Kids Cooking and Cookbook Blog Site

The invitation read: “You’re Invited to an Evening in Tuscany.” No, I did not go to Italy for dinner but enjoyed a glorious evening in the U.S.A. celebrating food from that country.  I believe it was the best Italian food this side of  the Mediterranean.

Tuscany is one of twenty regions in Italy. It is located north of Rome and south of Genoa. It has mountains to the north and east and is bordered by the Tyrrhenian Sea on the west.  Florence and Pisa are two of its major cities.

What kind of food comes to mind when you think of Italian dishes? Yes, we had pasta and more.

I want to give you just a small sampling of our menu:

Tray of assorted antipasti
Shrimp a la aglio

Sonoma Salad with Coriander
Rosemary Focaccia
Tuscan cod and mussels in light vegetable broth
Mediterranean stuffed chicken
Lemon Orzo
Zucchini with sweet peppers and Feta
Roasted asparagus parmesan
Puttanesca sauce with fresh pasta and cheese
Frozen fruit sorbet with biscotti

Enjoying wonderful food with good friends is a special treat to be cherished.

Perhaps the chefs will give me one of their recipes and then I will be happy to share this with you. In the meantime, think of coming into  a house filled with the smells of bread baking and sauces simmering on the stove. Then sitting down to a meal that has been cooked a long time. You are not hurrying through your meal but leisurely enjoying the food and the people around you. To me, that is really a happy meal.

Continuing on with our cookbook tour of New England, let’s daydream for a while. It’s summertime and the living is easy!

If you could take a trip “out east” (that is, if you don’t live there now), what state would you want to visit? What city would you want to visit? What would you like to eat once you get there?

A little investigative work can help you continue daydreaming about places and food. You can look up the states or cities on the internet or write to the chamber of commerce of that city. Ask for travel brochures. See what places of interest they have and what activities are in store for this summer. Plan an imaginary trip. Maybe someday you will really travel there. . .

Now, this is the Chef daydreaming. . . I would like to go to the coast of Maine and learn more about its shipbuilding history. The rocky coast and sandy beaches would make good photo shoots. Watching the lobster boats and other commercial ships come in would be very interesting. I would also like to see the lighthouses and covered bridges and eat fresh seafood. Maybe someday, this too, will happen. We can always dream, can’t we?

I’m reviewing a cookbook project that a publisher wants to have available this year and I need your help. This new cookbook takes you on a journey from the shores of the Atlantic Ocean, across the wide prairie, to the mountains, and Pacific Ocean. It is called “Cooking Around the Country – Holiday and Seasonal Food and Fun”.

Doesn’t that sound like an exciting trip? Especially is this a fun trip where you not only hear about the land but also the food  for which it is famous.

Come with me as I give you a taste of New England food.  This is from Amy Houts, the author of this book. One of the first recipes she chose for this section is for blueberry pancakes.

Amy comments that as she was growing up her family vacationed in Maine at Rangeley Lake for a week each summer. One year she and her sister, Nancy, and parents went blueberry picking with her Aunt Jean and Uncle Morty. They picked more than enough in a short while. Then they went back to their cabin to make fresh blueberry pancakes. She still remembers how delicious they were! Here is her recipe for

Blueberry Pancakes

1 cup fresh blueberries
2 eggs
2 cups buttermilk
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted
2 cups flour
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt

Preheat griddle on medium-high (400 degrees F.) You can help sort and rinse blueberries, removing any stems. Drain well. Set aside.

Break eggs into a large mixing bowl. Beat eggs with wire whip or rotary beater. Measure rest of ingredients into bowl. Stir only until dry ingredients are moistened. Fold in berries. Thin batter with regular milk, if necessary.

Note: The griddle gets very hot. An adult should ladle the batter onto the griddle.

Using a soup ladle, pour batter onto hot griddle in approximately 4-inch circles. In a few minutes little bubbles will appear over surface of pancake. Then turn and cook on other side until brown. Place lightly browned pancakes on platter and cover with a cloth towel to keep warm, until all batter is used. Serve with butter and real maple syrup, which is a specialty of the New England states.

Here is where the chef needs your help. After you make these pancakes, I would like to hear how they came out for you. Did they have a tender flavor injected with juicy blueberries? Did you take them off the griddle at just the right time so they did not burn? What were some comments from your family?

Here’s hoping to hear from you…

CC

The chef is feeling so good about himself! Sigh! Sigh! I just used Power Point for a meeting and it worked!

You young readers won’t think this is a big deal – but for those of us who haven’t always used computers or cell phones, anytime the machine works – that’s a good thing!

I attended a meeting over the week-end and now wanted to share the information with my staff. I decided the best and easiest way to do this was to make a Power Point presentation.

Everything worked well until transferring the information from the computer to the projector to the screen. There were two illusive keys that needed to be hit on the computer to create the connection. They all needed to “talk” to each other.

You have heard the saying, “When in doubt, read the directions.” Which is what I did – many times! Finally a tech savy young staffer pointed me in the right direction and everything worked like a charm!

This is the day we honor all fathers. We show them how much we care and how thankful we are for all they have done for us.

Traditionally Fathers are the ones who protect and guard the family. May they always love and protect and care for their children. And God reward them for all the good they do!

Here is a breakfast dish you can make tonight and enjoy tomorrow on Father’s Day! Dad’s like to be remembered, too, and they like to eat! So get your kitchen team together and get this going tonight and SURPRISE! It will be ready for breakfast tomorrow!

 Cheesy Egg Casserole

1 pound ham, cubed
8 slices American cheese
8 slices bread, cubed
6 eggs
2 1/4 cups milk
1 1/4 teaspoon dry mustard

Grease 13 x 9-inch pan. Reserve 1/2 cup of bread cubes. Place remaining bread cubes in pan, then ham cubes, and top with cheese slices.

In large bowl, beat eggs, milk, and dry mustard. Pour into pan overall. Top with 1/2 cup bread cubes. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

The next day, remove plastic wrap and bake 1 hour at 350 degrees F. Cut into squares. Serve. hot.

Yield: 8 – 10 servings

Watch Dad’s eyes light up after he hears you made this dish for him!

This recipe comes from Amy Houts’ cookbook, Cooking Around the Calendar With Kids: Holiday and Seasonal Food and Fun.  

I want to start out the week announcing a first place winner for one of Snaptail Press books. The Littlest Christmas Kitten by Lee Jackson received First Place from (MIPA) Midwest Independent Publishers Association in the Children’s Picture Book category.

This is the story of a Mother Cat looking for her kitten on Christmas Eve. The wood-cut illustrations by talented artist, Kelly Dupre, are big, bold, and beautiful. If you like cats, kittens, and Christmas, you will love this book!

As you work in the kitchen, think of simpler ways to do things. But, at the same time, don’t take shortcuts that may hurt you or others. You don’t want to endanger the health of those who eat the food either.

Here are a few hints:

• Get out all the ingredients necessary before you begin a recipe.

• Measure dry ingredients, such as flour and sugar, first. If you measure the wet ingredients, such as milk, oil, or water, you will have to wash and dry the measuring cup.

• Use a rubber scraper to clean bowls, spoons, beaters.

• Know what you are getting out of the refrigerator before you open the door. Get all the refrigerated foods out at once so you don’t have to open and close the door many times.

• Alphabetize the spices. This will help you find cinnamon, parsley, and other spices quicker and more easily.

• Use a cutting board when you are cutting food.

• If pan needs to be greased, do this before you begin preparing the food.

• Set the table or do some clean-up work while you are waiting for something to get done.

While you are working, think of other ways you can work more efficiently. You will have a smoother flow of work and get done quicker.

Table manners are very noticeable in a restaurant or any public eating place. Perhaps you have been around children who were much too noisy at the table. It was hard to enjoy your food.

I had dinner with my 14 year old nephew at a nice restaurant recently. When we were shown to our table, he stood behind his mother’s chair to seat her. He told the waitress “yes, please” and “thank you” when asked a question. I could tell that the waitress was surprised and very impressed. I had the feeling she didn’t hear this very often.

Want to impress the waitress (and your parents and others as well)?

Here are ten table manners as found in Amy Houts’ book, Cooking Around the Calendar with Kids – Holiday and Seasonal Food and Fun. Good manners and good table etiquette make a difference to others and hopefully are important to you, too.

1. Come to the table with clean hands.
2. Chew with your mouth closed.
3. Wait until everyone is served before you start to eat if it is a small group.
4. Don’t talk while chewing.
5. Don’t interrupt while others are talking.
6. Ask someone to pass food rather than reaching in front of others for it. Don’t forget “please” and “thank you”.
7. Don’t eat noisily.
8. Use your napkin. Never, ever blow your nose in your napkin!
9. Ask “May I please be excused?” when you want to leave the table.
10. Talk about pleasant subjects while at the table.

Our life styles have become more casual and informal. Table etiquette guidelines, too, have become more relaxed from former times. However, good manners never go out of style. They are based on being considerate of others.

Some people like to eat in restaurants or buy frozen foods to quickly pop into the microwave. But what I like best of all is cooking meals at home and enjoying the preparation.

Nothing is better than going out into one’s garden for fresh lettuce or green onions for a salad. When there isn’t a garden or any home-grown foods we can find fresh produce in the market. Farmers’ markets will be opening soon in many locations. And there are so many choices at grocery stores!

Then we like to open a cookbook and find a delicious-looking recipe. Sometimes we use what we have in the refrigerator and make it into another dish. Other times we check to see if we have the ingredients, then collect them and follow the recipe. It’s a great feeling when family and friends enjoy the food we’ve prepared.

Fixing food can be very satisfying. Sitting in the shade munching on an apple and cookie – having a juicy orange with muffins for breakfast – helping yourself to a plate of macaroni and cheese – all are great ways to enjoy food, especially if we have had a hand in preparing it.