Mother's Day Brunch the Kids can Cook for YOU! :)

What are your plans for Sunday? I hope that if you're a mom, you're taking time to honor the work that you do everyday of the year. I am planning an afternoon of working in my garden (one of my greatest pleasures).

If you have someone else (a dad, a partner, a grandparent, a teen sitter) who might want to help the kids do something special for you--why not use the kid-friendly recipes in The Kitchen Classroom to prepare you a delicious (and gluten-free!) brunch?

My brunch menu suggestions include:

• Fruit Salad p. 43
• Crazy Eggs p. 40
• Almond Butter Muffins (click here for recipe) p. 51

and let's include this easy recipe for Roasted Asparagus (a recipe that my kids won't eat but love to make!)

You'll need:

1 bunch fresh asparagus

2 t. olive oil

a sprinkle of sea salt

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Wash the asparagus in a colander.
3. Holding a stalk at both ends, "snap" it until it breaks. Discard the end of the stalk that you have broken off. This is a fun activity that the kids will really enjoy!
4. Drizzle a teaspoon of olive oil over a baking sheet.
5. Lay the asparagus onto the baking sheet.
6. A grown-up can put the asparagus in the oven.
7. Bake for 10 minutes and then an adult can turn the asparagus over to cook evenly.
8. Return to the oven and bake another 10 minutes.
9. Delicious! Add a squeeze of lemon (if you like) and a sprinkle of sea salt.

Wishing you a day of celebration and reflection. Wherever you are in your journey as a mom, may it be a day of gratitude.

Cinco De Maya Jicama Corn Salad

Jicama is a nutrient-dense, very refreshing vegetable that my kids love--and I bet yours will, too! It's got the crunch of carrots and is yummy to munch on cut in slices or makes a great addition to salads like this one.

 You will need:

1 medium sized jicama

1 can corn (or cut the corn off 2 ears of fresh, cooked corn)

1 lime

1 t. salt

1 t. olive oil

Directions:

1. A grown-up can cut the brown skin off the jicama using a paring knife.
2. With a grown-up’s help, chop the inside of the jicama into cubes.
3. Put in a large bowl.
4. Pour the corn into the bowl with the jicama.
5. With a grown-up’s help, slice the lime in half.
6. Squeeze the lime over the jicama corn mixture.
7. Measure 1 t. salt and add to the mixture.
8. Measure I t. olive oil and add to the mixture.
9. Stir the salad with a large spoon.

10. Eat with tacos, quesadillas or just straight from the bowl!

Take the Gluten Out, Put the Nutrients In!

Last night, my friend and colleague Chef AnnMarie Cantrell and I presented  a seminar for parents, educators and therapists about the importance of diet for children with special needs. AnnMarie brings a background in working both in early intervention and in holistic health and emphasized the importance for families whose children are doing the GFCF diet to not only take the gluten and casein out, but to work on getting nutrient-dense, healing foods into their kids.

She shared the kinds of fats that are healthy for our kids and featured my favorite fat to cook with: coconut oil. I have shared this recipe before but wanted to put it out there again for new readers...it is a simple coconut truffle that I make with my kids using coconut oil, honey and raw cacao.

Coconut Oil Truffles

1 c. organic coconut oil

1/2 c. raw cacao powder

1/4-1/2 c honey

Measure & pour all ingredients into a big bowl. Mix with a spoon and/or your hands. Roll mixture into balls. Pop onto a cookie sheet and put into the freezer--they'll be ready to eat in 15-20 minutes. You can experiment with adding shredded coconut, dried fruits, etc.

Getting my Gluten-Free Passover recipes together

In our home, the Passover preparations are under way with just under two weeks until the first seder--the ritual meal at which families gather and share a delcious meal while singing songs, saying prayers and telling the story of how the Hebrew people went from being slaves to being free. This springtime holiday is all about family traditions and spiritual awareness, with the teaching that each one of us is to imagine that we each experienced the liberation of going from slavery to freedom.

Because food is so central to this holiday and the transmission of teachings from one generation to the next, it is never too early to invite your children into the process of preparing the Passover meal. 

Here are a few recipes that we'll be making for our gluten-free Passover seder:

Gluten-free Macaroons from Elana's Pantry

www.elanaspantry.com

•  
  • 6 egg whites
  • ¼ teaspoon celtic sea salt
  • ½ cup agave nectar
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 3 cups unsweetened shredded coconut

Gluten-Free Bay

GLUTEN-FREE MATZO BALLS (KNEIDLACH)

1/4 cup finely ground almond meal
1/4 cup potato starch
1 Tbsp flax meal (finely ground flax seeds)
1 egg
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground white pepper
1 tsp minced fresh dill
1 Tbsp chicken fat, vegetable oil, or softened margarine

Beat egg with salt and pepper. Add remaining ingredients, and combine well. Refrigerate for 1 hour. Add additional potato starch, if necessary, until the batter is firm enough to be rolled into balls with your hands - It will still be sticky, but not too wet to handle. Using clean, dry hands roll a tablespoon of dough at a time into balls. Submerge in boiling water or soup. Allow to cook for approximately 10 minutes or until each ball has puffed up a bit and is cooked all the way through.

Gluten-free Passover and Easter Cooking (with kids!)

It's almost spring, which means that Passover and Easter are just around the corner. Are you hosting friends or family for Passover or Easter this year? Will your family be a guest at someone's home for the holiday? Or will you be making a quite holiday meal at home?

Whatever your plans are, consider ways to involve your children in holiday preparations. So often we parents get so busy cleaning and preparing for the holidays that we miss the opportunity to teach our children the value of hospitality.

As busy as you may be, pick one recipe that you can make with your children. In "The Kitchen Classroom" there are lots of simple recipes that would make nice additions to your holiday meal. Children will be really proud to share what hey have made with your guests or to bring a dish that they helped to make to someone else's home.

For my son George, who has autism, our busy Passover seder, with lots of people and noise, can be somewhat overwhelming. Helping me to prepare the Passover meal is a quiet way that he can join me in learning about our foods and traditions before the actual seder begins. Below is a recipe for charoset that we’ll make together and I’ll be posting more kid-friendly holiday recipes over the next few weeks.

(If you are making an Easter meal and need some gluten-free recipes, click here for some good resources.)

 Charoset is one of the foods that is used symbolically in the seder. It is also really delicious! Traditionally made a as a fruit/nut combination, charoset represents the mortar that the Hebrew slaves used when building mud bricks for the Pharaoh's pyramids.

Many of us have grown-up with a recipe that comes from Eastern Europe and contains apples, walnuts, wine and cinnamon. But communities all over the world have traditionally used the fruits, nuts & spices that are local and seasonal to them to make their charoset.

At my seder, I often make both the apple recipe that I grew up with and a new recipe that I haven't tried that uses different spices. Charoset is a wonderful recipe to make with children: there is lots of chopping, mixing and smelling of fragrant spices!

If you aren't Jewish, you'll find that charoset is a great, easy recipe to make and eat as a snack or dessert. 

This year, why not select with your kids from this wide assortment of fruits, nuts & spices & create a truly unique charoset!

Select one or more of the following fruits:

Two apples

Two pears

1 banana

1-2 oranges

1 mango

1 c. raisins (brown or golden or both)

1 c. dried cranberries or blueberries

1 c. dates

1 c. dried figs 

1 c. dried apricots

Select one or more of the following nuts:

1 c. chopped walnuts

1 c. chopped almonds

1 c. pine nuts

1 c. chopped macadamia nuts

1 c. chopped pistachio nuts

1 c. chopped cashews

Select one or more of the following spices:

1 tsp. cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, cloves, saffron, cloves, black pepper

Include:

3-5 T. grape juice or wine

1-2 T. honey (or agave)

1-2 t. lemon juice (optional)

Directions:

Wash all fresh fruit under cold water. 

Children can peel all fruit with a rind—bananas, oranges, etc.

Using a peeler, help children to peel apples skins.

Children can use a butter or plastic knife to chop all soft fruit.

Using hand over hand to help children chop fruit like apples or pears.

Add all fruit to a big bowl.

Children can measure chopped nuts and add to fruit.

Children can measure spice(s), honey, and juice/wine and add to the bowl.

Use a large spoon to mix the charoset together.

For a more “paste” type of charoset, put the mixture into a blender and puree.

Refrigerate before serving.

Try several combinations and enjoy!