Tag Archives: cooking

Kids Cook Fridays

22 Friday May 2015

Posted by in Faith, Relationships, and Other Topics

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Fridays have always been a population favorite. They end the work and school week, usher in vacations (or holidays, for my European friends), and offer much-needed breaks. Even the most disagreeable chime in on the popular consensus of Friday’s arrival…ahh.

In my home, we issue up a hearty “Mmmm” as well. Because that’s when the kids get to cook.

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And I’m not talking peanut butter sandwiches or ramen noodles either. During the week, they pick a recipe based on what we have on hand, get a $20 budget for any missing ingredients, and take over the kitchen stove, kitchen counters, and the kitchen sink. (I clean up after myself when I cook, so can they :-).)

My son, who’s not as fond of this routine as his sister… 008
…tends to go for the more practical selections. Whatever can be thrown in one dish and cooked together is a first choice for him.

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My daughter, on the other hand, has to be scaled back now and then. Otherwise it’d be ten-course meals with drink pairings and a selection of desserts. This is what her table looks like on her nights:

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And if we have guests, she completes the scene with a towel draped elegantly over her arm, serves and refills drinks individually, and personally makes rounds about the table to dish out seconds. Top Chef, thank you.

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Though cookbooks for kids have easy to make dishes, many of them include ingredients that aren’t always the healthiest. So I prefer recipes from sites such as allrecipes.com, or cookbooks such as Ree Drummond’s The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Recipes From an Accidental Country Girl. Here comes Mathias’ version of Ree’s braised beef brisket:

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These nights are fun, but they’re not always easy. It takes longer for the twins to follow a recipe than it would if I were to cook. And the cleanup can sometimes take a military turn. But in the end, they’re learning to accept more responsibility as they get older, and I see them glow when they receive praise for a well-cooked meal.

And should we eat out on a Friday, the chef of the evening gets to choose the restaurant.

All-in-all, we enjoy this family tradition, as it gives additional meaning to the phrase, “Thank God it’s Friday!”

Your turn: What are some family activities or traditions you keep in your household?

White Chocolate Banana Nut Bread

17 Tuesday Dec 2013

Posted by in Faith, Relationships, and Other Topics

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My favorite banana bread recipe is from William-Sonoma’s Essentials of Baking cookbook. If you can find the book, which is no longer available through their site, I recommend you snag it. It’s a culinary gem.

I’ve since slightly altered the way I make the banana bread recipe, mainly adding white chocolate, more nuts, and cutting or tweaking an ingredient or two. I make it often, and promised a friend I’d share the wealth in time for the holiday season.

2-1/2 large ripened bananas (or 3 medium ones)
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour*
1/2 cup whole-wheat flour*
*(I sometimes do 1 cup of each type of flour instead)
2 tsps baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 large eggs, room temperature
3/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar (dark brown has a richer flavor than golden in this bread)
1/2 cup 2% milk, room temperature
6 tbsp. melted butter
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
1 cup white chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and make sure rack is centered in the middle of the oven. Butter* and flour either a 9×5 loaf pan, or a large muffin (makes 6) pan.

Combine the dry ingredients and mix together well. In a separate bowl mash the bananas until smooth. In another bowl (or mixer) mix together the brown sugar, eggs, milk, and butter until well blended. Mix in the dry ingredients “in 3 batches alternately with the bananas.” Add the chopped nuts and the white chocolate chips and stir in.

Pour the batter into the loaf or muffin pan. Add nuts on top (chopped, whole, decorative or random). In my oven I bake it about 50 minutes. The original recipe calls for 55-60 or until a toothpick comes out clean. In the muffin pan the baking time is cut to about 35-38 min.

ALWAYS best served warm (it might fall apart if you don’t let it cool completely, but who cares when you’re gonna chew it to pieces anyway), with coffee, and a house full of friends. Enjoy!

*Cooking Tip:
When I finish a stick of butter, I save the butter wrappers in a Ziploc sandwich bag specifically for the purpose of buttering a pan when baking. Take the wrapper out and let it sit at room temperature. The butter residue melts fast and you can rub it all over the pan fairly quickly, easily reaching corners and sides without the hassle you get from using the actual stick.