Kids cooking and eating patterns change with the seasons. During springtime they are more apt to want lighter and brighter foods.
Author Amy Houts, in her book Cooking Around the Calendar With Kids — Holiday and Seasonal Food and Fun, offers a wide choice of foods that deliver springtime flavors. For May Day, Mother’s Day, Independence Day, and just about every occasion in-between, these recipes will get kids in the kitchen whipping up their creations.
Poppy-seed kolach
Early recollections of Easter dinners bring back memories of coloring Easter eggs and making kolaches. We looked forward to sweet treats because those were given up for Lent. Usually we had a few apples that were wrapped in newspapers to help keep them from shriveling. These made up into delicious apple-filled kolaches.
This is a yeast bread that is filled with any number of fruit and other fillings. There are many variations but a couple of my favorites are the apple-filled kolaches and poppy seed kolaches, shown here.
Cooking terms used in recipes and methods of cooking have changed throughout history. Our American forefathers would marvel at foods heated and/or cooked in a matter of seconds. The term barbequing was still non-existent, but they knew about outdoor cooking and grilling.
One of the first lessons in the cooking course of the Fannie Farmer 1896 Boston Cooking-School Cook Book was “The Making and Care of a Fire“. Many of the American cooking terms, methods, and recipes in this turn of the century standby may seem foreign to present day cooks.
What a nice after-Christmas surprise when I opened my email this morning and read what one reviewer said about my book for children, The Littlest Kitten, the story of the Holy Night and the cat family.
(REVIEW) This is a book that children will want to read again and again. I liked this book so much that I will be checking out more books by this author. The cat family was so adorable. Mom cat loved her family. Just like Mary and Joseph loved their new son, Jesus.
More at:
http://cherylsbooknook.blogspot.com/2014/11/the-littlest-christmas-kitten.html
The book is available on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/Littlest-Christmas-Kitten
What fun to run to a neighbor’s house with a May basket to hang on their door. Then there is the joy at the other end – opening the door and seeing the colorful collection.
Whether we may or may not be fortunate to give or get a May basket, let’s remember to do something good for another today.
Lee Jackson,
author and publisher
http://www.imagesunlimitedpublishing.com
exploring apple/country themes
The book, The Littlest Christmas Kitten, a story about the birth of Christ and the cat family, can be ordered from Amazon for $13.41, a $2.59 savings. Find out the unique relationship between the Holy Night and the cat family. Children 2 to 12 welcome this story (actually, I’ve heard that a 20 year old always brings out this book at Christmas-time, too).
P.S. If Amazon is out of books, you can order from Images Unlimited website for the same price, with free shipping.
Share this story from a special night long, long ago with your young children. The Littlest Christmas Kitten recalls the night Baby Jesus was born and the effect this had on the cat family. It is a story of how the lost is found in the midst of a miracle.
Here is a YouTube 39 second clip about The Littlest Christmas Kitten. Watch it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WU2yNjTkt0w
Books can be ordered from Images Unlimited Books at http://www.imagesunlimitedpublishing.com
Image by jnn1776 via Flickr
Kids can make and enjoy this refreshing treat on the 4th of July. This cool and colorful slushie will quench their thirst as they take a break from setting off all those firecrackers.
Here is the recipe from Amy Houts’s childrens cookbook: Cooking Around the Calendar With Kids: Holiday and Seasonal Food and Fun:
First, she writes: “Families all across America gather on July fourth to celebrate freedom. Bands march and drums beat. It’s a time for picnics and fireworks. For an Independence Day celebration, plan to serve a refreshing frozen treat. This will help you and your child cool down and supply extra water the body needs in hot weather.”
American flag (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
This week-end let us recall why we are celebrating – it is to remember and give honor to those courageous men and women who worked, and many died, to protect and preserve our freedom.
Today we fly the American flag, say a prayer for the fallen, and give thanks for those who made it back safely.
Thank you to my late husband, Peter, who was in the Navy and fought in the Korean War and to my brother, Richard, who was in the Army.
I hope you are planning to spend time with your family and special friends on Valentine’s Day. Here are some easy tips to help you express your love to others in a fun way.
