Gail Gibbons' book Things To Make and Do For Halloween has been a constant in my life since I was in kindergarten. My mother picked it up at a thrift store when I was four years old, in the hopes that it would provide my sister and me with a few fun Halloween-themed activities. I think it goes to show how much we both loved it that I still have it in my book collection. It's a book that combines food and craft activities, including how to make a Halloween mask, how to make a pointy witch hat and a recipes for Halloween treats. When I was younger, I'd start to pull this book of the shelf sometime in August and badger my mom until she relented and let us make the cookie recipe on page 34.
It's just a standard sugar cookie recipe, written to include the correct number of food coloring drops to make the dough a bright orange. Just before baking, you use small chocolate chips to create a mouth, nose and eyes and poof, jack o' lantern cookies! It's an easy recipe to whip together and the decorating step is simple enough that even the youngest kids can play along. Check out the recipe after the jump.
I've always been a reader. Now, at the ripe old age of 29, I can hardly remember a time when I didn't have the ability to rip through books at breakneck speed. However, one thing I do recall is the first chapter book I ever read without confusion or parental intervention. It was The Boxcar Children, the story of a family of four children who lose the parents and so go off and live together in an abandoned box car in the woods. My favorite parts of the story were the moments when the children would cook for themselves. I particularly remember them making stew out of beef and baby vegetables and creating a 'refrigerator' out of a bend in a nearby stream in order to keep their milk (in a glass bottle) cool. 
I don't have any kids of my own, and my brand new niece is a little too young to be joining me in the kitchen when I'm making lunch, but when there are kids around who are old enough to hang out in the kitchen, I'd love to get them this 
Food For Kids Special
Who didn't love popsicles when they were a kid? I know that I did. They were sweet, refreshing and turned your tongue bright colors - a crucial popsicle feature for kids. After a while, I acquired a set of plastic popsicle molds and moved away from the neon, ice-cream truck offerings. I would freeze sodas, fruit juices and, occasionally, stuff them full of semi-soft ice cream (so I could eat if off a stick). With summer coming up, I think it's a good time to relive those childhood memories and start making some popsicles at home. Popsicle-making is also a great activity to do with your kids, since they can pick out their own flavors. For the neon tongue look, take a tip from Elise and add a few drops of food coloring to the frozen popsicles. 
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