"Butter Up"

Cooking with kids does not have to be fancy or complicated.  Making butter is one of the easiest and  best ways to get kids involved and excited about seeing a simple technique to make something we use all the time.  We also did this at our Dirt to Dine camp with 30 very excited kids, and they were amazed at the outcome. For this post we just did this in the yard in our jammies!

It is a great way to use up their energy and funnel it into an activity that has a transformative outcome that they can feel proud of.  My favorite part of this activity is is the science, the excitement of making a liquid turn to a solid.

This butter is a great vehicle for other flavors, like herbs,  sun dried tomatoes, olives, or honey.

Now that summer is ending it is time to gather herbs for your butter, dried or fresh.   Send the kids out to pick herbs or take them to the store or farmers market and have them choose some.  Have the kids smell them, feel them, and decide which ones they like the best.

Save those empty jars because once you do this with your kids they will want to do it over and over. If they get tired of shaking make up running games to keep them shaking the jars.

You will need a mason jar, heavy cream, a strainer and a wooden spoon or paddle.  Baby food jars work great for small batches as well.

1.  If you are adding chopped herbs or any flavor add it with the cream.

2.  Fill a jar halfway with heavy cream and a pinch of salt and screw the lid on tight.

3.  Shake the jar up, down and sideways until the cream thickens and begins to stick together.  You may have to help your kids, this can get tiring.

4.  The cream will continue to gather into a ball when it is a ball in liquid it is done.

5.  Pour the buttermilk liquid off and save in a covered container in the refrigerator. You can drink the buttermilk or use it in another recipe, it will be thin, not like the stuff you get at the store.

6.  Rinse, rinse, rinse your butter it will help it not go sour. Hold the strainer under running water until it runs clear.

7.  Put the butter on a board and mash it with a flat wooden spoon or Gnocchi paddle to get out the excess water.

8.  Cover and chill. 

School Year's Eve- well, afternoon....

I was so sad to hear Cookie Magazine has closed. I looked forward to working with them and feel for all the hard workers who have lost their jobs.

There was always a buzz around school starting when we were kids. We would go to the mall and pick out school clothes, a pair of shoes and new supplies. Maybe it is because I grew up in a very cold dark place and we needed clothes to stay warm. Living in Northern California we don't seem to do the big back to school shop like we did as kids. Maybe it is because Bubbi (grandmother in Yiddish) sends clothes to kidlet, or maybe it is because the sun is still burning brightly and the kids are still wearing their summer duds? For what ever reason we needed a reason to get excited about the new school year California style and Cookie Magazine gave us one.  I recently started working with Cookie and am loving it. They sent me a School Year's Eve Pack, basically a party in a box. School Year's Eve™ is a

 new holiday developed by Cookie magazine and PTA to help get families ready and excited about the new school year.

 I thought, why not try,and win 1500.00$ for my PTA, it would be super to be able to had over a check like that in these times.

My daughter was so excited when the box came and instantly started planning the party. The kit included some goodies like pencils and blowers, a very cute banner, napkins, recipes, and other goodies.

I added socks for each girl and cute pencils, and tissues for their desks at school.  Another great item I added was a discount card from a local art studio called Studio For Art.

You can help out local businesses by promoting them as easily as adding a business card to your birthday gift bags.

To make the cake I bought 3 pieces of cut frosted cake at the store, added green coconut and made quick Rice Crispy treats formed into little apples.

It took about 20 minutes to decorate the 

cake and it was very cute. I stuck with the apple theme after a friend suggested it, you know, - an apple for the teacher.

To make the apples, I made 1/2 a batch of Rice Crispy treats and added red paste coloring just after the marshmallows had melted. I spread the mix out on a buttered sheet pad and let it cool slightly. With buttered clean hands make apple shapes. I just happened to find some green shoelace candy and used that for the stems. My preference would have been to use rolled gumdrops for the leaves but I didn't find them until well after I made the cake. Instead I picked out the green leaves from my Autumn sprinkle mix and added them to the top.

To make the "grass" add shredded coconut and a few drops of green food coloring and shake. 

I noticed that in the party recipe book that Cookie sent was a recipe I have in my book.  Waffle Grilled Cheese, couldn't be easier just toss your sandwich in a waffle iron and press down until it is crisp and melty.

We also had a game or two, the pass the orange game is fun, the girls were having a great time with it. They had to pass it from under their necks with no hands, it was a good laugh.

I can always count on 6 year olds to find a game or make one up, like bowling for chalk.  They stood up the sidewalk chalk and used the oranges from the previous game as bowling balls. It was so cute they "kept score" with hash marks it was adorable.

The day of the party it  was so hot here and I got really lucky and found a Hawaiian Shaved ice machine unopened at Goodwill for ten dollars. I made sure to snatch that goodie up right away. The girls were beside themselves with frosty icy goodness, as was my husband! 

We made the snow cones and used thick mango nectar as the flavoring. 

Being a back to school party I did try to incorporate some reading and problem solving like the pass the orange game and reading the signs and napkins.  They are headed for first grade and all worked on reading the signs as a group, they did great.

overall it was a very fun way to kick off the school year. 

So I hope our photo can win that 

1500.00 for our PTA but even if we don't win it was worth it.

Dirt to Dine Camp - 28 kids, 2 locations, a lot of happy campers!

I never would have thought that in one week 28 kids could learn as much as they did.  This camp took the kids from farm straight to table every day, and they got it, they really got it. Lucky for me, my connection with Eileen Gorden and her great idea and great people, has made this has a reality. She came to me with an idea to start a camp where the kids could spend time on a working farm and then translate the knowledge in to cooking class. Marie Sayles was the brains behind the

 farm side and I acted as the chef and coordinator of the cooking part. Eileen worked tirelessly to put all our ideas together, working to secure beautiful locations for the week.  It worked out beautifully!

These kids now know how to milk a cow or goat and make fresh cheese within hours. They know that the animals have to be taken care of, fed, and cleaned. They know how to grind wheat from the stalk into flour for dough. They know how important bees are to our world and how to extract honey from a hive. They did things I have never even done!

They know carrots come from the dirt not from a plastic bag, and how much work it is to pull sunflower seeds from the flower. They know that a farm fresh egg tastes so much better than one stamped with a date from a store. They have the knowledge to make informed choices at a young age!

Here is a sample of one of our days:

• Day 3: Chickens & Eggs
• Animal care, farm chores, chicken diet, harvesting fresh eggs from chickens
• Making chicken stock with whole chicken
• Make fresh egg pasta noodles
• Make chicken noodle and Italian egg drop soup
• Make savory french toast with Parmesan 
• Compare raw eggs for color; conventional versus farm fresh free range 
• Taste test: fast food nuggets versus free range chicken breast
• Feast on the food they made, discuss and recap the day.

 

DIRT TO DINE ADVENTURE CAMP
FOR BUDDING YOUNG CHEFS

At Connolly Ranch in collaboration with Chef Michael Chiarello & Bottega Restaurant 

Dirt To Dine is week-long summer camp bridging farming, gardening and cooking experiences in a dynamic, hands-on, youth-driven environment. The camp brings your young epicurean’s enthusiasm for all things cooking back to the source of the ingredient’s: land, soil, seeds, animals, plants and more.

Dirt To Dine is set in two locations: the epicurean center of the Napa Valley, Yountville; and Connolly Ranch, Napa County’s only family farm dedicated to education. Visit the website for bios of the "Dirt to Dine" team, click on camps.

 I would also like to thank our volunteer teachers Greer Westerink and Kim Kendall-Stubbe who worked so hard to make this camp a success. 

Summer is Hot, Hot ,Hot!

It is the peak of freshness for peaches and summer produce. The juicy peaches are delicious running down your chin but is it worth the mess. What about those strawberries, aren't they sweet and delicious too? Why not combine them and make fruit salsa the kids will love. Pair it with some quick homemade bunuelos showered with cinnamon, it is easier than you think.

What is all the talk about Salsa you ask? Well I just happen to have this great Salsa CD from Putumayo to give away. Get it, Salsa and Salsa??

To enter just tell me what other yummy ingredients you might add to this recipe to make your kids gobble this up.

Toddler Cafe is all about being creative with your ingredients so let the ideas flow and win yourself and your kids a great CD.

Enter here by commenting and enter twice by tweeting using "@chefjen salsa contest" in your tweet.

Contest will run until August 16th 12pm I will pick the winner on Random.org. and tweet it or e mail the winner.

Contest is over the winner is Laurie thanks for playing!!

Salsa de Fruta

Recipe From The Toddler Café by Jennifer Carden

This is a version of fruit salad, easy and fun to eat. The sweet tortilla chips or bunuelos add a great crunch.

Makes 2 servings

1 cup diced organic strawberries

1/2 cup diced fresh peaches

1/4 cup small diced crisp apple or jicama

1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

2 large flour tortillas

2 tablespoons softened butter

Cinnamon sugar for sprinkling

Combine in a bowl mix gently with a spoon.

Serve as chips and dip.

To make tortilla chips, (bunuelos)

preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Brush tortillas with a butter and sprinkle with a generous amount of cinnamon sugar.

Place the tortillas on a baking sheet and bake for 12 minutes or until golden brown and crisp. When cool break the chips (bunuelos) up in to pieces. Serve the salsa with chips (bunuelos) for scooping.

Tell child they have to shovel the confetti up!

Use a slice of apple as a food pusher to help get the salsa on the chip.

Serve in an ice cream cone

For dinner: Serve salsa on a mild white fish or on a turkey burger

Tip: Add very ripe tomatoes to give this a slightly different flavor.

Bite Into Summer with a Sweet Activity

As most of you know I usually try to talk about recipes with some nutritional value. Well, let me tell you, summer is here and we are already looking for activities to keep Kidlet busy.  Last week I was out shopping and needed a bag of marshmallows. (yes we do make our own marshmallows but not all the time) I immediately grabbed a bag because of the great shape of the puffs inside. The marshmallows were longer and thinner than the ordinary ones from the store. I was pretty excited and was probably muttering to myself about how cool they were.Of course I brought them home with me, I prominently displayed them in a jar to admire them and show off their great lines. 

The next day Kidlet had a play date and they were looking like they needed something to do so we came up with these pretty gems.

Here is what we did:

Each child got a paper plate and a few marshmallows

We stuck a lollipop stick in each one

I gently melted some chocolate (chocolate is delicate and will burn in the microwave if not watched carefully)
We dipped each stick in the melted chocolate halfway, and then dragged a fork down the sides to create the grooves.

Optional:

Sprinkle with sour candy powder

This was an attempt to use up something we had laying around

The more healthy choice would be nuts, Pistachios or Peanuts

Place them in the freezer for 5 minutes only to set the chocolate.

We slipped our sticks into the ends of frozen waffle boxes, they stood up just right.

Camps that whet the appetite, summer cooking camps your kids will love

Another great listing from Edible Magazine... Stone's Soup column.

Summer Cooking and Farm Camps and Clubs for Kids

There are wonderful opportunities around Marin and Wine Country to get your kids out into nature and into the kitchen this summer, learning where their food comes from while getting their hands dirty!

Check out the newest project I am working on, this farm to table camp should be lots of fun at Connolly Ranch.

Dirt to Dine Adventure Camp for Budding Chefs,

Connolly Ranch (in collaboration with Chef Michael

Chiarello of Bottega/NapaStyle)

Napa, ages 5–11

Camp dates August 3–7

Connolly Ranch.

For more on this camp e mail me

What’s Cooking Cooking Classes for Kids

San Rafael ages 6 and up

camp dates - July and August www.whatscooking.info

Slide Ranch Camp, Muir Beach 5 & up June-August www.slideranch.org

Devil’s Gulch Camp Nicasio 6 & up June-August www.devilsgulchranch.com

Children’s Garden Co. Organic Farm Club, Sonoma for the whole family, year round www.childrensgardenco.com

“Eat Draw and Be Merry,” Napa, grades 1-8

call or email for Summer 2009

andrapaints@comcast.net or 707.333.1641

Summerfield Farm Camp, Santa Rosa 4 thru 12 June and July www.summerfieldws.org

Pine Point Cooking School, Sausalito grades 5-10 June–August www.pinepointcooking.com

Operation Chef, San Rafael 7 thru 18 June–August www.operationchef.com

Apple Blossom Day Camp, Sebastopol K-5 June-August 707.823.3463

Sneak Peek at Stone's Soup Corner

Announcing Edible Marin Wine Country Magazine Premiere Issue (drum roll please)

We here in Marin, Napa and Sonoma are thrilled to be contributing to a great new magazine. Read Stone's Soup Corner my kid centric foodie column. See The fabulous cover that Matthew shot, and find out about seasonal foods and recipes. Grab one at your local natural foods store or farmers market, you can always subscribe. We hope you enjoy it!

Because peas are coming into season I changed this recipe to accommodate fresh peas but if you are unable to get them use frozen.

On the searing summer days of my childhood, I spent

long hours outside with other kids, playing hide

and seek, getting dirty, and making mud pies. The

moment we heard the bells of the ice cream truck, our ears

perked up in unison and we raced off to get our ice cream treat.

Now, 30-something years later, I hardly ever see an ice cream

man. Maybe it's because grocery stores today are stocked

with so many more ice cream choices, or maybe it's because

kids play indoors more. Whatever the reason, the summer

school break presents a great opportunity to spend time with

your kids, cooking with them and teaching them about food

and family. It should be easy to entice them into the kitchen

to help create these unique and deliciously cooling Minty

Pea Pops and Veggie Corn Pops.

They may not get to chase

the ice cream man, but they will be having fun, enjoying

their dessert, and eating their veggies, too!

Sweet Veggie Pops

A New Twist On an Old Treat

By Jenifer Carden

Minty Pea Pops

Peas on a Popsicle stick? Just tell them it tastes like mint–chocolate

chip ice cream—but these are not quite ice cream and not quite vegetable.

They are now a staple in our house—a great dessert, snack, or

treat on a hot day. Have your kids help shop for and shell the peas.

You'll love it when your child asks for a Pea Pop!

Makes 6 cube-shaped pops

8 ounces cream cheese

1 cup shelled sweet English Peas

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract

1/8 to 1/4 cup semi-sweet mini chocolate chips

6 Popsicle sticks or wooden craft sticks

Place the cream cheese, peas, and sugar in a microwave-safe bowl

and microwave on high for 20-second intervals until the cheese is

softened to room temperature.

Using a blender or food processor, puree these first three ingredients

into a smooth paste. Add the extract and mix again, scraping the

bowl frequently. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand.

Place the mixture into a food grade plastic bag and cut about 1/2 inch

off of one of the bottom corners. Squeeze the puree into an ice cube

tray or mini muffin tin, place 1 Popsicle stick into each serving and

freeze until solid, about 1 hour. You may also spoon the puree into the

molds. Depending on your freezer, you may have to let them freeze for

up to 4 hours. For best results, make and freeze these overnight.

Once the pops are frozen, remove them from the molds by twisting

just like ice cubes. You may need to go around the edge with a warm

knife if you used a muffin tin. Sealed in an airtight container, these

will keep for up to 1 month.

Variation: Sprinkle a layer of graham cracker crumbs into the bottom of the ice

cube trays or muffin cups and place the corn puree on top; the result will look and

taste similar to a mini cheesecake on a stick.

How Does Your Garden Grow?

As a kid we always had a small garden, it started out as just a few tomatoes and eventually we had about 6 rows of corn. Being small I always thought the "corn field" was endless, I spent lots of time in there, weeding with my mom. Even though we lived in the suburbs, as a kid I was aware of the farms just a few miles away cultivating delicious veggies (none of which I'd eat as a kid). Growing up in upstate New York there were lots of apple orchards and corn fields to play in we took it for granted.

I have never thought of myself as a gardener although I have have had a few in my time. Matthew suggested we grow food instead of just watering all that grass. So we decided to rip out some of the lawn, it makes sense, how many times have I been caught with out parsley or thyme or an onion, why not expand out little growing area? Now we are older and wiser and have moved the garden to triple the growing space. We have three planting areas other than the main veggie patch, one for herbs, one for squashes and beans and one for tomatoes.

As my daughters tastes grow so does our garden, it all goes hand in hand, the more she tastes the more she likes. Last year we had a nice garden, I let kidlet plant, pick and generally abuse the garden in her own cute way.

Last September I showed you some of our beans and flowers from our small garden.

I think we will have so much food this year, melons, squash, greens, berries, onions, herbs, if we do we can put it in our red wagon and take it to the neighbors. The first photo here is before the rain and the second is after a few days of rain, the garden exploded!

Kidlet loves helping in the garden, sneaking sweet peas and strawberries, and pointing out the good and bad bugs. She has already eaten 5 ripe sweet strawberries, I don't think we will be making a pie!!

You don't need a large patch to grow veggies, even a window box will do. Just grow something for your kids to explore, taste and care for, it gives them such a sense of accomplishment.

You could make a pizza garden by growing herbs and tomatoes for making their very own pizza!

Now when I am stressed I go out to the garden and water, weed or just admire the strength of the emerging plants, maybe that is what my mom was doing in our little garden when I was a kid and just playing in the corn?

Toddler Café Tuesday - Where Glop Tastes Good!

It's Toddler Café Tuesday. Our book has been out about a year now and I thought it was time to start sharing more of the recipes with you, my loyal readers. If you read my blog you know I love to use up the stragglers in my pantry and fridge. This recipe is no exception, have a forgotten fruit cup hanging around? This recipe is so simple and it is a great way to get your kids to eat their veggies.

Tropical Glop

Dips are fun and interactive for toddlers. They can scoop it up with cut pieces of veggies and fruit or spread it onto slices of bread.

Makes 1 1/2 cups

8 ounces cream cheese

One 8-ounce can crushed pineapple, drained

Two 4-ounce fruit cups, tropical or peach, drained

1/2 cup diced or shredded carrots

1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 cup toasted unsweetened desiccated coconut

Place the cream cheese in a microwave-safe bowl and heat on high for 20 seconds to soften. Add the fruit, carrots, and salt to the bowl and use a stick blender to blend for 2 minutes, or until combined.

To toast the coconut, place it in a dry sauté pan on medium heat and watch closely. When you see it starting to turn light brown, stir the coconut around constantly to brown the rest evenly. Then pour it onto a plate to stop cooking.

Sprinkle the dip with the toasted coconut. Serve with apple slices, carrot, celery, or pretzel sticks.

Toddler Tip:

Have your child “draw” shapes on their plate using the veggie as a pen and the dip as the ink.