Chef Tess' Bakeroose

Chicken Noodle Salad

2011-10-20T02:54:00.000-07:00

Hi!!! This is Dolphin Girl with what we're cooking in Shanghai China :D
This is a family favorite, Chicken Noodle Salad, My mom has been making it for I don't know a while. Now, some people might look at the title and have an image of noodles, lettuce, and chicken in their mind. (maybe not, but that is what some people might think :D) But look at the recipe and you will see that it does NOT have ANY lettuce in it that might make it a regular salad, or else, I wouldn't be posting this on MY blog! I am one of the people who dislike lettuce (shudders) so sorry green-salad-likers I don't. Well anyway it is made up of Noodles, Chicken and a sauce with spices and seasonings in it. Now we weren't able to add any chicken, so it was just noodle salad, we didn't have any chicken just then. So here it is:

Chicken Noodle Salad.

1 lb skinny noodles, (it can be whatever kind of noodles that you want :D)
6 Tbs rice vinegar,
2 Tbs chili sauce (or chili powder whatever you have)
1/4cup oil,
5 Tbs soy sauce (now if you have gotten soy sauce from China, do about 3tbs of it)
2 Tbs sesame seed oil,
2 cups cooked diced chicken,
some basil. (as much as you want or need :D)

Cook noodles as directed. Mix with above and mix in the basil so that it is all over the noodles. Serve warm or cold. and here are some pics that we took of it:

Guess what this is?? post in a comment with what you think it is :D

Here's another guessing game :D guess what this is and the one above, and you Can't cheat by using Google Translate, it must simply be a guess :D

These are the noodles in a bowl, they were Very good, but a little salty.

Ema Had to take a picture of Someone eating it, and it Had to be me :D Please just ignore Nathan in the background :D (I am thinking *Hurry up!!! And take it. It is HOT!!* :D)

Homemade Cheese Crackers

2011-10-17T10:27:00.000-07:00

Okay kiddos...how many of you like cheese crackers? We make a lot of them at our house and I thought I'd give you quick tutorial. You need permission from an adult/parent to use the oven or need to make them with a parent or adult. You'll need several sheet pans, a large mixing bowl, measuring cups and spoons, a rolling pin, a pizza cutter some non-stick spray for the pans.

As for the cheese crackers. Let's begin. As a random fact, mine don't have any fake stuff in them so they're good that way. I also like to see the cheese...so if you like an orange cracker, you may have to melt your cheese more than I do.

Chef Tess' Homemade Gourmet Cheese Crackers

1 cup freeze dried cheddar cheese (or 3/4 cup sharp cheddar cheese)
1/2 cup warm water
2 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour OR 2 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

salt and seasoning of your choice. I use Chef Tess All Purpose Seasoning

Directions: Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In a bowl combine the flour, salt and baking powder.

Combine cheese and water. If you use fresh cheese, use only 1/4 cup water. The warmer the water, the better melted the cheese will be...but don't get it too hot or it will be gooey cheese. We want it to be able to blend. If using the freeze dried cheese, let it soak about 10 minutes.

Measure your pretty olive oil. I use Lucero Olive Oil because I adore the flavor. Make sure it's a good oil folks.

Combine the dry ingredients with the cheese mixture.

Add the oil.

Mix until just combined. It only took about a minute.

Roll half of dough out on a lightly oiled baking stone.

Use a pizza cutter or a pastry cutter to cut the dough into squares.

Prick with a fancy cracker making tool...like a fork.

I lightly mist the crackers with a little water from a spray bottle and then sprinkle with seasoning. Bake in preheated oven for 15-20 minutes until crispy. Mmm.

I really love seeing the cheese in my crackers...but again, if you are more conventional...let the cheese melt a little longer.

There you go! Homemade cheese crackers. I'm looking forward to seeing all the ones you make! Do you want the printable PDF for all the rest of the recipes for the class? Go here. Enjoy!

Thanks to Auntie Em!
Get the printable of this tutorial:

cheese cracker tutorial PDF

Chinese Crepes

2011-10-13T22:25:00.000-07:00

Hi!! This is Dolphin Girl :D
Now I know that there is already a recipe for crepes on this website, but I didn't put the recipe on here, just the pics about our crepe making adventures in Shanghai China.
And I know what you people must think, Chinese Crepes? There isn't such thing! But there is, This morning we were able to make a French dish, in China. And I was able to make them. I was taught (By Arizona's Chef Tess) that ANYONE can make crepes. They are one of the simplest dishes that the French could EVER come up with!!! The recipe that we used was Stephanie Peterson's recipe for crepes. Thank You Miss Stephanie :D

And here are the pictures that I took of our crepes this morning:

this is the crepe in the pan, look at all the goodness:)

This is my dad, cooking crepes.

This is the table before we sit down to eat.

And this is the "Aftermath" of a successful crepe breakfast

I thank Miss Stephanie for giving us that cooking class that also gave us the recipe for crepes. It was the one of the 3 best breakfasts I have had since we left America. And one of the 2 best breakfasts that the rest of the family has had since we got here:D Thank You Miss Stephanie :D

Dolphin Girl

A Challenge for My Bakeroose (Even in China!)

2011-10-03T20:52:00.000-07:00

Tuesday's Tutorial is one I have been working on for a long time. I think a lot of times it easy to get caught up in my mind with a "this is how we cook" mental state. In the last few years I've studied and applied the use of

Solar cooking , including the building of several different Solar Oven cookers. I've come a long way since My first solar oven

In that process I learned a lot. Number one, first and foremost...I can learn something new everyday. Second...I should learn something new about how to cook food. I'm a chef and as food is hard wired in my brain so is the absolute desire to see that people all over the world are blessed. I have a vision of seeing lives changed every day through my efforts...and I hope you do too. I know that together, we can make a difference. Wow. I just got really sappy right there. {Insert suave eyebrow raise} I know. I don't do that often.

So...my challenge to the Bakeroose...I want you to try cooking with a new method. The method is here: Heat-retention Cooking

These are the Zuni Gold beans. I think they're pretty. I'd hot glue them to my favorite funky-purse and wear them as a snazzy accessory...but I think today we'll just cook them instead. Right?{ I'm secretly stuffing some in my pocket of to my right side. Now I'm mystically waving my hands in front of your face. You didn't see anything.}

Our Heat Retention cooking class starts NOW. For more on this amazing cooking method look HERE. It's not, in fact, a new method! I've used my solar cooker as a sun-less cooker! Yes...it can be done! You can cook without the sun too! It's been particularly off-n-on sunny the last bit so I wasn't sure if I could pull it off...but I did. So I'm showing you. I did the post on Using Your Sun Oven as a Slow Cooker 101
but failed to mention what to do should the sunlight be intermittent or it get cloudy shortly into your cooking. Heaven forbid! Well...there is salvation. You who don't have a solar oven, can also still cook without one using this method.

Soak the beans in water overnight. Drain. Add 6 cups more water. Bring to a simmer and cook 15 minutes in a pot on the stove (or in the solar oven, cook 20 minutes until at 350 degrees.)

At this point, let's hypothetically say that the sun goes behind the clouds. In Arizona we've had several days like this lately. Annoying. But...I've found this out...I can sitll cook the beans. Cover the pot quickly. The more full the container the better.

Cover the pot with towels, tightly fitting them around the bottom and sides of the hot pot. If you don't have a solar oven, this method will also work using a hay basket lined with blankets. For more on this amazing cooking method look HERE.

Close up your solar oven and allow beans to cook for 1 1/2 hours or more. Up to 8 hours.

Okay. So that's your assignment. Those in China can do it too! Report back your results and things you've learned. I'm excited to hear how it goes.

There you go!...That means it's your turn my friends.
Lots of Love!
Chef Tess.

Homemade Maple Syrup!

2011-09-26T04:10:00.000-07:00

HI!!!!
So this is Dolphin Girl :D and this is a recipe for SYRUP!!! it is AMAZING!!! So I was only able to get 2 pics of it. Anyway where I live syrup is VERY expensive (just for an update I am living in Shanghai China) so we were finally able to get the recipe from some friends of ours, and here it is:

Homemade Maple Syrup.
1cup white Sugar,
1cup Brown sugar,
1cup Water,
and some maple flavoring (I don't know how much sorry :( )

The syrup in the bottle

The syrup in the pot, some nice dark goodness :D

Then you mix the sugars and water on the stove, just until it bubbles then add the maple flavoring. Then you wait for it to cool just enough to not burn yourself and still have it a little bit warm. Then there you go :) Some very good Maple Syrup.

See You!!!!
Dolphin Girl

Pita Bread with Hummus

2011-02-25T05:46:00.000-08:00

One of our favorite dips and foods is Hummus.

Today with the Bakereoose we will be making the classic Pita Bread with Hummus

How to Make Pita Pocket Bread

T dry yeast

1 cup warm water

1T sugar

1 tsp salt

1T olive oil (I used a garlic infused oil)

1 cup whole wheat flour

2 cups bread flour

Dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup of warm water. Add sugar and stir until dissolved. Let sit for 10-15 minutes until water is frothy.

Combine flour and salt in large bowl.
Make a small depression in the middle of flour and pour yeast water in depression.
Slowly add 1 cup of warm water, and stir with wooden spoon or rubber spatula until elastic.
Place dough on floured surface and knead for 4-minutes. When the dough is no longer sticky and is smooth and elastic, it has been successfully kneaded.

Coat large bowl with vegetable oil and place dough in bowl. Turn dough upside down so all of the dough is coated. Cover bowl.
Allow to sit in a warm place for about 1 1/2 hours, or until it has doubled in size.

Once doubled, roll out in a rope, and pinch off 10-12 small pieces. Place balls on floured surface. Let sit covered for 10 minutes. Preheat oven to 500 deg F. and make sure rack is at the very bottom of oven. Be sure to also preheat your baking sheet.

Roll out each ball of dough with a rolling pin into circles. Each should be about 5-6 inches across and 1/4 inch thick.

Bake each circle for 4 minutes until the bread puffs up. Turn over and bake for 2 minutes.
Remove each pita with a spatula from the baking sheet and add additional pitas for baking.

Take spatula and gently push down puff. Immediately place in storage bags.

Hummus 101

Hummus is a dip or spread made from chickpeas. Hummus is in fact the Arabic word for chickpea. Hummus has been eaten since ancient Egyptian times. Over 7,000 years ago. In almost every culture the use of mashed beans in some form are used.They are an excellent form of protein. Coupled with pita bread they provide all the essential components of a complete protein. Many people around the world don't eat meat to get their protein. The combine grains and legumes (beans and grains) to get all that their bodies need. It's a wonderful way to eat. There are not any set in stone recipes for hummus. When you don't have tahini, you may use sesame oil or sometimes we use sesame seeds. Tahini is a paste made from toasted sesame seeds. It's very strongly smoky flavored from the sesame.

Hummus with Tahini

1 16 oz can of chickpeas or garbanzo beans

1/4 cup liquid from can of chickpeas

3-5 tablespoons lemon juice (depending on taste)

1 1/2 tablespoons tahini

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons olive oil

Preparation:

Drain chickpeas and set aside liquid from can. Combine remaining ingredients in blender or food processor. Add 1/4 cup of liquid from chickpeas. Blend for 3-5 minutes on low until thoroughly mixed and smooth.Place in serving bowl, and create a shallow well in the center of the hummus

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

1 can of chickpeas/garbanzo beans (15 oz

1/3 cup tahini

1/4 cup lemon juice

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1/2 cup -3/4 cup roasted red peppers (depending on taste)

Put all ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.

Sun Dried Tomato Hummus

1 can garbanzo beans/chickpeas (15 oz.), drained

3 tablespoons sun dried tomatoes in oil

2 teaspoons parsley

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons lemon juice

Preparation:

In a food processor, combine all ingredients and process until smooth and creamy. If too thick, add 1 tablespoon water until desired consistency.

thank you to About.com for the useful hummus recipes in this post: http://mideastfood.about.com/od/hummusrecipes/tp/kids_hummus.htm

Oh Crepes!

2011-02-09T13:46:00.000-08:00

Our family has been making crepes since EmaBug's birthday last month.

"A crêpe is a type of very thin pancake, usually made from wheat flour. The word is of French origin, deriving from the Latin crispa, meaning "curled." "

Today we made white flour and whole wheat flour crepes.

"Mise en place is a French phrase defined by the Culinary Institute of America as "everything in place", as in set up. It is used in professional kitchens to refer to organizing and arranging the ingredients that a cook will require for the menu items that he or she expects to prepare during his/her shift.^[1]"

Stir, stir, stir

Thank you, Miss Stephanie, for the (silver) crepe pan!!

oops! We are such great cooks that this one even got the fire alarm cheering for us. =}

Here's a whole wheat one cooking. We only got two thumbs down (one person, two thumbs) on these.
Bear: "It tasted a little different, but not that much."
EmaBug: "It's not as light and fills you up more and that's a good thing."
Mom is just happy to have a healthier crepe that tastes good.

Yum!

Basic Crepes –Chef Tess

4 eggs

1 cup water

2 tsp vanilla

Blend in blender or really well by hand.
1 c. flour
1 T. sugar
1/3 c. instant powdered milk
1/2 tsp. salt

In a separate container, combine the wet ingredients very well. Add the wet to the dry and mix until all the lumps are gone. You may have to use a strainer. The batter should be just thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Use a very small amount of oil in a non-stick skillet. I use an 8 inch skillet...and Medium low heat. If your pan is too hot the crepe batter will start to cook before you can coat the pan with it. I use 1/4 cup batter and just roll the pan around until the batter lightly coats the bottom of the pan. Cook 2-3 minutes on one side and then gently turn over. Usually you'll have one side that gets a little more brown than the other.

Homemade Wheat Thins and French Onion Potato Cheese Soup

2011-01-20T20:13:00.000-08:00

Okay kiddos. Chef Tess is here. We're doing some crazy cool stuff today. When was the last time you made homemade crackers?! You've never made crackers?! What?!

Every other week, I do some cooking classes with my sweet Bakeroose. Class is starting to grow. Any kids who cook at home are welcome to join the fun here on Bakeroose. A group of Home school kids and their moms along with my two sons (Little Man and Face) are in on the group for Friday classes. I don't know about you, but it seems a cryin' shame to me that Home Economics was ripped out of school curriculum. Far too many are growing up with absolutely no idea how to cook even basic meals. That will not be the case with these little dolls. No way. Meet my girls...(If I could adopt them all, I totally would!) Notice the sweetie on my left doing the exact same thing I am with my arm on the table. Seriously...I almost cried seeing how much she wanted to be like me. It's a great responsibility and honor to have someone try to emulate you isn't it?

There are a few posts here on this blog that were written and submitted by some of our little chefs. I'm open to any new posts by kids. I can be contacted here: chef-tess@hotmail.com so if you and your family cook and want to add your adventures...I'm happy to look at your ideas and add them if I like what I see. Hint...I usually like what I see if it involves kitchen math and some basic skills for kids.

We started with the Homemade Wheat Thins from here on my blog.The real trick was not making the crackers so much as getting enough rollers to do the job right.

Mix in a large bowl:
3 1/4 cup whole wheat cake flour (50% barley 50% hard wheat if grinding your own flour).
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt.

whisked well :
1/3 cup oil
1 cup water
2T honey

Add liquid to dry ingredients, mixing well, but as little as possible.

Divide into 2 balls. Totally non-rocket-science, right?

Roll them out really thin. This is enough dough to make two pans of crackers. If you roll them thick they will be more like a teething biscuit, but I don't have any babies who would appreciate that anymore.

Oh my gosh! She could not be any cuter if she tried! Look at that...

Cut and bake. 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes. That's perfect time to make the soup.

Now for the French Onion Potato Cheese Soup of glory. Pause for effect. Kids will eat onions. Mind you...they can't be toxic overpowering onion. So we had a lesson on how to make them edible-happy. Caramelizing them makes them sweet and amazing. Believe it or not, the kids actually really liked the soup.

Chef Tess' French Onion Potato Cheese Soup

2 large yellow onions, sliced thin
4 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 large shallots, peeled and sliced thin
2T butter or olive oil
3/4 cup flour
9 cups good beef broth or stock
1 tsp each: thyme, dill
1/2 tsp each: celery seed, fresh ground black pepper
zest of 1 lemon, micro grated
8 oz. cream cheese (I use the 1/3 less fat)... soft and chunked
4 oz sharp cheddar, shredded
2 oz Parmesan or asiago cheese, shredded

1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
1/4 cup fresh chopped Italian flat leaf parsley

Okay...I have to say...this sweetheart is one of my favorite people. Love you Dolphin Girl! This was her first time using a micro-plane zester. I know it won't be her last. She measured, cut, chopped...and well, was an excellent right arm. I'm keeping her.

Now kids...this is how to cut an onion.

Cry it out. Emma Bug was laughing so hard that her eyes were watering...and tearing up because of the onions. It was so funny to watch.

Oh the vision of love.

In a 2 gallon heavy pot melt butter over medium heat and add the onion and shallots. Slowly cook until very dark brown but not burned.

Add a little broth and scrape the pan clean. Simmer until broth is evaporated and onion begins again to stick to the pan and get dark. Add a little more broth and scrape pan again. Add the potatoes.

This little doll worked very hard to cut all the potatoes. We need to think of a blog nick-name for her. She's been to all my classes...

In a separate container, whisk the flour into the remaining beef broth. Pour the beef broth into pot with the onion and potato. Your onions should be very dark colored.

Stir in the seasoning: thyme, dill, celery seed, pepper and zest. Simmer this 15-20 minutes until the mixture thickens and no starchiness is detected when tasted.

TURN OFF HEAT. This ensures your soup will not get a "grainy" texture. Add cream cheese, cheddar, Parmesan and parsley and stir until cheese is melted and Incorporated.

Enjoy this with someone you love. There you go.

Basic Crepes for Bakeroose

2011-01-03T22:00:00.000-08:00

Okay Bakeroose. This is Chef Tess. I wanted to share a new something fun you can make with your mom and dad. We made them for dessert tonight for our Monday night "Family Night" after family games. Sometimes we make pancakes or biscuits for breakfast. Some times we make crepes. They are pretty awesome. This week's our wedding anniversary. We wanted to share something fun. I made crepes on the first date I went on with my husband. So...this seemed perfect for anniversary week.

Basic Crepes

4 eggs

1 cup water

2 tsp vanilla

1 c. flour
1 T. sugar
1/3 c. instant powdered milk
1/2 tsp. salt

to that ad Blend in blender or really well by hand.

Now...for those who want the play by play on how to cook these little cuties. Combine the dry ingredients. I added a grate of fresh nutmeg.

In a separate container, combine the wet ingredients very well. Add the wet to the dry and mix until all the lumps are gone. You may have to use a stainer. The batter should be just thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.

Use a very small amount of oil in a non-stick skillet. I use an 8 inch skillet...and

Medium low heat. If your pan is too hot the crepe batter will start to cook before you can coat the pan with it. Little Man said, "Mom, you're famous for gas." I know he meant using a gas stove...but then he said, "Oooo. The eternal blue flame." I'm still laughing thinking about it.

I use 1/4 cup batter and just roll the pan around until the batter lightly coats the bottom of the pan. Cook 2-3 minutes on one side and then gently turn over.

Usually you'll have one side that gets a little more brown than the other. Look at these though!

Now, on our first date, We filled the crepes with cottage cheese and some fresh fruit the first time I ever had them. They're awesome with cheesecake filling (you can get that already made if you want)
We then had to drizzle something. Drizzle is not optional in my family. We drip. We drizzle. We enjoy the food experience. Especially this one.
We used homemade sauce, but you can very easily make your own by adding a few tablespoons of juice to 1 cup of seedless jam.

There you go. Crepe away!

Did You See us On Fox 10 for our Christmas segment?!

2010-12-29T23:11:00.000-08:00

Making Ornaments With Chef Tess: MyFoxPHOENIX.com

Edible Stained Glass Gingerbread Cookie Ornaments

2010-12-12T12:26:00.000-08:00

Are you ready to make some cool cookies for the holidays? It's Chef Tess here, wanting to add a little fun to your days. Here's a great idea...

We've been making some Edible Stained Glass Gingerbread Ornaments Friday in preparation for the next segment we'll be doing on Fox 10 this upcoming week with Face and Little man. I first saw these Stained-Glass Ornaments on Epicurious.com. So we spent Friday morning crushing candy in the food processor and making the cookie dough.

Stained-Glass Ornaments

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar (I used white sugar)
3/4 cup unsulfured molasses ( I used maple syrup)
1/3 cup water
6 ounces translucent hard candies in colors of choice, crushed (in a food processor)

Preparation1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. Set aside.

2. In a large bowl, with an electric mixer, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy. Add the sugar and molasses and beat for 2 minutes. Beat in the water. On low speed, beat in the flour mixture until a soft dough forms.

3. Gather the dough into a ball and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour or up to overnight.

4. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.

5. Divide the dough into thirds. Divide each third into 10 equal pieces. Using your palms, roll each piece on a lightly floured work surface into a rope 1/4 to 1/2 inch in diameter. Gently trace the design of your choice onto the prepared cookie sheets (a wooden spoon handle or chopstick works well for tracing on foil). Outline each design with a rope of dough, pressing the ends together to seal securely.

6. Sprinkle the inside of each design with the crushed candies, dividing the candies evenly among the outlined designs and creating an even layer.

7. Bake in the center of the oven or until the edges of the cookies are golden and the candy has melted, 6 to 9 minutes. Let the cookies cool on the cookie sheets on wire racks until the candy hardens, about 5 minutes. Gently peel the parchment away from the cookies and transfer to the racks to cool completely.

Cookie Exchange Tip:
To make this cookie into a tree ornament, attach a loop made from the dough to the top of each cookie before baking. After the cookie is baked, thread a piece of ribbon through the loop and tie the ribbon in a bow. To make these ornaments at a party, prepare the cardboard patterns in advance.

There you go. I'll add more pictures soon on the process, but couldn't resist sharing the recipe quickly. Most likely you'll need adult help with this project. But have fun, we sure did!

Christmas countdown

2010-12-11T12:24:00.000-08:00

Okay everyone, it's Little Man here. Hope you enjoy our Christmas countdown! I'm getting so excited for Christmas!!

Good luck troops

Christmas is coming!

Cream Cheese Spritz Cookies

2010-09-18T22:08:00.000-07:00

Hi it's Dolphin Girl here,
One day we had to make some cookies for this dinner at a friends house and we wanted to use the new cookie press that I got for my birthday a week ago, and so we looked at the website that was on the box. And it came up with some recipes that we could use, And we all liked the "Cream Cheese Spritz cookie" one and when we tried it, we liked it a lot, so Here it is.
Cream Cheese Spritz cookies.
Makes 4 dozen cookies.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Ingredients:

(mind you when we made them we did a double batch so don't be confused when you see the pictures)

1 cup softened butter

1 (3 ounce) pkg softened cream cheese

1 cup sugar

1 egg yolk

1 tsp Madagascar Pure Vanilla Extract (you can use plain vanilla extract too)

1 tsp grated lemon peel ( and if you don't have any you can just use some lemon juice too)

2 1/2 cups flour

1/2 tsp salt

Cream butter and cream cheese together.

Add sugar and mix well until light and fluffy.

Add egg yolk, vanilla and lemon peel. Mix well.

Gradually add flour and salt to cream mixture.

Shape dough into small logs and place in cookie press
(or in stead just roll out the cookie dough, cut, and put onto cool ungreased cookie sheet)

Press cookies onto cool ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake 12-15 minutes or until lightly browned.

Store in an airtight container at cool room temperature for several weeks or freeze for 2 months.

Enjoy :)

Perfect Freezer Friendly Dinner Rolls

2010-09-18T22:06:00.000-07:00

Hi it's Dolphin Girl here! :)
This is a recipe from our nice friend Chef Tess. Here is the recipe from her blog, Perfect Freezer Friendly Dinner Rolls.

Dinner Rolls

Combine:

1 1/4 cup water (no hotter than 110 degrees)

2 tsp yeast (1 packet) rapid rise

2T sugar (1T honey)

4 1/4 cups all purpose flour (whole wheat works too)
1 1/2 tsp salt

6T oil (original recipe called for 12T of melted butter)

1 egg

2 egg yolks

Combine everything in one large bowl or mixer. I like that. Knead 5 minutes by hand or 3 minutes in a mixer on medium setting. This is a less developed dough as far as gluten is concerned.

Form into a ball and place in a bowl covered with plastic or a lid for 1 hour, or until doubled in size.

Punch down dough and divide into 2 pieces. I kind of put them in a log form. this helps to keep things pretty even. Divide the two logs in half again, so you have 4 logs. Each one will get cut into 6 pieces.

Now, lightly (I do mean lightly) dust the counter top with a little flour...just a little. We don't want the rolls sticking too much. On the other hand, we don't want so much flour that they just roll all over the place. The point is, we want a little tacky stuff so they form correctly. Take the dough piece and pinch the sides together...

You want the dough balls to look like they have a skin holding them together. Place the rolls on a pan lined with parchment paper (or a freezer friendly pan for easy make and bake). If you use metal pans, you don't have to worry about the glass shattering going from the freezer to the oven.

Allow to raise at room temperature, uncovered for 35-40 minutes, until the rolls are touching if originally placed 1/2 an inch apart. Bake 375 degrees 20-25 minutes until golden brown.

Chef Tess’s Blog. And here are pictures of us eating them:

I Like my rolls plain, they are fine just plain and with nothing on them and are pretty good too :)

My sister has butter on her roll.

My other sister licks up the rest of her stew with her roll. And my brother does the same thing with his roll too.

One time we used the same recipe but we made them into hot dog buns instead :) And here is my other brother with his hot dog.

CAKE DECORATING!!! Part 2

2010-08-30T14:56:00.000-07:00

So, my fascinated readers its Ema Bug again.

Here is the second part of my CAKE DECORATING!!! post. So in my last post I explained what we did last week and how I made my cake. Now is the part of how I decorated it. Here are some pictures I took;


My wonderful cake and frosting


My friend, Silly Sam, in her yellow apron


It's on it's way!


Silly Sam frosting her homemade sponge cake

Time for the fondant!!

My blue fondant!!


Silly Sam's and my cakes, all frosted

Silly Sam's, Merisa 2, Mine, Ivy on the wall, cakes.


Merisa 2, another friend, cake finished!

Ivy on the wall, another friend, cake finished!!

My two cakes finished!!

So, I hope you enjoyed! The cake tasted like a muffin (I added too much flour) and was pretty good. Have a good day!!
SMILE!! Your Author, EmaBug

CAKE DECORATING!!! Part 1

2010-08-30T14:54:00.000-07:00

This is Ema Bug everyone.

So, last week, we did cake decorating at our house. We had to make our own cakes and at my house we were out of boxes of cake mixes, so I had to make mine by scratch. I got the recipe of our friends blog, Chef Tess. We haven't eaten the cake quite yet but it looks really good. Here's the recipe:

My Chef Tess Cake mix
dry ingredients:


The dry ingrediants

4 1/2 cups all purpose white flour
1/2 cup cornstarch
2 1/2 cup sugar
2T baking powder
1T salt
1 cup shortening (or butter )
1T double strength vanilla
Sift flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt through a flour sifter at least once to remove extra lumps. Combine shortening (or butter) with dry ingredients and vanilla in a Kitchen Aid type mixer with paddle attachment. Mix until well combined.


The dry ingredients mixed together

If you don't have a mixer, it also works to cut the shortening into the flour as you would for pie crust and then run the mix through a hand held flour sifter to make the mixture more smooth. The metal flour sifters are available to purchase at most grocery stores and baking sections of Wal-mart or Target.

Yields 9 cups cake mix. If you use butter, please keep your mix in the fridge!

4 1/2 cups mix equal to one boxed cake mix:


The wet ingredients

Combine with 3 eggs
1/3 cup oil
1 1/3 cup water
200 strokes by hand or 3 minutes medium speed.

Bake time 350 degrees:
Pan size: 2 8 inch 33-35 minutes

The wet ingredients mixed together

2 9 inch 28-31 minutes
13 by 9 inch 32-35 minutes
bundt 38-43 minutes
24 cupcakes 18-21 minutes
High altitude: stir 1/4 cup all purpose flour into mix. Mix as directed.

More cake mixes to follow as experimentation continues.

My next post I'll post what I did with the cakes.
SMILE people!!!

Chef Tess making Healthy After School Snacks on Fox 10 AZAM

2010-08-19T23:34:00.000-07:00

Chicken Noodle Soup with Homemade noodles

2010-08-02T20:28:00.000-07:00

The Bakeroose got together for some amazing fun making homemade noodles for chicken noodle soup.
For the soup you will need:
1/2 lb chicken breast or thigh meat, without the skin and bone, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 stocks of celery, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
10 cups of chicken stock (or bullion that is mixed with water, usually about 1 tsp per cup)
salt and pepper to taste (usually about 1 tsp each)
Poultry seasoning (about 1T)
One recipe of homemade noodles (yes...it's here in this post)

Equipment:
1 1/2 gallon pot
large wooden spoon
knife
cutting board
rolling pin
measuring cup

If you have never made homemade noodles before, the directions will be here after we show how to cut the veggies. First up, how to cut an onion. If you are allowed to use a knife, this can be a really cool trick. A lot of adults don't know how to quickly and effectively cut an onion. Let's show them how it's done. First, cut the onion in half right down the center to where the root is still attached to the bottom and the top is still in tact all the way up.

Cut the top off.

Cut the root off, but don't cut too deep into the bulb of the onion. The root will help hold it together when you cut it.

Remove the outer paper-like layer of the onion. Now, make even cuts all the way through the onion, but being careful again to not cut through the root area. Look at the next picture to really get a good idea of what it should look like.

Dolphin Girl cut this one. It's perfect.

Now, Chef Tess held the camera while Dolphin Girl cut the rest of the onion. Notice how we cut all the way through the onion going the other direction?

Repeat that chopping and you will have a pile of chopped onions very quickly.

Combine the chopped celery, onion and carrot in the 1 1/2 gallon pot. Add 1-2 tsp of vegetable oil to the pot and saute the vegetables until the onions look clear. Add the chicken and the chicken broth.

Mrs. Tracey from"Preparing Wisely" Food Storage Store brought this awesome Chicken base that we used for the stock from her store. It was so tasty...and had no MSG. Thank you Mrs. Tracey!

Now, while the chicken and veggies cooked we made the noodles.

I wanted my children to learn how to make noodles without a hand cranked pasta machine. Why? Well, let's just say for argument's sake, they ever where to want pasta, not have dry noodle...and not have a pasta crank? What then? Rice? No...not if I can arm them with the mental ammo to make a good noodle. Use the noodle to make the noodles (so to speak). Look at these noodles...

Whole Grain Noodle dough

yield about 16 oz of noodles

2 cups high quality well ground high protein wheat flour ( I grind my own from Hard white wheat so I know it's fresh).

3 eggs or 3/4 cup egg whites

1 tsp salt if desired. (I use my all purpose seasoning blend)

Directions:

Combine the flour and salt/seasoning. Dig a well in the flour and add the eggs.

With a fork, whisk the eggs into the flour forming a soft-batter type stuff, soft dough and then a nice rough dough.

Stir well. There may be a little flour left over that doesn't mix into the dough. make a rough ball out of the stuff that sticks together. I clear off my table top of any extra flour and funky dough. Lightly flour counter tops.

Knead the dough a few minutes until it gets well combined and a lot smoother. It will still look a little rough, but the whole wheat is just that way. Divide into two balls.

Take one of the balls of dough and roll it out on a well floured table top, about 1/2 inch thick and 2 feet long.

Fold dough into thirds like a travel brochure.

Roll out the dough again, on a well floured surface until it is about 3 feet long.

Repeat the folding step and roll one last time until it is very very thin, about 1/8 an inch or less. Mine is so thin you can almost see through it. A well floured table top will really help this process...but also some good muscles applying the pressure to the center of the rolling pin instead of the handles.
When rolled out, it is about 5 feet long.

With a sharp knife or pizza cutter, make the cuts for the noodles. Make sure you get through all of the dough and the noodles are about 1/4 inch wide and 12 inches long. Repeat the whole process with your second ball of dough.

Transfer the noodles to a drying rack and allow to air dry a few minutes. This is when I start my water boiling to cook noodles. If you want to allow them to air dry a few hours that works as well.

When the chicken is cooked and the vegetables tender, put the noodles in all at once and cook 2-4 minutes (depending on how long you let them dry). The Bakeroose put them all on a cutting board so it would be easier to transfer them to the boiling pot of chicken and veggies.

Now, it's very important that an adult help with transferring to the boiling water, as we don't want anyone to get burned. Remember it doesn't take very long to cook the noodles if they are homemade. In fact, by the time we had the bowls out...the noodles where ready.

This made a whopping one gallon of soup. Not very expensive, and yet very fun. We dare you to try it.

There you go.

New Chefs crankin' out the crust

2010-07-21T15:48:00.000-07:00

Kids Cooking Classes are one of my favorite things to do. We've added some new chefs to our ranks. Welcome! We have to decide on blogging names for them, but what I can say is today they made a lot of really amazing Nacho Cups and Pizza Bites in our baking class. They learned so quickly that I assigned them some advanced homework. I think their mom will be seeing a lot of pizza flying out of that oven in the next few days. I am very excited with how well they remembered the temperatures that kill yeast, the functions of salt in dough, the techniques of cutting (from last week) and the safe way to clean a blade. For the second class, they sure are giving me reason to cheer! I'm so proud of them! So, appearing in random order, say hello to our new chefs...

Thanks for all the fun today guys! Lets keep it up! Oh...and special thanks to their mom, Nicole, for the opportunity to work with her amazing kids! Smoooches!

Homemade noodles

2010-07-19T15:09:00.000-07:00

I had to post this tutorial of how to make noodles...because tomorrow in our kids cooking class we will be making them. Face wrote the recipe in his cooking journal. It made me break a big toothy grin when I saw him write it out. Why? Because I knew it was a one on one class we had done together...and whole grain noodles where now a part of his wholesome upbringing. We made chicken noodle soup and homemade ravioli. I wanted my children to learn how to make noodles without a hand cranked pasta machine. Why? Well, let's just say for argument's sake, they ever where to want pasta, not have dry noodle...and not have a pasta crank? What then? Rice? No...not if I can arm them with the mental ammo to make a good noodle. Use the noodle to make the noodles (so to speak). Look at these noodles...

Whole Grain Noodle dough

yield about 16 oz of noodles

2 cups high quality well ground high protein wheat flour ( I grind my own from Hard white wheat so I know it's fresh). You can use semolina flour or bread flour will also work if you don't have whole wheat flour

3 eggs or 3/4 cup egg whites

1 tsp salt if desired. (I use my all purpose seasoning blend)

Directions:

Combine the flour and salt/seasoning. Dig a well in the flour and add the eggs.

With a fork, whisk the eggs into the flour forming a soft-batter type stuff, soft dough and then a nice rough dough.

Knead the dough a few minutes until it gets well combined and a lot smoother. It will still look a little rough, but the whole wheat is just that way. Divide into two balls.

Take one of the balls of dough and roll it out on a well floured table top, about 1/2 inch thick and 2 feet long.

Fold dough into thirds like a travel brochure.

Roll out the dough again, on a well floured surface until it is about 3 feet long.

Transfer the noodles to a drying rack and allow to air dry a few minutes. This is when I start my water boiling to cook noodles. If you want to allow them to air dry a few hours that works as well.

Bring a gallon of water to a rolling boil. Add plenty of salt to the water. Put the noodles in all at once and cook 2-4 minutes (depending on how long you let them dry). Drain and lightly drizzle with olive oil. Season as desired. Top with sauce or serve with cooked sausage, olives, tomatoes, cheese...whatever you love.

Spinach noodles: Use 1/2 cup thick spinach puree and 1/4 cup egg in the batter

Herb noodles: Use ground or fine minced herbs in the dough (about 1 tsp dry or 1T fresh)

Lemon pepper: Use zest of one lemon and 1/2 tsp fresh cracked pepper in the dough

Sun dried tomato: Use 3T Sun dried tomato pesto in the dough

Pink pasta: Add 1/2 cup beet juice and 1/4 cup egg to the dough in place of the straight egg

There you go.

Popcorn Rocks

2010-06-16T23:29:00.001-07:00

Hey guys, this is Little Man. This is a crazy cool science craft we did that I think is worth sharing. We found these rocks at a local gift shop. Two rocks for 6$. At first we thought it was just a crazy gimmick. Mom was a little hesitant to spend the money on rocks. However, reading where the rocks came from convinced her otherwise. Mom is from Utah's Great Basin and has loved the geology there for years.

Simple enough instructions said to place the rock in white distilled vinegar.

Oh...and don't eat rocks. They will break your teeth. In case you didn't know that.

The vinegar started to have a chemical reaction to the rock right away!

Now, ten days later, we have crystals growing all over the place. It's so crazy cool!

So, rambling review of Popcorn Rocks...YES! Get the rocks! They are awesome! They can be found online here: Unique Crafters - Popcorn Rock, Rock Garden That Grows, Pop Corn Rock

Bakeroose Buttermilk Doughnuts

2010-06-15T16:25:00.000-07:00

The bakeroose got together for some crazy doughnut making cooking class time with the home school group. It was wild! Here are some highlights...

Make sure if you decide to do doughnuts that you have adults help. It's dangerous...but fun!

The recipe for these is at the end of this post...

After we eat...then we post.

Buttermilk doughnuts:
yield 4 dozen large or 10 dozen doughnut holes

Combine wet ingredients:
2 cup buttermilk
4 eggs
1T vanilla

Combine dry ingredients:

2 cup sugar
1T plus 1 tsp baking powder
1T plus 1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp salt
7 cups all purpose flour

Pour wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and knead until a soft dough is formed. Roll out to 1 inch thickness and cut into doughnuts. Cook in hot frying oil in a deep pot. This needs to be done with an adult...3 minutes on each side. Remove from oil with a metal scooper and place on paper towel to drain. Coat with powdered sugar or frosting.

small batch:

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 egg

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 3/4 cup all purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

Okay guys...shake your doughnuts in a paper bag with some powdered sugar or cinnamon sugar!

There you go!

Whole Grain Kids Can Make Crumb Cake or Waffles

2010-06-14T10:28:00.000-07:00

This recipe is a good one for kids who want to make waffles or crumb cake. We bake it in a solar oven, especially during the summer. It just gets so hot here in Arizona. We make the big batch of mix and it lasts a few weeks. If you make it, be sure to use the whole wheat cake flour (or you can use all purpose flour instead of the whole wheat). If you don't know where to get whole wheat cake flour, you can also make that by just using eight cups of regular whole wheat flour and one cup of cornstarch in place of the nine cups of whole wheat cake flour.
A while ago when we shared the recipe for Whole Grain Waffle Mix we started goofing around with it in other things. In the course of the last few weeks we've added a little more spice to it:

Fluffy Fat Free Whole Grain Waffle Mix
9 cups whole wheat cake flour
1 cup sugar or crystal fructose
1/3 cup baking powder
1 T LorAnn Buttery Sweet Dough emulsion ( it's vanilla, butter, cherry, orange and hints of spice)
4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground clove
1 tsp fresh ground nutmeg
1 tsp fresh ground cardamom
2 tsp ground cinnamon

Combine all ingredients well, slowly drizzling the flavor emulsion into the mix and whisking well. Store in an airtight container.

We're happy to report that it makes a really mean Buttermilk crumb cake.

Bakeresse Buttermilk Crumb Cake

crumb topping:
2/3 cup sugar or granulated fructose (or Splenda)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup melted butter (or you can use extra virgin coconut oil)
1 3/4 cup Whole Grain Waffle Mix

Cake:
1 1/4 cup whole grain waffle mix
1/2 cup sugar or granulated fructose
1 large egg
3/4 cup buttermilk (or 1 cup any flavor yogurt...Homemade yogurt works great!)

confectioners sugar for dusting if desired (that's the fancy name for powdered sugar)

Directions: Preheat oven to 325 degrees ( solar baking works great!). In a medium bowl, combine all the ingredients for the crumb topping until a nice crumble mass.

In a separate medium bowl, combine the cake ingredients, mixing just until moist. Do not over mix. Spread the cake batter into a greased 9 inch by 11 inch cake pan. You may dot the cake batter with fresh berries or a thin layer of jam if desired. Top with entire amount of crumb topping spread over the cake. Bake 25-30 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Remove from the oven and cover with foil. This will help the cake to hold together and remain moist. Cool completely. Cut with a sharp knife. Dust with powdered sugar or cinnamon if desired.

There you go.

Solar Bakeroose

2010-06-11T10:44:00.000-07:00

Alternative cooking methods are alive and well here with our Bakeroose!

Home baked bread and rolls...

Baked by the sun in three solar ovens!

Today the Bakeroose got together for some basics in solar baking and some fun hamburger patty making. We think it's wonderful to cook with the sun. Arizona is the perfect place for it...and the kids get a real appreciation for the natural resources we have. Hopefully we're raising a whole new generation of earth friendly kiddos.

For hamburgers, we added half of a large chopped onion that the kids chopped. Mixed it into 3 pounds of hamburger along with sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper. Some of the girls didn't like touching the meat. Two jumped right in along with Little Man and his friend Q.

Dolphin Girl played Flipper and grilled the burgers while the buns baked.

We had so much fun making these mini burgers and learning some basics on how to cook with the sun.

The mini hamburger buns are made of the 5 day bread dough . This dough is great because it's good in the fridge for five days. You can make the dough Monday and use a portion everyday for whatever you are making. Bread, pizza, bread sticks...you name it.

When the hamburgers and buns where ready, we started in.

Get a Global solar oven here: Preparing Wisely . Special Thanks to Troy and Tracey Adair for the use of their personal and store floor model sun oven we used in the making of this class. It was so fun!

Super Cute Girl Jean Aprons For Summer Cooking

2010-05-20T06:49:00.000-07:00

Okay kiddos, this is Chef Tess. With summer coming up I wanted to share a cheap way to make some cooking aprons that I think are a lot of fun for kids and moms to make. I'm going to show some pictures of the ones I've done, and you can make some too. If you do, please don't hesitate to take pictures and send them my way! I'd love to post them here on the blog.

These aprons don't require much sewing at all, maybe 3 seams. If you don't want to sew at all, you can just loop the strap through the pant loops without attaching it to the jeans. If you can handle that, I think we're in business. The back side of my husband's jeans cut off just above the legs make the perfect base for an apron. I was sure to keep the belt loops in tact. I did finish off the edges with a zig-zag, so the apron wouldn't fray too much, but you don't have to finish the seams.

I took two strips of gingham, four inches wide and 36 inches long, and sewed them end to end to make the apron strap. Then I simply thread it through the belt loops.

With a safety pin I attached a cute flower to the center of the apron. That's it. Easy right?

The front of his pants, cut off just above the legs, was made into a third apron. I did sew some red ric-rack onto the edges, but did the belt and flowers in a similar fashion to the second apron.

Look how adorable the back looks for a little girl. Why don't I have an daughters?

So, with a little creativity and not any money other than what we already had in the house, we now have three new aprons. They're not fancy, but they are a little "Daisy Duke meets Martha Stewart". What's not to love about that?

There you go.

Eating flowers?!

2010-05-08T16:40:00.000-07:00

Hey kids, this is Chef Tess. I wanted to share some fun facts about edible flowers. Have you ever thought about eating a pretty little flower? Well? As a rule, always always ask an adult before eating any wild plant. I don't want anyone getting a poison plant on accident. On that note, I recently joined Little Man's school for a field trip to one of Arizona's dessert botanical gardens, and along with a few cactus, I had some eye opening experiences. My son asked me if I could survive in the dessert just by living off of dessert plants. Did his mom have the knowledge to pass the test? Would I eat this? Would you? This is purple sage. One of the first references I looked at for Edible Flowers was on the Colorado State University Extension office site. I couldn't find this sage there. However according to the Cooking with Sage - Herb Expert (UK) it is safe. We found this bush in front of the Mesa Historical Museum. It was cool to see it.

Would you eat this? Okay, technically it isn't looking much like a flower, but it is called Agave. Agave Americana to you. Each agave plant will produce several pounds of edible flowers during its final season. I've used agave nectar in cooking and I've been told it makes tequila...though I've never tasted the stuff.

This is our state flower. Is it edible? I personally don't want to be committing a crime even going near a saguaro. As I'm not sure if it is punishable by law to swipe the flowers, however I read that in Tucson AZ, a lady named Cathy Lambert reportedly makes her own Desert Decadence Saguaro Blossom Cactus Tea from saguaro fruit she harvests on her own property. She adds other ingredients, such as rose hips and strawberries, and markets the product all over the country. One such market is PaulsPantry.com, located in Scottsdale, AZ. I found this quite noteworthy from: The Edible Saguaro Cactus Notecook

Some of the girls in my sons class started ripping these flowers off bushes as we walked and sucking on the pointed end. One of them said, "Mmmm honeysuckle." Okay...as a mom, I almost freaked. As a dessert explorer and foodie, I was slightly intrigued, as you can imagine my inner turmoil. Come to find out...many of the species of honeysuckle have sweetly-scented, bell-shaped flowers that produce a sweet, edible nectar. Breaking of the Honeysuckle's stem will release this powerful sweet odor. The fruit is a red, blue or black berry containing several seeds; in most species the berries are mildly poisonous, but a few (notably Lonicera caerulea) have edible berries. So, cool to suck on the flowers...but not cool to eat the fruit or seeds. Most likely best to only eat ones you are sure haven't been treated with heavy pesticides too. Where was I when they where handing out the info on sucking on flowers? Probably sharpening my knives. Dang it.

As a general rule, I'm not eating cactus flowers. Though they are so gorgeous.

Here's another thing. My boys would never collect seed pods and make bouquets. It wouldn't happen. It was very diverting to hang out with girls for a change.

This my friends is the first and only lilac bush I have ever seen with flowers on it in Arizona. It just doesn't happen here due to the horrible heat. I've looked. Lilacs are edible. I think they are gorgeous candied on a cake. But...good luck finding any that don't look like this...in Arizona anyway.

Okay...what about this bulgy thing here? Did you know it is against the law to collect these on national forest land here in my happy state? However, this fruit makes excellent jams and jellies...if you can get all the spines off. Prickly pear. Ooo la la.

What pray tell, started me thinking about posting something on flowers you can eat? It was this article called:

Edible Flowers Eight easy-to-grow edible flowers
By: Teresa O’Connor
Teresa is co-author of the book: Grocery Gardening (I got the book and adore it!! Shameless plug but I think everyone should get a copy. It's highly informative and full of amazing recipes.)
Teresa wrote:

"Wake up your taste buds with these flavorful flowers that taste as good as they look.

Borage
This annual grows 2 to 4 feet tall with purplish blue, star-shaped flowers that “make the mind glad,” according to renowned 16th-century herbalist John Gerarde. Sow seeds in a sunny spot in spring after last frost, or earlier in warm climates. Borage (Borago officinalis) tolerates most soil types and usually reseeds itself. Transplanting isn’t recommended because the plant has a taproot that’s difficult to unearth.

Borage adds a cucumber taste to salads, dips, and cold soups. Freeze flowers in ice cubes to float in decorative drinks. In large amounts, borage may have a diuretic effect.

Calendula
Also known as pot marigold, this annual was a favorite in medieval cooking pots. Calendula (Calendula officinalis) grows up to 20 inches tall, with attractive pale yellow to deep orange flowers. Sow seeds in a sunny spot in well-drained soil. Provide afternoon shade in hot temperatures. In colder climates, start indoors. This easy-to-grow plant self-sows freely.

Sometimes called “poor man’s saffron,” calendula has a slightly bitter taste. Petals add color to scrambled eggs, cheeses, poultry, and rice. Try chopped leaves and petals in soups, salads, and stews. Use caution if you have allergies to ragweed, asters, and other members of the Compositae family.
Chamomile
This annual has tiny daisy-like flowers immortalized in “The Tale of Peter Rabbit” when Mrs. Rabbit brewed a calming tea for her son Peter. Easily grown from seeds sown in spring, chamomile (Matricaria recutita) grows 1 to 2 feet tall in full sun. It prefers neutral to slightly acidic soil with good drainage. Chamomile reseeds easily, and can be invasive in some regions. Check with your local nursery or cooperative extension service to see if it’s invasive in your climate.

Chamomile’s sweet apple flavor and fragrance make a delicious tea. Steep 2 to 4 teaspoons of fresh flowers with a cup of boiled water for three minutes. Strain and serve. Use caution if you have allergies to the Compositae family.
Chives
This perennial (Allium schoenoprasum, Zones 3 to 11) grows 12 to 24 inches tall, with pink and lavender flowers that have flavored meals for centuries. It prefers full sun and moist, well-drained soil that’s high in organic matter. Planting rooted clumps is the easiest way to propagate chives. Seeds germinate slowly and require darkness, constant moisture, and temperatures of 60°F to 70°F. Divide plants every few years. Chives also grow well in sunny windows.

Break apart chive florets to add mild onion flavor to dinner rolls, casseroles, eggs, potatoes, and herb butters.
Lavender
Queen Elizabeth I reportedly sipped lavender blossoms in tea. This perennial requires dry, somewhat infertile soil with good drainage. It grows best in neutral or slightly alkaline soil in full sun.

Not all lavenders have the same culinary qualities. The most popular are Lavandula angustifolia and Lavandula x intermedia ‘Provence’ (both Zones 5 to 8). Lavender’s floral taste combines well with rosemary and thyme in chicken and lamb marinades. Add a teaspoon to sugar cookie and cake recipes. A little lavender goes a long way; too much tastes soapy.
Nasturtium
This annual has cheerful cuplike flowers that Thomas Jefferson used to spice salads at Monticello. Available in diverse cultivars, including climbing and bushy types, nasturtium (Tropaeolum majus) comes in bright colors such as orange, pink, and yellow. Sow seeds in spring in colder climates, or earlier in warmer zones. Nasturtium prefers light, sandy soils in full sun, with partial shade in hot temperatures. It flowers best in less fertile soils.

Flowers and leaves add peppery taste to salads, herb vinegars, sandwiches, and even pizzas. Immature pods can be pickled and used as capers.
Rose
Eating roses (Rosa spp.) dates back to the ancient Romans. Roses grow best in rich, well-drained soil with full sun and good air circulation. These plants prefer regular pruning, watering, and fertilizing. The older species, such as Rosa rugosa and Rosa gallica, are considered the best for taste.

Petals add a floral flavor to jellies, honey, vinegars, and salads. For rose sugar, mince one part petals with two parts sugar and leave covered for a month. Strain and use for cookies, cakes, and sweet breads. Rose hips make a delicious tea high in vitamin C.
Sweet violet, Johnny-jump-up, pansy
These three violas are old-fashioned culinary favorites that bloom best in cool weather. They all prefer rich, moist, well-drained soil. In hot climates, plant them in partial shade. Sweet violets (Viola odorata) are perennials with aromatic purple or white flowers. Typically hardy to Zone 5, violets are propagated by dividing clumps. Johnny-jump-ups (Viola tricolor) and pansies (Viola x wittrockiana) are annuals that are easy to find as transplants in garden centers.

These pretty flowers add sweet, perfumed, or wintergreen flavor to salads, fruits, and vegetables. Float flowers in punch, or candy the petals for elegant cakes and cookies. You don’t need to remove their pistils and stamens, however Johnny-jump-ups have saponins, which can be toxic in large amounts.

Many Thanks to Teresa O’Connor for permission to use this article. Teresa is a garden writer in Boise, Idaho. She is a master gardener in California, and Idaho. Her website is: http://www.seasonalwisdom.com/ "

There you go. Use some edible flowers in your cooking. I may just have to start you'all off on the right foot. Vanilla Lavender Tapioca for starters.

Car show

2010-04-25T14:21:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone I'm Chef Tess' son, Little Man. There is a car show on the last Saturday of every month. We got a picture of one of my favorite cars, a 1970's mach 1 Mustang.

Here we are behind of a cool 70's-80's hot rod.

A beautiful car .

That's a big truck it is very small in this picture and It's hauling a lifted trailer.

Good luck to our soldiers.

Homemade Fridge Pickles

2010-04-23T14:44:00.000-07:00

Today we got together for kids cooking class to continue our knife skills. In the middle of class, this jar of pickles walked in attached to the hand of a dad. Wait. Does that sound like the pickles had legs? Well...they didn't. We needed them for our potato salad. We decided that we should make some pickles too. Did you know that pickles are made of cucumbers? Some kids don't know that. I bet you did.

Here's what you need:

One quart jar with lid

measuring spoons and cups

knife to cut cucumbers (if you are allowed...ask an adult!)

Food for Fridge Pickles:

2 large cucumbers

1/2 cup vinegar

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup water

1/2 tsp dill weed or seed

1 clove garlic (peel off skin and cut in half)

3-4 small red pepper flakes (optional)

Slice the cucumbers in 1/4 inch slices. We cut them in half first.

Put all the rest of the food ingredients in the glass jar. Be sure to stir it a little to dissolve the salt.

Fill up the jar with the cucumbers. If there is any uncovered pickles, be sure to fill up the rest of the jar with water.

Put on the lid tightly and put the jar in the fridge. The pickles will be ready to eat in about a week.

There you go!

Homemade Potato Chips

2010-04-16T21:09:00.000-07:00

These need to be made with an adult. Obviously we are cutting with sharp knives. We will also be frying the chips in hot oil. Don't do this alone. You need supervising. Mrs. Chef Tess almost needs supervision. The boy holding the knife and cutting this potato is a member of our Friday kids cooking class. Today we made some homemade potato chips. I think these kids are very much improving on their knife skills. Ages five through twelve and all of them did a wonderful job handling the knives safely and practicing cutting potatoes paper thin. Amazing isn't it!

We put the cut chips in big bowls of water. Water keeps the potatoes from touching air, which will make them turn brown. This is called oxidation. It doesn't make the potatoes bad to eat, just ugly to look at. When they where all cut, we drained the chips and dried them between two clean kitchen towels. Too much water in frying oil is very dangerous. It will spit hot oil all over the kitchen and all over you. So be sure to dry them very well. Now we piled them in a bowl and heated a large heavy pot full of oil. The oil got very hot. When it came time to fry the chips, we had the kids play outside for the most part to avoid any oil injuries. It takes 3-5 minutes to cook a potato chip to optimum crispness. It took a while. We skimmed them out with a metal skimmer. Okay. Mrs. Chef Tess skimmed them. The only one who stayed and helped where the very oldest kids.

Put in a paper towel lined metal pan or metal colander. The best part of teaching knife skills with potato chips (free hand, without a food processor or other appliance) was that they felt extreme ownership for those potatoes. They could easily tell if the thickness was acceptable when it was fried and we got to talk about the cooking times being different for thick and thin cut potatoes. It was a great lesson learned.

The chips where delicious!

There you go.

Fast Taco Rice

2010-04-14T14:04:00.000-07:00

Middle of the week fast meal here it comes! This is one the kids can do very easily. It uses the stove so if you have to have an adult with you, make sure it's okay. Taco Rice is one of our family favorites. It's got a lot of vegetables in it. You don't have to use them all, but it is good to try new stuff. It makes you a better chef when you try new foods. It really does. So, gather your ingredients.

Tess' Taco Rice
1/2 lb lean turkey meat (taco seasoned)
2 bell peppers, chopped fine
1 medium onion, chopped fine
2 cloves of garlic chopped fine
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
2 cups instant brown rice
1/2 cup chicken or vegetable broth

sour cream (optional)
chopped green onions or chopped cilantro (it's a Mexican herb)
Directions: Saute the bell peppers, onions and garlic with the taco meat in a 12-14 inch skillet with a lid that fits. Cook 4-5 minutes until meat is no longer pink and the veggies are tender.
We like a lot of vegetables around here and after years of practice, we are finally on board with wanting a lot of the good stuff in our food too. It's a process. Mom says that it takes fifteen exposures to a new food before kids will want to eat it. Sometimes you have to try it made a lot of different ways until you find a way to like it. It's worth liking vegetables because they will make you strong. Here's a picture of me...Face. Would I stir the pot if I didn't want to eat it? Maybe. But this time, take my word for it, this is good stuff.

Add the tomatoes and broth. Stir and bring to a boil. That's big bubbles. Add instant brown rice, mix well. Cover with lid and turn to lowest heat. Cook 10 minutes. Stir in cilantro or green onions if desired.

Serve with taco chips, sour cream. Homemade yogurt also works as a topping. Really anything you put on a taco would work. Yes, this would work wonderfully as the base for taco salads. You're so smart.

There you go.

UFO Alien Egg Ships

2010-03-26T23:19:00.000-07:00

It's crazy how easy these are to make and how fun! We take hamburger buns, any number, just depending on how many we want to serve. Then we have that same number of whole eggs as there are buns.

Open up the buns. Put the bottom on a sheet pan. Have an adult turn on the oven to 350 degrees.
Put the tops of the hamburger buns in a pile.

With a small round cookie or biscuit cutter, cut a circle out of the top of the hamburger bun.

We eat the inside circle while the buns are baking.

place a tablespoon of bacon bits in the bun or shredded cheese. Salt and pepper if you want it to taste really good. Just a little sprinkle.

Bake uncovered 15-20 minutes, until egg is cooked. We like ours a little runny because it really doesn remind us of aliens. If you want a well done alien, wait the full 20 minutes.

There you go.

Biscuit Quiche Muffins

2010-03-17T16:11:00.000-07:00

Chef Tess here. How are all my little chefs? This morning, with Spring Break in full swing I was excited to make some breakfast with the kids. I love days when we don't have to rush off in the magic mini van and defy laws of nature to make it to school in one piece with our sanity in tact and homework papers trailing the highway behind us. It may not really be that bad, but it feels that bad. Slower days mean breakfasts like this biscuit and quiche muffin. The first time I saw these it was at a dear friend's house. Face and Little Man gobbled them up and begged for more. We've loved them ever since. Thank you Heather!

I like mine made with Crisp buttery French Onion biscuits on the bottom and Swiss cheese, bacon, bell peppers and egg nestled in between the outer crust. You don't have to use the French onion biscuit mix, you can just use regular plain baking mix. It is simple to make. I used my French Onion biscuit mix this morning. (technical difficulties...please see "Make a Mix" section of my main blog for the full recipe http://cheftessbakeresse.blogspot.com ).

4 cups of the mix with 1 cup of buttermilk. Mix lightly and then roll out to 1/2 inch thickness using 1/2 cup of flour on your counter top. (If you don't want to make the biscuits from scratch, you can use the tubes of pre-made biscuit dough. They aren't all natural, but they work.)

Cut 12, 2 inch circles with a biscuit cutter. Lightly oil a muffin tin and place the dough in the bottom of each cup, like a crust. The same way we made the pizza muffin bites.

You will also need:

4 slices of bacon, sliced in 3 pieces (total 12 small pieces)

3 eggs, beat well

1/4 bell pepper, chopped fine (if you like bell pepper)

12 1 inch squares of Swiss cheese (or any cheese you like)

Every time I told my son Face to,"cut the cheese again"...he laughed in hysterics. Seems my husband Ace has been teaching him some slang terms. Tisk, tisk. Your cheese should look like this. In squares that will cover the top of the muffins.

Put pieces of bacon and bell pepper in each cup.

Fill cup with 1 Tablespoon scrambled egg.

Put a nice little cheese top on the whole deal-eee-oh. Like a lid.

Have an adult turn on the oven to 425 degrees. Adults should do the oven stuff unless you have specific instructions that it is okay to use it. Bake 425 degrees 13-15 minutes. Serve warm. Any left overs need to go in the fridge. You know I want you to have a good time and not be all woozy from eating food that has been left out too long. Much longer than an hour and a half, and I wouldn't eat it. Use the fridge. Love it. If this really makes it that long. It may not...Yields 12.

There you go.

Bubu's fruit salad.

2010-03-16T17:16:00.000-07:00

Hi all from one of the little chefs!!! My bubu (pronounced BOO-BOO), which means 'grandma' in Marshallese, (My grandparents went to the Marshall islands for one of their missions.) came over one time and we were trying make a dish sorta like this and she told us what we should put in it. It's really good. ;) About 6/8 of us like it. Here's the recipe:

Bubu's fruit salad
1 Lb (16 oz) cottage cheese
1 8 oz (226g) whipped or "cool" whip
2 11 oz (311g) or 1 22 oz can mandarin oranges
1 box of flavored gelatin or jello

Now the only thing you need to do is put all of the ingredients in a bowl and put in fridge until you are ready to serve. Here are the pictures of me making it:
The ingredients.

And stir it all up!!!! (make sure that NO white is showing and that there isn't to much pink in one spot)

And the finished product!

And Dad tasting!!!! Hope you all like it!! I know I do!!! There you go.

Fox 10 Bakeroose Cooking Segment! Way to go girls!!

2010-03-16T12:12:00.000-07:00

Bakaroose Spaghetti and Spice Basics

2010-03-12T22:50:00.000-08:00

Chef Tess and our two newest chefs will be on Fox 10 AZ AM on Tuesday morning at 9:45. If you would like to get some ideas of things to cook with your kids during spring break, this is a good one to watch. The Bakeroose got together today for our second class. This is where we are starting to learn about herbs and spices and some basic cooking skills like how to cook noodles to perfection. If someone handed you a few jars of tomato sauce and said, "Make spaghetti", could you? That was what we wanted to learn. We also where just excited as ever to see each other again!

Spaghetti sauce:
1 Tablespoon oil
One large onion
1 shallot, chopped fine
2 cloves garlic, minced
40 oz tomato sauce
Italian herbs and spices (we are learning to smell and use by "feeling")
salt and pepper

We cooked the onions and shallots over medium heat with the oil until they where about clear. Then we added the garlic. In this way, we keep the garlic from getting all nasty and burned. That is good. We learned that onions,shallots, and garlic help clean out your blood. Most of the herbs and spices used in food are good to help your body digest food! So, not only does adding herbs and spices make food taste better, it's better for your body. That's cool right?

Here are some of the spices and herbs we used. Mom (Tess) showed us how to crush spices, let us smell a ton of spices and herbs, and told us how to tell which ones went together. Starting with Italian herbs and spices today, but she gave us homework. Homework?!! Yes. Spring break is for geeks...she says. We have to make a pasta salad using the herb and spice list she gave us and make it so that the spices and herbs work together. It will be fun to see how we do.

We learned the difference between a spice and an herb. Spices are the seeds and bark of culinary aromatic plants. Herbs are the leaves, stems and flowers. Did you know there was a difference? When someone says herbs and spices they aren't talking about the same parts of a plant.

The Italian herbs we smelled and then used in sauce today are:

Oregano, rosemary and basil. Mom says there are a lot more. Can you think of some? Marjoram and thyme also work with Italian food. The spices we smelled today where black pepper and fennel. There are a lot more though. Cumin we smelled, but didn't use because it goes in Mexican dishes better than Italian. Isn't that good to know?

We learned what boiling water looks like. It has big fat bubbles with chins on it. When it gets hot like that, we had an adult put the noodles in the water. It's important to add salt to the water, not only to help it boil, but also to add flavor to the noodles. Reading the noodle package is good to know how long to cook the noodle. You know what else helps? Taking one piece out when it looks like it's close to being done. Let it cool a bit, and then taste it. If it isn't hard, it's done.

We had a draining system already set up before we cooked the noodles. When they where ready we drained them right away.
Have an adult move boiling water pots and drain the noodles. Don't get burned!!

Mom told us that once the onions where clear and the garlic wasn't brown, to add a small amount of tomato sauce or paste to the onions, along with the herbs and spices. We stirred and stirred the small amount with the onions and stuff until it got nice and slightly browned. This is a very important step for nice sweet sauce without adding sugar. It gives perfect flavor to the sauce too.

This was the hardest part...waiting. It took about 5-7 minutes. That sauce smelled so good we wanted to just suck it down.

Finally we added the rest of the sauce.
Mom added some lemon zest with her grater. Lemon? Yes.

What does adding lemon zest to spaghetti sauce do? It makes it freaky good! Well, it makes it taste fresh and bright.

What do you know about salt? We saw French Grey Sea Salt...

Regular Kosher Salt...

Salt not only adds flavor, but it helps things not get moldy so fast. It kills germs. Mom says that it is used in a lot of things, like cheese and some meats to help preserve them. Pickles have a lot of salt. We are going to read about Jesus and what he said about being the salt of the earth. I'm excited to hear His thoughts on salt. What do you think?

Salt in cheese, piled on spaghetti with our sauce...

Cheeeeese.

Can we eat it yet?!

Yes. Yes we can. It was crazy good.

One of our chefs had four plates full and cleaned them every time. She sat next to my mom, and it made mom very happy.

There you go. Try spaghetti sauce without using a pre-made jar. We dare you!

Flight School

2010-03-06T00:44:00.000-08:00

I got to go to a flight school for Cub Scouts this week. It isn't cooking, but it sure does involve a lot of math to fly a plane and a lot of practice. Just like learning to cook, but without that apron.

Did you know that you can get a pilot's license as early as age 16?! I had no idea I could fly and drive at that age. Either did mom. It kind of freaked her out. Will I go to flight school? I'm not sure.

The best part was getting to get into the cockpit and really get a feel for it.

That's all folks. We had a great time. Thanks scout leaders! Oh...and Matt and Steve the tour guides at the school. Great job!

Ganache Glaze

2010-03-01T19:09:00.000-08:00

So, when we had our cooking class last week, Chef Tess gave us a box of Chocolate Toffee Buttermilk Cake Mix and today we made the Ganache Glaze. Mom took some pictures of us making it:

This is us trying to figure out a part of the recipe.

This is me, sneaking a piece of chocolate. (it was good.)

Stirring the chocolate.

Ditto.

Us girls, licking some chocolate.

"Icing" the cake.

And. . . TU-DAH!!! The finished cake.
We haven't eaten any cake, but we did have some scraps of it with some "icing" on it. It's really good!! So, thanks Chef Tess!! It's a really great recipe!!! There you go! :D

Perfect Pizza Dough

2010-02-26T17:10:00.000-08:00

Hey guys! This is the new chefs who just joined. We made some really good pizza dough and then just got out a jar of spaghetti sauce and blended it up so the tomatoes and mushrooms were un-see-able.
Here's the recipe:
1 2/3 cups warm water
1 pack active dry yeast (one pack is 2 1/4 teaspoon)
4 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for the work space
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil

1. Pour the water into a glass measuring cup and add the yeast. Let stand until the yeast dissolves and mixture froths, about 5 or so minutes.

2. Mix the flour and salt in a large mixing bowl.

3. Add the olive oil to the yeast mixture.

4. Slowly pour the yest mixture int the flour and stir with a fork. When it gets hard to stir with the fork, use your hands.

5. Squish the dough around to combine all the ingredients.

6. Try to form the dough into a ball. When it holds together in a ball shape, it is ready to knead.
(When you have the dough almost ready to knead, set the oven to 450.)
After that, just put some flour out on the work space and knead the dough until you think its ready to be shaped into a pizza.
Then just spoon some pizza sauce on and spread it. Then put what ever toppings you like on it. Cook for 10 minutes or until the cheese is bubbling. Oh, and you can save some dough and store it in the freezer up to 3 months.
This is my pizza right before it was put in the oven. And this is the pizza's after they're done. Don't they look good? Yum!!

This is me, eating my pizza. And this is my sister, who helped make it, eating her pizza.
It was a really good pizza. So as Chef Tess would say, there you go. ;)

Peanuts and Cracker Jacks! Make with an Adult.

2010-02-26T16:00:00.000-08:00

We officially had our first Bakeroose cooking class today with all the kid chefs and moms. It was outstanding! I, Chef Tess, was exceptionally pleased with how much our Bakeroose have already learned! Measuring and kitchen math are coming along. We got in some science as well. Not bad for a quick one hour class, right? What a great way to kick off our grandest of grand adventures in kid cooking. Would you like to join us? Here's your chance...

Have you ever had Cracker Jacks from the store? They come in a box. We sing a song about them at baseball games. Did you ever think in a million years that you could make them at home with your mom or dad? This one has to be made with an adult who's responsible and won't let you get burned. Find one first before you start this recipe. I think you will have a lot of fun. The first thing all good chefs do is gather their ingredients all to one place so they don't forget anything when they are cooking. Get everything in it's place and measured before you cook, and you will have a lot more fun...since you won't forget a very important ingredient! We can't have that happen, right?
Cracker Jacks
you will need:
2o cups of popped popcorn (measure after popping should be 20 cups...use microwave popcorn or homemade)
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup molasses
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
3 cups peanuts (unsalted)
equipment:
Measuring cups, spoons, large one gallon pot, 2 large cookie sheets with edges to hold the popcorn, 3 gallon size metal or heat proof mixing bowl, 1 large wooden spoon, 2 large paper grocery bags (unused) or 5-6 paper lunch bags.

Do you want to know a random fact? Popcorn explodes and becomes the fluffy stuff we like to eat when the small amount of moisture inside the seed kernel gets hot enough to explode out of the shell. I bet you didn't know you where eating exploded seeds when you ate popcorn.

Directions:
Have an adult Turn your oven on to 350 degrees.
If you are allowed to use the stove, carefully put the butter, sugar and molasses in the pot. Turn on the heat to medium and once the butter is melted and the stuff starts to boil, turn on a timer for 4 minutes. Do not stir it. While it cooks, get the popcorn in the 3 gallon mixing bowl.

When your timer goes off, add the condensed milk, vanilla and peanuts to the pot of cooked stuff. Stir just until combined. Set your timer for 2 minutes and keep cooking on medium heat. When the 2 minutes is up...have an adult pour the sugar peanut mixture over the cooked popcorn in a large bowl.

Mix well to coat.

Divide the popcorn onto the two cookie sheets...again, this is hot so let an adult do this part.

Have an adult put the cookie sheets in the oven. Set the timer for 7 minutes. When the timer goes off, have an adult stir the popcorn. Set the timer for 8 minutes. Close the oven. When the timer goes off, have an adult take the cookie sheets out of the oven.

When popcorn is still hot, have an adult scoop popcorn into the grocery bags or divide it between the lunch sacks. Let them sit for 3 minutes. Then...kids carefully fold over the top of the bag and begin to shake. Adults, make sure it is cool enough to touch the bags!! Shaking helps the cracker jacks from sticking together.

It is also really fun!

After you have shaken the bag for about 2 minutes, the popcorn should be cool enough to touch. Have an adult check for you to see if it's ready.

Try to run around the back yard a few times after you eat this to burn off all the sugar. Your mom will be glad you did.

There you go. Oh...and here's a little clip of what we did...not even a minute, but a good glimpse.

Homemade Lollie-pops (Adult Help Needed!)

2010-02-19T12:30:00.001-08:00

Chef Tess here, and it seemed like a really good idea to have moms, dads, grandma's and caregivers be able to read about this here as well. So, I'm re-posting it. Hopefully it gives everyone a good idea of what they can do with the kids! Enjoy...

" Oooo-da-lollie, Oooo-da-loolie, gollie what a day." Does anyone else remember that song? It was on the old Robin Hood Disney movie and every time I ever think of lollies, that's the song that pops in my head. It then stays there for forty-seven days. It may be the sign of a very simple mind, or, I hope some unprecedented sign of unfathomable genius. I'm going with genius until further notice.

My grandma used to make hard candy suckers with her eight grandchildren in a cozy little kitchen in the seventies. We'd dawn gingham and flour sack homemade aprons and gather around her gas stove as she showed us how to boil the syrup. Last week when my sons where in a heated debate over the question, "Can you make candy at home?" I had to interject my know-it-all chefie attitude and tell them about my grandma. Aside from thinking I was just spouting off old stories, they got really quiet. Any chance to keep my prattle mouths quite is well received. So...we headed out to the craft store and quickly picked up a few items needed for homemade candy making. Not because I thought my kids needed more sugar, but because they had a hole in their "fabric of knowledge" when it came to all things foodie related. We most definitely can't have that!

I mentioned in my last post about the oil based flavors.( https://www.lorannoils.com/ ) These are what we use exclusively for hard candy making. I like a fire invoking cinnamon, but the kiddos prefer butterscotch, grape, apple, and English Toffee (to name a few).

Shameless product plug here...but I love it in frosting too. I can't live without it in fudge. My truffles...well, they are well acquainted. It doesn't change the consistency of a frosting, but adds a huge dimension of flavor, since it bonds with the fat. Same with fat in chocolate. I dare say the fat on my patootie probably has a nice infusion. Orson H. Gygi's in Utah has a huge display of them and I almost died when I visited my parents and saw my ol' favorite cooking store full of such a shocking display (in a good way...my patootie was not included on the display rack). Remember the name. Stock up. We use them all the time.

On the back of the package there was a nice little recipe for old fashioned hard candy. Do I really need to type it out or can y'all just read the box? Okay. I'll type it out.

You can find the recipe here:
https://www.lorannoils.com/p-8752-stove-top-hard-candy.aspx
(Using 1-dram (.125oz) bottles)
Ingredients:
2 cups granulated sugar
2/3 cup light corn syrup
¾ cup water
1 dram LorAnn flavoring oil (1tsp.*) (or as desired)
LorAnn liquid food coloring (as desired)
Powdered sugar (optional)
Sucker bags (optional)
Twist ties (optional)
Use of a candy thermometer is recommended

*Please note that LorAnn Cinnamon, Clove and Peppermint flavors are particularly potent. You may wish to reduce the amount used for these flavors. I like my cinnamon really hot. My kids go cross eyed and start to spray flame out their ears when they eat my cinnamon-berry pops. This is of course how I keep them from eating too much sugar.

Before you begin, I recommend reading LorAnn's suggestions on candy making found in the "Tips" section of Gourmet Recipes on their website. Hard candy making requires the use of very high cooking temperatures. Caution should be used at all times to avoid being burned. Don't let the kids pour the syrup or stir the pot. Be smart here. Really.

Directions:
Have all ingredients and tools assembled and within easy reach of the stove. The use of metal spoons and measuring utensils is recommended. Lightly spray cookie sheet* or the cavities of clean, dry candy molds with cooking spray (LorAnn recommend PAM). Insert sucker sticks. (If using two-piece plastic or aluminum molds, insert sticks after candy has been poured into molds.) If using molds, you may also want to spray a piece of aluminum foil with cooking spray. If after pouring the candy into the molds you have excess candy, you can pour it onto the foil. We do that almost every time...and end up putting some "free form" circles of candy on the foil and popping in some sticks for suckers without molds. They look really artsy and almost make me homesick.

In a 2-quart kettle or large saucepan, mix together sugar, corn syrup and water. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Insert candy thermometer if using, making certain it does not touch the bottom of the pan. Bring mixture to a boil, without stirring.

No stirring. I did maybe once, but that was it...and it was just at the beginning. NO stirring after that. Don't do it. You'll get really gritty grainy candy.

Clamp your candy thermometer onto the side of the pan, into the syrup but not touching the bottom of the pan. You want to read the syrup temperature, not the pan temperature, right?

Early in the cooking process, you can "wash down" any sugar crystals that form on the sides of the pan with a wet pastry brush. I use a silicone brush so I don't get any loose hair in there too. Continue to cook the syrup until the temperature reaches 260º F; add color. Do not stir; boiling action will incorporate color into syrup.

Remove from heat precisely at 300° F (temperature will continue rising), or until drops of syrup form hard, brittle threads in cold water. After boiling action has ceased, add flavor and stir. USE CAUTION WHEN ADDING FLAVORING TO AVOID RISING STEAM.

Pour candy into prepared molds. I lightly spoon it into individual lollie molds. Do not refrigerate.

Cool completely. Remove from molds. Place in sucker bags and secure with twist ties.

There you go. Oooo-da-lollie!

We have some new chefs!

2010-02-19T08:38:00.000-08:00

We've decided to add more kids cooking to the blog with some help from other little chefs. You will be seeing a lot more from these two gals. Both of them worked with mom at a cooking class and where really good at cooking so far.
Look for their upcoming post on how to make pizza from scratch! They sent me the pictures and they where awesome.

Here we go!

New garden

2010-02-17T13:50:00.000-08:00

Our family made a new garden we put some onion, carrot, spinach, bell peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes, corn, zucchini, and peas. I think that will give us a lot to work with. Look at the shovels and the old wagon wheels.

We actually used these tools from the 50's. They're my grandpa's and my grandma's here in AZ.

mom got some cool seeds from
http://www.hometownseeds.com/

We hope it works.''good luck troops''

Preparing Wisely Food Storage Store

2010-02-05T15:00:00.000-08:00

Troy Adair is the owner of Preparing Wisely Emergency Food Store.

We were comparing Hand Mills the white one won.

We got A 50lb bag of wheat from there store and we got awesome Magnesium fire starters.
.

http://www.preparingwisely.com/ They have a huge amount of canned food and barbecues.
They have water storage supplies, camping supplies, emergency panchos and sleeping bags.

You can get honey and such sweeteners. Thanks Troy and Tracey Adair. We're definitely going to shop there often.
I love their store!

Nacho Cups and Pizza Bites

2010-01-29T11:37:00.000-08:00

Nacho Cups and Pizza Bites are really fun to make. We had them for lunch yesterday.

Popcorn Without a Microwave

2010-01-29T09:48:00.000-08:00

1/2 cup popcorn kernels. You will need a parent or guardian to help with this.

Add 1-2T of vegetable oil and a whirly-pop corn stove top pan.
If you don't have a whirly popcorn pan, you will need a gallon size pan with a lid that fits tightly. Put the popper or pan on the stove, again, have an adult nearby. Turn the stove on medium heat. When the pan has heated for 1 minute, add the popcorn kernals.

Close the lid right away. Start turning the handle of the popper, or if you have a pot, shake the pan. Keep turning the handle or shaking the pot until the popcorn starts popping. It will sound awesome. Keep turning until the pops dye down and are a few seconds apart. Sounds kind of like baloon tower defense. Its on http://www.ninjakiwi.com/ just click on bloons.

stIr and hear pop until you can't stir anymore.

When done, tell parent to help you get it off the stove.
Then enjoy in front of a movie. Good luck to all of the drivers out there.

http://cheftessbakeresse.blogspot.com/search/label/Popcorn

2010-01-13T16:49:00.000-08:00

Homemade No-Bake Chewy Granola Bars we made with my mom. If you want all the pictures you'll need to go to her blog. But here's what you need:

4 cups granola, preferably in smaller pieces or my granola: Home-Spun Breakfast Cereal

4 cups rolled oats
4 cups crispy rice cereal
1 cup flax seed (optional)
1T cinnamon
2 cups brown sugar
2/3 cup water
1/2 cup butter
2 tsp double strength vanilla
2/3 cup honey or molasses

Combine the dry ingredients in a large 2 gallon bowl.

Lightly oil 2 9 by 13 inch casserole pans and set them aside.

With an adult supervising:

In a 2 quart heavy pot, combine the sugar, butter, water, vanilla and honey or molasses.
Simmer the syrup over medium heat until a drop placed in cold water holds it's shape, about 5 minutes (soft ball stage). (see the pictures on mom's blog. It helps a lot!!)

Not ready yet...
Getting closer...
Ready! Pour immediately over the dry ingredients and combine well.
It will not be too gooey. Just right.
Scrape all the way to the bottom of the bowl.
Divide the mixture between the two pans. Lightly spray the top of the bars with non-stick spray or oil. Press down firmly, being careful not to burn your hands. Transfer pans to the fridge and chill 10-15 minutes.Have an adult cut with a sharp knife into bars of desired size. Standard granola bar size yielded about 45 bars.

Place in snack size bags or keep in an airtight container. Ours rarely last more than a few days, so I can't really say how long they will keep fresh.
There you go. Granola bars. You can do it!

Dad in Alaska

2010-01-13T16:37:00.000-08:00

My dad is in Alaska he went to train on a frozen lake.
My dad's friend hit a cone with the car and in Alaska its really cold
so the plastic didn't bend it exploded and the bumper has a huge hole
in it.So they have to fix the car before they return it.I think my
dad looks like the kid from Christmas story.He has
hand warmers in his ear muffs.I miss my dad I'm glad we have
Monday off of school. Good Luck To Our Troops!

Cub Fundraiser Dinner with Mom

2009-11-14T15:02:00.000-08:00

In order to get my communicator pin for Webelos, I have to write about a scout activity on my website or blog. So, this counts and I am excited.

We cooked 20 pounds of spaghetti for the dinner.

My dad loved the spaghetti and meat ball dinner.

I liked to cut the lettuce.

I did my first flag ceremony in front of a lot of people.

Me and my mom decorated all the tables and put fancy things on them.

That's all.

Face's Chop salad

2009-11-11T23:08:00.000-08:00

Hi this is Face. Chef Tess is my mom and today I wanted to share my favorite salad. Anytime mom says we need a salad, I will go to the fridge and get out celery and cabbage and some oriental dressing. I chop two stalks of celery and 1/2 head of cabbage. Then I put them in a large bowl. I add 1 cup of oriental dressing and some salt and pepper. That's it. It would look really pretty with carrots as well, but I usually use what we have so it changes from time to time. Enjoy.

Littlemans fries

2009-09-11T15:44:00.000-07:00

These are some fries we made at our house. They were great. My mom

chef-tess bakeresse said so. She rocks!

The first thing you do is cut 3 potatoes and cut them into fries like shape. Spray pan spray on a sheet pan. Lots of kids use them to make cookies. We used the pan this time to make fries.

Put cut potatoes in a large mixing bowl with 1/4 cup vegetable oil and toss around with a

spatula. Put them on the sheet pan. Spread them out. Then you bake them at 450 degrees for 25 minutes. It helps to have a grown up open the oven and stir them after 10 minutes. When 25 minutes is up...

have a parent take out of oven with hot pads.

Enjoy. Good luck soldiers.

----Littleman

Snackin' Dino Carrot Cake

2009-09-11T10:17:00.000-07:00

Mom look here: Snackin'-Dino'-Carrot-Cake
This summer includes the kids and getting them in the kitchen. We want to learn kitchen math and how to measure. So...meet the carrot cake of love. I'm Face. I was in charge. This carrot cake is one that we have really enjoyed for years. It's simple enough that the kiddos can make it, and good enough to eat that adults won't mind it. It uses whole wheat flour and a lot of carrots, so it really is a notch healthier than regular carrot cake. Our dad Ace, who is not a big cake eater, had 4 or 5 pieces. We count that as a good baking day if he will go nuts like that.

First gather your ingredients. In this case, the kids gathered the ingredients and measure them. This way we can really see it first hand. Mom adapted a recipe that she got out of a church cookbook and had around since she was a teenager. It's really old.

You will need:

4 eggs

1 cup sugar

1 cup vegetable oil (use 1/2 cup oil and 1/2 cup apple sauce if you want it lower fat)

2 tsp vanilla

2 cups whole wheat flour (cake or pastry flour)

1T cinnamon

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt3 cups grated carrots

1 cup nuts or raisins (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees or open your Solar Oven and get it heating up. This step is important. It makes it so the cake cooks right. Make sure you do it before you start mixing your cake.

In a large mixing bowl (we have one we use for 2 bags of microwave popcorn that is big enough for this). Crack the eggs into the bowl. Put in the sugar, vanilla and oil. Combine the eggs, sugar, vanilla and oil with a wire whisk until light lemon color. Whisk it a lot. Add flour, cinnamon, soda, and salt. Mix just until combined. That means just until the flour is wet and not to mix much more. Just until everything is mixed.
Add the carrots. If you use nuts or raisins...add them here too.

Grease a pan. It helps to measure the pan just so you are sure it is the right size for the baking time. If the pan is bigger it will cook faster. If the pan is smaller, it may not be big enough to hold the cooked cake and the batter will probably overflow in the hot oven. I know you want to eat the cake, not scrape it off the bottom of the oven. Right? So, once you measure your pan it needs to be a 9 inch wide by 13 inched long and at least 2 1/2 inches deep. Rectangle is what we used, but if you use a round pan, you can cook 2 8 inch rounds. or 1 10 inch that is 3 inches deep or more. I use either pan spray or shortening and cover all the inside of the pan with it. Make sure you don't miss any spots. Sometimes I sprinkle a small amount of flour (like a tsp) into the bottom of the pan a then shake the pan to spread out the flour.
Once mixed, pour it into a greased 9 inch by 13 inch cake pan. Bake 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Solar oven took about one hour.We waited about 30 minutes and then frosted with a light cream cheese frosting. You can use the tub bought from the store or make your own. That recipe will be on here soon. We wanted to make it look like a dinosaur...so we gave it an almond spine. If you want a lower fat experience, try it unfrosted. It is still really good.
Make sure you have a couple gallons of milk around.There you go.

Meet the Little Chefs

2009-09-11T10:02:00.000-07:00

Face is 6 years old. He loves to try new things and is amazing in the kitchen. Now that he can read, he is picking recipes and making new creations.

Little Man is 10 years old. He cooks meal from scratch on a regular basis. Face and Little man have also appeared on Fox 10 Arizona Morning with their mom, Chef Stephanie Petersen.

This blog is dedicated to helping little chefs everywhere learn some basics. Join the fun. Share your experiences. Let's get to it!