A little Summer in a Winter Dish

I know peaches are summer fruit but my daughter begged me to buy bag of frozen ones for her, something I rarely purchase.  She does snack on them but that bag is not going anywhere soon so what else could they be used for, Hm....? I rooted through the freezer and found some chicken drumsticks. Then I went to the pantry and found half a bag of dried plums (ya, ya, we all know what they really are even a name change can't take away the stigma of being a prune)

I rooted around for more ingredients like red onion, bay leaves and some chicken stock. I was only using what I had on hand, just to be thrifty! 

I hate to throw away food so if I can freeze meat for use in soup stock later I will. Most foods loose integrity in the freezer but for soup I will take the chance.

We just love stewy saucy stuff in our house and it was cold and rainy so I created this dish.  It is simple but elegant and kid friendly.   This is so easy and really tasty, I tossed the chicken and peaches in frozen. The peaches give this just enough acid to balance the sweet dried plums, but you could add a drop of acid like lemon juice to take it up a level.  If you are trying to expand your child's taste buds stick with the recipe but if you are making this for grown ups add a dash of lemon or balsamic vinegar for a zing.

Sunshine Chicken

If your chicken is not frozen then cut cooking time to about 45 minutes.

6 frozen chicken legs

1 red onion, sliced into 1/2 inch moons

1/2 cup pitted prunes, halved

1 tablespoon celery seed

1 bay leaf

1/2 cup frozen peach halves 

4 garlic cloves, peeled whole

salt / pepper

1/2 cup water or vegetable stock

Preheat the oven to 300˚F.

Lay half of the onions in the bottom of a 4 quart dutch oven.

layer the ingredients in the pot salting and peppering as you go.

Pour liquid over the ingredients and cover.  Cook covered about 1 1/2 hours or until chicken falls off the bone. Uncover for the last fifteen minutes to brown the chicken.

Serve with rice.

Orange You Excited for this Bento?

A while back I wrote a post about the fun items you can use to make bento lunches.  Many of you asked me to post some of my bentos, well here we go.....

I pack lunch very fast, I am not one of those bento artists, although I do aspire to be someday!

My bentos usually take a total of 15 minutes and I do have some more detailed ones but the photos were not up to par,  in the future I will have more for to show. The reason I am showing this one is because it is simple and made from ingredients you probably have on hand.

Making bento lunches inspire me to fit in healthier food, because in bento making it is all about making the food fit in the box. I love bentos because I get to use up all those pesky scraps, like one lone strawberry that I just had to save, or some cheese chunks that my frugal side can't part with.  Bentos are great for using up leftovers too like a few beans or half a hot dog.  If you were to put a few beans or half a hot dog in a zip top baggie it would probably not be received well, but in a bento it just looks cute and on purpose.  Maybe I love bentos because my lunches as a kid were so dreadful (sorry mom) I want my daughter to have like lunch-y goodness at school.

I remember the crinkled brown bag with the half stale peanut butter sandwich, I hated jelly so that was my poor luck!  Back then we used wax bags that didn't seal so half the sandwich was always stale. It usually contained an apple, although I loved apples, one a day got a bit boring....plus no one ever wanted to trade for an apple.  The best part were the chocolate chip cookies on occasion they went well with the school milk. My lunches ended up being pretty unhealthy too, if a trade was discussed it was for chocolate milk or a Ho Ho.

I decided that I would not put my kid through the embarrassment of being the kid with the lame and lunch.  So I may have gone overboard but at least the box comes home empty!!

So I bento....

We went to Japan Town and I let her pick her own box out, I would not have chosen that particular one, but then again I am not the one eating out of it every day.

We discussed the size, and how easy it was to open, then we went to get some of the fun stuff like tiny soy sauce containers, bandanna's to tie it up with and those cute little divider papers. You can see some of those things in my previous post.  This bento I am showing is made for eating quickly, the kids lunch is short so I try to make everything easy to eat. Instead of peeling an orange, which takes time I slice them up.  
So there you have it, easy creative and quick and affordable. If you do not have an authentic bento you can use plastic containers or recycled margarine containers. As your child grows the bento will too, this is a good amount of food for a 5 year old but as they grow they need more.
Just try it and see for yourself if bentos are for you.

In the first layer of this bento we have:

blood oranges

one strawberry

chick peas in a silicone cup

In layer two we have:

Sliced turkey rolls with - Sesame Sprinkles (Gomashio) pinned with small character picks

A few leaves of crisp lettuce

Bread cut into shapes (you can add spread or make tiny sandwiches)

A few cubes of jack/cheddar cheese to take up space

Go Crackers with Mary!!

This was originally posted on The Celiac Kid.

 

I love Mary’s Crackers, they are seedy and not in a bad way in a delicious crispy way.

If you are gluten free and have a hankering for a cracker these may satisfy you and your kids. They are a great company they even donated a crackers for my book release party and we were so happy to have an alternative snack!

“Mary's Gone Crackers, Inc. is committed to manufacturing the best tasting wheat-free and gluten-free baked goods using the highest quality, organically grown ingredients. Mary developed the recipes for her delicious gluten-free products beginning in 1994 when both she and her son were discovered to have a gluten intolerance.”

Her crackers are made with organic brown rice, organic quinoa, organic flax seeds and organic sesame seeds. They come in 5 flavors: Original, Caraway, Herb, Black Pepper, and Onion. For kids the original flavor seem to be the hit, it is mild enough for kids but just flavorful enough for grownups.

Mary’s just came out with some new shapes and flavors called Sticks and Twigs. They have the same ingredients as the original crackers but new flavors have arrived.

The new flavors are Chipotle Tomato, Sea Salt, and Curry. Soon to be released is Cinnamon for the sweet tooth. The crackers are packed with Omega-3s, and healthy, seeds and grains. These are a great alternative to chips or bland GF crackers.

We kid tested the new Sticks and Twigs her was our result:

Sea Salt: has a nice salty flavor without being overly salty.

Kid comment: “Yum!”

Curry: great curry flavor, a bit spicy for little mouths. I have to say the curry flavor dose not resemble a stick or a twig, we will just leave it at that. You can see for yourselves…

Kid Comment: “Yum! I need some water…these are too spicy mama!”

Chipotle Tomato: Really flavorful, nice spice smoky, a bit different. Nice with Hummus.

Kid comment: I did not have my daughter try these they are much too spicy for little kids.

I’d love to see BBQ, or Pizza flavors next.


When your diet is restricted, options can be tough but these crackers come in handy to go packs so you can have something on hand. All in all we love them!


Marys Gone Crackers

Does Sugar Equal Love?

As Valentines day approaches I was racking my brain for kid friendly treats we could make. All that came to mind were sugary cookies, sticky treats and chocolate, chocolate, chocolate! My daughter came home with a big bag of candy from the school party, so I felt like making more sweets was overkill.

I considered, red bread, pink soup and even a strawberry buckle. We finally decided on crackers, I knew that all the kids wanted to do was use cookie cutters to make heart shapes so crackers seemed like a great idea.

The best part is that they could flavor the crackers how ever they want using that crazy childhood creativity! Remembering that this is a Valentines Day project I wanted to incorporate pink or red. I remembered I

had some beetroot powder and although it is somewhat rare, it is available. Look in the bulk spices section of your natural foods store. It does not have too much flavor, so we used it. It looks great and the girls loved it!

Our favorite combo was the beet powder and Japanese curry and a pinch of salt.

Let the kids try different flavors let them be adventurous.

So have a great Valentines Day, try not to eat to much junk and tell someone you love them!

Homemade Rice Crackers

We used regular cream of rice cereal the kind you get in the cereal isle. Bob's Red Mill makes great Organic Brown Rice Farina which we use all the time for savory dishes. (That is a whole other post) You can use what ever you like, but for kids I think the smaller the grain the better the cracker. You can always process rice in a food processor to a fine grain if you don't have the cereal.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 C. Cream of rice, regular or 
Quick cooking* 


1 C. All-purpose flour 


2 tbs flax meal or 1 tbs seeds

1/4 c Sugar 


1/2 teaspoon Salt 


4 tbs (1/2 stick) butter or 
Margarine, ice cold 


2/3 C. Milk

Rice flour or all purpose flour for rolling out dough

Kosher salt

Topping ideas:

Beet root powder

celery salt

curry powder

cumin seed

paprika

Preheat the oven to 325~ F. 
In the food processor, combine the cream of rice, flour, flax, sugar, and salt. Drop in the butter until the mixture resembles a sandy texture. Slowly pour in the milk until a dough ball forms. 
If the dough is sticky knead it on a board with some rice flour. 
Divide the dough into 3 equal portions for rolling.

On a floured surface or pastry cloth, roll out to 1/8 inch thick. With cookie cutters cut shapes and transfer them to a parchment lined cookie sheet using a spatula.

Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and flavorings of choice.
Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until light golden brown. 

Cool on a rack. 

Yield: about 25 
strangely shaped crackers.

Mix it up: For a more adventurous flavored cracker, substitute cream of wheat or cream of rye cereals for the cream of rice.

Other ideas for cracker seasonings:

Parmesan cheese

Soy sauce

Pizza Spices blend

Italian Spice blend

Granulated onion

Fresh rosemary (incorporate into dough)

Cinnamon

Pumpkin pie spice

Smoked salt

Truffle Salt

* We used quick cooking to make sure that the crackers were as soft as possible. For a great array of spices check out Whole Spice Company

They have some of the best spices around, super fresh and fantastic blends too.

Bird Seed and World Music - CD Giveaway!

Thanks to all my entries...we randomly chose a winner, big congrats to BarefootGypsyGirl.

Putumayo music has been around for a long time and so has Sesame Street now they have combined to create Sesame Street Playground, songs and videos from around the world. This cd is really fun for the kids the music is great. It is world music but with familiar voices and characters. The music still retains the tunes from the show so your little on can recognize it.
The mission on the cd case says:
Sesame Street Playground represents a shared mission of Putumayo Kid and Sesame Workshop: to help children around the world gain an understanding of and respect for other cultures.
I love this statement because it is so important for is to expose our kids to other peoples and cultures of the world. It promotes understanding and compassion in them.
One of my favorite songs on the cd is #5 La Chanson De l’Amitié (the song of friendship)
There are songs in Hebrew, African languages, Spanish, French, Dutch….

If you would like to listen to samples of the songs go here.

For more info go to:
Sesame Workshop
or
Putumayo Kids

If you want to win this cd just comment on how you think your kids would love it and I will choose a winner using random.org
On Sat 2/14 I will notify them by email so make sure when you comment you leave a link to your blog or some way for me to find you.

And now for the recipe....

Bird Seed (something Big Bird would eat)
A mixture of seeds (as of hemp, millet, and sunflowers) used for feeding caged and wild birds (or kids.)

I was thinking about recipe that could go with this post and I remembered that when we were kids mom used to make “Bird Seed” we’d take a huge bowl to the basement and hangout playing music and spin the bottle!!
I have memories of finding the birdseed in the infamous black couch (yes, only my middle and high school friends will get that reference) I remember a food fight with handfuls of it being tossed all over...lets hope your kids are a bit more behaved than we were!
Anyway our birdseed recipe was kind of unhealthy so I have revised it here for little ones. Enjoy!

Bird Seed Recipe
Really you can add what ever you like, I use whatever I have on hand. You can make it as sweet or as healthy as you want, no rules here.
I like to have the proportions equal but you can quarter the recipe easily.
Mainly it is just fun to tell the little ones that they are eating bird seed! They can pretend to be Big Bird and sit in a nest of blankets eating their bird seed and listening to the music!

1 cup dried currents
1 cup corn flakes or Chex style cereal
1 cup chow mein noodles
1 cup cheerios
1 cup mini chocolate chips
1 cup crisp rice cereal or nutty rice cereal
1 c crushed nuts
1/2 cup white chocolate chips

Ice cream cones (optional)

Mix together. Serve in a plain ice cream cone just like at the Zoo!!

We Love Puddin'

A few months back Heidi from 101Cookbooks interviewed me for her Taste Maker Series 

and one of the favorite cookbooks I chose was, Happy In the Kitchen by Michel Richard.

He just reminds me of a Happy Kid!  Cooking for me is about sharing and experimenting and I think Mr. Richard probably feels the same.  His book is beautiful and uses ingredients that are not out of the ordinary and easy techniques like using the microwave.  

I usually don't post other people's recipes but this one is a favorite of mine and I just wanted to share.

Sometimes in the midst of a eating, discussing and writing about healthy recipes I just feel like making a treat.  We love puddin' but boxed pudding tastes so fake to me, this recipe is just as fast and easy as opening a box of instant pudding.  It is rich so you only need to eat a small amount in fact I think it can make eight small servings.  The flavor is very homemade tasting the honey gives it a nice flavor too.  If your kids are used to the boxed kind this may take some getting used to but it may turn in to a family favorite!

Happy Kid Pudding

Toddler Café tip: Use a serrated knife to chop chocolate, start on a corner and "shave" downward. Always start on a corner it makes chopping the chocolate easy and gives you the smallest pieces.

I like to use 6 oz of chocolate in this recipe (nothing personal Michel)

2 cups whole milk
4 large egg yolks
2 tbs cornstarch
1/2 cup honey
4 oz milk chocolate, cut into 1/4 inch pieces

Combine the milk, yolks, cornstarch, and honey in a large microwave-safe bowl. Whisk until the cornstarch and honey have dissolved. Stir in the chocolate. Put the bowl in the microwave and microwave on high for 2 minutes. Remove and whisk well, then return and microwave another 2 minutes. Remove and whisk again. The chocolate should be melted. Return to the microwave and cook another 2 minutes. Whisk again. If the pudding has not come to a boil, or isn’t thick enough, return for 1 more minute. 

To test lift the whisk and let the pudding fall in to the bowl; the pudding should hold it's shape as it falls. 

The pudding will still firm up somewhat in the fridge, but make sure that it is thick enough now. Let the pudding cool at room temperature for 15 minutes, stirring from time to time. Press the plastic wrap onto the surface of the pudding to prevent skin from forming. and then cover the top with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge until cold. Can be refrigerated for 3 days.

Makes 3 cups. Serves 4.

Freaky Friday

Welcome to Freaky Friday. I happen to be the lucky owner of a set of recipe cards from 1973, a lot of recipe cards, and most of them are a bit freaky! I thought I'd share some of my thoughts and possible ways to update these recipes. Some cards are just too far gone and can't be fixed but hopefully, at least I can get you laughing. Now don't be afraid because some of these recipe cards have a good foundation for creative recipe ideas. We have come a long way baby...

Oh, card # 20 you are so ugly. I am failing to see anything perfect or Rosy about this "salad," actually I give it a big YUCK!!

Really people, Jello and cabbage how is that going to feel in your mouth?  Again Yuck!

I was going to post this on Halloween because I thought it looked like a brain!  I do love cabbage and was determined to get my daughter (and husband) to love it.  This would not be my recipe of choice to introduce a strong  flavored veggie to my loved ones.

Rosy Perfection Salad
1973:
Old School
1 envelope unflavored gelatin

1 1/4 c cold water

Artificial sweetener to equal 1/4 cup sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 c vinegar

1 tbs lemon juice

2 c finely shredded red cabbage
1 c chopped celery

1 tbs chopped pimiento

Parsley to garnish




2009:
Update Suggestions...

If you want Jello just put some fruit in it and forget the veggies.

Or...

Hide cabbage in egg rolls

Add to lo mein or fried rice

Mix into pot stickers

Make coleslaw

Top brothy soup with some raw cabbage

Sauté shredded cabbage in olive oil until just wilted. Season with extra virgin olive oil and salt.

Mix with lettuce and top tacos

Good Things Come in Small Tightly Packed Lunches

I don't know why but I have become slightly obsessed with making cute Bento lunches for my daughter. Maybe it is my fascination with "cute" food, maybe my love for Asian cuisine? Maybe it gives me a reason to go to Japan Town and buy the cutest little lunch time items. Or maybe I think if I make cute food, she will eat it? Either way now that we are in Kindergarten my lunch making had gotten a bit out of hand!  I mean not totally out of hand but I do try to get creative with the same old ingredients.  A peanut butter and jelly is so 7o's, I mean really a sandwich can be so much more. A flower shape or cut into tiny little blocks all stacked up in Bento box. 

There a are cutters for Nori that are fun to use, and cute little silicone cups to put food into.

If we make rice then she gets a tiny soy sauce dispenser to season the rice with. There are countless ways to decorate Bento lunches, like thin egg omelets, as a base and sliced veggies as eyes and whiskers.  You can write a cute rhyme to go with your bento too, like; carrots are orange, kitties are fuzzy, hope lunch time is great and you are real cozy! (OK, maybe poetry is not my strong point but you get the idea, right?) 

I like Bento boxes because you can put an array of foods. We waste so much food in our culture, so I have been trying to use up small amounts that otherwise would go in the trash.  Bento is designed to control portion size, It is a great way to use up small amounts of food, and are designed to pack tightly so the food stays put. I know that there are amazing Bento lunch makers out there and I hold you in great esteem. I don't aspire to ever be a Bento wiz but I sure do try.  

I thought I'd  put all my lunch time goodies out for you to see in these photos.

Here are many ways to spice up lunch with a some of the gadgets shown. 

Ingredients:

• Nori cut outs, crispy healthy seaweed cut using a paper punch style cutter.
  
• Rice molded into cute shapes using rice molds.
  
• Hard boiled eggs molded into shapes like squares, bunnies, cars. 
  
• Rice rolls (sushi want to be) using sushi molds.
  
• Veggies cut in shapes, slice veggies in wide strips, use tiny cookie cutters to make shapes.
  
• Sandwiches cut in shapes.
  
• Use silicone cupcake cups to pack bits of snack food in.
  
• Use wood or biodegradable spoons.
  
• Use small containers for sprinkles, seeds or seasonings, soy sauce or ketchup
  
• Use reusable food separators, like the fake grass you get at a Sushi bar.
  
• Send fabric napkins with cute patterns.
• Themed lunches, like round, or one color only are fun too.
• Add a note from home.
• Pack it all in a great Bento box!!

Other foods that fit in a Bento box:

Dates

Figs

Nuts

Beets

Stuffed Pasta

Dried fruit

Sliced fruit

Thin no cheese omelet, rolled up and sliced

Cubed cheese 

Romaine leaves

Plain water chestnuts

French toast

Noodles

Mini drumsticks

Rolled cold cuts 

Mini pickles

Tiny tuna sandwiches

Cheese and crackers

Pancakes

Harmony from Hominy...A light meal during the holiday frenzy

With Hanukkah swiftly approaching I thought I'd get out my oil and start frying! I figured my kitchen would smell like oil for the next few days so what is one more day? With all the preparations going on sometimes we just need something quick and  easy.  We love soup, the flavorful brothy kind the best when you are sick or cold kind. 

I talk a lot about texture for kids, I think it is important to teach them about different textures. This is a perfect soup for that, crisp tortillas, soft beans, chewy hominy and zucchini, makes a perfect warm meal. The flavors are mild and simple,  when your kids decide they like it,  you can add more ingredients the next time you make it.

I did not write a recipe for this but here is what I did:

Add about 1 inch of vegetable oil to a straight sided pot or skillet. Heat on high until it shimmers, reduce to medium high.

Stack about 5 corn tortillas and cut them into strips. Drop one in the oil to test, it should sizzle and cook quickly. When you fry, the faster the food cooks the less oil it sucks up, the better it will taste.

Drain them on a paper towel and set aside.

This is a quick soup so,  I started with canned chicken broth and added some ground chicken and onions to improve the flavor. Adding ground chicken will give you great chicken flavor in a flash. After the chicken is fully cooked strain it out and save it to use in hash or something else. You can leave the meat in but some kids find the texture strange.

Canned broth can be salty so taste before you add salt.

Add drained Great Northern beans, a can of drained Hominy and  a few diced zucchini.  

Cook it on medium until the zucchini is tender but still holds it's shape about 10 minutes.

Serve with a handful of tortilla strips and a sprinkle of dry cheese if you want.

Hanukkah-A-Peel

Last weekend I was lucky to be invited to make apple sauce with 100 1-6 year olds at the Jewish Community Center.  The trick was, how do we peel and prepare 50 apples half way so the kids could mash it into sauce and still feel like they participated. The answer, the apple peeler, slicer, corer and a big pot.
There's nothing better or faster for peeling, slicing and coring apples than this tool. It's great for peeling pears and potatoes, too. A suction base grips your counter top making it easy for little ones to help. We had one when we were small in the 70's, and they haven't changed. My whole family went into gear for this project, I washed, and they peeled and sliced! The apples come out cut into a large spiral so we broke them in half before they went in to the pot. 

We got all the apples done in about 1/2 hour. I stewed the apples in a bit of water and a squeeze of lemon. 

We transported the 4 pots of half cooked apples and by the time we arrived they were perfectly soft. I gave each child a bowl, 1/2 and apple and a fork. They mashed, added cinnamon and nutmeg and topped the warmed pre-made latkes with sour cream and the apple sauce. It was a big hit even the little ones were able to participate. My dad was visiting and he had a ball running around taking photos of the sticky kids.
I love this time of year because it reminds me of all the traditional foods we grew up with. It is about making food with friends and family. Find your foods and teach your kids a tradition to carry on into their adulthood.


I will share my own personal recipe for Latkes. Hanukkah is all about oil so we fry and fry and fry! Latkes are best eaten warm, as the are cooked one after another!

Oil was needed for the menorah (candelabrum) in the Temple, which was supposed to burn throughout the night every night. There was only enough oil to burn for one day, yet miraculously, it burned for eight days, the time needed to prepare a fresh supply of oil for the menorah. An eight day festival was declared to commemorate this miracle. 

Home Style Latkes
Recipe by: Jennifer Carden
Author of The Toddler Café


3 Tbs all purpose flour
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
3 russet potatoes, peeled
1 small onion
1-2 cups vegetable oil
For serving
Applesauce
Sour cream

Whisk the flour, eggs, salt and pepper in a bowl. Set aside. Grate the potatoes on a fine or small grating disk in a food processor, alternating with the onion.
Mix the potato onion mixture into the egg mixture with your clean hands.
The mix will be soupy, it is OK, and there is no need to drain it.
Heat oil in a large skillet on medium until a bit of mixture dropped in bubbles. Be sure not to let the oil start to smoke-you want a shimmer only.
Using tongs or large slotted spoon and gently drop the mix into the hot oil. Fry until edges are brown and crispy. Remove with tongs draining oil over pan.
Drain pancakes on brown paper bags or paper towels. Serve hot with applesauce and sour cream on top.