Coryanne's Tips on Prepping for Summer Parties, Protecting Granite Counters

Summer is finally here, and in our house that means our kitchen is busier than ever with three children enjoying the endless rotation of meals, snacking and activities that make our kitchen the hub of every summer vacation. With all the fresh produce available in summer, it isn’t hard to find healthy snacking options, but trying to find more ways to keep the healthy options exciting means I need to get a bit creative. By far the most popular way to keep snacking healthy is to make big batches of smoothies and freeze them into ice pops, or freeze fresh fruit and then add it to water as “fruit ice cubes” for an added fruit infusion. But there are times when healthy takes a back seat and nothing short of a freshly baked cookie will do. Baking and decorating cookies in the summer months gives us all a break from the hot sun and brings us indoors to laugh and share stories around the kitchen counter. Not just a fun pastime, baking is a great way to sneak in a few reading, math, science and art lessons without anyone suspecting that they are in “summer school”. When setting up a summer baking camp in your kitchen, make sure you have enough mixing bowls, spatulas, cookie cutters, whisks and piping bags to allow each child to create their own batch of cookies. And be sure to stay connected with Granite Gold on Facebook for more great ideas on living in your kitchen this summer. The final in a five-part series by Coryanne Ettiene.