Rah, Rah, Radishes! Alpha-Veggie Pasta

This may not be the prettiest dish I've ever made, but I really wanted to tell you about this book!  

I'm well aware that this is not the healthiest blog on the planet.  My justification for making cakes, cookies, ice creams, and other bad-for-you foods is usually somewhere along the lines of, "but I can get excited about butterbeer and eat-me cakes and pink peppermint ice cream!  Nobody wants to watch me make a salad!"  But you know what?  I need to get more excited about healthy foods, too, and if anything is going to make me cheer for vegetables, it's Rah, Rah, Radishes! A Vegetable Chant by April Pulley Sayre.  

"Rah, rah, radishes! Red and white. Carrots are calling. Take a bite!"  

There are beautiful, mouth-watering photos of any number of vegetables in this book, which look like they were taken at a local farmer's market.  These are paired with a fun, energetic cheer to create a really fun book that I must have flipped through 5 or 6 times.  

The author mentions the usual veggies, but doesn't stop at peas and carrots.  Yams, squash, parsnips, rutabagas, and multiple types of peppers are shown - jalapeno, serrano, habanero.  She even shows veggies that I (I admit with some degree of embarrassment) have never tried, like fennel, Swiss chard, and kale, and a few (kohlrabi, bok choy) that I wouldn't even have known what they were if they were placed in front of me. 

The veggies are paired into families of related produce, so the combinations work well together, and the rhymes don't seem forced, though they're not using just veggies to make the chant flow.  ("Onion. Scallion. Leek and shallot.  Grab that garlic. Please your palate!")

I love that the author also added in "Thank you, farmers. Thank you, bees.", as if to open discussion on where the vegetables actually come from, and she suggests in the very back of the book that each family member become an expert on one certain vegetable - how and where it grows, how to cook it, what it tastes like - and then, once that person has taught all the others about it, they can pick up a new veggie and start over.  Cool idea!  The last page also mentions, "Note: no vegetables were harmed or mistreated in the making of this book.  Most, however, were later eaten."

Now, this is not an alphabet book, but the short, catchy chant, and the bright, beautiful photos, I believe, would appeal to the same audience as those working on their ABCs, so I made for you a lovely alphabet-pasta-with-veggies dish, that I first saw in one of those magazines that the supermarket puts out for free.  I've adapted it a bit, but the inspiration comes from Publix's "Toddler Pasta" recipe.

Alpha-Veggie Pasta

4 cups chicken or vegetable broth (I used low-sodium)

1 cup alphabet pasta

2/3 cup mixed frozen peas and carrots

2/3 cup frozen broccoli (I chopped it into bite-sized pieces before I measured)

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 tbsp. olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

1) Put the broth in a large (spaghetti-type) pot and bring to a boil.  You can use regular old salted water, if you like, but the broth adds a lot of flavor to the party.

2) Add the pasta and boil, stirring occasionally, for 7 minutes.

3) Add the frozen veggies and boil the whole thing for another 6 minutes.

4) Drain the chicken broth, and set it aside.  Mix in the olive oil, cheese, and salt and pepper, adding in more broth as necessary to make it have a nice coating.   (I also put some of the broth into tupperware containers with the leftovers, since the pasta might get a little dry when you reheat it in the microwave.)

Incidentally, the letter-shaped pasta holds up really well in the fridge.  I've been eating this for lunch for the past few days, and it's not mushy at all!

See?  You can read every letter!  (Hmm... I wonder what those initials stand for.)

"Sun and seasons, leaf and stalk.  Know them. Grow them! Veggies rock!"  Thank you, April Pulley Sayre; I finally agree.  Veggies do indeed rock, and I'll try to showcase them more often.

As we discussed a while back, I'm partial to lima beans; what's your favorite veggie?

Chicks and Salsa

It must get awfully boring being a chicken.  There's nothing to read, no coloring books laying around, and - gasp! No TV!  No wonder the Rooster in Aaron Reynold's Chicks and Salsa snuck up near the house to watch what Farmer Nuthatcher's wife was watching - Food Network, as it turns out.  And they're making Mexican food tonight!

The Rooster is intreigued.  Maybe chicken feed isn't the best there is?  He plans a field trip to the garden to scrounge tomatoes, onions, and peppers and makes salsa - Ole!  Nothing boring about that!  This spicy dinner inspired the ducks - tired as they were of life at the pond - to make "Quackamole", and the pigs to indulge in Hog Wild Nachos. 

It looks like everyone wants to get in on the fun, and the Rooster (along with an enterprising group of mice, who supply the trimmings that you just can't get in the garden like tortilla chips) plans a fiesta!  But what happens if Farmer Nuthatcher and his wife get in on the fun?  Will there be enough to go around?

I loved both the story and illustrations in Chicks and Salsa, and it only got better when I found out that there are recipes for Salsa, Quackamole, and Hog Wild Nachos in the back of the book.  In the interest of honesty, I'll let you know that I didn't make the salsa recipe in the book, and I'll tell you why: for one thing, the recipe wants you to roast the tomatoes on a grill, and I didn't want to do that.  For another, I have a salsa recipe that I use fairly often, that I really enjoy.  If you'd like to try those recipes, please let me know how they turn out for you!  Otherwise, here's my own:

Chicks and Salsa
3 tomatoes
1-2 jalapenos, depending how spicy you want your finished salsa
1/2 bell pepper
1/2 red onion
1 tbsp. lime juice OR red wine vinegar
1 tsp. minced garlic
Bouquet of cilantro
Salt, to taste

1. Swish the cilantro in a bowl of water and let it soak for about ten minutes.  Any dirt will fall to the bottom of the bowl, and the clean leaves will float.
2. Meanwhile, seed and dice the tomatoes, jalapenos, bell pepper, and onion and put them into a bowl. (If you like, you can use a food processor to make this go very quickly.)  Be very, very careful with the peppers, especially the jalapenos; wash your hands thoroughly after touching them, because there is enough heat in them that they can seriously sting!  (Particularly if you touch them and then cut onions, because then you'll want to rub your eyes and everything will burn!)
2. Pull the leaves off the bouquet of cilantro and pat them dry with paper towels - the amount of cilantro you use is up to you.  (My Official Food Taster and I really like cilantro, so we use a lot, but if you're unsure, you can add it at the end and keep tasting it until it tastes right.)  Stack the leaves on top of each other on a cutting board, and carefully chop them fine.  Add to the vegetables.
3. Add the remaining ingredients and stir well.  Trust me; salt really brings the flavors out of the vegetables.
4. Let the salsa sit for at least a few minutes to let the flavors blend.  Eating it the next day is better yet.

I use red wine vinegar instead of lime juice because limes don't agree with me.  You can use lemon juice, but I find that the vinegar has a nice acidic quality that lemon juice just doesn't have. 

It's just so good!  I ate it on chips...

And then I made it into Hog Wild Nachos!

To make these, simply lay out tortilla chips on a cookie sheet, and top with any combination of salsa, black beans, cheese, and even taco meat, and bake until melted.  Serve with additional salsa, sour cream, or quackamole.

You can use any variation of vegetables to make salsa, and it's so delicious, you don't even usually remember that it's healthy!  Try adding peach, mango, or pineapple for a special fruity kick.  What's your favorite type of salsa?

Cat In The Hat Hats

If he were with us today, Dr. Seuss would be 108 years old!  Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!!!

Today, I'm planning to write about his most famous character - The Cat In The Hat - but first, let's talk about his creator for a few moments.  (Note: Most of the following information can be found at the official Dr. Seuss website, here: http://www.seussville.com/.)  Dr. Seuss - born Theodore Geisel - came into the world on March 2, 1904.  He remained Ted Geisel until college, until he got into some trouble.  Having been banned from writing and drawing cartoons for the school paper and magazines, he started using his mother's maiden name, though with a different pronunciation - "Seuss".

After cartooning for quite a bit, and writing and drawing for advertisements, Dr. Seuss started writing books for kids in 1937 (To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street was the first one).  All in all, he wrote and illustrated 44 books for children.  The Cat In The Hat was his 13th book, first seen in 1957.  To this day, The Cat remains the author's most recognizable character, and some even say that The Cat was a metaphor for Seuss himself.  Let's get to The Cat now. 

The Cat In The Hat is a story that focuses on a boring, wet, dull day - "The sun did not shine.  It was too wet to play."  There was nothing to do... blah.  But then The Cat shows up (despite loud protests from The Fish), and the boredom vanishes.  His "look what I can do!" attitude is both entertaining and scary (what if they get caught?!), and even cleaning up the playthings becomes fun with The Cat around.  (But will it get done by the time that Mother gets home?)

For this story, I just had to make The Cat's iconic Hat.  I tried to make it both delicious and not horribly unhealthy.  I think it came out pretty well... what do you think?

Cat In The Hat Hats
Strawberries
Bananas
Vanilla wafers

1. Cut a banana into rounds.
2. Cut a strawberry into rounds.  For this, I tried to choose strawberries that look like they do in drawings, instead of the giant 3- and 4-lobed ones that you sometimes get in the cartons. 
3. Stack one banana slice onto a strawberry slice and cut them in half.  Repeat until you have the desired amount of fruit slices.
4. Break one vanilla wafer in half.  On a plate, lay down a vanilla wafer half so that it stands straight up.  On one side of it, place the half-moon slices you made of banana and strawberry to make the stripes, and you have yourself a hat!  Repeat as necessary to make as many hats as you like.

I also tried this in 3D, placing whole slices on top of a wafer to make hats, but I prefer the laying-down version.  Here's a photo of those type of hats, though:

You may do with it as you will.  But whatever you do, don't ever stop celebrating Dr. Seuss.  You won't be alone - his birthday is now the official day for the NEA's Read Across America Program.

I can't decide which Seuss story is my favorite.  It's either Horton Hatches An Egg, or The Sneeches.  What's your favorite?

Yoko's Dessert Sushi

Rosemary Wells makes me sit up and take notice.  (Literally.  She was a judge on a Food Network cake competition once, and I sat up and paid attention to the whole thing.)  You may know her as the creator of rabbit siblings Max and Ruby, who have tons of books and even a tv show to their name.  Or perhaps you know her McDuff series about a lovable terrier.  But no matter which of her characters you may have seen, please don't ignore this one!

Yoko is a lovely Japanese-American kitten who is really excited to start school.  Her mother has even packed her very favorite lunch... sushi! It's too bad that the other kids in class don't appreciate it.  Or her red bean ice cream.  It's SEAWEED!  It's WEIRD!  "Yuckorama!" Sure, they may not all be eating the same thing, but... who eats THAT?  Poor Yoko.  She doesn't feel happy about school anymore. 

Her teacher, Mrs. Jenkins, couldn't seem to cheer up our poor heroine.  Being a good teacher, she came up with a great idea to get a handle on the situation.  She sent home a notice announcing International Food Day; each parent was supposed to make a family recipe and bring in enough for everyone to try.  Foods from all over the world are there! Yoko's mother makes enough sushi for everyone to have some.  But will anybody try it?

I, like many of Yoko's classmates, am not a big fan of sushi.  To be honest, I don't eat any seafood at all.  But I couldn't slight Yoko and not make sushi, so I've found a way to make her favorite dish without having to... by making it out of gummy fish instead of real ones!

I used the recipe for Original Rice Krispie Treats as found on www.ricekrispies.com.  If you're adventurous, or hungry, there are a ton of awesome variations on their theme there.  I plan on making several of them when I have the time, ingredients, and people to eat them.

Yoko's Dessert Sushi
 6 cups Rice Krispies cereal
3 tbsp. butter or margarine
1 10.oz bag of regular-size marshmallows OR 4 cups mini-marshmallows
Gummy worms
Gummy fish
Fruit Roll-Ups

1. Melt the butter or margarine in a large saucepan over low heat.  Add the marshmallows and stir constantly until everything is melted together.
2. Add the rice krispies to the marshmallow mixture and stir until evenly coated.
3. Wait until the mixture is cool enough to touch - don't burn yourself!  This is VERY IMPORTANT!
4.  There are two ways to do the next part.  You can either
          A) Put enough Krispie Treat mixture to cover all but a 1-inch stripe of a fruit roll-up, about half an inch thick. Add a few gummy worms, and roll up, using the un-covered inch of fruit roll-up to complete the outer covering of the roll.
                                            OR
          B) Make a cylinder of Krispie Treat around 3 or 4 gummy worms, and then cover with a fruit roll-up.
Really, the method you choose depends on your preference.  I made them both ways, and neither one was particularly easy, but neither was hair-pullingly-hard to do, either.  All in all, they looked about the same in the end, so I was happy.
5. Then, cut your log of gummies-krispies-fruit-roll-ups into slices of about an inch.  (It may be easier to do this after a brief stay in the refrigerator.)
6. Alternately, or additionally, you can make Rice Krispie sashimi by making a solid piece of the treat mixture, adding a gummy fish, and securing with a strip of fruit roll-up.  This was much simpler to do, and it still looks pretty good.  Sound confusing?  Here's a photo of the finished product:

I had also intended to add frosting wasabi, but that sadly didn't come to pass.

As a note, I feel that it's fair to mention that these were very very sweet, but they certainly were delicious. If this is too time-consuming, I have also seen people make dessert sushi by cutting snack-cakes into slices.  They also look lovely, but they don't have gummy fish.  Or a book.  So I think I'm okay.

I feel bad that I set a bad example by not eating the food that's part of the trying-different-foods lesson, but I think I'll just have to forgive myself on this one, since I have tried seafood, and I know that I dislike it.  Would it make you feel better if I tried one new food this week to make up for it?

In other news, I'm hoping to have a minimum of one blog post a week.  Please yell at me if I don't keep it up.  You can contact me at KatCooksTheBooks@gmail.com, on my Facebook fan page, or right here on the blog itself in the comments.  Thanks for reading!

Bake Sale Cupcakes

Bake Sale by Sara Varon is a graphic novel for children that follows Cupcake, a cupcake who owns the Sweet Tooth Bakery, plays the drums, and wears a delicious cherry on his head whenever possible.  He's best friends with an eggplant named Eggplant (who sleeps with a sock monkey - I love that), and we also meet such characters as Sugar, Avocado, and Potato.  If you look closely, you might even spot a cameo by Mr. Peanut.

Over the course of the novel, we follow Cupcake as he runs his bakery, attends band practice, and daydreams about one day meeting his idol, famous pastry chef Turkish Delight.  When he finds out that Eggplant's aunt is best friends with Turkish Delight, and that Eggplant is planning a trip to Turkey to go visit, AND that he is also invited to go... well! Cupcake kicks things into high gear and starts saving up for a plane ticket right then and there.  He sells dog biscuits at the dog show, marzipan animals at the Blessing of the Animals, and peppermint brownies for Valentine's Day - anything to help pay for this trip!  But when he finds out that Eggplant has been laid off and might not be able to go to Turkey after all... what's a Cupcake to do?

I picked up Bake Sale because it looked like a fun read, but imagine my excitement when I found out that 7 of Cupcake's recipes are also sprinkled in the pages!  I was tempted especially by the peppermint brownies and the sugared flowers (how cool are those?!), but in the end, I needed to make cupcakes in honor of Cupcake.  (Can you blame me?)  The recipe for the cake and the frosting is right in the back of the book - page 148 in the copy I have here.

Bake Sale Cupcakes
For the cupcakes:
2 sticks unsalted butter at room temperature
2 cups white sugar
4 eggs at room temperature
1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla

1. Preheat the oven to 350.  Line two 12-cup muffin tins with muffin papers.  ("If you make mini-cupcakes," the author says, "this recipe will make 96!"  So you may want to cut the recipe in half.  No matter how many cupcakes you make, mini-cupcakes will take about 1/3 less cooking time.)
2. In a large bowl, cream the butter until smooth.  Add the sugar gradually, and beat until fluffy, around 3 minutes.  (Kat's note: make sure all the sugar is integrated before proceeding, even if it takes longer than 3 minutes.  Trust me, if you don't, then your cupcakes won't come together right and will be all gummy and gross.)
3. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each.
4. Combine the flours in a smaller bowl and whisk together.  Add it to the butter mixture in 3 parts, alternating with the milk and vanilla.  Beat well after each addition.
5. Spoon the batter into your muffin tins, so your cups are about 3/4 full.  (I used a measuring cup and scooped it in that way.  It was easier to handle.)
6. Bake for 20-22 minutes, or until the tops spring back when lightly touched.  Mine came out perfectly after 20 minutes exactly.
7. Remove the cupcakes from the tin and let them cool completely before you frost them. 

 They came out perfectly.  Soft, barely golden brown around the edges, and smelling delicious. It was hard to let them cool, but somehow I managed.

For the frosting:
2 sticks unsalted butter at room temperature
8 cups confectioner's sugar
1/2 cup milk
2 tsp. vanilla extract

1. Place butter in a large mixing bowl.  (I cut my butter into chunks first, but that may be personal preference.)
2. Add 4 cups of the sugar, all the milk, and the vanilla.
3. "Beat like crazy with electric mixer, until smooth and creamy."  (Love it!)  The author also notes that you should mix at a medium or high speed, but only after working up to it, because if you start on a high speed, the sugar will fly everywhere.
4. Gradually add remaining sugar, 1 cup at a time, until the frosting is of the desired consistency.  You may not need to use all the sugar.

I have not historically had a heck of a lot of luck making my own frosting (which is, to be fair, my own fault for usually jumping right in instead of reading all the directions first, or for having a mixer that starts blowing smoke at me when I decide to mix with it - a problem since solved), so I was hesitant... but it came out perfectly!  It's so fluffy and delicious!  Ms. Varon states that you can store any unused frosting in a covered container at room temperature for up to 3 days.  I put my extra (about 3 cupcakes' worth, and I didn't skimp on the frosting) in a tupperware in the fridge, because sometimes I just can't help but be a rebel.
I actually cut this recipe in half and made 12 cupcakes instead of 24, but they came out perfectly.  Seriously, this was the tastiest cake batter I've ever licked off a rubber spatula.  And not too shabby baked, either!  (Good enough, in fact, that my official taster and I couldn't help ourselves from each eating one, though we had just come back from eating a huge dinner.)  Also, I didn't have any cherries, but so I substituted a strawberry. 

It's lovely, don't you think?

If you like Bake Sale,  Sara Varon also has a few other books, namely Robot Dreams, Sweater Weather, Chicken and Cat, and Chicken and Cat Clean Up.  You can visit her website at http://www.chickenopolis.com/. 

On a personal note, I'm sorry I haven't posted recently.  If I ever go this long again, please yell at me to write more.  You can email me with good comments, bad ones, requests, recommendations, or just to say hi at KatCooksTheBooks@gmail.com, or you can follow me on Facebook and talk to me there, OR you can leave me a comment here on the blog itself!  So many options!