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Creating a Fun, Child Friendly Cooking Party

Posted by author Lisa Barnes

I am not crafty.  I am in awe of parents who can come up with a craft for kids to create and enjoy.  My kids loved making paper lanterns, beading necklaces and strumming on shoebox guitars – but not at my house.  My friends and fellow mothers have come up with these activities to keep their homes free of chaos, arguments and boredom during play dates and parties.  So what’s a non-crafty mom supposed to do when her child asks, “Mom can we have friends over for a play date?”  I’ve learned not to panic and go to my comfort zone – the kitchen.

Cooking is a great activity for kids, no question about it.  It can be empowering for them as they pour, mix, measure, and then finally eat and enjoy.  I love to watch my pint size sous chefs get involved and get creative making all sorts of recipes, and I like to share those fun times with my friends’ children too.  As with most activities with children, a successful cooking play date requires a bit of planning and patience.

For those familiar with cooking with their own children, you can probably add more ingredients to the list and set up a few more chairs and you’re ready to cook.  Although keep in mind the kids coming may or may not have experience in the kitchen, so you’ll need to be patient and give some safety instructions (and possibly house rules) before starting.  For other moms new to cooking with kids here are some things to consider when planning:

· How many children will be participating?  I find it best to have no more than one table of preschoolers and older (usually 4 – 6) if you are the only adult helping.  Remember to count your own kids!

· What is the time frame?  If it’s late in the afternoon making cookies may not be a good choice for kids to eat before going home to dinner.  If the kids are only staying a short time, keep the recipe simple so they can finish.

· Decide what to make.   Ask your child what they would like to make, so they are interested and excited.  

· Review a checklist of ingredients and tools needed.  Be sure there are enough ingredients and tools for everyone, or have a plan to share. 

· Shop and have everything ready.  Kids do not want to go on a last minute trip to the store.

· Prep before.  There are many stages to a recipe.  Consider the age and attention span of the children coming to play.  I find it best to prep and have things ready for children to assemble and decorate.  A muffin tin works great to divide toppings and decorations. 

· Set up for age friendly activities.  Decide how best to arrange your kitchen to meet the little chefs’ needs.  Sometimes being seated at a large kitchen table or dining table will accommodate mixing, measuring and decorating better (and safer) than standing at a too high sink (or vying for stools).

· Set out a snack.  Kids will want to eat something and may dip into the ingredients.  Shredded cheese gets nibbled when topping a pizza and sprinkles disappear when decorating cookies.  Have a healthy snack on the table such as cut up fruit, veggies with dip, whole wheat crackers or trail mix to curb little appetites.

· Plan for a mess.  Even adults make a mess when cooking.  For quick cleanup have wet wipes, drop cloths, a broom, and a sense of humor on hand.

· Re-think and plan to keep things moving and having fun.  If your audience isn’t smiling or has lost interest, move on.  Finish for them and allow them do another activity if they want to stop or take a break.

If you’re up for the challenge but not sure what to make here are a few easy suggestions that children enjoy making (and eating):

Quesadillas

There are a variety of tortillas for all tastes and diets (white, spinach, whole wheat, spelt, gluten free) to top for a quick snack or lunch.  Grated cheese, chopped tomatoes, avocado, olives, and shredded meats are some ideas to be placed in small bowls for little hands to reach and sprinkle before heating.

Sandwiches

Kids can get creative and feel grown up using mini spreaders to create all kinds of sandwich flavors and combos.  Pre-cut bread (a variety of whole wheat, pumpernickel and white is fun and colorful) with cookie cutters, or let older children do it themselves.  Set out ramekins or bowls of spread such as nut/seed butters (check for allergies), fruit spread, cream cheese, hummus, mashed avocado, tuna and others.  You can also provide cheese and meats for layering.

Yogurt Parfait

Pretty and simple.   Festive, clear ice cream glasses make this a real sweet treat for all ages.   Set out bowls of plain organic yogurt with flavors to mix in such as fruit spread/purees, mashed fresh berries, honey, maple syrup.  Toppings for layering may include fresh berries, granola, chopped nuts (check allergies), seeds, crushed graham crackers, coconut, and low sugar cereals.

Pizza

The crust can be anything from making your own dough to simple toppings on an english muffin.  Place ramekins or small bowls of sauce, grated cheese, and veggies so kids can top their own.  Shakers of parmesan and oregano are easy for even the littlest chefs to use.

Cookies or Cupcakes

Many different flavor options mean different tasks and tools.  Since cookie cutters come in all shapes and sizes I can use any holiday, theme or interest as an excuse for a cookie party.  For a short play date bake cookies or cupcakes before kids arrive and let kids frost and decorate with coconut, edible flowers, raisins and other dried fruits.  For a longer party allow kids to measure, pour, and turn on the mixer to make dough, then shape, bake and decorate.

Sugar Cookie Cut-Outs

(from Petit Appetit: Eat, Drink, and Be Merry)

Adapted from the standard New Cook Book from Better Homes and Gardens (2002), this is a classic sugar cookie recipe and one that works for all seasons and reasons (if you need one).  Think about upcoming holidays such as Fourth of July for decorating inspiration with various cookie cutter shapes and color themes.  Or simply cut round cookie “faces” for children to give eyes and smiles.

Makes about 35 (2½-inch) cookies

2/3 cup organic unsalted butter, at room temperature

¾ cup sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

1 large cage-free organic egg

1 tablespoon organic milk

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer on medium speed for 30 seconds. Add sugar, baking powder, and salt and beat until combined. Beat in egg, milk, and vanilla until combined. Beat in the flour, ¼ cup at a time, until all is incorporated.

2. Cover and chill dough for at least 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

3. On a lightly floured surface, and using a floured rolling pin, roll dough out to 1/8-inch thickness. Cut into desired shapes. Place 1 inch apart on prepared baking sheets.

 4. Bake for 7 to 9 minutes, until edges are firm and bottoms are very lightly browned. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

5. Once completely cool these can be frosted with your child’s favorite royal or powdered sugar icing. For easy frosting set out small spreaders and squeeze bottles so frosting decorates the cookies and not your child, the floor, and the table. Add decoration to wet frosting for even more fun (and mess).

 

 

 

 

Petit Appetit: Eat, Drink, and Be Merry

 

 

The Petit Appetit Cookbook

The S Word

Posted by Jeanette Shaw

 

My mother turns sixty tomorrow. For her fiftieth birthday we threw her a big surprise party. For this one, we’re going to have a small, quiet dinner. Some of the muted celebration is a sign of the times – none of us is in a position in this economic climate to throw a lavish party. But frankly, I’m pretty sure my mom’s not too excited about this milestone anyway.

 

I can’t blame her. Right now I can’t imagine ever being sixty, and I’m guessing she felt the same way when she was my age. I’m sure she never thought that at this point in her life she would have back and knee problems, that she’d be a widow, that she’d work at a job she’s very good at but doesn’t feel very passionate about. She keeps telling me she wants to take a trip to Italy “before I’m too old,” and I’m pretty sure she means in the next year or two. She’s not even at retirement age yet, and she’s already resigned herself to spending her golden years on the couch watching TV and nagging me to get married.

 

I was thinking about this when I picked up a copy of Wendy Reid Crisp’s book When I Grow Up I Want to Be 60. Wendy has a much more inspiring view of the sixtieth decade, and she rounded up a plethora of women from all walks of life and all professions who share her opinion that sixty is an age of independence and an opportunity to celebrate how far you’ve come and how much life there still is to live. As Wendy says, sixty is only one “S” word, and there are many others that define us at that age: sexy, subversive, skilled, serene, strong, snippy, spring chickens, sanguine, significant… I hope as my mother pages through the inspiring, funny stories and life lessons in this book, she recognizes herself in these words and begins to share these women’s enthusiasm for this next phase of her life.

 

She’s already starting, I think. A woman who until recently didn’t even like to take a walk around the block is now hiking three times a week. I think Wendy would be proud.

 

 

 

When I Grow Up I Want to Be 60

Black Sheep and Lame Ducks

Posted by author Albert Jack

 

Many times, during the course of a single day, all of us will use what is known as an idiom. Idioms are words and phrases that those of us with a native English tongue take for granted as we have grown up to recognize their meaning—despite the words being used in a way having absolutely nothing at all to do with the context of a conversation we are having.

 

For example, if I explained I am writing this “off the cuff,” you would immediately recognize it as an unprepared piece being written in one take, spontaneously and then left as it is (which, by the way, it is). But why do I call that “off the cuff” when it has nothing to do with my cuffs or being either on or off them? Or if I suggested everything in this post was absolutely true, I can emphasize that statement by insisting every word in here is “straight from the horse’s mouth.” Again, we all know that means it has come directly from the source of information and is therefore reliable. But I haven’t got a horse. I have never spoken to one, and unless I can find one that wins more often, even when I hedge my bets, then I might have nothing to do with any of the beasts again.

 

Those little phrases appear in conversation all over the English speaking world, every minute of the day, and we take them for granted. Have you ever heard someone say they were “dressed up to the nines” and then wondered what on earth they were talking about? No, probably not because you already know what that means, but any person learning our beautiful language may overhear this and think we are all mad. Have you ever wondered where those phrases come from in the first place and why we use them? I did, when I was sitting in a pub with a friend, who was feeling a little groggy and under the weather, as he had been out painting the town red the previous evening. I helpfully suggested  a hair of the dog was in order and the bartender, who was an English student from Columbia, and a very good one at that, thought we were crazy. She told us dogs weren’t allowed in the pub. How we all laughed.

 

It was winter, and cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey, so cold in fact, I believe it was snowing in my kitchen. So we sat by the fire, hair of dog in hand, and started wondering where those sayings originate and why they are so natural to use. We stayed in that pub for a few hours and the waiter fetched us up a square meal, but before we all reached the end of our ropes I decided to leave for home. It was raining cats and dogs outside so I bit the bullet and made my way through the cold and started researching these little phrases. Within minutes I had discovered that many of them do have traceable origins and some even emerge from a particular event in history. Some are unbelievable but, by and large, many make immediate sense. Some have more than one suggested origin so, in those cases, I have chosen the source that had the best supporting evidence. Therefore, I can assure the reader, there is only one cock and bull story among them.

 

The expressions that litter the English language have long fascinated me. And I’m not alone in this. While researching my first book, Red Herrings and White Elephants, I began to think it might well prove popular, judging by the conversations I was having at the time. These conversations not only focused on idioms but, like most, were peppered with the strange expressions we all use every day without thinking. Once I had tuned in to them, they stuck out like a series of sore thumbs.

I soon became notorious for my constant interruptions, wondering where a particular expression comes from and why we use it. This had the unfortunate side effect of my not being invited to many dinner parties because if I was there the conversation tended to veer, often for hours, between why there should be “more than one way to skin a cat” and, if I was feeling brave enough, who was “looking like a dog’s dinner.”

One of the first questions people always ask me is: “How do you go about researching the origins of all of those expressions?” The research took a fair bit of time, it’s true, but it turned out to be the most rewarding part of the process. The hardest part was to think of a phrase in the first place. There are probably more than two thousand idioms we all use on a regular basis and yet when you sit down and try to think up a few dozen, it is almost impossible. I have discovered that the best way is to consciously listen out for them. However, don’t try this at home. I haven’t had a conversation, read a book, or watched TV without a notebook in hand for over two years now. And now I hope you enjoy the fruits of this labor as much as I have.

 

Black Sheep and Lame Ducks

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pop Goes the Weasel

Appreciate Your Children Every Day

Posted by author Charlotte Reznick, PhD (www.ImageryForKids.com)

Last month I went to be with a dear dying friend. Jane is the first person I mention in my book's acknowledgments section for her consistent support, love, and belief in me over the years. On a moment's notice I flew across the globe to be by her side. I knew I wanted to let her know once again how much I appreciated her in my life and what I loved about her. I knew any moments we would share would be precious and hold me for life.

 

The experience has put so many things into perspective, especially to let the ones we love know how we feel. I share this gentle reminder to keep your heart open and appreciate your children – and the children in your life –  every day. It will make a world of difference to you... and to them. It's so easy to take each other for granted or get upset over little things.

 

Although I've written about the Top Ten Things Kids Want and Need From Their Parents, "appreciation" is not on their list. Kids often don't even realize its importance. But we do.

 

So each day, let the kids in your life know at least one thing you appreciate about them or are grateful for. Perhaps it's your four-year-old's smile as she dresses herself proudly, or that your son still lets you hug him at age 12...  anything that touches your heart. And by your example, they will learn to share what they appreciate as well. Some families like to keep a running list to look upon when the tough times come.

 

Take a few moments today, and every day. It will surely help build a deeper loving connection that will serve you all of your days.

The Power of Your Child's Imagination: How to Transform Stress and Anxiety into Joy and Success is now available in paperback.

Finding Your Own Artist in the Office

Posted by Meg Leder

 

Whenever people ask me what types of books I want to acquire, I answer, “Books I like. I’m selfish that way.” I don’t mean to be flip, but there’s an element of truth there. The proposals that get my attention are books I want to own myself, that speak to something I’m personally interested in, that get me so excited about what I’m reading that I can’t stop talking about them—which is why working with my colleague Maria on Summer Pierre’s The Artist in the Office has been, quite frankly, a really cool process.

 

Summer is a writer, artist, and musician who believes that you don’t have to save your creative pursuits for after 5:00pm or the weekend. Instead, she believes in integrating the work you have to do, with the work you want to do, right now--not five minutes later, not five years down the line, but this very second. And then she gives you small steps you can take to make those big differences in your creative life.

 

And to demonstrate how I selfishly love the books I edit, I will tell you the following:

 

• Thanks to Summer, I now make sure I take at least one lunch hour during the week to do some writing of my own.
• When I start to doubt my writing (or even my editing, which I also consider creative work), I remind myself that these nagging voices are part of the process. (And as Summer suggests, when those insecurities emerge, I yell to myself, “Part of the process! Part of the process!” and move on.)
• I’ve started thinking about money differently, making sure that it goes to simple, empowering things that’ll get my blood stirring--pilates classes or books I want to read.
• Next to my computer screen, at eye level, I’ve put up my favorite photo of Costa Rica to remind myself there are more views in life than the email inbox in front of me.
• And there are at least ten pages in the book I come back to time and time again when I need a little refueling and inspiration. (“Don’t think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it’s good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art.” –Andy Warhol)

The Artist in the Office reminds me of why I like to be an editor—words on the page can move you. In this case, Summer’s have moved me to think and act differently, which is no small thing. And for that, I am selfishly grateful.

 

 

 

The Artist in the Office is on sale now. 

Traveling, Titanic Style

Posted by Meg Leder

 

I have terrible, terrible flying luck.

 

I’ve waited at Newark for eleven hours only to have a flight canceled. I’ve been pick-pocketed on the way to the airport, thus arriving sans identification. I’ve been told I’d have to spend 48 hours at Miami’s airport, and no, that wouldn’t include them putting me up at hotel. I’ve been on a plane that we all thought was landing at JFK, only to look out the window and have someone say, “Hey, this isn’t JFK!” (The plane had “run out of gas,” so had stopped to refuel in Pennsylvania. Huh? This type of thing can happen?) I’ve been sent home from Newark thanks to a canceled flight, and watched as my taxi driver hit the car in front of us on the highway. I’ve sat next to a man who I think farted every four minutes of the three-hour flight.

 

Needless to say, it was with a great sense of competitiveness that I sat down to edit Doug Lansky’s The Titanic Awards. An intrepid traveler and writer with a healthy sense of humor, Doug has gathered some of the world’s worst travel anecdotes and information—sort of a Darwin Awards meets the travel industry. Yeah, but no one has bad luck quite like me, I thought smugly as I began to read.

 

But then, I read about the Chinese Shandong Airlines flight in which passengers and crew were asked to help push the 20-ton plane about a half mile down the runway when it broke after landing. And there’s the man whose seatmate died mid-flight—leaving him sitting next to a corpse for the rest of the trip. My favorite? Nepal Airlines solving some technical problems by sacrificing two goats on the runway to appease the Hindu god of sky protection.

 

And that’s only the airline section.

 

Reading it, I felt like I had finally found my people. The travel gods don’t just hate me—they hate all of us! Sure, vacations can be wonderful--we come back refreshed, bearing beautiful pictures and stories. But as The Titanic Awards reminded me: sometimes the best parts of the trip—the ones we remember the most and share time and time again--are the battle scars we gather simply from the “getting there.” They’re miserable when they’re happening, but they sure do make for some dang good entertainment after the fact.

 

 

The Titanic Awards is on sale now.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Also by Doug Lansky:

 

 

Signspotting III

Of Bees and Book Editors

Posted by Marian Lizzi

 

Bees have been in the news a lot the past few years. So when I met Susan Brackney, a nature writer and beekeeper, at a writers’ conference a couple of years ago, I sat up a bit in my chair. I was in the midst of a marathon session of author pitches – basically, speed-dating for aspiring authors and the editors who either snap them up or (in most cases) ever-so-politely demur.

 

Susan was there to pitch a book on another subject. But her mention of beekeeping (and the look of inspiration in her eyes when she brought it up) made me suspect she had the perfect subject close at hand.

 

The result is Plan Bee: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about the Hardest-Working Creatures on the Planet.  The book has been sold to several countries and was featured among O magazine’s must-read books of last summer – and news of the book deal alone inspired The New York Times to ask Susan to write an op-ed about her vocation.

 

This week, Plan Bee comes out in paperback. Working with Susan on updates for the new edition, I realized something: Book editors are a lot like bees. (And no, I’m not talking about buzz marketing here.)

 

• We’re pollinators.  Bees are responsible for pollinating a whopping 80 percent of all the plants on the planet, including 90 or so food crops that range from almonds and blueberries to coffee. (I know, I buried the lede. Coffee!) 

Similarly, editors help authors spread their insights far and wide, first by spreading the word in-house to sales, publicity, and other essential fellow pollinators, and then to readers themselves. We help our authors participate in the popular discourse on everything from history and politics to loftier matters such as how to make a gourd look like a bloody alligator lying in wait on your lawn at Halloween (we can’t all publish the prize winners).

• We’re a little matriarchal. Women have long been a major driver in the book business – as both creators and consumers. There are more women in leadership positions in book publishing than perhaps any other field. And let’s not forget authors and readers, who traditionally have been largely female (and arguably still are). Yes, we are an industry of queen bees.

• We’re disappearing...maybe. Not to get all serious on you, but both bees and book editors have had a rough couple of years. We’re not experiencing Colony Collapse Disorder (I hope), but just as the bee population shrunk at an alarming rate in ’08 and ’09, so the book business has gone through some major downsizing and reorganization (read: layoffs).

For bees, the news is good. They’ve weathered the storm. Let’s hope the hardworking and somewhat endangered book editor does too. With the exciting new digital formats in our midst (along with more on the way), a creative, innovative new season is upon us. It seems to me that an editor’s job is more vital than ever.

 

What do you think? Comment below or drop me a note at Marian.Lizzi@us.penguingroup.com.

 

 

Plan Bee is now available in paperback.

 

 

Check out Susan Brackney's live bee-cam!

Being an Editor: A Feast for All Senses

Posted by Marian Lizzi

 

In my (gulp) twenty years as an editor of nonfiction, I’ve learned countless things from the authors I’ve worked with. Thanks to these amazingly varied and knowledgeable writers, I can hold my own in cocktail-party conversations about the differences between cirrus and stratocumulus clouds, how to carve a pumpkin using a power saw, the history of the phone book, and how to pop a Champagne cork with a sword -- among many other topics (I could go on, and I often do, especially after a whiskey smash or two).

 

But one of the most fascinating things I’ve learned comes from what also happens to be the first book I edited when I came to Penguin in the summer of 2004 -- the revised edition of a special-needs bible called The Out-of-Sync Child, which has sold more than 750,000 copies to date.

 

Here’s what I learned:  We have seven senses, not five.

 

Sure, we’ve got sight, hearing, smell, touch, and taste. But we also have a sense of what our body is doing, even when we can’t see it (the proprioceptive sense), and a sense of balance (the vestibular sense). When the brain isn’t processing sensory information efficiently, these two senses, along with the others, can be a bit “out-of-sync.”

 

Working with an author like Carol Kranowitz – whose book has been translated into a dozen languages and has touched countless special-needs parents, educators, therapists, and of course kids – is truly a privilege, and a learning experience.

 

Now, twelve years after The Out-of-Sync Child was first published, I have the added privilege of working with Carol and her talented new co-author, perceptual motor therapist Joye Newman, on book that, we all hope, will touch an even wider audience.

 

Growing an In-Sync Child takes the principles of the first book to a new level, because it turns out that ALL kids, not just those with special needs, need to run, jump, roll, skip, and balance on their tip-toes. Why? Because these movements help the brain develop as it’s supposed to.

 

So take your kids to the park. And let’s go out for a cocktail sometime (but only one, or else my seven senses will start to get a little foggy).

 

 

 

 

Growing an In-Sync Child goes on sale today

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 The Out-of-Sync Child

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Out-of-Sync Child Has Fun