There's something quite sweet about watching kids working with food, so I thought you might enjoy a trip back to old-school Sesame Street.
Above, two tykes talk about their family's Mexican restaurant, and how they make a few dishes. Since this is a children's show, the kids are involved in all of it, from the grating of the cheese (with a healthy dose of cheese eating and finger-licking) to serving the meal.
And to get even more hands-on, hit the jump to watch another little one make a fruit salad. From start to finish, he slices and dices until he has a bowl full of fruit -- which his friends instantly devour. ...if only we saw that more often on the television! Personally, this one jets me back to my youth and the large fruit compotes my father would always make -- just about the one way my parents could always get me to eat fruit!
I hope you enjoy, and if you know of any other great retro SS food videos, share them in the comments!
Sometimes, nothing is as special as a hand-made gift from a kid. However, when we're talking about food, it's sometimes better to plan and prepare, rather than fall victim to a tyke's whimsical and questionable cookery. (Not to mention the potential mess that will result from willy nilly cooking kids.) What follows is an easy to whip up menu for kids to make mom on Mother's Day. It's tasty, easy to prepare, requires minimal parental intervention, and can be adapted to your kid's age and cooking prowess.
On the pages that follow, you will find:
Miniature Speared Caprese Salad Bites Garlic Bread Lasagna Cinnamon Sugar Drop Cookies
Get your kids cooking and have a happy Mother's Day!
*Note: Much of this menu is really easy, but please supervise and help the kids to make sure they're prepping and cooking each bit safely.
Foodies, it seems, are getting younger and younger. This isn't necessarily a bad thing by any means, but it seems to have created a new market for those school-age kids who hope to "feast with friends" like their adult counterparts do. British teen Sam Stern is trying to fill part of this niche with his book, Cooking Up a Storm: The Teen Survival Cookbook. Dubbed a "young Jamie Oliver," Stern got the help of his mother to concoct relatively easy gourmet recipes aimed at teens and focused on guys, as the chapter titled "Impress the Girls" hints at. The recipes have a casual tone and are not difficult for those who already have some experience in the kitchen to do entirely on their own. Recipes run the gamut from breakfast through dessert, and include mains like Thai Green Curry and French Onion soup and sweets like meringue shells and cookies.
I have a suspicion that - foodies or not - the parents will be doing a fair amount of the cooking for these "feasts," but it's a great idea all the same.
When someone refers to a "no-bake" recipe, they aren't talking about grilling or frying. Instead, they are almost always referring to cookies and other treats that do not require the use of an oven to make. Personally, I know more about baking than I do about "no-baking" and I know this is true of many other cooks. This is the very reason that books like No-Bake Cookiesexist; there are times when you don't want to turn on the oven or are too busy to devote a few hours to baking 4 dozen cookies, but using ingredients like dried fruits, nuts, butter, cream cheese, graham cracker crumbs, peanut butter and chocolate (to name a few), there are a tremendous variety of cookies, bars, etc. that can be made. Start with simple Rice Krispy Treats, and move on to S'Mores Clusters, Butterscotch Pudding Bars, Blackberry Mascarpone Bars and Coconut & Lime Cookies. On the savory side, there are granola bars and Seed & Nut Energy Bars.
The recipes may not be ones you'll find on the pages of Saveur magazine, but they are easy, tasty and will be just as popular with adults as they will with kids. And kids will love the almost instant gratification factor of cookies without cooking.
With only a few exceptions, granola bars have steadily gotten worse over the past few years. This probably has to do with the fact that more time is being spent developing energy bars, nutrition bars, cereal bars and snack bars, all of which have been growing in popularity. I happen to like granola bars and think of them not necessarily as health food, though they certainly do have healthy aspects, but as a healthy alternative to a candy bar. I like my granola bars to be chewy, slightly soft (as opposed to dry and hard) and with a little bit of crunch.
Meatloaf is one of the ultimate comfort foods, and two Boston chefs have 
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