Kids Cooking and Cookbook Blog

Most children love to work in the kitchen.

During this time of being restricted to our homes, we have more time to think. Perhaps we think about what we could be doing, or what we would like to be doing. And before you know it, you are thinking about what to eat again.

Yes, food and mealtimes have been a cause of concern for many. What will we eat? Do we have enough food? How do we fix what we have?

In observance of a special occasion, the rivalry of two southern football teams for the NCAA football championship, here is a soup dish you can enjoy while watching the game, or anytime.

There is nothing like having a big pot of hot soup ready for invited or drop-in company. It is certain to be a high tension game and hot food can help calm the nerves.

Here is a soup recipe even the kids can help prepare for that special event. It is fast and easy and is a one-pot meal.

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.

When kids come home from school, where do they usually go first? To the kitchen, of course! They are starved. They want something – anything- that is ready to eat, right?

Kids need a jolt of nutrition at this time of day. It helps if moms and kitchens are ready for the burst of activity when they come home. Kids want to know “Where’s the food?”!

Here are 3 how-to’s that can set the stage for encouraging your children to snack smart without any lectures about healthy foods from you:

 

It’s apple season and I want to share two delicious recipes with you from my new apple cookbook that are tailor-made for cooking with kids.

Sauteed apples are good to serve with ham, sausage, or pork. They are really easy to make and are good on their own as well. Any of these apples will work well: Rome, Jonagold, Granny Smith, Pippin Gold, Braeburn, Northern Spy, Gravenstein, Rhode Island Greening, York Imperial, and Cortland.

Sauteed Apples

2 teaspoons butter
2 firm, tart apples, peeled, cored and sliced 1/4 inch thick
Pinch of cinnamon, if desired

Cooking Around the Country with Kids
By Amy Houts
Images Unlimited Publishing
$19.95

This review of the book, Cooking Around the Country with Kids – USA Regional Recipes and Fun Activities was written by Joan Leotta, journalist, in the Myrtle Beach Sun News

Cooking Around the Calendar with Kids – Holiday and Seasonal Food and Fun is the newly revised and updated childrens’ cookbook just back from the printers! This book helps children celebrate the changing seasons with great tasting food and fun activities.

For this season of spring, the author Amy Houts has included food for April Foods, Easter,  May Day, Mothers Day, Cinco de Mayo, and Fathers Day.

Here is a recipe for May Day taken from the book:

Strawberry Parfait
1 pint fresh strawberries
1/4 cup granola
ONE of the following:
2 cups vanilla pudding
1 pint vanilla ice cream
12 ounces cottage cheese
16 ounces yogurt

Do your children help in the kitchen? Young children are often excited about mixing and stirring. Older children perhaps not so much. But have you asked them and encouraged them?

Most children love to “help” in the kitchen. Their help may not always be appreciated but their enthusiasm should be encouraged. Being excited about working in the kitchen is a good trait for any child.

Here are three good ways to get kids to show up and contribute.

Another year has slipped away and we take stock of what we have accomplished. There are always things we wish we had done during the year. But in looking back, I see two things I did this 2013 that make me most proud. Now I can say, “Wow! You really did get that done”!

I have been planning to write a children’s cookbook for quite some time In fact I started one about five years ago but I ran out of time to test the recipes and do all the work involved and life got in the way. I knew my next book project would be another apple cookbook and that I would use some of the research material I had used for my two previous cookbooks. And I really wanted the cookbook to be healthy. So many apple recipes use lots of sugar and flour. Some of my orchard customers said that many apples really don’t need much sweetening. They were ready for a new apple cookbook for their customers, they told me. I took it from there.

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.”