose, a motivation to do the things we know we need to. For myself, I always left the papers because just looking at the pile made me feel overwhelmed and unsure what to do with them. But when I had a purpose, a mission, it gave me the motivation to just suck up and do it! and now I am so glad I did.

So regardless of the number of people I had come by on the weekend, it was not all totally in vain, because I have a feeling that I have just opened up the doorway and shifted some energy for some really great things to come into my life now (some stuff that was pretty stuck). In fact I am pretty excited about it.

Halloween Joy

Posted on October 3, 2013 by Carmen

Halloween is almost upon us and as parents we get excited about what to dress the little ones up in. The euphoria of the older kids who know what it’s all about eagerly pick out or make their costumes, anticipating the candy rush that is to follow an evening of going door to door. But the little ones, say 3 and under, have no idea what is going on and could probably care less.

Yet we as parents are so excited to get the little ones into a costume cause honestly it is so cute! We can’t wait to get the perfect picture and share it with all our family and friends. Yet many a time we have a picture like this – where the child is crying cause they are so unhappy about this costume thing, whether they are too warm, squished into it, or just don’t like the idea. And we tend to look at the picture and go “Oh poor little guy!” and then gush about how cute the costume is.

You know sometimes we say “The things we do for our kids” but sometimes we should consider the things they do for us 🙂 ha ha

The Importance of One on One

Posted on October 1, 2013 by Carmen

Hiking at Moraine Lake

In many of the parenting articles I have read over the years they have often suggested that as the number of children in your family increased that you should make time to spend with each child one on one. Give them each a bit of time with just you and them, and with each parent individually. Yet as the number of children in the household increases the amount of ‘leisure time’ seems to decrease comparatively as there are more activities, more friends to play with and more things to do in general, like cleaning and laundry!

Where do you find the time exactly? The thing I have learned and been gently reminded of, is that kids don’t need large blocks of time or need to do fancy and exciting things during with you. They just want some time with you, it doesn’t matter to them how long or what you are doing; just that you spend time with them. Of course there are times when they would like to do something a little more involved and exciting (like laser tag, dinner or a movie), but they don’t always need that kind of activity with you on a regular basis. Your one on one focused attention is what they desire.

A prime example of this for me was this past Saturday. I had to take Matthew, my oldest, to pick out his frames and order his glasses. Our optometrist is up in Signal Hill, which is northwest Calgary and a bit of a drive for us. I had the opportunity to do this with just Matthew as D’Wayne had offered to watch the twins while we went.

Luke and Mom

Matthew was super excited to go. I had asked him to shower before we left, washing his hair and even suggested he dress up. He not only did as I asked but combed and parted his hair and put on a shirt and tie! He was bouncing and excited in the car as we drove to the optometrist, his eyes sparkling and chatting about this and that. It is not often that we get to go somewhere and have an uninterupted conversation, as usually the twins are chiming in or have something of their own to say.

He noticed and mentioned how I had showered and put on make-up and I responded, “Well if you’re dressing up then I should too.” He just smiled. Once we got to the optometrist we were literally only there for 10 minutes, as Matthew already knew which frames he wanted and it was just the details to sort out. I was kind of disappointed knowing that our time was so short. That’s when I decided we’d stop at Community Natural Foods on the way home. So we popped over there picking up a ‘few things’ (I had intended on only getting some vegan cream cheese but ended up with a few more items, especially with Matthew picking things up and asking to buy them. And honestly in that store he is asking for dried mangos and cheese, not chocolate bars and candy, very hard to say no).

Even this time in the Community Natural was fun, bonding and a way to continue to get to know each other. Yes he did ask me for many things, of which some I said yes and others no, but it was great. We laughed, we enjoyed.

Chloe and Mom

As I was driving home I realized then that the time I spend with him one on one does not always have to be fancy, simply focused and interactive. I have always made the effort to spend time with just him, either taking him to a movie, going for a walk or playing a board game at home once the twins are in bed. But I realized in that moment that whether it be a trip to the optometrist or a little grocery shopping as long as it’s him and me that was all that mattered. And if I could give him more moments like this, even at home, if only small, that that would make such a difference in our relationship. As I have even noticed that although sometimes I have to fight with him to come and dry the dishes, that once he is there, he is quite chatty and happy and we have some great conversations and connection happening.

I feel as parents yes it is important that we spend one on one time with each of our children but that we need to give ourselves a break and realize that it doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive, just a happy and enjoyable few moments (or more when possible) where we can connect with each other, and remember who we are to each other and in this world. To listen and recognize the beauty in our children and the great gifts that they bring to our world, as well as to share who we are and our wisdom with them. That is connection, that is bonding and that is something we don’t always achieve with all the kids together at once. It is not only rewarding for the child, but will be extremely rewarding for you as well.

Matthew and Mom

Apple Stamping

Posted on September 30, 2013 by Carmen

My kids love to paint. They make a glorious mess while doing it, but it keeps them occupied and happy and the mess they make is usually worth it for the amount of time it keeps them busy. They can sit there for a good half hour or more working on painting after painting. As long as I keep an eye on them and supply them with fresh paper they are happy and I can do a few things nearby while they are creating.

I like to try different methods of painting with the kids, allowing them to explore and create, showing them that there is more to painting than just using paint and a brush. This allows them to explore different textures, colors and methods of creating pictures. Now this does not always work out as planned but at least I am able to introduce the concept to them.

So the other day we did apple stamping (yes more apples). Similar to potato stamping it is a unique and interesting way to create a picture. We have so many apples, so many that I have been baking daily to use them up before they go bad; that I felt covering one or 2 in paint would not be a waste. Besides there are more things to do with apples other than eat them, at least I thought so.

Apple stamping is quite easy to do. Simply cut an apple in half crosswise, so that you have the ‘star’ pattern in the middle. Cover the cut side of the apple with paint and then stamp it on your paper. Do this repeatedly making any pattern you desire.

Now with the twins, at first I put a bit of paint on a piece of paper and let them dip the apple in the paint and stamp it on the paper. This method put too much paint on the apple and did not create the pattern when it was stamped; instead just created a large glob. Then Luke decided to get a paint brush and brush paint onto his apple. This worked much better. It enabled him to put on enough paint to get a good stamp and he could stamp it a few times before needing to reapply. It also created less mess and minimized the amount of paint everywhere else!

Painting with kids though can be messy. It is challenging to get away from it and I feel as that getting messy can be part of the fun, and the creating. Some things I have learned though to at least minimize the mess when painting with young children, are the following:

Put out the paint in little bits at a time by filling a container like an egg carton or something similar. Do not leave the paint bottle out as when they feel they need more paint they will pour it out where they see fit or fill the egg carton themselves. The other day I made this mistake and turned around to find Luke filling each space in the egg carton with green paint. Way more than they would use at the time as well as no room for any other colors.
Always use an old shirt or paint smock as there is bound to be paint everywhere including the children. You do run the risk of the children becoming painted themselves as Luke and Chloe decided to purposely paint their bodies as well as making their pictures.
Put out a small cup of water for color changes for their brush. Only use a small bit of water though as this can get water everywhere as they are learning how to do this.
Set some guidlelines for them, where to put the paint, how to dip your brush to change colors, etc. Simple and few guidelines for small children, more with older children if needed.
Be patient. Take the time to show your children what to do and how to do it; but don’t insist they do it exactly the way you want or envision it. My vision of what the apple stamp pictures would look like was very different than what they ended up with. And it was ok, they tried it and then branched out and created from there. They took what they needed out of it and had fun.

What I want to try next is dinosaur footprints! I found this idea on the internet where you take a plastic dinosaur dip the feet in paint and then stamp them along the paper. Looks so cool, but I bet will turn out very differently! (Maybe the dinosaurs will eat up the rest of my apples – ha ha)

Enjoy painting, creating, the mess that comes with it and your children!

Bonding with Grandpa

Posted on September 25, 2013 by Carmen

I love camping with my kids. Even though the days are longer, bedtimes later and way too many trips to the bathroom (which is usually a long walk to get to), I love being in the outdoors with them, where we literally putz around, relax, have tea, sit by the fire and really just enjoy each other’s company.

Yes our trips are mixed with trips to the playground, or a walk to go and explore somewhere (other than the bathroom), but overall it is just a beautiful go with the flow couple of days where we eat well and hang out.

This year we had the pleasure of heading out camping 4 times for varying number of days, which is more camping than I have done in years. This is due to having a great man come into my life who loves to camp! I also had the pleasure of my parents joining us on one of our trips at Kicking Horse Campground in Yoho National Park.

On this trip we visited Takakkaw Falls, went to the amphitheatre and learned about bears and sat by the fire drinking lots of tea! Both Luke and Chloe enjoyed just sitting and hanging out, which is so different than my oldest Matthew, who needs to be constantly on the move. And Luke, well he is always up for a conversation. Featured in the picture here is my Dad and Luke enjoying some great bonding time while hanging out at the campsite.

A Few Apple Muffins

Posted on September 25, 2013 by Carmen

Apple Cinnamon Muffins

For those of you who caught up with me last week, you’ll be pleased to know that I am still plugging away at using up the apples from my apple tree. Which is really good for you because I am finding and testing some great apple recipes which I then share. Plus my kids and D’Wayne are thoroughly enjoying being the taste testers, as are some of my neighbors.

Like I said there is a serious amount of baking at my house right now. There is not a day that goes by that I am not whipping up something in the kitchen and I am getting good at doing it quickly. Yesterday morning I whipped up some apple muffins between breakfast and heading out to my friends for coffee at 10 am.

Yesterday’s Apple Cinnamon muffin was a gluten, dairy and sugar free muffin, sweetened with maple syrup with coconut oil and flax seed meal. I am finding that I really like those recipes with that little extra kick of nutrition in there. You just mix it in and can’t even taste it.

I found this recipe on another blog site called the The Simple Veganista who shares raw and vegan recipes – who actually found it originally on the blog The Vanilla Bean. And I have to say these muffins are very good! In fact my oldest son Matthew’s response when he came home afterschool was “Damn these are good!” with his face all lit up with excitement.

They are super moist and very tasty. The only downside to this recipe is that one batch does not make enough – only 9 muffins! I did stretch it to 12 but got some very small muffins out of it.

Apple Cake Muffin

Last week I tried the Gluten Free Goddess’s Apple Cake muffin recipe, which we also enjoyed as this muffin has chunks of apple in it which I really liked. Many of the recipes I found called for grated apple and though this was good I wanted to really taste and notice the apple, so I liked the chunks. Her recipes still call for refined sugar so a quick substitution of coconut sugar and I was able to whip these babies up! It even called for powdered sugar sprinkled on top once they were done baking and I was able to substitute for this as well! See recipe below.

I love muffins that have a little sprinkle of something on top, and both these muffin recipes do -the first being a coconut sugar and cinnamon mixture. Yum! There is just something fun about sprinkling something on top 🙂

The only thing I find with the Gluten Free Goddess is many of her muffin recipes are the same base with slight changes in them to make them apple, blueberry or whatever kind of muffin it is. Though I do admire her, as all her recipes are original, tried and true; I like a little more variety in my muffins, which is why I search out other recipes to try. Regardless I do have to say even though her base is the same, I have never gone wrong with one of her recipes. They are always delicious!

Either way I would recommend either recipe if you are looking for a gluten free apple muffin, though the Apple Cinnamon one is the favorite at our house (I used coconut milk for our non-dairy milk, though you can use rice or almond milk if you prefer).

I still have a huge basket full of apples and am not sure what to do with them next as I am really looking for something that will use them up in large amounts! If you have any apple recipes to share please post them in the comments for everyone to try, especially me.

In the meantime go whip up one of these and then sit down for a few minutes and enjoy, savor, maybe grab a cup of coffee, while the kids play quietly….ha ha oh I’m dreaming again!

Regardless enjoy!

Sugar Free Powdered Sugar (replacement for regular icing sugar)

1 cup nonfat dry milk (for dairy free use powdered coconut milk)

1 cup cornstarch

2/3 cup Krisda Stevia for baking

Combine all the ingredients in a food processor or blender and whip until blended and powdered. Store in an airtight container.

This replacement can be used in any recipe calling for icing sugar.

Tis the Season for Apples (and yummy Crumb Cake)

Posted on September 20, 2013 by Carmen

Fall is a great time of year. Not only with the warm sunny days and crisp fall mornings, but the fall harvest and abundance of fresh vegetables and fruits that are available.

We have an apple tree in our backyard so each Fall we have an abundance of apples. So many that I don’t always know what to do with them. And with each year the amount of apples increases as the tree grows. We usually end up with an apple crumble every other day, apple pie, as well as I make homemade applesauce and apple juice from them. The kids will also eat them right off the tree but there is no way that they can eat them fast enough.

This year I decided that I wanted to try some new things with our apples, as though pie and crumble are good, well you can only have so much (can’t you?). I have been trying various apple cake and apple muffin recipes; and though good were only using 2 apples at a time. Then I remembered, when I was growing up my Mum used to make this crumb cake which is originally a recipe from my Oma. I remembered that sometimes she put apples or plums in the cake, which made this delicious cake even better! Perfect I thought that this would use up some apples for sure! So I decided to pull out the recipe and make apple crumb cake.

Apple Cake Muffins

I was surprised at how much sugar was in it! I knew it took a lot for the crumbs, but I didn’t think there was that much in the cake. I knew though that I could make the adjustments. Deciding on coconut sugar as the substitute, I set out making the cake, in hopes that it would not only turn out but that I could use a good amount of apples in it as well.

Only 4 apples and a short time later, I had the cake in the oven. Matthew had taste tested the dough by licking a beater, and informed me that it was yummy. (I always find that if the dough tastes good that is a good indication that your cake/ cookies will be). Things were looking good.

As it started to bake and the smells were wafting through the house, Chloe wandered into the kitchen saying “Oh something smells good!” Another excellent indicator.

It looked good too, looking like I remembered when my Mom used to make it. Now it was just the taste test. The timer beeped indicating it was done, everyone’s mouths watering in anticipation. I let it sit for about 20 minutes to cool (and to have supper) before we cut into it.

Everyone devoured their cake and quickly asked for seconds. Luke’s mouth still full as he asked for more. I found that it tasted very close to the original and was pleased with how it turned out. The only change I would make would have been to add another layer of apples on the cake before putting the crumbs on top. I like to be able to taste the fruit and though you could, a few more apples would do the trick.

I think next time, I will try using honey in the actual cake, still using coconut sugar for the crumbs, just to see what the difference, if any would be. I am always curious and like to see which sugar substitute is the best. Though sometimes the one I choose is good, another choice is much better. Regardless I know that coconut sugar works and is a very good choice as the twins have been going on about apple cake. Matthew even said that he would be the envy of all his friends at school when he has some in his lunch today, because it is so delicious!

Though it did not use as many apples as I would have liked the cake was a hit and like my aunt said, “That’s 4 less apples than you had before” which is true. My quest for using up my apples continues, looking for unique and delicious ways to do so. (So if you have some good apple recipes to share please send them my way!) The baking frenzy continues…

I know I can slice and freeze the apples, the trouble is I tend to forget about them down there in the freezer…maybe I should get into dehydrating?

Apple Crumb Cake (sugar free and dairy free)

Dough:

Crumb Cake

1 c. coconut sugar

3 1/2 c. flour

3 tbsp. baking powder

juice from half a lemon

1/2 c. Earth Balance vegan spread

4 eggs

2/3 c. rice milk

Crumbs:

1/2 c. Earth Balance Vegan spread

1 1/4 c. coconut sugar

1 3/4 c. flour

Dough: Cream Earth Balance, coconut sugar and eggs. Add flour and baking powder, mix well. Then add rice milk and lemon juice creating a soft dough. Press or roll dough into a cookie sheet sized pan.

Crumbs: Mix flour and coconut sugar in a medium sized bowl. Cut Earth Balance into sugar/ flour mixture. Form large crumbs and spread over dough.

Thinly slice apples and place on top of cake, slightly overlapping. Sprinkle cinnamon, coconut sugar and a little Earth Balance on top of fruit, then add crumbs on top. You can use other fruit such as plums for this cake. If choosing plums omit cinnamon.

Bake at 350 C for 1 hour.

The Skunk Cabbage Trail

Posted on September 18, 2013 by Carmen

Often times on road trips I look for a nice little place to stop along the way. I feel that the journey along the way can be just as much fun as the destination. In fact we often find/ discover little treasures or places to explore that we might not otherwise.

The road between Calgary and Oliver is full of these little places. Many a time I have driven thru making a mental list of all the places I would like to stop. Completing this list often takes a while as there are so many, and we typically only make one stop (or it would take forever for us to get to Oliver). We also tend to stop at some places more than once because they are favorites. (I have been to the Enchanted Forest so many times now I have lost count! but I do love it there)

It was about that time to stop, stretch our legs, and take a break. Something I like to make sure we do at least once during a long drive and we were coming up on the Skunk Cabbage trail.

Nestled in Mount Revelstoke National Park this is a short, quaint little boardwalk trail. I was starting to feel tired and Luke and Chloe who had been sitting so well for the whole trip, needed to get out and move a bit.

When I told them that we were going to stop and go for a walk on the Skunk Cabbage trail they got very excited and chatted about it excitedly until we got there. I had been on this trail before with my oldest son Matthew when he was about 3 years old and this was one of my favorite trails. Luke and Chloe had never been and I knew that it was a short 1.2 loop they could easily handle.

This loop is a valley bottom wetland – one of the rarest environments found in the Columbia Wetlands and is full of Skunk Cabbage (hence the name), a plant that is found in wetland areas and has a beautiful yellow flower in the spring. It is called Skunk Cabbage because of the distinctive ‘skunky’ odor it emits.

We set off along the trail, crossing a wooden bridge over a rushing creek. Luke and Chloe stopped to check out the sight leaning through the rail, saying “Mommy look water!”. We could have stayed there watching the water for awhile, going no further and Luke and Chloe would have been totally satisfied. But me, being a typical mother wanted to move on as I not only wanted to walk the trail but was concerned about them falling over the railing into the water – ha ha.

On the other side of the bridge we entered into a cool old growth forest making our way to the beginning of the boardwalk itself. Interpretive signs highlighting the rich diversity of the plants and animals found in this area were spaced out along the loop. We would stop at each sign and I would ask Luke and Chloe if they wanted me to read it to them and they always said yes. So we learned about the bird migration project they were doing, that black bears like to eat Skunk Cabbage and other plants and animals such as Devils’ Club and frogs.

It was a hot afternoon and I was glad that it was only a short walk. The kids had their water cups with them while I had left mine in the car. We took our time, stopped to rest and enjoyed the trail. Luke kept asking where the skunks were, as that is what he thought we were going to see. I explained to him that it was a skunk plant and not an actual skunk. I kept pointing out the plants along the trail. Chloe caught on quickly and started to point out the plants as well. Luke was still asking about the skunks by the time we got back to the car but enjoyed his walk none the less.

I always enjoy doing little walks like that with my kids and this trail was the perfect size for what we needed that day. There are other short walks along that stretch of highway like the Giant Cedars and the Rock Garden trail, which are fairly easy and just the right size for a little breather (and a bit of an education too!)

Though we did this walk in the summer, you could still easily do it in the Fall and if you have the chance I would definitely recommend it in the spring; as that is when the Skunk Cabbage flowers and it is a very cool sight to see – these huge plants with big yellow flowers in the middle.