Adventures in Food
Posts tagged kids
Why aren’t you drinking…Ya-Cool?
Sep 4th
A cousin to drinkable yogurt, this Mexican “cultured dairy beverage” is perfect for packing as a snack or in lunchboxes. My kids LOVE them. Plus, there’s the whole novelty of it. While they might be popular and available everywhere in Mexico, you can’t find them just anywhere in the U.S.
I usually stock up at our Mexican grocers, which is sadly a half-hour drive from our house. Ah well, it’s worth the drive–I grab fresh-made corn tortillas, lime mayo, dried ancho chiles, pinguinos (I’ll have to post about those later–think less sugary, moist Hostess Chocolate Cupcakes). Ya-Cool come in packs of 5 small bottles with an easy to peel off aluminum lid. There are several different companies that make them and plenty of varieties to choose from. My kids’ favorite are the peach and pineapple. I like the regular which has sort of a mild, indistinguishable fruity flavor and strawberry (fresas).
According to the packaging, they are supposed to aid in digestion. I’m not really sure about the health claims, I just know they taste good. Perhaps Activia for youngsters?
No Need for Beef Bean Burgers
Sep 3rd
Bean burgers sounded like a bit of a stretch for me—I mean, how do you get them to stay together? And truth be told, I’m not a burger fan. (Shhhh! Don’t tell Mr. Squid, he makes great burgers, but for me it’s still always about getting great toppings that make a burger worth eating no matter if it’s ground sirloin or chuck.)
When I started looking through various black bean burger recipes I realized a couple of things—first that they were constructed a lot like meatballs with bread crumbs and an egg to hold them together and second that bean patties are common. Who knows, maybe falafels, those balls of ground, fried chickpeas often wrapped in a warm pita, were the inspiration for black bean burgers.
Here’s what I didn’t like about the recipes I came across—why no ‘bean fushion’? I like black beans but what about adding in a few red beans or pinto? The flavoring in black bean burgers seemed fairly expected too, garlic and onions, onions and garlic, sometimes sautéed and sometimes added raw. I figure if you’re already using beans for your burger you should make it a southwest burger with enough spice and heat to distinguish it from it’s beefy cousin.
No problem getting the kids to eat bean burgers!
So instead of bread crumbs as I binder, I used ground up tortilla chips and I didn’t even bother with onions and garlic, I spiced it as I might a burger with onion powder, garlic powder and then chili powder. I also tossed in a little mayo to hold it together; to brighten the flavor even more I added plenty of fresh chopped cilantro. As for the beans, I decided on a black-pinto combo.
The results? I really wasn’t expecting to like the bean burgers much (I mean, it is still a burger). But the crisped patties melded together with the vivid flavors of beans, cilantro, southwest spices and corn won me over. My kids too. My husband even had seconds, and said—I kid you not—“I like these better than regular burgers.”
Have you tried bean burgers?
Recipe
Servings: 8, 3-inch burgers
Prep + Cooking time: About an hour
Ingredients
1 15.5 oz can black beans (drained)
2 15.5 oz cans pinto beans (drained; you’ll only use half of the second can)
1 cup corn chips, ground (measured after grinding)
1 egg
2 tablespoons mayo
½ teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon chili powder
¼ teaspoon cayenne
Salt and pepper to taste
Slices of cheese, optional
Oil
Directions
- In a food processor, grind the corn chips and then set aside in a large bowl.
- Drain all of the beans. Process 1 can of pinto beans until smooth. Add to the corn chips in the separate bowl.
- Again, in the food processor, pulse the remaining pinto beans (remember half of the can; the rest you can save for another recipe) and half of the black beans until chunky but NOT pureed. Two or three pulses should do it.
- Add the chunky pinto and black bean mixture to the corn and pureed bean mixture. Add the remaining ingredients (except the rest of the black beans) and stir.
- Add in the whole black beans to the rest of the bean mixture and stir gently. The mixture will be loose.
- On a baking sheet covered with parchment paper, form three inch in diameter, one-inch thick patties. Place on the baking sheet and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- In a large skillet bring three tablespoons of oil to medium-high heat. Gently add the firmed patties to the oil and sauté on one side for about 4 minutes and then flip over gently and sauté the next side for 4 minutes or until crisped. You should be able to fit four patties into the pan at a time.
- Replace the parchment on the baking sheet and put the sautéed patties onto the sheet. Add a slice of cheese to the top (I used Monterrey Jack, but you can use whatever your family prefers). Melt the cheese in an oven preheated to 375 degrees Fahrenheit for about 7 to 10 minutes while you prep the rest of the burger ingredients.
- Serve the burgers on bun with lettuce, tomato, and onion. I also added a chipotle mayo to the bun top for some extra heat.
- Enjoy!
School lunch fun–the Tiffin Box
Sep 2nd
Photo credit: Amazon
Looking more like a silver bucket than a lunch pail, I was intrigued when I passed a stack of Tiffin boxes sitting on the end of the aisle at World Market. I find all sorts of goodies for my kids’ lunches there. Little bottles of Tabasco and Cholula sauces, chocolate-hazelnut spread (like Nutella, but chocolatier and a store-brand version), tins with an assortment of candies, I could spend hours just going through the aisles picking through every little item. I always limit myself to my coupon (usually it’s $10 off a $30 purchase). So three bags of Ghirardelli 60% cocoa chocolate chips–FYI ALERT this is the best deal anywhere, Ghirardelli fanatics take note!–at around $7 for a 12-ounce bag and I’ve got myself $10 to spend on something fun. And you know I was going to buy those chips anyway.
Forgive me, talking Ghirardelli gets me distracted (in the store too). The Tiffin box, according to the note attached to the container, is a traditional Indian lunch pail. Mine is about 5-6 inches tall and the bottom forms a bowl that snaps into place on the bottom of another bowl for a seamless design. You can find Tiffin boxes that stack any number of containers–mine only held two, but I’ve seen plenty online numbering three, sometimes more.
My 7th grader begged to pack her own lunch the first day of school just so she could use “the box.” She lined the bowls with plastic wrap for easy clean-up (of course you can make this greener by ditching the plastic and just wiping out the bowls after). Packing in penne, sharp cheddar cheese, chunks of ham and a little broccoli, she made herself a pasta salad in the bottom bowl. In the top she put some cut up fruit. All this and she didn’t even ask for my help! I’m liking the Tiffin box.
Tiffin boxes are popping up in all sorts of places. You can find them in colors at Target. What’s happening around your house–are you trying out new lunchbox containers this year or breaking out the old Bento boxes maybe?
Firefly snack crackers
Aug 28th
One of my earliest memories was catching fireflies at my grandmother’s house in Iowa. Like most kids who get anywhere near a lightning bugs, I ran inside and asked for a glass jar. I just had to catch one! My grandmother helped me poke holes in the top of a Ball Mason canning jar. Back outside, I scooped up as many fireflies as I could. In the end, I think my glass jar had a total of three swirling inside. I let two go immediately, but I wanted to keep just one to light up my room.
Whether my captured lightning bug kept flashing into the night or not, I don’t remember. And, of course, since then I’ve learned that lightning bugs really shouldn’t spend too much time “indoors” no matter how many holes you poke! But what I do recall is the fascination and draw of these twinkling little creatures. It makes the outside feel magical at night–especially when all of a sudden one pops up next to you and flashes.
With summer nearly over and the fireflies making fewer and fewer appearances, I wanted to do something special with my kids. We’re having a ‘firefly’ picnic. Our plans are pretty simple–to take time to eat outside a little later at night (8pm) and to use battery-powered candles as light (granted, it won’t be that dark outside), but my kids liked that touch. Oh, and we’re eating our meal under the trees. We’re hoping a few fireflies will make a guest appearance and that the mosquitoes stay away during our “feast.”
Our meal will be a spread of peanut butter and honey sandwiches, juice boxes, chips and carrot sticks (can you tell the kids are ready for school again?), but we’re taking time to create some special firefly snacks—just in case the real ones don’t make an appearance.
Recipe for Firefly Crackers
Servings: As many as you want to make!
Prep time: Depends on how long it holds your kids’ interest
Ingredients
Circle crackers (Ritz or similar variety)
Spreadable cream cheese
Raisins
Kiwis (or pineapple rings)
Directions
Have all of your ‘firefly’ materials on hand ready for assembly.
Body—circle cracker
Wings—circle cracker broken or cut in halves
“Glow”—cut kiwis into thin slices or alternatively, use pineapple rings
Raisins—eyes
Cream cheese—glue
Add a generous dollop of cream cheese to a full circle cracker and spread. Add the kiwi to the bottom half of the cracker and carefully place a wing on either side. Add two raisin ‘eyes’ to the top of the body circle cracker. That’s it! If you don’t have kiwis available, go ahead and use pineapple rings, but you’ll have to carefully cut them in half to create a thin enough slice for the ‘glow’ part of the firefly cracker.
Winner! Revolution Foods Sampler Giveaway
Aug 26th
Credit: Revolution Foods
Thanks for all the entries in the Revolution Foods Giveaway. Heather C, is the winner. Please report back and let MKES readers know what you thought about the Grammy Jammys and other kids’ snacks.
Remember the $50 Bison Sampler Giveaway from High Plains Bison? Jennifer M. reported back. Here’s her review:
It came last week! It was really well packaged, with dry ice and individual frozen boxes. The dry ice wasn’t even half gone when it got to me, so everything was nice and cold. I got a box of hot dogs, a box of ribeye steaks, and a box of sausage with provolone and pepperoncini.
I don’t eat red meat, but my husband and six-year-old daughter do. I cooked up the sausage according to the package directions, which was very easy to do. They ate almost the whole (big) package in one sitting–there were two left over, and they each had one for breakfast first thing the next morning. They both declared it to be the best sausage they’d ever eaten and immediately asked that I order some more.
So it’s a big hit, especially since I”m really happy about the nutritional content as well!
Keep reading MKES for future giveaways and cool recipes your whole family will enjoy–even picky eaters!
Jolly Pumpkin’s Edamame Spread
Aug 20th
Photo credit: esthereggy
Great as a dip or spread–we here at Jolly Pumpkin serve it with our grilled pizza dough!
Ingredients
1 ½ pounds shelled edamame (fresh when in season or frozen)
1 cup fresh spinach- washed, stems removed
¼ cup parmesan cheese-grated (optional)
2 tsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. lemon zest
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
2 clove garlic- crushed
Kosher salt and black pepper to taste
Fresh mint to garnish
- In boiling salted water blanch the beans until tender. Transfer to an ice bath to stop the cooking process.
- Place beans in a food processor and pulse until course chopped- transfer half of the beans to a mixing bowl, leaving the other half of the beans in the food processor.
- Add the olive oil, parmesan cheese, spinach, lemon zest and juice, garlic salt and pepper to the beans in the food processor and puree until smooth.
- Add the pureed beans to the course chopped beans and gently fold together. Taste and re-season with salt and pepper if necessary.
- Transfer to a serving bowl- drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and garnish with fresh chopped mint
Chef Q&A: The Jolly Pumpkin’s Maggie Long
Aug 20th
Photo credit: esthereggy
The concept for the Jolly Pumpkin Café & Brewery has literally been stewing for years. The eatery located in downtown Ann Arbor is the brainchild of chef, and managing partner, Maggie Long and brewer extraordinaire Ron Jeffries. Jeffries has been crafting his artisanal sour beers in Dexter, Michigan for years and now has a restaurant and brewery in Traverse City along with the café, which opened in September of 2009.
Long says the philosophy behind the food at the café is fresh, organic. For example, her oldest daughter volunteers at an area farm where some of the ingredients come from for the café. And the sourdough pizza is fashioned with a sourdough starter that Long received from a fellow foodie whose held onto it for 130 years. Beyond the fresh ingredients, Long says that the aim of the café is “welcoming.” “We want everyone to feel comfortable here, especially families,” explains Long. “I love to see families here and I’m honored to provide food for them that is both healthy and delicious.” She notes that the menu includes kid favorites like chicken strips, but that the strips are made from locally raised chickens and breaded in organic cornflakes.
For a taste of Long’s organic creations, you can try this recipe from the Jolly Pumpkin café’s appetizer menu; this edamame spread is served alongside fresh, grilled sourdough pizza.
What three ingredients do you always keep stocked in your pantry?
Quinoa, organic peanut butter—it’s gotta be crunchy, and honey from the farmer’s market. Those are the staples in my house. It doesn’t mean I put those all together!
Your favorite meal to make or serve?
That’s a hard one. I absolutely love Tamworth hogs. A braised pork shoulder is my favorite meal–slow cooked. Tamworth is a heritage breed of hog and it’s a flavor not to be missed. It’s a darker meat and it has a ton of flavor.
We all have a favorite indulgence, for a foodie like you it must be something spectacular?
Ron introduced me to Alan McClure of Patric Chocolate, a small chocolate maker in Missouri. I’m not usually a fan of dark chocolate but the stuff this guy puts together is absolutely amazing. My favorite is the 70% Madagascar chocolate bar with little cocoa nibs in it. It’s addictive.
What’s one of your worst cooking mistakes?
Anything that I burn. Once, I burned the mac ‘n cheese sauce—totally toasted it. I tried to fix it, but you can’t. I use really good pasta and really good cheeses, but nothing can take that scorched flavor out.
There are so many great Michigan-made food products, what is your pick?
For me, anything seasonal. Rosewood Farms makes a phenomenal tofu.
What do you suggest for first-timers to Jolly Pumpkin? What menu item should they make sure to try?
I make a smoked tofu salad that’s really good. There’s spinach, cherry tomatoes, shitake mushrooms, shaved broccoli, a sesame vinaigrette and, of course, smoked tofu. The flavors meld really well. The sourdough pizza is always good too.
Giveaway–Revolution Foods Organic School Snack Sampler
Aug 17th
Apples are my idea of a perfect school snack–a medium-sized, crisp Empire apple. But I know that apples will only appeal (no pun intended:) to my kids so many days in a row and then I’ve got to get creative. I’ve been looking around for easy, healthy school snack options and Revolution Foods has some that may be just right. I haven’t sampled Revolution Foods’ line yet, instead I’m going to rely on one lucky MKES reader to do it for me.
The giveaway package will include samples of their kid-friendly
- Grammy Sammy–which pairs soft baked graham bars with creamy yogurt fillings. The cocoa graham with banana yogurt fillings sounds good to me.
- Jammy Sammy–for those of you with gluten allergies, this might be your answer to the standard PBJ. The bars come in several varieties including peanut butter and grape.
- Mashups–good-for-your-kids fruit snacks. Only organic fruits make it into these treats. Although there are several flavors, their newest creation, strawberry banana would be my pick.
Here’s how you enter–tell me your kids’ favorite school snack. Don’t have kids? You’re still eligible to enter–tell me one of your favorite snacks. The contest runs until next Wednesday, August 25th, when the winner will be chosen at random and announced on Thursday, August 26th. (Only participants in the continental U.S. will be eligible–sorry Kiwis.)
I’ll start–one of my kids’ favorite school snacks (beyond apples) is whole, black olives. I send in ten–one for each finger and let them know that playing with their food is just fine. How about you?
Kids Eating Curry–Tortilla, anyone?
Aug 11th
Photo credit: Thai Jasmine
So just how do you get kids to eat spicy, coconuty Thai curry–especially if it’s green? I wondered the same thing. I’ve discovered a few helps since I’ve been trying to get my kids as hooked on Thai food as I am.
I made a red, spicy curry the first time I served Thai food to my kids at home a few years ago. They’d loved trying out curries at restaurants (especially if we polished off the meal with coconut ice cream), but when I prepared it at home…it was a total flop. I served the dish–gobs of curry and a mound of rice floating on top–just as we’d had it at restaurants. Even my oldest, who’s willing to try just about anything wouldn’t go past a couple bites. Yikes!
I didn’t try making curry very often after that. I just didn’t want my kids getting into their heads that they didn’t like ‘curry.’ Recently, we went to a Malaysian restaurant that served both Japanese sushi (a favorite of theirs) and Malaysian curries. The server brought out a traditional Malaysian bread, roti canai, to serve with the meal.
The roki that inspired our tortilla improvisation!
If you’ve been following my blog, you know my family loves Mexican food. Since the Malaysian bread seemed in the same category as flour tortillas I had a thought–pair something I know my kids already like–tortillas–with something they’re learning to like–curry. Here’s how I served it this time: I put the green curry (thank you Savory Spice) into small serving bowls (4-ounce ramekins) on a large plate with a pile of rice and a stack of flour tortillas in the center of the table. It helps if you have really good tortillas–I buy the uncooked variety in bulk from Costco. They taste entirely different from the somewhat stale, bland variety available at most grocery stores; they’re chewy and soft with a hint of crispness if you cook them just so.
My kids tore off pieces of tortilla to dip into the curry just as they’d done in the Malaysian restaurant. While no one asked for seconds (except my husband), everyone ate their entire serving of curry–no complaints. Anyone else raising a curry eater?
Also, don’t forget tomorrow is the last day to enter the $50 Bison Sampler Giveaway. I’ll be announcing the winner Friday morning.
Why aren’t you eating…ZBars
Aug 7th
If manna ever falls again from the heavens I think it will be in the form of ZBars.
I had intended to have one right beside me to look at, refer to–eat–while I wrote this post but they’re all gone. And I started the week with two full boxes of six a piece. I first discovered ZBars in the health food section at my grocers (I’m a Luna bar fan too–Nuts Over Chocolate is my all-time favorite). I thought I’d pick up a box as an after school snack for my kids–after all, they are supposed to be energy bars for youngsters. My husband found them–and promptly hid them–after downing just one. They are that addictive. My kids noticed my husband’s (okay, mine too) need for ZBars and wanted to try them too. Now we have a house rule of only one a day. But with five of us….well, we go through boxes quickly. (I found the best price for ZBars is at Target.)
Haven’t tried a Zbar yet? Let me describe the addiction. ZBars are organic granola bars put out by the folks who craft Clif bars. They’re designed for kids, packed with rolled oats, chocolate, oat fiber, fig paste and all sorts of good-for-you ingredients. Each bar has two grams of fiber, no cholesterol (and no undecipherable ingredients either). There’s only 3.5 grams of fat per serving and less sugar than a slice of bread. But I’ll admit, that’s only part of the reason I buy them. The real reason? They taste just like brownies. I should back up and say my flavor of choice is the Chocolate Brownie bar (Chocolate Chip isn’t nearly as satisfying–I promise).
So for after school, after dinner, after soccer practice, after a long day, after pretty much any activity, ZBars are great for kids, but you should really try one too.
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