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Funnel Cakes are those light, crispy, deep-fat fried masses of novelty type confections served at country and state fairs, usually served warm and sprinkled with powdered sugar. (They are served warm because there’s usually a crowd waiting in line for the next cake to come out of the fryer). They are made by pouring batter through a funnel into hot cooking oil in a circular pattern and deep frying until golden-brown. Usually associated with the Pennsylvania Dutch, they are now served widely and have become a fair-going favorite.

Here is a Funnel Cake recipe we made in our family and consumer sciences class one day when many of the students were gone on a field trip and only a few remained. We had been studying quick breads and I thought this was an easy recipe that fit loosely into this category, didn’t make a large batch, and was fun to make.

You can make these in the traditional round swirls, or make Funnel Cake Sticks, as does Café Renee, a new stand near the World of Disney store and the theme park entrances in Orlando, Florida.

Funnel Cakes

2 cups flour
2 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk

Oil for frying

Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl with wire whisk. In another bowl, beat egg and milk. Add sugar, stir to dissolve. Add dry ingredients and (using egg beater or mixer) beat until smooth.

Heat at least 1 inch of oil to 375 degrees F. in either a deep fryer or a skillet. To form each funnel cake, place one finger over hole in bottom of funnel. Carefully fill funnel with batter. Over hot oil remove finger and make circular or other shapes with batter, making cake as large as you desire. Cook for 1 minute and using tongs or two spatulas turn funnel cake. Cook until golden brown, about another minute or so. Drain on paper towels. Sprinkle with powdered sugar or use other toppings. Serve warm.

Makes about 4 smaller funnel cakes or 2 large ones.

Check out other fun and special treats in Amy Houts new book for kids and grown-ups, Cooking Around the Country with Kids: USA Regional Recipes and Food Activities. Click here to look around.

Lee Jackson
Home and Family Living Coach
Books for kids, families, and parenting professionals

http://www.ImagesUnlimitedPub.com

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People are lured to county and state fairs for all sorts of reasons – carnival rides, clowns, petting zoos, tractor pulls, and 4-H exhibits. Others come for the stunts, races, music, parades, and of course fair food!

There are community groups hosting food stands all over the fairgrounds. They offer a smorgasbord of fair treats, from brats and turkey legs to ice cream and root beer floats. Fair-goers can see and enjoy funnel cakes being made as well as cotton candy.

It is reported that the Iowa State Fair will have five new foods on a stick this year. “Fair Squares” will have squares of crispy rice cereal and marshmallows in plain or peanut butter flavor on a stick. An “Octodog”, will make its first appearance at the fair. It is a mini-sausage shaped like an octopus. Octodogs are not only fun, but may be a safer way to serve and eat hotdogs. The hotdog is among the top ten items found on many lists concerning choking occurrences in young children. This is especially true when the hotdog is cut crosswise. When they are cut the long way, or linear, they are less likely to cause choking in children.

Octodogs can be made at home. There are tools for cutting the hot dogs, but they can be hand sliced as well, cutting the dog up to about an inch from one end. The trick to getting good results is to briefly freeze the sausage for 20 minutes to firm things up before cutting. Using a cooking spray like Pam on the cutting blade and then boiling or frying briefly helps to fan out the hotdog creating the octopus effect. If you’re feeling super-ambitious, you can decorate octodogs with little eyes and mouths. Stick sesame or other seeds onto the head with a little honey, or use cream cheese or another sticky spread to affix little round cutouts of sliced cheese for the facial features.

Another food on a stick to be featured will be “Twinkie Logs”. These are frozen Twinkies dipped in white chocolate and rolled in nuts and dipped in white chocolate. Other new frozen confections will include tiramisu, turtle mousse and strawberry-cream flavored bars.

I can almost taste the chocolate, nuts, and caramel sauce in the turtle mousse. What’s a fair-goer to do?  Is this the one exception to eating healthy?  Where are the fruits and vegetables and other low-fat, low/no sugar foods? Only in the 4-H garden produce exhibit areas, I suppose.

What are your favorite foods when you go to the fair?

I’d love to hear your comments on how you handle festivals, children, and healthy foods.

Lee Jackson
Home and Family Living Coach

I just came back from the American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences (AAFCS) meeting in Cleveland. One of the highlights of the meeting was hearing Michael F. Roizen, M.D. talk about living every day to the fullest through a healthy lifestyle. He and Dr. Oz host a show on Oprah and Friends radio where they discuss healing techniques, preventative medicine and the latest in health news. They also share a daily syndicated newspaper column. He is currently chief wellness officer and chair of the Wellness Institute at the Cleveland Clinic.

Dr. Roizen pointed out 4 areas of choices we make that impact our longevity and quality of life. They are:
tobacco
food choices and portion size
physical activity
stress

“No smoking” campaigns have greatly lessened the tobacco usage in the US, but smoking is on the rise again, according to his statements.

Here is information from Dr. Roizen about food choices and portion size:

Eliminate or limit saturated fat and trans fats. These kinds of fats are found mostly in meats, luncheon meats, full-fat dairy products, baked goods, fried fast foods, and palm and coconut oils.
Avoid simple sugars, including syrup (corn, malt, rice, maple).
Stay away from most white, processed food.
Use a smaller sized plate, such as a 9-inch rather than the more traditional larger sizes.

I was especially interested in his comment: “Teach cooking!” By preparing food in the home we can make a much more direct effect on our health.

Concerning physical activity, Dr. Roizen said to walk 30 minutes every day. Using a pedometer is helpful.

Five minutes of meditation morning and evening would help with stress control.

These were only some of the highlights that I wanted to share with you today.

Lee Jackson, CFCS
Home and Family Living Coach

Earlier I wrote about the spiral/non-spiral cookbook situation. Today I want to tell you about another of our apple

Apples, Apples Everywhere - Favorite Recipes From America's Orchards

cookbooks and how we solved the “cookbook stay open” issue. This cookbook, Apples, Apples Everywhere – Favorite Recipes From America’s Orchards, is a little bit larger than From the Apple Orchard and a different type of binding was used on it – one that allows it to stay open better. The larger size also helps it stay open.

The cookbook doesn’t snap shut when you take your eyes off the page. This “stay flat” binding is a big help when hands have flour and you don’t want to lose the recipe page. In printer jargon, the binding goes by different names, but I just call it “the binding that stays open”.

When checking out cookbooks, you will see that some stay open better than others. We’ve been very happy with the way Apples, Apples Everywhere responds to kitchen counter etiquette. I’m glad we chose that type because it really makes the cooks happier.

Lee Jackson
Images Unlimited Publishing
Books for cooks and apple lovers,
kids, families, and parenting professionals
http://www.imagesunlimitedpub.com

One of our cookbooks, From the Apple Orchard – Recipes for Apple Lovers, sold out in the plastic spiral binding format.  We only have the non-spiral cookbooks left in that title. So today we ordered a bunch with the spirals. Some of our customers have ordered the non-spirals in the past – they are a little cheaper – but most really prefer the cookbook to stay open and order the spiral ones.

What are your preferences? Would you buy a cookbook without the spiral if it were $2.00 cheaper? $3? $4? $5?? Your input will help us with further print runs. Thanks!

Lee Jackson
Images Unlimited Publishing

Books for cooks and apple lovers,
kids, families and parenting professionals
http://www.imagesunlimitedpub.com

Good content here on helping your children listen better. See http://bit.ly/b9eNis. It has lots of good suggestions for parenting.

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• Learning Effective Communication Skills (personal-work-habits.suite101.com)

Now that school is over, or almost over, children will be home for longer periods. Make those days productive and fun. Working with them in the kitchen can be a fun, educational and a safe activity, providing certain rules are followed.

Following directions
In all aspects of life, there are certain rules that must be followed. Working in the kitchen requires certain rules and directions as well. Depending on the age of the child, you may need to repeat directions on how to do different jobs.

Tell and then show the child what needs to be done. Show how to “cut-in” butter into a flour-sugar mixture, for example, using two table knives or a pastry blender. Explain what “folding-in” means and use the spatula to show how you gently bring the spatula over and over to “fold-in” the ingredient. This often refers to folding-in beaten egg whites into the remainder of the ingredients.

Some children can remember a list of more than one jobs. For example, for some you can say: please get out the big bowl, the mixing spoon and the measuring cups. For others, asking the child to do one or two jobs at a time may be appropriate.

Read the recipe out loud to help everyone know what you will be doing. Pictures help, too.

Offer praise and thanks

Make sure you praise the child for offering to help and the work  done. You can also offer such statements as: “We really make a good team here in the kitchen.” “You are doing such a good job of following directions”. “Thank you for helping today.” Won’t our family be surprised when they taste what we made today?”

Following safety rules
There are certain safety rules that must be followed when working with children in the kitchen, such as:

Always wash your hands before working in the kitchen.
Young children should not use sharp knives.
Small appliances are not play toys.
Potholders and not towels are for handling hot dishes. Towels could catch fire from the stove.
Handles of pots and pans should be turned inward.
Always use a separate spoon when tasting food.

Do you have stories about working with children in the kitchen?

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Here is an easy dessert kids will love to make for their Mothers this week-end. The only difficult part is having the rhubarb. Hope you have a plant or two in your backyard. If not, stores should have it for sale. Then it is a quick job to put together, bake, and enjoy. It’s colorful, too.

Rhubarb Dessert

4 cups rhubarb, chopped in 1/2 to 1- inch pieces
1 cup sugar
1 package strawberry Jello
1 yellow Jiffy cake mix
3/4 cup water
1/2 stick butter, cut in small pieces

Grease a 9 x 9-inch pan (NOT 9 x 13-inch). Place chopped rhubarb in bottom of pan.

Sprinkle sugar over the top of rhubarb.

Sprinkle 1 package strawberry gelatin over top.

Sprinkle cake mix over top.

Dribble water over top.

Place dobs of butter on top.

Bake 30 – 40 minutes in 350 degree oven

Asparagus can be stir-fried, grilled, steamed, boiled, and pickled. You can use it in quiches, salads, omelets, wraps, casseroles, stews, and yes, even soups. Following is the soup recipe I promised. It was featured at our party earlier this spring and received rave reviews.

Asparagus-Potato Soup

3 medium potatoes, chopped
1/3 cup chopped onion
1 13-oz. can chicken broth
1 teaspoon salt
1 10-oz. box frozen cut asparagus or
1/2 pound of fresh asparagus cut into half-inch pieces
1 4-oz. package cream cheese
1 1/2 cups light cream

Combine potatoes, onion, chicken and salt in a medium saucepan.

Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, until potatoes are barely tender.

Add asparagus and return to boiling. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer 5-10 minutes until vegetables are tender.

Cut cream cheese into chunks and add to vegetables. Add light cream. Heat, but do not boil.

Serves 6.

Here is another recipe using asparagus in a soup:

Asparagus and Leek Soup

1 leek, white part only, halved lengthwise, washed thoroughly and chopped
2 tablespoons butter
¾ lb asparagus cut into half-inch pieces
1 -13 oz. (1 can) chicken broth
1 garlic clove, minced
1/3 cup heavy cream
Salt and pepper, to taste

In a large soup pot, saute leeks in butter over medium-high heat for 3 minutes or until slightly wilted.

Add the asparagus and cook for 2 minutes.

Add the chicken broth and garlic to the pot and bring to a boil.

Lower heat, cover and simmer for 10 minutes or until the asparagus is tender.

Mix in the heavy cream, salt and pepper.

Cool slightly, then blend soup in batches in a food processor until smooth.

Return to the pot to heat through.

Here is how to prepare fresh asparagus: Trim the stem end about 1/4 inch and wash in warm water several times. Wrap a moist paper towel around the stem ends if not using immediately, or stand upright in two inches of cold water, as you often see done in grocery stores. Refrigerate and use within 2 or 3 days for best quality.

History: Asparagus has been used from earliest times as a vegetable and as a cleansing and healing medicine. Recipes for using asparagus are found in some of the oldest surviving recipe books. It was cultivated by the ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans, who ate it fresh when in season and dried the vegetable for use in the winter. Asparagus does not have a long growing season so snap it at its peak and enjoy!

Do you need a quick meal that is filling, nutritious, and doesn’t take long to make? I want to share a soup I made for a large group at my house recently. We had a mix of older folks and younger ones. They all wanted recipes so that is always a good sign. I hope you will enjoy it, too.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 medium carrots, finely chopped
1 tablespoons minced garlic
3 cups chicken broth
1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 cup mild picante sauce
1 (15-ounce) can ranch-style beans, undrained
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon dried oregano leaves
½ teaspoon chili powder
1/8 teaspoon paprika
2 cups chopped cooked skinless chicken breast
¼ cup chopped cilantro
Tortilla chips, optional
Shredded Cheddar cheese, optional
Sour cream, optional

Heat olive oil in large pan like a soup kettle or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the chopped onion, carrots, and garlic. Cook until onion is tender, about 7 minutes.

Add broth, tomatoes, picante sauce, beans and spices. Turn heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 30 minutes.

Add chicken and cilantro and heat thoroughly.

Ladle into soup bowls. Top with tortilla chips, cheese, and sour cream if desired. Serves 8.

We served crackers, Dilly bread, and cornmeal muffins with it, as well as a relish assortment.

Tomorrow I’ll post the other soup we served – totally different and totally good!