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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

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!

Make a bunny salad with your kids this Easter. They will love making it and the way it looks and tastes.

Bunny Salad

1 can pear halves
Raisins
Red cherries, candied or maraschino
Shredded cheese
Marshmallows
Lettuce

Drain juice from pears. Wash lettuce and put a lettuce leaf on individual plate.

To make bunny:
Place pear halve face down on lettuce leaf.
Put 2 raisins on the pear for the eyes.
Use a red cherry for the nose.
Put several pieces of shredded cheese on each side of face for whiskers.
Cut two marshmallows in half and use for ears of bunny.
Add a marshmallow for the bunny’s tail.

There you have it – one sweet bunny. These salads multiply well for any number of guests. Recipe taken from Amy Houts first book in the Food and Fun series, Cooking Around the Calendar With Kids: Holiday and Seasonal Food and Fun. See more at Cooking/Calendar.

Soup is a good hearty meal, or part of a meal, in most any season. However, when the wind is blowing and the snow is falling, as it is today, I like to make soup and enjoy its comfort and warmth.

Here is a soup from Amy Houts’ new cookbook for children, Cooking Around the Country With Kids: USA Regional Recipes and Fun Activities. In her book, Amy concentrates on food from each region of the US. It is a cookbook that lets children really engage in the history of the United States through the food of a particular region.

This recipe, Beef-Barley Soup, comes from the Mountain States section. Amy writes: “The Mount States grow barley, a wonderful addition to vegetable soup.”

Beef-Barley Soup

1 pound lean ground beef
1 onion, chopped
1 carrot, diced
2 ribs celery, diced
6 cups water
1 cup medium barley
1 (16 oz.) chopped tomatoes, with juice
1 teaspoon dried parsley
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

In a large (4-quart) pot, cook ground beef over medium heat; drain grease. Add onion, carrot, and celery. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes.

Children can measure water and barley, parsley, salt and pepper. Adult can this to pot. Bring to a boil over high heat. Turn down heat to low, cover and simmer about an hour.
Serves 6-8

For more information about this book and other books for children, see: http://www.imagesunlimitedpub.com. Thanks!

Lee Jackson
Family and Consumer Living Coach

You say, “What will children do again today since we have another snow-day?” This has been a recurring question and theme these last winter days – at least here in the Midwest, as I am sure in many parts of our country. The children, and you, are probably tired of looking out the window at the snow coming down, or watching the birds at the bird feeder. Some may have even ventured outside, but I wouldn’t recommend it if your area is as cold as it here in Missouri.

Having something to do can be a problem, or a fun challenge, especially if the “vacation” has been extended. I always found it helpful to pack away some toys, especially around Christmas time, and then when the novelty of holiday toys had worn thin, it was time to bring out the long forgotten ones.

Hopefully, video games or TV are not the prime activity during these days. We hear so much about the sedentary life style of all age groups, including children. It’s important to plan some active games – to get out and move. This is also one way to stay warm! Maybe you and your child or children can take turns using the exercise equipment you have acquired. Get out the jump rope and see how many turns can be made before the timer goes off. Or jump on one foot. Turn on some music. Kids love to dance to music.

There are quieter activities, too, such as reading, drawing, coloring, and playing board games. Kids like to be creative. This can be seen in their dress-up play and their manipulative play. Cooking is always a good activity to engage in. They love to pour and measure and taste.

For an activity that uses food products, but is not to be eaten, is to make play dough. Here is the recipe from Amy Houts’ new cookbook, Cooking Around the Country With Kids: USA Regional Recipes and Fun Activities.

Play Dough

1 cup flour
1/2 cup salt
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 tablespoon oil
1 cup water
Food coloring

Children can help measure and pour ingredients into a medium-sized saucepan. use a few drops of any food coloring you desire.

An adult can place pan over medium heat, cooking and stirring until the mixture pulls away from the side of the pan and forms a ball. Remove from pan and let COOL. (This is important, as children will want to dig right in – it is so appealing, but so hot!) Keep in an airtight container in a cool place. This play dough stays soft and pliable.

Keep those creative juices flowing and help your kids have some fun, safely, while you are all snow-bound. They may not remember how cold it was, but they remember how you played with them and how much fun they had when the snow came down.

Lee Jackson
Books for home and family

We in the Midwest have had a lot of snow days recently. This is the time you want to huddle up by the fireplace with a cup of hot cider and a cookie. I know it’s the New Years and we want to cut down on sugar intake and think very seriously about healthy living. However, done in moderation, most foods are good for us. Moderation and portion size are the key words.

Here is a cookie recipe I’d like to share with you from Amy Houts new cookbook, Cooking Around the Country With Kids: USA Regional Recipes and Fun Activities. This is from the section of her cookbook highlighting Midwest ingredients and food products. Her comment about this recipe says: “Minnesota is the leading oat-growing state in the United States. Besides eating oats as a breakfast cereal, oats give baked goods a wonderful texture and taste.”

Can you identify the ingredients that come from this grain in the following recipe?

Whole-Grain Goodie Bars

1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup oil
2 eggs
2 cups quick-cooking oatmeal
3/4 cup white flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons cloves
1 cup raisins
1 cup coconut

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Children can grease a jelly roll pan, 15-by-10-by 1-inch or use a 9-by-13-by-2-inch pan.
Children can help measure sugar, oil, and eggs into a large bowl; stir with a wooden spoon until smooth. Add oatmeal, white flour, wheat flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves, raisins, and coconut. Mix well. Pour and spread into prepared pan.

Bake about 15 minutes for jelly roll pan, 15-20 minutes for 9-by-13-inch pan, just until center is set. Cool; cut into bars.

Again, portion amount is very important. They are nice and chewy and it may be difficult to eat only one, but they stay so moist they will still be very good tomorrow and the next day and the next…

Enjoy those snow days!

Lee Jackson
Books for home and family living

I had a note from a reader of Amy Houts’ new book, Cooking Around the Country with Kids: USA Regional Recipes and Fun Activities that said: “This book is an excellent way to introduce children to new tastes and new cultures.” It’s always good to hear from satisfied customers!

Amy is doing a book signing at Maryville Public Library on Saturday, December 19 from 1 -3 p.m. Refreshments from her book will be served.

There is still time to order her new book at www.ImagesUnlimitedPub.com

Lee Jackson, publisher
Books for children, families, and parenting professionals

Do you know that food is at the heart of every culture?       

Amy Houts’ new book, Cooking Around the Country with Kids: USA Regional Recipes and Fun Activities helps parents introduce children to new tastes and different cultures through food so that they can appreciate, understand and enjoy the cultural differences that make up our country.

This is a brand new book that is ready for gift giving to children ages 5 to 15 and older.

To order this book for Christmas giving, go to CookingWithKids.

Children on your list will be glad you did.