Our Little Chef

Jack is in love with cooking.  He's been helping out in the kitchen for a couple of years now.  Slowly working his way up from merely washing vegetables, to cutting up vegetables and now actually manning the stove (with lots of supervision of course!).

I bought a couple of cook books a while back and one of them Jack particularly liked.  It is Jamie's Food Revolution.  He spends a lot of time pouring through the pages of this book and yesterday asked if we could cook a recipe from it.  He got to choose what we cooked and he also got to make it ..... all by himself.  Luckily he picked a very easy, but tasty meal and it was a great experience to help him out in the kitchen!

He minced garlic, chopped peppers, and basil, then stirred everything together on the stove.  He chose his pasta and I helped him put it in the boiling water.  While all this was cooking, it was decided that we should have a salad.  Dylan was to be in charge of making the salad.

He started off with lettuce then added onions and red peppers, then picked a dressing, also from the cookbook.  It was so fun to see my boys working together in the kitchen, and it was even nicer to see how proud they were of the food they made!

Jack asked me to take a picture of his first meal that he cooked by himself.  He took a look at the photo and told me that I needed to make the background white.  Well it was then that I realized that he was posing for the front cover of his very own cookbook, just like Jamie Oliver!

For tonight's dinner Jack has decided that we should have a chicken pot pie.  Last time I made a meat pie it was last minute and all I had on hand was phyllo  pastry.  I was informed by Jack, that next time we should have a proper pie crust as the phyllo just wasn't as good.  I have to agree with him on that one!  So this morning I'll make the dough, then when he gets home from school we can work on the filling, then rolling the dough together.

I feel that it's so important that children are involved in the kitchen and the food decisions of the household.  I take the boys grocery shopping and we have some good talks about what types of food are good for you and which ones to avoid.  It will be great when Jack learns how to read, so that he can understand the labels better.

So at the age of five, Jack can cook at least one meal all by himself, and many more with just a little guidance.  He decided that he'd now like to be a chef, instead of a Lego Engineer, though I am sure this will change many times over the course of the years to come!

Jack's Tomato and Pasta dinner, with Dylan's Salad and Yogurt Dressing

Enjoying their hard work!

And just for fun, the side by sides!

(i did this in just a couple minutes and I know it's not perfect, just a little fun!)

Butter Chicken, or Butter Tofu

I have to admit, I have never been a huge fan of indian food, however it's growing on me. I was introduced to butter chicken through a recipe that my sister was given. After making it once, the whole family was hooked! I think we could eat it every day!

Usually we do eat it for about three days in a row, though switch it up a bit. The first day we eat butter chicken (or tofu as we are slowly becoming vegetarian) over basmati rice, with mango chutney, and poppadoms.

The next night we pick out most of the chicken (or tofu) and use it to make naan bread pizzas. We spread a bit of sauce on, then the chicken, some roasted garlic and top with parmesan cheese! Served with a green salad and it's an amazing dinner!

For our last night of butter chicken, we use whatever sauce and chicken that is leftover on top of pasta! Sometimes we use tortallini, and other times penne. We also saute some veggies to throw in the sauce as well ..... sometimes we have to blender the veggies to get the kids to eat them with the sauce though!

Here is the recipe so you too can eat it everyday ...... if so desired!

Boneless chicken or extra firm tofu

one lb. butter

two cans crushed tomatoes

ginger (about the size of a small egg)

whole garlic bulb (sometimes i use less)

an onion

garam masala

tandoori masala (sometimes I don't have this on hand, so just add more garam masala if you can't find it!)

juice of one lemon

one bunch of cilantro, chopped

heavy cream

salt and pepper to taste

Mince ginger, garlic and onions. Melt butter in a large saucepan. Saute ginger, garlic and onions until softened, about five minutes. Cube chicken or break up firm tofu and saute until browned. If using tofu, you can just skip the browning process and add the next ingredients right away. Once chicken is cooked, add the crushed tomatoes, lemon juice, garam masala, and tandoori masala. Cook on medium-low for about two hours.

This is best if made the night before, or in the morning, so all the flavors meld together. Once you are ready to serve the butter chicken/tofu, add the heavy cream and chopped cilantro. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve over basmati rice!

Enjoy!!

Roasted Yam and Chard Tacos

I cook. I love it. Cooking is my one guaranteed break from my hectic day. I spend a minute in the cupboards and fridge, then scour online for inspiration. It's rare that I follow a recipe. Usually I just look at the photos and read the ingredients. I've been cooking (well) long enough to know how to wing it.

Yesterday we received our first delivery (by bicycle!) of organic produce, from Share Organics. I am hoping to sign up for this service twice a month. Anyways, chard and yams were in the box and on the menu for tonight. I love combining color to create a meal! Anyways I found some great recipes, then came up with tonight's dinner as follows:

Ingredients:

two or three yams, peeled

olive oil

a few chard leaves

garlic clove

one very small red onion

cumin

chili powder

black beans

corn tortillas

sour cream (optional)

Cut up yams into 1/2" chunks. Spread on a cookie sheet and sprinkle with olive oil. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes, stir around and bake for another 15 minutes or until they are roasted.

Meanwhile separate chard leaves from stems, rinse, dry and chop. Mince one garlic clove and dice red onion. Sauté onion and garlic for a few minutes, then add chard and a few splashes of vegetable broth. Mix 1/2 a cup of vegetable broth with a tbsp of cumin and a tbsp of chili powder. Pour this over the cooking chard and add a few handfuls of black beans. I used canned today. Sauté until most moisture is cooked off.

When yams done. Separate some and mash then a bit. Stir mashed yams into chard mixture and cook for a few more minutes. While cooking this, put a splatter screen over the frying pan and plop some corn tacos on. Cover with a lid and steam for 30 seconds a side. Repeat, until all your tortillas are steamed. Every once and a while, stir the mixture underneath to make sure it's not sticking!. Throw the steamed tortillas on the table, scoop the chard mix in a bowl, and mix with the non mashed yams. Set the bowl on the table and you are ready to eat!

Maybe add some sour cream if you desire! Ta da!!

PS: Okay i've had dinner and it was AMAZING!!! The sweetness of the yams just makes the dish! Enjoy!