Cooking and Kids

I’ve invited my good friend, Lee Jackson, to share one of her favorite apple recipes with you. Lots of apples are now available at orchards and stores, so this recipe will help you know what to do with all those apples.

The recipe is from her newly revised apple cookbook, From the Apple Orchard - Recipes for Apple Lovers, which just won a first place cookbook award from Midwest Independent Publishers Association. Bookmark this recipe and serve it for Thanksgiving or any special time. You can see this recipe and many, many more at www.ImagesUnlimitedPub.com

Glazed Dutch Apple Cake

1 1/2 cups sugar
2 cups apples, unpeeled, but diced
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup nuts, chopped

1 cups apple juice

In mixing bowl, place diced apples and sugar. Let stand for 15 minutes for the apples to become moist. Then stir in eggs, oil, dry ingredients and vanilla. Blend in nuts. Pour into greased and floured angel food cake pan or Bundt pan.

Bake at 350 degree F. for 50-60 minutes. Let cake cool in pan for 15 minutes, then invert on serving plate. Prick cake with toothpick and pour Hot Glaze over cake. Serve warm or cold.

Hot Glaze: Boil 2 cups apple juice over medium heat until it is reduced to 1 cup. Have an adult pour while hot glaze over cake.

This will make about 24 servings, good for a large holiday gathering.

How about baking some of these tasty savory cookies for a birthday party or just for a fun snack? They’re light and crunchy and you can use cookie cutters to make them any shape you want. The only thing is that they’re so good that you’ll have to make enough for the grown-ups too or they’ll be eating your share!

These turn out light and airy like cheese straws. This recipe isn’t at all spicy, but you can add a pinch or two of cayenne pepper if you like hot flavors.

Another great thing about these is that they are healthy, so if your teacher has asked for healthy snacks for a school bake sale, or your Mom doesn’t want you to bake too many sweet things, these should keep them all happy!

Collect together some different shaped cutters. The plastic shaped cutters that come with play dough work just as well as metal ones and often have fun shapes. Just make sure to clean off any dried up bits of play dough before you use them for these cookies!

If you’re making them for a little brother or sister’s birthday party they’ll love a variety of animal shapes. For the grown-ups stars go down well or hearts. If you can’t find any cookie cutters at all, you can cut the dough into strips, give them one or two twists and they make cool looking cheese straws.

If you feel like really treating the grown-ups you can substitute 1oz of fresh parmesan cheese for 1 oz of the cheddar for a really sophisticated flavor.

Cheese Cookies Recipe

1 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) soft butter
8 ounces cheddar cheese, grated
1/4 teaspoon paprika

Preheat the oven to 400F.

Collect together these kitchen tools: grater, mixing bowl, rolling pin, cookie cutters, baking tray, measuring cups.

Grease the baking tray with a scrap of the butter paper.

Put all the ingredients into a big bowl and mix with your clean hands. It will take a while to come together, but if you squish and knead long enough, you’ll end up with a slightly crumbly, golden, soft dough.

Sprinkle a clean surface with flour and roll out the dough to about 1/8 inch thick. (If you don’t have a rolling pin, a clean bottle works just as well!)

Cut out as many shapes as you can and put them on to the baking tray.

Squash up the left over pieces into a ball and roll out again, as many times as you need to until you have used up the dough. Don’t worry if the dough crumbles when you roll it out. You can squish it back together quite easily and have another go. The more you work it the easier it gets.

Bake for 8-10 minutes until the cookies are a light golden brown.

Cool them on a rack, then store in an airtight container.

For a bake sale you could package these in the smallest size freezer bags - with 4 or five different shapes in each.

What is your favorite spread for sandwiches or toast? Have you ever tried lemon curd slathered on fresh white bread?

Lemon curd is a wonderfully satisfying spread with its slightly tart lemony flavor (like real old style lemonade), offset by the smooth velvety texture of the butter and eggs from which it is made. In Britain and South Africa it is mostly eaten as a spread, while in the U.S it is more often found filling cakes and tarts. This recipe makes lemon curd of the perfect texture and thickness for spreading.

As it is freshly made with butter and eggs this lemon curd needs to be stored in the refrigerator and eaten up within a month. But I’m sure once you and your family have tasted it that won’t be a problem! This recipe makes enough to store in one large jar, or two small ones.

Recipe for Lemon Curd

2 large lemons
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
2 eggs, beaten

Collect together: grater, lemon juicer, 1 large jar or 2 small ones, a medium-sized metal or ceramic mixing bowl that fits comfortably on a saucepan or else a double-boiler, or bain-marie.

The lemon curd is cooked in the bowl which sits over a pan of simmering water, to keep the temperature at a steady, not too high heat. The bowl should fit on the top of the pan without touching the water as it boils, and be steady enough, so that it won’t fall off as you stir. Ask an adult to help you set this up. If your Mom cooks a lot she may have a double boiler, which is a special pan with two sections to do exactly this.

Preparation

Before you start, make sure your jars are completely clean. Wash them in warm soapy water, rinse them out and leave to dry. Sterilize them to get rid of any bacteria by putting them when dry into an oven on a baking tray at 200F for 10 minutes. Switch the oven off but leave them there to keep warm, as they should be still hot when you put the lemon curd in after cooking it.

Wash the lemons well. If they are normal store-bought lemons they will have a layer of waxy coating to preserve them. Scrub them in warm soapy water and rinse them to remove the chemicals in this. If you can get hold of organic lemons or live in a state where you can pick un-sprayed lemons straight from the tree then just rinse them briefly and dry them.

Cooking method

1. Finely grate the lemon zest from the lemons into the mixing bowl - you need the outer yellow of the lemon peel without the white pith underneath. Halve the lemons and squeeze out the juice.

2. Put the juice without the seeds and pulp into the bowl with the zest and add the sugar and butter.

3. Put the bowl on top of the pan of simmering water and heat slowly until the sugar has dissolved and the butter melted.

From the next stage on you will need to stir the bowl without stopping for 15 minutes or so, so make sure you’re comfortable and have some music to listen to. Again, if needed, have an adult help with this.

4. Carefully and slowly add the beaten eggs, stirring the lemon mixture all the time. Make sure the water is just simmering gently, otherwise if the heat is too hot the curd can get lumpy.

5. Keep stirring gently over the heat for about 15 minutes, by which time the curd will have thickened to the consistency of a thin custard, or pouring cream. It will get thicker as it cools.

6. Pour it into your clean warm jars. Put the tops on tightly and leave to cool. Once cool store in the refrigerator.

Healthwise, home-made lemon curd is completely free of preservatives and colorings, which is not the case with the commercially prepared ones. The lemon juice is full of Vitamin C and you get some calcium and protein from the butter and eggs. You only eat a little at a time, (unless you like it so much that you eat it with a spoon!), so the richness of the butter and eggs isn’t too much of a problem for those who like counting calories.

Try this spread on bread and taste the difference!

Cape Town is a beautiful city. It sprawls out from the city center round the lower slopes of Table Mountain with the ocean on both sides of the Cape Peninsula, so you are never far from a beach. Outside the city are hills full of wine estates and beyond that a ring of tall rugged mountains.

I’ve been doing a lot of exploring on my vacation here, driving out of the city to the Winelands around it to taste some of the great South African wines and eat at the restaurants. With you in mind I’ve been looking out for some typical South African desserts that would be easy enough to try at home.

There are plenty to choose from, not just at the restaurants but in the farm stalls that sell fresh produce and baked goods and often have a coffee shop too. The other day I stopped for a break after having driven over a steep mountain pass and with my coffee I had a slice of Milk Tart.

This is quite a simple dessert, a pastry case filled with a just-set creamy filling slightly flavoured with cinnamon. It’s sweet but not too sweet, and has just the right creamy consistency to be satisfying without being too rich.

The first recipe I was given sounded quite complicated but then a friend gave me this recipe for a Crustless Milk Tart, which you make without the pastry and which can be mixed together all in one go in the food processor. It has all the flavour and comfort factor of the classic milk tart but is really quick and simple to make, in fact my friend’s 8 year old daughter showed me how! She said they often make it to use up their extra milk or to take to school bake sales.

South African Crustless Milk Tart

¾ cup all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder
2 cups milk
2 eggs
¾ cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
2 tablespoons melted butter
pinch salt
½ teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 350F

All you need: measuring cups, food processor, buttered pie dish about 9″ in diameter

Put everything except the cinnamon into the food processor and blitz it all to a smooth batter. Pour it into the buttered pie dish. Sprinkle the cinnamon on top. Bake for about 45 minutes until the top is firm. It will set more firm as it cools.

You can eat this hot or cold. It will have a creamier texture needing a spoon when it is hot, but will set firm enough to eat in slices with your fingers once it is cold.

Hi guys! I’m on vacation! Come with me to a South African Braais.

I’m travelling in South Africa and even though I’m on holiday, the first thing I look at in a new country is the food. Once a chef always a chef I guess! And I’ve got some great recipes to share with you.

South Africa is, of course, in the Southern Hemisphere, so it has its seasons all back to front - while it’s summer in the States, here it is winter. The landscape outside Cape Town is still dry and brown from the hot summer and they are waiting for the winter rains to turn it all green again. Though summer is over and the nights are cool there is still sunshine and I’ve had a couple of fantastic braais with friends here.

A braai is the South African name for our barbeque and braais are a big summertime social thing here - when friends come round people entertain in their gardens, or go to the beach together, cooking over a wood fire. Meat is the focus of a braai: coils of boerewors (a spiced beef and pork sausage, which is made in at least fifty different varieties here), covered in hot spice sauce, marinaded lamb chops, steaks and, if you’re by the ocean and have been fishing and got lucky, fish. All these are cooked on the grid over glowing wood embers, but very often there’ll be a foil packet sitting right on the embers, being turned every so often and this foil packet usually is filled with vegetables.

I helped my friends prepare the food for their braai before going out to sit round the fire, so here is the recipe for my favorite South African vegetable cooked in one of these foil packets:

Butternut Squash baked in foil on a wood fire

1 medium butternut squash (this also works with pumpkin and other squashes)
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon cinnamon
salt and pepper
heavy duty aluminium foil

Peel the butternut, take out the seeds and cut it into cubes or slices about ½ inch thick. (This should be done by an adult as the squash is not easy to peel - but you will enjoy taking out the seeds)! Prepare the aluminium foil. It’s best to have a double layer so that it doesn’t tear when it’s on the fire, so tear off a good length (at least 3 feet) fold it in two and then rub butter over the central area. Put the cubed butternut in, sprinkle it with the cinnamon, a good grinding of salt and pepper, then dot some more butter on top. Fold the foil over the butternut to make a loose parcel, with the sides double-folded to seal it well.

When the fire has burned down to glowing embers arrange the foil parcel on some embers at the edge of the fire and turn it carefully every five minutes. It should take 20 to 30 minutes depending on the heat of the coals. Open the parcel very carefully as it will be very hot and a rush of steam from the cooked buttenut will come out as soon as you open it. The butternut will be tender and slightly caramelized at the edges (probably burnt in a few places though still delicious!)

You can make all sorts of veggie packs this way - sweet potatoes, onions, carrots, green beans with whatever herbs and spices you like. Potatoes cooked with olive oil, sea salt and rosemary make a great combination. With most of them you can use olive oil instead of butter, it’s just butternut that really does need the luxury and lusciousness of butter to bring out the best of it.

These veggie packs make great ways to feed vegetarian friends at a barbeque, too, and are a healthy addition to all that meat!

I’ve collected a few dessert recipes along the way too which I’ll share with you next time.

“Take me out to the ball game,
Take me out to the park!
Buy me some peanuts and cracker jacks,
I don’t care if we ever get back!”

Who can resist singing this song? We all know the words, even if we’ve never attended a baseball game. Wait a moment! You haven’t been to a game?? You must put that on your ‘To Do’ list for this summer! There is nothing better than going to a baseball game. It’s not just about your favorite team or player, it’s about getting out with all the fans and yelling your heart out.

But baseball is not only about yelling and strikes and hits and home runs. It’s also about food. Yes, that may even be the reason why people go to games. Hero sandwiches, nachos oozing with cheese, chili dogs, and peanuts are all part of the ‘going to the baseball game’ experience.

Hero sandwiches are called submarine sandwiches, grinders or hoagies, depending on which area of the country you live. They are all equally delicious! Ham, salami, cheese, lettuce, tomato and that special Italian dressing make them a homer each time.

You can create your own stadium favorites at home. Here is an easy recipe for Nacho Dip. It is very hearty and almost a meal itself!

Home-Run Nacho Dip

1 can (15oz) refried beans
1 pkg taco seasoning
1 8 oz container cream cheese, regular or whipped
2 cups shredded cheddar or Mexican style cheese
8 oz jar salsa, you choose mild, medium or hot (optional)
1 pint sour cream
1 or 2 tomatoes for decoration, plum tomatoes work best
1 large package of your favorite tortilla chips

This recipe is best made in a glass or stoneware pie plate, or another small microwave-safe casserole dish. You can adjust the amounts of any of the ingredients to taste or to your dish size.

Directions:

1) Spread cream cheese in the bottom of the dish.

2) Sprinkle 3/4 c shredded cheese on top of the cream cheese.

3) Mix 1/4 c water with the taco seasoning and the refried bean in a separate bowl until blended. Spread this on top of the cheeses.

4) Sprinkle remaining shredded cheese on top of beans.

5) Microwave for 4-5 minutes until dish is bubbly.

6) While Nacho Dip is heating up, cut tomatoes into 1/4“ slices. Remove pulp and seeds. Set aside.

7) Spoon salsa on top of nacho dip. (optional)

Spread sour cream on top of nacho dip to completely cover dish.

9) Cut and display tomatoes so they look like the stitching on a baseball.

10) Serve immediately with your favorite tortilla chips.

Dip can be made ahead (steps 1-4) and heated just before serving.

Healthy tips:

• remember to choose low-fat or fat-free if you are worried about calories. You want to ‘STRIKE-OUT’ as much fat as possible.

• some brands of taco seasoning contain MSG or monosodium glutamate. This is a common preservative. It also commonly causes headaches. Check the ingredients as there are many brands that do not use MSG.

Let freedom ring! This week-end we celebrate the birthday of our country. We remember those who have fought and died to protect our freedom. We thank them for their sacrifices made to secure our liberty and our way of life. We pray for our defenders and soldiers in uniform throughout the world and for their families. Long may America live in peace, harmony, and justice for all mankind.

May you have a happy and safe 4th of July!

Last time we used up ripe bananas to make fresh fruit smoothies , now if you’ve got any more bananas left that need using up, here is a delicious recipe for banana bread, which is more of a cake than a bread. It is moist and full of flavor and keeps well for several days, if there is any left by then!

Have you ever baked a cake from scratch before by hand? If you haven’t I’ll explain some of the terms you’ll see in the recipe, right after it. It’s not hard and once you’ve learned how, you can tackle almost any cake recipe there is!

Recipe for Banana Bread

2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter (nice and soft)
1 cup sugar
4 ripe bananas
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 cup water

Preheat the oven to 350F

Collect together these kitchen tools: mixing bowl, wooden spoon, loaf tin 8″ x 4″, sieve, measuring cups and spoons

Grease the loaf tin and line it with baking paper or a butter paper.

Cream together the butter and sugar till it is light and fluffy. Mash the bananas with a fork then beat them into the butter mixture. Beat the eggs in a separate bowl and then beat them into the mixture a little at a time. Sift the flour and salt together then fold it into the mixture. Dissolve the baking soda in the water and stir it in. Last of all mix in the baking powder.

Pour the batter into the prepared loaf tin and bake for about 45 minutes. Test to see if it is done by poking a metal or wooden skewer into the middle of the loaf - if it comes out clean it is done. If some of the mixture sticks to it, it needs a little longer. Check again after 5 minutes. Cool the banana bread in the tin then turn out and slice.

TIPS

To help you remember when the cake needs to come out, set the alarm or timer function on your cellphone or watch!

Remember to have thick oven gloves on when you are taking the hot tin out of the oven!

Cream together butter and sugar Most cake recipes start with this step. All this means is mixing the sugar into the butter. It is much easier to do if the butter is soft (but not melting) to start with. With a wooden spoon press the sugar into the butter until it is all mixed in and then mix faster until it looks a bit fluffy like whipped up frosting. This stage gets the air into the cake that helps it be light and moist rather than rock solid!

Beat eggs Break the eggs into a separate bowl and stir them up together with a fork until they are well mixed. When you add them to the cake mixture, just add a little bit at a time and stir in well with the wooden spoon before adding the next bit.

Beating means mixing the batter fast, round and round as quickly as you can to get the air in. It can tire you out - good for building muscles!

Fold in flour You’ve got lots of air into the mix by beating the eggs and beating the mixture together. Now when you add the flour you do it more slowly so as not to lose all the air. Scoop the mixture from the bottom of the bowl and fold it over the flour on top in gentle movements until it is all mixed in.

So now any time you find a cake recipe that is made by hand you will be able to use these methods and you don’t need to rely on a food processor or mixer any more. Hand-made cakes rise much better than ones made in the processor too, so are lighter and airier.

Have fun baking cakes!

Now that warmer weather is starting, bananas seem to get overripe before you’ve had time to eat them and who actually likes to eat squishy bananas? Let’s face it, the flavor is still OK but the texture is really off-putting… so how can you use up those overripe bananas to make something delicious, so they won’t be wasted?

(Now I’m not talking about the revolting ones that are black inside as well as outside, just the ones that have gone rather squashy and soft inside).

There are loads of great recipes using ripe bananas. One of the quickest and simplest things you can use them for is to make fruit smoothies. They make delicious, nutritious and healthy snacks or breakfast drinks.

In summer time you have loads of fruits to choose from to add to your bananas. When fruit is in season it’s riper, tastier and cheaper, too, so look around and find out the best fruits for the time of year. Nowadays when fruit is flown in from the other side of the world it can be hard to tell what is in season. However, when you see bargain boxes of a particular fruit, that is a good clue.

At the beginning of summer strawberries, melon, peaches and apricots come in, later on other berries, and apples and pears in the fall. Tropical fruit like mangos and pineapples are often available year round and make good additions, too. All these fruits, and plenty more I haven’t mentioned, add a variety of flavors to the banana base of the smoothie and a blast of fresh vitamins in the bargain.

In a food processor or blender put the following ingredients:

2 very ripe bananas
1-2 cups of ripe fruit from the list above (peel and take out any stones or pits first)
1 cup of plain unsweetened yogurt
1 cup of milk

Whizz it all up and taste for sweetness. If all the fruit was ripe, you probably won’t need to add any sugar.  But if it tastes tart, add a tablespoon of honey or sugar to bring out the flavor of the fruit and whizz it again. In summer, pour drinks into two or three tall glasses over ice cubes and slurp through a straw.

In winter time when you are less likely to find really ripe fruit besides the bananas, add an extra banana instead and ½  teaspoon of cinnamon for a warming version of a smoothie. Or, to be truly decadent,  add a teaspoon or two of hot chocolate or cocoa!

As well as being delicious, this smoothie is a powerhouse of goodness for you  - vitamins, minerals and anti-oxidants from the fresh fruit, calcium and vitamins from the milk and yogurt. All make you healthier and stronger!

Next time I’ll give you a recipe for banana bread that is another great way of using those ripe bananas and goes really well alongside a tall glass of fruit smoothie!

What is the difference between the national brand, the store brand, and a generic brand of food? You may have heard your mother talk about these when she goes to the store. She might say, “get the store brand”.

What is the difference? I heard all of you say loud and clear - it’s the MONEY! We’ve all heard our parents and others talk about the high cost of everything, including food. Here is an an interesting activity comparing prices on different brands of food.

Let’s say you are going to the grocery store to buy food items on your shopping list. You want to compare prices on a can of whole kernel corn, for example. The easiest way is to find a like size can in each of the three categories - the national brand, such as Del Monte and then the store brand, such as Hy-Vee, and then a generic brand. How did they compare? It may surprise you to see the difference.

If you can carry this one step further and are able to buy each of the cans of corn, here is another experiment. When you bring the groceries home and are ready to do a little testing, open each of the cans of corn. (Hopefully you were able to find small cans of corn). Analyze them on the following points:

1. How does the color compare? Which one looks more appetizing?

2. What is the texture like? Are the contents of the can firm, or mushy?

3. Taste a sample of each and determine which tastes the best to you.

What would be the conclusions to your experiment? Based on these tests, and the cost comparison, which would be the best buy? Share this information with your family. And me, too, if you would like.

Now, what will you do with the opened cans of corn?

Here are some suggestions:

Heat corn and eat
Add to corn bread
Make corn chowder
Make Corn fritters

Stay tuned - as the Chef may find one of his favorite Corn Chowder recipes to share with you.