Category — cooking with kids

My daughter’s school ran a babyfood drive last week.  In her eagerness to participate, she threw WAY too many jars in the grocery cart on a recent grocery store trip with Daddy (hmmm).  Needless to say, we had lots of left over ready-made veggie puree – at least that’s what my kids saw on the fridge shelf (not “baby food”).

So, what do they do?  Obviously, what any other normal American kids would do – MAKE MUFFINS!  Could I be prouder?

They used up the carrots, some squash and I think some sweet potatoes, added cinnamon, some maple syrup, and some random raisins they found in the pantry and voila, baby food muffins – I mean muffins with veggie puree.  I wish I could relay the exact recipe, but it faded from their memories after the 3rd or 4th muffins got swallowed.

Ming Tsai, owner of Blue Ginger in Wellesley, MA offers us another joy that is safe for those living with food allergies. 

You will love this recipe (along with accompanying video) for his Turkey Fried Rice – how2heroes.com!

Every once in a while I find myself motivated to try something new with my kids at dinner time.  Sometimes they’re my companions in the experiment.  More times than not, though, the tinkering is more of a solo affair.

Last night was one of those latter efforts.  I was in a pureeing mood (I really love my blender).  One of my kiddos was complaining of a sore throat so I was thinking chicken soup.  Actually, let’s be honest, I was thinking more along the lines of chicken stock and some noodles.

I know, not the big nutritional blast.  Until I pulled out that blender. 

My lovely really was only interested in sipping something, so the challenge was to come up with a dish that had at least some of the nutrients I wanted in her belly in the form of pale yellow slurpy liquid with the occasional noodle.  So, I took the yellow squash and zucchini I found in my veggie drawer (peeled the zucchini), steamed them a bit, plopped them in the blender, then added some cannelini beans (right from the can) and pushed “Blend”.  Perfect.

I added this pale yellow mixture to my chicken stock and noodles (watch the combined consistency – you don’t want glop), seasoned to taste, and 10 minutes later my two little people (one with sore throat, one without) had emptied the pot.  And I, the woman with the cape, had the satisfaction of knowing that my girls had consumed some extra fiber, vitamin C, potassium and protein in their day’s intake.

My kids are sort of used to these efforts of mine, and this one too seemed to amuse a bit.

I am blessed with two lovelies, each with a strong mind of her own.

I doubt I am alone in the following mommy-dom statement: My children are completely not alike!  They are dissimilar in so many wonderful ways, but one biggie is in their taste in food!

One daughter will gladly eat tuna fish sandwiches until she and/or I are blue in the face, but wouldn’t consider touching a tuna steak.  My other little one, however, feels the combo of such a lovely fish and mayo, and slapped upon bread for that matter, is a culinary travesty.

One will eat spinach when it’s hidden in a cookie (read  “Indigo Rabbit“), but the thought of poking such a fetching green with her fork and bringing it to lips makes her swoon.

Tonight was an exciting divergence from the familiar dinner time challenge – thrilling at least part of everyone’s pallet while certainly not appearing to do any such thing.

One of my children is out for the evening.  That means that for this dinnertime, the remaining family members (read “those with less compelling social calendars”) have an opportunity to venture into unexplored, and perhaps more “risky” culinary waters.

My youngest and I decided to make use of the sole I found in the freezer and make fish cakes.  Go figure.  On a Monday night!

I will say now (and make myself reread many times in the future) that I wish I did more of this – cooking with one child at a time.  What a divine experience.  It was exhilarating to really touch, smell, question every ingredient.  Really.

The biggest fun of the prep was when I asked my little companion to add the egg to our bowl of softly pillowed fish and diced celery.  She loves to crack those suckers so I figured I knew her next move.  What I looked up to see, however, was a large brown egg sitting nestled in its bed in the bowl.  I hope I never forget her expression and pride at such a gaffe.

The fish cakes were fantastic, the accompanying broccoli slaw salad a bit too spicy for a little pallet, but truly an excellent meal.  We’ll be sure to share all the details with our absent member and laugh at the expressions of disgust she’ll undoubtedly share as she considers our audacity at mixing more than 4 ingredients together at the same time!