The Spat Blog

Book Review - Picture Yourself Cooking With Your Kids

2009-02-05T09:07:00.013-06:00

Reviewed by Gaylon Emerzian

Beth Sheresh's book Picture Yourself Cooking with Your Kids has a hefty title and is jam packed with recipes and real world tips that will definitely help parents take the plunge and involve their children in the kitchen.

The book begins with a chapter that I absolutely loved called "A Cook's Primer." It has so many great tips: like how to determine the age appropriate recipes for your child, how to encourage a picky eater and how to make sure a child, who is vegetarian or vegan, gets proper nutrition.

The part I found the most interesting was a section called "Defensive Shopping." Ms. Sheresh looks at ingredient lists on packages and highlights the many AKAs. She writes, "Sugar by any other name is still sugar."

But the tip that impressed me the most was on page 36 about how to read the code on those tiny, little labels stuck to fresh fruit and vegetables to determining whether food was conventionally grown, organically grown or genetically modified. It was an "Ah-ha!" moment for me.

Ms. Sheresh also has a whole section on yeast doughs, something we're just starting experimenting with after 3 years on Spatulatta! In fact, we used her recipe for pizza dough to make our heart-shaped "I Love Pizza" for this year's Valentine's Day episode. It came together in a way that made yeast doughs seem less intimidating.

The cookbook is chocked full of pictures of kids in the kitchen and step-by-step photos of making the recipes. I love the fact that the kids in the snapshots look like real kids. They are multi-ethnic and have a variety of sizes and shapes. The disappointment is that the majority of the photos are all a little dark and moody. Some of the food actually looks unappetizing.

But all in all I think it was a task well done!

You can see more of Beth Sheresh's writing on kitchenMage

Picture Yourself Cooking with Your Kids
Published by: Course Technology
ISBN-13 978-1-59863-588-4

Mariah's Fruity Blend

2009-02-03T13:09:00.004-06:00

1 cup washed strawberries

1/2 cup low-fat milk

1/2 cup low-fat yogurt

1 banana

Directions:
Add all the ingredients to blender, then enjoy!

Spatulatta says:

Mmmmm, makes us think of Springtime, which is right around the corner!
- Team Spatulatta

Old Bay Rice by Brooke

2009-02-03T13:05:00.001-06:00

1 cup rice 
1/2 cup water 
Pinch of old bay seasoning 
 
Use the instant rice. 
Cook the rice in the micro wave for 3 min. After its done add the seasoning.

Spatulatta replies:

Fast, easy, and full of flavor.  Thanks for sharing Brooke!
-Team Spatulatta

Russian Salad from Solange in Argentina

2009-01-27T16:33:00.004-06:00

Here's a recipe from Solange in Argentina for Russian Salad. The translation into English follows below.

hola!!! soy solange denuevo!! ustedes me escribieron un mail que decían que querían recetas argentinas!!! (translate this) no quería
escribir en inglés porque recién este año voy a empezar quinto grado, estoy en primaria todavía!!! (no quiero cometer ningún error escribiendo en inglés)

¿conocen la ensalada rusa? a mí me encanta la ensalada rusa,
para hacerla necesitas:papa,mayonesa y zanahoria. primero cortan las papas
en cubitos,segundo cortan la zanahoria en cubitos también y luego ponen la
"mayonesa" se puede comer en cualquier momento, ejemplo: una cena familiar.

los argentinos comemos mucha carne y el "asado" es muy conocido por aquí!!! comemos "milanesa",helado,papas rellenas,empanadas... cuando se trata de una fiesta ejemplo:navidad, algunos cocinan pavo,asado,ensalada rusa y por otro lado comen camarones con salsas, anchoas, y comidas mas difíciles de cocinar... tambien comemos los panchos (hotdogs) y hay muchos panchos: platense (mar del plata,argentina), italiano, etc... comemos sushi, (yo como arroz japonés) etc... si quieren saber mas comidas y palabras en español visiten mi sitio www.todoanimalesylibros.blogspot.com y yo publicaré en una de estas semanas muchas cosas argentinas!!! gracias!!!

y perdonen por darles más trabajo traduciendo esto. fueron muy amables y muchas gracias!!! tengo una pregunta:¿ustedes tienen un programa en televisión de spatulatta? como siempre estan bienvenidos a mi sitio web!!! y si tienen un usuario en www.blogspot.com pueden escribirme en mi blog!!! saludos a todos!

(translation to English)

Solange here, hello again! You wrote me an email saying you wanted Argentine recipes! I don't want to write in English just because this year I will start fifth
Grade--I am still in primary school and do not want to make any mistakes writing in English.

Have you ever had Russian salad? I love
Russian salad. The ingredients are just cooked potatoes, carrots and mayonnaise.

First cut the potatoes into little cubes.
Next cut carrot into cubes also.

Then add the mayonnaise and mix well.

You can serve this at any meal, such as family dinner.

Argentines eat lots of meat and "asado" (roast) is famous here.

We like to eat "Milanesa", ice cream, stuffed potatoes, empanadas …
For a party, Christmas, for example, some people cook turkey, roast beef, Russian salad
And on the side they eat shrimp with other sauces, anchovies and lots of other very difficult to cook things.

We also eat panchos (hotdogs or sausages) and
many kinds of sausages: platense (Mar del Plata, Argentina), Italian, etc ...

We eat sushi (I like Japanese rice) etc ...

If you want to learn about more meals and Spanish words to visit my Website:

www.todoanimalesylibros.blogspot.com

and I will publish one of these weeks a lot of Argentinian things! Thanks!

And pardon me for giving you more work translating all this.

You all are very friendly, thank you very much!

I have a question: do you have a Spatulatta program on TV? You are always welcome to post on my website!

And if you have a user account www.blogspot.com can write me at my blog!

Greetings to everyone!

Go Bars and Eggs Unite!

2009-01-22T11:58:00.004-06:00

Amanda says:

Hi Spatulatta crew! 

I just wanted to comment on the breakfast on the go
bars, how did you get yours to stay together? Me and my mom tried twice and both
times it crumbles. Like major crumble. so when we took it out it looked good, and
then we let it cool and then cut it, and then we tried to take it out, and it all
fell apart!  It was like sugary granola with dried cranberries in it, but it was
still yummy! Please if you can help me, please send me and email. Thank you so
much! Oh and I have this really good recipe that my friend Joan gave me and that
she learned it from her camp, im still perfecting it to make it healthier, and their
called haystacks, go figure! 

Thanks again! Bye!

Spatulatta replies:

Dear Amanda,

You're right the Go Bars were a little crumbly for us too but held
together in the bar shape rather than turning into granola. We may have
used an extra large egg. We were trying to keep the fat content down but
maybe we went too far.

Eggs are the glue that holds lots of culinary concoctions together. I'd
suggest trying 2 eggs medium eggs or better yet the equivalent of Egg
Beaters.

Let us know how they came out and we'll update the recipe on the website.

Thanks!
Team Spatulatta

2009-01-19T18:05:00.003-06:00

Hey Everybody!

We read the instructions on Spatulatta and grew our own avocado tree! You can do it too! Find out how we did it. Click here

Willa's Fishing Jello

2009-01-19T11:01:00.007-06:00

One tasty treat that I love is Fishing Jello. It's very easy and simple.

Ingredients:

1 packet of blue jello

Whipped Topping

Goldfish crackers (I've also seen whale too)

Net-like pretzels

Directions:

Prepare jello as it says to on packet. After cooling add a school of whipped topping. Add 2 pretzels (one across from another). Add goldfish or whale crackers to make an ocean scene real.

Tip: put liquid in small individual containers before cooling.

Spatulatta replies:

Willa this looks simply delicious! A perfect "lite" dessert after a hearty meal. There's always room for jello ;)

Solange from Argentina

2009-01-07T16:32:00.003-06:00

Hello!!!! 

I'm from Argentina. I have "The Spatulatta Cookbook", I love the
recipes but... I don't understand all the recipes because they are difficult for me
because I'am from Argentina and i talk in Spanish!!! In English class I'am a ten,
intelligent but is difficult for me read recipes in english!!! make "The Spatulatta
Cookbook" in Spanish, please!!! goodbye!!!!!!

Spatulatta Responds:

Dear Solange,

Gracias por su carta. Nos encantaría hacer la libro de cocina de
Spatulatta en Español! We would love to do the Spatulatta Cookbook in
Spanish! I will send your note to our publisher and see what she says.

Meanwhile, we have our first bilingual episode. Tenemos un episodio en
español y en Inglés en el sitio web. Por favor, tome hacer una visita.

Please take a look at:

http://www.spatulatta.com/week67_peruvian/week67.html

Si necesita traducciones, esto es lo que he utilizado:

http://www.spanishdict.com/translation

You may have to click on the word swap to go from Spanish to English
instead of from English to Spanish.

Please send us some Argentinian recipes, we'd be glad to try them out for
our second bilingual episode. Por favor, envíenos algunas recetas
argentinas, nos estaremos encantados de intentar a cabo bilingüe para
nuestro segundo episodio.

Espero con interés escuchar de usted otra vez.

Team Spatulatta

From Olivia and Naomi

2009-01-05T07:37:00.005-06:00

Hi!

Our names are Olivia and Naomi...and we just wanted to tell
you how we LOVE the Spatulatta cookbook. Berry Dip & Roll...YUM! And Extra
E-Z Fudge: AMAZING! We also really like the recipe for the Caprese Salad.
YUM! But really, they're all great!

Thanks for the yummy recipes and inspirational cooking!!!

Spatulatta replies:

Dear Olivia and Naomi,

Thank you so much for your email. We're so happy Spatulatta provides recipes
you love! If you have any of your own favorite recipes you'd like to share, please
email them to us. You can even attach a photo of you both cooking in the kitchen.
This would be added to the Spat Blog to share with all our fans.

We especially love recipes with lots of fruits and veggies!

Keep cookin!
Team Spatulatta

P.S. Tell all your friends at school about the Spatulatta cookbook.
The recipes are designed to bring friends and families together.
They're also awesome birthday gifts!

Email from Yun in China

2009-01-02T12:17:00.002-06:00

Our friend, Yun, from China writes:

Happy new year! We will have three days off , and then we will have the final exam.
By the way, there maybe are some troubles with my Christmas card.

Yun

Spatulatta Replies:

Happy New Year Yun!

We were not able to view your Christmas card. It is so nice of you to think of us!

Enjoy your three days off from school and best wishes on your exams.

Here is a simple recipe you can make on your days off to prepare you for exams.

It's called, "Baked Apples in a Snap" which you can see at:
http://www.spatulatta.com/week29_fathers_day/baked_apple.html

You'll need:

4 red apples (Red Delicious, Fuji or other red apples
4 to 6 teaspoons of brown sugar
Raisins or other dried fruit
2 tablespoons of butter
Aluminum foil
A little adult help

Equipment:

Potato peeler (the kind with the pointy end)
Melon ball maker
Butter knife
Small baking pan or pie pan
Long handled fork
Oven mitts

Directions:

1. Wash and dry the apples.

2. If you're using the oven, set it to heat to 375 degrees.

3. Take the potato peeler and pierce the top of the apple about 3/4 of an inch from the stem. Push the potato peeler in slowly. You don't want to go too deep because you don't want to go through the bottom of the apple. Go all the way around and then pop this center out. This way you'll make a cup to hold the good stuff in the apple!

4. Use the melon baller to dig out the apple seeds.

5. Fill the center of the apple with raisins or other dried fruit.

6. Put about a tablespoon of brown sugar on top.

7. Add a pat of butter. A pat is about 1/2 a tablespoon.

8. Wrap the apple up in foil by lapping one side then the other over the top of the apple.

9. Set the apples top-side up on the pan so they don't leak when the butter and the sugar start to melt.

10. These can be easily slid into the coals of your Father's Day barbecue, or placed on a grill. We did them in the oven at 375 degrees 18-22 minutes.

11. When you can easily pierce the fruit with a fork (you can test it right through the foil) the apples are finished. They taste just like apple pie!

Hope you enjoy this recipe. Let us know how it turns out!

Kai Wants a Popsickie

2008-12-29T12:35:00.002-06:00

A fan sent us the most adorable video of her baby!

Christina's Ham and Spinach Creation

2008-12-29T10:01:00.005-06:00

Christina writes:

I love to experiment with new recipes at lunch time. This is one that I
thought was awsome. 
 
Melt 2 table spoons of butter in a shallow sauce pan. Drop 3/4 of a cup of spinach
leaves. Make sure it is packed really tightly. Rip or chop thin slices of deli ham
into small strips. put both spinach and ham into the pan before the butter starts to
burn. Then take 2 small handfuls of cheese and melt it over the spinach and ham
mixture. When the spinach is soggy and some what dark, remove from heat and serve
while it is still warm. 

By the way, this was a recipe I made up.

Spatulatta replies:

Hey Christina, thanks for your creative recipe!  We love spinach and ham.  
This is a great way to use holiday leftovers.

Keep cookin!

We have a Winner!

2008-12-23T14:21:00.004-06:00

Congratulations Theresa!

Theresa from Maricopa, AZ is the winner of our Patchwork Paté New Years Eve Goodie Basket. Theresa will be receiving her basket in time for her New Year's bash.

The contest is run in a very scienticfic way...not! We put numbered balls in a bucket and then Liv and Belle close their eyes and take turns selecting a ball.

Thank you all for entering the contest and joining our Spatulatta Mama mailing list. And we'd like to give a round of applause for all the dads who signed up as well. Look forward to promotions designed just for you.

Roasted Chestnuts

2008-12-22T20:43:00.002-06:00

Roasted chestnuts are such a traditional winter treat that there's a song about them - sing along as you roast your own chestnuts.

Yield	4-6 servings
Time	30-45 minutes
Tools	knife baking sheet or cast iron pan clean kitchen towel
Ingredients	24 uncracked chestnuts
Directions	Preheat oven to 400. Have an adult carve an X into the flat side of each chestnut (otherwise they will explode) and place on the baking sheet. Bake about 30 minutes, until pressing a chestnut cracks the shell open easily. Wrap chestnuts in a towel until ready to eat. Squeeze open the shell, peel off shell and nut coating, and enjoy.

Nakima's Moldy Sandwich :)

2008-12-16T13:58:00.004-06:00

Hi, my name is Nakima [Na-ke-ma].  I am 12 years old and I love making sandwiches
especially a moldy sandwich.  This sandwich is good for an April Fool's snack.

You will need:

2 tablespoons of peanutbutter
1 package mixed food coloring
2 slices of bread
1 teaspoon of powdered sugar
1 tablespoon of jelly

The tools are:

1 dull kitchen knife
2 small bowls.

Creating green peanut butter:

Use the knife to mix peanut butter and 4 drops of blue food coloring in a bowl. Combining these ingredients will turn the mixture green.
Put aside two thirds of green peanut butter for the sandwich filling.

Making the mold:

First use the knife to lightly dab green peanut butter patches on top of one slice of the bread.
Next, sprinkle a little of the powdered sugar on some of the patches and tap it in with your finger. The sugar will take on a gauzy look.
Combine 2 drops from each color of food coloring in the second bowl. Dab the mixture on or near the green areas to create blotches that look like black mold spores.

Assembling the sandwich:

Use the other slice of bread, the jelly and the remaining 2/3 of the green peanut butter to make a sandwich.
Make it a little sloppy so that some goo drips over the sides of the bread.

Pulling the prank:

Wrap sandwich in plastic.
Put it n your lunch bag and get ready for some stares during LUNCH TIME or AT HOME.
LET YOUR PARENTS OR FRIENDS know that it is just a prank so they won't get too worried.

And that is how you make a moldy sandwich.
Bye

Ham St. Paul from Miss O & Friends

2008-12-15T08:25:00.004-06:00

Here's a breakfast goodie from our pals at MissO&Friends. They have the coolest learning games and activities. Check 'em out!

You will need:

2 eggs
1 small onion
2 slices of bread
Ham
Salt & pepper

Directions: (get an adult to be your assistant)

Chop onions then put in pan and cook until onions are golden brown.

Leave onions in pan and crack eggs over them.

Using spatula, keep moving the eggs (like you would with scrambled eggs). Chop the ham and add.

When the eggs become one piece they are done.

Now put on one piece of bread and sprinkle salt and pepper on egg. Now put other piece of bread on top of eggs.

Eat.

Claudia's Yellow Cake

2008-12-08T20:14:00.002-06:00

Check out this recipe from Claudia. It's a classic that's always a winner!
Thanks Claudia :)

-Team Spatulatta

You'll need:

Jello- Pudding Mix
3 Eggs per layer ( 2 layers)
1 cup of water ( per layer)
2 boxes of Pillsbury-Super Moist Cake Mix
1/3 cup of vegetable oil per layer ( 2 Layers)
1 container of Vanilla Frosting
1 container of Chocolate Frosting
1 Stick of UnSalted butter

Directions:

Mix 1 sick of butter with 3 eggs,
Pillsbury Moist Cake mix,
and Jello Pudding Mix, and 1/3 cup of Vegetable oil into a bowl.

Place mix into a round cake tin, pre-heat for 10 minutes and place mix into a tin.

Bake at 350 degrees

For the next layer do the same
frost the CHOCOLATE frosting on top of the bottom layer
place two cakes on cooling racks when cool only frost the chosen bottom layer of the cake and frost with the CHOCOLATE frosting flip top layer onto the bottom next, frost the whole entire cake with VANILLA frosting

Let cool

TADA!

Very Berry Special Spinach Christmas Salad Recipe from Gael

2008-12-05T09:10:00.003-06:00

Ingredients:

2 T raspberry vinegar

1 c fresh raspberries

2 T raspberry jam

2 large kiwi fruit, peeled and sliced thin

1/2 c vegetable oil

1 small can mandarin oranges, drained juice from drained mandarin oranges
3/4 lb. fresh spinach leaves
3/4 c whole toasted pecan halves

Directions:

Whisk or blend vinegar and jam.
Add oil and orange juice; blend well. Set aside.
Combine spinach, half of nuts, raspberries, oranges, and all of the dressing in a large bowl.
Toss and then top the salad with kiwi and the remaining nuts.
Chill about an hour.

Serves 4-6

Optional: add about 1/2 c blueberries and and 1/2 c purple seedless grapes for additional color.


Spatulatta says:

Wow, now this is a salad everyone's sure to enjoy over the holiday. Definitely a healthy
and easy recipe to make. :)

Thanks for sharing, Gael! 
-Team Spatulatta

Bizymom of the Year Contest - Celebrate Someone Special this Holiday Season!

2008-11-26T11:09:00.003-06:00

Send in a photo & include a 200 word write up explaining why your mom or another worthy lady should be awarded the title of "Bizymom of the Year." Or send us a video.

The person nominated does not have to be your own mom, or related to you in any way, but she certainly can be.

Submissions will be accepted from December 1st to December 30th 2008. Voting will take place from January 1st to January 10th 2009.

Prize details:
Bizymom of the year Award - $200 Cash prize to the winner
Person who nominated the winner - $50 Cash prize and more!

Contest URL:
http://www.bizymoms.com/christmascontest/index.html

Maddie's Funky Fruit Smoothie

2008-11-25T15:00:00.007-06:00

Feelin' a little funky? Take a walk on the wild side with this cool smoothie from Maddie. The sweet flavor will give your taste buds a zip!

-Team Spatulatta

Funky Fruit Smoothies

You need...

1 small banana
1 ripe pear
3/4 cup apple juice
3/4 cup natural yogurt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp runny honey

Slice the banana. Peel, core, and chop the pear.
Place all of the ingredients in the blender. Make sure the lid is on tight and blend until smooth.
Pour into smoothie glass and serve.

More from Chicago Gourmet '08

2008-11-24T11:46:00.006-06:00

Belle & Liv with Top Chef contestants: Dale (Season 3)
and Stephanie (Season 4 Winner)
With Executive Chef, Jackie Shen, of Redlight

With Master Chef, Roy Yamaguchi, owner of Roy's

Churchill Elementary Pics

2008-11-23T05:32:00.006-06:00

On November 20th, the girls hosted a live cooking demo and book signing at Churchill Elementary School in Oswego, IL. The theme was Family Reading Night.

Click photos to enlarge

Churchill Elementary students and parents were excited for the cooking demo to start.
It was our first visit there and we felt so welcomed!

Churchill was nice enough to provide the cool projection screen below. The audience saw everything Liv and Belle cooked up. During the book signing, clips from Spatulatta and national tv interviews played on screen.

We love paparazzi!
Our gracious host, Pat Lofthouse, snaps photos of the girls.

Tori's Original Stuffed Cherry Tomatoes

2008-11-19T11:32:00.003-06:00

ingredints:               preparations: 
  
cherry tomatoes       make the cherry tomatoes  
                     hollow on the inside then 
goat cheese          chop up olives and stuff it 
                     into the tomatoes then  
olives(optional)     stuff goat cheese and 
                     for the final touch       
parsley              add the garnish (parsley)


Spatulatta responds:

Mmmm, these sound great!  
Thanks for passing on your recipe, Tori.
-Team Spatulatta

Cocoa Rounds by Sophie

2008-11-19T11:14:00.003-06:00

I LOVE spatulatta.com! I have a recipe you could do.
I have more cool recipes but my favorite recipe are cocoa rounds, the ingredients are,

1 2/3 cups flour
3/4 cups sugar
2 Tablespoons cocoa
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cups soft butter
1 egg


Combine all the ingredients in a medium bowl.
Chill for 10 min. and bake at 375 f for 8-10 min.  

we like to roll them in powdered sugar after they're done.   

Love, 
Sophie ;-)

Spatulatta responds:
Hey Sophie, Thanks for your sweet recipe.  This could make a great treat during holidays.
Spatulatta loves you too!

-Team Spatulatta

Chicago Gourmet 2008

2008-11-14T11:09:00.005-06:00

Here are photos of Belle and Liv at Chicago Gourmet on September 28. Held in Millennium Park, the girls, along with other nationally known Chicago chefs stirred up delicious creations for culinary fans.

Check back to see more photos of Chicago Gourmet!

Click photos to enlarge

Ready to work!

Cookin' live with Liv & Belle

With two new fans :)

Looks like a giant cookie cutter!