"I Make It!"

The kitchen has always been a respite for me, a room where comfort is found in recipes and routines, and tastes of excitement are carefully measured out by spoons and cups. But now that three and a half year old Little P. has commandeered the room, he takes a more free-spirited approach to our mealtime creations.

Yet some things still require a bit of order for success to be achieved. Baking is one arena where "winging-it" isn't advisable, but my son doesn't care about precision during meal prep and will demand "I Make It!" so I need to allow opportunities for fun, while still following the recipe rules.

The best baking idea of late is my "Wet Bowl" and "Dry Bowl" approach. Take the opportunity to identify which ingredients fall into each category and lay them out before little hands begin. With everything in easy reach, allow your young chef to measure things into their respective bowls: wet or dry. Of course you may need to assist with pouring items into cups and spoons and cracking eggs, but let the kids do the majority of the work. They make a meal and they take pride in a job well done!

Once each bowl has it's proper fillings, mix as directed. Most baking recipes are forgiving enough that you can work the bowls separately and combine them just once at the end. This alleviates the problems that can occur from overworking doughs for breads and cakes; let your young Mix-Master stir that dry bowl to his heart's content, a quick incorporation with the wet ingredients and your bread will still rise nicely.

Besides fostering self-confidence, independence and an interest in wholesome foods, the amount of peripheral knowledge imparted through cooking with kids is limited only by your imagination. Counting, numbers, fractions, measurements and volume can all be explained at a basic level to every age child. Speech and linguistics are expanded and perfected with repetition. Ingredient functions are always interesting; leavener's, sweetening's, flavor's and such- Who doesn't want to know how these things work? If Mom & Dad need a refresher, Harold McGee's On Food & Cooking and The Curious Cook are two tomes that really are the bibles of food and its functions.

One of our favorite baking activities is making waffles. I love to add in whatever fruit can be found seasonally and balance with spices suited to the flavor. As odd as it may sound, zucchini, carrot, sweet potato and corn are vegetables that can also work well with fruit in a sweet waffle. Today, strawberries picked at the tiny Land Sake Farm in Weston are combined with fresh grated nutmeg and taste decadent at this time of year! The recipe below should leave you with some extras; cool them on a baking rack, then tuck them into a freezer bag and store in the freezer for up to two weeks. A quick reheat in the toaster oven is all it takes for you to have fresh waffles any morning you want!

"I MAKE IT" WAFFLES:

Yield: 8 - 10 waffles depending on your waffle iron size

DRY BOWL:

2 cups whole wheat flour (I like King Arthur's White Whole Wheat)

1/2 cup spelt flour or corn meal

1/2 cup loosely packed brown sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

Spices / Flavorings: 1 tsp. dried or 2 tsp. fresh: your mixture of choice (think cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, ginger, allspice, lavender, mint, coconut, ground nuts or seeds)

WET BOWL:

1/4 cup citrus juice or one large lemon/medium orange freshly juiced

1 tsp. fresh grated zest (match to juice of your choice) or 1 tsp. vanilla for less citrus flavor

2 Tablespoons melted butter

2 Tablespoons canola oil

1 large egg

1 1/2 - 2 cups skim milk (the larger amount if you are using cornmeal in your batter)

LAST:

1 cup of your choice of fruit/veggies: fresh, frozen, chopped, sliced, or pureed depending on your texture preferences.

Combine Dry Bowl ingredients well and set aside. Mix up Wet Bowl ingredients and then add into Dry Bowl. Mix together until all ingredients are incorporated. Add in the fruit. Fold lightly to combine, but don't over mix or all the fruit will disintegrate in batter. Heat your waffle iron thoroughly before cooking; use non-stick spray if necessary and cook according to your iron's directions.

Plant the Seeds of Tradition

Lucky Me! I married a man who came with a deep devotion to the home garden, handed down from his Italian parents and grandparents who grew food not just for consumption, but survival. The southern parts of Italy are wild and untamed areas. Living off the land was a necessity and a source of pride for my husband's people. Whatever they didn't grow themselves they either did without or found elsewhere, but not as readily as we do in America.
No super-giant-warehouse markets in those days; just a walk to the village to visit the outdoor mercato del villaggio where only seasonal and local foodstuffs were sold and always of the best quality. Many people in rural Italy still live like that today, and with the explosion of Slow Food, an organization born in Northern Italy that celebrates the pleasures of traditional and local foods, my husband's humble Calabrese heritage is suddenly quite in fashion.
Post-marriage in our new home just west of Boston, Big P. taught me how to grow a smattering of tomato plants in the summer months, along with some favorite herbs for fresh salads and cooking. We happily established our gardening routine and ate well but never thought too much about it. We did the work, which was minimal, and enjoyed it simply because it was delicious. And did I mention healthy? Yes, there are the nutritional benefits to growing your own food, but there is also something so relaxing and therapeutic about puttering around, caring for something that will care for you later when it's harvested.
Once our son made his entrance, my maternal instincts rushed up to the surface. I want the best for my child, and the best food is fresh and very often local. Why buy apples from Chile when the best McIntosh's are grown right here in Bolton, MA? Pick it up down the road or bust out the passport, what a choice. Call me crazy but I want my son to enjoy what food tastes like before it gets Frequent Flier miles.
The first summer when Little P. was 8 months old and ready to munch on beans, I planted some of my own. His fat fingers grabbed up some seeds to toss in the ground and the torch of family tradition stayed lit. The beans sprang up so quickly and with such vigor that I was encouraged to try different things, and then still more, and now on our fourth summer together I am rationing out yard space at a premium to accommodate everything we want to grow.
I start by making the furrow, divvy up some seeds and then we get them into the earth. He pig-piles seeds on top of each other while my husband and I neatly plant and surreptitiously re-spread some of his. We don't fret too much over the perfection of the planting, nature always seems to work it out. We mark our plots with a picture and the word for each plant; plastic plant markers with a permanent pen will last longest for the season. Little P. loves to finish by decorating his garden with favorite treasures; shells, rocks, cool sticks!
Then comes the unexpected pleasures of gardening with little ones. Every kid loves to water plants and themselves in the process and watch their little seed grow. To care for it and then have the opportunity to taste the fruits of their labor may be an almost lost skill, but one worth teaching your children.
We eat all this lovely produce with such ease because it is so accessible, just a step outside our door, make a quick pick and enjoy. No driving required. When a "picky eater" has come to play, we often find them in our back yard happily plucking up cherry tomatoes or popping peas. Pickiness forgotten because after all this is fun food, not forced food.
If you'd like to try this at home, I recommend easy growers like beans, peas, radishes, lettuces, beets, any of the chards and most herbs. All are fairly reliable and will generate big excitement when the first seedling pops up! Consult your local garden center or library for more, and very soon you too may be happily experiencing the ancient tradition of growing food for your own eating pleasure.

Things that go squid in the night

OK, I admit it: when faced with certain foods, I'm still a slightly squeamish eater. I know, not the thing to start off a blog about healthy eating with, but the truth must come out. The strange, unusual, odd or unknown still produces my inner child reaction of "Icky!", now I just have enough grown-up manners not to show it!

Not such a great trait of mine, huh? Is this a parental gene I hope my child inherits- no way! So many times we forget that "children do as they see and not as they are told", and too often they see us passing on our own food prejudices. I try to approach all foods with a clear and open mind and allow my son to decide preferences for himself; sometimes the challenge is easier than others.

Big P. had just returned from a late night fishing trip... or should I say squidding trip? Perched at the Woods Hole dock on Cape Cod at midnight, my husband, a group of friends, and the resident old-salt all stared down into the night sea. Someone flashed a light, and look! There they were!! Squid in clumps followed the light like a moth to the flame, and just as fatally were drawn up from their cold ocean home.

Squid season is short here in New England, a few weeks at best and some nights are more productive than others, but Big P. returns with a nice bundle this time. In the morning instead of toothbrush routines, my 3 1/2 year old son wakes to the excitement of cleaning the squid with DaDa. His little fingers are in charge of rinsing after DaDa discharges the ink; which is saved for later and added to homemade pasta for briny flavor and it's unique black color.

They are having so much fun! Flapping the squid fins like bird wings, flipping around the tentacles in the sink and generally making a happy mess of my kitchen. So why do I look at this calamari cutie of mine just enjoying the moment and feel only slight nausea at the rawness of it all?

Food does not start out in a box. It is not born in a bag, package, carton or deli case. We need to show our children the beginning of the chain sometimes, and let them respect it for what it is. Big P. explains to our son that when we go fishing, we only keep things that we intend to eat and the rest gets released for another day. Simple show and tell lessons of sustainability, and involving him with the squid make the best impressions on our young one.

While I supervise Little P. concocting a bowl of olive oil, fresh squeezed orange juice, dried oregano and orange zest, my husband does the knife work on the calamari. Slices will sit in the bowl for about 30 minutes, and then get a quick turn out on the gas grill. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and viola! Breakfast is served!

As our little guy digs in greedily, I still try to contain my roiling belly, and put on a happy face. So I don't eat calamari- big deal. It is a healthy, real, delicious (so I'm told) food, and why should my son not like it? Everyone is different and that is OK, and I need to allow my child to be different from me in his food choices. He picks up a dangling, wiggly bunch: "DaDa is this the tentacles?". He gets an affirmative answer and the squiggles disappear down his little throat as he proclaims "Yum!!".

Yeah- right, yummy, squishy squid.... Put on the happy face Kim!!! "I'm glad you like your squid breakfast buddy" I say, with a loving, motherly smile. And you know what? I really am.