Mommy Cooks

Fruit Shakes

"Mom, can we have another snack?"

So we made the Fruity Morning Shakes from our "Cookbook of the Month" this afternoon, when hunger momentarily drove the girls out of their little pool we'd set up in honor of the suddenly-summery weather.

This is one of the starred recipes in The Kid's Cookbook, those noted as being "super-easy!", and it sure is -- quick, too.  We had some strawberries in the freezer (about 2 cups' worth), so we used those instead of fresh fruit -- I thawed the fruit only partially, so the shakes were extra-cold. 

Laura was even brave enough to run the blender herself!

Fruity Morning Shakes

8 oz. vanilla yogurt
2 teaspoons sugar
6 strawberries OR 1 small ripe peach OR 1 cup blueberries

Wash the fruit.  Hull the strawberries, if using, or remove the peach pit and cut the fruit into small chunks.

Put the yogurt and sugar into the blender, and add the fruit. 
Cover, and blend until smooth.

Serve over ice, if you like, or as it is.

Makes 1 or 2 servings (about 16 oz.).  Total preparation time, less than 5 minutes.

Recipe adapted from The Kid's Cookbook by Abigail Johnson Dodge (Oxmoor House, c2000).

Nutty Jumbles

Julia and I make the Nutty Jumbles from our April "Cookbook of the Month", The Kid's Cookbook, this afternoon.  These are a very simple snack to make, with a hint of brown sugar but not too sweet -- excellent with a glass of milk.  They firm up a bit as they cool, but are nicely chewy.

The foil is probably a good idea, as the freshly-baked jumbles are quite sticky, even with the butter and non-stick baking sheets.  You don't need to scrape up all of the egg white mixture to add to the mounds on the baking sheet, as the extra bits will just spread out from underneath as the sugar melts, instead of helping to hold everything together.

Obviously, different nuts can be substituted!  I was thinking cashews, myself --

Nutty Jumbles

1 tablespoon soft butter, for greasing the baking sheets
2 egg whites
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
a pinch of salt
1 cup sliced almonds
1 cup pecan pieces
1 cup walnut pieces

Preheat the oven to 350° F.  Line 2 baking sheets with foil, and lightly grease the foil with the butter.

In a mixing bowl, combine the egg whites, brown sugar, vanilla, and salt, and beat lightly with a fork until frothy and smooth.  Add the nuts, and mix until the nuts are thoroughly coated with the egg mixture.

Drop heaping tablespoonsful of the nut mixture onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 2 inches apart.

Flatten the mounds slightly, and bake about 15 minutes, or until the nuts are browned.  Set the baking sheets on a rack to cool completely.  Carefully peel the cooled jumbles from the foil.

Store in an airtight container at room temperature, for up to 1 week.

Makes 24 jumbles.  Preparation time, 10 minutes; total time, 25 minutes.

Recipe adapted from The Kid's Cookbook by Abigail Johnson Dodge (Oxmoor House, c2000).

Basics: Mise en Plas

One of the things that I like about our April "Cookbook of the Month," The Kid's Cookbook, is the "how to" section at the front.  It's filled with sensible things that all kid cooks should know -- tie back long hair, clean up as you go, read the entire recipe before you start -- and has sections on how to measure dry and wet ingredients, how to prep fruit and vegetables, crack eggs, test pasta, grate cheese, all sorts of things.

On the very first page is something that I didn't really learn until rather late, mise en plas.  This is a French term -- pronounced "meez ahn plahs" -- which means "put in place".  The idea is that you have everything ready, "put into place," before you start cooking. 
Chop what needs to be chopped, set out the equipment you will need, and measure out all of the ingredients.  Many cooks use small glass bowls for this prep, but it is very likely that any parent in the kitchen will have a stash of plastic bowls already.  I don't always measure everything out, especially if the recipe is simple, but I do set out the spice jars etc. on the counter with measuring spoons at the ready.  Not only will you save yourself a lot of time, but you will realize before you start those chocolate chip cookies for the bake sale that you are out of vanilla!

Mise en plas is especially valuable in things such as Chinese cooking, where things often go so quickly that you would have no time to stop and dice an onion!

Mise en Place

Before you start cooking, read through the recipe to find out what ingredients and equipment you will need.  Have everything ready to go before you start -- for instance, wash and cut vegetables according to the instructions, measure out dry and wet ingredients, and set out the bowls or pans you will need.

You can place each measured ingredient in small prep bowls, if you like.  Use a plate or larger bowl for larger quantities.

Triple-Decker Turkey Club Sandwiches

We made Triple-Decker Turkey Club sandwiches for dinner tonight, from The Kid's Cookbook, our featured Cookbook of the Month.  It's a standard sandwich recipe -- sliced turkey breast, mayonnaise, lettuce, tomato, and bacon on toasted whole-wheat bread -- but as with most of the recipes in this book, its strength is in the careful writing, with very explicit instructions.

We set up an assembly line, although rather Alice-like, we had to shift every few minutes when somebody wanted a turn at something else.

It seems kind of a shame to build these delicious sandwiches with their classic combination of flavors and textures, when the girls are still at the stage where they pick sandwiches apart and eat each ingredient separately, but at any rate, it was fun to make them together!

Veggie Wraps

This post will I hope be the first in a series called "Cookbook of the Month".  I confess that I have a weakness for cookbooks, especially beautiful ones, so much that I now seem to have an extraordinary number of cookbooks that I've hardly ever used.  With spring just around the corner and newness in the air, it seems as good a time as any to start looking through these cookbooks in depth, eh?!  Each month we will make at least three recipes from the current book, and review them here.

First up is the most obvious choice,

 

The Kid's Cookbook by Abigail Johnson Dodge.  The photography, by Leigh Beisch, is very appealing, as is the colorful layout -- Laura spent a lot of time looking through it, writing down the page numbers on a Post-It for us to make.  The recipes are fairly simple -- the easiest ones are marked with asterisks, for those kids who are old enough to strike out on their own -- and each includes a little more help than you get from grown-ups' cookbooks, with lists of equipment needed and extra information about prep and the steps to take.  This might be a bit superfluous for kids who are cooking with an adult, but for older kids would be helpful in reminding them what comes next.

I have to marvel again at how much less fussing the kids make if they've actually taken part in the preparation of their meal.  When I got out the box of alfalfa sprouts, they both said, "Eeuw! I don't want any of those!" but after layering everything and rolling up the wraps, and setting the plate out on the table, they both agreed that the wraps were pretty good, even with sprouts. 

Be careful not to pile the filling too high, as this will make the wraps difficult to roll.  If you use smaller tortillas, use less filling and arrange it closer to the center!  I put a bit of deli turkey on ours, to use up the last bits.

Veggie Wraps

4 9-inch flour tortillas, any flavor
6 tablespoons cream cheese, room temperature
1 small cucumber
2 tomatoes
1 cup alfalfa sprouts
salt and pepper, if desired

Thinly slice the cucumber.  Core and thinly slice the tomatoes.

Lay out the tortillas, and spread the cream cheese over them, dividing evenly between the 4.

Arrange 1/4 of the cucumber slices on each tortilla, pressing down gently.  Arrange 1/4 of the tomato slices on top of the cucumber.  Sprinkle 1/4 of the alfalfa sprouts on top of the tomato.  Salt and pepper lightly, if desired.

Fold about 2 inches of the right edge of a tortilla over the filling, and repeat on the left side, pressing down gently.  (Push some of the filling away from the edges if this makes it easier.)  Beginning at the bottom (the unfolded edge nearest you), roll up the tortilla over and around the filling, holding the folded edges down as you roll.  Place the rolled wrap seam side down, and repeat with the other wraps.

Cut each wrap in half diagonally with a sharp knife, and serve.

Makes 4 servings.  Active work time, about 15 minutes.

Recipe adapted from The Kid's Cookbook by Abigail Johnson Dodge (Oxmoor House, c2000).