Little Elephants: Kids Crafts and Fun Activities

A bit of kitchen independence

Maggie has discovered the simple joy of being able to prepare her own snacks lately, and will happily make enough for her brothers and anyone else who happens to be around, too. Her favorite concoction to make is Fruit Smoothies. She'll toss whatever fruit we have on hand (fresh or frozen) into the blender, add a bit of ice and either fruit juice or a dollop of yogurt and hit the "blend" button. Dee-lish!

Makes this Momma so proud to see her take charge of the kitchen. It really does.

Halloween cupcakes

So yeh... I know this is a perfect example of why I should only ever take pictures during daytime hours, and in natural light. Problem is, I really wanted to share this as an example of planning one thing and ending up with something different that the kids still love.

Maggie and I originally thought we would decorate these birthday cupcakes with fancy pumpkins. When we tested out the orange icing we discovered that controlling the dispenser was way more difficult than either of us imagined (yes, a slight exaggeration, but it really was hard).

We ended up with these cheery squiggles that were seasonal and fun. I'm sure her classmates enjoyed them every bit as much as if we had expended much more time and effort :-)

& yes, my *baby* just turned 9!

Swedish rye bread

For years now my mother-in-law has made delicious rye bread, filled with sunflower and other tasty seeds, from mixes she picks up in Denmark. When I'm lucky enough to visit she sends me home with a pack or two to make at home and I hoard them like gold.

I can't tell you how excited I got (really, my heart rate actually sped up!) when I noticed some Danish women on line at Ikea with boxes of this stuff piled high in their carts. When I asked where they'd found it they kindly pointed me to the right spot & filled me in on their simple secret for making Swedish rye bread.

The milk carton has all the dry ingredients, you just add water, mix, set it to rise, and then bake. So incredibly simple. The tip from the Danes was not to shake it all in the carton as directed on the package, but to mix it in a big bowl. You have much better control over it all this way, and you reduce the risk of a big mess.

This is an incredibly easy weekend-afternoon activity for the kids. I only wish mine enjoyed the bread as much as I do!

Serve with butter, fontina, or paté. Any savory or mild topping will go well. It's a perfect mid-morning snack.

Home made Sushi

The night before I headed out of town it was Maggie's turn to take over the kitchen for dinner. She opted for sushi rolls which we've done once before. As with the last time is was easy, but very messy (who'd have thunk sticky rice was so sticky?!). Miss M was especially gracious, and let Bjørn join in on the fun even though he'd insisted on making his meal all by himself.

We made the rice following a simple recipe on About.com. We also heated up a whole pre-cooked and marinated eel which we bought at a local Asian market.

While those were cooking Maggie set to chopping and prepping the other fillings: crab meat, cucumbers, sushi grade salmon, and salmon roe.

Rolling the sushi in the Noori (seaweed sheets) was a bit tricky because we needed to make them snug so the fillings didn't flop out. Luckily, we'd bought bamboo mats (that I'm sure have a name), which made the task much easier than doing it all free-hand.

It was so delicious and filling, I'm looking forward to making this again soon!

[ps: I'll be posting a special give-away tomorrow morning, so don't forget to check back in!]

Bjørn's Ratatouille

Bjørn made his eagerly awaited Ratatouille this evening (folks who are paying attention will note it came a day late). It was delicious! I would never have thought to accompany it with Tzatziki, but they went shockingly well together. We were extra lucky to have a couple impromptu vegetarian guests pop over for dinner so his meal was especially timely.

I'll admit I was extremely nervous about handing him the knives and vegetable peeler, even with (over-)careful instruction, and I did have to remind him (many, many times) that if he left his fingers in the way they would get chopped right along with his onions.

When I was a kid I made Ratatouille with my mom on many occasions. Today I discovered why she let me make this dish so often -- it's crazy easy, healthy, and it tastes great. Here's the basic recipe & prep (add more or less of each veggie to taste or availability):

• Sauté one medium sized onion in butter with a bit of vegetable oil (most recipes call for olive oil, but I find it it a bit bitter, I like my Rat mellow).
• While that's simmering, chop one green and one red bell pepper. Toss into the pot when the onions start to turn translucent. Stir gently.
• Peel and chop into cubes one medium sized eggplant. Toss it in. Stir gently.
• Chop five medium zucchinis. Toss 'em in. Stir gently.
• Add some marinara sauce or fresh tomatoes (I use a marinara that's pretty rustic with large chunks of tomato).
• Crush several cloves of garlic (to taste).
• Season with salt, pepper and Herbes de Provence
• Mix and simmer on medium-low for half an hour.

Serve with warmed up baguette to soak up all the juices.

For desert we had Profiteroles (from Trader Joe's) drizzled in warm chocolate sauce. YUM!

Bon appétit!

Chef Bjørn

Over lunch today Bjørn asked us out of the blue if he could make an entire meal for us All By Himself. Of course!

We had a long discussion about what he could make, where we would need to get the ingredients, what he would need, planning the drinks to accompany each dish... The hardest part was managing Maggie's desire to take over the project without curbing her enthusiasm. She'll get to make her own meal soon, this one will be all his.

While we discussed the ins and outs of meal planning, Tomas doodled [see above].

Bjørn settled on Ratatouille (no doubt inspired by the movie) as the main dish. He has a very clear idea of how it will be served: piled in the center of the dish, with a circle of yogurt sauce (Tzatziki?) around it, followed by a ring of grated zucchini.

For desert he would like to make fruit salad with mango lassis.

This sounds like a perfect summer meal to me, we'll head for the vegetable stand on Monday morning!

Simple foodie heaven

I don't think I've ever fallen in love with an article before, and now it's finally happened.

Tomas handed me the Dining In section from this past Sunday Times. He wanted me to skim through Summer Express: 101 Simple Meals Ready in 10 Minutes or Less and make out a quick shopping list (he was on his way out to the store). I've now read, and re-read the list several times and every reading ends with me drooling at the mouth. I can picture myself savoring each and every bite. It might be a sickness.

If you like Ina Garten, you'll like this. It's all simple dishes that are perfect for sharing with friends at the end of a long summer's day.

I'm thinking people who are direction-followers won't like the article as much as I do. The instructions are about as minimal as they get (how else to fit 101 recipes on two pages?). For me, they are perfect. I hate instructions, and usually ignore them after a quick glance when it comes to cooking. I like to improvise. It's more fun that way, even if I'm making a dish I've made a thousand times before.

Tomas made the fried fillet of sole last night with a simple salad on the side and it was deelish.

Go check it out, I'll be printing out a copy from the website to save in my recipe binder 'cause I got the original wet at the pool and now it's all smeared.

Melon boats

Sometimes my  kids make me feel like a creative genius. Take today for example; it was hot out and everyone was just a little bit tired and slowly getting to cranky. Mama served up this simple summer treat of cantaloup "boats" with spoons to dig your way through 'em. They thought this was a grand idea and got to work right away.

Only thing is these melons are way bigger than the ones my grandmother would give me when I visited her in Brittany as a child and the kids could barely get more than half-way through 'em.

Quick quote:
"Today is the best day ever; no one's yelled at me or anything!"

Not ten minutes later we discover his new bike had been stolen. So much for having a great day... grrr.

Kids cooking -- Cucumber Boats

I love it when the kids decide what's for dinner, it takes all the pressure off of me in those times, like now, when I'm in a cooking rut. They must be so sick of the same old, same old that I dish out.

Earlier this week My Girl decided we should do a simple dinner of open sandwiches and cheeses as it had been a hot, hot day and no one wanted to get near a stove let alone eat anything steamy.

She also wanted to prepare what she called "Cucumber Boats." I imagined cucumber canoes filled with olives or something. Instead, what she came up with was cucumbers, salami, and carrots skewered onto toothpicks. They looked great and tasted even better. The best part was the joy she took at setting the table and presenting her special dish to the family.

Snack time ideas needed!

I could do with a little jolt of snacky inspiration. I have to admit I've gotten myself into a snack-rut lately and I've reached the point where when I'm in the market I don't see anymore. I used to go walk through the aisles and be inspired -- I'd always find something good and varied to feed my kids after school.

Now I feel stuck with my old staples. Miss M will eat all the cucumbers dusted with a sprinkling of salt, and B will snarf all the pita and hummus.

Other stand-bys in our house are edamame, raw veggies with "dipping sauce" (mayo/ketchup/spices), fresh fruit (seasonal), and graham crackers with milk. I never thought I'd ever get sick of edamame, but I have.

If you've got any fresh and healthy snack-time suggestions, won't you please share them here in the comments? I'm sure my kids'd be very appreciative :-)