Potstickers with Bok Choy
- May 10, 2012 |
- by Kirstin Uhrenholdt
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Potstickers (fried Asian dumplings) are gift wrapped vegetables. So this dinner is an easy little present for your family.
Stir fry potstickers with bok choy and peas, toss them with a little sesame oil and hoisin sauce and you quickly have a weekday dinner…
Cook’s Tip: Using Jarred Tomato Sauce
- May 08, 2012 |
- by Kirstin Uhrenholdt
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Confused when buying jarred tomato sauce? It starts in the store, put on your glasses and read the tiny words on the ingredient label.
Pick the one with the least ingredients, avoid the ones with sugar and corn syrup. Look for more tomato, less tomato paste. Stay away from the freckled dried herbs too. Just get plain and simple tomato sauce. Then stroll by the produce section and pick up some fresh garlic and basil.
Go home and get your sauce pan really hot and drizzle in a bit of olive oil, throw in the garlic and 20 seconds later, the moment the garlic is golden, add the tomato sauce. If you happen to have the rind of a Parmesan cheese, throw it in. If you have a chopped anchovy add it too, if you don’t, a splash of Asian fish sauce is a sneaky cook’s trick that adds “bass” to your sauce.
Let the sauce simmer while you boil your pasta water. If you care to, add a sprinkle of chopped capers and some red pepper flakes. Remove the Parmesan rind. Tear up your basil and fold it in. Taste your sauce…. it is yours now, give it a family name.
Kids in the Kitchen
- May 07, 2012 |
- by The Family Dinner
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It can sometimes take a little longer to cook with kids (and it can often get a little messy), but teaching your children to know their way around the kitchen brings great reward. Here are a couple of suggestions to make your time cooking with kids more successful:
* Let the kids help pick the menu. Start with simple recipes featuring ingredients they like.
* Have all the ingredients ready to go. It’s easier if all your ingredients and utensils are laid out on the counter, ready for use. If your kids are young, chop and measure ingredients in advance and set out in little bowls.
* Have fun. When cooking with kids, it helps if you create a festive mood. Put on some music. Wear fun hats or aprons. When you approach cooking as creative and fun-filled, your child won’t think of cooking as a boring chore.
For more suggestions on how to make cooking with kids more fun and successful, see page 121 of The Family Dinner book.
Our friends at The Kids Cook Monday also have suggestions for Kitchen Tasks for Different Age Groups. Visit TheKidsCookMonday.org.
Table Talk: The Importance of Reading
- May 04, 2012 |
- by The Family Dinner
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On Fridays, The Huffington Post presents a compelling topic to spark discussion at your dinner table.
A 2010 study conducted by Scholastic and Harrison Group found that “nine out of ten children say they are more likely to finish books they choose themselves” — and one of the goals of Denver-based Burning Through Pages (a non-profit that helps kids join book clubs in their communities, and buys the books for them) is to get kids to read books they might not normally read in school. As BTP says: “It’s not what you read that’s important to us, it’s that you enjoy whatever it is that keeps you burning through the pages.”
Many parents today think their children are spending too much time texting or surfing the Internet, and not enough time reading. The same 2010 Scholastic/Harrison Group study confirmed some parents’ fears by reporting that “the time kids spend reading declines while the time kids spend going online … and using [cell phones] increases.” (It also reported that three-quarters of kids aged 9-17 agreed with the statement, “I know I should read more books for fun.”)
Visit The Huffington Post for more on the importance of reading and for discussion questions you can share with your kids at the dinner table.
Click here to subscribe to receive HuffPost Family Dinner Table Talks by email every Friday afternoon.
Spaghetti and Turkey Meatballs
- May 03, 2012 |
- by Kirstin Uhrenholdt
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Comfort food! Here you are! Why make just a few meatballs when you are already in the swing of it? Therefore, this recipe gives you plenty of meatballs, half of them to make the kids happy at dinner tonight, the leftovers are to make you happy — one to eat cold right out of the fridge, another to gently reheat and smoosh into a whole wheat roll with a few pickled onions, maybe a little grated cabbage, some pepperoncinis…
