Cooking With Kids

On Tuesday, I shared a list of my favorite cookbooks. Then, on Wednesday, when I was at my kids' Pediatrician's office, I was reminded of another cooking resource I wanted to share with you:  ChopChop: The Fun Cooking Magazine for Families that is distributed free through Pediatrician's offices in our area.

From their magazine:

"ChopChop's mission is to inspire and teach kids to cook and eat real food with their families."

"We believe that cooking and eating together as a family is a vital step in resolving the obesity and hunger epidemics."

If cooking as a family is new to you, you won't find a better resource than this quarterly magazine. The recipes are kid-friendly and kid-tested. Every step is explained in language accessible to kids (and adults who may not be comfortable in the kitchen). Beautiful photographs show a variety of kids cooking together and enjoying what they cooked.  Kids can complete some of the recipes alone while others require adult assistance. All clearly indicate when adult supervision is needed. The magazine also provides fun activities related to cooking and healthy living. For example, the fall issue includes as an article written by a teenager about beekeeping and directions for sprouting celery on a kitchen windowsill.

One unspoken part of the magazine that I also love is the children who are shown in the photographs. Children from a variety of ethnic backgrounds are shown engaged in cooking and having fun in the kitchen. The fall cover shows a variety of children including a girl who may be Muslim since she's wearing what appears to be a head scarf. I'm happy to see a magazine that portrays all kinds of kids doing the everyday job of cooking. (If only there were more children's books that did the same!)

ChopChop is a non-profit organization. Readers can pick up the magazine in Pediatrician's offices or subscribe. A Pay-It-Forward Subscription, which costs $14.95, gets a subscription for you plus a family or community in need. There are also many other ways you can donate to help bring this resource to families or communities in need.  Communities in need can contact ChopChop through their website. They offer bulk rates to Doctor's offices, community health centers, teachers, etc.

If you haven't seen ChopChop, I hope you'll check it out. You can also visit their website through the links I've provided in this post. Even if you can't access the magazine, the website includes tons of great recipes.

Does your family Read ChopChop? Do you know of other resources that may be helpful to readers?

A few of my favorite fall recipes:

Curried Pumpkin Soup

Delicata Squash and Sweet Potato Fries

Egytpian Lentil Soup

Saag Paneer (Cheese in Spinach Sauce)

Timman Queemah: Ground Meat With Chickpeas and Rice

My son came home with a writing assignment this week that also required cooking. He was to plan and cook a meal for his family and use that experience to write an expository text. We started at the beginning: What did he want to cook? We ran though some of our family favorites and old stand-byes until we came to Timman Queemah- Ground meat with chickpeas and rice. He didn't even hesitate before choosing it.

I've written about food often here on Polliwog, so long-time readers will not be surprised that my American kid chose an Iraqi dish. We tend to cook and eat a variety of foods from a variety of cultures as a matter of course in our house. We found this one several years ago in The Iraqi Cookbook by Lamees Ibrahim.  It became an instant favorite  that's eaten often, especially in the winter months.

Our family has taken to calling this dish “Iraqi Chop Suey,” because, like American Chop Suey, it is a one pot family meal that seems to be bottomless. It's also made with ground meat and tomatoes, just like American Chop Suey. The main difference is the inclusion of chick peas and the use of different seasonings. To us, it also feels like comfort food, just like American Chop Suey. We hope no Iraqi's will be insulted by our term of endearment for this well-loved meal.

My son brought the recipe to school, as directed, and we gathered the needed ingredients. He cooked the meal on Wednesday night with my assistance. While he cooked, he paused occasionally to record his observations and sensory details.

Taken from The Iraqi Cookbook:

"This is a popular dish in Iraq, cooked for religious Islamic celebrations and shared by the whole neighborhood. A few families (usually Shi’ite) will cook very large quantities and distribute individual dishes to every house on the street.

Sometimes, two large cauldrons are set up in the front garden of a wealthy house, one for sauce and one for rice. Men from the family, their friends, and neighbors will cook. The meal is then shared. Any person who brings an empty plate or two will be served. Sharing the cooking and eating is of great enjoyment to everyone."

Serves 6-8

Preparation:  10 minutes          Cooking time: about 2 hours (45 min. if you used canned chick peas)

Ingredients:

1 lb ground lamb (or other ground meat such as beef or turkey)

1 lb dry chickpeas/garbanzo beans  (or one 29 oz can chick peas)

1-2 onions, chopped (I use 2)

1 small can tomato paste

1 lb chopped tomatoes (in the winter we use one 15 1/2 oz can chopped tomotoes)

2 tsp turmeric

2 tsp mixed spices (garam masala- find it in the international/Asian aisle of your grocery store)

Salt and black pepper to taste

(Cooked rice. We use 1 1/2 cups brown basmati cooked in 3 cups water)

Directions:

• Soak the chick peas overnight in plenty of cold water.  (If using canned chickpeas, skip to step 3).
• Change the water and boil in a saucepan for about one hour. 
• Brown the ground lamb in a large skillet over medium heat.*
• Add salt, spices, and black pepper, stirring frequently. (Don’t skip the salt- it really intensifies the flavors.)
• Add chopped onion and cook until onion is soft.
• Add tomato paste and chopped tomatoes. Cook for about 10 minutes.
• Season with salt and black pepper. Add meat mixture to boiling chick peas, cover the pan, turn the heat down, and simmer for about 1 hour, until chickpeas are soft. (If using canned chickpeas, drain them and add them directly to the meat mixture).
• Add more water if needed. The sauce should be thick enough to eat with rice. Cook with the lid off to reduce water if needed.

 *Prepare the rice to be done around the same time.

As we all sat down to eat, we helped brainstorm sensory details about the food. Now he'll use his notes to compose a piece while at school. I never gave an assignment like this to my students, so I'm looking forward to seeing the results.

Have you combined cooking and writing with your kids or students? How did it go?

We hope you'll try the recipe and let us know your thoughts. The Iraqi Cookbook also has lots of other great recipes, so check it out!

Related Posts:

Shurit Ads: Egyptian Lentil Soup

Fall Meals

Saag Paneer (Cheese in Spinach Sauce)

Saag Paneer (Cheese in Spinach Sauce)

When we took our family to India for a wedding in 2008, many people asked me, "What did your kids eat?" My response was always, "The food."

The follow-up was often similar- something like, "My kids would never eat the food." Or, "It's too spicy for my kids."

But, consider this...children raised in India have no problem eating "Indian food." To them it's just "food." It's really all about exposure. You eat what you are used to.

While I always intended to feed my children a wide variety of foods, my son ,"D," taught me that I could do it much earlier than I had thought. When D was about 16 months old, my husband and I took him to an Indian restaurant. We were still bringing food for him at this point, so we fed him first and then ate when our food arrived. We had taught D a few signs to make communication easier. He kept pointing to his dad's plate and making the sign for "eat." We were hesitant to give him any because it was pretty spicy. We finally gave in and dipped  a piece of nan (bread) into the sauce for him to taste. His eyes opened wide and a smile spread across his face. Then he began to forcefully sign the word "more." He was hooked!

Why were we bringing food for our toddler to a restaurant?  From then on, we ordered off the menu, most of the time sharing whatever we ordered with D.  (A note I can't go without saying...Why are children's menus so terrible? Chicken fingers and french fries are not healthy foods for children. We almost always order adult meals and share them).

I know there are children who have particular dietary needs, allergies,  or food aversions related to special needs. I know how hard it is to work within those needs and restrictions. I feel for you. I feel fortunate that our children do not have any dietary restrictions. Obviously, I'm not talking about children with special dietary needs in this post.

Consider for a moment, though... could your child(ren) stand to branch out? Could you?

If you're feeling brave, try this recipe from The Essential Asian Cookbook. Now is the perfect time because spinach and garlic are in season. Make it an event by involving your children in the cooking.



(Lentil) Dhal on left. Saag Paneer on right

Saag Paneer (Panir)
Prep time: 20 min (plus 3 hours standing if you make the cheese)
Total cooking time: 30 minutes

Note: This recipe calls for making cheese. It's actually quite simple, but you could choose to skip the cheese. You could saute some boneless chicken breast pieces and add them to the sauce instead of the cheese. That's how I started because I was a bit afraid of making cheese. Now I don't know what I was worried about!

Ingredients
For the cheese:
2 quarts (1/2 gallon) of milk. (NOT Ultra High Temperature Pasteurized. Many organic milks are UHT, so check the label. It won't work if UHT)
Juice of 1 lemon (4 Tablespoons juice)
2 Tablespoons yogurt
cheesecloth (Find it in the grocery store near utensils/gadgets)

For the Saag (sauce):
1 lb spinach, washed and tough stems removed.
2 cloves garlic
3/4 inch fresh ginger, grated
2 green chillies, chopped (Wear gloves. If you don't like spicy food, try one chili)
1 medium onion, chopped
2 Tablespoons ghee or oil (ghee is clarified butter- found in international food aisle of most groceries)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
3 Tablespoons yogurt
1/2 to 1 cup water (use as much as needed to get the right thickness of sauce for your liking)
1/2 cup cream (I cut this to 1/4)

To make the cheese:

1. Heat the milk in a large pan until just boiling. Reduce heat, add lemon juice and yogurt, and stir until it starts to curdle. This usually happens almost immediately.
2. Remove pan from heat and allow to cool for 5 minutes or so.
3. Line a colander with cheesecloth. Pour curd mixture into the colander and allow to sit until most of the liquid has drained.
4. Gather the corners of the cheese cloth and squeeze as much moisture as possible from the curd. Return it to the colander. Rest the colander on a pan or bowl to catch moisture and let it sit in a cool place (a cool basement or fridge if it's very warm) for 3 hours.
5. Cut  the cheese into 1 to 1 1/2 inch cubes.

To make the Saag (sauce):

1. Steam the spinach over simmering water until tender. (This takes just a few minutes.  The spinach should still be bright green but tender).
2. Squeeze out excess moisture and chop coarsely.
3. Place the garlic, ginger, chili and onion in a food processor and process to make a paste.
4. Heat ghee or oil in a wok (or large saute pan). Add the paste and cook about 5 minutes. Add salt, cumin, nutmeg, and water. Simmer for 5 minutes.
5. Transfer the mixture to a food processor. Add the spinach and process until smooth.
6. Return it to the wok, add the chopped cheese and cream, and simmer about 10 minutes until heated through.
7. Serve with rice.

As the adult in your home, what foods do you expose your children to? Are you intimidated by food from other cultures? Could you start to branch out and try some new things? If you don't like to cook, are there any interesting restaurants nearby you that you could try? Please share your thoughts in the comments.

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Cora Cooks Pancit
A Passion for Pesto
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