May 19, 2013
Hey
there! I'm a full-time mom of 3 adventurous eaters. Cole is 5 1/2.
Simone is 4. and Mia...well she is 10 months old, but she will put
anything in her mouth. :) My older kids love love to cook. Great
helpers!
Summer is upon us here in Texas. Sometimes going out is just too hot.
Let's have some fun inside too! We're gonna make our kitchen our
playground!!
We've planned a trip around the world!! Thru food! We will draw a
country out of a hat each week. Pick our menu. Plan our art projects and
lesson plans. Go to the market....and we will get cooking.
I'll post recipes, results, pictures and videos at the end of each day/week. It's gonna be a fun time! First up.....FRANCE!
Breakfast--CREPES!
May 20, 2013 CREPES!
RECIPE: Crepes Fine Sucrees
makes about 18 crepes, 5-6" in diameter
INGREDIENTS
3/4 cup cold milk
3/4 cup cold water
3 egg yolks
1 TBSP granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
5 TBSP melted butter
INSTRUCTIONS
1.) Incorporate liquids together. Gradually wisk the liquid mixture into flour
2.) Refrigerate 2 hrs
3.) Spray non stick skillet with PAM. Remove excess with paper towel.
4.) Heat skillet. Medium high heat.
5.) Pour 1/4 cup of crepe batter into the pan and swirl to cover the base.
6.) Cook for 1 minute. Lift an edge. Peak under with spatula.
(looking for a golden lace pattern.)
7.) Flip. Cook other side for 30 secs. Slide the crepe from pan onto a parchment lined cookie sheet.
The kids loved eating and making CREPES! The fun part was coming up with creative ways to stuff it! Strawberry Nutella, Cinnamon Apple, Peanut Butter Banana, and Bacon Cheese!! (NOTE: I made the crepe batter the night before since it needs to rest for the gluten to react.) Cole watched every step and couldn't wait to taste as he filled his with cinnamon apple. Here is the recipe for that filling:
2 Gala apples peeled and sliced
1 TBSP butter
2 tsp ground Cinnamon
1 TBSP granulated sugar
2 tsp brown sugar
splash OJ
splash apple juice
Day 2- France
May 21, 2013
Bonjour!
Our second day in France is in the books. Today for lunch we made a croque monsieur. We bought a nice crusty baguette at the bakery along with deli ham, Gruyere cheese and Dijon mustard...of course. However the kids always prefer a mild cheddar. So here is a pic of their grilled sandwich they prepared:
Cole and Simone had fun coloring the flag and learning where France is on the map. They particularly liked going to Google Earth and looking at the Eiffel Tower!! I taught them how to say Hello, Goodbye, Please, Thank you and Good night. Simone has a very nice accent....Cole....not so much. :)
Tomorrow we are off to the market once again to prepare for our entree course...but I'm mostly excited about baking a french dessert for the first time...stay tuned for tomorrow night's menu! Bonsoir!
Bonjour!
Our second day in France is in the books. Today for lunch we made a croque monsieur. We bought a nice crusty baguette at the bakery along with deli ham, Gruyere cheese and Dijon mustard...of course. However the kids always prefer a mild cheddar. So here is a pic of their grilled sandwich they prepared:
Cole and Simone had fun coloring the flag and learning where France is on the map. They particularly liked going to Google Earth and looking at the Eiffel Tower!! I taught them how to say Hello, Goodbye, Please, Thank you and Good night. Simone has a very nice accent....Cole....not so much. :) Tomorrow we are off to the market once again to prepare for our entree course...but I'm mostly excited about baking a french dessert for the first time...stay tuned for tomorrow night's menu! Bonsoir!
Entree--Ratatouille
May 23, 2013
When I think about French cooking, I can't help but think about one of the kids' favorite Disney movies...Ratatouille. So of course we opted to have it on our French menu. Cole decided he wanted to help...Simone was not having a good day and was throwing a fit at that moment...which happens. I gave Cole the task of dumping the veggies in the pot and stirring. He also placed the lemon slices on top of the fish. Any little job given to them is BIG in their mind. Cole is a wonderful helper. He is happy to do whatever needs to be done. I knew that this dish probably wouldn't win them over, but at least they tried and ate half of it. That is the main reason I am doing this....for them to get used to the idea of trying something new and different. Cole really liked the zucchini!
Here's the recipe I found in "Cook's Bible":
A French technique I learned in one of the many Central Market cooking classes I've taken was baking a white fish "en papillote". Basically, it's steaming a fish in a parchment paper pouch. I just added salt, pepper, butter and lemon.
Follow these simple steps:
Cut paper into a heart shape. Place fish on one side of heart. Fold edges. Bake.
When I think about French cooking, I can't help but think about one of the kids' favorite Disney movies...Ratatouille. So of course we opted to have it on our French menu. Cole decided he wanted to help...Simone was not having a good day and was throwing a fit at that moment...which happens. I gave Cole the task of dumping the veggies in the pot and stirring. He also placed the lemon slices on top of the fish. Any little job given to them is BIG in their mind. Cole is a wonderful helper. He is happy to do whatever needs to be done. I knew that this dish probably wouldn't win them over, but at least they tried and ate half of it. That is the main reason I am doing this....for them to get used to the idea of trying something new and different. Cole really liked the zucchini!
Here's the recipe I found in "Cook's Bible":
A French technique I learned in one of the many Central Market cooking classes I've taken was baking a white fish "en papillote". Basically, it's steaming a fish in a parchment paper pouch. I just added salt, pepper, butter and lemon.
Follow these simple steps:
Cut paper into a heart shape. Place fish on one side of heart. Fold edges. Bake.
SOUFFLE
May 24, 2013
Tonight we said au revoir to France by making a lemon souffle. I have never even attempted to make a souffle before. Actually, I think I've only eaten a souffle once. I was able to look up a recipe off Food Network's website. I'm pretty certain any on that site are decent. One quick tip...Eat this dessert first! Prepare the main course in the slow cooker so you don't have to mess with anything else too much. When you have 3 kids around bath and bedtime, it is not a good idea to attempt this dessert unless you've done it before. I'm pretty sure I whisked the egg whites too much...a little bit more than stiff peaks. A lot going on at once and with a baby needing her bottle...eh, Oh well... Still tasted yummy to us.
Well, France...it's been real! Next week, we are off to....drum roll please...India!!!
Tonight we said au revoir to France by making a lemon souffle. I have never even attempted to make a souffle before. Actually, I think I've only eaten a souffle once. I was able to look up a recipe off Food Network's website. I'm pretty certain any on that site are decent. One quick tip...Eat this dessert first! Prepare the main course in the slow cooker so you don't have to mess with anything else too much. When you have 3 kids around bath and bedtime, it is not a good idea to attempt this dessert unless you've done it before. I'm pretty sure I whisked the egg whites too much...a little bit more than stiff peaks. A lot going on at once and with a baby needing her bottle...eh, Oh well... Still tasted yummy to us.
INDIA
May 30, 2013
SAMOSAS!!
I really enjoy eating Indian cuisine, but I have never made a dish myself. I was excited to try. We had a late start this week due to it being Memorial Day on Monday. Tuesday I read some fun facts about India to the kids, and we colored their flag. The next day we went to Google Earth to check out the TAJ MAHAL. Cole seemed to be impressed. Google has a fun translator site, and you can type a word or phrase and it speaks to you how to translate it. Pretty cool. Kids love doing that.
Let me just say how yummy samosas are! MAN, love puff pastry dough! We stuffed ours with shredded chicken, smashed potato, cilantro, mango, lime, honey and a chipotle sauce. Go easy on the sauce...kinda too spicy for kids. I had to make a quick sour cream dip and made the kids drink chocolate milk to help ease it down. HAHA!
Anything dealing with dough, the kids just get right in there and take over. Samosas are supposed to be folded differently than I did, but hey go with what ya know...I know empanadas...so they looked like empanadas but with an Indian twist! Love their little hands doing all the work in these pictures. For the recipe please go to food network's website and search "samosa".
SAMOSAS!!
I really enjoy eating Indian cuisine, but I have never made a dish myself. I was excited to try. We had a late start this week due to it being Memorial Day on Monday. Tuesday I read some fun facts about India to the kids, and we colored their flag. The next day we went to Google Earth to check out the TAJ MAHAL. Cole seemed to be impressed. Google has a fun translator site, and you can type a word or phrase and it speaks to you how to translate it. Pretty cool. Kids love doing that.
Let me just say how yummy samosas are! MAN, love puff pastry dough! We stuffed ours with shredded chicken, smashed potato, cilantro, mango, lime, honey and a chipotle sauce. Go easy on the sauce...kinda too spicy for kids. I had to make a quick sour cream dip and made the kids drink chocolate milk to help ease it down. HAHA!
Anything dealing with dough, the kids just get right in there and take over. Samosas are supposed to be folded differently than I did, but hey go with what ya know...I know empanadas...so they looked like empanadas but with an Indian twist! Love their little hands doing all the work in these pictures. For the recipe please go to food network's website and search "samosa".
Indian food-- Naan
NAAN!!!
When it comes to Indian cuisine, I'm pretty sure I had to attempt to make some naan. I've never really made bread from scratch, but there is a first time for everything. Glad it was this recipe. Cole and Simone were in heaven!! Their favorite thing to do is roll dough. As you can see in these pictures, they are pretty good at it. It took just 3 hours to rise. In the meantime, we went to the pool, came back, showered up to get ready for bed and got DIRTY! lol. SO FUN! I used a cast iron skillet to cook the bread...make sure it's smoking hot in order to get that nice char on each side. Be sure to spread on the butter when ready. So YUM! find the recipe on FoodNetwork.com. Thanks Aarti.
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