Cooking

This past weekend our 25 year old "baby" made a bowl of a heavenly Avocado Salsa that was awesome. I said, "See, this is the benefit of allowing the children in the kitchen... they grow up to be great cooks!" This reminded me of a post first published on my blog One Generation to Another, back on October 30, 2007. I shared it again here on Wee Folk Art the summer of 2010. For all of you that might have missed it, you can read it HERE. And here is Mike's recipe for delicious Avocado Salsa. Three cheers for Kids in the Kitchen!!!

AVOCADO SALSA
 
Serves 8-10
 
Ingredients:
1 can black beans (drained and rinsed well)
1 can fiesta corn (corn and peppers) (drained)
2 or 3 tomatoes, chopped (Romas work too, just make it 4 or 5 to make up for the size difference)
1/4 c. chopped sweet onion
3 green onions, chopped
2 avocados, diced
A pinch of rainbow and sunshine (my son had this as an ingredient :)
1/4 c. vegetable oil
1/4 c. Balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 package Good Season Italian dressing (dry seasoning mix)
 
Instructions:
Mix all the ingredients together, cover and refrigerate for 2 - 3 hours before serving.

Photo: 7/31/2012

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Nothing beats that smell, or the sensation of eating a warm cookie with a tall glass of cold milk. Because of that, I usually only bake as many cookies as we plan to eat right away. Then, I form the rest of the cookies into balls, place them close together on a cookie sheet, and freeze them. When frozen, I throw them into a Ziploc, pop them back in the freezer, and remove just a few at a time when our stomachs are in need of a little tickling :) And while they are baking, sit back and enjoy the intoxicating aroma of fresh baked cookies... better than any scented candle you'll ever light :) For more on freezing cookie dough, read our article, The Magic Cookie Bag.

Over the years, my favorite cookie has changed. All the standards like peanut butter cookies, chocolate chip cookies made with milk chocolate, and oatmeal cookies with pecans, have held that place of honor. Right now, my "favoritest" cookie is the Grape-Nuts Cookie. My mom first made these 20 years ago. She got the recipe off the back of a Grape-Nuts box. They are crunchy AND chewy! Yum! This recipe makes 6 dozen cookies. Enough to fill your house with the wonderful smell of fresh baked cookies many times. Enjoy!

GRAPE-NUTS COOKIES - Makes 6 dozen

Ingredients:
1 1/2 c. flour
1 t. baking soda
1 1/2 c. (3 sticks) margarine or butter
2/3 c. firmly packed brown sugar
2/3 c. granulated sugar
1 egg
1 t. vanilla
2 c. Post Grape-Nuts cereal
2 c. oatmeal
1 c. dried fruit (cranberries, raisins, etc.)

 
Directions:
Mix flour and baking soda in small bowl.
 
Beat margarine or butter in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed to soften.
 
Gradually add sugars, beating until light and fluffy.
 
Beat in egg and vanilla.
 
Gradually add flour mixture, beating well after each addition.
 
Stir in cereal, oats and fruit.
 
Use a cookie scoop and place on an ungreased cookie sheets.
 
Bake in a 375 oven for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned.
 
Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheets. Cool completely on wire racks.

What cookies are you munching on these days? If you'd like to include a recipe, feel free to include it in our comments! Always looking for my next favorite cookie, hehe!

Over the last couple weeks we have had our share of this nasty heat wave. We came home from the cool mountains of Vermont to sweltering heat and humidity. Of course, the heat helped ripened the all the berries a bit early and we were left to pick in the worst of the heat. We choose an overcast morning to head out to the fields. We were armed with several bottles of water and blessed with a bit of breeze.

 

The kids are becoming quite the pickers and we were able to pick all the raspberries and blueberries we needed before the sun broke through from the clouds. The heat seemed to scare many away and we were left with the fields almost to ourselves. We all relished the quiet of the fields and nobody wanted to break the silence. The kids commented on how peaceful it was as they happily and quietly worked their way up and down the rows.

We enjoyed some cider and donuts before heading home with our newly picked loot. Raspberry jam, blueberry cobbler, raspberry sauce with chocolate over ice cream, fresh berries and cream... YUM!

 

Although Fairy's problems with gluten are not as sever as others, it has made me more sensitive to the plight of those around us that have serious allergic reactions to gluten. Because of that, I dusted off my old 3" x 5" cards to see if I had a recipe for a gluten free playdough, and sure enough, I did! In all my years of teaching preschool I never had a child with a gluten allergy. It really makes me wonder whether it is more prevalent today or if we have just gotten better at diagnosing the problem. Whichever the case, I did want to include a gluten free playdough recipe on the site.

I played with 3 different flour substitutes, and I was happiest with the rice and almond flour playdoughs. Of course, if your child has tree nut allergies you will not want to use the almond flour. My final appraisal of the playdough... it makes up nice and feels wonderful working with it. I do believe it dries out a little faster than the wheat flour doughs, so make sure you cover them well when storing. Since I don't know what the shelf life of them are, I plan to store mine in the fridge. FYI... the dough in the photos is made with almond floor.

Gluten Free Playdough

Makes 1 1/2 cups of playdough

Ingredients:
1/2 cup rice or almond flour
1/2 cup corn starch
1/2 cup salt
2 tablespoons cream of tartar
1 cup water
1 teaspoon cooking oil
food coloring (I used the neon food coloring)

Directions:
Put all ingredients in a sauce pan EXCEPT for the food coloring and mix well. (You can add the food coloring now if you plan to make the whole batch the same color.)

Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture pulls away from the sides and looks like moist mashed potatoes. Do not over cook or the playdough will be crumbly.

Divide into 3 parts. (1/2 cup each)

Make a well in the center of each and add 12 drops of food coloring.

Mix in well.

When cooled, store in air tight containers. 

Every family has their favorite traditional foods they make for Christmas. In Michelle's house, Christmas breakfast always includes a birthday cake for Baby Jesus. Although pancake men are not a part of our holiday celebration, the children enjoyed them just the same :)

In the book Christmas in the Big Woods,

"For Christmas breakfast Ma made each child a pancake man. All the children held their plates next to the stove and watched while Ma made their pancake men one by one out of the pancake batter. Peter ate his right away, but the girls ate theirs slowly to make them last."

Not a shocker that you could have changed out Peter's name for Bug, and the above statements would be true! Bug tends to devour the things he loves to eat, barely coming up for air, while the girls tend to savour their treats!

Below is the recipe I always use to make pancakes from scratch:

INGREDIENTS
1 1/4 c. flour
1 T. baking powder
1 T. sugar
1/2 t. salt
1 beaten egg
1 c. milk
2 T. melted butter or margarine

DIRECTIONS
Mix flour with baking powder, sugar, and salt and set aside.
Combine egg, milk, and butter and add to dry ingredients, stirring just until combined; do not over mix! The batter will be lumpy.

Heat a lightly greased griddle or skillet over medium heat (375*F - 400*F). The griddle is ready when a few drops of water bubble and dance across the surface.

For each pancake man, pour about 1/8 cup batter onto hot griddle. Then pour the head, legs and arms. Cook pancakes until surface is covered with bubbles and appear dry around the edges. Turn and cook other side until golden brown. 

Optional: Add chocolate chip or raisin eyes, nose and mouth.