Kids Cooking and Cookbook Blog Site

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This late January weather is reminding us we are still in the winter season. Many places have lots of snow and ice. Staying warm can be a problem. What better way to warm up than with a bowl of hot soup?

Today I want to share a thick, veggie-filled soup recipe that will have you chopping and enjoying its rich aroma. So get out your chopping boards, a large soup pot, and lets get to it.

Veggie Chowder (“chowder” means it’s a soup with fish, clams, or vegetables, with potatoes, onions, and other ingredients and seasonings).

1 cup chopped carrots
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped onion
2 tablespoons butter
5 cups vegetable stock
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon paprika
2 cloves chopped garlic
3 large potatoes, peeled and diced
16 oz. frozen corn
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup half-and-half
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup water
Salt and pepper to taste

In a large pot, saute carrots, celery, and onion in butter over medium heat. Onions should be transparent, or clear, and soft. This will take about five minutes.

Add the canned vegetable stock, spices, and garlic. Bring to a boil.

Meanwhile, you can peel and dice the potatoes and add them to the pot. Add the frozen corn and bring mixture back to a boil.

Reduce heat. Stir in the cream and half-and-half and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 15-20 minutes. Stir occasionally. Do not let this mixture boil, but only let it simmer.

In small bowl, add cornstarch. Slowly add 1/2 cup of water while stirring, keeping it free of lumps until it is very smooth. Then pour this mixture slowly into the hot soup, gently stirring until the soup thickens slightly. Season with salt and pepper.

Ladle soup into bowls. Add a little chopped parsley for garnish, or chop green onions (with some of the green stem) and sprinkle over top. Mmmm, very tasty.

Now you have soup that took just a little longer than opening a can of commercial soup but just look at the wonderful ingredients you have added! You know what is in your soup. You made it yourself and it tastes great.

For other soup recipes, check out Cooking Around the Calendar with Kids by Amy Houts. In it she provides a wonderful Easy Chicken Noodle Soup recipe. Check it out!

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Glad to have you visiting today!

In the last post we looked at some words pertaining to food labels and other terms related to food. Did you divide the words and phrases into “good” and “poor”?

Here is the way I think of those words and phrases:

“Good” words to look for when choosing food:
fruits
whole food
whole wheat pasta
organic
whole grain
whole grain oatmeal
eggs
natural
vegetables
plain organic yogurt
brown rice

“Bad words” or foods or processes to avoid when choosing food:
hydrogenated fats
white rice
artificial flavoring
colas
corn syrup
refined flours
high fructose
frosting
artificial dyes
refined – white bread

When I go to the food market I want to have my list ready. First, though, when I make out the list, I try to write it according to the layout of the store – that is, I visit first the canned areas, the meat section, then the fresh fruits and veggies, and finally the frozen food section. Actually, I try to stay out of the middle of the store. Much of the fresh foods and those that are more nutritious are generally on the outside perimeter.

I don’t go to the store hungry either, because you know what that does! Everything looks good and I buy more than I need. The sooner I leave the store the better, too, because that means I won’t spend as much. I won’t be enticed with all the temptations surrounding me. In and out, is how I like to shop.

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Today, let’s take a look at some categories of foods or common words and phrases found on food labels. I would like you to divide these up into two columns. On one side, place all the words or phrases that are considered “good words”, or those that promote health, and on the other side write the “bad words”, or those that drain our health.

Select from the following list:
hydrogenated fats
fruits
whole food
whole wheat pasta
organic
whole grain
white rice
artificial flavoring
whole grain oatmeal
colas
eggs
corn syrup
refined flours
high fructose
frosting
natural
vegetables
artificial dyes
plain organic yogurt
refined – white bread
brown rice

Tomorrow we’ll compare our lists. Making wise food choices helps us stay healthy. Do you believe that what you eat helps determine how you feel and perform in school and at home? Chef Crombie wants you to be fit and healthy.

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This is a week to remember and to celebrate. I wish I were in Washington D.C. right now joining the thousands of people who are celebrating Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Day and joining in the festivities of Inauguration Day.

We Americans, and perhaps the whole world, have great expectations of our new President-elect Barack Obama. Our wishes and prayers go out to him to guide and direct his actions for the good of our country.

I can’t be at the Inauguration, but I will certainly want to watch as much as I can on TV. I will also want to prepare something special for this day. Cooking is what makes me happy. Therefore, I will make something chocolate.

Oozing Little Chocolate Cakes

16 tablespoons (2 sticks) butter
1 1/3 cups (8 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
5 large eggs
1/2 cup sugar
Pinch of salt
4 teaspoons flour (note, this is teaspoons)

Heat oven to 450 degrees. Line 8 cups of the larger-size muffin pan with larger size paper liners. (If the liners have aluminum foil, remove the foil). Spray liners with vegetable oil.

Melt butter and chocolate chips in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Take care that water does not splash out as it begins to heat. Stir the chips and butter until they melt and are nice and smooth. Set bowl aside to cool slightly.

Using an electric beater, beat eggs, sugar and salt in another medium bowl. Beat until sugar is dissolved. Slowly add this mixture and then the flour into melted chocolate. Stir until well combined.

Pour batter into the lined and sprayed muffin cups. Bake 8 to 10 minutes until cakes are puffed but centers will not be completely set. Let set for about 5 minuts. Then carefully lift out and set on dessert plates.

Viola! You have a scrumptious looking dessert that tastes amazing.