Al Dente

Salad Dippers! (Exclamation Point Must Be Included)

I'm back! Remember me? No? Why not? My posts were so mind-blowingly good that I earned an international fan base, with folks on every continent making their own "Beet Week" T-shirts in my honor, with my recipe and photos of beet pancakes on the back. (If I recall correctly, one reader politely intoned, "Why do these pancakes look like bloody hamburgers?" But my personal-time all favorite was the response to my recipe for chili with beets: "I thought you guys are supposed to be knowlegable. Damn.")

Anyway, that's me. After all this time. No more "knowlegable" but with a third son in tow. His older brothers, Squashcake and Squishpie, are calling him Sugar Bun. Yep, three boys. Can you do a rapid calculation of the number of boxes of cereal to be eaten at each breakfast when they're teens? I can. When it comes to groceries, I'm not ignoring the early warning signs for Lite Wallet Syndrome.

But for now, they're just little boys, 5, 3, and 6 months. So most of the time I can manage to create enough food to portion out to them, though I see real changes in that fact already beginning. The older one comes home from kindergarten famished and eats like a machine until I cut him off an hour before dinner. This is the kid of mine who will eat just about anything you'd think he wouldn't and nothing you'd think he would. No cheese, no ham, but please can I eat all the skins you peeled off the fruit that my younger brother won't eat? He's like that. And his very most favorite thing to eat is a salad with smoked salmon in it. Now you ought to see the faces the younger one can pull when offered salad. No. Can. Do. Salad.

BUT

I found out the 3-year-old will eat "Salad Dippers." See, it's all in the name my friends. And this is supported by real science. What happened was, I had too paltry a number of ingredients for a bona fide salad one evening, so I decided to set out some nice Romaine leaves, a few carrots sliced wee, and the last remnant of a red pepper. I put it all onto a plate in three separate piles and set it in the middle of the table. My big piece de resistance was to set out a tiny container for salad dressing at each setting. When the inevitable whine, "What's for dinnerrrrrrrrrrr" came, I thought quick. "Pasta, meatballs, and... SALAD DIPPERS!" Well this created a stir, let me tell you. Hands were flying, things were getting dipped. We made "Tiny Veggie Wraps" and "Lettuce Burritos," putting the pepper and carrot slivers onto Romaine canoes and floating them in our own dressing. Suddenly, the 5-year-old hollered "He ate a carrot!" and pointed at his brother. I just about fell out. He did eat that carrot. And several more, too. Plus, now he likes EVERYTHING dipped in ranch dressing.

I swear, it's so corny I just about can't stand it. Why does a thing like that work? It shouldn't. Why couldn't I just call it what the fancy French do--cru d'ete? Frankly, I think it's because little boys like verbs. Anyway. Try it out. Might work at your house.

--Sweet B

Baking Kids Love and Halloween Meringues

Good books on cooking with kids are hard to find, and it's even more uncommon to see a "serious" chef take one on. I was so pleased to see pastry chef Cindy Mushet, who won acclaim with last year's Art and Soul of Baking, follow that book up with Baking Kids Love. Written with the kid-input of Mushet's daughter Bella, it's a fun, colorful, approachable--but real--guide. Instead of the usual genre mainstays of arranging fruit in smiley faces or hiding vegetables in brownies, this one brings kids into the real world of the kitchen. They proof yeast, they melt chocolate, they roll out pie crust. It's just the sort of book I wanted to use with my own 7-year-old, so when I heard Cindy and 11-year-old Bella were coming to Seattle on tour, I asked "Baking with kids? Can they bake with my kid?" 

That's how they wound up in my kitchen, pastry bags in hand, making Halloween-style "meringue crispies" with my boy. The treats were meringue cookies stretched out into the shapes of "rattling bones and fingers," decorated with almond fingernails and melted-chocolate rings. My son is a veteran of one-bowl mixes like chocolate chip cookies and banana breads (both of which have a place in the book), but I hadn't ever given him more complicated projects. I was afraid that if he failed, he'd lose some of the pleasure he takes in baking. 

Mushet kept such fears in mind for the book, thinking hard about what to include so that kids (and, not incidentally, parents) could find kitchen success. Butter cakes did not make the cut, for instance, because not every modern-day parent knows how to gauge when the butter and sugar are properly creamed. Instead, there's the pretty "chocolate celebration cake" on the book's cover, which uses oil. Mushet also knows, though, that kids can rise to the expectations of adults; she's seen even 5-year-olds safely wielding knives and whipping up goodies. "Because I believed it, they could do it," she said.

The book started out with the recipes that Cindy and Bella loved to make together, then Bella proved a good sounding board for which gaps to fill and which recipes to leave out. Which recipes did Bella say to chuck? "Whole wheat bread". Sure, she likes it, but "Do I love it?" No. Instead, the book has pretzels and pizza dough, cinnamon rolls and monkey bread.

Baking is such a science, with success riding so much on correct measurements, I had to ask whether it was risky to put the recipes in the imprecise hands of children. Mushet noted that the book stresses the importance of measuring properly and following directions. And she shared this tip from when Bella was very young: She let her youngster measure out each ingredient, but had already pre-measured the precise amounts herself in advance. The correctly filled spoons and cups were the ones that went into the mixing bowl.

And our own baking experiment, with my boy? It was a delight. Cindy showed him how to separate eggs, and he proceeded on his own without a single speck of yolk going into the whites. "You're a natural!" she told him. Bella showed him how to judge the stiffness of the whipped whites, then how to pipe them into scary bones and fingers. He needed no directions on the sprinkled sugars and other decorations -- or, of course, on the eating. He's now the designated meringue chef in the family. We're both brimming with pride. 

Here's the recipe:

The Frogs Wore Red Suspenders

I still remember listening to Daniel Pinkwater introduce The Frogs Wore Red Suspenders to Scott Simon on NPR's Weekend Edition some seven years ago. My whole family was hooked.

Jack Prelutsky's poems are delightful, and Petra Mathers illustrations are charming. So many of Prelutsky's poems feature food, it's hard for a foodie to choose a favorite, but here's one of them. 

Peanut Peg and Peanut Pete

Peanut Peg and Peanut Pete,
on a bright Atlanta street,
call in voices loud and clear,
"Peanuts! Get your peanuts here!"

"Peanut cookies, peanut cakes,
peanut butter, peanut shakes,
peanut ices, peanut pies,
peanut sauce, and peanut fries!"

All day long they gaily sell
peanuts still inside the shell,
peanuts salty, peanuts sweet-
Peanut Peg and Peanut Pete.

The Frogs Wore Red Suspenders, Jack Prelutsky, Tien Wah Press, 2002

--Tracy Schneider

The Bake Shop Ghost: A Sweet Book for Kids

My friend Carolyn gave The Bake Shop Ghost to my daughter, but I know Carolyn had me in mind. I love reading about food. And who could resist this description of the sweets made by the best baker in town, Miss Cora Lee Merriweather?

Few looked up from the glass-fronted cases filled with fluffy meringue pies, glistening fruit tarts, flaky strudels, and, most of all, cakes. Layer cakes, sheet cakes, cakes with glazes, cakes with fillings, cakes with frosting finer than Irish lace, chocolate cakes, white cakes, tiny petits fours and towering wedding cakes.

When Cora Lee Merriweather dies, she refuses to leave the bake shop, and her ghost scares off all the new buyers, until Annie Washington, a pastry chef fresh off a cruise ship, arrives. But how Annie and Cora Lee make peace is a delicious tale. And at the very end of the book, author Jacqueline K. Ogburn shares her family's favorite recipe for chocolate layer cake.

The Bake Shop Ghost, Jacqueline K. Ogburn, Houghton Mifflin Company, 2005

--Tracy Schneider

How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World

How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World arrived in the mail for my daughter several years ago, a gift from our foodie friends Zachary and Clark. It was a treat she and I both could share, a tale of food and travel, two of my favorite subjects.

This charming book tells the story of a little girl who decides to make an apple pie. But when she finds the grocery store closed, she does what any enterprising young girl would, packs a suitcase and travels the world to gather the ingredients herself.

She begins her journey at harvest time on a farm in Italy where she gathers semolina wheat. Then she's off to five other countries before she returns home to bake that pie.

While the pie is cooling, the little girl invites friends over to share in the treat. She stops at the grocery store one more time for some vanilla ice to serve with the pie, only to find that the store is closed, still! What will this spunky little girl do? You'll have to find out for yourself.

Enchanting watercolor illustrations accompany the text and fill the pages with sights from this wonderful adventure. Two maps offer an easy-to-understand guide of the voyage, and for those eager for some DIY fun, both a recipe for apple pie and instructions for an apple-tasting party are included.

How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World, Marjorie Priceman, Alfred A. Knopf, 1994

--Tracy Schneider

These Ugly Vegetables Make a Mighty Fine Soup

My mother loved grocery shopping. She knew everyone at the grocery store and delighted in any new fruits or vegetables that came through the produce department.

Even in an era where canned goods and frozen foods took center stage, when iceberg was practically the only game in town, my mother was buying escarole and bok choy. I still remember being the first kid in the neighborhood to have eaten kiwi.

So it was in lovely tribute to my mother that her good friend Lois, a few years back, gave my daughter The Ugly Vegetables, (Charlesbridge Publishing, 1999) a picture book by Grace Lin, who, coincidentally, grew up in the same small Upstate New York town as I.

The Ugly Vegetables is the story of a little girl who helps her mother plant a garden. The girl is disappointed that her plot is different from the others on the block and yields ugly vegetables, while up and down the street the neighborhood gardens are filled with beautiful flowers.

But her disappointment disappears the day her mother harvests those "ugly" vegetables and turns them into a delicious soup that brings the whole neighborhood to her door.

All our neighbors were standing at the door holding flowers.

"We noticed you were cooking." Mr. Fitzgerald laughed as held out his flowers. "And we thought maybe you might be interested in a trade!"

W laughed too, and my mother gave them each their own bowl of her special soup.

A recipe for Ugly Vegetable Soup, made with Chinese vegetables such as sheau hwang gua (Chinese cucumber) is included at the end of the book, so you can enjoy a bowl of it too.

--Tracy Schneider

Back to School with Bake Sale Tidbits

Now that school has started, pencils are being sharpened and administrative budgets are being crunched more than ever. Creative fundraising is on everyone's mind, and bake sales are always a hit with adults and kids alike. So, I thought it would be worth reviewing some basics and launching the discussion. 

Admittedly, I haven’t spearheaded many bake sales over the years, but I have contributed cookies and am always looking for sturdy portable kid-friendly treats.  Here are some of my tips for baking popular bake sale goodies:

• Use your tried and true recipes, and whenever possible include brain-friendly ingredients, such as apples, wheat germ, and oatmeal.
• Select recipes that use affordable ingredients. There's no need for expensive chocolate!
• Try to find recipes that use  basic sensible pans,  such as a 9- by 13-pan or an 8-inch square.
• Avoid allergens such as peanuts.
• Target sturdy bars, cookies, and muffins instead of dainty pastries that will sag under pressure.
• Once baked, post a FHB (Family Hold Back) sign. Otherwise you risk losing the product and profit.
• Check out the Bake Sale Sensations section of Hershey’s website.

Have you hosted a Bake Sale and what sold best?

Photo by Melissa A. Trainer

--Melissa A. Trainer

The Pinzon Apple Peeler and Why Amazon Customers Are the Best

My 2-year-old recently decided he loved apples and that they were to be his new favorite snack food. Eager to encourage his healthful obsession, I bought a large bag of apples...only to discover that if I didn't core the apple for him, well...he'd just eat it whole, seeds and all. Now there's an apple lover for you! So, I went about looking into apple coring gadgets, hoping to satisfy his sometimes urgent snack needs with little frustration on my part.

Working at Amazon, I happened to have access to the Pinzon apple peeler, corer, and slicer, which I am taking home tonight to amaze my little one with its twirling apple efficiency. However, sitting here at my desk looking at it for the first time, I had to wonder--how the heck do you use this thing?!

Now, as not only an Amazon employee, but also a frequent shopper, I knew my fact-finding mission needed to start with the customer reviews on the product page. And, let me tell you, I was not disappointed! In fact, I was more impressed than I have ever been with our customers! Not only did I learn from three different video reviews all the features of this new gadget and precisely how to peel, core, and slice an apple (and a potato too), but, I also learned from Timothy B. Riley, how to use this gadget to make fried sushi, duck with a fig and port-wine reduction and fried potato ribbons, and gluten-free vegetable pasta. Amazon customers are the best! Thanks Timothy, and everyone else out there who has taken the time to educate and enlighten shoppers like me!

--KitchenMaus

Pizza on a Stick

Here's a clever and fun way to get your kids their daily dose of pizza without having to resort to bags of those disgusting Totino's pizza nugget things.

For the recipe and more drool-inducing pictures, visit the Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day blog.

--Spanno

Wilton's Guitar Cake Pan Rocks!

My son Wyatt is obsessed with guitars. He turns everything from rakes to pizza peels into instant guitars and can rock a mean Row Row Row the Boat. For his second birthday last week, I decided to rock out along with him and make him a guitar-shaped birthday cake. Last year's giant cupcake birthday cake was hard to beat, but I was pretty thrilled with how well my guitar cake turned out. I used Wilton's guitar pan and followed the terrific decorating directions (PDF) that came with it.

Now, I've used decorating tips before, and have taken a few short decorating classes, but I've never taken a thorough hands-on decorating class (though I'd like to!). I had originally planned just to frost the cake using a palette knife to create the look, but nothing fancy. But in the back of my head, I knew I really needed to do it the Wilton way, to make it look good. That's where those directions came in handy. They were so thorough and clear! They tell you step-by-step what to do, how much frosting you'll need for each part, and they give you clear technique instruction on how to use each decorating tip to the desired effect. Really, the mini class you get from following the directions is worth the price of the pan itself!

I just used store-bought frostings, since my kitchen is currently being remodeled and I couldn't make them myself. I chose a dark chocolate frosting for the sides, milk chocolate for the top, and used black gel for the black areas, and white icing for the strings. It all did beautifully in the piping bags! I was worried it would be too thick, but that wasn't a problem at all. And, in fact, it was a warm day, and I was impressed at how smooth it went on, and without ever breaking, as can happen with homemade buttercream. I will say that the star technique is laborious and my hand hurt for an hour afterward. But it was worth it, and I would gladly do it all over again for my birthday boy.

Take a look at the results:

Oh, and it tasted good too!

--KitchenMaus