Fishies In Parchment

17 April 2009 Filed In: carrot, cooking class, Dairy-free, Fall, fish, Gluten-free, Main Dish, Spring, Summer, Winter





This week the cooking class came home for the first time ever. What a tremendous relief to have all the mini-chefs in our kitchen here, instead of lugging everything across town as I’ve done for the past almost-two years! As wonderful as Sonia’s and then Karen’s kitchens are (and they are fabulous), it felt so nice to have everything prepared and less frantic when the Yummies showed up.

We broke out the big guns this week and made cod covered with lots of special things and wrapped to bake in parchment, or “poissons en papillote” if you want to be all fancy pants about it-and let’s face it, who doesn’t? It’s a very light dish and perfect for a Spring or Summer meal. You can play with the veggies that accompany this dish, adding whatever is available to you seasonally and locally.
There were, to my surprise, some neutral reactions from the kids toward the fish and it’s smell or “odour” if you’re fancy. Ben, for instance, seemed very comfortable with it. Not true for all the kids though. You can see my daughter’s reaction above. She makes this same gesture each time we pass through what I lovingly and she disparagingly call “the stinky cheese aisle” at our market. I always just giggle, shake my head, and tell her how she’ll be gobbling up and loving that very same stinky cheese when she gets older. For a while, she looked at me like I was out of my tree, but now she has taken over by saying, very nasally as she is holding her nose, “When I’m a big woman, I’m going to DIE for the stinky cheese!!!” She will then run off and take great whiffs of the soap-by-the-slice as if coming up for air as soon as we’ve made it through the SCA.
What impressed me most about the mini-chefs this week is how very concentrated they were on their assembly. Crossing from the threes into the almost or just fours, you can see that the scope of what they can do all by themselves is widening. Whereas a few months ago, most of them would be bouncing off the walls during at least a part of class, now they sit down, focused on the task at hand till it is accomplished. Only then do they go bounce off the walls for a bit. Impressive.
Fishies in Parchment

For each kid-sized serving:

*6 oz. piece of a mild, white fish (talapia, cod, etc.)
*a large handful of baby spinach leaves
*a couple of “coins” of ginger (peeled)
*a handful of carrots, peeled or scrubbed and sliced very thin
*1/2 a scallion, sliced
*2 T. chopped tomato (canned is fine)
*2 slices of lemon, very thinly sliced
* 2 T. coconut cream or water
*salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Tear a 20-inch piece of parchment for each piece of fish you’re baking and fold each parchment piece in half with your Yummy. Re-open the parchment so that you have a crease down the middle.

To assemble the packets, have each ingredient in its own bowl, at your Yummies’ fingertips. If you’re at all worried about them touching the fish and putting their fingers in their mouth, you should place the piece of fish onto the parchment along the inside crease for them. Otherwise, they can do it themselves.

Place the fish, salt and pepper it generously, and then let them pile the rest on top as they see fit.

Now re-fold the paper in half. Starting from one side of the parchment begin to crimp the paper over itself so that you end up with a semi-circle. (hard to describe, but Queen Martha, of course, has a tutorial on her site if you need further instruction) Basically, you want to end up with a totally sealed little package so that no steam will escape and so that the steam will cook everything inside the package.

Big Person: Place each package on a rimmed baking sheet (we fit four to a sheet), and slide the sheets into the oven. Bake about 20 minutes. Pull out of the oven, cut the parchment open, revealing the deliciousness inside.

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Chapati Party

15 April 2009 Filed In: bread, Breads, Dairy-free, Fall, Soy-free, Spring, Summer, Vegetarian, Winter




Our friends Ben and Jamie came over to make Chapati yesterday.  New York has been damp-and even what I would describe as dank-off and on for days, so a big warm plate of buttery chapati served with our favorite simple dhal sounded like the perfect lunch.

Mama Jamie described her time in Asia and her experience with chapati as we worked.  She described staying with a woman near Tibet, waking up each morning to sit around her fire on which she would make chapati served with steaming hot tea.  Mmmm.   
This is our New York version.  The original recipe was taken from Bread Alone: Bold Fresh Loaves From Your Own Hands.   My sister-in-law Nicole and my baby niece Skylar got this cookbook for me for my birthday.  Perhaps it is the weather that threw the flour amounts off, but we found we needed quite a bit more flour than the recipe called for but also found that the basic technique was described perfectly.  
In the end we were all covered in flour, and our bellies were happy.  
Chapati
adapted from Bread Alone: Bold Fresh Loaves from Your Own Hands

*2-3 c. whole wheat flour (the coarser, the better). plus more for the board
*1 1/4 cool water

With your Yummy, measure out two cups of the flour.  To that, add a cup of the water, and stir with your hands or a wooden spoon till all the water has been absorbed and the mixture is soft and a bit springy.  

Here’s where it gets very goopy, so prepare yourself.  Add the extra 1/4 c. of water to the mixture and knead with your hands until all of the water is absorbed.  The ultimate texture should be very soft but not gooey.  If, after you’ve kneaded in that water for about 5 minutes, you notice that the texture is still too wet, then add some more of your flour, 1/4 cup at a time.  Cover your bowl with a damp, clean kitchen towel and let the dough rest for a few minutes as you set up your workspace for the next round.

First, Big Person should heat a wide, flat pan on the stove over a medium flame.

Then, together, flour a large wooden cutting board or your counter with a generous amount of flour (we used white flour here as it’s more economical, but you could continue to use whole wheat if you like).  Set out another bowl full of the flour that you will use while rolling and patting your chapati.  Preheat your oven to 200 degrees F and set an oven-proof dish or low bowl on the middle shelf of your oven to hold your cooked chapati and keep them warm till ready to serve.
Flour your hands, and have your Yummy follow suit.  Note that you’ll have to cover the dough you’re not using with that same damp towel so that your dough doesn’t get tough and form a crusty outer layer.  You and your mini-chef can now take a tangerine-sized lump of the dough and roll it into a ball in your hands or on your floured board. If the dough feels a bit too goopy, roll it around in the flour first to make a ball, and then pick it up to pat it into a pancake, about 6 inches across.  Do not worry if your chapati are not perfect circles and are a bit misshapen as this will lend to their charm.  

Big Person: Throw the chapati pancakes onto the heated pan and cook 1 1/2-2 minutes on each side, flipping them with a set of tongs for easy handling.  Once they’re lightly browned, place them in your warm oven till you’re ready to serve them.  We highly recommend sandwiching some butter in between each chapati so that your chapati are warm AND buttery.  


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Bright, Springy Things

10 April 2009 Filed In: all the rest






Our family moved last week-only about 6 blocks, but if you live in New York, you know just how big of a difference a few blocks can make.  We touched down from our high-rise situation (a deep sigh of relief from me), and came home to a place with a cozy wood fire stove, more play space for the Yummies, and more play space for their mum and daddy.

While today, Good Friday, is a dark day and a serious one, I wanted to share some sweet images from a day we had with some small friends and my first time sharing my new kitchen with anyone, and especially some mini-chefs.  
The girls all left the kitchen to play an elaborate game of princess, so it was just me and the guys making the dough.  They also got to make a special round of cookies all by themselves.  It was a wonderful thing to see the little flicker of delight it brought when I told them they would get to do one pan of only-boys drop cookies with sprinkles.  To share, of course.  But, when it was time to actually roll out and cut the dough, those girls trotted right back in with perfect timing. 
After we had rolled and cut and were waiting for the cookies to bake, the kids all got under the kitchen table to play ” Mommy takes this baby and this one and this one to the doctor,” as described by my daughter, and sing the band-aid song, a little ditty they made up (art school kids…you can tell them from a mile away).  They surfaced again to eat their warm cookies, simple and delicious, in our warm, new home.

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Brigadeiros (Brazilian Chocolate Balls)

06 April 2009 Filed In: Birthday, chocolate, cooking class, Desserts, Fall, Gluten-free, Soy-free, Spring, Summer, Vegetarian, Winter






We had a very special Birthday Boy in our class on Wednesday.  Mister Thomas turned 4!  Thomas and I go way back-we’ve known each other since he was in the womb, and I was teaching his mommy downward facing dogs.  Clearly we needed to have a good treat for him for such a huge occasion.

Thomas’s mom, Fabienne, is Brazilian, and through her we found our wonderful new sitter, the incomparable Roberta.  When I asked Roberta for a special Brazilian dessert in honor of Thomas, she filled me in on what all the Brazilian kids have at birthdays: brigadeiros (or chocolate balls) and slipped me a recipe.  Did I mention that her mom is a chef in Brazil?  Mmmm.  Hmmm.
So, it was this simple recipe as you can see below, but oh my did I do a doozy for class.  It was, well, April Fool’s Day and I was the, well, you know…. Roberta told me that the basic mixture would cool in a few minutes after making it.  My friends, this is not the case.  Now imagine handing out warm chocolate goo to a bunch of one-and-a-half to four-year-olds, and you might get the picture (and, if not, please see the concept illustrated more specifically above).  
All the moms banded together and managed to roll out one only-slightly-gooey brigadeiro for each kid.  (Thank you!)  The lesson here?  Sometimes you make a chocolate mess…but you’re probably going to have fun anyway, especially when your friends are there to help.  The other lesson?  Chocolate and condensed milk taste really, really good when you lick them off of your fingers!
Brigadeiros

*one can condensed milk
*4 T. of the best cocoa powder or powdered chocolate you can afford
*optional: a tablespoon or two of butter
*colored sprinkles (especially the bday boy or girl’s favorite colors)

Together:  Measure out the chocolate into a medium saucepan.

Big Person: Bring the condensed milk and the chocolate to a boil over medium heat.  Cook, stirring till-in Roberta’s words-you can no longer see the bottom of the pan.  Take off of the heat and-this is important-and cool before your mini-chef sticks their hands in it.  That means at least a half hour and more likely a half hour plus some time in the fridge.

Together again:  Pour your sprinkles into shallow bowls or rimmed baking pans.  Place several sheets of wax paper or parchment on your counter.

With a little bowl of water nearby, dip your hands into the water and coat the palms of your hands.  Pick up about a tablespoon or two of the chocolate mixture and roll it between your hands to shape it into a ball.  Now, roll it in the sprinkles, place on the parchment or wax paper, and proceed with the rest of the chocolate mixture till you’re all done.  

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Carrot-Apple-Ginger Spread

26 March 2009 Filed In: baby puree, carrot, Dairy-free, Fall, Gluten-free, Halloween, Side Dish, Soy-free, spreads, Spring, Summer, Thanksgiving, Vegan, Vegetarian




Ok, Bunnies, with Easter coming up in a couple of weeks and Springtime celebrations going on all around, it seemed like we all needed a healthful but luscious sort of treat.  Working with the theme: eggs, fertility, growth, bunnies…ah, bunnies.  Yes.

A spread that I used to eat all the time at Angelica Kitchen in the East Village came to mind.  They serve their Carrot-Ginger spread atop big hunks of vegan cornbread.  Amazing.
So, here I’ve used the basic idea of that spread but made it just the eensiest bit sweeter by adding some apples into the mix.  Around here, the kids love it served atop cornbread, and you could certainly dip veggies into it.  This would make a beautiful puree for your bambinos-both of my kids loved it as babies.  Saute some onions, stir some of the spread in, add water or stock, and you’ll have a soup.  Our favorite sitch, though?  A PB & CAG sandwich.  
Carrot-Apple-Ginger Spread

*1 1/2 lbs. carrots
*1 1/2 lbs apples (about 2)
*1 1/2 c. apple cider or apple juice
*pinch of salt
*a 1 1/2-inch piece of ginger

Together: Scrub the carrots with a vegetable brush and water.  If your mini-chef is a bit older, you can help them peel the apples, too.  Remember to peel away from yourself!

Big Person: Chop the carrots into inch-long chunks.  Core the apples and chop them into large chunks.

Together: Let your mini-chef put the carrots and apples into a big heavy pot with a tight-fitting lid.  Measure and pour the apple cider or juice over them.  Have your Yummy do a couple of pinches of salt, and throw them over the concoction.  

Big Person:  Turn the heat on medium high, and bring the liquid to a boil.  Then cover your pot, turn the heat down to medium, and simmer for 25-40 minutes or until the carrots are very tender (the apples will cook, no problem).  Take the pot off of the heat, and let the carrots and apples cool to room temperature.

Peel and grate the piece of ginger.


Together Again: Set up a little bowl with a fine mesh tea strainer over it.  Put the ginger into the strainer.  Now, have your Yummy poke it and push it with her fingers so that the juice runs through the strainer and into the bowl.  Keep this up until you’ve gotten all the ginger juice.

Stir the ginger juice into the apple-carrot mixture.  Puree to complete smoothness using a hand blender (Big Person will do this by themselves), a blender or a food processor (set these up, but let your Yummy flip the switch).  Eat!

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