Summer Cooking Lessons with Kids

My daughter finishes her online preschool in a few weeks and I've been trying to come up with ways for her to practice the things that she has learned this year in a fun and active way. Since she already likes to help me cook, we can work on reading, math/measurements, and cleaning in an enjoyable way. For the past few months I've been having her help with the grocery shopping. We've been comparing sizes and prices as we've shopped in an effort to help her become more familiar with numbers. For our first cooking activity we read through the ingredient list together and added anything that we needed to our grocery list. Before we started she helped me to get out all of the ingredients. Then I let her do the measuring and mixing and rolling. Pretty much the only thing she didn't help with was putting the tray into the oven and taking it out. We had so much fun making the cookies and eating them together!

Here is a great resource I found for helping with our lessons:

• This is an excellent article that lists cooking activities that kids are capable of helping with by age with a few recipes that kids will enjoy helping with. 

I was looking through some old cookbooks the other day trying to eliminate the ones that I don't use, and I stumbled upon a recipe for Lemon Coconut cookies that I thought my five-year-old would enjoy helping to make because there is a step where the dough is rolled into balls (reminded me of playing with playdough.) This is the recipe that we cooked together this week. She has helped me quite often with baking in the past, but this is the first recipe where I really let her do most of the work.

Lemon Coconut Pixies

Slightly adapted from Hershey's Recipe Collection, 2008

(The recipe said it makes about 4 dozen cookies, for us it was more like 2.5 dozen. We must have rolled the cookies slightly larger.) 

1/4 cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

2 1/2 tsp freshly grated lemon peel

1 1/2 cups flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 t salt

1 cup sweetened coconut flakes

powdered sugar 

1. Heat oven to 300 F
2. Beat butter, sugar, eggs, and lemon peel. Stir together flour, baking powder, salt.
3. Mix the lemon and flour mixtures together, stir in coconut.  Refrigerate for about an hour or until firm enough to roll.
4. Roll into 1 inch balls and roll in powdered sugar.
5. Place on an ungreased baking sheet and cook for 15-18 minutes. Immediately place cookies on cooling rack. Store in airtight container.

10 Reasons Why I Love My Chacos

Chaco Sandals are hands down my favorite shoes ever, especially in the summertime. I wear them practically everyday because they are so versatile. Here are ten of the reasons why these are a part of my summer (and sometimes spring and fall) "uniform". 

1. The Cost Per Wear is phenomenal. Prior to meeting my husband I had never spent more than $20-30 for a pair of shoes. When he took me to REI a few weeks after we got married and bought me my first pair of Chacos for around $100, I about choked when I saw the price. But as I wore them day after day and realized how comfortable they were, and when my first pair lasted me for 5 years before the vibrum sole and foot bed cracked in half, I realized that I was more than getting my moneys worth. 
2. Easily repairable. If I had taken them to a cobbler to be resoled sooner, my first pair could have been rescued quite easily.
3. Easily cleaned. Any shoe that is worn frequently has the tendency to acquire a smell. Chacos are extremely easy to clean. Sometimes all they need is a good rinse with the hose, on other occasions I scrub them with a little baking soda and water. 
4. Truly an all-purpose shoe. I've worn my Chacos hiking (not always a good idea but they are comfortable), swimming, on long-walks, running around with my kids, etc. I would even wear them to church if I could (after all they are one of my most expensive pairs of shoes), but I have to draw the line there.
5. Dress Up and Dress Down. Chacos can be worn with jeans, shorts, and casual skirts and look alright. They come in multiple colors and styles which makes them a little more fun, although they are a very utilitarian type of shoe. 
6. They are so comfortable. I have never enjoyed wearing shoes that hurt my feet (I rarely wear heels) and Chacos are hands down the most comfortable shoes that I have ever worn. They were especially comfortable when I was pregnant with both of my girls. 
7. They are adjustable. The straps can be adjusted to fit your feet perfectly. 
8. They give the wearer an outdoorsy vibe. 
9. The give the one set of tan lines that I don't mind getting. 
10. They remind me of summer. 

Blackened Salmon Burritos

This summer I am on a quest to make our meals as simple as possible. If I don't have to use the oven, great. If I only have to use one pan and a few additional serving bowls, even better! These were delicious, fresh, and flavorful. It will definitely be a year-round staple in our house.

Blackened Salmon Burritos

Ingredients:

Avocado

1/4 a head of cabbage

Mexican Creme

Queso Fresco

Olive Oil

Black Beans, one can

Frozen Corn, half a bag

Red Bell Pepper

Uncooked flour tortillas

Tony Cachere's Creole Seasoning

Paprika

Salmon, 1 pound

1. Cook tortillas and store in tortilla warmer. For my family of four I usually cook six tortillas. 
2. Combine: 1T olive oil, a can of drained and rinsed beans (I used black beans), and half a bag of frozen corn, and chopped red bell pepper into a cast iron skillet and sauté for a few minutes until peppers  begin to soften. Transfer to a serving dish.
3. Mix 2 tsps Tony Cachere's Creole Seasoning with 1 tsp paprika and rub into the salmon on the side without skin. Using a little olive oil, place salmon in the cast iron skillet with the skin facing upward and cook on medium heat for five minutes. Next flip the salmon and cook for another five minutes (or until the salmon begins to flake) with the skin down. At this point the salmon will slide easily off of the skin. 
4. Shred cabbage, slice avocado, and grate the Queso Fresco.
5. Assemble using all of the ingredients and enjoy!  

My Second Trip to New York City

1. In the Fall of 2008 my husband and I took a trip to New York City because my husband had never been. We took a red eye flight into JFK and were able to watch the sun rise in the city. There's something special about watching the day begin on the East Coast, it is something I always try to do when I am back east. 

2. This was my husband's first trip to New York City, so we went to Battery Park, the Statue of Liberty, and Ellis Island. The view of the New York City skyline from the Statue of Liberty is so enjoyable that I could go several more times before getting sick of it. I love the history that can be learned at Ellis Island, so it is another place that I don't mind repeating. 

3. Touring the home that Theodore Roosevelt was raised in was amazing. The best part was that it was free with a National Parks Pass. In the basement they have a museum that includes a thick speech that was in his pocket when someone tried to kill him. It was so thick that it stopped the bullet and saved his life. His Rough Rider Uniform was also there.

4. Times Square will always be a fun place to visit. I think New Years Eve would be crazy but so much fun.

5. We took a special trip into Greenwich Village so that we could see the arch at Washington Square Park (which was under construction) and to see the Brown Building (formerly the Asch Building), which is part of NYU. I wanted to see it because it was the site of the Triangle Factory Fire that killed 146 garment workers in 1911. While teaching history, this was an important event that I taught the students about each year. The workers were killed in the fire because they were locked in and many were either burned to death or were forced to jump to their deaths. Wealthy ladies having tea in Washington Square Park, heard the screams and were made aware of the plight of these factory workers. This incident went to trial and while the owners of the building were not held accountable, the event eventually contributed to reforms that helped to protect workers. 

*We took this trip in 2008 and I Am Legend was a recent movie at the time. A scene in the movie was shot around here so I decided to be silly and recreate it. 

We also enjoyed wandering around Greenwich Village that evening and exploring a new part of the city. Supposedly the blurry building with the streetlight pictured below, was used as the exterior of the "Friends" apartment.

6. I don't think that I could ever get tired of exploring Central Park. Because we took a red eye flight into the city, we were pretty tired on our first day. We found a shady spot under a tree in the park and took rested awhile and were as good as new. We even had a picnic while there, after a quick stop at the Papaya King for some of their famous hot dogs. 

7. The Empire State Building was incredible. Seeing New York City from above and just how large it is was awe inspiring. On my next trip to New York, my sister informs me that I really need to see the ariel perspective from The Rock. She loves that view even more because the Empire State Building is  in it. 

8. Not pictured but absolutely amazing, was the Lower East Side Tenement Museum. Home to over seven thousand immigrants during the Industrial Revolution, it was fascinating to tour this building and hear the history of a few highlighted families. I tell anyone that visits New York City, that this is a must do if you want to learn and see some amazing history.  

Obviously I've only explored New York City very briefly, and could spend months or years before I see everything. I can't wait until my next visit!